#catras 20 its ok when i do it

[chronicsyd]

Me: No! Possessed Hunter is NOT “hot!” That’s a 16 year old Child being possessed by their Abuser for gods sake! 

Also me: Simps over Chipped Catra... 

[fencesandfrogs]

“i love you”: ambiguity in media

spoilers for she-ra. the entire show. especially the last season. but if you don’t care i’ve also added context. so it’s not mandatory watching.

spacer gif for spoilers. also cause its cute.

okay so i’m still thinking about the scene where glimmer says, “i love you,” and bow kisses her on the temple, and it’s just the cutest thing and my heart says “squee”.

i wrote something about gay media & the necessary differences in gay tales and ATM it has not been posted bc i routinely shuffle my queue but the basic thesis of it is: gay romance stories are inherently different from straight ones, because it is impossible to separate them from homophobia. and i kind of ran into a wall writing it because homophobia is really hard to ignore on earth because its omnipresent and it dramatically affects gay youth growing up.

and then i watched she-ra, which has lesbians*, in case you didn’t know, and also basically zero homophobia.

*also gays, but the titular character is a lesbian, so.

which damn, was very refreshing. like. yeah. sign me up for that.

so. adora and catra are adorable lesbians w/ shared traumatic experiences and their character arcs are interesting and wonderful and there’s a lot of great analysis of that already and here’s one that sums it up better than i ever could: 

love that. they’re adorable. i love them.

bow & glimmer are also best friends who get together at the end of the show & have a lot of parallels to catra and adora minus the trauma and also including crushing weights of responsibility.

uhh so catra & glimmer both make a mistake at one point during the show that basically irreparably wrecks the world and requires sacrifice of life to solve. adora is the intended sacrifice each time but this isn’t about adora, i just want to give context for this.

so catra has the explanation of trauma and the scared behaviors of a traumatized teen. like. she makes mistakes for an understandable reason. again. not about her. just giving context.

glimmer on the other hand basically throws a fit that her friends have other friends. i mean. glimmer has problems but her mistakes are not like, “you know if you were raised in a loving home this prob wouldn’t have happened” because she was raised in a loving home. it’s more like “you know if you didn’t become queen at age, like, 17, this probably wouldn’t have happened.”

(side note, i don’t know how old the characters in she-ra are. i read them as 15-17 in the beginning of the series and 18-20 by the end, and i’m just not really sure. because you know, cartoons & child soldiers do not accurate age placing make. catra and adora’s arc speaks to me ages 15-18ish because that is when i had a similar arc.

according to the wiki adora starts around 17 and ends around 20. which is w/in my own estimations i’m just commenting.)

right so glimmer apologizes to bow and is all “look you don’t have to forgive me, i don’t have a right to that, but i’m not going to stop trying to earn your forgiveness,” and bow, well, he says “okay”

and. you know. i feel that.

(more side notes: i, age 17ish, broke up w my boyfriend. for reasons. we got back together. for other reasons. repairing the bond of trust is hard. because i was not secure that he loved me, and he was not secure that i wouldn’t leave if something went wrong. so you know. i feel glimmer, here.

yes, she made a mistake and no, she does not have a right to forgiveness. but she’s also a kid, who has had one friend for her entire life, and is only just beginning to learn how to share friends, and she thinks she lost him, and that desperation and rejection is painful. she was lashing out, and she never intended this to happen.)

so glimmer & bow throughout the show have romantic tension, but in a soft way. in a, bow goes to a ball with someone else and glimmer gets jealous but it’s also directly stated she’s jealous because she’s sharing her friend way.

plus there’s a scene that definitely has some strong glimmer x adora vibes is what i’m saying

it’s not this specific scene but idk what to search for to find it & i’m not fighting w tumblr to include external images again i’ve been hurt before.

anyway.

so when glimmer says, “i love you,” my heart pounds in a new way, because what does she mean by that? does she love him?

and at some point in this adora has a fantasy future where bow and glimmer are together & it’s adorable but i’m mentioning to explicitly say that it’s not relevant because bow and glimmer r def not together before this moment.

anyway bow kisses glimmer on the forehead and my heart go “thumpthumpthumpthumpthump” real real fast and it’s cute and i text my boyfriend a bunch of hearts because that’s what i do when i see cute couples i’m a soft gay nerd.

and the thing is? i’m also thinking, “wow there is so much ambiguity” there.

and then. i realized. this is why gay romance is fundamentally different. because american culture is not very touch-y, especially across gendered lines.

& i have a very physically affectionate family. i will cuddle the homies. i will kiss them on the temple. (ok i won’t do that bc my boyfriend would not like that n i respect that it’s legit i kiss him on the temple instead. mb i’ll write about boundaries in relationships where people have different understandings of physical affection.) so like? did not occur to me before to discuss this.

but there’s a huge ambiguity in gay romance. it’s hard to write gay romance that’s explicitly gay (especially wlw since men r less affectionate & more stereotyped in media imo and that’s another discussion but there’s a reason i’m focusing on catra and adora in she-ra’s gay relationships) without slapping a huge “THEY’RE LESBIANS, HAROLD” on it, so like.

yeah. it does get a label.

& i mean. she-ra is the big gay. it could have gone hard queer baiting, but even if that was a possibility, adora and catra are too hard-coded to Love Love each other. they have a best friends to rivals (to enemies) to lovers thing going on, it’s hard to miss. there is no doubt in my mind what catra means when she tells adora she loves her.

this is from before the confession and just. look at them. they are gay.

& meanwhile glimmer and bow have the soft affection, the feelings which could be read either way.

objectively the same hold, but he’s saving her life. catra leaps into adora’s arms, bow catches her. (after he just caught her before:

& it does not escape my attention that bow was the one who caught her from the void of space, not the stronger & arguably better adora/she-ra.

okay so bow & glimmer = adorable, and i’m v happy they got together. but it was an interesting application of tropes in that i don’t think you could tell this romance in a very different context. it just. it doesn’t work right. 

i think glimmer & bow end up a will they/won’t they couple in a different context. and that works, yeah, but that’s the point. gay tropes r just...different.

and it’s really hard to switch them because you kind of need a fantasy world where physical affection is much more common and we don’t have the baggage of gender in friendships.

just for fun, here’s one last couple. mermista and seahawk. i’m not gonna spend a long time on them i just wanted to say maybe i’m gay but it took me until season five to realize they’re together and i think they’ve been together the whole show. 

