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that-ari-blogger · 4 months

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The Episode That Needs No Introduction

This is a post about Promise. And I could end this introduction here and you would know what I'm talking about. Because Promise is the episode that made She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Before this episode, this is a war story, with an abusive parent figure and a femme fatale that the hero will have to overcome and befriend respectively.

Even two episodes prior, in the darkest episode up to that point, this was still a war story. The stakes were barely personal.

Promise is when that changes, and this series becomes psychological. Or rather, reveals just how psychological it has been the entire time.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Promise is one of the most well written episodes of television out there, to the point where several top ten lists for She Ra actively exclude it because it is too obvious of a choice. TheGamer.Com calls it "a masterstroke of emotional storytelling". Meanwhile, Five By Five Takes' video, She Ra's Internal Trilogy is a powerful analysis of Promise in the context of the whole series and is genuinely what inspired me to create this blog in the first place. Promise is good cinema.

I'm going to start with that opening sequence, because it summarises all three characters and their arcs masterfully. Light Hope responds to She-Ra but ignores Adora. Catra is desperate for Adora, but despises She-Ra. So, our protagonist is pulled in both directions, by others and by herself. You get all this from the emotionless dialogue from Light Hope, despite it not stating it directly, and from Catra's expressions.

I am aware that this robot specifically isn't technically Light Hope, but Light Hope is the entire system, so I consider this robot a part of that.

Even here, there is a dichotomy between the characters. Catra and Light Hope are opposites, where one says only kind things, but her actions betray a more Machiavellian nature, the other's words are hurtful, but despite herself, she cannot help but show a kindness. Exhibit A: The last time these two saw each other, Catra was giving Adora back the sword.

There is also the emotionless vs ball of anger in a vaguely humanoid shape parallel, but that is mainly superficial.

This training scene is cool because it gives us yet another look behind the curtain at Catra's psyche. Take a look at these two lines, back to back.

"Way to gang up on me!"

"No, I'm fine. You're just lucky I let you win."

Catra puts up a brave face to impress people and to cover up for herself. But look who she is saying that to. Catra wants desperately to show off to Adora. She has no interest in showing strength to Shadow Weaver at this point, her defiance isn't fueled by that.

The one person at this point in the story that Catra has been shown trying to impress is Adora. It gets mentioned that she does things to gain Hordack's favour, but we never actually see that, and her words are far from trustworthy.

It is also notable that the first thing Catra tries to do is scream for Adora when she's met with the spider. It's instinctual, and there's something to that.

Because... is it instinctual? I've talked about Catra's character design in the past, focusing on the symmetry, but I took care to not mention her stand out quality. Catra's animalistic physical appearance is a metaphor for one of her strongest themes, instinct vs choice.

It is possible to make a case on almost every single one of Catra's actions for either instinct or choice. Is she instinctively caring for Adora, but choosing not to? Or is she desperately trying to be kind, and instinctively rejecting that? I am partial to the second idea, but it could quite reasonably be either. The story doesn't at any point make the answer clear, which is a strength of the writing.

An instinct is a behaviour that you do not think about, not necessarily one you are born with. For example, flinching when something flies by your face is an instinctive behaviour, but so is lashing out when feeling threatened. Some compulsions and addictions function like this. And I think that Shadow Weaver's manipulation has caused Catra to develop these behaviours. Catra has been raised to instinctively push away affection, or to stay silent when feeling love of her own.

Shadow Weaver physically abuses a child in this scene. That is objectively what this is. The fact that this is magical is the only thing that let the writers get this through censorship. But I want to be clear here, this is not simply punishing misbehaviour, this is not tough love, this is not building strength. Shadow Weaver physically abuses a child in this scene.

And this is favouritism as well, Shadow Weaver could have cast her spell and frozen both Adora and Catra or reprimanded them both. But she chose to torture Catra exclusively.

However, favouritism and privilege are two different things. In this case, they are unrelated. Again, there are so many ways Shadow Weaver could have done this. She could have let Adora go, but she kept her, and made her watch.

"Adora, you must do a better job of keeping her under control. Do not let this happen again."

This is a statement. It says: "this is what affection gets you, pain".

Shadow Weaver is at her lowest in this scene. She isn't introduced as a terrifying threat like in episode one. This Shadow Weaver is frail and unmasked. She is breathing heavily, and exhausted. This is who Shadow Weaver is, truly.

Michaelangelo is attributed the following quote:

"All I did was chip away at everything that didn't look like David."

In truth, Michaelangelo probably never said this, and Quote Investigator references the line's evolution in this source, up to its current form, first published in 1974 in the Boston American Herald. In any case, you can apply this to characters in fiction. If you take away everything that isn't that character, what do you get. What is the element that stops this character from feeling out of character.

Redemption arcs often struggle with this, as the single essential element is usually their motivations, and in a shallow villain, switching sides can make them feel out of character. Spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender (Skip to the next paragraph if you want to avoid those), but one big reason for why Zuko's redemption arc works so well is that his villainy isn't his essential element, that's his drive for honour.

So, what is Shadow Weaver's core attribute? When you take away her schemes and her power and her mask? Who is she? The answer to that is simple: Shadow Weaver is cruel.

Rise Of The Guardians presents the idea of a person's centre, and it fits this concept really well. Cinema therapy has a video dissecting the subject, and it comes down to this: Your centre is the thing that makes you who you are. In the Ship of Theseus question, your centre is the one plank of wood that makes it the same ship. You can change some important things about yourself, but if you keep this, you fundamentally remain yourself.

With that said, what is Catra's centre? This isn't a rhetorical question, I'm genuinely not sure. I think it's her empathy, for good or evil. But again, I'm not sure. Let me know.

There is actually a chance to find this centre in Promise. And it's here:

"Catra, wait. I'm sorry for leaving... You could come with me! You could join the rebellion! I know you're not a bad person, Catra. You don't belong with the Horde."

This is everything Catra wants, it's an apology. It's an affirmation of friendship and love. And you see her genuinely consider the chance. But unfortunately, Light Hope steps in to tear them apart.

Because Light Hope is also manipulative. She wants everything Shadow Weaver wants, specifically control. She tries to mould She-Ra into her weapon just like Shadow Weaver, and she tries to tear her away from Catra in the same way. That's why she chooses this specific memory, because she knows it will hurt the most. Because she knows it will tear them apart.

Both Shadow Weaver and Light Hope know that an isolated Adora is an easy She-Ra to manipulate. Because the one thing neither of them can possibly account for in their plans is love.

Light Hope is named to reassure, to give Adora some sense of trust there, and it works. Because She-Ra is a story about hope, and about finding it in others.

But here is an important distinction. Others don't give you hope, you do that to yourself. Others can inspire you, or connect with you, or kindle that flame. But at the end of the day, hope is something you give yourself. Someone claiming to be your only hope can just as easily be seeking to control you. A lighthouse might lead you to a shore, but a fake flame over dangerous waters could sink your ship.

Those final two conversations are infamous amongst the fandom, and for good reason. This is the worst parts of both characters being brought out. Adora and her hero complex, and Catra with her emotion. Both good features in certain circumstances, but in the wrong place, they can create a wedge. Light Hope has precision engineered the exact circumstances needed for that wedge to crack their relationship so she can take advantage of the wreckage.

Final Thoughts

This was a difficult post for me to write for two reasons.

First, what can you say about Promise that hasn't been said before a hundred times? This the quintessential episode of She Ra and almost everyone in the fandom has weighed in on the subject. So, finding something original to add was an interesting experience.

But second, this episode has a reputation for a reason. I've said before that the greatest strength of this series is its humanity, and that is made even more obvious by Promise. There are real people who have had conversations like the one in the corridor. There are real people who have experienced what Shadow Weaver's behaviours are an allegory for. If you stripped away the magic from these scenes, they would play out almost exactly the same.

The reason the series overall is so powerful, is that it tells you that things will be bad, behaviours have consequences, trauma hurts you and people around you. But it also tells you that there is always hope. There will always be someone willing to offer you a hand of genuine kindness, and over time, that can change you. She-Ra gives people hope.

