#I know everything else about this is messy as hell but it sucks that she's caught up in it too

[booasaur]

The Flash (2023) - Trailer - Sasha Calle as Supergirl

[relicsongmel]

Writing for Denise is really funny because half the reason why she is the way she is is because at the time of her conception I had Mommy Issues. Except now I have a Very Different Kind Of Mommy Issues and it’s affected my perspective on her a LOT

[moneymartin]

OKOK SO I JUST SAW THE NOTIF!!

so hear me out…maybe reader is like a fam friend of Kate’s. They were best friends and played together all the time. They went to Iowa together, and are roommates. Reader plays volleyball, soccer, softball, wtv you want. And like a slow burn friends to lovers!!?? (i’m a whore for friends to lovers) i’m talking mutual pining, years of attraction and feelings…literally brewing for 22 years (kate’s going to be 24 soon, so like they’re moms were bestfriends so Kate and readers friendship started when they were like 2?)

PLSPLSPLSPLS IF U CAN!?😋

・❥・- no hard feelings.

summary: basically the req lol. r plays soccer at uoi and kate is a nervous wreck 😭

warnings: none rlly… just the use of y/n if that even counts as one??? 💀

rpf!!! don’t read it if ur uncomfortable 😣

wc: 2.25k

a/n: not my usual stuff, i know. i’ve just been itching to write something about kate :( plz don’t unfollow me guys and don’t leave me mooties </3 🤧 i swear i’m going back on my yjs grind once school ends. every divider is a timeskip btw cuz this is lowk long and im layz asfk… also kind of messy i’m so sorry

NOT PROOFREAD!!!!

22 years. you and kate have been friends for 22 fucking years, and she hasn’t picked up yet. your very obvious feelings for her are starting to fade the more she’s been avoiding them. it sucks so fucking much.

these stupid feelings started when both of you ended up at the same university and the same dorm. you never saw kate in that light. she was your mom’s best friend’s kid, and the rest was history. you played tackle football with her when she had nobody else to play with, practiced basketball with her. you two were practically attached to the hip. the same elementary, middle school, highschool, and the same damn college.

it wasn’t like you could just leave too. the scholarship you were offered for soccer was totally worth the taking, and you couldn’t leave behind the team either. the first few times you gained feelings for kate was when you were in middle school. ‘experimenting’ with your feelings. well, that was your guys’ excuse after you two losers got caught by her mom. after that it was just dating stupid boys to get your head out of it and your head off of kate. thankfully, she was trying to do the same exact solution. you knew a lot about her.

but the one thing you didn’t know was that she felt the exact same. she was just too scared to say it. its not like she wants to lose a 22 year friendship over her uncontrollable feelings. first thing she did was go to caitlin, and she was practically freaking the hell out over it. cait was definitely the anchor between the both of you. helping you with accidental arguments so you didn’t lose kate, helping you out with what to say when she was upset. it was good having someone like that, but it was so incredibly stressful having to consistently ask for some sort of advice.

eventually you were tired of it. tired of waiting for something to happen. waiting for a move to be made by kate or maybe just a few little hints that kept you going. although you couldn’t anymore. it was draining, like someone who didn’t realize what you felt about them. you told caitlin everything after that reality set in for you. it was the blinding of your feelings that let everything slip through your mind and basically fly over your head. how could you be so naive to believe that she did and you were just trying hard for nothing in return. it was dumb, and you knew that much.

one night after a long day of testing and practice, you stumble your way into your dorm, the door locked and a frown crossing your face. the keys were in your stupid locker. “open the door, please..” you murmur, voice tired and confused. you bring your fist up to the door and knock softly, the sound of the lock clicking and the door creaking open. “jeez. soccer must’ve been a pain in the ass. you look like shit.” kate laughs, grabbing your arm gently to stable your body. letting out a heavy huff of breath, you lean slightly into her and drop your arms to your sides. “tell me about it.” she smiles and hoists you up carefully, locking the door and bringing you to the living room.

the moment your butt hits the couch cushion you let out a soft sigh and look at kate, her big stupid and soft eyes locking onto yours. the corners of your lips curl up slightly and you snicker, raising your eyebrows. “do you really wanna know? cause its a stupid story.” you exaggerate and rub the back of your neck. kate takes the spot next to you and nods continuously, her head leaning onto your shoulder. “trust me, dude. i wanna hear it.”

“kay, well… coach dilanni was being a total douche about what i wanted to practice. i mean, its fucking practice for a reason. i’m supposed to practice what i need to practice! not what he wants me to practice.” your voice gets a little low and you start to slur out your words. the repeated words and slow murmurs make her laugh a little, her arm hooking around your neck and bringing your head towards hers. “and he gave me so much attitude. like, the more i tried to defend myself the more he spoke over me. the old head was thinking about benching me during the champ game!!!” you blurt out and let out a groan.

she starts to realize just how tired you are and pouts, her head moving away, and her hands cupping your face. your head involuntarily moves to stare at hers, your eyes half open, your lips pursed slightly, and your head dropped down a little. “he looks like a nice old guy but deep down that man has some serious problems,” you grumble. “and don’t even get me started on the tests i had to take.” kate’s eyebrows raise and her face stills for a moment when you bury your face deep into her neck. your breath tickles at her skin and she feels shivers running up and down her back. you’re so tired you don’t even realize what you’re doing.

“y/n…” she breathes out heavily and you hear her swallow down whatever she needs to say. your head pulls out and you look at her with big eyes too, just like how she did earlier. water forms in your ducts as you try to fight off the sleepiness, but the way kate is looking at you makes it hard to get off of her. “hm?” you hum and drop your head against her shoulder. “never mind, okay.” her voice drops too and softens a bit, a familiar heat rushing up to your face when she runs her fingers up and down your back.

the warmth of her body and the relief you feel when you hear her voice makes your head spin like crazy. its like she knows what you feel about her and is just doing this to mess with you. the second your eyes shut, kate sucks in a sharp breath in through her teeth and practically manhandles you. gently, of course. but shes picked you up like a damn baby and you don’t have the slightest intention of stopping her from doing it.

your stomach spins and churns awkwardly from the contact. you’ve known kate all your life, but right now it feels like you just saw her on campus for the first time. after you got that news you guys shared a room together. you suddenly get the reminder of your feelings for her, like a shit ton of fireworks igniting in your stomach. more so reigniting. she brushes her fingers up against your face to move a few strands of hair from it.

kate likes you. she really fucking does, and its just the fact that she can’t spit it out no matter how much she wants to. no matter how much she wants to scream it from the rooftop and tell the whole world about how she feels. she thinks you’re the prettiest girl she’s ever seen and she has that gut feeling where she believes that you feel the same way. she isn’t stupid but shes smitten and that’s blinding her as well. just like how it did to you.

“y’know how we’ve been friends for like.. a bajillion years?” she laughs nervously and curls her lips downwards a bit. you know that shes nervous and its starting to make you nervous too. you’re starting to sweat a little underneath your shirt and you can somehow feel it under your skin. “yeah, why?” you ask and open your eyes to look at her face. its all red, her eyes open wide with anxiety, and her mouth slightly parted.