& i think that’s because she-ra does a really good job at depicting the post-homophobia, post-sexism universe. (sexism plays a big part in all this ik i didn’t talk about it but some other time)

so you get the opportunity to have these fantastic stories of relationships through new lenses. & i appreciate that. i appreciate getting to have a “he’s my friend” (i love him) “he’s mine” character moment with a new kind of angst. (glimmer: the gay, who loves her best friend but also loves her best friend, vs glimmer: the hypothetical straight, who loves her best friend, and her best friend loves her. the difference is subtle but it’s there.)

anyway yeah a lot of words. forehead kisses kill me because i have a weak, gay, heart. uhhhh media & tropes & telling explicitly gay romances requires us to be able to shake around what role friendship plays in the relationship arc, and something we’re not entirely up for yet, as a culture.

i leave u with this bc no one has made a gif of their actual kiss

[aion-rsa]

Tumblr’s Top Fandoms of 2020

https://ift.tt/37LLRPI

It’s been a weird and often devastating year, and our social media has reflected that. Tumblr has just released its top fandoms of 2020 and it’s fascinating to see how a year of pandemic and quarantine has affected transformative fandom and broader cultural trends. In a year when almost everyone spent a lot more time at home, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was the most blogged about topic on the social media platform, followed by animated dramedy Steven Universe, Belgian SKAM adaptation WtFOCK, K-pop supergroup BTS, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. We talked to Tumblr’s Trend Expert Amanda Brennan about how she interpreted the biggest trends of the year, how this was a big year for animation and international media, and why 2020 was the year everyone stopped worrying about what was cool and just embraced what they love. But, first, some 2020 Tumblr statistics:

Top 20 of 2020 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Steven Universe

wtFOCK

BTS

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Artists on Tumblr

Critical Role

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Boku No Hero Academia

Black Lives Matter

Pokémon

COVID-19

The Witcher

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

The Magnus Archives

Reylo Rey & Kylo Ren, the Star Wars universe

RWBY

Sanders Sides

Catradora Catra & Adora, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Zuko | Avatar: The Last Airbender

Top 25 Ships 

Rey & Kylo Ren, the Star Wars universe (m/f)

Catra & Adora, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (f/f)

Richie Tozier & Eddie Kaspbrak, It (m/m)

Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier, The Witcher (m/m)

Aziraphale & Crowley, Good Omens (m/m)

Zuko & Sokka, Avatar: The Last Airbender (m/m)

Luz Noceda & Amity Blight, The Owl House (f/f)

Kara Danvers & Lena Luthor, Supergirl (f/f)

Park Jimin & Jeon Jungkook, BTS (m/m)

Dean Winchester & Castiel, Supernatural (m/m)

Live Action TV

Wtfock

The Witcher

The Mandalorian

Good Omens

Skam France

The Umbrella Academy

Doctor Who

Supernatural

The Untamed

Killing Eve

Animated TV

Steven Universe

Avatar: The Last Airbender

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

The Owl House

Invader Zim

Ducktales

The Dragon Prince

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Gravity Falls

TV Characters

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Zuko

Catra

Jaskier

Sokka

Adora | She-Ra

Geralt Of Rivia

Katara

Aang

Crowley

Aziraphale

Movies

Frozen

The Old Guard

Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker

Birds Of Prey

Twilight

Hamilton

Little Women

Parasite

Sonic Movie

Lord of the Rings

Movie Characters

Kylo Ren

Harley Quinn

Bucky Barnes

Batman

Steve Rogers

Tony Stark

Rey

Spinel

Peter Parker

Richie Tozier

Actors

Chris Evans

Henry Cavill

Sebastian Stan

Adam Driver

Tom Holland

Pedro Pascal

John Boyega

Robert Pattinson

Tom Hiddleston

Timothee Chalamet

Actresses

Katie Mcgrath

Jodie Comer

Daisy Ridley

Margot Robbie

Zendaya

Lili Reinhart

Naya Rivera

Brie Larson

Florence Pugh

Jodie Whittaker

Books

Harry Potter

Percy Jackson & the Olympians

Warrior Cats

The All for the Game series

Pride And Prejudice

Midnight Sun

The Secret History

The Raven Cycle series

Carry On

Six Of Crows

Authors of Books

J.K. Rowling

Rick Riordan

Erin Hunter

Nora Sakavic

Jane Austen

Stephenie Meyer

Donna Tartt

Maggie Stiefvater

Rainbow Rowell

Leigh Bardugo

Video Games

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Among Us

Pokemon Sword And Shield

Undertale

Minecraft

Sims 4

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Danganronpa

Overwatch

Persona 5

Video Games Characters

Obey Me Lucifer

Obey Me Mammon

Tom Nook

Link

Sans

Cloud Strife

Dandelion

Kirby

Raihan

Arthur Morgan

Animal Crossing Villagers

Raymond

Marshal

Poppy

Fauna

Julian

Claude

Marina

Stitches

Bob

Ankha

Anime & Manga

Boku no Hero Academia

Haikyuu!!

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Beastars

Naruto

Mo Dao Zu Shi

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

One Piece

Fruits Basket

19 Days

Anime & Manga Characters

Midoriya Izuku

Bakugou Katsuki

Dabi

Wei Wuxian

Aizawa Shouta

Hawks

Todoroki Shouto

Kirishima Eijirou

Lan Wangji

Levi Ackerman

And, now, our chat with Brennan. (This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.)

Den of Geek: I’ve heard you refer to the users as the Tumblr hive-mind or the orchid, whatever it is. I was just hoping you could generally talk about what the Tumblr hive-mind is to you? Which is the way of saying, who uses Tumblr generally? And how and why? If you can even extrapolate those things. Go!

Amanda Brennan: Most of our audiences is Gen Z; it’s at 48%. Our new user registration with Gen Z is even higher; I’m pretty sure it’s 60%. These are people who come to Tumblr because they love something so much they just want to share that love with people who love it as much as they do. I know that feels like a giant umbrella, but that’s the thing: Tumblr is what you make of it. If you love sports, sports Tumblr is intense hockey Tumblr, so good. If you love TV, you’ll have all of that. K-pop Tumblr, totally amazing. Furby Tumblr is off the hook and they make these incredible creations. I’ve recently gotten into Stained Glass Tumblr.

There’s layers upon layers. No matter what you love, there’s something on Tumblr for you. That’s both the easiest thing and the hardest thing about it. You have to go in being like, “Alright, I’m so into this thing, what does Tumblr have for me?” It’s not like the other social media networks, right? It’s really about what you love rather than who you know.

Yeah, I like that. I did want to ask you specifically about the process of how you track trends and how you make decisions about what to track?

We built the whole taxonomy that powers fandom metrics based on what Tumblr talks about. I’m a librarian, as you know, and I kind of reverse engineered it. My first year in review at Tumblr in 2013, they handed me a spreadsheet and they’re like, ‘OK, go to town.” So I was like, “Cool, let me pull out the threads that I see.” We really let the data tell us how to analyze it, if that makes sense. So when it comes to what we track, I have a running notebook that I’ve kept all year of the things that I’ve wanted to have in year in review.