I'm away next Friday. But I'll be back in the new year with some analysis of Light Hope

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#rants #literary analysis #literature analysis #character analysis #what's so special about...?#she ra and the princesses of power #she ra catra #she ra adora #she ra light hope #she ra pop #she ra shadow weaver #she ra princess of power #she ra #spop #adora #catra #catradora #she ra spop

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hijinxinprogress · 8 months

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Young Justice watches one piece together

They argue constantly over which pirate crew they are and none of them can agree

They’ve all made up power moves based on one piece

Every one piece backstory has Cissie, Kon, and Greta sobbing and dry heaving while an amused Cassie tries to console them

Whenever Robin says something morbid offhandedly they all turn and look at Tim who’s immediate response is ‘it’s not like she’s wrong-‘ while Anita agrees with him

During Momonosuke’s backstory, they all just stare at Bart bc he goes ‘hey it’s me’ while giggling which ended with Greta sobbing

Cassie compared Mr. Sarcastic to Sniper King & Tim made a powerpoint with over 300 slides explaining why they’re wrong

Cissie and Anita will explain in detail why they’d never lose to a devilfruit user (all of their plans involve drowning) while Greta points out the weak points in their plans

The entire team will wordlessly gesture to Tim whenever Nami or Usopp are lying, undercover, or just straight up doing shady shit

“My name’s Kon and I ate the tact-tact fruit now I have tactile telekinesis which means-” “stfu I don’t mention my powers that much” “yes tf you do” “wE dOn’T hAvE tO WoRrY mY tTk will-” “now it’s a crime to share things about myself with my friends??” “if I have to hear about your ttk again I don’t want to be friends”

Whenever it’s mentioned that characters parents are dead/abusive/estranged they all make fun of each other for being orphans or belonging to otherwise dysfunctional families

Bart was compared to the tontatta tribe for the entirety of Dressrosa and still gets shit for it

whenever a character explains their devil fruit it doesn’t matter if it’s once or every time their on screen, they look at Kon who’s very adamant that he does not sound like that

Cissie has threatened physical violence in response to being compared to both Uta and Yamato

Brook hadn’t even been on screen for five minutes before they had to pause bc Tim ordered Greta a piano while entire team compared Greta and Brook for over an hour

They referred to Tim as yj’s chief of staff for months, they had Bart change his position on young justice to chief of staff in his fucking file

Anita once told Cissie that her insults took little imagination much like the nickname’s Luffy gives people he doesn’t like

Then they teamed up to fight Tim who mentioned that their arguments were reminiscent of Zoro and Sanji’s

They compare each other to one piece characters all the time and it’s not in a friendly “haha hey you and this character like the same food” but evil ass shit that you’d have to fight someone for saying

“Another orphan!” “mf your parents are dead too!” “I don’t know why you’re giggling, yours aren’t even dead and they don’t want you”

“Big Mom and Pudding’s relationship is sorta like you and Superman” cue Kon pointedly sideyeing Bart and Bart jumping up to point at Tim with both hands who doesn’t even look away from the screen to point at Cissie

“You see Luffy rn? That’s what Tim was like when Kon and Bart died, that’s what you left me to deal with” “You were like that too!”

“Oh, wow Brook also joined a cult after being separated from his friends” “separated?! mf I died” “tim YOU JOINED THE LEAGUE” “we’re all technically-” “no ra’s al ghul’s league” “TIM…tim what the hell”

“Do you think you and Sanji flirt with everyone in your immediate vicinity bc you need someone to validate your existence and you know your father never will?”

“You and Sanji have the same dumbass taste in code names” “wdym??” “red robin….soba mask” “soba mask is objectively worse??” “is it really though”

“Anita, wasn’t your grandfather also complicit in your parents death??” “more like directly responsible but fuck you”

“Anyone else seeing the similarities between Sterry and Sabo with Tim and Damian??”

“You and Bepo both apologize for existing, do you think he does it bc his mom doesn’t love him or is that just you?”

“A stoic badass with a sword-” “it’s not a fucking sword-” “-did I say I was done? that never had any semblance of a normal childhood so their trust issues and short temper are 74% of their personality” “I just want you to know I have your address” “proving my point rn”

“Has anyone else noticed that Greta and Baby5 will fall in love with any moron that gives them the slightest bit of positive attention?” Tim and Greta making offended noises but not disagreeing

“Dead parents, fanboy, hates life, idiot friends, 37 complicated ass convoluted fucking plans with a million steps for a simple ass mission, and gets a little too aggressive when their plans aren’t being followed, am I talking about Law or Tim?” “you’re my idiot friends, you fuCKING-” “see!?”

“Kon, you fly and some psycho created then abandoned you along with ruining your self-esteem” “the fucking CLOUD??? why wouldn’t it fly you goddamn asshole” “that’s your issue?!” “well maybe you shouldn’t say dumb shit to me”

“Hey, Zoro also has dead childhood friends-” “why don’t you go-”

“Look, an impulsive moron doing reckless shit in a whole ass suit with absent/abusive parents from a wealthy background, does this sad adrenaline junkie remind you of anyone?” “yeah you you fucking moron-” “what fucking money do I have-” “he means lex” “well, I also said suit you ever see me in a fucking suit, genius?” “You didn’t specify what kind of suit, genius”

“Do you think you and zoro are so mistrusting of others bc you had to take care of yourselves from a young age??”

“You ever think about the fact that every adult in you and robins life disappointed you when you needed them?” “which robin?” “either tbh” “okay, fuck all of you”

#young justice watches one piece #young justice #young just us #anita fite #dc empress #greta hayes #dc secret #bart allen #impulse #dc impulse #cassie sandsmark #wonder girl #kon el #kon kent #superboy #cissie king jones #arrowette #dc comics #source: i made it the fuck up

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hubristicassholefight · 6 months

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Swordswoman Showdown Round 2 Part 2

Adora (She Ra and the Princesses of Power) vs Red (Transistor)

(Better here in a "preferred character" sense, not "who would win in a fight")

Propaganda below cut

Adora

She has a big magical sword for her magical destiny that gives her a magical girl transformation, I love my girl and I love her awesome sword;

Okay TECHNICALLY she is a multi-weapon user since her sword transforms but its usually a sword. Also it is magic and gives her the power to turn into an 8ft magical girl <3; Lesbian magical girl who in addition to being a literal lesbian in canon is also a parable for being queer and breaking free of religious indoctrination <3 She just kicks all the ass okay I love her I'm only on S2 I'm sure someone else who's watched the whole thing will submit her with better propaganda

FOR THE HONOR OF GRAY SKULL *cool music plays, she's got a transformation* and now she's a legendary warrior that defeats the bad guys!!!

Giant technological sword gives adora magic powers and can turn into anything she needs while being She-ra

she is a HUGE sword nerd. her introduction basically has her info-dumping on rare swords and being adorable. also a little pathetic but she’s trying her best and she deserves the world (and also a win)

Has a magical sword that gives her magic powers; Has a magical sword that gives her magic powers

Red

Has a sword that is also the key to her reality’s code, can use it to command the robots that maintain reality. Uses it to stop time and defeat her enemies in the meanwhile. Small woman, hugeass sword. Manages to defeat the original owner of the Transistor in a one on one reality warping sword duel. The sword contains the echoes of the people it’s slain, and also her dead boyfriend; She is full of so much righteous anger I love her. Carve a path through the city girl. A singer whose voice was stolen.

#RED SWEEP#girl saw her boyfriend die and lost her voice#but picked herself up. ripped her own expensive dress and swore vengeance upon the powerful elite that ruined her life

#adora #she ra and the princesses of power #red transistor #transistor supergiant #swordswoman showdown #round 2 #poll #official

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comicaurora · 2 years

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Do you know of any other good cartoons, especially if they don't end on a cliffhanger?

Is it my birthday already?

