#so yeah I don't get people seriously dedicating their time to hating on a fictional character

[theawkwardvillainess]

Some more of my art! This time it's Jin Guangyao and (young) Nie Huaisang, two of my favorite characters in all of MDZS. I think I will come up with my original designs for all the characters in the future, but for now they are based on the donghua which I btw started watching (everything is so fast ahhh)

Also I know I probably messed up some anatomy/face features/other things but please don't point it out! I start to get ashamed and afraid to post my art even with soft criticism... So please let it be imperfect

[shewhotellsstories]

People say Eloise is a self centered white feminist who enjoys the privileges that come with being a Bridgerton and although that's true, she is also a sheltered teenage girl who needs to learn about the world.

Her feelings of marriage are valid and while she needs to learn that desiring motherhood and marriage doesn't make a woman lesser, it's part of growing up and learning true feminism. She's a baby feminist but viewers don't want her to grow. How many teenage girls in today's day and age are all-knowing about feminism theory? Her friendship with Theo taught her about the working class and that connection to the outside world could have been a great learning experience for Eloise. Yes she has the privilege of being a Bridgerton but that safety net is exactly why she should be allowed to advocate for things the way she wanted Whistledown to(not a critique of the character but rather the writing and the fandom)

Penelope did some selfish things as Whistledown, abusing her power (cause it wasn't just about being gossip girl for the bag) and rather than acknowledge that we're expected to sweep it under the rug. I LOVE flawed characters because the writing acknowledges their wrong doings and yet certain characters get away with murder.

Eg s1 Blair was awful to Serena and while she had her reasons for doing so, revenge and her own self worth and abandonment issues, the show acknowledged this and we wanted good things for Blair. Serena slept with her best friend's boyfriend and covered up a mans overdose but we still root for her because she is a good person and is trying to grow.

If Penelope doesn't acknowledge her wrongdoings how can she grow as a character.

"Okay publishing a burn book is wrong but I love writing and I'm good at it, maybe I should become Jane Austin or something."

(throwing in how Edwina was raked over the coals for being angry with Kate and while the half sister comment was uncalled for, she wasnt given the same grace Penelope has been given)

I'm sorry for how long and all over the place this is.

No, I get it. The issue is that some characters are given grace while others are crucified. Some characters have their circumstances considered when examining their behavior while others don't. I hate it that some characters get novellas dedicated to defending their bad behavior while others should've just known better.

And that's totally the way I see Eloise Bridgerton. She's a baby feminist! She is in her just watched Ironed Jawed Angels and has maybe read a few zines era of feminism. When I was 17, I remember saying in class that I didn't think it was possible to be a SAHM and be happy and now my opinions have radically shifted because I'm not a kid anymore. Now, if you'd ask me I'd say it's a vulnerable position to be in economically because your security is tied up in your marriage working out and or your husband never dying, but it's your choice ultimately. What a difference a fully developed brain and college professors who require you to read bell hooks and Audre Lorde can make.

But seriously, the sad irony of Eloise being raked over the coals for "doing nothing" is that she was trying to become more informed and it blew up in her face. Spending time with Theo and other members of the working class was really good for her. Sadly, Penelope should've known better than most that she was genuinely trying to expand her worldview, but Eloise is the only person getting the bad friend allegations.

And yeah, as much as I love Kate and Anthony, people were way too hard on Edwina in season two. No one wanted to hurt her, but who in her position would toss confetti?

Plus, I'm really glad someone else is seeing the endless Gossip Girl comparisons that can be made here!

P.S. If you're interested one of my favorite Kanthony fics ends in Anthony and Kate encouraging Eloise to become a fiction/social commentary writer.

[cowboylikeyouu]

why does everybody hate mcu clint so much??? i’ve read his comics but i still love jeremy renner’s portrayal of him and stuff :(

like i can understand being disappointed in some ways about how the character was changed for the movies, but i can’t understood all the hate for him

for me, personally, it's not that mcu clint is a bad character per se, it's really just the fact that he doesn't feel like clint barton. give him any other name and he's a fine character, but compare him to comic clint and they're in NO WAY the same person.

on one hand you have that responsible, serious husband and well adjusted father of three, who cracks a joke here and there but takes everything pretty serious most of the time, who has his life under control, while everyone else on the team is a mess. he doesn't have that much of a personality, no weird habits or (dis)likes, he really fades in comparison to other team members like tony, who's lines are always on point and who gets a back story and everything.

on the other hand there's this 6'3" disaster of a human being, who lives for coffee, dogs, tv shows and nothing else, is obsessed with purple for no reason at all, grew up in a circus after he escaped his abusive dad, can't take anything seriously and cracks the funniest joke all the fucking time, even makes fun of captain america on a regular basis (at least in the early avengers comics), runs away from himself and responsibility, fucks up nearly all of his relationships because he really sucks at emotions, but then forms those really precious bonds with people like kate, and who's just kind of an asshole really, but simultaneously a fucking ray of sunshine. plus he's deaf and we always love some representation. oh, and mcu clint is like the straightest guy ever, and then there's comic clint who is just so easy to headcanon as this bisexual disaster, and we all know how much fandom loves a queer coded character.

so, the mcu basically took away every fun part of the awesome character that is clint barton and it SUCKS. i really don't hate movie clint as his own character, i just hate hate HATE the fact that he's supposed to be THE clint barton because he IS NOT, and he'll never be. i'm sorry, but jeremy renner just can't pull it off, i'll never understand how they saw bigger-than-steve, blond-mess, purple-loving, coffee-addict comic clint and where like: "oh yeah, let's cast 5' 9" jeremy renner and give his character a huge, healthy family, and no mental health problems, that's just perfect😍"

it's just so sad to be aware of the awesomeness of comic clint and then watch the movies because you're constantly thinking "oh what could've been..." if they did comic accurate movie clint, he'd definitely be a fan-favourite and we'd have tons of edits, and ships, and merchandise, but NO, most mcu fans just forget about him or don't find him special or entertaining (bc his mcu version really really isn't) and he gets left out of all the casual merchandise you can find in random shops (i literally have an album on my phone that's dedicated to photos i took of cheap avengers merchandise with the "o6" avengers sans clint lmao)

you're obviously allowed to love movie clint and jeremy's portrayal, that's great!!! i was an mcu fan way before i even knew just how different comic clint was, and i loved mcu clint so much back then! but after reading the comics and thousands of fanfiction, i'm just really really angry that there isn't a good live action on screen representation of my all time favourite fictional character, and i think many people feel the same :(

okay, i think i'm done lmao.

anyways, shout out to avengers assemble clint, my one true love <3 the mcu should take notes.