The Witcher has been on my list since it came out. Animal Crossing has been another one. The Old Guard had a huge moment. I was just writing notes, like, “Oh, what is this thing? And we’ll keep an eye on it.” I have an amazing team. We all are into our own pieces of Tumblr. So we’ll all work together to just keep an eye on different fandoms. I don’t know if you know about Minecraft YouTuber fandom?

Yeah. I was actually listening to the latest Fansplaining last night and they mentioned it in that. I was just like, “OK, a new thing.” There’s always a new thing to learn about.

There’s always a new thing. That’s the beauty of Tumblr. It’s so fluid in fandom. You can go from one fandom to another and then you’ll see like, “Ooh, what is this thing?” I’ve got Supernatural on the brain, as who in the fandom doesn’t right now. [This interview was recorded on the day of the Supernatual series finale.] I was telling someone, the whole reason I got into Supernatural was because I saw a gif from the show on Tumblr and I was like, “What is happening? Let me go back and watch this entire series.” That’s the vibe of Tumblr, right? You see a thing and you’re like, “Oh, I need to know everything about that.”

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Hmm. Yeah, for sure. I was interested in talking to you or getting your insight into how trends you saw or data you saw that were maybe tied to the very unique experience of being in the middle of a pandemic.

Yeah. I was looking back at the predictions that I had made last year and like four of those things didn’t even come out. It was just so unexpected. There’s two things that we really saw tied to the pandemic. The first was “cottagecore” as an aesthetic. It kind of touched everything because it’s soothing, it feels comfortable. In March and April in the early days, when you didn’t know what to do, you’re stuck in a forest isolation. Cottagecore has got this vibe of chosen isolation. It was very fantasy-driven and something to reach out for.

That evolved also into nostalgia. I think this year’s really big theme is nostalgia and comfort. We saw huge returns to fandoms like Twilight and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Avatar going on Netflix was such a world-breaking moment. Not only did it introduce a new, younger fandom to the show, there’s a lot of Avatar content once you get into it, but it brought people back to a younger time in their lives. Remembering and rewatching. The Avatar fandom, as you see, it’s all over all of the lists. Zuko is number 20 on all of the things on Tumblr this year. Avatar was able to redefine people’s year. Because you know what, we’re all at home, I’m going to binge Avatar. Reignite my love for this fandom.

A lot of TV too, because TV is episodic, you get lost in it. Movies had a really rough year. When we look at the movies, movies like Megamind were trending this year. That comfort movie that you go back and watch 17 times.

Yeah. I was curious about that too. The balance or proportions between older fandoms and newer fandoms, like the Avatar example. I was curious how much that changed this year? How much you thought it was tied to the pandemic? How much is tied to accessibility and things, like Avatar coming to Netflix? Do you think that is an interest in older fandoms? Or that it’s going to continue past the pandemic?

Yeah. I think another high-level theme of this year is the rejection of cringe culture. I’m getting a little ahead of myself, but I’ll tie it all back in. I think people are realizing what their values are and not being afraid to admit that they like a thing. Not caring what other people think of the things they like. Unabashedly loving the things they love. That’s why I think we do see a resurgence in these older fandoms.

Because people who may have loved them their whole lives, or may have been nervous to share that they liked it when they were younger they’re not afraid anymore. They’re like, “You know what? Twilight, it’s not that great, but I love it. This is my emotional support vampire.” Recognizing that you can be critical of something. You can see where its flaws are, but you can still love it. That duality of fandom is something that is going to persist into next year. That freedom to just like a thing, because you like it. Be able to see its flaws, but still be like, “You know what? Overall, this brings me joy and the world is melting down.”

I’m on board with that mission, that plan for 2021. I did want to ask about the role of non-English language media, especially live action stuff. Generally because I was someone who fell into The Untamed this year, but I saw that there were two SKAM remakes as well that are on the top 10. In general, have you seen over your time at Tumblr, and maybe especially in the past few years, an increase in non-English language content? Do you think that is mostly English speakers and Americans being more open to that or being able to find it easier? Or do you think it’s also an influx of people from outside the United States coming to Tumblr? Or both?

Interesting. The data that we work with is actually stripped of all user information. I don’t really have an insight into where these people are coming from. I do think that users in general are more open to content in any language. Tumblr is more interested in characters than where the story comes from. Thinking about The Untamed, it’s just such a compelling story, it doesn’t matter if you have to read subtitles.

To parallel it to something in major pop culture, Parasite. People are becoming more open to just watching content because it’s good. SKAM is really fascinating to me because the number one live action show is wtFOCK. Then, I think two years ago, 2018, the original SKAM was number one at some point. This show really transcends language barriers. It transcends geographical barriers. At the core, the story of the teenagers is just so relatable to anyone. We’ve seen lots of translation happening and not just into English. Translation of SKAM into other languages, just because people want more of these characters and their iterations, no matter what locale they’re based in. I’m waiting for some professor to have a class on it, because it’s so fascinating to me.

I also wanted to ask about how you thought the election cycle affected Tumblr this year, if there were any trends or data that you were like, “Yes, of course this is what people were doing on Tumblr this year.”

Tumblr has always had this backbone of social justice. This year, it came out stronger and in more force. No matter what fandom you were in or interests, everyone I know on Tumblr was participating in sharing social justice stuff. Even politics, if they weren’t from the US, those kinds of memes that were like, “I feel for you”. The way that fandoms do. I see your show is ending and I’m sorry.

The one thing that Tumblr really had leading up to the election was such an appreciation for the postal service. Especially Gen Z, their world is so much larger due to digital connection. Mail order, just as well as sending letters and keeping in touch with your digital friends is just as important as keeping in touch with your IRL friends. All of the artists on Tumblr, so many of them turn to mail order to replace cons. This is their livelihood. By the time the fall hit and the postal service was having all these issues, people are ready to jump in. There were the Transformers dressed like mail people.

https://morethanmeetstheass.tumblr.com/post/626466946047705088/i-completely-forgot-to-post-this-guy-here-this-is

There were all these comments like “support your postal workers,” “support the USPS.” It really boils down to the fact that we are all connected and the mail service is something in the US that connects everyone. Even overseas. Supporting these artists whose livelihood went from IRL to online and having to deal with all of this.

And the “Super Putin Election.” The confluence of those elements. I was just surfing on my personal computer and I was on Tumblr and I saw a post being like “Destiel’s canon.” I’m like, “Excuse me?” I immediately texted my team. I was like, “Open up your work computers, let’s go.”

It’s time.