ReBoot (s1-3)

You've already all heard my pitch for this, but TLDR it's set inside a computer, the heroes defend the integrity of their home system by battling viruses, playing games and defeating The User, a godlike being outside their comprehension (aka us). Evolves from episodic pop-culture referential humor into an incredibly immersive and fraught character drama unpacking the nature of heroism, family, growing up and losing who you used to be vs growing up and not losing yourself, and what it means to become a monster to defeat a monster. A series technically canceled that ends on the mother of all cliffhangers, but the season that was canceled was the bonus season they weren't expecting to get anyway, and also it sucks. Watch the first three seasons instead, they form a cohesive overarching narrative and end incredibly satisfyingly.

Batman Beyond

50 years after Batman: The Animated Series, hooligan with a heart of gold Terry McGinnis becomes the new Batman, quippier, capeless and a bit more irresponsible than the old one, guided by an old and reluctantly retired Bruce Wayne. Basically "what if Batman were Spider-Man", but somehow really good. Like most DC cartoons from that era, ends with a loose "and the adventure continues" vibe. Highly episodic, a couple two-parters sprinkled in there for flavor. Also has a few follow-up comic series, some of which are even good! As a corollary, the other DC cartoons in this zone are also good - Justice League, Batman: The Animated Series, etc.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

The best version of The Avengers. A team of colorful superheroes slowly assemble over the course of the first half of the first season, fighting a very large rogue's gallery and occasionally each other. Contains the best version of Thor ever written and an astoundingly good portrayal of Captain America, but the entire core cast are well-written and have solid interpersonal dynamics - half the fun of each episode is just seeing what unique friendships every random subset of The Avengers have with each other. Having recently rewatched some of it I can say I actually think the first season is the best it gets, and the second season struggles in places - a few episodes become full-on idiot plots to facilitate certain plotlines (Hulk vs Red Hulk being the worst offender) but the second season has a nice conclusive finale and a few bright spots of characterization. Captain America's writing is rock-solid all the way through, which it needs to be to make the Secret Invasion plotline work. The first season is incredibly good.

Transformers: Prime

Robots in disguise etc etc, a crack team of autobots live in hiding on Earth fighting decepticons and occasionally ferrying their three human friends to school. Good team dynamics, a fantastic portrayal of Optimus Prime as a rock-solid paragon hero, a team dad and a millennia-old warrior of incredible skill who is very, very tired. Great versions of Megatron and Starscream, lots of other fun secondary characters. Three seasons, portrays a very slow war very well - ground is gained and lost from episode to episode, big battles feature every single asset the heroes have managed to scrape together in previous arcs, etc. Also portrays how fucking terrifying it would be to be a squishy human child underfoot during a giant robot fight. Dwayne The Rock Johnson is in the first five minutes of the show until he gets killed for being too expensive. The 3D animation takes a little getting used to, and I say that as someone who genuinely likes how ReBoot looks.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

preaching to the choir with this one here on tumblr.hell, but this show slaps. A reboot of the 80s cartoon, but the kind of reboot that's basically the story someone would make up when playing with the original's officially licensed action figures. Loyal horde soldier Adora learns to her shock that she's actually on the bad guy side (and also can transform into a magical warrior with a fancy sword) and immediately defects to team good guy, which is seen as the ultimate betrayal by her best friend/repressed childhood crush Catra, who doubles down on the bad-guy thing super hard for four seasons. Characters written with a surprising amount of emotional depth who often react to things more realistically than one might expect - frustration, lingering anger, calling people out for mistreating them, etc. Shouldn't be a high bar, and yet so many shows just use characters as emotionless props incapable of advocating for themselves ever.

Castlevania

Dracula's wife is killed by the church and he sets out to exterminate all of humanity in retribution. He's opposed by three heroes of varying levels of heroism - his half-vampire son Alucard, the speaker magician Sypha, and Trevor Belmont, last son of the family of monster-hunters who dedicated their entire existence to fighting Dracula. Animation is absolutely gorgeous but very not kid-friendly. Ends on a completely satisfying and happy note, which is shocking considering the tone of the show leading up to it.

Hilda

A very, very cozy and adorable urban fantasy slice-of-life story about Hilda, a little girl from the wilderness who moves to the big city with her mother after their house is accidentally crushed by a giant. Features a lot of scandinavian folklore. Got two seasons and a movie that wraps everything up pretty solidly. Absolutely incredible aesthetic with occasional moments of abject horror, just how I like it.

Dishonorable mentions, aka shows I watched but can't 100% recommend because of Grievances I Will Enumerate:

Centaurworld

A warhorse from a war-torn world falls through a portal and gets isekai'd into a brightly-colored magical bubblegum dimension where everyone is a boggle-eyed magical centaur. First season has incredible musical numbers, like broadway level stuff, and it's got some appealing nightmare fuel, but the problem I keep running into is the silly elements are so over-the-top that they undercut the serious parts in a big way. Also, the appeal of a cohesive found family narrative is pretty seriously undercut when the entire found family is composed of joke characters that don't experience plausible emotional investment in their circumstances and don't act like people. The thing is, this isn't a mistake, this is very deliberate on the part of the show and it's doing what it's doing incredibly intentionally - I just don't think I like it.

Dota: Dragon's Blood

A dragon-slaying warrior gets whammied with a dragon curse that sometimes turns him into a monster, and also about a million other things happen. Not finished yet, so I can't guarantee it won't end on a cliffhanger. Based on a game series I'm unfamiliar with, and unfortunately, unlike Arcane (which I would whole-heartedly recommend, it just currently left off on a cliffhanger) it doesn't really seem to know how to stand on its own without the game lore. It jumps around a lot between a huge number of characters, and a lot of the time it's not clear why we're watching what we're watching. I do like the parts of it I've seen! I just haven't been able to stick with it because it feels so scattered.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

An anime based in the universe of Cyberpunk 2077, which is in turn basically just Shadowrun with none of the interesting fantasy elements. A gritty and unpleasant universe where everyone is a jerk, everyone is very narratively disposable and only bad things happen. Seems to have nothing an audience is supposed to get invested in - it gives us a colorful squad of found-family types but covers the entire friend-making in a dialogue-free montage and then kills all of them in like two episodes, it gives us a romance but undercuts it with a timeskip covering the actual getting-together part, it seems to have a theme about how believing you're special is bad but it also demonstrates at several points that the hero actually is kinda special, it has an extremely solid anticapitalist theme but because it's a cyberpunk dystopia nightmare there's nothing any of the main characters can actually do about any of it, etc. I watched it all in one go and the whole thing slid out of my head right after. Also this is a niche complaint but the use of futuristic cyberpunk slang nonstop in the dialogue might really grate on you. The animation is very nice, though.

Tales of Arcadia (Trollhunters, 3 Below, Wizards)

Urban fantasy series made in large part by Guillermo Del Toro, featuring a whole bunch of characters doing assorted fun things - some chosen by magical artifacts, some alien royalty on the run from a civil war, one the apparently-immortal apprentice of Merlin, etc. I whole-heartedly recommend all three of these shows! I do not recommend the grand finale movie, which feels like it was written by someone who read the script notes for the previous shows and nothing else. Ends with a timeline reset that completely undoes the entire timeline of the series. Because it ends with a retcon, the movie feels comfortable killing characters pointlessly and letting our heroes act totally out of character whenever convenient. A bafflingly terrible ending for a series I otherwise really, really liked.

#asks #not aurora #media recs

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minnesota-fats · 2 years

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Thank you for answering my ask!

I can see Bruce and Maddie meeting because of Science and interestingly enough, Maddie and Jack have an open relationship. I don't know why but I do ( on the flip side Vlad will self-destruct on that revelation )

How do Ra's, Talia, and Bruce himself think about Danny, his powers, and being the Ghost King? And Jack and Maddie who raised him?

Also, I find the thought hilarious if Bruce did have a 4th blood child( I'm counting Dani/Ellie ), it's freaking Marinette from Miraculous Ladybug, and JL, DP, and MLB are all on the same Earth.

Ironically Marinette was conceived the same way, drunken nightstand while in a high brow Gala in Paris with Sabine being a server, and shortly after that she met Tom, fell in live, and he raised her as his daughter.

At least Danny and Marinette can bond over them fighting fruit loops who should get a pet cat.