[the-way-astray]

HEY so I skim read your new Keefe hate post and I have some thoughts I'd like to share (all good ones!!)

As someone who also wrote a very long essay about [a] fictional character(s) while citing the page number and book word by word, you freaking ACED it. I'm always gonna be impressed when people take the time to cite your source and give a in depth explanation about it

You're lowkey not too wrong about Keefe infantilizing Sophie. For something silly and stupid, like "Iggy ate my mallowmelt!! >:( Now im mad!!" yeah I bet Sophie would seem cute lol. But for when she's genuinely angry and pissed?? Maybe lay off a little bit dude 😭 Like cmon she can murder you with her mind- There are moments where he does talk about how powerful she is though, throughout the series, but tbh as much as he does that he probably inhantilize her too *shrug* I need to reread the series, but you are making some sense.

I need Keefe getting mad and someone asking him if he's on his period LMAOOOO

Anyways as someone who loves Keefe you're making valid points. He has his flaws, and sometimes he isn't the best person. In summary

Never post that on pinterest. Those crazy Keefe loving, Fitz hating, Sokeefe shipping 11 year olds will MURDER YOU. I will respect your opinion, but they sure don't.

(your opinion is valid and you have facts *clap and approving nod* you have my respect.)

the post in question

okay, first of all, i need this essay immediately. i literally do not care what it's about but words! lots of words! about kotlc! need.

ooh, thank you so much! i mentioned this in the post itself, but this is a rework. the quotes were originally in one post (copy-pasted from another post) and the explanation was in a reblog, which was hella annoying, so i condensed them. i suppose it does make much more sense now. and my explanation is based in the fact that i don't think people were understanding why this isn't a good thing to be saying, period, when i posted it for the first time. even without context.

yeah, keefe displays a consistent attitude of "sophie is so adorable and small and cute and ditzy and soft". seriously, if you don't believe me, read his perspective in unlocked (or don't, because i'm going to do it for you in my part two keefe rant). it's why i don't buy his accepting sophie as a leader in stellarlune (done in a very, very tell-not-show way, may i add), unless he went through some serious development in unraveled. i may have to dedicate a whole post to that topic . . . anyway, yeah, him calling her powerful and talented feels very, very, very tell-not-show, and when you look at his internal thoughts in unlocked, it portrays her very differently. i'm not a fact of the way he sees her, truly. it feels very dumbed down and uwu-ified. no quotes from unlocked have been put into the post, so i'll have to update it later, but if i included unlocked quotes, this post would be like sixteen times its length. but yeah, you should reread the series before you come to a serious opinion. i'm obviously incredibly biased.

GOODBYE I WAS CITING THAT POST BECAUSE IT GAVE OFF THE EXACT ENERGY I FEEL KEEFE GIVES OFF . . . I DON'T EVEN THINK ELVES HAVE PERIODS (please nobody bring back that cursed discussion again, please, i beg) BUT YOU'RE SO CORRECT. SOMEONE WRITE A HUMAN AU WHERE THIS HAPPENS IMMEDIATELY

yay, a level-headed keefe lover, i love you guys. lol . . . i don't plan to go on pinterest anytime soon, or ever (and i also don't even think pinterest's format even allows for a long post like this . . . ). honestly the thought would have never even crossed my mind, because keepblr is my one true love and i'd never cheat on her. but now that you mention it, it might be funny . . .

[toastywatchesstevenuniverse]

S1 E50

Political Power

Ball.

I love how this episode was set up.

Every properly named side character in beach city has had at least an episode dedicated to fleshing them all out. Or at the least they've appeared enough times that you get a genuine sense of who they are as people.

So that moment where they go on about how the city is strong together or whatnot?

That shit was genuinely fucking earned. They earned that moment. Because I actually KNOW them. Even the most basic ones still had some amount of depth.

I know I've been harsh towards Lars for example? But damnit he's someone I don't forget. I remember his character. He has a personality. He feels like a person. They all do.

Except Onion, Onion feels more like a force of nature who exists only to cause problems. But I mean: hey maybe he's just feeling quirky. Idk man. We all have our quirks.

Ok but Onion was seriously about to genuinely try to beat a man to death with a blunt object.

Also Mayor Goodman-

Yes I know his name is Dewey but 1. He looks like Bob Odenkirk & him looking like Saul is so fucking funny that I refuse to not just call him Saul Goodman. 2. I'm sorry but if I call him Dewey, I'll only be able to think about DuckTales & quite frankly I don't think I'm ready to imagine Dewey Duck having a position of political power.

-Okay back on point: I'm surprised this episode made me.....not hate the guy? They actually gave him depth. Not a lot but still. He's not just some evil asshole: he's a mayor who's clearly really kinda dumb & prideful but he's genuinely trying because he cares. & He's lying because of a legitimate reason. Because yeah: in this city? Where space alien bullshit is just a real thing? The fuck is he supposed to do? He literally can't do shit. Of course he's gonna try to comfort everyone, that's all the guy can do. And he legitimately showed that he DOES give a shit. He's not perfect but he's someone who genuinely wants to do a good job. He's actually....likable. Don't get me wrong: I don't love this character, he is utterly just.....y'know he's serviceable. He works as a character. But the fact that I care about him slightly is insane. In fact I care about all of these people. Because this town feels like a town of real people who care.

I cannot fathom that they made me slightly care about someone who is a politician. Because I fucking hate politicians. I care about this fictional politician more than any real politician. Damn.

Anyways I loved this episodes progression of Steven's character. He's aware of how others see him. And seeing him tell the others that he KNOWS that they see him that way. You can tell he's known this for a long time.