“okay, listen to me and don’t freak out… please.” kate squeaks out and moves her hands away from you. her reactions and jitters cause you to sit up and watch her every move just to make sure she really doesn’t start to freak. theres a feeling in your stomach that can’t really be put into words. it’s that feeling where you wanna throw up because of your nerves and the wanna jump off a bridge before you hear what she says. “i won’t go crazy, you idiot. what’s wrong with you?” you ask with a little chuckle but it quickly fades away when you realize what she’s about to say.

you’re not feeling this because you’re embarrassed of what she’s feeling. you’re just nervous and not used to it. at least thats what you’re telling yourself. there’s a little voice in your head repeatedly telling you to “calm the fuck down!” and it isn’t really helping. your brain is fried from the tiredness you feel too, but this seems really important. “nothing is wrong with me, i just dunno.. need to tell you something before its too late.” she whispers and tilts her head to the side a little, figuring out how she has to say it and if she really should let you know. now that she’s declared that she needs to say this little thing before its ‘too late’ confirms everything you need to know.

“this probably sounds stupid and dumb and i’m going to sound like the biggest loser in the world,” she starts, her voice cracking and her face contorting in different ways you’ve never seen before. in all the years you’ve know kate, shes never been so anxious and nervous about something like this before. its kinda scary. “but i think i’m like.. really in love with you.” she stumbles over her words and buries her face into her hands. it takes you a moment to process what she says as the sleepiness corrupts your mind. “i’m sorry, what?” you mutter.

“i said i like you!!!” kate blurts out and you watch her face turn the reddest you’ve ever seen it. you’ve been with her for almost all of her relationships and this is the first time her face has ever looked like that. her previous partners have never had her like this, they’ve never had her the way you have, and you’re realizing that just now. “oh.” you gulp. the words you’ve been waiting to hear for more than half of your life have finally been said, and it is the greatest relief you’ve ever felt in your life. and everything makes sense now.

the way kate brushes up against you in the halls, the fact she always walks you to your classes no matter how far hers is from it, her taking you to soccer practice, her watching your games like how you watch her, and the fact that you are the reason she blushes like she’s embarrassed herself. although she hasn’t, she’s just so into you, and nothing is gonna change the way she feels. “‘oh?’ is that it?” kate spits out and starts to panic a little. after she’s just admitted, she’s expected something different from you. maybe the same thing? she doesn’t know what she was expecting, it just wasn’t that.

your eyes widen and your face grows redder the longer you stare at her and when your tiny tired peabrain registers that she reciprocates what you feel. “no! that’s not it, stupid, i like you too!” you blurt out as well and push her shoulders. kate has a look of something on her face. you can’t tell what it is but she seems happy about what you said, and that makes your emotions explode. “okay, you know what? i love you, actually! i love you, i love you, i love you!!!!!!!!” you stutter out a bunch of times. years and years of hoping and waiting that she’ll finally do something comes to a stop. “i have my whole damn life.” you murmur, catching your breath slightly from the continuous shouting of your feelings at her. the burning and churning in your stomach goes away and is replaced with a certain sense of relief. a relief that you haven’t felt in ages.

“oh so, you’re serious, serious?”

“yes, okay. i’m not joking, like i meant everything.”

“say you swear or i won’t believe one word you say.”

“i swear on coach dilanni’s life.” you giggle, fingers threading through kate’s blonde strands. her head is propped up on your chest and her eyes are slightly open. you two have been sitting there for about ten minutes, talking about why or how you even got these stupid little feelings for each other. but none of you are complaining. matter of fact, you’re both on the verge of falling asleep but the presence from each other makes you both wanna stay up all damn night if you could.

“he’s not gonna like that...” she murmurs, voice soft and slurring a bit. kate wraps her arms tight around your waist, her head moving into a more comfortable position. your hands are all over the place and you’re basically just messing up her hair, one of her eyes closing when a few strands get in her face. “you have no idea what you’re doing, huh?” her lips turn into that smile you know all too well now, and her eyes closing completely. a yawn escapes from in between your lips and she hears it, snapping her head upwards, that smile turning into a smirk.

“kiss me.”

and you do.

[radiant-reid]

hopping on the hot wife bandwagon… can you reason a blurb of when it’s y/n and spencer’s wedding day and while they’re having dinner the team finally decided to ask the question they’ve been dying to ask forever, “so how the hell did you to get together?” and they all found out little spencer is actually smooth and flirty

yessss. also this is meant to have the same vibe as JJ's wedding

HIM ^^ always him

Sitting around a large table in Rossi's backyard with the BAU family is exactly where she wants to be for her first meal being married to the love of her life. It's peaceful, personal and nice to see all of her husband's colleagues relaxed for once.

Spencer's as perfect as the day they met, hair parted down the middle and held in place with gel rather than curls messy on top of his head. A thing that's never changed is how in awe of her he is, speechless whenever he looks at her for too long and constantly wondering how he'd ended up with everything he ever wanted sitting next to him.

"You doing okay, handsome?" She whispers, touching his shoulder as she leans over.

He's literally never been better. "Yeah, of course."

"No regret yet?" She jokes.

Spencer grins widely, shaking his head. "Never."

Before they can continue having their moment of intimacy, Emily draws their attention away from each other. "So I've got to know, how did Spencer actually manage to get with someone as hot as you?" She's definitely had a few too many, judging by her slurred speech and bluntness, but the team can't deny they're all thinking it. "No offense, Spence. She is way out of your league, though."

He scoffs playfully. "Thanks." He knows it's true, too, no one has the warm glow and gorgeousness that she has, but he's more than reassured that she's only in love with him.

"Tell us the story." Penelope insists also.

Y/n frowns. "I'm not sure there's much to tell." She admits. It had been one of the best days of her life, of course, but it was also probably the most ordinary day she'd ever had in her time knowing Spencer Reid.

"There's got to be something." JJ tries to nudge her to spill because none of them can imagine how it happened.

"Well, it was at a bar." Y/n starts, immediately stopped by the confused looks on everyone else's faces. "What?"

"Spencer at a bar? Without one of us dragging him there?" Morgan asks incredulously.

Spencer laughs, jumping in to explain that night from his perspective. "You did drag me there." Spencer points out. "You just left early... Jasmine, I think her name was?"

Everyone laughs at that, knowing Morgan's tendencies to be a ladies' man. "Spencer was, I don't know, suave, charming, smooth." She's looking for the right word, but each one doesn't seem impressive enough to describe him.

He's looking at her with puppy dog eyes, totally love-sick. "And handsome." He adds.

"The most handsome." She amends, but when she turns to see the team's reaction, she's shocked by how shocked they look.

"Did you just use the word suave to describe Spencer, or did I imagine that?" Penelope asks, her mouth lingering open. None of them can imagine it. Sure, he's endearing with his awkwardness, but he's terrible with women he's attracted to, to the point of aversion.

They also don't imagine her standards were low, not when she's so immaculate, which makes it even more puzzling that Spencer managed to land her.

Y/n nods. "Yeah." She answers. "He totally charmed me. Honestly, I worried he was a playboy, but I don't think I had any reason to worry."

"You definitely did not." Morgan agrees passionately before he can help himself. "I saw him flirt with a girl in a bar once, he sucked." He exposes Spencer.

"What?" Y/n asks, tipping her head to the side to look at her husband. "What happened to I never do this?" She presses him, voice dropping lower to mimic his from that night.

He holds up his hands defensively. "Technically, I was only successful once."

"When you divorce," Emily interrupts the playful retort Y/n's about to make. "Can I take you out, Y/n?"

Spencer giggles with Y/n at that, and the whole team joins in on the laughter when Morgan jumps in with his offer. "Nuh-uh, if she were going to date anyone else here, it would be me."

While they argue, she rests her head on Spencer's shoulder and whispers that she loves him and his smile only grows bigger.