We all signed on trying to figure out what’s going on and watching the numbers. That, to me, is thrilling. I said this to someone else, but it felt like the night of The Dress. To have that moment where everyone on the internet is feeling the energy. The things that kept getting layered on top of it. Putin and Sherlock and all the anime mysteries. It was breakneck speed, and it was really thrilling just to be in that moment, and so Tumblr.

I did want to ask you about an increase in animated fandom and potentially anime fandom. A lot of these things I’m anecdotally or just observing things in my own little corner of the internet. It just seems like animation and anime, probably at least partially because Netflix has accumulated a much larger anime collection and seems to be investing in these sorts of things. Have you seen that increase? Could you talk about it, if so?

It plays into what we were talking about earlier, twofold. That nostalgia vibe, the late nineties anime vibe, that art style. Also your comfort zone and being open to more stuff just because it’s good. Not worrying about reading subtitles and stuff like that. But anime in general had a huge year. Haikyū!! ending also transposed into other fandoms because that moment of the final panels, it brings people together. People being so excited to see this massive thing come to a close. You might not be familiar with Haikyū!! in general, but you’ll see the fanart and be like, “Oh, I feel that.” It’s the emotion of it.

The popularity of Avatar did also open people’s doors to like, “Oh, well, what else can I watch? What else do I want to learn about”? Boku No Hero was consistently on our Week In Review every week. BEASTARS is another Netflix anime that’s at the top. Then Mo Dao Zu Shi, thinking about The Untamed, the story of Mo Dao Zu Shi is so fascinating. I don’t think I can name another piece of content that has that storyline. People are just ready to take it all on.

I did want to ask you, I think you’ve probably talked about some of these already, but what were some of the biggest fandom moments for you on Tumblr this year?

Oh boy. So many things going canon. Catradora was a huge, huge moment. I cried watching that. The Witcher, Jaskier, introducing this whole new world to Henry Cavill. I saw a post yesterday that was like once Superman was goth, a lot more people realize that he’s hot. Repurposing and looking at things in a new way. Among Us, so huge. There is a user who is doing a comic about White and Pink being in love. She’s giving them lore. She’s giving them backstory, personalities. It is amazing.

Unus Annus, I am not very into streamers, but I’ve caught some of those videos. When they had their final stream, I was tuning in. I was like, “Are you really going to delete the channel?” Then they did. Just watching the fans have that moment, even though I am not in that fandom, it was wonderful so meaningful.

Harry Potter being taken by the fans. Fans own Harry Potter now, and that’s what matters. The Old Guard also came out of nowhere and really blew Tumblr away. The Immortal Husbands. I love that ship. I’ve got to touch on almost all of the places, MCR, My Chemical Romance. Those fans have woken up and they didn’t get their tour, but they will. They’re not going to sleep until they do.

Because we maybe all have Supernatural on the brain, to a certain extent. I’m just curious how you think, that show’s been on for 15 years. The fandom has gone through literal generations. How do you think the fandom is going to change?

There’s always going to be a supernatural gif for everything. People will continue gifing it. It’s going to surpass what it is and it’s going to become that comfort show. This is a personal anecdote, but when I go to the dentist, every single time supernatural is on. It’s just like, “Oh, I get to watch my boys while I’m getting my teeth cleaned. That’s good.” It’s always going to be there. It’s always going to be there for people when they need it the most. We’re going to see a lot more fan creations. People love these boys, men now they’re adults. People love these characters. I haven’t watched this season. I am going to watch the finale tonight. I’m going in almost cold. I know that a lot of fan favorites have returned. My prediction for Supernatural fandom going forward is seeing these side stories come through in fanfiction even more than they already do. Lots more Charlie. That’s personal of mine because I love her.

I don’t think you’re alone in this.

Yeah. Who doesn’t love Charlie? Seeing these smaller characters come out and just shine in their own fan works, more so than the world might’ve provided them in canon.

It feels dangerous to make fandom predictions based on what happened this year, but if you have any predictions and or hopes for the coming year in terms of Tumblr and fandom?

Where we’re at now and going forward, it’s all about true authenticity. Screw what people think. We’re rejecting our old ways of thinking. We’re about flipping perspectives and forgetting what you thought was important in exchange for what you truly love. 2020 has helped us all figure out what our values at our core are. It’s about choosing something that makes you happy, that supports you, and your people. Choosing the happiness of those around you and making sure that you’re fighting for the goodness in life. Which sounds really sugar sweet, but one of the things, again, that I love about Tumblr is it is about putting people first based on the things they love. That’s what I see happening.

Explore the rest of Tumblr’s Year in Review lists here, and let us know what your biggest 2020 fandoms were in the comments below.

The post Tumblr’s Top Fandoms of 2020 appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3lPIRa9

[silluuuu]

1, 7, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 30 (putting you on blast lmao), 31, 37, 38 (ill let you pick just gimme the headcanons!), 40, 41, 49, 50

aer i love u LOL thank u for this gift. my brain is very wrung-sponge this morning so will have to answer the hc questions later 2day but i will answer the rest now. LOTS OF SPOILERS AHEAD!:

1. Who is your favorite character in the show? ok i have two answers for this, and both of them feel like they’re everyone’s answer but i can’t help it, these are my feelings!!!

objectively: catra. i love her story arc SO! MUCH! i thought it was done so well and she’s been through so much and i’m so proud of her. subjectively: adora. she is my people, i identify with her so much and she is so special to me and i will elaborate on this in #7 lol.

7. Do any characters remind you of yourself? Do you share any traits with a character? adora, 100%. she is Anxious and has such high standards for herself and takes responsibility for so much when she doesn’t have to!!! she’s been taught basically since birth to please others, to shoulder blame, to rise to others’ expectations, to be infallible - yeah, that all resonates with me a lot, haha.

23. Favorite episode? Corridors, hands down. if i had 24 minutes and 7 seconds to live, that is what i would watch. i wish i were exaggerating!! special shoutout to save the cat and white out as well. i can watch those episodes at ANY TIME, in ANY LIFE.

24. Did you cry at any point watching She Ra? the first time i watched, i only cried once - when mara says “you’re worth more than what you can give to other people; you deserve love too”. it felt like she was talking to me thru the screen and i just lost it. when i re-watch, i cannot watch Promise without crying. i didn’t Understand how important that episode was the first time, and now every time i watch, i cannot deal!!

26. Are there any characters you don’t like/find annoying? listen. i literally love them all. some are definitely more fleshed out than others, but i can honestly say i love every single one of these dummies with my whole heart. well. obviously i hate shadow weaver because like, she sucks. but as a character, i enjoy her immensely.

27. Are there any characters that you didn’t like at first but now you do? YES. seahawk!!! swiftwind!!! i didn’t properly appreciate mermista until season 4 (a tru crime).