And you can tell the gems probably knew that he knew too. And this is them finally acknowledging that. And it hits.

This episode left me with a sense of dread.

[epickiya722]

how can you be a fan of mirko and hate bakugo tho??? they have basically the same personality.

And you know what, this is one of the few times where it's the MALE character that's hated while sharing the same traits as a FEMALE character.

I said this is the recent ask I just answered, but I really think it's because Miruko is a hot woman.

Don't get me wrong, I find her attractive, too.

But seriously though, let's be honest, with Miruko her personality doesn't matter when she's a rabbit woman with a cute face. I have made a post about it before so long ago, but Miruko has to be the most sexualized female character there is in BNHA.

I don't see a lot of people wanting to explore her more character wise as they do with Midnight. Who is a canon sexual character.

Like I bet you right now, go into the Miruko tag and you'll see more fanart pictures of her where her tits and butt are drawn way bigger than she naturally has before you see a headcanon post that doesn't touch on how she can screw the reader.

Back to Bakugou, I also feel like it's the case of popularity.

Miruko isn't that much of a popular character, she isn't. She's just getting the acknowledgement due to her showing up more in the manga and anime.

Before her appearance in season 4, I doubt anyone remembered or cared for her from the manga. (As a opposed to me who saw her in the manga and went, she's already became my fave. It was her lines that got me.)

And when she was animated, people were more antsy and racist to her English VA than to hate on Miruko as a character.

Bakugou, on the other hand, has been present since day one. And even then, he already got fans, grew in popularity. He has reigned #1 since, what, the second popularity poll?

So guess what?

He's easy to hate on.

With many fans, there's going to be many haters because "Oh, look, more people to bother". I feel like half of the time, his haters don't really be hating him. They just look for easy targets to bother because they're bored.

Like I don't see Mineta fans get bothered. Some I'm sure do, but at best they're ignored like Mineta himself who the fandom either hates or ignore exists.

Overhaul fans. Despite him experimenting on Eri since she was a toddler? Don't see them get bothered much. Why? Overhaul isn't that popular of a character.

People want to pull the "He is a bully" card as if Bakugou hasn't acknowledged that himself. Yeah. As much as people preach about kids being kids and they can learn, they sure do get antsy about a fictional one admitting he was a complete ass and has issues.

Something quite a bit of ADULTS in REAL LIFE won't even do.

So far, I have only blocked 1 person who was anti Miruko but so many anti Bakugou blogs.

Like even if I hated Bakugou, I'd probably still be blocking anti Bakugou posts just for the fact a lot of antis tend to be trolls. That's how annoyed I am.

Your whole blog dedicated go hating a character?

WHY ARE YOU SPENDING ALL THAT TIME BEING NEGATIVE?!

[thetruthbetween]

fic quiz Tagged-ish by @amiwritesthings 😂

Only doing my main AO3 account and not including any side accounts, cuz I don't wanna math rn

How many works do you have on ao3

214

What’s your total ao3 word count?

207,197

What fandoms do you write for?

Uh… all of them?? My fandom list on AO3 has 33 fandoms on it… But the only ones I feel inclined to write for at this very moment are Grimm and SPN

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Bite Me (Once Upon a Time) Can't Escape Destiny (Once Upon a Time) All That Is Gold (Once Upon a Time) Truth or Dare (Criminal Minds) Operation Moms (Once Upon a Time)

… Wow, I do not agree with my highest kudoed fics at all 😕 Tho I do find it interesting that they're all femslash ships, even tho I mostly write het

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Mostly no. I like to, because I know how I feel when I comment on a fic and the author replies to it, but I always feel so awkward just being like "thanks, glad you liked it :)" to everything. It's true, but it feels disingenuous, IDK

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Mm, one of the character death fics for sure. Dunno which one tho, I've written them for like half the fandoms I've written for LOL

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

The vast majority of my fics have happy endings, how do you pick the happiest of "and they lived happily ever after"? LOL

(Me casually being the worst for these two questions LOL)

Do you get hate on fics?

I have, yeah. I've had people yell at me to stop writing when I post a particular ship (so I recently posted another of that ship and dedicated it to the anon in question), I've had people yell at me that… Mary obviously didn't love Sam, only Dean, in a Dean/Mary/Sam fic… That one confused me, NGL. Surprisingly, I don't think I've gotten hate for incest? Not that I can recall, anyway, at least on my main account

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yessssss I do. Mostly het, some femslash when I end up in a fandom lacking good hetships (mostly OUAT). Some vanilla, some kink, some omegaverse… IDK, I feel like my smut writing is pretty basic, like even the kinky stuff is like… light kink, nothing really super heavy or anything

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not generally, I tend to only hyperfixate on one thing at a time, but I have started writing an SPN fic that is sorta a crossover with various other fandoms, where Gabe makes Mary a pocket realm to bang fictional characters she finds hot (AKA I find hot) (yes, it's crack treated seriously) so there's planned chapters for Twilight (Carlisle and Esme, together) and Criminal Minds (Hotch and Prentiss, not together) and The Conjuring (Ed and Lorraine, together) and since I just got into Grimm, Grimm (Sean) but I haven't actually written any of the crossover parts

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. Reported it but the poster deleted before AO3 could take action (so I've been keeping an eye on the account and have reported it for plagiarism 4 times now, 3 where the person's been caught and the fics been removed). Also had a former friend post something we wrote together without permission from me or credit to me, even tho I wrote literally half of it. I commented that if she didn't add me as an author, I'd report it, so she deleted it and blocked me

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. I've had several people ask, but I'm not comfortable having my fics translated, so I've always said no

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Many! I love writing with other people, it's much easier than writing alone. I also end up with way longer fics when I write with someone. My longest fic I've written alone was like 10k, which is only 3k longer than my shortest co-written fic

What’s your all time favorite ship?

