#mermista can do no wrong

[that-ari-blogger]

The Turn Of The Seasons

If you were to look at an episode of television, or any self-contained story for that matter, the first few minutes would probably establish the themes and core questions of that story. For an overt example, Star Wars tells you outright in its opening.

Obviously, you can apply this analytical framework to a series as well, with the first episode setting up the plot of latter episodes. The second season of She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power begins with The Frozen Forest, and I would argue that it establishes three core themes: Consequence, change, and harmony.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Here is something interesting about She-Ra and storytelling as a whole: Themes aren't separate. There aren't moments where change is the entire focus, for example. All of the themes weave together to tell the story. Think of it like the rgb colour wheel, every part of this story has bits of each theme in it to form a whole. It may focus on one element, but the others will still be there, influencing the scene in minour ways.

With that said, I am going to try and talk about the themes separately for a moment, before bringing them all back together. I will talk about the constituent parts of the story, and then see the end result. I just feel it is important to understand that the separation is artificial.

Consequence is a theme carried over from the previous season and the series as a whole. Although, where the first focused on the overarching cycle of trauma and abuse and the direct result of that, this season focuses in on the consequences of specific actions on the world on a whole, and on the fallout of the story up to this point.

First, the framing of this episode. The Frozen Forest takes place not long after The Battle for Brightmoon, and so the Whispering Woods is still recovering from the ice that nearly destroyed it. This is a series that engages with the fallout of spectacle, and now, even though they have won, the princesses are on the back foot. Where the Woods Provided a border, now the alliance has to hold off the attacking army itself, and it is spread thin trying to do so.

Meanwhile, Catra and Adora are dealing with the consequences of not learning the lesson of the previous season. Adora is still working for Light Hope, and still processing Catra's words at the end of the previous season. Her response to any new development in the Horde is "ah, Catra," and her self-confidence has been eroded, and Light Hope has found that as a weak point and is keeping pressing.

Catra, on the other hand, has moved past Shadow Weaver. Right? She has defeated her in single combat and now her abuser sits in a cell, in shambles. So... why am I talking about it?

Unfortunately, that's not how healing works. Moving on isn't as uncomplicated as hitting someone in the face. Catra hasn't quite worked that out, so she goes to Shadow Weaver to gloat, and Shadow Weaver reads her like a book.

"If you're doing so well, why are you here? It's Adora, isn't it?"

But how does Catra respond?

"I let her win one.  We're gaining ground, and our armies are growing!  When they're ready to roll out, I will be at the head!!  And you'll be here rotting. Thanks, I needed this."

She lies and she blusters, because Catra wants to feel powerful, so she puts Shadow Weaver down. But, does she want to feel powerful? Is that the core desire going on here?

I would argue for something else. I think that Catra wants to feel safe, and she has associated control with that safety. I think Catra lashes out because she feels herself losing control and gets scared. That last line, "I needed this". I don't think its entirely a lie. Catra did need that, at least in her mind. She needed a moment to release all of her anger, but I don't think she recognises that. I would argue that Catra just said that to try and get at Shadow Weaver, to try and tell her that she hadn't won, being correct was entirely accidental.

There is also the fact that Catra's only release is letting out her anger at Shadow Weaver, and whether or not that is healthy is debatable, but what happens if Shadow Weaver was to escape. Where would all of that anger go?

Catra also leads into the theme of change rather well, specifically with her treatment of Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio. Once again, Catra has tried to move past Shadow Weaver, but here we show where she has gone after that. Catra is taking her authority the only way she knows how; she is becoming Shadow Weaver.

Back on the princess side of the war, there is a meeting about a change in tactics. Things have been going ok for the alliance, but nobody is sure how often they can continue, so Bow proposes a new strategy, and we see what that means to him. Intelligence comes in various forms, and while Entrapta is the inventor and scientist, Bow is a strategist, capable of maintaining a big picture perspective eternally. So, Bow suggests doing something different, a tactic that won't win the war, but it will buy time to figure out the next step. Bow also prioritises a change in perspective, focusing on knowledge about the opponent, believing that will inform his decisions.

Glimmer is also changing, and her development is mirroring Catra of all people. Overly Sarcastic Productions has a video on the parallels between these two characters later on in the series, but it is neat how early that starts. Glimmer takes on a role that is a lot like her mother in this episode, specifically in her relationship with Frosta. She becomes overprotective, and panics when Frosta gets herself in danger, and because she is Glimmer, her instinct is to push away responsibility. She is rebellious, so it takes her intentionally thinking about her actions to develop and apologise.

I’m sorry I yelled. It's just -- I guess you remind me of... me.  And I can do some really dangerous stuff sometimes.

And this weaves in with the final theme of this episode and this season: Harmony. Specifically harmony with each other.

The opening of the episode shows how the alliance is all made up of individuals who are formidably fighters, but who's miscommunication is holding them back. The band is together, but they ain't playing the same song, so what's the point? This episode shows them why they need to think as a team, and the conclusion where the power of friendship literally saves the day shows this off. Magic in this world is associated with that harmony between princesses, and so when they achieve it, the magic rewards them.

It is telling that Entrapta, Scorpia, and Catra do have this harmonious relationship already, and to me it actually looks like more of a found family than the princesses. These are people who all feel safe around each other, and in this episode at least, Catra actually shows some healthy behaviours towards those in her life. She is supportive of Entrapta, if a little overbearing, for example, and the scene of all of them watching tv on the couch deliberately evokes that familial atmosphere.

All of these moments connect with other themes as well. Adora's attempts to get over Catra are the collision of change and harmony, for example. She wants to get over Catra, but there is that loyalty there. The war council shows the consequences of the Horde, the need for a change, and the complete disharmony of the alliance.

But, the scene that, to me, shows the three themes in full, while letting them both individually shine and mix with each other, is that final scene of the episode.

Consequence: Entrapta's "death". Change: Entrapta's "death". Harmony: Entrapta's "death"

The desire for change stands on its own with Bow trying to adapt his methods and taking a more scientific approach to the war.

The consequences are on display from the previous season and the episode up to this point. The bots are getting better, and the war is getting more tense.

The harmony is on display through what got Bow here in the first place. The fact that it took the entire alliance to bring down the bot and let Bow take a look inside it.

But that all comes crashing in on itself with the reveal, and how it is framed. Often, a fake out death would be brushed off, but here Bow dwells on it. A single change has altered the way he sees both the consequences of the previous season, and the harmony of the princess alliance. Suddenly, he has more agency in Entrapta's fate than he realised, and Marcus Scribner kills that final line.

"Hold onto your hat, Future Bow. Entrapta's alive, and we left her behind."

Final Thoughts

Thus begins another season of She-Ra, and I do like this episode as an opener. The themes are really well done and its telling that, when you think about it, everyone in that War Council Meeting was right, and wrong. Perfuma was right in that they needed cohesion, Mermista was right about needing that change of perspective. Its just the ways that they went about it that was wrong, because teamwork takes time and understanding of each other's boundaries, and the group hadn't worked that out yet.

Next week I'm tackling Ties That Bind, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[sometipsygnostalgic]

i'm losing my mind how are there STILL ACTIVE CATRA HATE BLOGS it's been FOUR YEARS how are you still this mad about a female abuse victim!!!!!! how do you STILL not get it!!!!!!!!!!

I have been in enough fandoms to understand that some of the people who stick around the longest are those who act the most scarred after watching the media. It's like stockholme syndrome. Or it's like hating the thing is what gives them drive in the world.

I have also been on the other side of this. I remained a Homestuck blog for a whole four years after the ending made me depressed about Terezi Pyrope, even lasting an additional year and a half after the dogshit epilogues released, through to the demise of Hiveswap and Homestuck^2, before I realised enough was enough and let Adventure Time give me sanctuary again.

But Homestuck had its Gamzee fans who hated the comic and fandom, Adventure Time had its Lemongrab fans who hated the show and fandom, and it seems She-ra has its fair share of antis.

The She-ra antis consist of the following groups, from my observation:

Former fans who got obsessed with some other show and have to bash She-ra because it ain't cool anymore. Usually Owl House fans but can be from anywhere. Their hate is universally connected to propping something else up, and is never done in isolation.