And the JL wasn't really on the up and up about what's going on in Paris because A) Everything gets fixed in the end and B) Kwami hijinks did a notice me not kind of Harry Potter spell until Constantine or Bruce starts poking around there. And C) Clockwerk may had helped keeping the secret because he owned the Kwami a favor.

Poor Damian once he finds out about that on top of still believing with his entire chest that Bruce + Selina = Dani will forever think that his Father, The Batman, is a Hoe 🤣

OH MY GODS THE CHAOS!!!!

—

Vlad would be so mad! And he would bitterly be sitting in the corner at a gala in Gotham and Danny would SO rub it into his face like: “oh look at how cool my second DAD is, dont you think so Vlad???” With the smuggest smirk anyone has ever seen on the boy. All the bats would be confused but Jazz (who is also there) is like: “don’t worry about it, Vlad deserves this.” Leaving the Batfam confused because this was Jazz—the voice of reason—Fenton. Then Elle would join in and just be fuckin brutal, “haha, bitch! bet you wish you were him huh?” And vlad storms off to sulk in peace. (Or try to anyway, there is no peace when there are ghost kids about!)

—

Ra’s would be bitter that the ghost king wasn’t his heir but would ultimately try to obtain Danny as a resource. Talia would be ok with Danny being the ghost king because what better way to have her son be protected than have his half brother be the king of the dead as well as having an obsession dedicated to protecting the people he cares about. Bruce would be devastated that his eldest bio son died before he was able to meet him but would quickly move on when he realizes that it doesn’t change the fact that Danny is his bio son. Ra’s Talia and Bruce all agree that the Fenton’s are very interesting people to say the least.

—

Tbh, Im not completely into the whole Miraculous x DC x Danny Phantom crossover. But I do vibe with the whole, Danny and Marinette bonding over having to fight crazy adults that need therapy. Also its Wayzz that Clockwork owes a favor to and he just puts Paris in its own little time bubble where time flows normally but the outside world is just getting signals from alternate reality Paris where nothing wins wrong.

—

Dani/Elle: “HA- your bio-dads a whore!”

Dami: “shut up!”

Danny: “your my clone so he is technically your bio-dad too.”

Danny/Elle: “HA- our bio-dad’s a whore!”

Marinette: “I don’t know how I got into this situation, I just want to draw in PEACE???”

And as said before, there is no peace when there are ghost children about. (Also batkids)

#danny phantom #danny fenton #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #dc x dp #dc x dp x mlb #mlb x dp #mlb x dc #ghost king danny

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spop-romanticizes-abuse · 7 months

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not sure how to word this, but, how do you think they can make catradora healthy while being an enemies to lovers ship? i was thinking, maybe catra always avoids fighting adora or she purposely misses?

i can think of a few ways:

like you said, if catra wasn't as sadistic as she was. she only fights adora when necessary and tries to defeat her without hurting her too much. you know, the way adora always fought catra.

if their relationship wasn't so deeply personal, so the animosity catra displays does not seem as cruel. i think the main reason it became an abusive relationship was because of how close they used to be, and how much catra knew about adora. catra used all that knowledge against adora, taking advantage of their past friendship. (for example, i'd say glitra would have been a better ship because they were purely enemies and didn't know much about each other)

catra decides to join the princess alliance, but in secret. she stays in the horde in order to get inside information so anytime adora and catra are fighting, it's just play-acting. both of them are still on the same side, catra is just disguised as a horde soldier.

catra's redemption starts off a lot earlier, so that she has more time to make it up to adora. this is still tricky territory but with good writing, i think it can be accomplished.

if both catra and adora were on equal playing field. she-ra was technically more powerful than catra, but adora held back a lot and catra somehow always had the higher ground. if both of them were equally brutal with each other, it wouldn't necessarily make a healthier relationship, but at least it won't look like abuse.

also, all of these scenarios would also require catra and adora to NOT be raised by the same parent, so that the ship isn't incestuous.

#spop critical #spop #spop salt #spop discourse #spop criticism #anti catradora #she ra #anti catra

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aprillikesthings · 2 months

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It's a work night but it's fine

I wanna watch more she-ra

s4 ep9 hero

my occasional reminder that this is a rewatch and therefore not spoiler-free for later episodes

YAY MADAME RAZZ

she calls Mara by Adora's name D: she really *isn't* oriented in time, huh

but then time shifts and

...for those of you who don't know, I work in a retirement community, at the front desk. Most of our residents are independent living, but we have a few that have memory issues and aren't in the locked memory care floor--some aren't considered at risk of leaving/dangerous, and some get 24/7 caregiver visits. And the way Madame Razz talks definitely reminds me of some of those residents.

I made myself really garlicky pasta for dinner and multiple friends of a roommate have walked through and commented on how good it smells. But I only made enough for myself.

Poor Adora is freaking out and Madame Razz is puttering around. And for some reason stores stuff under a Horde helmet?!

Adora: AHHHH Mara said something about a weapon??? Madame Razz: *suddenly stops* Madame Razz: *thonks Adora on head with broom, goes back to pie-making* Madame Razz: anyway Swift Wind is coming over to make pie

he's right

But also Adora is trying to talk to her the same way relatives will insist on talking to someone with dementia sometimes--repeatedly trying to orient them to time and place or arguing with them. (Don't do that.)

You have to enter their world. If they wonder where their (long dead) husband is, don't tell her he's dead; say he's at work, and do you want to help me with this (fairly simple task)?

(Seriously. Do not tell them their husband (or other family member) is dead. All you succeed in doing is upsetting them. They will forget WHY they're upset a few minutes later, but they will physically be able to feel that they're upset, and not have any idea why, which will just agitate them further. Don't put them through that. Don't make them grieve their spouse/parents/etc over and over and over.)

OH HEY they're back in Mara's time, and that's the space ship alright. And uhhh the Crystal Castle? I guess?????

Mara doesn't recognize her! Madame Razz is like OOHHHHHH is this the first time? It's been so long! Also I need sugar for the pie.

"or I will be forced to alert your superiors."

That's so weird, I'm used to She-Ra not having any "superiors"

just give her the damn sugar!

Even Mara doesn't know details about the Heart of Etheria Project. (oooooh yeah I bet she didn't D: )

Back to Adora's time

oh that's not the Crystal Castle--it's a new (old) place

The ruins have a bunch of marks from the She-Ra sword, ancient boxes of sugar (lol I bet the First Ones' writing just says "sugar") and a fancy crystal thing (that had been in the control panel of the ship)

Adora: what is this? Madame Razz: oh Mara left that for you, she wants to talk. Help me pick berries.

"She's been gone for a thousand years!"

WHAT DID I JUST SAY

Thankfully Madame Razz exists outside of time and was just like "pfft nah Mara's helping me make a pie today :D"

well that's definitely inspired by the boar god from Princess Mononoke

oh we get to see Mara's little transformation into She-Ra, nice!

Madame Razz can order the boar monster around!

and there's a transfer of magic happening! cool! they're friends now

and this is how we (the audience) learn that She-Ra's powers don't necessarily require the sword, nice

which is wild because Mara is technically an alien lol

lol Mara points this out the moment I unpaused it

yep

Madame Razz: "You cannot control magic, magic simply is."

Mara: "I'm sworn to protect Etheria just as I'm sworn to protect my people. But I know we're doing something to the planet."

Me: *squints* is this a metaphor for like, climate change

Mara: "I don't know all the details of the Heart of Etheria Project, I just know it's big. They say we're the heroes, but I don't know if it's right." Madame Razz: "She-Ra protects Etheria. Your people made the sword, but they did not make She-Ra."

Oh that makes sense lol

They jump back to the present, and Madame Razz is all sad and says, "She said she would come back....she promised....we were going to make the pie....I've been waiting for so long"

Adora puts two and two together: "Everything we're doing, the berries, the sugar, making the pie--it helps you remember." YEAH (seriously tho familiar things really do help them remember stuff, which is why people with dementia, especially at first, are "better" around family.)

Madame Razz, with tears in her eyes: "Oh, Mara. You were never supposed to succeed. They made a plan for you.