That's not how hyperfixation works LMAO But my current favorite ship is Silverprince (Sean/Juliette) from Grimm

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have more wips than I have finished fics, and most of them won't ever be finished. I'd probably say either Can't Escape Destiny or All That is Gold, but I also can't say that I doubt I'll ever finish them, because if/when I get back into OUAT, I fully plan on working on them again

Oh oh! I know one! Not a wip story, but a wip series. My Criminal Minds series, The Self-Discovery of Emile Prentiss, my trans!Prentiss series. I've got another 3 installments planned where Em and Hotch get together but I kiiiiinda don't think I'm ever gonna actually get around to it. Same with my Grimm idea I'm currently working on. I posted one fic in it, but I have some pretty strong doubts that I'll ever get the whole thing finished

What are your writing strengths?

Super super super short but evocative scenes. There's a reason why I write microfic (under 100 words) and that's because I'm good at it

What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot. All the plot.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It's fine? I've done it, I've read it, it's whatever. I don't really have an opinion

First fandom you wrote for?

I don't know if it was Star Wars or Star Trek TNG. It was 25+ years ago

Favorite fic you’ve written?

Sleeping Beauty (SPN) It's my only Dead Dove fic, and it is by far the most fucked up thing I've ever written, but I love it SO much. Partly for that reason, partly because it's a different style than I usually write, and partly because some of my fave comments are on that fic LOL When you write something super fucked up and people manage to still enjoy (possibly not the right word LOL) the fic even while hating the subject matter? I mean. C'mon.

[aros001]

Going in blind: Watching season 5 for the first time. Random thoughts.

Episode 1: Well...that dinner got dark. From what other fans have told me apparently Glimmer gets a lot of hate for her decisions during the series and I just find that odd. I was more annoyed with her in the early seasons where her actions were more harmless simply because she had no patience and wouldn't listen because of her immaturity. Season 4 and here though? Even her most reckless and risky actions have at least been fueled by the genuine desire to keep people safe during a very hard situation. Even here, yeah, she tells Prime something it's very bad for him to know but he was going to have Adora and everyone else literally murdered before her eyes if she didn't. I can't really be mad at Glimmer for making a bad choice when it flows logically and fueled by the desire to keep the people she cares about from being slaughtered.

I don't think we've ever seen Catra this completely at the mercy of another person before, save maybe for Shadow Weaver when she was a child. She has nothing to offer that Prime doesn't already possess. Nothing he wants that he can't get for himself. Her relationship with everyone these past few seasons have been either "I'm your commander and you have to do what I say" or "You are my commander and here's the reason you have to keep me around". This time she has nothing to protect herself behind and the only reason she's still around is because Prime might think of a use for her later.

I love having Scorpia on the heroes' side.

Episode 2: That ending though.

I think what helps elevate Entrapta for me and keeps her for being annoying or irritating is that the show really sells that she just genuinely has trouble understanding why she should/shouldn't be doing certain things. It's not stupidity or even pure self-absorption, she just struggles with people and social ques while machines and science is a lot more straightforward. Heck, she was probably able to bond so well with Hordak because work together in the lab was them meeting on a common middle ground she could understand and relax in. The way she's trying to overcome the issue to help save Glimmer reminds me a little of Mob from Mob Psycho 100, feeling a little frustrated in not understanding something that she knows she should be.

Episode 3: Anybody else get a Disney's Hercules vibes at the end there?

Catra: "Besides, O Oneness, you can't beat her! She has no weaknesses! She's gonna kick your...!"

Prime, smiling: "I think she does, little sister." [Strokes Catra's hair] "I truly think...she does."

This episode really sold how completely isolated Catra is. With the sole exception of Glimmer, she's in space, no idea where exactly she is, onboard a ship filled with nothing but Prime and hundreds of cultist clones. Throughout the entire series we've seen Catra push everyone away and now that she's in a situation where she is almost well and truly on her own with no power, freedom, or authority, she seeks out the one other person around to find any sense of comfort in. Despite everything, Catra doesn't like being alone.

Little child Catra lashing out because she didn't want Adora to have any friends other than her kind of reminds me of Glimmer and Bow during the Princess Prom episode. I imagine it's the same mentality. Growing up in isolation, even if in different forms, and finding only that one person they feel thay can really lean on, there is that fear that they'll find someone else they like more and start caring about them less, or even outright stop. The difference is Bow set Glimmer straight, assuring her he'll always be her friend no matter what but he's not going to be just solely dedicated to her. Her fear was understandable but she was not respecting him as a friend either. Adora never really had that with Catra, one because she was much younger and less mature than Bow, and Catra was probably all she had too, to an extent. As we saw season 1, she was always trying to look after her, even when Catra needed to take responsibility for herself. Bow is not Glimmer's keeper, while Adora too often was that for Catra, so Bow and Glimmer have a better foundation of mutual respect while Adora and Catra's dynamic has been really screwed up for a long time.

Kind of tying into that, despite all that's happened between them, the minute Adora hears Catra's in distress she starts panicking and tearing up. The last time they saw each other they were very much enemies and Adora was done reaching her hand out to her. I suppose you could make the argument she's really been hoping all this time that Catra would finally do the right thing for once, just probably didn't expect it to be like this.

Prime better not mind wipe Catra like he did Hordak.

Episode 4: See, calling the heroes the rebellion now makes sense since they are rebelling against the established power, which is Prime.

Love that trick with the reflections, where you can sort of see/sort of can't see She-Ra. A nice little tease for what I imagine will be a big reveal later.

I really like that explanation for what Bow's going through. Last season's finale was the last he'd seen Glimmer and was desperately trying to save her, and he's been consistently worried for her since then. Now that she's safe he's starting to let himself process his other emotions towards her, and I totally get it. It's hard to be mad at someone when you're also terrified over what might be happening to them, even if your anger is justified. While I get why Glimmer last season did what she thought she had to, it was still a big risk that Bow warned her about and she didn't listen, putting them all in danger. This situation and Glimmer's words is a very mature way of handle this topic. He's not wrong for being mad and it's not a contradiction to what we've been seeing from him this season. Humans and emotions are complicated.

Episode 5: SHE HAS PAAAAAAAAANTS!!! (I will miss the cape though)

That almost makes up for them cutting Catra hair. Seriously, that mane was beautiful!

But boy, speaking of Hercules, that return of She-Ra definitely felt like Hercules emerging from the pool of souls to save Meg.