Hordak fans who hate Catra and maybe every other character and crew member and the show. There are a lot of the reverse, Catra fans who hate Hordak, which is part of why this group is so persistent, as a "counter" to this Hordak hate. However, the Catra fans who are Hordak antis MOSTLY do not hate the show (they are just... out of touch with it and generally have bad takes). I've seen one or two extreme cases of Catra apologists accusing Adora, Scorpia, and even Entrapta of abuse, but they were completely alone in their feelings. The Hordak fans who hate Catra tend to also hate Glimmer, Mermista, Adora, Bow, and say that the show is ableist or whatever, but they do not actually harbor much love for Entrapta. Her victimisation is an excuse for their behaviour and they have no understanding of her chaotic character. Do not interact.

Glimmadora fans (the ones who purely seem to exist to make 'Spop Is Abusive' posts). Why the fuck Glimmadora fans hate the show so much, I do not understand. But these are probably the most In-Your-Face of these three groups. While the Hordak fans mentioned above have a lot of similarity to Homestuck Gamzee fans or Adventure Time Lemongrab fans in the weird way they'll hate on the show for doing their blorbo wrong, Glimmadora fans don't have that evidence because they don't really care about Glimmer or Adora. They have absolutely nothing to say about the show, other than that it is Bad. My theory on these Glimmadora fans is that they really liked the Glimmer and Adora ship on a superficial level, and then the show decided to have its Deeper Themes and give Catra and Adora a messy, complicated relationship. There was a lot happening after season 3 where people went "CATRADORA IS REALLY ABUSIVE AND CATRA IS HORRIBLE AND YOU SHOULDNT SHIP HER WITH ANYONE". This period was SO fucking harmful to the fandom that it never recovered, so much work was lost and deleted from AO3. People would say "Glimmadora is a much better ship anyway". But then when season 4 rolled around and, uhh, Glimmer was acting like a little shit all season (for good reason but she really fucked things up with Adora), and Glimmadora crumbled into ash? Well the Glimmadora truthists felt like the show was working against them and that Season 5 was a grand conspiracy to make the Abusive ship Catradora canon!!! The funniest part of this is I sympathise a lot with these feelings. I used to be a Glimmadora truther myself when I watched the show in fall 2021. I was like, "wow, look how nice this ship is. And they go with catradora in the end?? Fucking HOW???". But then seasons 4 and 5 happened and.... yeah, I was disappointed with how Glimmer and Adora's friendship ended up, but I was ENAMORED by the messiness of Catra's character and how raw her and Adora felt about each other even in spite of all the bullshit. I never made excuses about the show being abuse apologising. I analysed it purely in how believable the relationships were and what the intentions of the characters are.

Of these groups, the ones responsible for the most actual SPOP Anti blogs are undoubtedly the Glimmadoras. The only time I've seen something similar, so many antis appearing, was because of Steven Universe ship wars. You have NO IDEA how petty people feel about Lapidot, Amedot, all the dots, all the amethysts. A crew member was chased off the internet over it, or left the internet over the show's own decisions, depending on whether you believe the """screenshots""" that were taken of Zuke's ""private blog""".

[lordhavemurthy]

i think what people tend to not understand about She-Ra (reboot) is that none of the characters (minus Horde Prime) are meant to be seen as pure good or evil. People get really pressed over how the princesses treat Entrapta (which i don't agree is right) or how Entrapta did betray them, thus making her a "morally grey character" because she has obsessions and shows signs of autism. But this isnt just something that happens with Entrapta, it happens with all of the characters. Catra and Glimmer are the next obvious, so i wont go into depth there, but for instance Adora can be very prideful. She lets the fame get to her head and isolates herself from everyone else in attempts to save the world. now, the latter isn't all her fault, Light Hope and Shadow Weaver made sure of that, but its still there. Mermista wants to be the center of attention, she wants to be the most powerful of the group and have something unique like She-Ra. Perfuma struggles to get along with people who are pessimistic or even more objective because it interferes with her "vibes." Scorpia isn't the greatest with boundaries, Frosta's a fucking child, Sea Hawk is a fucking arsonist (seriously why do we skip over that one? love him but my guy needs therapy), Angella is a coward who (despite her attempts to keep her away) sends her own daughter into battle before going out on the front lines herself, and yes, Entrapta betrayed her friends. Which, despite it being manipulated into something else here, wasn't good. She may not have understood how badly she hurt her friends (until S 5), but she actively knew that what Hordak was doing was wrong because she agreed to help the rebellion. She shows later on that while she doesnt pick up on emotional cues, she does understand what is going on, she just focuses on tech, but she gets the danger and the stakes, she knows. Let me say, however, that none of these traits, from any of these characters, make them "morally grey" (i hate that fucking term btw) it makes them human. none of us are perfect. we all have flaws, we will all hurt someone in our lives, we all make mistakes. it is how you try to rectify those mistakes, that determines whether or not your character is "good." Hordak, despite every terrible thing he did, realized he was wrong in the end, and rebelled. Entrapta apologized and sacrificed her life multiple times to save not only her friends, but the entire planet, even Shadow Weaver, who I could make a whole other separate post on, sacraficed herself so that not only Catra and Adora could live on together and save the world, but so that she wouldn't be tempted with the power that was about to be unleased. The only character i can possibly think of that doesn't have an obvious flaw (that i can see) is Bow, but he's not perfect either. To suggest so would to put in on a playing field in which no human (or complex character) could survive. So for the love of god, stop looking at it like Nate made only Entrapta "morally grey" because every character in that show made mistakes.

edit: thank you for those who made me aware of the proper name/pronouns the creator (Nate) uses now, i appreciate you!

[baggebythesea]

She-Ra cast as drinking buddies

Adora - She's great. Friendly and eager and up for anything. Hope you like to talk about horses, though. Try to keep her away from arm wrestling or that's what you're doing the rest of the evening.

Glimmer - She's an angry drunk. Or a happy drunk. Or a crying drunk. Or she challenges everyone in the bar on dart. Whatever she does, she'll do it with a hundred percent intensity. If someone picks a fight with you, you'll have to hold her back before she smashes a bottle and cuts a bitch.

Bow - He's everyones bestest buddie. He will pay for the drinks, listen to your rants, hold up your head over the toilet and help rain in Glimmer.

Catra - She's really guarded at first, but when the inhibitions drops either the claws or the tears come out. Step very carefully around her. Also, if she wants to have your jacket, it's her jacket now.

Scorpia - She's a delight. Friendly and considerate and a good listener. Although there is this feeling that she has some stuff of her own she's just dying to talk to someone about… if you open the floodgates, be prepared for a lot of tears and to listen for the next few hours.

Entrapta - Let's be honest - she won't listen to a word you say and she'll most likely have dismantled the beer pump and invented a new kind of drink before the evening is over, but you won't be bored.

Mermista - Surprisingly good company, once you get past the attitude. Keeps the drinks coming and have some good stories between all the 'Uuuuuughs'.

Sea Hawk - Life of the party. Shanties and drinks and arm wrestling. It's fun to have fun with frieeeeeends. Will probably have set something on fire and got you kicked out (unrelated incidents) before the evening is over, and never shuts up about Mermiiiiiiiista.

Swift Wind (did someone say Swift Wind?) - Pair him with Adora or Sea Hawk and no net amount of brain cells will have been added to the party. Up for anything and a good sport, though. Expect singing.

Perfuma - Friendly and considerate and works really hard to be a good listener, but if you just want a drink and some chit-chats rather than a group therapy session she's a bit too much. Try to appeal to her inner theatre kid to channel her energies into something more entertaining.

Netossa - PUT THE JÄGERMEISTER AWAY! EVERYTHING DOESN'T NEED TO BE A COMPETITION!

Spinnerella - The team mom makes sure everyone has a good time and stays hydrated.

Frosta - Thinks it's super unfair that she isn't allowed to drink. Still, if you get her to settle down in the juice bar she can be tons of fun.

Castaspella - Fruit drinks and party hats for everyone! Better step up your game, because everyone's friendly wine aunt won't let anyone be bored.

Shadow Weaver - The drinks are bad and the atmosphere is worse and you are beneath her notice. If you can get through her barrage of insults and appeal to her pride, she has the best stories though. Don't expect to come out of it unscarred.

Hordak - He will sit stiff, uncomfortable and completely silent for three drinks, and then he will speak in monotone voice with increasing amount of rage about the injustices he has suffered. Someone might die before the night is over, but it will sure be memorable

Horde Prime - Wonderful company - if your idea of a good time is hearing a narcisist yap on about himself and demand your constant attention. Otherwise, prepare to have a lousy time. Don't leave your drinks alone with him at any time.

Wrong Hordak - LOOK BROTHER, I'M PARTAKING! chugs beer LOOK, BROTHER! DO YOU SEE ME PARTAKE?

Imp - WHO LET THAT LITTLE SHIT INTO THE BAR? Good luck catching him when he zooms around the ceiling.