;_;

"There is a great evil at the Heart of Etheria, Adora. And it is waking up again."

(eek)

omg look at the little timer thing

YUP

A frustrated Adora is just like "Please you have to remember SOMETHING"

Madame Razz: "Adora, Mara, it always ends the same!"

IT'S NOT FUCKING GOOD

Mara: "It's going to activate soon, there's no time...it's starting, I have to get to my ship." Oohhhh that's when she does the little recording they found

Mara: "I can't stop it."

;_;

THAT CAN'T BE GOOD

it's a show for kids! light-hearted fun!

(Hey at least I made a Gravity Falls reference and not Steven Universe. This time. But also for real they got away with SO MUCH BODY HORROR in Gravity Falls?! but couldn't have two people of the same gender in a relationship. FFS.)

Anyway I'm not screenshotting the rest of this scene

Except to point out THAT'S HOW THE SWORD ENDED UP IN THE WHISPERING WOODS that's where Adora found it :O A THOUSAND YEARS LATER, Mara literally abandoned it there as she stumbled off to the ship

but yeah we jump back to the current era where the pie is done, and also Swift Wind and Adora have fallen asleep, Razz runs out the door with the pie, and then is chasing Mara in the past, and then it jumps back to the present--

I forgot they moved the ship lol but poor Bow is working on it and

but yeah Madame Razz is back on "you need to talk to Mara!! you have everything you need"

she gets out the little crystal thing from the ruins

we see Mara's "ghost" (like we did in the ship when it was still in the Crimson Waste) and we flash back:

Light Hope sounds SO CREEPY

Okay so they're not in space, they're just above Etheria

Light Hope: "The Heart of Etheria has been activated. Your mission has been fulfilled. There will be peace throughout the galaxy"

Mara looks HORRIFIED

Light Hope: "you will be a hero" Mara: >:( Mara: "How will destroying worlds bring peace?"

AND I'VE HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT lol I knew I would hold on

#april rewatches spop #hero

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mushratting · 2 months

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i love that whenever i get really autistic about something now i send those bitches to art school. long post under cut

luffy goes to school with the intent of doing illustration because his dream is to write the greatest comic book of all time. however he realizes he doesnt want to do an illustration program and switches to an interrelated media program and continues working on comics.

koby is luffys freshman year roommate. hes originally in art ed but luffy convinces him to switch to animation cuz thats what he actually wants to do. helmeppo is also in animation.

zoros in sculpture. he went to this specific school because mihawk whos a well known successful sculpter is teaching there. peronas an illustration major with a sculpture minor.

tashigis in art ed with a sculpture focus. they knew each other before college. tashigis also friends with smoker seperately.

nami is in illustration with a jewelry minor. shes also an ra who sometimes abuses her power over others (mostly her friends) but is still pretty solid. she works at a seafood restaurant on the weekends freshman year.

usopp starts as a film and painting double with a creative writing minor and throughout his college education progressively drops stuff until hes just doing film. hes also an ra and is surprisingly good at it. kaya and usopp are highschool sweethearts that break up sophomore year but try to keep being friends. kaya also goes to the med school.

sanji starts in painting and switches to interrelated media and makes edible artwork. he has a whole complex about painting and realizing he actually hates painting and wants to do more 3D stuff. he works at zeffs restaurant also.

zoro and sanji are freshman year roommates, and they absolutely do not get along at the start. they seperately meet luffy and befriend him. they complain about their shitty roommates. and then zoro invites luffy over cuz sanjis in class and theyre still hanging out when sanji gets back. this kicks off zoro and sanji eventually reconciling and becoming good friends. zoro and luffy live together second year.

chopper starts in art education and after first year switches to the med school down the street. he lives with pedro (sculpture) carrot (ceramics) and bepo (illustration) because theyre all friends from highschool.

robins in ceramics with a history of art double. she works in museum curation part time.

frankys a metals and architecture double. he and robin are both older and live together off campus. franky works as a mechanic part time.

brooks a professor in interrelated media. hes also still a rock star. ivankov is also an interrelated media professor and drag queen. inazuma teaches queer studies.

jinbes an illustration professor (who convinces luffy to switch his major)

law goes to the med school that shares a dormatory with the art school. hes also rooming with monet so freshman year hes like always sulking in common spaces cuz his roommate sucks. hes cross registered in sound art and music classes. the rest of the heart pirates also go to the med school.

kid goes to the tech school and is technically in the robotics major, but hes in the minimal amount of classes and gets other people to do his work for him and uses the facilities to do his own projects.

vivis a history of art and art ed double. shirohoshis in photo. rebeccas in art education. them+nami are freshman year roommates.

ace is in glass with yamato. ace is also an ra who kinda sucks at his job but hes dearly beloved. most people on his floor have something that could get him fired but everyone likes him too much to do that to him. ace has a part time job on campus in admissions as well where he works with some of the whitebeard pirates. whitebeard himself is head of admissions as well as aces mentor.

kaido teaches glass.

crocodiles a proffessor in glass.

gecko moria is also in illustration. hes the kinda professor whos absolutely rancid to be around but gives not a lot of work so people keep taking classes with him. peronas his favorite student and hes her favorite professor.

kumas in ceramics.

hancock teaches in fibers. she used to do fashion but quit. luffy ends up in one of her classes because everything he was interested in filled up before he could register.

doflamingos in fashion. coras an alum who did interrelated media (mainly sound stuff)

sabos over studying law with the revolutionaries.

big moms in charge of the dining hall that kinda sucks.

buggys the rd that never does his job, but he accidentally does it in the way that makes everyone like him. alvida rds for a different building and gets fired. smokers the rd of the third building who takes his job incredibly seriously.

garp really wanted luffy to go serve in the army first, partially to get free education which luffy didnt do and dadan backed him up on. i also think garp still gave ace and luffy over to dadan. sabo has amnesia of the first nine years of his life, and basically wandered to dadans house and she wasnt able to find who his actual parents were so he ended up just hanging around and luffy and ace got attached to him so dadan adopted him.

the going merry is usopps old van that ends up breaking down during freshman year. thousand sunny is frankys van hes tinkered and fucked with.

gol d roger wrote a very good comic series before dying. shanks also works in comics and is luffys main inspiration for wanting to make comics in the first place. shanks tells luffy that if he goes to school and works on comics he'll help him kick off getting his comic published. or something like that. shanks was also luffys art teacher for a year when he was pretty young.

#one piece #fighting for my life not to doxx myself since i imagine them going To My School #i do rlly wanna write something in this. im not sure what.#this is literally babys first fanfic

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selineram3421 · 10 months

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The idea I had for Temporary Control is the little mind control chip that digs into the nervous system so it can work properly.

Like in She-ra.

Example GIF:

Alastor is a deer demon with the ability to use radio waves but also has his voodoo magic and I feel like he uses that to block out Vox.

Vox is mostly technical with his powers and body. Because of that, he is more of a science energetic field meanwhile Alastor is both science and magic.

(✨magic✨)

Lol anyway, I thought it was really interesting for Vox to use some of his "smarts" to make something that could give him the upper hand.

Obviously it doesn't work and he is beaten.

The bug device is really small and flat, like the same size as a bed bug.

(Has anyone seen a bed bug? I have and I hate them. So annoying.)

It moves around like an actual bug and bites? Kind of. It stabbed a small needle into the back of Alastor's neck and through fanfic logic, attached its small wires onto his spinal cord.

(Image from Google)

Very much like the chip on Catra.

The type of demon Reader is based off of is an OC my friend drew. I asked if I could use their time demon idea for a story and they said yes. Thanks to them for that!

I had so much fun writing this. Feeling the feels and making sure Vox got his karma.

I have papers to burn now.

Bye!

~Seline, the person.

#fanfic notes and ideas #I wonder if anyone will read this #reply if you do I guess??#do-dado-dadoo burning papers #thank you again to my friend!#temporary control fanfic #ask questions #if you want

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that-ari-blogger · 4 months

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Build Up

This might be an odd take, but the finale of She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power's first season is a two-part episode.