28. Does Swift Wind deserve rights? listen, swiftwind redeemed himself in my eyes from that one scene where he imitates shadow weaver. shit was hilarious!!!

30. How many times have you watched She Ra? ... LISTEN. 😂 okay, so i’ve watched the entire show, beginning to end, about 6 times. three times by myself, three times with friends. my favorite episodes, tho? i’ve probably watched corridors/save the cat more than 20 times, at this point. listen. we know i have a problem. i have accepted this about myself.

37. Do you have any unpopular thoughts/opinions about She Ra? my most unpopular opinion is probably the fact that i love every single character, LOL. 40. Why do you like She Ra? it’s just... it’s so special to me. i guess i’ll split this into objective and subjective again, haha. objectively: the way the show discusses abuse, toxic friendships, its allegories to religion and guilt, the idea that you can make mistakes over and over and still, finally, after everything you’ve done, choose to be better? *chefs kiss*. there are so many important, nuanced messages in the show that people of all ages need to hear, and it’s BEAUTIFUL. also, the representation, duh. and the characters are hilarious and layered and charming and genuinely so incredible to me. subjectively: catra in a suit, catra’s outfit in season 4, catr-- ok i’m kidding (i’m not kidding) but the show also just perfectly jives with my brand of humor - a little dumb, a little tongue-in-cheek, i don’t know how to explain it. i just feel like, every emotion when i watch it, and it makes me feel a little more alive or something. 41. What do you not like about She Ra? i wanted/needed just a little bit more of some plotlines!!! my one major letdown from the show is the resolution on catra and scorpia’s relationship (give us a proper reconciliation, you cowards!!! scorpia deserved better!!!) i would have killed for a full 25-minute epilogue episode. speaking of scorpia, where are scorpia’s moms!?!?! also what the heck is going on with entrapta’s family? we got so much great development with bow and glimmer’s families, i just want more for the rest of the princesses!!! i know there’s only so many episodes but!!!! i need more!!!

49. What character is underrated? omg, easiest answer on this list for me. perfuma!!! her growth in the show is so under the radar, but the fact that she goes from treating vulnerability as a weakness in s1 to seeing vulnerability as her biggest strength in s5???? incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular-- 50. What character is overrated? i understand that this answer is a cop-out, but: i love these stupid humans (also some non-humans) so much. i am the one doing the overrating. none of them are overrated. they are all perfectly-rated and this is the hill i will die on 😂 thank u so much aer, u are the best LOL

[pktsundere-archive]

im surprised no one is cancelling shit over the fact that entrapta literally owned slaves

i’m not at all saying kids shows should be demonised for having narratives that would be terrible in real life (if that were the case literally every overexaggerated kids show would be cancelled because they all feature brutal fucking murder) but the fact that y’all have a breakdown about catra scratching adora once and calling out this fictional relationship for being toxic, or calling fictional characters controlling another fictional character with a leash abliest because yeah it would be in real life but then brush off stuff like idk ficitonal slavery feels like y’all are just finding problems when you want them. like sure enjoy kids shows, i sure as hell do, just don’t pick them apart because its uhhh fuckin fiction??? like kids aren’t gonna see entrapta being pulled by the hair for walking into an enemy base and then go ‘oh haha entrapta is autistic coded which means it’s ok for me to tug on my autistic classmate’s hair’ they’re gonna enjoy the exaggerated content like a normal human. and you spop crits should too. media is not direct reality (sure it can affect reality but in this case like no it doesnt). like so many of you are so angry. but of all the kids shows that can teach the wrong lessons to kids you pick on spop?? if you’re like over the age of 20 and you’re analysing a piece of media that’s aired on a kids cartoon channel just to find flaws that you’ll label with something like ‘sexist’ or ‘abliest’ that are usually used for pretty horrible people, get a life. go outside. or at least get something a little more productive to do, like i don’t know, actual activism. if you care so much you’d focus on the actual problems and not on a kids show

[jasperwocky]

Gayest moments of She-Ra S2

ok so season 3 fucked me UP so heres a gayest moments list from a HAPPY season to continue the series (4 months after the season premiered),,, enjoy,,,

20. swift wing being Extra™. its just,, gay

19. when ur an evil babey >:3c

18. glimmer making puns,,,,, iconic. 

and mentoring a Young Child in making puns? Equally Iconic,,,,.

17. the INCREDIBLE brat energy of catra here im just saying

16. the inherent homoeroticism of battling your rival

number fifteen,, burger king foot lettuce,,

entrapta said be gay do crime

14. permista rights !!!!

13. idk this entire thing with glimmer was just... gay,,

12. Bow’s Dads!!! Being Casually Affectionate !!!!!!! 

11. lance’s sparkLES !!!!!!!!!!!!!

plus bOWS SPARKLES (he gets it from his dad)

10. ,,, :3 i lov scorpia,,, :’3

9. seahawk advising scorpia is wlw/mlm solidarity (seahawk is a bicon dont @ me)

8. catra realizing that scorpia really cares abt her :3

7. scorpia being GAY when catra left her in charge of the fortress (what did we do to deserve this angel that is claws gorl)

plus protective !!! shes great,,

6. ........ uh,,, ma’am,,,,  thats gay,,,,,

5. scorpia trying to ask catra out :,(

AND CATRA IGNORES HER >>>>>:(

4. no explanation im just gay and i like it

3. god herself said sCORPTRA RIGHTS (scorpia calling catra wildcat !!! <3)

2. glimmadora hours lads

1. tbh in all seriousness this was just very sweet and heartfelt and even though bow is just saying hes a rebellion fighter, it just resonated with me and my experiences with being lgbt+, so i just wanted to include this because it made me happy :3

Bonus: my favorite screencaps from the season

[allthethingamabobs]

thank you for the tag @surprisegents! i’ve been dealing with some insomnia lately, so this was a fun distraction. :)

1. Name: nikki

2: Gender: she/her/comfortable with being a gal who doesn’t really follow stereotypical gender norms anyway

3. Star sign: cancer

4. Height: 5′9″

5. Time: 1:38am (like i said.......)

6. Birthday: july 13

7. Favorite band(s): my music tastes are all over the place, so i’d judge this by who i’d like to see/have seen live. it’s a mix between old alt bands and indie rock like all time low, paramore, the score, the oh hellos, the lumineers, and fall out boy. god i miss live shows. 

8. Favorite solo artist(s): ohhh now for this one i’ve got so many that really show my genre range cause it’d be lizzo, hozier, dua lipa, kacey musgraves, and on and on.