Emily - I'll be honest, I didn't know robots could drink. Neither did I know they can DISCO, but Emily proves me wrong on both counts.

Angella - Good luck getting her to settle down and relax. No, Angella, the fact that you heard a siren doesn't mean Glimmer has set something on fire (we hope, at least). Has no idea how the social codes are supposed to work, but likes to feel included.

Micah - At home in any company and a great listener. If you're lucky you'll get some stories out of him that will start with "Oh, it's nothing special. We all have that evil teacher that tricked you into helping her kill the entire senior faculty, right?" and spirals from there.

Juliet - The royal guard is never off duty. She might haul you off to cool down if you get too rowdy, but that's it.

Rogelio - Great listener, but not that good a conversationalist.

Kyle - Goddamit, Kyle!

Lonnie - Yes, Lonnie, you can drink more than me. Yes, Lonnie, you can arm wrestle me. No, Lonnie, I wasn't trying to start any shit with Kyle. Sorry, Lonnie, I'll stay out of your way.

Double Trouble - "Hey, you know what would be REALLY funny. If you distract the bartender, I'll… do a thing. No, don't worry about it. Just a thing. It will be funny."

Huntara - Two rules in the Crimson Waste, where one is not to disturb her as she drinks. If you're on her in-list, prepare to have a good time. If you're not, step carefully around her.

Tung Lashor - Sometimes all you want is someone to chug beer and shout the refrains to some stupid songs with. Just keep him away from cats.

Octavia - You know what, better keep her away from cats as well.

[the-entire-cast-needs-therapy]

Let’s talk about Adora in Princess Prom

So, for context, because this will be important later: at this point in the series, between Adora’s defection and the All-Princess Ball, Catra and Adora have only fought once. Well, “fought” is a strong word- Catra climbed up to Adora while she was trying to heal the Sea Gate, vented at her a bit, scratched her, and then got blown away by Mermista. That is it. Catra hasn’t kidnapped her friends yet or thrown her off a cliff. Honestly, the biggest blow Catra has dealt to Adora so far is probably refusing to defect with her.

Okay, okay. So, I have been Inspired (by @ericas-spop-blog​ . Again.) and I have Thoughts about Adora and how she behaves towards Catra at the ball- some joking and some more serious. I’m putting all of them here because it’s easier.

The Part Where I (Lovingly) Dunk On Adora

Adora sees Catra and all thoughts except “prevent Catra from Catra-ing” fly out of her head. She immediately tries to get them kicked out because “they’re from the Horde”, even though Adora already knows at this point that Frosta doesn’t see the Horde as a threat (and bugging her about it more will probably only irritate her). And then she loudly announces her intention to stalk Catra (and to have Glimmer stalk Scorpia, which goes Great)... why, exactly? I get just following them around to make sure they don’t kill anyone, but why tell them about it? To intimidate them? Adora, babe, all you’re doing is letting Catra lead you on a wild goose chase.

Everything Catra does here is comically minor, by the way. “Ooo, I’m gonna show up with a date. And she’s gonna be even buffer than you. And I’m gonna leave you a silly little ‘hi adora :3′ note because I know you will dig through the trash for it. And I’m going to make friends with your weapons dealer. Truly, I am evil and heartless”- Catra, probably. 

“Oh god oh no Catra is existing again I have to stop her. Yes she has done Literally Nothing but her intentions are nefarious I can feel it in the Force. There is trash on the floor now. Surely the next time she does something suspicious-looking it will actually be something that proves she is being Bad. I will crack this case if it is the last thing I ever do” -Adora, probably.

Catra is undoubtedly screwing with her, but honestly she wouldn’t even have to. She could just pretend Adora wasn’t there and go about her night, and it would still keep Adora occupied. But it’s more fun to leave her notes and chat up her friends and dance with her.

And then Adora tackles Catra across the room. And that is where I have to get a little more serious.

The Part Where We Talk About How Creepy This Is

Adora is obsessed with catching Catra in the act of doing something wrong, in order to validate her own suspicions. And while she might make the token effort of acknowledging Scorpia, it is all about Catra to her. Even when she actually gets information that suggests the Horde is actually up to something (Bow and Scorpia disappearing within the same timeframe), she puts the blame on specifically Catra- “what did you do to him”.

And I think it’s important to mention at this point that Catra has no idea what happened to Bow. She literally cannot know, Adora has been on her tail (ha) the entire night, and she hasn’t talked to Scorpia since Scorpia went to plant the heat bombs. When she says they did “nothing permanent” to him, she is just egging Adora on. And we have no reason to believe kidnapping Bow was even part of the plan- Glimmer, maybe, but Bow? Scorpia doesn’t lure Bow away, he leaves on his own and stumbles upon her, at which point she has to stop him from telling anyone else what she’s doing. Why Catra even brings Bow up in the first place, I don’t know, but my guess is that her ears are good enough that she overheard Adora talking with Glimmer and Perfuma and decided to fuck with her a bit. And it worked. Spectacularly.

Adora violently snaps at Catra in the middle of the dance floor and grills her instead of doing something useful like, oh I don’t know, trying to find him? The only possible point to doing this- specifically, to doing it publicly- is to get Catra to confess that she did something, that Adora isn’t crazy, that she was right. And even after she gets frozen in a block of ice and the palace starts exploding, well.

Fucking hell, Adora, this is embarrassing. Look, Catra does not “have Bow”. Catra has been in the room with you the whole time, dancing and getting beaten up. Scorpia, who you know went missing earlier, is the only logical culprit. But Adora is so determined to blame Catra that she just... ignores all that. Maybe because she doesn’t want to admit she spent all her energy on the decoy.

And it’s honestly a little worrying that Catra knew that using herself as a decoy would work so well. That she knew Adora would latch onto her like this and not catch on to the ruse. It implies that this behavior is normal for Adora, expected of her. That Adora’s first instinct is always “blame Catra” (and then secretly blame herself for not stopping her, but I don’t think Catra knows that). Catra isn’t at all surprised by the way Adora conducts herself, even though they haven’t been enemies for that long. She’s seen this before.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

i do want to say, this is no way in defense of c//a stans (cause god knows i don't like that ship or the shippers) but personally, when i started spop i never knew that they were supposed to be around 15-16 in s1, that even looking for it, the youngest i saw at the time was 17-18 for adora in season one (apparently nate said that adora was 17, just for the video of them celebrating her 16th birthday to come out), so that could be why they sexualize them from season one because of that. cause depending on their sources, they could use that maybe they already turned 18 by princess prom as a way to excuse themselves, that before seeing the discourse about their ages on the spop anti blogs i followed i still thought at least adora and catra was 17 at the youngest in season one, but also i never sexualized them because...they're children show characters and that just feels weird in itself, that even if they were adults, i still feel weird to openly sexualizion them online where kids could find it unless it's fanfic of them being adults that is tagged accordingly for any ship. but yeah, that's just my assumption cause god knows some of them probably is aware of their canon ages and still sexualize them without care.

i totally get what you mean! i blame the creators for making the characters' ages so ambiguous. i wouldn't have known that entrapta was supposed to be in her 30s if i didn't hear about the creators confirming it afterwards. she legit looks like a teenager, she even looks younger than perfuma, mermista, spinerella, etc. i know that some people can have young faces but this is taking it too far.

and yeah, same goes for catra, adora and the rest of the characters. the only thing is that.. they all act like teenagers, even in s5, and a lot of stans who sexualize them already know that they're teenagers. i've had people argue with me that catra shouldn't be held responsible for her actions “because she was just a child” and then turn around and call her a sexy milf.

i get that maybe some of the stans think that these characters are adults, but most of them don't. they just switch back and forth between “catra was just a teenager, she didn't know she was doing the wrong thing!” and “omg catra is so sexy i want her to top me” which is just really fucking weird.

[aprillikesthings]

I have the house to myself because people are at a sportsball party

So what else would I do but keep watching spop amiright

s1 ep8 lez go

YES IT'S PRINCESS PROM AHAHAHAH

Oh, that explains why (in a muuuuuuch later episode) there's that little ideal future and they're at Scorpia's ball (iirc)

Catra: I NEED TO BE IN CHARGE Scorpia: party!

Poor Scorpia

Catra: giving a passionate-if-faked pep talk to Scorpia (like I get she's manipulating Scorpia here into going to the party, but it's still the kind of thing Scorpia should hear!) Also Catra: still real mad about Adora!!!

I cackled, y'all. CACKLED.

I mean she's...not wrong...