I don't mean this as a technicality. To my knowledge, Light Hope wasn't originally named "The Battle Of Bright Moon Part 1". I mean that in terms of animation and storytelling, this episode feels like the first part of a finale.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the animation for this episode feels like yet another step up from previously. But now, instead of the lighting and art itself being improved, it is the little things. The scene transitions, the expressions, everything feels so much smoother.

For example, the first meeting of Bow and Glimmer with Swiftwind has some fantastic emotions on display that aren't revolutionarily, but take a serious level of skill. That's what good craft is, the little perfections that so often fly completely under the radar.

In that same scene, the little comedy moment of Glimmer noticing her mother and glitching is so fluid. I'm not an expert on animation technique, but even I can notice how this makes previous episodes look choppy in comparison.

The effect that this has is rather interesting, because it creates momentum. The fact that everything flows together so well allows the episode to build up speed and anticipation without actually altering the pacing, mostly (I will come back to this).

For another example of how this works in another, more condensed way, take Jimmy Dean's Big Bad John. Have a look at these two verses:

Every morning at the mine, you could see him arrive He stood six foot six, and weighed 245 Kinda broad at the shoulder, narrow at the hip And everybody knew, you didn't give no lip to Big John. Through the smoke and the dust of this man-made hell walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well grabbed a saggin timber, gave out with a groan And like a giant oak tree, he just stood there alone, Big John

The BPM (Beats per minute) of these verses is exactly the same, and Dean doesn't sing faster to cram more words in. Instead, the technique on display is enjambment. In the first verse, each of the thoughts is disconnected as a description of the song's eponym is given from a place of relative safety. But later on, the danger becomes evident through the fact that this is one thought that carries through, gaining that momentum as it does until that moment of breath in the verses final two words. A moment of breath that John is giving those miners.

The point I am making is that flow is a part of pace just as much as actual timing of events, and a minour shift in animation to give the characters more of that sense of motion within scenes creates dynamism that really helps the buildup of tension of the episode.

The pacing is sped up, but only slightly, and it is through the scene composition. The mirroring of Adora and Catra here through the length of the shot is clever. What I mean by this is... complicated. There are several points in the episode where Adora and Catra get incredibly short and punchy scenes back-to-back-to-back, making the whole thing feel like a singular item.

This also helps the pacing, but instead of through events happening faster, it creates an illusion of speed through scenes themselves being shorter.

Essentially, Lianne Hughes and Josie Campbell, the director and lead writer of this episode, really show off just how good they are at their jobs in this episode. Once again, the expertise comes out not just in the set pieces, but in the subtlety.

Speaking of subtlety, Light Hope.

Light Hope is a robot, kind of. She's an illusion that you can walk into and is programmed with a set objective. Pedanticism aside, Light Hope is a robot.

The problem with that is that her way of speaking is... robotic. There is an extreme lack of emotion here, making her difficult to read. But there are a few minour details.

"Your... friend?"

Moria Gorrondona's voice acting here is stellar. Because Light Hope does emote, just only in tiny ways. She is a complex character trying to appear simple. And that cracks in this line.

At first, this seems like confusion. Light Hope is a robot, so this is probably a new concept to her. But there's also some concern in her voice, and why is that there?

I think Light Hope is a phenomenal character, but I don't like her as a person. Admittedly, this is in hindsight, as watching this episode on a first viewing, it is easy to miss these elements. But Light Hope is just as manipulative as Shadow Weaver.

Everyone you will ever meet is either running towards something, away from something, or both, be it a goal in life or a feeling of worthiness or a sense of guilt. And people will usually take the path of least resistance towards or away from that thing. Often, a person seeking to manipulate you will provide a path for you to run, but it will come at a price.

Light Hope, in this scene, messes with Adora's head. She fools around, annoying Adora and keeping her talking until she gives her something of use.

"I need to figure out how to heal her."

Adora gives everything to Light Hope with this line. Most obviously, she gives her current goal. But she also, through her vernacular, gives her fear. She needs to figure it out. Adora is running away from failure and loss, and Light Hope pounces on that fear with pinpoint precision.

"She's hurt because of me. I messed up. I got Glimmer and Bow captured and Entrapta... It's my fault, I have to fix it."

Again, Adora is putting her whole heart out there, and showing vulnerability. I want to stress that this doesn't make Adora weak at all. The ability to be vulnerable takes bravery, and it marks out both Light Hope and Shadow Weaver as lesser for using Adora's against her.

"You do not yet realise the power you have. You are distracted by your attachments. There was one before you who could not let go. Her name was Mara."

Light Hope has seen Adora's memories, she knows what Adora knows, and Adora has just told her about her fear of failure. So, what does Light Hope do? She shows Adora someone she believes to have failed and says, "this could be you."

She-Ra is a tragedy desperately trying to happen, or rather, its a story about subverting tragedy. Everything is set to self-combust as the character arcs drive themselves into the ground. Love prevents this, and so Light Hope seeks to counteract that love.

Let's talk about the reveals in this episode, because they also contribute to that feeling of this being the first part of the season finale. This episode gives an information dump about the first ones, and while a lot of it turns out to be untrue, it is answers, for the moment.

Most notably, the series is now a sci-fi story, instead of an epic fantasy story. I know those terms are loose and ill defined, but you get the idea. This episode sets up the Horde landing, the First Ones being also from space, and the empty dimension.

But there is one majour moment that makes this feel like part one of a finale. The downfall of Shadow Weaver.

This scene is really cool, as it's when Shadow Weaver fully unravels. She loses her authority when Hordak gives that to Catra, and she loses her access to her magic in the same moment. Shadow Weaver is a character who covets power so taking these two away is a gut punch, and despite Catra being a villain at this point in the story, this scene is cathartic as all hell.

It isn't a hot take to say that this is when Shadow Weaver is at her most abusive. She loses, and starts spitting insults, for no reason other than self-gratification. She needs to feel powerful and so she tries to get that feeling by belittling someone she percieves as weak. She has been doing this the whole series but now she is unhinged.

Once again with Shadow Weaver, the things she says are unnervingly realistic, I know for a fact that certain people watching this episode have heard some of her words before, aimed at them.

But the reason this is so cathartic is because Catra isn't scared. Scorpia is scared in this scene, and nothing has even fazed her in the entire season so far (she's been surprised, but she's never hidden behind anything). But Catra is winning, and completely above Shadow Weaver's nonsense.

Shadow Weaver's last mode of control was her hold over Catra, and it's the mode that the audience has seen the most of. So, watching that get so thoroughly shattered is satisfying.

It's important to me that when Catra deals the final blow, she is striking downwards. The power dynamic is reversed, and now Shadow Weaver has to look up to see her, showing Catra has moved beyond her, at least for now.

Also, as a tiny detail, this is the first time we have seen Scorpia go through several emotions. Fear is the obvious one, but also grim determination, and anger. The blink and you'll miss it expression as she carries Shadow Weaver away is fantastic. Here, Scorpia is pissed and its awesome.

Finally, Swift Wind is introduced in this episode, which is... complicated. I don't find him funny or endearing, and since he is so desperately trying to be both, I'm not really left with much for the rest of the series. In this episode, however, I actually like Swift WInd's introduction. I think being a riff on Dobby the House Elf (sue me Galbreath, I dare you) is actually used to better effect here. Instead of his rebelliousness being just a comedy thing, its also used to motivate Adora with a peptalk.

"What good is all your power if you don't use it to help the people that you love?"

Swift Wind gets flattened in the rest of the series, but I think here, as a kind of eccentric heart character would have been a really interesting take on him and might have made him more popular with the fans.

Final Thoughts

I haven't spoken about the stakes in this post, and that's because that's what I will go into next week. Suffice to say that they build steadily over the course of the episode to set up the finale.

Next week, I will be looking at the actual finale of the season. The Battle For Bright Moon, so stick around if that interests you.