9. Song stuck in my head: driver’s license got to me and now i can’t stop singing it.

10. Last Movie: ocean’s eight i believe? gotta love heist movies. and women.

11. Last show: titans because i was so obsessed with the teen titans cartoon, and i wanted to see what this live version is all about. it’s not great, but they’re doing ok on the found family vibes so i’ll probably watch the second season.

12. When did you make this account: i’m pretty sure it was right around pottermore beta invitations being sent out?? so summer of 2011 if i remember correctly.

13. What do I post: lots of funny text posts, writing/book stuff, some evergreen fixations when i remember them, and then mostly whatever show or movie i’m obsessing about so it’s currently a lot of mandalorian.

14. What is the last thing you googled: “black veins book” because i was at barnes and noble for the first time in 9 months to buy some books for myself and my friends’ kiddo.

15. Other blogs: i’ve only got my miraculous ladybug sideblog (miraculousandcute) that is pretty much dead because i started to lose interest in the direction of the show. 

16. Do I get asks: i never got a whole lot on this account (the ml sideblog was a different story because i got into the show in its early tumblr fandom phase), but there would be the occasion one back when i was more active. it’s pretty dead now lol.

17. Why did I choose this url: it’s a mix of thingamabobs for the little mermaid, my fav disney movie, and all the things for that meme that was super popular in like high school lol. i haven’t changed this username at all because it just encompasses everything and i am lazy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

18. Following: 532 and i’m sure a large majority of them are on hiatus now because my dash isn’t obnoxiously busy.

19. Followers: 270 

20. Average hours of sleep: i was actually getting a decent 7 hours and then it was election month in the u.s. and i haven’t known peace since.

21. Lucky number: 13 ✌️

22. Instruments: i don’t play any of these anymore but i used to know piano and clarinet.

23. What am I wearing: black yoga pants and a gray crop top.

24. Dream job: i do not dream of labor~ but in reality we all know it’s gonna take a while to get rid capitalism, so a mix of researcher/editor for a publishing company or literacy-focused nonprofit.

25. Dream trip: i’m dying to see the beautiful landscapes of norway, japan, new zealand, and ireland.

26. Favorite food: i’ve recently discovered carbonara and all the ways i can mix veggies and protein into it, so i’d say that’s my current fav.

27. Nationality: american

28. Favorite song: it changes all the time but let’s go with headspace by lewis capaldi since i listened to it on repeat last night lol.

29. Last book I read: my mental state has not allowed me the patience for reading lately, but i’m so excited for one last stop by casey mcquiston in a couple months. their debut novel (red, white, and royal blue) was just exactly the kind of content i want from a queer contemporary romance. i also really want to read the priory of the orange tree, but i need to stare down all those pages a bit more to gain the confidence.

30. Top three fictional universes I would like to live in: howl’s moving castle (novel version) so i can be best friends with sophie, percy jackson cause being a demigod just sounds kinda cool, and rottmnt cause i loved the art and humor and want to be friends with all of them.

i’ll tag @catra-the-slayer @about-a-bee @adjit & @ricerobot if you wanna try this out too. no pressure! anyone else interested can just go ahead and use me as your tag. <3

[seasinkarnadine]

So I'd imagine Catra has a pretty tough life in TDII, I'm assuming that leaves her with a lot of scars. If that's the case, would there be a point at which Adora first sees them and what would her reaction be?

Note: Adora is deaf in this au.

A: (7:08 AM): My upstairs neighbors must have gone to work. Their dogs won’t shut up.

A (7:12 AM): Do you think they would notice if I took one?

A (7:13 AM): I mean they must have like 20 of the damn things

Like honestly if I, a literal deaf person, can hear them, they must be outrageously noisy. how nobody has made a noise complaint is beyond me.

A (7:13 AM): If I have to be up this early then SO DO YOU

A (7.14 AM): (Dialing ….)

A (7:15 AM): (No answer)

A (7:15 AM): (Dialing…. )

A (7.16AM): (No answer)

A (7.17AM): Is your phone on silent??

A (7.18 AM) WAKE UP

A (7.20 AM): What’s the point of being friends with hearing people if you can’t wake them up with their ringtones

A (8:43 AM) I’ve decided you’re unfriended.

A (8:58 AM): (Dialing….)A (8:59 AM): (No answer)

A (9:00 AM) Also your ‘light sleeper’ status is revoked.

A (10:32 AM) Catra are you dead

A (10:35 AM) Okay. I bet you $10 you WON’T wake up if I call you again.

A (10:36 AM): (Dialing…)A (10:37AM): (No Answer)

A (10:38 AM): Guess who has two thumbs and is $10 richer??

A (11:32 AM): Catraaaaaaaa

A (11:34 AM): We still have that meeting at 2 with Modulok?

A (12:00 PM): Ok that’s itA (12:01 PM) I am COMING OVER

A (12:06 PM): (Dialing…)A (12:07 PM): (No Answer)

A (12:10 PM) Ok I am still coming over

Adora skims through her phone with one hand, and uses the other to hold a grease stained brown paper bag. Breakfast. Or, seeing as it’s 1:00 PM, lunch.

She pocktes her phone and pushes her way through a heavy industrial door.

She is greeted by the sight of Rogelio, Leech, and Grizzlor huddled around the fire barrel on the warehouse floor.

They give her a cursory glance before returning to their discussion.In one corner, Lonnie is shaking a can of spray paint.

“Lonnie.”

“****?” Lonnie replies without looking. She bites her lip, looking at the wall. She shakes her head and looks over at Adora. “What?”

“Catra?” Adora asks.

Lonnie points up at the second floor.

“Room.”

Adora glances down at her phone again, in case any new messages have magically appeared in the last 30 seconds. Nope. Nothing. Catra could still be sleeping, but even for her, this is late.

“Thanks.” Adora says to Lonnie, and turns to go. She ignores the way four pairs of eyes lock onto her as she makes her ascent.

The metal stairs reverberate beneath her feet. Catra’s room is a converted office that looks over the warehouse. The blinds in the windows are drawn and it’s dark inside.

She sighs, glancing at her phone again. 1:02 PM. They really have to get ready for this meeting.

She punches in Catra’s number.

A (1:02 PM): (Dialing…)

Through a gap in the blinds she sees it– a sudden burst of blue. Adora can just make out the picture of a Dora the Explorer bowl. (Catra “Get it? A Dora Bowl?” Adora “As if someone hasn’t made that joke about a thousand times in my life.” Someone hadn’t. It actually took her a while to get it. Stupid phonetic jokes.)

A moment later the screen goes dark.

A (1:03 PM): (No answer).

Now she’s starting to get worried.

She turns around the corner of the room to try the door only to discover that it’s open. The worry presses into panic. She opens the door and steps inside.