Okay I know it's just how this kind of show works and isn't important but it implies the Ball is known about for years in advance, but the invites only actually go out like a day or two before?? IRL that would be such a disaster because they don't even know the theme until they get the invite. The sheer amount of logistics/planning attending something like this, including the outfits...

This was intended to be Lolita fashion and you can't convince me otherwise

Also CATRA. They intentionally made her look so, so gay and hot.

Same, Catra. Same.

Adora (to the weapons-check person): be careful with it, don't lean it on something with the other swords or it might get confused!!!

Poor Adora. I suppose if I had an object that made me both popular and nearly invincible I'd be upset and worried to be separated from it, too.

It's Molly and Nate!!!

🎶Just like the viiiiine🎵

I love that we know these characters enough that they can just say a couple of lines here and imply a ton more. Anyway Mermista's outfit is great.

This is literally their entire dynamic. They're clearly together, Sea Hawk is loud about it, Mermista is (mostly) pretending to hate it.

Sorry this is shot is just great

Glimmer's jealousy (over Bow coming to the ball with Perfuma) is SO ANNOYING and I know that's on purpose but boy do I hate most "jealousy makes them obnoxious" plots

ANYWAY one small note: you can tell their budget for this episode is just not very high, because the characters in the background are so often not moving or only moving like one thing.

Oh hey, Netossa and Spinerella! (...and Molly again lol)

"Bow isn't the type to just leave his old friends behind, and neither am--" *Scorpia and Catra walk in*

DIDN'T THINK YOU'D SEE HER HERE, HUH, DIDJA

I can't screenshot this bit but it's so good:

Catra, in her most fake-gentleman voice: I love rules and obey them all the time Adora in the most high-pitched voice possible: YOU DO NOOOOT

🎶Every move you make And every vow you break Every smile you fake Every claim you stake I'll be watching you🎵

...I'm showing my age again. But also I'm looking at the lyrics and ngl they nearly all fit. If I knew how to make fanvids, I could make a vid that like ten people would watch.

Instead I'm working on a fic like ten people will read, heyoooo

*cries*

BACK TO THE GAYS PRINCESS PROM

is there crack-y pwp of this please say yes

Once again reminded of that fanvid of every time they say each other's names in the first two seasons

Literally cannot see Adora opening that without the "bah-dm tsh!" sound affect in my head from watching that video so many fucking times

Bow is so delightfully emotionally intelligent

Entrapta: have you met my new assistant? She brought snacks.

When Entrapta said "assistant" Catra's ears literally did a wiggle. Oh my gooooood

"she stole my food and asked me to spy on people with her,

lolol

once again whether the sword is actually sharp-edged or not is entirely dependent on plot

Scorpia is unreasonably hot sometimes

im gonna chew my fingers off ghgha;lksdhka;

I remember the screenshots/gifs of this scene hitting tumblr--that moment when every hopeful sapphic fan watching the show when it released went OKAY WAIT we're not making shit up this time are we??? ARE WE???

Also at least one person working on this show likes period dramas where tons of emotional plot happens during extremely formal dances where everyone is barely touching

there's nearly a billion gifs of that scene from one of the versions of Pride and Prejudice, but also:

once again proving my advanced age, this movie came out when I was 17 and side note I'm the same age as Claire Danes, anyhoodle

Has Adora been dancing Lead this whole time

HNNNNGNGHGHGHHHHHH IT'S SO GOOD

EXTREMELY UNDIGNIFIED NOISES Adora literally has one thigh between Catra's gghngng

i want to EAT IT

I'VE HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT FOR THIS POST LOLOL i don't wanna cut any out imma post this and then reblog it

[rummikubcube]

I’m at the airport with literally nothing to do, so here we go: One liners for every She-Ra character i can think of right now.

- Adora: Girl sleep. Please for the love of God (and drink water while you’re at it).

- Glimmer: Blob of happiness and everything that’s good in this world. Oh wait tragedy.

- Bow: Be my friend, I can pay you.

- Catra: I support women’s rights but most importantly women’s wrongs.

- Mermista: A goth mermaid with a Sherlock Holmes obsession on the side. We love to see it.

- Perfuma: One of my favs. Tall girl rights, the power of friendship and zen exists and she’s there to prove it (also loving that she can be feminine, wlw coded and strong as F*CK. Ik this is not a one liner but I love her, so sue me).

- Seahawk: BEHOLD, THE HIMBO OF HIMBOS.

- Angella: Mother? I’m sorry-Mother??!! (also there’s gonna be an Angella/Micah relationship post soon because the fact that they not once kiss on the lips is not lost on me. Ace power couple let’s goooooo).

- Scorpia: I LOVE YOUUUU. I LOOOOOOOVE YOU. Because how could I not? Honestly? She appeared on my screen and I could feel the serotonin being created in my brain.

Probably gonna do a part two because spop awoke something in me but I’m about to lose the flight so that’s it for now.

[swearyshera]

Hordak did very poorly on his Christianity deconversion speedrun. Wrong Hordak and Adora and Hunter from The Owl House are children/teens who decided to stop being Christian within a few episodes of getting separated from the other Christians. They still have their character flaws, but they did not... dig their heels in for the entire show. Hordak is also an adult authority figure whose behavior indicates that he is a dangerous person and should not be in a position of power over anyone. He tortured Catra with the suffocation machine, and threw stuff at her. He goes back and forth between avoiding his suboortinates and mistreating his suboordinates. He is such a little bitch. I don't like the idea that everyone instantly forgives him, or the idea that Mermista saying, are we all okay with this... is a joke... To be clear, I don't think that he is a poorly written character, I just don't like the interpretations of people who sympathize with him. (It is okay that he doesn't get killed, because it isn't necessary for Entrapta's characterization/the story at large for him to get killed. In fact, it fits more with the idea of restorative justice that he needs to live and make up for his crimes instead of die, but please do not make Mermista being upset at him a joke, or I will low-key lose it).

I would never suggest that any one interpretation of a character is correct - writers generally like having ambiguity and flaws, and the idea that there's not just one truth to a character. So that means that the way different people interpret them doesn't necessarily mean that someone is correct and someone isn't - and I think that absolutely applies to Hordak. For those who like him and think he's misunderstood - they're right! For those who don't like him and think the things he's done aren't forgivable or would require a lot of work - also right!

And it really comes down to a theme that I sadly didn't get to explore as much as I wanted to - that there is a difference between 'reason' and 'excuse'. That applies to Catra, particularly, but the same can be said for Hordak. Knowing what we know by the end, the reason he suffocated Catra or took Salineas with indiscriminate force was to prove himself to Prime. But that doesn't provide an excuse for doing wrong, and I feel like too many people don't see the distinction.

Who knows, I may explore that later on...

As for Mermista's last line, while it is a joke, it's more about Entrapta than Hordak. I'll be honest, I don't think it's the time to start delving into Mermista's feelings towards Hordak when there's literally 30 seconds left of the entire show. But watch this space.

[that-ari-blogger]

Are We the Baddies?

I have stated before that She-Ra thrives on realism and morality, and stand by this view. But in terms of morality, apart from the first two episodes and Catra's entire deal, this hasn't been explored explicitly. The story has heavily implied some moral complexity, but not developed the princess alliance in any depth.

Ties That Bind changes this, and the way it does that is fascinating.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Before I begin, I feel the need to get on my soap box and explain something: Morally complex does not mean evil. This is a lesson that a fair few TTRPG players need to learn, as well as the people writing The Boys. You can have nuanced morality and still be a good guy, or a bad guy, or something in between.

The overarching plot of this episode is essentially a bottle episode, characters get trapped together and have to work out their differences. Usually in live action media, this is the episode for with the crew realised they had no budget left over, so they use actors that are on hand and the set they last filmed in to make something interesting.

I say this, but these episodes have a habit of being some of my favourites in the series. Heaven Sent and Blink for example are often praised as the best Doctor Who has to offer, and they follow this rule, and Wild Blue Yonder is my favourite of the 60th anniversary specials despite the set being the Tardis, a greenscreen and two treadmills and some corridors.

Characters being trapped in one place is also the foundation of a fair amount of horror and detective fiction, and its the premise of my favourite play ever written: Waiting For Godot, by Samuel Becket.

However, you may have noticed that She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power is not, in fact, live action. If you haven't noticed, I'm not sure what to tell you at this point. So why does it have a bottle episode? What are the benefits of this style?

The answer is complicated, but it mostly pertains to character drama. Characters stuck in a room together with a mutual need to get out of that situation are forced to work together. Even enemies will work together if they have a common goal. Star Wars: The Clone Wars did this in Dooku Captured and The Gungan General.