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#rants #literary analysis #literature analysis #character analysis #what's so special about...?#she ra and the princesses of power #she ra catra #she ra spop #adora #spop #catra #she ra adora #she ra #she ra princess of power #she ra and the princess of power fanart

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prongsmydeer · 11 months

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Ayesha Liveblogs She-Ra S5

“You’re not She-ra anymore, remember?” Unlike Bow, Adora is not adjusted to fighting without her powers LOL

You know, it didn’t really occur to me to question it until now but why do only five of the princesses have runestones? Spinerella and Netossa are princesses but they don’t get to be part of the balance of planet LOL

Scorpia, Entrapta and Micah in the intro ahhhhhh! I love this for all of them

“What is this?” Akorradora trying to access the Avatar state again:

Shockingly tactful for Entrapta to suggest they’ll figure out where Glimmer is soon. You know what that is!! Growth!!!

“You saved me, and you’re gonna save my little girl.” Micah said: Have you heard of father figures. I am available

Ffhkjhg @ Adora defiantly charging every enemy she sees, magicless

“It seems [Hordak] had very little love towards you at the end.” Hordak said: I looked into my brother’s memories just so I could figure out how to hurt your feelings, Catra

How nice of Horde Clone #1 to warn Team ScorDorBow that their camp was being attacked LOL if Micah hadn’t sent a signal they still could’ve gone back

[Shadow Weaver saves Micah from a bot] [Micah grunts, perhaps in both thanks and resentment] “You’re welcome.” The funky little aunty trauma emerging from Micah and Shadow Weaver. Call me compelled

Horde Prime offering his flagship speciality, Genoc!de Jello:

How does Glimmer get this whole view of the camp being attacked but somehow DOESN’T see Micah. Feels intentional

“Ah, here she is, your beacon of hope. Adora.” Horde Prime is smarter than I gave him credit for in identifying Adora as the leader

Though, he saw all of Hordak’s memories. So. Eh on credit

“These princesses are so predictable with their feelings.” “As were you. Elevated heart rate, dilated pupils. Adora means something to you.” I was half-kidding about Horde Prime trying to figure out how to hurt Catra’s feelings but it was true

“Cast aside this false hero and deliver her to me.” Okay Lorde Hordemort

I know I’m like. Technically Millennial/Gen Z cusp. But as a self-identifying Millennial, the way this show was DEEPLY written by a Millennial. The media influences are clear

I googled it and he was born in ‘91. HA

LMAO @ BOW TOSSING EVERYONE OUT OF ADORA’S TENT INCLUDING THE KING. PRIME MEDICAL ADVOCATE:

I think Frosta should get to punch Horde Prime, as a treat

UNBELIEVABLE THAT ENTRAPTA STILL CARES MORE ABOUT TECH THAN FINDING GLIMMER HAHAHA. DIDN’T YOU JUST SAY LIKE TWO EPS AGO YOUR MAIN COMPLAINT WAS BEING ABANDONED. ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK LMAO

Whatever, much like Mermista, I’ll take it if she’s not pro-Horde

Also: Djjfkjfkhfkj funny that Scorpia is now the mediator

Also also: Scorpia’s really good at impressions!

“Little sister, why do you rebel against my commands?” Horde Prime calling Catra his little sister gives me the heebie jeebies. You are nothing like Daddy Hordak!!!! Not that Hordak was a good guy, but like. Hey. He had something to offer as a family dynamic

Ohhhhhhhhh poor Glimmer:

HAHA @ PERFUMA PUTTING ENTRAPTA ON A CHILD LEASH

“You don’t care about Glimmer or any of us. You only care about tech.” Are we FINALLY going to have Entrapta show some remorse. I hope so. AGAIN. I get that she’s probably representing a specific like. Cognitive situation. But NEURODIVERGENT PEOPLE CAN CARE ABOUT THEIR FRIENDS!!!!!

“I thought maybe, if I could use tech to help you, you’d like me.” This line is a hard sell. Why then, do they have to talk Entrapta into doing anything for/with her friends by offering tech? Literally done so in this same episode? Just lean into the fact that she didn’t realize how much she’d hurt them rather than rejecting responsibility and suddenly deploying a tragic underlying motivation!

I do genuinely like Entrapta!!! She is endearing in her way. I just think that they make her so neutral towards most people (save for Hordak, with whom she shares both technology and a seemingly familial-esque bond), and then inconsistently suggest she is people-motivated. Be accountable to your actions, babygirl!

“Glimmer needs us.” FINALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLY

“Focus, Entrapta! Glimmer needs you,” said Entrapta, to herself. Loving Entrapta’s Empathy Era. Good for her!!

Ahhhhh Adora needing to let go of She-Ra to move on. <3333

“Yeah, it turns out I’m an awesome leader, so we’re gonna be fine.” Also loving Mermista’s Rebellion General Era!!!!!!!

“You want She-Ra? Come and get her!” MICAH, KING OF COSPLAY

“See you soon, babygirl.” I SWEAR IF I DO NOT GET A MICAH, GLIMMER AND ANGELLA REUNION, I WILL BE SO SAD

“You remember me, don’t you? Here’s a clue. You don’t like me. Hordak.” RETURN OF DADDY HORDAK AND THE FUCKED-UP FAMILY REUNION:

Bow’s mediation skills and level-headedness are unmatched. If Adora is the Heart of the Rebellion, then Bow is the Head

The powerful healing energy of teenage girls sitting on the floor:

“Your Adora causes you nothing but suffering.” Actually, I think Catra causes most of her own suffering, Horde Prime. This is just the manifestation of her Repressed Furry Space Lesbian Feelings

Platinum Hordak has such sad little eyes as he goes to the memory bath

Poor Bow is clinging onto his hinges for dear life trapped on a ship with the two princesses with the worst impulse control (aside from Bestie Glimmer LOL) kjhgkjhgjh

“You will be exalted, raised up above the other creatures of your wretched home world.” Is this Horde Prime’s way of saying Catra’s gonna be in his museum of war horrors

“I’ll never say sorry to anybody, ever,” said Catra, at age 7, and then she stuck to it for the next ten years of her life

“I want to do that one good thing in my life. Like you said.” YEAHHHHH CATRA AND GLIMMER

(Cannot help but feel this will immediately bite Catra in the ass though)

WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH CATRA SAVING GLIMMER (AND INDIRECTLY, ADORA) AT THE COST OF HER OWN SAFETY. I LOVE U CATGIRL

“There’s no one left in the entire universe who cares about me.” [Immediate cut to Adora] WRONG

“Adora, I’m sorry, for everything.” I FORGIVE YOU IMMEDIATELY CATRA, THAT WAS ALL I NEEDED TO HEAR

Me last season: Catra/Adora is gonna be hard sell given how hurtful Catra has been for every single episode of this show

Me this season, after seeing Catra be nice twice: IT’S FINE

I keep thinking how unrealistic it seems that no one is being killed but at least with Catra it makes sense that Horde Prime would keep her, as she is the Adora Bait

Adora is taking being used as a weapon WAY better than I expected jkghkjghg. I mean good for you but you’re allowed to be a little mad at Glimmer!

“Like, one time, Kyle told me he had a crush on Rogel—” the Lizard Boy who speaks no words??? Kyle please. Also Kyle/Rogelio forever ❤️

“This is all my fault. Horde Prime only found us because—” “Because YOU activated the Heart of Etheria.” Bow is mad enough for the both of them, actually:

”That was forever ago. A lot’s changed since then.” Bow said: Now I have broader shoulders, you have a different hair, and you’re a war criminal, Glimmer. Times have changed

I looked it up on the UN website to see which War Crimes Glimmer has committed, and I count at least two:

“Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.” (Using the Heart of Etheria)

“Subjecting persons who are in the power of another party to the conflict to physical mutilation or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind [...] and which cause death to or seriously endanger the health of such person or persons.” (Turning the princesses into the weapon)

Starla with her boomerangs and magic owl and immediate sharing has already won me over

Do the robot arms imply that Tallstar is a double or quadruple amputee? Wild as hell

“I’m not leaving anyone behind!” YEAHHHH ADORAAAAAAAAA

“Ready to do something that probably won’t work?” “Always.” Oh, how I’ve missed the Best Friend Squad

“We’re going to fight Prime, and take back our home.” Love this for the Star Siblings as well ❤️