The ambient light that spills in pulls up the blackness of the room just enough for Adora to make out basic shapes. And there, splayed on on the bed, is Catra. She’s– Is she naked? She’s lying on her stomach, one arm hanging off the side of the bed. There’s a sheet over her ass and part of her thighs, but otherwise she’s on full display. Adora feels her face flush, but she can’t stop looking.

Something pink and ugly slashes across the expanse of Catra’s back. It’s ropy and gnarled and twisted, so thick it has actual mass, curling this way and that like a snake. There’s a beautiful line of dark brown fur that trails down Catra’s spine, but it does not grow where this pink thing crosses its path.

It takes Adora a long moment before she understands.It’s a scar.An old one, too, from the coloration. There are other scars, too. Some are older. Some are newer. But none are half so egregious as the first.

Gods.

She’s fucking gorgeous.

Adora reaches out as if she’s about to touch Catra, and that’s when she realizes how far she’s come from the door.

Catra’s magnetism is impossible to break from.

“****…” One turquoise eye blinks open.“****?” Catra shifts, sitting up in bed. She is very naked.

Adora turns on her heel so quickly she almost loses her balance.

“I brought breakfast!” she signs, before realizing that Catra can’t see her, and turning with the idea of signing while her eyes are closed before she changes her mind again and turns back and says, verbally,

“I b-b-brought breakfast!”

Oh Gods. What did she do to deserve this? Act normal. Act normal.

[formerlyrunephoenix6769]

Catra: Journey to Redemption.

(Long post and spoilers for Season 1 SPOP)

In the run up to the release of ‘She-Ra: Princesses of Power.’ season 2 on April 26th 2019, I have been seeing lots of posts about our resident, ‘misguided; villain and all around badass who knows damn well how to rock a suit. 

Yes, of course, I am talking about Catra!

The nature of the posts I have been seeing have all had a similar vein or sentiment. 

“Give Catra her redemption arc.”  or  “Start Catra’s redemption arc.” 

I am just as hopeful as the the next person for Catra to have a redemption arc, if that is in fact what Noelle Stevenson and the rest of the team have planned for the character. But one thing I will say, is ‘patience’ and a small warning to be prepared,  

Catra is going to get much worse before she can even begin to get better! 

Catra could not possibly even begin to start on a path of redemption by the end of S2 because at the end of S1, she hasnt even begun to explore the full depths of her villainy.  (Being we dont know exactly how many seasons are planned, or what the overall narrative end goal is when it comes to the final conflict and Good triumphing over Evil, much of this is speculative. 

We can however use Avatar Last Airbender and the industry standard of best Redemption Arc ever, in all mediums, Zuko, and their timeline, which I think Noelle Stevenson said in an interview that if a redemption arc was to occur, that they would like to do something that could stand next to Zuko’s redemption arc. 

I will also be using Joseph Campbell’s Hero With a Thousand Faces, and his hero’s journey map as a resource but try implement it for villains)  

If you would like to take a look at my thoughts on redemption arcs in general the feel free to check out the link below. 

https://formerlyrunephoenix6769.tumblr.com/post/182640410231/are-all-villains-redeemable

I’ll be covering similar sentiments here. 

Ok first. 

TIMELINE:. 

ATLAB is only 3 BOOKs long, however the number of episodes, 61 over all, containing 20 minimum in each Book is far more than SPOP’s standard 13, meaning that technically Zuko’s redemption arc played out over just under 6 SPOP seasons, meaning that Zuko’s penultimate episodes, detrimental to his redemption arc, ‘Blue Spirit’ episode 13 in Book 1 and ‘Zuko Alone’  Episode 7 of Book 2, didnt technically take place until till the end of season 1 and half way through season 3 ... going off an SPOP standard time. 

Meaning there was over a season and a half between Zuko doing something right for the wrong reasons and also then moving off to really begin the start of his redemption arc in earnest, which he continues to struggle with right the way into Book 3 ( season 5/6)  

The difference here, I would also like to point out is that Zuko at the very beginning of ATLAB is already technically way ahead of Catra due to him being physically away from his ‘abuser’ and direct control of the life long indoctrination. He also has one up on Catra at this point as he has a ‘Mentor/Guide’ helping to facilitate the transition and help him see the error of his ways.

Technically, this puts Zuko’s character development on the road to redemption (OTRTR)  at least ONE season ahead of Catra. Meaning that his moment of ‘doing something right for the wrong reasons’ in ‘Zuko Alone.’ does not take place until at least the end of season 2, SPOP standard time! 

In other words... 

It's going to take some time for a pussy riot to manifest.

Taking this into account. 

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES. 

We can not continue without addressing the fact that there are many similarities and differences between the supposed ‘villains’. 

Both were the Scape Goat to a favoured Golden Child yet their interactions with the ‘Gold Child’ are vastly different. 

For Zuko, Azula was an antagonist. For Catra, Adora was an ally. 

Both suffered abuse from their primary caregiver, both were belittled and chastised for supposedly being ‘lesser’. However the fundamental difference is their reactions, Zuko continued to attempt to receive his Father’s favour, whilst Catra, on the surface didn't care, resulting in acting rebelliously. 

Both have issues surrounding self worth and how they express it is vastly different. 

Zuko is hugely unaware of his ‘Empire’s’ indoctrination and the imperialistic rule, believing the propaganda he was raised with. 

Whilst Catra is fully aware of the Horde and its intentions. 

And I think this is worthy of note!

Their ‘villainy’ and motivations are seated in entirely different places. 

Zuko starts out  wishing to ‘reclaim his honour’, prove his worth in his father’s eyes, and reclaim his birthright as the heir to the Fire Nation throne, in the words of his sister,

  It is only as he travels over the next SPOP SDT, 4 seasons that he realises his true purpose. 

Catra, is aware the Horde is evil, is given an opportunity to leave, but chooses not to, instead she willingly sets herself on a dark path to gain power and prove her self worth to everyone around her, esp her abuser, step mom of the year, Shadow Weaver,

Thus setting up the whole shenanigans of SPOP season 1.  

CONFLICT. 

As I covered in my previous post in the link above, a redemption arc cannot occur without showing that the ‘villain’ is conflicted. 

A redemption should be a slow burn, from starting point of why/how they are villains,  also showing the seeds of discontent, inner conflict, conflict of their actions, conflict of their ideals,  whether indoctrinated/learned/or their own misguided musings, then later a larger amount of focus should be placed on how they have overcome that villainy and change of perspective culminating with coming full circle.

What makes Zuko’s particular redemption arc so good is the work that goes into showing this. The time, the attention to detail, not being shied away from by the writers, that  intentionally trickles down and infuses with the character’s essence of being. 