But here's the thing, Ties That Bind subverts this in one simple way, the two parties in this story have opposing goals. If they get to Brightmoon, Catra will be imprisoned. So she works to stall the journey. The story isn't three people who don't want to be in a situation, it's two people who are trapped with a third.

Catra is a gremlin in this episode. She leans fully into the idea of power that Shadow Weaver taught her, manipulation, and it gets her pretty far. Although there are a few cracks, my favourite of which being how easily Bow pushes her buttons in return, and he's doing it accidentally.

"Come on. I bet even the Horde has friends. What about Adora? You two grew up together, right? What was she like as a kid?"

Bow's love of friendship is scoffed at. Catra doesn't have friends, so she thinks she is immune to this line of question. But then Bow brings up Adora, and touches a nerve, so he keeps pushing until Catra responds with a snarl. She's trying to keep up a bulletproof exterior, but that armour still has a weakness, that being Adora.

Catra also gets outmaneuvered by Glimmer, who has learned from previous adventures enough for an escape plan. So, her manipulation skills aren't as good as she thinks they are.

Bow isn't a particularly morally gray character; I don't think that is a hot take. He's the heart of the group, and usually holds everyone else to account. That isn't to say he is morally uncomplicated; the nuance of Bow's character gets shown when he interacts with complicated problems, like the guilt of having left Entrapta behind, and the question of what to do with Catra.

"We took a hostage! We're supposed to be the good guys."

And so, a question is raised, in times of war, do your ethics change? Is this a good thing or not? Just, please don't argue about it in the replies.

Bow's ethics don't change, he is kind and empathetic, and will remain these things, even towards a prisoner, and like Shadow Weaver before her, Catra uses this as a weapon.

Glimmer, on the other hand, is much more complex, and as perfectly moral strategies begin to fail, she is the one who is more likely to actually step into the more dubious territory. This gets displayed multiple times in the episode. For example, when falling, Glimmer plays a game of chicken with Bow's life, and I'm not actually sure what her goal is with it. Maybe she's just trying to scare Catra.

But there's also the scene towards the end when Catra calls Glimmer's bluff again. But this time, Bow isn't directly in the way, so she very nearly does outright kill Catra. Once again, however, it is Bow that keeps her sane.

"We can't take that chance, we're not them."

That's all it takes. All Glimmer needs to hear is that she has becoming her enemy. Bow's line draws attention to what he perceives as the difference between the Horde and the Princesses. The Horde gambles with people's lives, the Princess Alliance doesn't, in his eyes. But throughout this episode, Glimmer has done just that multiple times.

Glimmer's complexity comes from her strength of will. She is the person who will take that extra step when everyone else stops. She has the loosest moral code, and despite still being a good guy, she can react to situations in a completely different manner to others on her side.

The reveal of Entrapta's loyalty also brings up something interesting. People in this story can have goals beyond "good" and "bad", most of them do, in fact. Entrapta's switch from Team Princess to Team Horde shakes Glimmer and Bow's preconceived notions about binary morality. The best way of explaining that is actually this:

"You're on the side of the Horde?"

"I'm on the side of science!"

Don't get me wrong, the Horde is evil as an organisation, and people who are a part of it get up to some pretty heinous acts, this episode just complicates that. It gives a bit of wiggle room within the two sides of this war. But it makes something abundantly clear with Entrapta:

"At least we know for sure that Entrapta's alive, and working for the Horde, making weapons to wipe us out."

Being morally grey does not obfuscate the actions taken. Entrapta isn't villainous, but her actions do further a destructive end, and she is very clearly accountable for that. Being neutral is possible, but Entrapta is very much not neutral, she has chosen a side, and is aware of the consequences of that. It's a stretch to say Entrapta is evil, but she isn't good either, and she is complicit in the Horde's destruction.

Final Thoughts

This episode is ok. I'm not overly impressed by it, but there is some neat storytelling on display, and the animation is cool. Adora's storyline does raise a few more questions about the first ones, most notably: Why did Mara break the watchtower? There's more to this story and Light Hope isn't telling Adora what that is.

Next week, I'll be looking at Signals, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[carriesthewind]

Entrapta, Autism, and Empathy

As you can probably tell from my icon, I love She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. And one of my favorite characters is Entrapta - I love her as a character, I love her storyline, I love her design, and I really really love and connect to her as an autistic character.

In particular, I want to talk about how the show depicts her relationship with empathy, because it’s so unique in my experience of media depictions of autistic and autistic-coded characters.

The topic of empathy and autism is…a whole thing. I have a lot of feelings about how empathy is talked about and framed in general scholarship about, and media depictions of, autism (and the whole way theory of mind is treated in those contexts as well. Flames, flames on the side of my face).

One big problem, in my opinion, is that the way a lot of scholarship and media depicts autistic people is not necessarily based on our actual experience of empathy, but how neurotypicals perceive our empathy. (And in my experience, to go back to theory of mind - much like people who think they are “empaths” often just project their own feelings onto others, non-autistic people seem to frequently believe that having a well-developed theory of mind means they can *actually* know what is in someone else’s mind, and not recognize that they are just simulating and projecting). And while some autistic people can and do absolutely struggle with empathy, I really hate how it is often written about and portrayed (especially since very particular depictions are universalized).

So. Entrapta!

A major subplot of Season 5, Episode 2, “Launch,” is Entrapta and the other princesses emotionally reconciling after Entrapta has returned to the Rebellion. The central conflict of that resolution is the other princesses’ perception of Entrapta as lacking empathy and compassion, as summed up by Mermista midway through the episode: “I should have known better than to trust you. You don’t care about Glimmer or any of us, you only care about tech!”

Entrapta’s response is to ask, “Are you all…mad at me?”

This is the turning point of the episode, which recontextualizes everything we have seen of Entrapta’s behavior so far. Up until this point, the princesses and the audience have seen Entrapta as lacking in empathy, as having hurt the Rebellion and not caring, of being inconsiderate of their feelings of hopelessness and fear for their friend.

For example, there is a moment early on in “Launch” when Mermista asks, “Are you gonna help us or not?” Entrapta doesn’t respond until Mermista says, “If you help us find Glimmer, you can go to space.” The other princesses (and presumably the audience) interpret this as Entrapta not caring about Glimmer, only about going to space. But that interpretation requires assuming that Entrapta understood what Mermista was referring to when she asked her first question - that she understood that Mermista meant, "help us find Glimmer."

Likewise, the princesses assume that Entrapta doesn’t care about having hurt them while she was working with the Horde. But from her perspective, she has no reason to believe she did anything wrong. Remember, she believed that the princesses abandoned her, they left her behind, that Catra and the Horde rescued her and were her real friends. It wasn’t until Adora explicitly told her what really happened in Season 3 that she ever questioned otherwise. She still didn’t entirely believe Adora at first, but after Catra betrayed her and revealed that Adora was right, she went back to working with the other princesses.

When Frosta tells her that they are mad because her robots were hurting them, because she helped almost destroy their kingdoms - she flinches back. She’s hearing this for the first time, and it’s the first time she has seen what it felt like from their perspective.

Importantly, once she recognizes the feelings of the other princesses, she has no trouble understanding and sharing them. And she responds in a way that they don’t understand at first, running back toward the spire. But she is finally able to explain in a way they can understand - she is trying to fix what is broken, trying to use her tech to help them and Glimmer, because she feels their loss and pain, and she feels empathy for Glimmer, all alone in the Horde, needing the other princesses to rescue her.

(I also love that in the scene where she tries to explain that she knows she’s bad with people, and is trying to make up for it by being useful, the shot deliberately cuts off below her eyes – where most non-autistic people look for emotion and connection – and instead focuses on her hands – where many autistic people express our emotions.)

This depiction of empathy matches my experience as an autistic person. Speaking personally, I often struggle to recognize what other people are feeling, especially in the moment, and especially if I have to do so based on body language. It’s easier for me if I have time to think about and process what someone has said and done. Like any skill, I’ve gotten better at it as I’ve gotten older, but I still sometimes miss things unless people explicitly lay out how they feel. It’s also frequently hard for me to respond in a way that the other person will recognize as empathetic, especially if they are a new person or I’m in a place where the social norms are different from what I’m used to. It was especially bad when I was young - when I was upset, I wanted to be left alone, so I would really struggle to respond in any sort of affirmative way to other people being upset, because I worried about making it worse.