[curvykittyyssmutfics]

could you write about peter parker (t.m) brings his gf, reader for a study date but instead they fuck on his bed while aunt may is at work or something! please! doggy style, blowjob, boob job, missionary, daddy kink

The Study Date

A/N: This was meant for Tobey's spiderman but feel free to use your imagination!

Warning: Oral- facefucking(male receiving); Hair pulling; Creampie

Light from the sun streams in from the open window highlighting the books and note cards scattered across Peter's messy bedroom floor. There's not a cloud in the sky, and I can hear boisterous laughter from people walking by on the street; everyone sounding free and upbeat made me beyond jealous! Its absolutely unbelievable that on this beautiful breezy bright day my wonderfully amazing boyfriend convinced me to study for our upcoming exams. Hell, even Aunt May had plans to be home late as she and Happy had a date after her shift.

We both knew I'd rather be doing anything else. Better yet, I know WHO I'd rather be doing. Glancing up at a frowning Peter sitting criss-cross with his back against his bed, I watch him scribbling quickly on a notepad. Another pencil clenched between his teeth, he pauses his note taking to read the book in his lap. I can't help but admire the firm set in his jaw contrasting against that adorable baby face. Peter's short messy brown locks dust his forehead as his brows crease. God, his pretty ocean blue eyes never fail to pull me in. Fuck... His sexy ass in only a pair of light gray sweats was leaving nothing to the imagination. My baby's lean but chiseled chest rises slowly with each breath as I stare unabashedly.

I lay prone in front of him a few feet away, legs up behind me and crossed at the ankles, thoroughly enjoying the view. Normally I wait for Peter to initiate anything sexual but it always ends before he can fuck me. Rather it be May interrupting or his Spiderman duties calling, we haven't had a chance to do more than a bit of steamy dry humping. But today, as the drippin in my panties turns to a leak just from lookin at him, Peter's def in for somethin new.

He's concentrating so hard that I'm sure he doesn't notices the aggressive and very thorough eye fuck I'm giving him. He can't possibly be this damn clueless! Opening my mouth to speak Peter surprises me, looking up from his book, beating me to the punch.

"If you're done eye raping me, can you hand me the whiteout?" He teases, his knowing smirk almost making me embarrassed. ALMOST. Lord only knows I'm way to damn wet right now for the shy act.

Without replying I get on all fours and slowly, sensually, crawl to my Spiderman. He immediately sets down everything, spreads his legs and pulls me into his lap. I slip my shirt off quickly, leaving me in nothing but my soft shorts. My lips are desperate for his so I kiss him lustfully, deepening it as I grind ontop of him. My dark blue and red cotton shorts hardly get in the way as Peter starts to swell against me. My wetness seeps out of my empty clenching core, soaking my bottoms and his sweats.

"Peeeete, take off your pants. I wanna play. Lemme suck it." I moan into his mouth.

"Sweetheart-" Peter starts in protest but I quickly cut him off with another soft wet kiss. If he wants to play hard to get then so be it.

I lick into his mouth, before sucking the tip of his tongue between my lips. My fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck, lightly tugging as Peter's hips cant upward on each small pull. Short low moans come from his as he breaks our kiss to look down at the small wet patch forming where I drip on top him. Our breathing accelerates as I speed up the grinding on his fully hard dick, moving my lips to speak softly in his ear.

"Please Pete, pleeeease. Lemme suck you. I wanna make you feel good. I want you to cum in my mouth, down my throat. Fuuuck, feel your dick twitch on my tongue." I nip at his ear as I watch his resolve crumbling piece by piece. His head falling back on his mattress as he struggles to submit. I don't know why he's resisting and I don't give a fuck. I'm gettin that dick TODAY.

He might be Spiderman but I'm pretty damn quick my self. I'm off his lap and eye level with his crotch, pulling out that impressive fucking dick and cramming him between my lips before he can pick his head up. I lick and suck around his tip with messy loud slurps as watch him closely; his head dips farther into his bed and his arms hang limp at his sides against the floor. He involuntarily spread his legs wider, giving me ample room to work on his cock.

With eyes squeezed shut and his mouth open wide gasping for breath, Peter immediately loses the will to combat himself on this. When I notice, I smile with a mouth full of dick and, with a little difficulty, slide him deeper into my mouth. My unexpected gagging and salivating has him moaning and groaning so fucking seductively. I've never heard anything more alluring. I want more of those moans. So I slide my mouth up and down his lengthy cock fervidly. The taste of his salty precum explodes across my tongue and I moan around him this time, the vibrations making Peter shudder in return.

The soft sounds he makes increase in volume as I speed up the pace of stuffing my new favorite treat down my throat. His hips start to fuck his dick between my lips as one hands slide into my hair firmly as holds me place. 'Fuuuck, Daddy' repeats like a mantra in my head. That dam spider strength makes it so I can't move a single inch as he pistons in and out of my mouth recklessly. I feel his wet balls slapping my chin as my spit smear cheeks, chin, and naked breasts. All I can do is grip his thigh and focus on breathing through my nose as Peter tries to fuck himself into throat. My gagging doubles but I get no reprieve, not a damn lick of empathy. I couldn't dream of anything better

"Uh, uh, uh, f-fuuuuuck. Uh, AH! So fuckin good, princess. Bout to cu-uuum." His lusty cry makes me slip my shorts to the side and finger my throbbing sensitive little button.

I choke around him, eyes rolled back as I let him use me. 'Yeeees Daddy fuckin explode down my throat, lemme taste.' I think as his strokes turn erratic. One last pull out before Peter pushes his pelvis to my nose and unloads 3 strong gushes outta his twitchin dick to the back of my throat, so I swallow to not choke. He pulls back a bit, hand still firmly hold me, as the next 2 land on my tongue. Pete's gasping and panting, staring at me intently while he let's the rest of his warm cum leak onto my lips as he smears his spasming dick in the mess.

When he's finally done ruining me, he releases me reluctantly. His cock is still hard, glistening with my drool and his cum, balls still drawn up tight against his body. I take my hand outta my shorts and remove them, wiping his cum from my face. His eyes widen when he realizes I was playing with my pussy while he face fucked me.

"Did you like that Pete?" I ask seductively, kicking books out the way and laying on my back perched up on my elbows with spread legs.

"Hell yeah, princess. More than like. You got damn drained me. But now I want a taste of you."

Peter rushes to duck between my legs, trying to dive head first to eat me I assume; but I grab a handful of his soft chocolate colored hair and pull him up my body till his dick taps against my desperate messy soaked little puss.

"Fuck that, you can eat this pussy some other time. You better fuck me right now, Parker." I growl out.

That unsure look crosses Peter's face once more and I decide it's time to take matters into my own hands again. I grab for his dick and hastily stuff him inside. Although just a bit more than the tip crams inside, my back arches and I moan loud and long like a whore. I stare at the ceiling with wide unseeing eyes and an open mouth as I tug a couple more inches of Pete's cock into my wet core. My insides clutch at him frantically as I fuck on his leaky dick about half way.

My fingers rub my throbbing little button in quick fast circles, crying out as Peter stares at me in surprise. His shock obviously prevents him from realizing how close I am to cumming. As his breathing and the buildup in his balls upsurgesfrom watching me fuck myself on him, it's clear to us both that I need no assistance. I know my end is near. The intense pleasurable beating in my pussy makes me gasp for air while humping Petes dick wildly. 1 circle, 2 circles, 3 more circles on my clit and I combust. My head thrashes left to right as my cream gushes Peter endlessly.

"YES DAAAADDY, YES! Fuck me, aaah, fuck meeeee! FuckmefuckmefuckmeDaddy!" My intense orgasm draws every filthy thought from my mind through my open mouth into mindless shrieks. There's no room for embarrassment.