With the one clone being disconnected from the hive mind and having a breakdown over it, that does make me wonder if Hordak has been connected to it. Wasn't he deemed a defect because Prime couldn't connect to his mind? I suppose it's possible that flaw was corrected. Clearly Prime can take over minds other than just his clones, like with Catra. But if he could do that I'm wondering why he just didn't when Hordak was first created and he instead cast him out to Etheria.

Was Catra purring at the end? I swear there was a sound that sounded like purring.

Episode 6: Assimilation is easily one of my biggest fears in fiction, be it zombies, Borgs and Cybermen, Get Out, the freaking Sapphire Dragon from Xiaolin Showdown that scared the hell out of me as a kid! Just the concept of having your free will and autonomy completely ripped away from you, potentially with you still being aware but unable to do anything about it, is horrifying! At least with Prime's chips the process is reversible.

Anyway, in lighter plots, I kind of love Wrong Hordak. He's really funny. I feel bad that he's being deliberately misled, but he really shouldn't be following Prime anyway, so...

I do like that Adora is being a little more tough on Catra. She needs kindness, yes, but she also needs honesty and discipline, the kind that has actual love and care behind it, unlike what she got from Shadow Weaver. Adora is genuinely trying to help so Catra needs to stop acting like a brat and LET HER HELP.

Episode 7: Catra was definitely purring.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume people probably ship Scorpia and Perfuma. Not that I have any problem with that. It's like the Midoriya/Todoroki ship; I don't ship it myself but I totally get why others do. It's a relationship based in mutual respect and one of the characters having a significantly positive effect on the life of the other. As long as the shipper themselves is not horrifically toxic, I don't care.

Also, I don't think I've ever been so intimidated by Mermista before than I was with that one shot of her in silhouette, just before the reveal she was chipped.

Episode 8: Okay, I definitely love Wrong Hordak. Just that realization of his. "Horde Prime...lied to us..." There's just something about it that's so full of character. Obviously he's a brainwashed clone but he was truly devoted to Prime and just to find out that he would keep something so big from them, from the hive mind that's supposed to be so open to him and each other, it destroys everything he ever believed in. It's hilarious to watch him prepare to lead his brothers in a revolt against Prime.

I assume magic is Prime's "weakness" in that he himself cannot control it. Obviously he can control magical beings like Spinnerella and have them use magic but magic itself is too free and too powerful for him to contain and fully fight back against. He's all about order and stillness and magic is basically chaos.

Episode 9: I like to believe the mushroom kingdom they saved is a Mario reference.

Something I like in hero stories is "the power of a name" or "the power of a symbol". Something as simple as Superman's S-shield can have so much weight and meaning behind it just because of the person it's tied to. She-Ra isn't just a powerful warrior to the people of Etheria, she's a hero of legend. We saw it touched on even back in season 1 how much Adora returning She-Ra to the world meant to everyone. She-Ra to them is a symbol of hope. If they have her on their side, then they believe they might be able to win and with that ordinary people can find the strength to fight too. It's something I think the Green Lantern put best with how the Blue Rings of hope supercharge the Green Rings of will but lose a lot of their functions when the greens are not around. Hope is useless if you don't have the will to also act, but in turn hope can give people the will to act. The more hope they have that they can win, the more they will fight to win.

That was the nerdiest comparison I've ever made.

Episode 10: I appreciate a good bad dad joke and that's why I can't approve of "punderstand". It's too much of stretch to flow well. "Ruined" was good though.

I'm less surprised that Scorpia's been chipped and more that she's even alive. She was at the bottom of the ocean when the roof broke and she's a scorpion woman. I don't think water is a very friendly element for her. She's even commented on how good the desert was to her.

I wonder her She-Ra mode is not working for her simply because Adora is exhausted; mentally and physically. I don't think she's ever used the form this continuously before, and she's been doing it without the First Ones' sword that she has experience with. Her new sword and its transformations may be made out of her own energy for all we know. And then there's just the emotional toil of having Catra back in her life while it feels like more and more of the world is being turned against her.

Episode 11: Oh, I'm definitely shipping Hordak and Entrapta.

I think Re:Zero has spoiled me on dark magic. While Micah with his dark magic is a threat, in this show and many others dark magic basically just equates to "spooky, evil, bad stuff" magic that isn't that different from most other kinds of magic other than being either harder to control or more geared towards causing harm. In Re:Zero, dark magic was DARK. It felt unnatural, like a perversion of how their world's magic is supposed to be and that it didn't belong in this reality. Micah's dark magic is basically "I'm attacking you with shadows, oOoOoOo so scary!"

Not really surprised Catra left. She just got Adora back and now she's potentially about to let herself die. Perfuma said it best, letting people in and letting herself be vulnerable is hard. Caring about Adora and watching her die would be a huge blow, so Catra would rather curl back up into her shell and block out Adora again than have to risk taking that hit.

Episode 12: I keep saying it but now having them right next to each other, yeah, Mara's She-Ra outfit is better than Adora's. I don't know, there's just something grander about it. Anyway, on topic, I'm a big fan of superheroes and legacy and all that and I really like Mara's words to Adora. All she did and sacrificed was so that others, especially the next She-Ra, wouldn't have to do the same. It doesn't matter how noble and heroic it is, tragedy is tragedy and anyone who knows that kind of pain doesn't want anyone else to have to go through it.

I'm not surprised by the love confession between Glimmer and Bow. I felt it could go either way with them either hooking up or just staying really good friends, but that in itself is a sign of how good and natural their friendship is. I can easily buy how it would evolve into something more between them. The situation they're in probably helps. When Glimmer was taken they both thought they might never see each other again and that fear and worry probably caused them to reevaluate how they feel about the other. They've been clinging to each other since getting back, as every day could be their last. Something like that is naturally going to push two people together.

Episode 13: So...are there any plans for a season 6? Or a comic continuation like Avatar and Korra got? Because this was a good finale...buuuuuuuuut I feel there are definitely some things that needed a bit more exploration.