But once I do recognize what other people are feeling, I have never had any problem feeling empathy for them. I’ve gotten pretty good at expressing that too, but it’s hard when people act like I didn’t/don’t feel empathy, because I didn’t respond the way they wanted or expected me to.

And it really really sucks to see that stereotype consistently depicted without nuance in media depictions of autistic people. Which is part of why Entrapta’s depiction feels so fresh and meaningful.

Because Entrapta is incredibly empathetic! I’ve seen her described as immoral and cold, especially prior to Season 5; but she is probably the most empathetic person in the show! She can be self-centered and she’s focused on pursuing her interests to sometimes dangerous ends and methods, but she still overflows with empathy; like an inverse of her First One’s disk, she makes other people more empathetic just by connecting to them. While Catra was able to bury her feelings about Adora and hide from consciously recognizing her mistreatment of Scorpia, it was her betrayal of Entrapta that gave her nightmares and started to really break her down. Her connection to Hordak was deep and - look, I have a lot of emotions about Entrapta and Hordak.

But the point is, she was able to form an emotional connection with him when no one else had. And after he formed that connection to her, he started forming real emotional connections to others as well (not necessary positive connections - see, e.g., Catra - but emotional connections nonetheless!). She is the one who insisted on taking Wrong Hordak back to Etheria, and is the one who helped him through his existential crisis. And, for the most literal example, we can look at Emily. Emily is literally a robot that had no personality or feelings - until Entrapta made Emily her friend.

And then there’s Episode 9 of Season 5, “An Ill Wind,” which has a single moment that encapsulates part of why I love this characterization for Entrapta so much. While the protagonists are sneaking into the town of Erelandia, Entrapta winks at Wrong Hordak while congratulating him for blending in. Wrong Hordak tells her she appears to have a facial tick. She almost immediately understands what he means and why he misunderstood, succinctly explains what winking is and how to use it, and encourages him to try winking himself to assert his newfound independence from Horde Prime.

It’s a really great character moment (and the beginning of an adorable running joke of Wrong Hordak winking) - and one that I don’t think could be done nearly so smoothly without a character that is both autistic/autistic-coded and highly empathetic. It requires a character who could understand why Wrong Hordak is confused by winking and who is both willing and able to easily explain what winking is, and who can empathize with his emerging feelings about his independence. A relevant comparison is Adora’s early Season 1 struggles to understand social conventions outside of the Horde, and Gimmer and Bow’s struggle both to understand her difficulties and to figure out how to help her adjust. In my experience, many non-autistic people have difficultly recognizing when and why people are confused by different body language and social conventions, and have even more difficulty explaining these things, since they come so intuitively to them (much like someone who is naturally gifted at math may find it difficult to write down their thought process step by step).

Wrong Hordak and his character arc are, in my opinion, so important to the themes of Season 5 and the show as a whole - and like so many similar arcs on the show, Entrapta’s empathy is critical to the shape of his arc. She may not have an elemental stone to connect her to the planet and the other princesses, but she doesn't need one - she is complete in herself. Her autism may make other people struggle to understand her, but she never has difficultly connecting to them.

[spopsalt]

Does the spop team know how to write redemtion arcs?

I'm convinced they don't, Catra's redemption was incredibly rushed and she never becomes her own person or confronts her past traumas, she doesn't even become a good person! She still treats Adora like crap and never apologizes to oh I don't know, Glimmer for killing her mom? Bow for throwing him off a cliff? Hordak for sending one of his friends to Beast Island and exploiting his physical disability? Seriously what she did would be like taking a wheelchair from someone with broken legs then mocking them for it. I don't like Hordak but even then that was just cruel. She didn't apologize to Mermista for conquering her kingdom, she didn't even get a chance to apologize to Scropia because she just forgave her, come on Scropia you can do better. Catra also didn't become her own person! She's just Adora's hot catgirl girlfriend who is also her sister! Shadow weaver again, didn't become a good person. They just died and...that's it! All they ever wanted was power, they helped the princesses but that doesn't make up for years of abuse!? And again no apology or realizing what they did was wrong. They do not know how to write redemption arcs.

[yourfellowhuman07]

Where Do We Go Now?

A She-ra: Princess of Power 2018 fanfiction

The war is finally over. Prime is dead, the hive mind is broken, and everyone is reunited with their loved ones. However, there are some questions left unanswered. What will be the fate of Catra and Hordak? What are these new memories Wrong Hordak has? What is Etheria's place in the wider universe? Where do we go now?

___________________

Ladies, Gentlemen, and nonbinary friends chapter 22 is finally here. This has been a slog to write, but I persisted. I was on my last brain cells writing this so I hope it is good. Also, grab your snacks and tissues because this chapter is 45 words short of 1.5k words. Please enjoy and have a wonderful day.

Also as of right now the poll for the weekly upload date for my new fic still has five hours left to vote on. So if you really want, please vote.

Also, AO3 has caught up with Tumblr, so this chapter will be posted there tomorrow. However, you can only access it if you have a registered account because of precautions regarding the whole AI situation. Sorry in advance.

___________________

Chapter 22: Project Orion

Once again, rain battered the windows of the Crypto Castle. A blue fire crackled within the fireplace that housed all the… guests. On one side of the room sat the Alliance; on the other side sat Hordak’s brothers and the former horde soldiers. Right in the middle sat the former warlord upon an armchair, his fists balled into his pants. Entrapta sat on the arm of the chair with her hair wrapped around Hordak’s bicep. He cleared his throat.

“Now, I am under the impression that you all know why you are here. I would like to first apologize for my outburst yesterday. It was inappropriate of me, and I should have acted more rationally.” After a moment, Hordak looked at Entrapta. 

“Do you recall when I told you where I came from?”

“Yes.”

“That was partially a lie. I am not a clone I am the actual biological child of Horde Prime.” Hordak glanced down at his fists as everyone reacted with varying levels of shock.

“Why in the world would Prime want a baby?” Mermista expressed.

“He never wanted me. I was an accident my mother insisted on keeping. According to him at least.”

“Mother?” Castaspella inquired.

“Yes, I had a mother who is the only reason I am still alive. According to Prime, when my mother found out she was pregnant with me she insisted they kept me. Prime agreed as long as I was not a distraction.”

“If it is not too personal, could you tell us what she was like?” Castaspella inquired.

“I think we crossed the line of personal business a while ago.” Catra retorted, gaining a glare from Adora and Glimmer.

_______________________________________________________________

Orion sat reading on a big chair in his bedroom connected to his parent’s room. Despite being only four years old, he was very proficient at reading and had already begun reading novels and scientific articles. Like many rooms in the Velvet Glove, it was a blinding white with black accents and smelled strongly of bleach.

Orion looked up to the sound of the green barrier dissolving. His mother stepped through the door.

“Alright, star sweeper time for bed.”

“What! Please five more minutes, mama.”

“No, buts star sweeper, it is already past your bedtime.” She took the book from his hands, careful to mark Orion’s place. She started to usher him to bed as a thought popped into his head.

“Mama, why did you name me Orion?”

“Well, when I was giving birth to you, the Velvet Glove was passing right through a constellation named Orion by the local beings. Legend says he was a giant who was a mighty warrior and a huntsman that was immortalized in the stars.”

“Will you stop filling his head with that nonsense?” Orion’s father, Horde Prime stood at the door.

“Darling, it’s only a story.”

“A stupid one at that,” he looked to his left. “Is that my book?” He stomped over to the armchair, swiping the book and ripping out the bookmark. “Tell your child to stop taking my things.” He stormed out of the room, closing the barrier between the two bedrooms.

“I’m sorry,” Orion whispered, balling his fists into the bedsheets.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Your father is just having a bad day.”

“He’s always having a bad day.”

“I know.”

“Can you sing that one song for me again?”

“Anything for your star sweeper.

La la lu

La la lu

Oh, my little star sweeper

I'll sweep the stardust for you” She tucked in the white sheets of his small bed.

“La la lu

La la lu

Little soft fluffy sleeper

Here comes a pink cloud for you” She pushed his unruly indigo curls out of his face.

“La la lu

La la lu

Little wandering angel

Fold up your wings, close your eyes

La la lu

La la lu

And may love be your keeper

La la lu

La la lu

La la lu” She kissed him on his forehead as his eyes fluttered close.

“There now, little star sweeper. Dream on.” She turned out the lights and left the room.

__________________________________________________________________

“Ok, what I don’t get is how we and none of the other clones knew about her?” TD asked, leaning forward in his seat.

“Prime never let anyone see her. He never told me, but I figured her wanted her all to himself and didn’t want anyone else to touch her. Which is probably why he wasn’t too fond of me when I came around.”