Suddenly the world seems shaken and upside down as I find my self quickly turned on my stomache. Peter forces a hand under me to fiercely finger my clit, burying his meat in me almost to the hilt. My back bowed, orgasm prolonged, I feel dizzy from how insanely intense it all feels as he digs into me repeatedly.

"Noooo, no-no-no-no-no, not yeeeeet.." Pete's words melt in one long endless moan and 4 earth shattering back breaking strokes later, he's gripping at my plump ass cheeks and audaciously fills me up. His cum dribbles from around his dick to mix with mine on the sheets. Neither of us move beyond the occasional shudder. Peter remains lodged inside as we try to catch our breath. Small drizzles of cum leak irregularly from his unhurriedly softening prick when we hear 3 light knocks on the locked bedroom door.

FUCK!!!!! May's home..

[sinnamonsters]

Why your favourite Sparklecare patient SUCKS!! (and also why they're swag!)

I feel like in the Sparklecare community that it's been too long that people put characters on a binary scale of "asshole who deserves to explode" and "awesome person who i love and cherish no matter what", because the characters in the story are nuanced. Every single one of them has done bad and good (minus Cuddles and Mr. V of course) in the story and more people need to see that, so I'm here to put in some of the ups and downs of all the main patients.

Barry Incredibly smart and willing to help! Throughout the story, he's been shown to help the others with his intelligence time and time again, and the main patients wouldn't be able to do nearly as much without him.

BUT he's also very argumentative and refuses to take no for an answer, and egotistical, believing himself to be above everyone else because of his aforementioned intelligence. He also sometimes acts like what he's doing isn't wrong when it absolutely is.

Uni Very kind and caring for her friends, she's seen time and time again doing what she can for others, even Doom, someone who everyone else sees as an evil monster because he does the whole doctor thing, showing that she absolutely doesn't hold grudges, and can give people the chances that they deserve.

BUT she's also rude and messy, making backhanded jokes towards others, and refusing to clean up her space, even when others are present. And, she's very possessive, how she acts about Barry is incredibly selfish, and not how someone should go about having a crush on someone.

Caroline Loyal and clever! While Barry might be the book smarts of the cast, Carrie would be the street smarts, if you will. She knows how to talk to people to get what she and her friends need, and can make a damn good plan, considering how many times she's probably attempted to escape the hospital.

BUT she gets upset very easily, and holds grudges too much. You can see her acting mean to other patients constantly over other things that they've done, and seems to be against Uni wanting to be with Barry purely because of the times that he's been rude or otherwise mean.

Hemera She does her best to help everyone else stay alive! Even though her methods may be less than ideal, keeping the others from getting killed is ultimately a good thing. She's also been said in the cast page to help others with tech issues, so it's safe to assume that she also helps people with other problems!

BUT, as said before, her methods of helping others can be seen as bad by others, and has caused harm before. She's also controlling, wanting everything to go exactly the way she wants it to, and that everyone would see things exactly as she does.

Jay One of the most helpful patients in the hospital, Jay is a nice, caring, and creative person that helps everyone in (almost) any way that they can! Very friendly, Jay has very few patients in the hospital that actively dislike them, and for good reason.

BUT, yes, even Jay has their flaws! They're seen multiple times standing by, not doing anything for the others, even when it's most important. Just because they aren't doing anything, doesn't mean they're not doing anything wrong.

Does this mean any of these characters are 100% good people, or that they're bad people who deserve bad things?

Fuck no.

All of these characters have depth and nuance, not a single one can be put under a binary label of "good" or "bad", they all have their ups and downs, as we all do. Hell, I would've even gone into more of the characters, if I had the time.

You've been an asshole at one point or another. Does that make you a bad person? Do you not deserve love and care like everyone else does? No. Obviously not. And these characters aren't any different in that regard. So don't treat them like they are. Thank you.

[nyonyen]

NSFW ALPHABET - nana

AO3

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

very sweet, loves to cuddle with you betwixt her long body

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

nana loves every part of herself equally, but of course, she is quite partial to her tongue! it can reach so many places… for you, she loves your back, how it contorts and such. it is so hypnotic and erotic for her

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

there’s a 50/50 split in my mind of what genitalia she has, so for this, i’ll speak for the… penile crowd: loves to cum ANYWHERE on your body, marking her territory is something intrinsic and very obviously animalistic

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

could probably suck and kiss your chest for a whole day if left up to her, it is something she is so head over heels about. you don’t even have to have breasts, she just loves it!

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

surprisingly experienced, but not sure exactly how… maybe ask the ratmen? :)

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

there’s no such way she could fully emulate human positions, so i’ll try my best here. she thoroughly enjoys any position in which her body is wrapped around you tightly, as that is how it comes naturally to her. she especially likes it when you grind down on her yourself

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

neither serious nor unserious… maybe just ominous!

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

i… don’t think it’s possible for nana to have hair down there

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

INCREDIBLY intimate, loves to constantly kiss and praise you for being so good for her!

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

doesn't really jerk it... seeks you out instead!

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

praising you, anything messy (spit, cum etc.), size difference… vore. you knew that was coming, didn’t you?

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

basement, where else? oh, maybe in the walls…

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

simply seeing you is enough to get her in the mood, nana can’t resist your allure

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

she would never FULLY digest you, that’s probably the one ‘no’ she has. she likes you far too much!

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

loves it when you go down on her, and if we’re talking the other oral… is obviously quite addicted to that. i’m not a vore man myself so i won’t be going into deets going down on you for her is such a special treat, seeing you writhe when her tongue reaches places it really should not be able to… it’s one of the most pleasurable things in her eyes!

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

often times very slow and sensual so you can pick up the pace yourself, which she prefers

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

nana takes far too much time in devouring you to have anything CLOSE to quickies. who do you think you are for asking…

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

everything about nana is a risk, what the hell would luther do to you if he found out?!

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

lasts hours upon hours… please stretch beforehand, promise? 

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

if you bought her a vibrator, i think you’d be kept in the basement for about a month straight. good fucking luck to you soldier

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

loooooooves teasing you, to the point of tears even. seeing you squirm and beg for her to do anything is priceless

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

is quite good at holding back moans, preferring to talk you through everything and relish in your noises instead. she laughs a lot too

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

the only time she’s ever truly hissed at luther was when he had the audacity to try and move you from her nest while you were sleeping. it was scary…

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

she’s got a dd cup and in uh… true snake fashion… has two penises. they’re both around 7 inches

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

super high, i don’t believe she’s ever NOT horny

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

loves to nap with you after the fact, curled around each other, so fairly quickly!

[madwomansapologist]

Hii!! I don't know if you still write for The Good Place but if you do, could you give us some nsfw and sfw headcannons being Tahami Al Jamil's partner? if you don't write for it then feel free to ignore this, thank you for reading!

dating tahani al-jamil would include

Masterlist | Rules | Taglist | Library | More Tahani Al-Jamil | AO3

synopsis: If soulmates do exist, they're not found, they're made. Tahani never took that advice seriously until she met you.

warnings: gn!reader. fluff. nsfw on the second part.

ps: i'm still writing for tgp, feel free to request more for that show! tahani is such a great character, hope you like it!

• Tahani strives for excellence. No. She pursues excellence. With claws and teeth. Tahani is driven by the need to improve, to be the best, to always surprise. She thinks the same way when it comes to relationships.

• She doesn't withhold efforts to make sure you're happy. Tahani will fight to make sure you never, even for a moment, question whether she's the best person for you. Tahani will do anything to show you that she is the only possible choice.