This is typically why I like stories with epilogue endings, especially those set some number of years in the future. Little glimpses of what everyone's doing now, allowing the audience to fill in for themselves what happened in-between. There's nothing wrong with this episode but it does just kind of...stop. They beat Prime. Everybody's cheering and happy. Adora suggests they bring magic back to the universe. And...that's it. We don't see anything more. No aftermath, no post-war, nothing. We end on the moment of victory, and while it's not a bad moment it leaves the ending feeling a little incomplete.

It kind of feels like the writers either really had to rush to the ending to make the 13 episode deadline or simply didn't want to address whatever happens with Catra and Hordak now. With the bigger threat of Horde Prime it makes sense why everyone puts aside past issues and works together. But now that the crisis is over, naturally everyone would have to address everything the Horde had done to Etheria for years with Hordak and Catra leading it. Don't get me wrong, I believe that Catra loves Adora, I believe Adora loves her, and I believe Catra wants to be a better person. It's not like I'm saying she needs to be locked up or executed. But she did cause a lot of damage and put Adora especially through hell, and just because Shadow Weaver is the one who screwed her up so bad doesn't mean she doesn't have any responsibility for her own actions. So it just would have been nice to get even a little bit of lip service to show that Catra would be trying to right her wrongs from this point forward, instead of just "Prime's gone, everyone's happy, bye!" At least with Entrapta she seemed to genuinely not understand why what she was doing at the time was wrong and Scorpia, like Adora and Huntara, defected from the Horde to do the right thing despite it being even more part of her upbringing than anyone else. I can't even imagine what happens with Hordak now.

Don't get me wrong, this is far from the worst I've ever seen a redemption handled. I haven't read/watched any of Boruto outside of the movie and Gaiden tie-in but I've read all of Naruto and there is no reason that Orochimaru should just be walking around and casually talking with people after all he's done. Kaiba in the Yu-Gi-Oh manga built an entire theme park to try an murder Yugi and his friends and they bring it up like twice after that arc. Kylo Ren turning back to the light was one of the potential paths for his character, so that made sense in TROS, but they essentially did "He died heroically and therefore totally redeemed himself for every terrible thing he's ever done."; basically a cop-out. Catra's alive and can at least potentially still own up to her actions and work to redeem herself. And I love Steven Universe, but kind of like with Catra nearly killing everyone (including herself) via the unstable portal, fans have naturally pointed out that the Diamonds enslaved and committed genocide on multiple planets and really faced no consequences for that other than "Stop it". Catra's not at the gold standard of redemption stories, which for me is probably Zuko and Endeavor, but she's far from the bottom. I think the best way to describe it is that Catra had as good, if not better, reasons for being so bad and screwed up as Zuko did, just as good step-up for turning good as Zuko did, but she didn't have nearly as much payoff afterwards to make it feel like a full journey like Zuko did.

But enough about all that. Love the basically goddess She-Ra Adora became. Given the emphasis on healing powers with She-Ra we've had, I'm guessing that's essentially how she destroyed Prime. She purified Hordak and Prime was basically an infection within him. I like when heroes snatch victory from the jaws of defeat but I also when there's an implication towards the villain that "Wow. I never stood a chance." She-Ra's power just dwarfs his. Full potential realized by Adora and he was just gone.

Also I don't know how I forgot that Prime could jump into the bodies of his clones but his possession of Hordak got me. I genuinely couldn't think of how he'd survive after Hordak shoved him off the edge (set free by the power of love!).

And even if the ending feels a little incomplete, the episode itself still did well with my emotional investment. I was gripped by during Catra's confession and the tension within the heart.

Season 5 and overall series verdict: I'm very glad I saw this series. Even though its ending falls a little short for me, this was still really good. Seasons 3 was probably my favorite overall but this story had a very good flow to it. It steadily built up bigger each season, with Catra and Hordak being really compelling villains driving the whole thing. Not that Prime was bad. He was a genuine threat and his cult of clones is a good creepy concept. He's just not as good as the other two. I'm sure part of what elevates him up is because I'm thinking of the JL director's cut but Hordak really is just better Steppenwolf. Everything that worked about that character, Hordak is that to an 11.

Given how I've talked about her more than any of the others, Catra is probably my favorite character. Just the damage that girl has been through. I always understood why she was doing what she did, even though there was rarely a moment I'd agree with exactly what she was doing. Again, it's one of the reasons it feels like the series just kind of ended. There's a lot to be seen with Catra's character now, a lot that can be done, and it just feels like a shame to really not show any of it. This isn't a fault of SRPOP itself because so many series, especially animated and anime, are guilty of but it always bugs me when a series ends on two characters hooking. Relationships are interesting, I'd argue more so than the build-up to them, but no writer ever wants to actually explore them after the hook-up. I never cared about Korra and Mako being a couple but I still found their relationship as a couple more interesting and character building than any of the will they/won't they build-up to it. And I actually like the idea of Adora and Catra as a couple. It's a big reason why I'm so happy the Harley Quinn animated series got renewed for a third season, as it otherwise would have just ended on a hook-up between two characters who, like Adora and Catra, love each other but have had a complicated dynamic for a while. I believe Adora and Catra love each other, but they've got a lot of stuff to work out and I want to see that! Catra's got abandonment issues and that in turn caused her to be unhealthily possessive over Adora. Just seeing the two of them try to work through that alone would be fascinating.

Like I suspected early on, Scorpia's my favorite supporting character. Entrapta's a decent 2nd. Took a small dip when it seemed like she was joining the Horde over feeling abandoned by the princesses when they thought she was dead but that picked back up once it was made more clear "Oh, okay, you're not being petty or stupid. You genuinely don't understand." It made her a more interesting character, and I love her and Hordak's relationship.

Least favorite characters...probably Sea Hawk and those three former Horde friends of Adora and Catra. I never hated them but I never cared about what was happening when they were on screen. They fill out the world a bit, they drive the plot, they're not wastes of space, they even get some laughs. There are just so many other characters in the series way more interesting than them.

Biggest surprise for me was definitely Glimmer and Bow. I never thought I'd dislike them but the best friends characters in series like this can kind of go one way or another with how relevant or deep they are. Glimmer especially I was surprised how much I was invested. She really grew a lot as a person throughout the series and I thought the dilemma over the Heart of Etheria was a good one.