“Why would Prime even want a wife to begin with? I thought he only loved himself.” Frosta inquired.

“Another thing I am not fully aware of. My best guess is that he liked the attention and affection a wife could give him. A type of adoration clones could not provide.”

“Whatever happened to your mother?” Micah asked, crossing his arms.

__________________________________________________________________

Just like his mother had told him to do, Orion hid in his closet as his parents screamed at each other. He didn’t know how it started he just knew it was about him. It was always about him. 

Maybe Father is right. Maybe I am a nuisance.

He could never figure out why his father detested him so much. Maybe it was his appearance. While he looked more like his mother there were some staggering differences in looks. For one, his eyes were crimson red when his parents were electric lime green. His hair was also different, with his being navy blue, short, and curly while his parents were white, long, and straight.

At that point, his parents were close enough to the door that he could make out what they were saying.

“I just don’t get the obsession you have with that thing! It was bad enough you wanted to keep it, but spending almost all your time with it!”

“First of all, that thing is your seven-year-old son, whom I am trying to raise by myself since you have put absolutely zero effort into even being nice too!”

“That’s another thing! With every passing day, you become more and more defiant! It has gotten out of hand!”

“And I apologize for that, but I just want you to be involved in raising the child you helped create!”

“When the universe implodes, I will be involved.”

“You are such a…hmm”

“Go ahead. Finish what you were saying.”

“Fine. You are a cold, narcissistic, uncaring man who has never given a single thought to anyone but yourself! You are a terrible father and a terrible husband that sucks the life of everyone around you!”

“There is no hope for you after all.”

__________________________________________________________________

“I do not exactly know what happened after that. All I heard was her screaming grow quieter as Prime drug her away. I never saw her after that night. The next morning Prime handed me off to a couple of clones and sent us off to some unknown plant where I was educated about almost every subject and how to fight. At the age of 25 my cybernetics were implanted, I joined the hivemind, and became his general.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Castaspella whispered, covering her mouth.

“Please, the very least you can do is not pity me. Is there anything else you all want to ask or are we done here?”

“No there isn’t,” Glimmer rose from her seat. “Thank you for telling us this and we are sorry we put you in this position. Guys let's go.” At her command, the Alliance filed out of the room leaving Hordak, Entrapta, and the five brothers in the room.

Hordak slumped down him his seat. Groaning as he buried his face in his hands. He looked up at his family.

“I am sorry.”

“For what?” Entrapta asked, wrapping her hands around his bicep.

“Lying to all of you about everything.”

“HK, that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re ok.”

“I’m fine. It happened a long time ago.”

“Still, if there is anything you need we are all right here.” Entrapta placed her hand on Hordak’s shoulder, receiving a small smile from the former warlord. “Come on,” she rose from her seat, “it’s past lunchtime and I know you haven’t eaten anything.”

__________________________________

As the Alliance boarded Darla Sea Hawk pulled Bow to the side.

“What’s wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong. After today I want to join you on your quest to befriend Hordak. Today has made me realize how hard he has had it, and maybe, like Catra, positive relations could get him on the straight and narrow.”

“That’s great! I’m glad someone finally gets it. My only problem is breaking the ice. I tried to talk to him once, but he was so dismissive. We need to get him in a place where he would be willing to socialize.”

“How about… a boys' night out?”

__________________

Can you all tell me what Disney movie I watched before writing this?

I also found a video that perfectly encompasses this chapter:

[baggebythesea]

Princess Glimmer and the Day of Many Choices: Bow's sexy pirate shenanigans

I'm back! Just a fair warning - this one is kinda dirty

"Adventure!" Sea Hawk happily cried, dramatically standing in the stern of the ship, gazing to the horizon.

"Adventure!" Bow loyally repeated.

"Dorks," Mermista said and rolled her eyes.

"Come, my lad," Sea Hawk rumbled, "and I will teach you the ways of the sea."

"I'm ready to learn," Bow said with as much bravado as his quickly beating heart allowed him - a condition that only became worse as Sea Hawk extended a hand, strong and scarred from many a battle with weather and foes alike.

"Then take my hand, lad," the pirate said with a wide grin. "Take my hand and there is so much you will learn."

Bow swallowed, told his insecurities to shut up and took the hand. Sea Hawk's grip was strong and warm, but surprisingly gentle. The pirate moved like an acerbate, and Bow felt himself be led like in a dance to the rigging.

"Now this tack," Sea Hawk said and gently put Bow's hand on a rope, "is for the spanker."

"The spanker?" Bow swallowed, acutely aware with how close Sea Hawk's face was from his own all of sudden.

"The spanker," Sea Hawk repeated.

"I don't know what to do with the spanker," Bow confessed, feeling his cheeks getting warm.

"I'll teach you lad," Sea Hawk said. "I'll teach you all about the spanker."

"I want to learn," Bow earnestly said. "I want you to teach me."

"Then pull, lad," Sea Hawk grinned. "Pulled for all you're worth."

"What if I do something wrong?" Bow gasped.

"You won't," Sea Hawk assured him. "And I'll be here the entire time." He leaned closer. "Every step on the way, I'll be by your side."

"But it's so big!" Bow said, both hands on the tack.

"Uuuuuuuugh!" Mermista groaned. "Stop it with the ropes already." She pointed at Bow. "You, get over here."

"Oh… um, sure…?" he said, suddenly dry in his voice under the expectant gazeesdjh of the haughty princess.

"Took you long enough," she said as he joined her by the wheel. "I need you to fix my sextant."

"Your… what?" Bow blinked.

"I need you to calibrate my instrument," she clarified. "Any problem with that?"

"No-o…" he whispered.

"Good," she said and grabbed his wrists. It came so sudden he barely had time to gasp until she had moved his hands to a small brass instrument. "Here, move this part until you get the right spot."

"But it's so delicate!" Bow said, voice shaking. "What if I can't find it?"

"You'll simply have to keep trying, won't you," she leered. She watched his clumsy attempts with eyes that were more eager than she let on. "…but you're doing OK so far," she admitted.

"Really?' he perked up.

"Yeah," she muttered. "Just OK, don''t think you can slack off."

"I wouldn't dream of slacking off, ma'am," he promised as he kept working her instruments, getting better at it for every turn.

"Oh, lad!" Sea Hawk yelled, sitting astride the ship's main artillery piece. "When you're done with that tomfoolery I need you to polish my canon!"

"Oh my gosh!" Bow said, eyes wide.

"Uuuuuuuuuugh!" Mermista said.

Then they went below deck where nothing of interest happened, I'm sure*.

So glad to be back! I'll update every second day or so. I've also finally put a log of this ongoing saga on my ao3 page. As always, you'll find older entries by searching the "princess glimmer and the day of many choices" tag.

Part 19 is here: https://www.tumblr.com/baggebythesea/712755900748906497/so-just-to-take-my-notes-for-my-own-benefit-the?source=share

*) Or, you know, check out my ao3 page just in case...

[nny11writes]

Nunny! I'm sending you asks for your game.

I'm tempted to send you the entire post and just see the Nunny Rant. You might not even do She-ra. I'm thinking of She-ra sending these but go off about star wars or something else if you think it applies better to the question :D

the character everyone gets wrong (ahahhahahaaaaaaaaa)

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about (im sure there is a long list)

9 and 10 - Worst part of fanon and worst part of canon (imo there is some overlap)

13. worst blorboficiation

14. that one thing you see in fics all the time

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

lakhglkajfas, I think my rant would mostly just be keyboard smashes and crying emojis so this is the better way to go lol!

the character everyone gets wrong God, like, fucking- ALL of them. :) Buuuuuut the one that's bugging me the most recently is Mermista.

I am SO sick of post canon Mermista in c/a fics specifically. Mermista would not hold a grudge that hard that long and that violently!!! Stop having her hate Catra and actively be out to do harm to her. Mermista's response to losing her kingdom was like a bad breakup where she just cried in a tub eating ice cream. Her response to seeing HORDAK at the end of the series was just a, "So are we good with him now?" implying that she's chill to be chill.

Mermista and Catra 100% would sit at a table calling one another a bitch (begrudgingly fond and pretend to not be) back and forth. Mermista would not be out to skin Catra alive! Mermista wants to talk to Catra about her murder novels because Perfuma reads too slowly and doesn't like spoilers but she NEEDS to talk to someone about the butler who has a brain cell because Sea Hawk seemed to miss the whole first half of the book AND FURTHER MORE-

9. and 10. - Worst part of fanon and worst part of canon

Worst part of fanon is the fucking shippers. This went from one of the more open and accepting fandoms for all ships that I'd ever been in to one of the worst.