• Do you have a favorite cuisine? French, Japanese, Brazilian food? The jet is coming. She will take you to the fountain. Oh, you're not happy with your haircut? For Tahani you are perfect, but with just one the best hairdresser alive will attend to you. Is your room messy? Stay calm. Marie Kondo is coming.

• Don't you have a skincare routine? Tahani knows exactly what's best for your skin. Every night it feels like you're in a teen movie: skin care, hair hydratation, and anything else you want to do to take care of your body.

• It is very important to Tahani that you attend her events. Tahani wants your company and your support. There's nothing to calm her down when she's on stage like seeing you watching her with heart eyes. She loves to see the pictures online, how you're always glowing beside her.

• Tahani is rooting for your success and is not afraid to invest in you. If you have a dream, she will help you make it come true. Her own dream is the two of you, successful, supporting each other for the rest of your lifes.

• When Tahani feels jealous, she is the most passive-aggressive person that ever lived. She is able to offend and still make the person doubt whether they are really being offended. That grace that hides what Tahani really feels always makes you laugh

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

• Tahani is intense. She sucks all the oxygen out of wherever she is. Tahani doesn't go unnoticed, and that applies to everything. This applies to the way her hand is almost crossing the line during an event. How her eyes pierce your soul. How delicate and graceful words hide double meaning.

• Tahani knows what she wants and knows how to get it. She's bossy, but you always knew that she was. Tahai guides you, puts your hand where she wants to be touched, makes it clear what she wants you to do.

• She would never do anything in public, ever, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't want to get laid during one of her events. Lock the bathroom door and have fun. It's dangerous, maybe people can be suspicious about why the best host in the world suddenly faded away, but it's so good.

• Tahani knows that she's attractive (can we please talk about that scene where she was Eleanor's soulmate, please? 🥵). Tahani will flirt like hell and will tease you about it. She's great at it.

• And you can kill me for that, you can hate me for that, but I will never, ever, be silenced: Tahani loves to smoke a joint after an orgasm. That's it. I'll never be censured! No one can stop me!

GENERAL TAGLIST: @suakemi @notanalienindisguiseblink

THE GOOD PLACE TAGLIST: @suakemi @notanalienindisguiseblink

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[aita-blorbos]

Am I the asshole for brainwashing my teammates to save the galaxy?

Okay... I don't even know where to start. The galaxy is on its knees. Everything is coming apart. We've just been through two galaxy wide annihilations in rapid succession and I was on the front line trying to stop both. We didn't even have time to recover from the first one before the second one started and... I'm tired. I'm so fucking tired.

We were unprepared both times and had improvise. We barely made it through and, even after that, we're still not prepared! We need to be ready for the next one. We need to be able to stop it before it even happens.

I don't think the galaxy can take another hit like the last two.

Someone had to step up and start trying to put things right. So I came up with a plan. I'd lead team ready to go into action the instant anything happens. A proactive force, ready to prevent things from escalating as much as they did before. The problem is... How can I get this team?

I fought alongside some incredible people in the wars, but... They were even more messed up than the galaxy itself. They all had huge baggages (and, believe me, I know a lot about baggage) and they were the most mismatched group you could possibly think of. Seriously, they ranged from talented assassins and a newly reborn spaces messiah to a walking tree and a talking raccoon. How could they possibly work as team? Hell, would they even accept joining? My best friend, the man who I was the right hand to during the war, bailed before I even finished saying my idea even though he loved it (it's okay, he has bigger issues), so my chances weren't looking good.

I needed some good people and these were the best. But everything was too messy, I didn't have time to waste, I didn't have time to ask nicely. So... I asked a friend of mine for a little ice-breaker. She is a telepath and she... Well, she helped make them more willing to join the team. It sucks. I know that. But the galaxy needed guardians. I figured once we were bonded, it wouldn't matter how we came together. We'd be a team.

And fuck, we even found evidence that I was right and the galaxy literally couldn't take another war. The fabric of reality itself was collapsing and we focused on repairing that. We were good.

But now they've found out about everything when we were only getting started. The team has disbanded and I'm alone again. I understand why they're mad, I really do, but something needed to be done. It was for the good of everyone else.

So. Am I the asshole? I think I am, but honestly, I'd do it all over again.

[polyamorouspunk]

It's not friday but Sleepover Fridays exist outside of the regular schedule so I'll allow it

I've honestly been feeling really low lately and just generally really sad about my ex gf. We were in a really messy poly relationship and my bf (who was my ex at the time having broken up with me months before) (I did say it was messy) was being really manipulative and essentially backed me into a corner and forced me to break up with my gf. I know it was a shitty thing to do and it was ultimately my decision in the end but I regret it so much and none of us are really in a position to change it since we all live so far apart right now. I was hoping that maybe the next time I saw her I could make things right but she started dating a new guy (after telling me repeatedly that she was not interested in him) (not that it's any of my business, I know, but it still rubbed me the wrong way) like 3? weeks ago now? and it has been Fucking Me Up.

I know I'm the one who left her, and I know she has the right to see other people, hell I'm seeing someone else. And he seems to make her happy, so I should be happy for them! But all I feel is sadness and anger and bitter regret :(

I'm sorry for dumping all this on you but I can't really talk to my bf about this since he gets upset at the mention of her (he's done some shitty things, but he's otherwise a really sweet guy and he cares about me so much and I don't like hurting him with this) and most of my friends are probably sick of hearing me bitch and moan about the one that "got away" when I was the one who let her go T.T

I hope you're having a great day punk, happy honorary friday :)

Ugh man relationships can be so messy! I’m so sorry to hear that, you can come cry about losing a love of your life any time. It sucks so much. I’m sorry everything turned out that way.

[jewishbarbies]

maybe she could've rewritten them and adjusted for a newer writing style and recorded them

I have a hot take on this one, I've never read any opinion similar to mine on this topic but I need to share it with someone else at this point: I don't believe that the "from the vault" tracks were written at the time of these albums at all. I used to be a super devoted brainwashed Swiftie until a few years ago and I basically know by memory everything she's written before Lover, and ever since Red TV came out and I read the lyrics of the vault tracks I convinced myself that she wrote at least 80% of them right before the re-release. There are some similarities with older songs in themes and lyrics but at the same time there are quite a lot of wording choices that she used with her most recent albums but not with the older ones and it all really feels to me like an attempt to emulate her older style with questionable results.

And I'm also convinced (and this is a hill I'm willing to die on anytime) that All Too Well 10MV was not written at the time, or at least not the way she put it out. Like, if you listen to that outro that has zero coherence with the rest of the song and seems like a cut-and-paste from another song, you can her the difference in melody, themes and also the writing style has very little to do with the rest of it. My theory is that the part from minute 7:20 was added on the re-recording only to 1) add more details to her always-the-victim narrative in a way that is more compliant to today's issues since people actually started to call out all the inappropriate age gap relationships between celebrities only recently, and 2) give the fans what they asked for for years hoping for a record-breaking release for the single despite the "original version was like 10 minutes long" thing being just an hyperbole of some kind.

But no matter if I'm right or not, most of them completely suck. I read rumors here and there that she added more songs to the re-recordings so she could push those versions of the albums for new awards and honestly I think that was exactly the case here. Every singer has unreleased songs, I just don't think that the ones she put out so far are the real ones considering the unreleased songs the world already knew existed before this messy re-recording situation sound completely different.

honestly I’ve heard people theorize about that and it would not surprise me if she just wrote new songs and called them old, because it makes it more emotional for devoted swifties and they’ll wanna buy more albums. I heard some bizarre thing about her record sales for midnights being like the largest sales for an album after release and like. she’s put out a dozen different versions AND she puts a digital album saw with each merch purchase. obviously the sale are going to be inflated like hell. but then with the re releases she can say that’s it’s because of these extra songs and people “supporting her over scooter”. it’s ridiculous.