Yes, Catra is conflicted about her relationship with Adora and what Adora means to her. 

This conflict about her and Adora’s relationship was partially resolved with Catra taking Adora’s motivations the wrong way, due to her own issues surrounding her self worth. 

This ‘resolution’ only serves to push Catra further down the a dark path.

But we have yet to see Catra conflicted about her actions and dont expect to see that happen until after we see her fully embrace her villainy, which by the end of S1, she was nowhere near close to doing. (See Triggers and Turning points)

Meaning that “Catra Alone”  might not even occur until midway S3  and actual beginnings of feeling conflicted about her actions, until S4.  

TRIGGER A TURNING POINT.

So we have discussed conflict. Conflict about ones actions can come about in many different forms, but it must be triggered by something that is enough to shake the core foundations of a villains motivations. 

In order for it to be believable and carry weight, a villain cannot  suddenly overnight go, 

 And the protagonists accept it at face value, as the audience wont.  

 A redemption should be a slow burn, from starting point of why/how they are villains and most importantly,  focus on how they have struggled to overcome that villainy and change their perspective. 

The link below is to a previous post, with an avenue of thought of what could trigger Catra on ONRTR.

https://formerlyrunephoenix6769.tumblr.com/post/182601000156/catra-could-she-be-a-lost-princess-and-if-so

Another avenue of thought is that Adora is gravely injured. I am not normally one for such an easy and over done trope but in this instance it is highly possible, because as it stands now, Catra has never nastily physically injured Adora, only She-Ra! 

(When she raked her darn claws down She-Ra’s back. Showing that Catra see’s a difference between to two personalities and isn't as of yet willing to cross that line... Maybe crossing that line will be a stepping stone to embracing her chosen darker path?) 

In fact, Catra has gone out of her way to avoid just that, much preferring to go after Adora emotionally.  

FALLING INTO OLD PATTERNS:

Even after ‘Zuko Alone’ and the Ba Sing Say arc, Zuko begins on a false start redemption by bonding with Katara but by the next episode falls back into old patterns by choosing to side with Azula as the ties that bind and the potential to reclaim his birthright is too hard to ignore. 

Which is totally normal for a teenager. 

This adds so much depth to his inner conflict, a catalyst that later cements his realisation at his true purpose, ushering him through the gates of his redemption arc, towards trying to make amends with the protagonists before they can accept him.   

Catra strikes me as someone who will never be wholly ‘good’, in the sense of the word when it is applied to Bow, Glimmer or Adora, but rather someone who will make super dark comments and morally grey suggestions of how to deal with an issue, which is what we have been shown of her from the very beginning. 

It is hard to say is Catra will ever have this step in a redemption arc due to her already morally grey nature, this could very well be skipped over entirely. 

Narratively speaking and characterization wise, this particular part of an arc could present itself not as a ‘false start’ but could come from ‘Subterfuge and infiltration’ , whereby Catra pretends to come to their side only for her to betray them later, for her own ends. 

OR, 

We could very well have a ‘false start’, where she is trapped with any of the protagonists and they need to work together to escape, similar to the aptly named  ATLAB ep 40 ‘The Crossroads of Destiny’ and SPOPS s1e9 ‘Promise’, which would be a nice mirror, from a narrative standpoint, only for her to run off and return to the Horde once free. 

Again note, that this false start occured for Zuko the very end of S3 SPOP SDT. 

CONCLUSIONS.

Before Catra’s Redemption arc can come to fruition , we need her to go on her journey. Something akin to this, but for villains. 

On this map, if Resurrection is Catra being genuinely accepted by the protagonists as being changed and truly on their side.  I would see Catra as in between Meeting of Mentor (Hordak) and Crossing the Threshold into full blown villany 

So, we need to see her, 

1) Become a true villain. 

2) 1st Trigger.

3) baby Conflict

4)False start, falling into old patterns

5) 2nd Trigger

6)Conflict and Realisation/ (Seizing the Treasure) 

7) Through the Gates 

8) Trial of Proof.

9) Acceptance/Resurrection. 

We could be waiting for some time for a Catra redemption arc to kick in, and please dont be disappointed or frothing at the mouth if we dont see it starting in Season 2... No matter how much you want it out of the way so that ‘other’ things can occur.. 

Please keep in mind.. 

A good Redemption Arc has to be earned! And doing it well takes time!

MEANWHILE  ...

There is ALL OF THIS.... 

I dont even know where to begin starting to unwrap all this tension and awkwardness., 

Think I’m going to leave that for a an entirely different post.

[rpjohnston]

So I watched the new She-ra...it was ok. 

The drama is off, everything just kinda...skates along at the same fast pace. Needs more structure and more differentiation. Overall It'd be good if I was a kid and my parents needed shiny zappy to hold my attention but not so much as a mature story.

There are points where characters seem to learn their lesson too quickly/do a heel face turn without adequate persuasion/the issue seems contrived in the first place.

And what was his face with the mustache bugs me. It’s like he’s trying to do a Coran, but instead of “goofy uncle” he ends up at “manchild”. And also how old is he? Cause that’s an impressive mustache for a teenager. Which I assume he is, since he’s hitting on one.

It needs more worldbuilding - it was especially jarring in the final battle that, like, I KNOW there’s guards all up in that castle so why is it a handful of teenagers vs an army? The one village from the beginning seems to exist solely to show that the world’s population isn’t about 20 good guys and, well, a Horde of baddies. When I heard that the Horde had laid siege to the flower nation I was thinking, well, a real nation - not a hippy drumcircle. Eh, I just don’t really have a good sense of the world, you know? It all seems just-so.

I was also expecting it to be like, super queer, but I guess Steven Universe spoiled me because I didn’t really see it. Obviously Netossa and what was the other one, Spinnerella or something? are together, but Catra/Adora just dodges around with a more neutral “like”.

There are very good parts though - despite my complaining about issues being resolved too quickly, Catra is an EXCELLENT character with a compelling and well-developed arc. I’ve seen similar arcs, but they’re rarely built in such a way that I can FEEL it - like, usually it’s just shonen protags yelling at their Sasuke about friendship or whatnot. But the writers here struck a very good balance of actually building and showing what’s going on, with having Catra voice her feelings herself, in a very believable delivery.

It’s kind of ironic that it takes a princessy girls’ cartoon to properly do a standard shonen staple. I think deep down, most dude writers are really just there for the chest-beating and performative masculinity and too fragile to put proper emotional depth to the characters’ motivations.

I think it could have benefitted from being split into two season with more time to properly flesh out the characters and world, it seemed like it was meant to be a one-season-and-done deal like Korra, which was legitimately bad in its first season. But Catra’s arc shows a lot of promise so I’m looking forward to getting more in Season 2. =)