Like, straight up, one of the fics that lives rent free in my head is an explicit fic where Catra and Hordak enthusiastically consent to having sex. Like Hordak is trying to be kinda standoffish but can't stop looking at boob window tits, he was Entrapta trained I'm afraid. The number of times I think of his awkward proposing they do it more frequently followed shortly by Catra dressing and winking saying, "Seriously, great cock!" is a lot lol. It's such a porn movie style fic and there is something fantastic to be said about it.

But you even hint that Catra could be headcanonned as anything besides a lesbian and your body will be found in a few months time in several different bags. Suggesting Catra and Hordak having any romantic or sexual relationship probably gets you reported to the fucking government or something. So there's a reason it's never made a rec list from me but fuck it I'm mentioning it now.

They aren't real. If I want to occasionally have a giggle about them and make my little dolls bump uglies everyone else should politely not look while my fellow weirdly sane people who get that this is all make believe but sure we're the freaks here come poke and enjoy!

Fucking shipping wars and discourse man. I'm sick of it.

Worst part of canon for me is the censorship and uncertainty that caused various issues with the plot and prevented the show from being even stronger. You can see it in real time while watching, but man it was wild in December 2018 to see how professional media talked about the show and Catra and Adora being adoptive sisters, to AJ (I think?) getting dumped on for repeating that idea and having to apologize, to the open gayness at the end. I love SPOP, but the rocky terrain the crew-ra had to navigate really did impact the quality and created weird gaps that asshole fans hunkered down into. Like, we cannot pry some of those fuckers out.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

I need you to understand that my immediate response when I started writing this answer out was a very strained and painful sigh through my nose as my brain returned a static white noise sound.

I am really tired of forcing this jock!Adora and slacker!Catra thing. Like, it started in modern AUs but it's gone and infected people's idea of canon as well. It falls into a bit of the "dumb adora" trope, which people just don't seem to actually understand what that means or is about. It also falls into Shadow Weaver's narrative of who Catra is which is wild. Like. Really wild.

You are telling me Catra, a cat person who grew up in a military, is actively against exercise? Yes, she would 100% sleep in a sunbeam for a nap, and then she wakes up and craves some low key chaos and violence.

You are telling me Adora, forced into a golden child and leadership position, is bad at reading and math and science because all she cares about is training? Adora 100% enjoys physical fitness and using her body, but she's got a sharp mind on her and there's no way in hell she doesn't like to work it too.

I am just exhausted with it in modern AUs, and now it has gone to infect canon interpretations. It flattens their characters out, ignores/denies parts of their abuse, and nukes their abilities from orbit. I hate it so so much.

Also if I have to see one more fic or art piece where Catra is willingly and happily wearing dresses, skirts, and heels I swear to fucking god I will KILL. :)

13. worst blorboficiation

Again, this is all of them. Everyone suffers from being blorbo'd to an insane degree, but it just shifts depending on which character is the favorite of that part of the fandom. You have talked several times about the insanity of Catra fans vs. Hordak fans, the blorboification is insane there. Same with Catra fans vs. Glimmer fans.

Like. God damn. I'm so glad the Adora vs. Catra fan fights died out real quick because this fandom is exhausting enough.

With Catra being my favorite it's extra exhausting because there is CONSTANTLY people attacking her and then total asshats trying to defend her who I do not want to be associated with. I love her. She's a fucking idiot and a bastard and a baby. Somehow, every take on her is both the worst and factually correct and then the fandom fights.

Tipsy, I. Am. Tired.

14. that one thing you see in fics all the time

OKAY

Let's fucking talk about how GLIMMER IS NOT AN EVIL BITCH. Can we talk about that? STOP TRYING TO LEAVE THIS POST AND SIT YOUR ASS DOWN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS AGAIN because someone needs to hear it louder in the back.

Glimmer is the character who is probably be done the dirtiest by the fandom but for wildly different reasons throughout the whole show. Hands down.

After S1 fandom took Glimmer and made her into an entitled dumbass whiner who threw money and her titles at her problems. They made her act like a child without any complexity. And it 100% took me from not really liking her character much to detesting her which is outrageous every time I remember that I kinda hated her at that point.

This did not improve post S2. :)

Post S3 probably was the most sympathetic and understanding the fandom was to Glimmer but it came at the cost of trying to bulldoze Catra for the Portal and people making callout posts like these characters were real people. I feel like the rise of some of the G/A shippers that I really can't stand was around this time. It was catra vs. glimmer fans going bat shit and drawing lines for ships.

If they couldn't assassinate Glimmer's character, by god the fandom would assassinate both Catra and Adora's in wildly different ways instead!

Do I need to talk about post S4? The idea of dark Glimmer and Glimmer going off the rails should have been a fun thing to play with in the sandbox and instead just writing it down made me cringe. Now Glimmer has to be an evil bitch because she had a trauma response and made bad decisions, now she is irredeemable because I made up a situation where she did something she didn't in canon for reasons so OOC someone probably slapped Donut Steel on it somewhere.

There was a little lift post series, but man people are holding onto Glimmer being a spoiled brat to play off of for Catra or a cruel bitch for Catra and, again, as a Catra fan, I want to bite bite kill kill bite kill kill kill!!!

Glimmer is allowed to grow up from being a spoiled kid who had good intentions and was naive. She is allowed to be over eager, bratty, petty, silly, funny, caring, and smart too. She's allowed to make bad choices and struggle with how to recover from it.

STOP MAKING ME THE LEAVE BRITTNEY ALONE MEME FOR GLIMMER

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

Shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs, shut up about redemption arcs-

[cherrytea556]

She ra is an overhyped mess

I do not get how it was praised so much and was apparently the point were she ra got popular or at least had its popularity grow because there was just so much wrong in s5

The characters are either acting out of character, wasted, used for shipping, have no character development or just badly written

The only characters that i can think of that was well written and not wasted was shadow weaver, angella, mara and lighthope. Mara, angella and lighthope story was already finished so they wouldnt be affected by s5's writing. With shadow weaver, they have her still be a villain which she was great at so that's good at least. But that couldnt be said for the other characters because there stories either was brushed off to never be focused on again, badly written or there was just never a story to begin with.

The tonal issues they have in the later episodes of s5 even though were suppose to take this series seriously. She ra always have tonal issues like with princess prom and those episodes in s4 but it hasnt changed in s5 like in perls of peekablue, their acting like its a fun party when its not and taking control has a sideplot of the rebellion gang going to a party like dont you guys have war rn?

Theres this plothole of grayskull because how its explained in return of the frightzone makes no sense, although maybe im wrong, its coming from memory

How they do redemption with catra and hordax-do i even need to explain further? Like both are shit, catra and hordax didnt change in the end. Hordax may be a worse case because some people say that he wasnt even meant to be redeemed but have an arc about finding himself and acceptance which if thats the intent, why tf would you pick the colonizer that took and brainwash children into harming innocent people? Wheres the thought process in that?

And the romance....look im not big on romances, in fact, i dislike romance but even if i like romance, i wouldnt like most of the she ra endgames writing. Catradora is still toxic as catra didnt change and dismisses all that pain she put adora through for 3 years straight. Spinnetossa was okay because they already were togather but it has a questionable moment to say the least and the closure of their arc in s5 is just poorly worded. Seamista barely has any development for their romance to work plus both wouldnt even be that healthy anyway, seahawk disrespects mermistas boundaries and mermista avoids him and is openly irritated by him so them being canon without much development from the two is really jarring and tbh, kinda ick to me. Now as much as i love glimbow and scorfuma, both weren't so well written, glimbow came out of no where while scorfuma only got a bit of development. Doesnt help that theres no slight indication of them being a couple unlike the rest of the ships so it also kind of came out of nowhere for it to be endgame. The only ship that worked was entrapdak because its healthy, their relationship developed and it doesnt even need to show us a big love confession or something because we as the audience can understand that they are in love so it makes sense for them being canon.

Oh and i forgot horde primes plans make less sense overtime, she ra learnt her new powers way too quickly, catra was forgiven way too quickly, the abliesm in launch was handled terribly, catradora is getting worse than i thought it was and all in all was a dumpter fire that for some reason got a golden platter by critics and fans in 2020

Sorry for the rambling, i still dont get how people call she ra almost perfect when s5 proves otherwise and no one in that time era besides those small creators on youtube mentions its obvious flaws. The whole thing makes me face palm