[candyskiez]

for the toh ask game- 2, 12, 20?

2. Already put my first favorite, so let's do second! It's...honestly a tie. I know, I know, cop out. But I can't decide which I like more. The two I'm tied between are Willow and Hunter. They're just SOOO. God. I love them. Okay. I know Hunter is. Basic favorites wise, but I like him okay. He's such realistic abuse rep, realistic religious trauma rep, it's,,, man. Man. It's. God. He's just a guy who's trying so hard to be good and do the right thing that has the odds stacked against him. He's a little unhinged and not like, a perfect victim. He's mean, he drops uncomfortable details about himself not realizing he isn't supposed to, they show the messy parts of depression which is a fucking REFRESHER. Also I just. Have a thing for clones that find themselves. I have a thing for characters that grow beyond their programming. I like how they go "Actually, growing up believing you're the chosen one would, realistically, SUCK." He's also really fucking funny. He's a sad wet cat, he's an extremely complicated character, he's also a basic bitch. I love him. I want to put him in a washing machine. Fucking loser.

Tied with Willow! She's. Man. I didn't like her much at first, I just couldn't get into her. But I love her SO MUCH now. Seeing the "bullied girl gets stronger" trope except it acknowledges being bullied sticks with you for life, actually is so nice. I love how so much of her development and healing is from learning to stop repress her anger and her sadness. In her mind, people start liking her again when she's strong, so if she stops being strong NOBODY will like her. She equates half a witch Willow, being weak or sad or in anyway lacking, with losing Amity. If she isn't cool and confident, people don't want to be around her. If she slips up for a second, everyone hates her (in her mind.) She views her emotions as the remnants of "who she used to be" that ruined everything. Hell, she views Amity treating her like she's weak as treating her as who she used to be. Like half a witch Willow. Like someone who would deserve that treatment. She needs time to get used to her not being that pathetic anymore. It's INTERESTING. She's so interesting. Chews on her like a squeaky toy. She's everything to me. I love her.

12. Honestly? Difficult question. First one that pops into my mind is the "do not underestimate me" azura quoting, because god it is SUCH a Luz thing to quote her special interest as she kills the guy who wants her friends dead, love her. But what else hm. I think also Luz realizing her greatest want. It's so...man. Man. Because it explains so much about her. Why the camp hurt her so badly, why she immediately latched onto someone who seemed similar to her, why she wanted to have some set in stone path made specifically for her. It's also just such a beautiful scene. Camilia apologizing was SO FUCKING cathartic for me. Healed my inner child a little and I'm not joking. Having a parental figure apologize for trying to make their kid normal just. Healed something in me, man. It healed something in me. The egg hatching was animated so beautifully, the color scheme, Luz crying, it's so BEAUTIFUL. It's such a. Good fucking scene. Man. The neurodivergent generational trauma is so real and then breaking that....wah. Man. Hm what else. Honestly? The duet. It genuinely made me realize "oh hey if I'd die it'd probably affect people", and I know that sounds dumb but. In my defense I was really depressed when I saw that scene for the first time. It's so gorgeous visual wise, fantastic visual representation of what's going on, SO well done, the music is beautiful and always gets stuck in my head, it's just. Very memorable for me.

20. Hmmm, difficult. I think probably Willow and Amity and Hunter. Bullied kids, disabled kids, repressed rage and constant anxiety of being in an abusive household. The abandonment issues of losing a friend. It's just. A lot man. It's a lot. Yes I know this is also a cop out shh.

[malulls]

Manorian roommates au — part 3.5

Masterlist

— Good morning, cousin.

— Morning. — he murmured.

Roland chuckled, leaning against the metallic wall.

— Such a mood. What, did you fight with that delicious thing that lives with you?

Dorian's hands clenched. His body became very, very still. Not this. Not her. The awful situation in which he and Manon had met his cousin was something Dorian would like to forget. He still didn't understand how Roland had gotten out of it alive. He had handled all sort of absurdities coming from the asshole, but Manon...

— I have no idea how you do that. I would be hard all day if I had to share a house with someone with those tits.

Dorian could ignore it. He had to ignore it, otherwise he had no idea what he would do.

— But you're too good for that, right? You're friends. Maybe if I fucked that slut, she'd be a little nicer. Even better if that blonde bitch join—

Dorian stopped listening. He hadn't realized he was moving until the sound of Roland's head hitting metal echoed through the elevator. His heart was beating so fast that he thought it would rip his chest apart with just the anger. If he didn't rip his cousin first.

His hand gripped his jaw so hard that his own fingers ached, his knuckles turning white.

— Shut the fuck up.

Roland's eyes widened, filled with something that almost looked like fear. Before either of them could say anything else, before he could do anything, the doors opened. Roland pushed Dorian and quickly walked out, rubbing his chin, and entered a random hallway.

With each step the air seemed to be sucked from his lungs. His parents had always expected him to inherit that place, and there he was, doing what they wanted. As he had done all his life. And that was what he would always do, because in the end his father would win.

The more he entered, the more everything seemed like a cage. One that had spent years closing and getting smaller, and Dorian hadn't noticed until it began to suffocate him.

The desperate feeling that no matter what, the man would keep a collar around Dorian's throat hit him.

He always won.

—

— This is usually my reaction after a conversation with Aelin.

— All of this is because... ?

He didn't bother to answer. Manon blinked. Always being the stressed one made her forget that Dorian was human too.

— Work.

— Roland?

— Everything — he breathed, clenching his jaw straight after.

— What did the bastard say this time?

That surprised Manon. He had tolerated his cousin for months and months, countless times over the past two years. Whatever made him finally lose control and patience had to be serious.

— What did he do?

Dorian opened and closed his mouth a few times. When he finally looked at her, it was with an intensity that made her tense.

— Why don't you just leave?

Now she would do it herself if she ever saw the man's stupid face again. Her phone lighted up with a message from Asterin, but Manon's attention was still on Dorian. She let out something she had been wondering about for weeks.

His head fell back on the couch in a mass of messy black curls, as if he had spent the whole day thinking about it.

— I have no idea, to be honest. I think it's because I don't know what I want to do. I just took the easy way, even though nothing about this is easy. My parents would make it a living hell if I left, but I'm starting to think that it would be better to deal with that than continue there.

— You don't have to do anything, not now. Just stop for a moment. You have been working for your father long enough, we both know that you have money. — They knew, and it was no small thing. Manon wondered how many people in that place received unfair salaries, while Dorian's father paid absurd amounts to already rich people. And she knew that this had already been a reason for fighting between the two of them. — Then you figure out what you want to do.

After a long silence, he nodded.

— I guess you're right.

That was a relief. Manon didn't say it out loud, but she rested her head on his shoulder and felt him relax against her. The message from Asterin made her reach for her cell phone, as the two of them kept on without saying anything.

She found Lilith smiling at her in a picture when she opened their chat. Manon's 5 years old niece, with blonde hair like her mother's and honey-brown eyes like her father's, was smiling with an ice cream in her hand. From the orange leaves spread across the floor and the picnic table, she'd say they were in a park. Lily was perfectly balanced wearing the white fox bonnet that Dorian had given her and the "super badass" black leather gloves that were a gift from Manon.