Honestly there's a lot more I could talk about but I have only so many words and my thoughts are a jumble right now so I'm going to leave it at that. I will say I really appreciate how supportive you all on this Reddit have been. It's something I hate about some other fandoms I'm in where they basically are so toxic that they make no one else actually want to watch/read the thing they're fans of because they can't help but associate it with them.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/o2p6wq/going_in_blind_watching_season_5_for_the_first/

[rogermeddowstaylorr]

New apartment - Does a best friend... (part 1)

Note: Hey there sweets! I’m happy to release a fiction written during aproximately... 2 months. It’s kind of my sweet baby, and i’m so nervous to release it! (hope it would not flop dkskdh) I have to thank a wonderful friend of mine, @rogerina-is-hotter-than-me for the correction and for reassuring me ! So i hope you will like it!

Plot: You are moving into your first apartment with Roger, your childhood best friend. The small party you’re doing that night would be cut short by someone you love...

warnings: language ? talking about sex ? but mostly... ANGST  and FLUFF! (and sorry if i’ve fucked up the timeline jdbjbfzejfe)

Your feet were for the first time walking on the used wooden floor of your brand new apartment. It was exciting and frightening. On this day of October 1971, you were alone in an undiscovered world that was London. You felt a hand on your shoulder, and the intoxicating scent of someone you knew well.

“Inauguration, tonight, of the brand new place of Y/N and Roger!” Roger said that, trying to reproduce the voices of the advertising you saw once on your old TV. He was laughing a little, and then softly suggested “Come on bub, let's go in and open all those boxes.”

You two had known eachother since a long time. Actually, since you broke your guitar, playing in your garden. On this day of summer 63, you were wearing a little checkered yellow dress and your hair was tied in a ponytail, a pale yellow bow holding it. Roger was living in the house facing yours and was staring at you, leaning in his window. You knew his existence, but you never talked to each others. So, you were playing the guitar your parent just offered you, outside, when suddenly, guys bullying you from your school showed up. They annoyed you, taking your guitar off of your hands. You stood up, and, the bigger kid pushed you in the grass, while the other was shaking your guitar. Roger was seeing it from his window, reluctant at helping you. These guys were bullying him too because of his height. It's when your guitar was clearly cut in two part that he came. With his little voice, he saved you. “Hey you! Big head! Get away from her.” he said, bravely. The guys were laughing out loud, when, suddenly, Roger jumped on them and punched them with all his strength. One of them was already out, running far away. He was small, but damn he was punching those big monkeys, as you used to named them, with strength. It's when, five minutes after this event, he helped you to stand up, that you became friends.

You were exactly the same person, though, in a girl body: inseparable stubborn friends, defending yourselves, facing lovers or bully. All dedicated to the other, at every moment. You were testing all the first things with each other, smoking, drinking, for the first time, for example. But he was ahead, being the sexy drummer of his band and by shagging first. On your side it was more complicated, but he didn't knew that. Anyway, with him, it would be the first time you had your own house. Naturally you choose him as your flatmate.

You two had opened some “vital” boxes and put the record player first, to tidy everything with music. The afternoon was long and sweaty but your house was almost finished. Roger was on the phone, ordering Chinese food, and you were watching him, sat on the floor. With his long blonde hair, falling on his shoulders and his shirt half buttoned, he was breathtaking. The metallic noise of the telephone handset brought you out of your thoughts.

“Nice that Cheryl is coming for dinner!” he was totally smiling, crouching to sat down with you. His blue eyes were looking at you. Cheryl was your friend and you set him with her, hopping that he would not cheat on her. You knew Roger, the guy who was out with three girlfriends at the same time one day, but you wanted to believe that he could maintain a healthy relation for once. “Is Brian coming too?”

“I hope! I don't want to play gooseberry again, you're gross guys!” you laughed a little.

“That was not that bad, last time!” he pushed you gently and said “admit above all that you want your boyfriend for you to inaugurate this beautiful bedroom you just set, lovey.”

“Fuck you, Taylor!” you yelled, laughing and standing up, hearing some knock on the door. When you opened it was Cheryl, wearing a beautiful and almost nonexistent red velvet dress, so much it was short. You knew she was doing everything to please Roger, but it was a little bit afflicting sometimes.

“Hi sweetheart!” Cheryl said with her nasal voice. She then came closer to you and whispered “How am I? Do you think Roger is gonna like it?” you took a look at her and sigh, widening your eyes.

“Hell yeah, he's gonna love it.” you whispered back, sarcastically. You hated when she was doing that, asking you your opinion.

You closed the door after that and came next to them, falling in the sofa already present in the apartment when you two moved in. Roger was kissing Cheryl in some way you didn't knew him capable of. You were trying to get distracted, not looking at them. It was gross, seriously. By the way he put his hands over Cheryl thighs, yeah, he as loving this dress. A sudden knock helped you to go out of this awkward situation.

“Brian!” you smiled, hugging him. “Help me, they're eating themselves already.” you made a concerned facial expression trying to get a smile on that beautiful face of his.

“I’ve got you,” he laughed and handed you the Chinese food bags. “First, the delivery boy gave me this, and second, gonna distract them.” he put a chaste peck on your lips and smiled against your mouth, crouching a little to be your height. He came in the living-room, interrupting the make out session they decided to do now.

“You're gross guys, look, I can hold me when I'm seeing my beautiful girlfriend. Huh, Rog?” He gave you a wink, laughing a little.

“That's because she's not beautiful and hot, that's all.” Roger whispered, his fingertip on Cheryl nose.

“Bastard.” you sighed at Roger, feigning pain, and then patted Brian's shoulder. “You've done your best, hon.” you kissed his cheek and laughed.

You were opening the food boxes and putting it in some plates. You knew Brian was a vegetarian, so you put extra meat for Roger. You gave them their plates and sat in Brian's lap, beginning to eat. You were smiling, giving some of your noodles to your boyfriend. Roger was pouting, and you laughed at his face. The evening was animated by music talk and jokes. You and Roger were literally fighting for the guitarist's attention.