She poked him. He raised his head and a smile slowly found a way across his face. Lily had this effect on people, being the sweet hurricane that she was. She made Manon soft.

The pretty girl in the picture will catch a cold having ice cream in the middle of autumn

She gave Dorian the phone when she finished writing.

A kiss for the most cute and powerful girl in the world- Dorian

She is too strong to catch a cold, was her argument.

Lily is sending a kiss to her aunt and UNCLE by the way

Manon rolled her eyes and Dorian smiled shamelessly. The only thing remaining was for Asterin to start calling her by his last name. He rested his head on hers.

— You don't have to apologize because your cousin is a piece of trash.

— I know, but I'm sorry about all of this anyway.

She nodded, thankful for the endless amount of audio coming into the chat to distract them both. Dorian slipped an arm around her, which left the urge to lean into him and punch him fighting inside Manon. The latter option seemed to make more sense.

She ended up doing neither.

With Lily's excited audios, soon they were laughing and playing with her, the humor from earlier replaced by something lighter. From the smile on Dorian's face, that she knew was reflected in her own, she knew that her niece was doing her magic. He, Manon realized, had the same ability to make her soft. Not that she was going to admit that, much less leave the thought too long in her head.

It didn't stop being true.

——————————

Taglist

@strawberries-and-reveries @zoyalovesbooks @whoever-you-choose-to-love @gwynkyrie @bookishwitchling @notyournymphetish @ladybookstan @witching-by-the-willow @gwynethhberdara @rubyriveraqueen

[fandom-imagines-for-days]

Pairing: Peter Parker (Tom) x Reader(Zee)

Warnings: Amnesia, crying, the big sad, Spoilers for No Way Home, that's about it.

Summary: Peter needs to say goodbye to his girlfriend Zee, Dr Strange only gave him so much time to do it, but at the moment she's too busy. He shows up later to explain the situation after telling some drunk guys to back off, promising to make her remember.

Request: Yes, @ethqnholic

________________________________

Peter said goodbye to Dr. Strange. Calling him Steve felt just as strange as calling Mr. Stark: Tony. It was wrong, and in a small way it stung. He knew it probably wouldn't happen again, since they were all going to forget him. All the love, memories, moments of joy and laughter and success would just be sucked out of the universe and destroyed. Like it never even happened. And he would be the only person to remember it. The idea alone felt like hell. Everything was falling apart at the seams, he had to do this, he needed to. It was his job as a Superhero. All this happened because everyone knew him, so… he needed to remedy that.

Unfortunately that remedy meant the people closest to him were going to look at him as a stranger. Their memories of his utter existence would be wiped from their minds faster than they could blink. In an instant their relationships would shatter.

Peter steeled himself for the inevitable. It had to be done. He put on a straight face and got to swinging across the city. A route he had travelled many times by now; nearly everyday he would go to Merlin's cafe. It was on the west end, a quiet little coffee shop that his wonderful girlfriend managed. She loved her job and he loved her. They'd been dating for three years already. The time they spent together was magical. She had Wednesdays and Fridays off, but that meant she had to work Saturdays. She didn't mind. Zee was a beautiful woman and an even better employee. Peter would come in everyday she worked and when she didn't, he would be with her at their shared apartment, making breakfast together and laughing, playing some music and dancing along playfully. Their relationship was like a breath of fresh air, a breeze on a hot day. Everything you never knew you needed until it showed up and then you couldn't live without it.

Peter's heart was heavy with emotion. He knew he didn't have long, which was why he needed to be quick. He dropped in front of the Cafe, nearly sprinting inside. He saw his stunning partner, dressed in her black uniform top and form fitting jeans, the black sneakers he had gotten her for her birthday were on. Along her golden skin were lines of jewellery, you name it she wore it. Rings, necklaces, all of it. She loved the style, it made her feel comfortable and unique, and she was. Zee was everything Peter needed. Which is why this would be so fucking hard to do.

Zee's long black hair was tied up in a messy bun, a pen stuck into it for when she needed to write notes for some customers' orders.

Unfortunately she was swamped at the moment. It felt like everybody in New York needed a bloody cup of coffee right now!

Peter hurried to the counter where she was busy making a coffee for a short haired man in a plaid shirt.

"Anything else Sir?" She asked politely. The man added a doughnut to his order.

"Zee." She turned her head to see Peter and flashed him a smile, a smile so full of love and compassion. "Afternoon Peter, I know things are super hectic right now, I can't talk, I'm sorry."

"Listen Zee this is actually really important, if I could just-"

"I'm sorry Pete, I love you, my boss will have my head if I get too behind."

"Okay, then can I please get a cup of coffee?" Zee gave him a look, one of those soft, loving expressions he was going to miss more than anything.

"Babe you cut the line, I really can't take your order, I'm so sorry. I love you, I'll be all yours when I get off okay?" Peter felt his heart break.

He needed to move all of his stuff out of the apartment before she got there. He needed to find a place to stay. And he wouldn't have any friends in the city to help him. Shit.

"I love you." He said, like a promise.

Peter left the coffee shop.

Peter Parker spent the next three hours moving all of his stuff into a storage unit a block away from their apartment… her apartment. He never thought he'd need to move out. Despite them never breaking up, this felt awfully like a goodbye. He sighed heavily and got his things secured. Once that was settled, he allowed himself the space to cry.

He climbed to the tallest building in New York, collapsed to the floor and started sobbing. Tears streamed his face as he thought about everything. He didn't have time to say goodbye to Ned, or MJ. Two of his most important friends. He cried for them, grieving their loss despite them being very much alive. He let his heart break for Ned, having his Death Star Lego ship sit on his shelf, the one that he couldn't remember who he built it with.

MJ knew something was missing when she walked out of the coffee shop that afternoon, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember what it was.

He didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to Happy either.

He felt like such a bad person. Peter tried to reason with himself that he couldn't be that bad if no one remembered who he was.

Somehow that thought just made everything worse. He cried. He sobbed and wept and held himself in a ball as he let everything he felt, the reality of the situation fully hit him.

Emptiness didn't come close to the hollow feeling he had in his chest. Words weren't good enough for that feeling, or lack thereof. He made a mental list of everything he needed to do now.

He needed to make Ned remember him. He needed to remind MJ of their friendship. And most importantly, he needed Zee to remember. Her forgetting forever just wasn't an option. She needed to remember him.

With a new plan in motion, Peter didn't feel as hopeless. He checked his phone. It was about the time that Zee would be walking home. He couldn't waste his chance. He immediately leapt off the building to find her.

Zee locked the doors of the coffee shop, making sure everything was closed, lights were off, machines were clean. Satisfied her job was done, she made her way home.

Something felt off today. Zee couldn't quite remember what it was, but it was like a number she had memorised had suddenly been smudged. A person was missing from her camera roll. It was something on the tip of her tongue that she couldn't remember.

What was she missing?

Zee followed the route she took home everyday. To her shared apartment… no that's wrong, she told herself. To her apartment, she corrected. Yeah her one, that she didn't share with anyone, because she was single.

Yeah that made sense.

Zee walked calmly but with a long stride, wanting to get home soon. Something about today made her feel awfully tired, so all she wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep until her next shift.

About ten minutes into her walk, she was stopped by the sound of a loud wolf whistle and two men shouting at her.

"Aye Mami! Can you turn around for me?" Followed by a laugh.

Zee cringed internally. She did the safest thing she could in the moment, with the sun already setting and ignored them, walking just a little bit faster to hopefully bypass them. Unfortunately they weren't taking the silence as an answer.