Back in the kitchen, you put the plates into your sink and felt Brian's hands on your waist. He was smiling, kissing your neck. Fortunately, Roger was not seeing you. You turned and let your nose brush softly against his. You knew what he wanted. You loved Brian but he wasn't the one. You were so afraid. Hearing laughs in the living room, you thought that you would have some time alone for you two. He took your leg, softly bringing it to his waist and put you up on the sink sides. You were kissing tenderly, a hand in his curly hair. You see a blonde mop coming in the kitchen, and a grin grew on his lips.

“Ew! That's gross guys!” he was talking with a calm smooth voice, hoping to reproduce Brian's voice. Brian turned to face him and smiled.

“You're not good at impersonating people.” Brian's soft voice was amused but at the same time a bit annoyed. You came down the sink and took a dish towel to throw at Roger.

“Mind your own affair, Blondie!” you yelled. Roger laughed, challenging you, the cloth in his hand. You suddenly began to run after him. You two were like child, and you were chasing each other in all the apartment, cursing out loud. Brian was sitting with Cheryl, smiling at the sight of Roger jumping on the central island of your kitchen. The blonde caught you, breathless, to stop you.

“Okay! White flag! I'm Switzerland, y'know” he was breathing heavily, holding you in his arms. You were running out of puff too, nodding. You put the cloth on his face and rested against the wall, looking at his blue eyes. “Fuckin' cigarettes!” he mumbled.

You were on your bed, trying to put off your shoes. Brian was in the bathroom and the sound of pouring water was muffling Cheryl stupid laughs. You were angry at the fact that you were the one who put these two together. It was not the best idea, really. You were not feeling Cheryl. You throw one shoes to the wall next to Roger's room. You heard the drummer groan and throw something against it too, answering you. You didn't realized that the water stopped, and that Brian was watching you, a grin on his face. He was only “wearing” a towel on his waist.

“Angry at Cheryl, huh?” he smiled. “She's not the smartest girl ever, it's true, but she's kind and seems to fit with Roger.” he sat on the bed and brush your arm. You pulled back a little at the sensation. He frowned but hold on. “If Roger do not cheat on her… That's good.” Realizing that Roger did not cheated since 11 months -almost a year- amazed you. It was fucking crazy for Roger, not looking for another girl. He should really love her. You remained silent and looked at your colourful socks.

Tooking a cigarette softly, you gave one to Brian. You lighted both cigarettes, end to end and a puff of smoke went up.

“Tell me the truth, Y/N...” he paused, looking at you in the eyes. You were afraid of the next thing he would say. “You don't want me to touch you?”. Fuck.

“No, it's not that Bri...” you were shaking a little. He was so comforting and nice to you. How could you tell him that he was not the “good” person for your first time? Maybe was he, after all? You were avoiding his eyes, when suddenly he understood. He let a sigh that he was not aware he was holding.

“You're a virgin.” he said, mumbling, lost in his thoughts.

“Thanks for making it so obvious.” you tried to joke. His hands brushed softly a lock of his hair out of his face. He seemed annoyed, far away in his mind.

“Why did Roger is talking about those guys you used to see?” a little bit of disgust was in his voice. He was annoyed but tried to stay calm, as usual.

“Come on, Brian… It was to shut Rog's big mouth and avoid all of his jokes. You do not believe all this bullshit, do you?” You said, beginning to be irritated. A long and quiet pause was set between you two. To add more awkward to the moment, you both heard Cheryl moan. You closed your eyes, sighing shakily. Brian stood up, and began to get his clothes.

“What are you doing, Brian?” you stood up too, concerned.

“ 'M leaving.” he mumbled. “I've understood. You're fucking Roger!” he accentuated his name, almost yelling. You were shocked, eyes wide. Seeing you not answering he yelled suddenly “Fuck, I’m right. YOU'RE FUCKIN' IN LOVE WITH HIM AND YOU'RE FUCKING HIM BEHIND MY BACK!” All the noises from the next room stopped. “That's why you hate Cheryl.” You tried to keep Brian in your room but he was too angry. He dressed up and leaved. You were in the corridor, paralyzed.

Time goes by, you were lost in your thoughts. It’s when a blonde mop came in, without a shirt, worried that you came back to reality. You were just crying a little bit, looking at the door Brian just crossed. Roger hugged you from behind.

“I'm gonna fix it…“ he whispered softly.

You didn't believed that the loss of Brian would affect you this much. Cheryl was not here anymore -it was too awkward for her- and Roger was concerned about you. You were sleeping in his bed, looking for company. What a better company than your childhood best friend? Roger was trying to distract you. Playing you music, composing with you, playing scrabble, reading you his favourite book On The Road. You remained sad and kept your day in bed. He didn't knew exactly what happened since you wouldn’t tell him.

Month went by. Roger was trying to fix all that, to get Brian back in your arms. In fact, Brian was seeing another girl, which Roger didn't knew the identity. It was a pretty weird situation. One night, Roger opened suddenly your bedroom door. It was late and he was drunk, coming in your bed.

“Okay bub. I've find what you need. Another guy to shag.” he was a little bit bouncing, and his voice was shaking. You raised on your elbows, sleepily, and brushed his cheek with your hand, to catch his attention.

“Why are you so drunk, Rog'?” you looked anxious, looking straight ahead in his blue eyes.

“Cheryl broke up with me...” he lowered his eyes and let a tear fell down. Oh no. The next second, he was crying in your arms. “She cheated on me…!” he mumbled on your skin. You were petting his hair, pained.

“Do you know the guy…?” you asked softly, while his face was in your neck.

“Freddie, the new front man, y'know, said that he saw the man.” he was shaking more. You tightened your hug, trying to cradle him in your arms, petting his back.

“Fuck…” you cursed, “He discovered Cheryl cheated on you...” your voice was soft trying to calm the blonde. “Do you know more about it…?”

“It was in our dressing room, after the show...” he pulled back from you, softly, tears on his cheeks. “And it was with Brian.” you looked at him, breathless. Dizziness took you by surprise and you had to put both hands on your bed to hold on and not fall.

i hope you liked it!! leave a comment or reblog it to tell me your opinion! thanks a lot for reading it!