"Aye! You can't ignore me bitch!" He continued to yell. She heard footsteps following her. She was nearly running, terror having taken hold of her body. She needed to get home. This wasn't a good situation. They tried again, yelling more obscenities. "You think you're better than me?"

They were closer now, and she could smell the alcohol that surrounded them like a putrid cloud. She coughed at the scent and finally stopped.

"No, I don't, I just want to go home okay? I've had a long day. I'm sorry." She said, hoping this would be good enough. The men stalked in closer and Zee got ready to bolt the moment they got any closer.

Except. She didn't have to, for a man ran up from behind her and wrapped his arm around her in a protective fashion. "Hey! What are you guys doing talking to my girlfriend?" He said, loudly and firmly, taking charge of the situation. Zee felt like the statement was right but wasn't sure why.

"There you are babe, I was hoping you'd catch me here." Zee said, playing along instantly. The guys took a step back. "Yeah, leave us be." He told them, turning her around and walking with her in the direction of her apartment.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, looking back to make sure the guys had buggered off somewhere else. Zee nodded gratefully.

"Yes, I am thank you. My-" She faltered. She was about to say:

'My boyfriend normally walks me home' but had to pause. She was single.

"Thank you." She said again, clarifying. The man nodded. He was awfully attractive, short curly brown hair that seemed to fit him perfectly. His face had gentle features that accentuated the soft caramel eyes he had. Seeing him made her smile. Made her feel safe. Why?

Peter had been watching her walk home, hoping to get up enough courage to just show up and speak to her. When those two drunk guys started harassing her, he didn't have a choice. Peter couldn't just watch, he needed to protect his life partner.

She seemed comfortable around him, despite the fact that he was now a stranger in her eyes.

He made sure she was okay.

"Do I know you?" She asked, a playful smile tugging at her lips. God Peter missed that smile.

"Yeah, you did." He said. She faltered. Shit. That was the wrong thing to say.

"Uh, I'd like if we could get to know each other." He corrected himself. She smiled again. "Okay." Zee spoke, "What's your name then?"

"Peter, Peter Parker." He told her, feeling an awful sense of Deja Vu.

"Zee, it's lovely to meet you Peter." She shared in return. He smiled back.

"Can I walk you home?" He offered, hoping against all hope she would accept. Without hesitation she agreed. "That would be lovely Peter, thank you." He felt relief flood every single part of him. Hopefully this will go well.

"I promise you Zee, I'll make you remember me." He said.

The woman tilted her head to look at him. "Remember you?"

"You'll know Zee," he started, praying to any gods out there that this would work out the way he needed it to.

"When it happens you'll know." He finished, ushering her forward to keep walking home.

_________

Thank you so much for the request! I hope I did it justice!

If you have any comments, questions, or requests, feel free to inbox or message me!

Thank you for reading!❤️✨️

[asakiooi]

Staying Overtime

Sonus Hli and Masahiro Fujikawa hours

It was dim in the room with her computer being the only light source. Sonus stretches in her seat, her legs extend and then she’s suddenly at the computer again. Her fingers move to clack against the keyboard swiftly and she focuses on the charts in front of her.

The clock ticks and reverbs in her ears. The skies that were previously blue now are pitch black behind her. It was late, and she knew that if she didn’t finish her now she’d get a lecture.

It was her fault of course, she was slacking. Not because she went out of her way to avoid her responsibilities, but because she simply sucked at understanding the components of the modern world. She did her best of course, and that’s gotten her here so far. Looks like she wouldn’t be able to stay awake to find out more information about the ‘force’.

Taylor and Elwyn went home already. Shane had to stay behind as usual, but even he wasn’t allowed the leniency of visiting his fellow colleagues in the same building, being a guard and all.

Sonus looked out at the window for the 20th time this hour. She purses her lips together and groans. With a large crack she collapses on her keyboard and groans louder this time.

Then a ding echoes on the floor. With a slight jump she rises up and peeks out of her cubicle. No one there, she thinks. She can’t really see of course, her cubicle is literally at the end corner of the floor. She sits back down and slowly begins to type again, this time a bit anxiously.

She types and types, looking over at the charts and tries to wrack her head around it. The concept of this, she thought, was infuriating. Good thing she didn’t have to do this forever, because-

“The hell are you still doing here?”

Sonus jumps in her seat again and yelps. She frantically looks around then finally finds a tall man standing next to her cubicle wall. His glasses glint from her screen light and his blond hair illuminates in her eyes.

’Fucks sake, it’s Masahiro.’

“Well?” He said impatiently.

“… I was just finishing up work, sir.” Sonus said without a hint of feeling.

Masahiro looks over at her screen and squints. His face immediately turns into that of a wrinkled egg, and he scoffs.

“With those kinds of stats? How the hell you even managed to get a place here surprises me.” He says with a menacing sigh and shakes his head.

“Is there something wrong with my stats, sir?” Sonus asked with a bit of annoyance.

Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, she shouldn’t be raising an attitude with a higher up after all. And besides, this one in particular loved to fire people.

Masahiro glances over at the screen and back to Sonus.

“Yeah. A lot.” Masahiro walks behind her and then stays silent.

“…”

“…”

“Then… can you help me figure out where the mistakes are, sir?” Sonus asks.

She didn’t know whether it was the overworking part of him wanting to get shit done or if he genuinely just wasn’t in the mood for fucking around, but she was surprised when he hovered over her closely and put a spare hand on her desk.

With an exasperated sigh he goes on to point out her mistakes and makes a comment whenever she makes another one in his presence. Occasionally he would lift up his finger to point out a stat and put it back down, which she noted. It was a sign. That he was willing to help her out and stay behind a little longer.

Eventually they both cleared out her messy chart and finally Sonus turned off her computer and began gathering her things. Masahiro stood tall once again and began walking off when Sonus called out to him.

“Thank you, sir.” She said with a bit of hesitance. She knew this man wasn’t the type to indulge in kindness or anything else positive for the matter. But nonetheless she tried.

Masahiro stops in his tracks. Then he walks again, this time he waves up his right hand with a motion and puts it back down. He acknowledged her.

He walks into the darkness with a ding in the distance and everything is quiet again. Sonus finishes up packing up her papers and begins to leave as well.

…

Masahiro walks onto the entrance floor. His belongings in his arm and keys ready in his hands. He silently strides out of the building with a masculine voice following behind him granting him a good night.

Shane stands closely and sniffs the air. He looks confused for a moment as Masahiro leaves but then returns to his usual stoic look. A ding is heard from the inside of the building and Shane looks in. Sonus is walking towards the entrance and spots him. She smiles then walks a little faster.

Shane waves and gives back a smaller smile. As Sonus finally makes it out of the building he asks her about her work. Sonus complains about not understanding charts while she talks to Shane, she waves her hand around in a dramatic manner and he chuckles.

During her parade he gets a whiff of a familiar fragrance and again contorts his face into confusion. Suddenly his mind flashes to Masahiro and he stops mid track.

Shane’s eyes switch to confusion, then to surprise, then to confusion again.

“Hello? Shane, you there?” Sonus asks while waving her hand in his face.

Shane snaps back to reality then blinks for a couple of moments. He looks to Sonus who is concerned and coughs a little. With a little nod he tells her to continue.

They both walk off together back to his car and as he’s about to get in he spots Masahiro in his. Shane stares. Masahiro stares.

Shane fucking cringes and visibly makes a face where his lips extend into his cheeks, neither upwards or downwards. Oh god, Shane thought. He’s gonna get the wrong idea.

[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.