“You get to be mad, for as long as you need to be. But I’m not going anywhere.” Glimmer is speaking MY love language

Swift Wind making magic radio calls to Adora every night is v sweet

How have none of the Horde clones alerted Horde Prime about the intruders in their server room lmao

Are we sure this isn’t Hordak? The crying seems kind of on-brand:

Hahahaha, Wrong Hordak is a delight. The implication that all of the Horde clones are incredibly emotionally vulnerable sad boys if left to their own devices kjhgjhgkjgh. Hordak never stood a chance of being well-adjusted lmao

“I brought her to the light. Isn’t that right, little sister?” Hate every part of this for Catra. However. This animation fucking rules:

“But you have already hurt me. Prime has set me free of that pain.” Quit blaming Adora for your repressed gay middle school crush, Catra. If it were about abandonment issues, please see the past five seasons when Adora has repeatedly extended her hand to you

I also like Catra’s new haircut. The hair changes in this show are good

“We both know I don’t matter.” “You matter to me!” 💞

BABYGIRL BACK IN ACTION. NOW I BELIEVE SHE’S 8 FEET TALL:

I really hope the Helpful Hordak that they brought with them IS actual Hordak. I want to see him and Entrapta reunited

Update from thirty seconds later: It was not him, but he knows she is looking for him. Daddy Hordak will get his favourite daughter reunion soon enough

Helpful Himbo Hordak is my new favourite character. If anything happens to him I will [redact] everyone on this ship and then myself:

IGFHKJFHKFJH SCREAM THEY ADDED HELPFUL HORDAK TO THE INTRO. I’M LOSING IT HIM HOLDING THE WRENCH AND SMILING

“What do you care? I know you all hate me.” “I never hated you!” I am glad Catra is literally the first ex-Horde soldier to actually be dealing with some lingering guilt and complex dynamics emerging of her actions

Also. also. For the final time. Someone desperately needs to fix the captions of this show and stop dropping important words. The captions here drop the words ‘I know,’ which are important, because it signifies 1) Catra’s pre-empted conclusion (i.e. I don’t need to talk to anyone, I know how they feel about me) and 2) That this feeling of being hated is entirely rooted in herself (I feel that I am hated). I get that it probably has been outsourced and done as quickly as possible. But it is deeply inaccessible to people who rely on captions to understand what’s being said

All of this caption mess is really a piss-poor-how-dare-you-say-we-piss-on-the-poor moment

Also. Kind of unrelated but something I’ve been thinking about since I looked up the Millennial who wrote this show. Why do the credits use a name he doesn’t go by anymore? The show is recent enough to reasonably be updating it. Like Umbrella Academy also had someone involved in the change their name, and they changed the credits on every prior episode to say Elliot. Did the creator for She-Ra choose to leave it? On Wikipedia it describes his production credits for this show as ‘credited by deadname’ which like, to me, suggests it’s not something he actively chose. For a show which tries to weave representation and inclusion into its fabric, its Netflix presentation is bizarrely thoughtless when it comes to real people!

We interrupt all the meta concerns to say: Hee hee, leetle kees on the volleyball court

“Did you think she was going to just instantly become a different person?” LMAO @ ‘a different person’ being Glimmer and Adora’s code for ‘Catra trying not to be mean for more than 30 seconds at time’

There’s something very poetic and funny about Micah desperately wanting Frosta to accept him as a friend, like Frosta wanted from Glimmer

[Ominously] “Why don’t you stay for supper?” I KNEW something would wrong with Elberon ever since the Flutterina thing. Something has been brewing in the water here

“Horde ships coming right for us,” from Entrapta also sounds kind of like, “hardships coming right for us,” which is also true

I really feel like Adora should’ve yanked the chip out of Catra when she was still in She-Ra mode. Is it like. Connected to her brain stem?

[Groaning] “My daughter’s gonna hate me.” Micah is the love of my life

“It’s like they’ve been replaced by totally different people.” Hmmmmm

Elberon has gone full Spooky Mode. I love the constant Haunting Lighting:

Entrapta clearly remembers every time she’s been wronged (being left in the Fright Zone, Catra taking her work and sending her to Beast Island). But somehow NEVER retains anything she’s done to wrong others (hacking the Black Garnet, creating the portal which took Glimmer’s mother). What kinda selective memory jkghkjghgjh. [Entrapta as Aslan meme voice] I forgor

Wow. Catra admitting she wants Adora to stay is a real breakthrough!

“Just stay with me while I do it okay.” It’s a day of breakthroughs for Catra. I’m very proud of her!

You know. Aside from Adora being a literal alien. They’ve already established that she’s impervious to the cold, so why not, to her free-floating in space?

Bold of her to jump out without checking though!

“Chip appears to be fused with the subject’s nervous system [...]” I guess Horde Prime did put it in her brain stem!

Catra said: I do apologies AND thank-yous now. I’m a new catwoman!

Glimmer and Bow immediately moving aside so Catra can sit between them. I love the Best Friend Squad!

Not Spinerella being chipped!!!! Don’t harm our happy background emotional support couple

“Onward to a secret underwater party adventure.” Screaming over the fact that Scorpia, Perfuma, Mermista and Sea Hawk have decided the way they’re going to deal with the citizens of Etheria being turned into robot spies is by having a fancy dress party:

I love that Perfuma is an excellent actress, good for her

LMAO @ MERMISTA AND SEA HAWK HAVING TO BEAT UP HALF OF THE PEOPLE THEY SEE. Feels like perhaps the easiest version of this plan would be leaving Sea Hawk at home

“I just wanted to know what [setting someone’s boat on fire] felt like.” [Gasps] “You are everything I’ve ever wanted.” Mermista x Sea Hawk 5ever

The ratio of musical numbers really does increase as the shows goes on. Also losing it at Scorpia literally singing her deception to a room full of people:

“Strangest thing but I think we’ve met before.” DHJKDHDJHD has Prince Peekablue been replaced by Double Trouble

Update from 30 seconds later: Yes

Good for Netossa for noticing right away but for someone who has full access to his victims’ brains Horde Prime is sure not good at acting in-character for them. He should take a lesson from Double Trouble

I should’ve figured that Mermista would be the one to get chipped at the incredibly convenient and inconvenient location of underwater but NOOOOOOOOOOO MERMISTA

They are messing with ALL of the emotional support background couples this ep

This party is not really going well for Team Princess at all:

THEY GOT PAPA GLIMMER TOO??? OH MICAH 😭😭😭

“That’s your cue, Hot Stuff. Let’s go.” Hahahah is Double Trouble calling Sea Hawk Hot Stuff because he likes to set boats on fire or just because they think he’s cute kjghkjghgkjhg

Kind of bizarre that Scorpia, despite being under water, has seen no impact of water conducting an electrical current. SHOULDN’T THAT BE A MAJOR ADVTANGE?

SCORPIAAAAA. I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE A NICE LITTLE REPRIEVE NOT HALF OF THEIR FRIENDS BEING LOST TO THE HORDE. THE FANCY DRESS OUTFITS BETRAYED ME:

Very haunting when they end episodes with just silence ahhhhhhh

Ohhhhh the chipped friends going into the antagonist slot in the intro 😧

“Your plan is to ram through an armada of ships?” “No... Maybe!” Rare voice of reason moment for Catra LOL

Dhdkjhdjjdh Helpful Hordak immediately spilling Horde Prime’s vulnerabilities at the slightest prompting. Me oversharing about my health problems when people ask how I am

Someone please clarify how they had a spacesuit with cat ear slots so readily available to them in the middle of hiding from a nearly omnipresent enemy. Was Adora just keeping this on board always in the hopes Catra would get her act together hahahaha:

LHFKJHFJHFKJH Bow and Glimmer looking between Adora and Catra perplexed whenever they make Lesbian Eye Contact

Lesbian Eye Contact Count 1: Adora giggling at Catra as she tries to take off her unexplained custom-made helmet

“So, wait. The plan is to barge ahead into the structurally unsound building to find some mystery person that we know nothing about, in the hopes that they somehow know how to defeat Horde Prime?” Catra is experiencing culture shock from the Rebellion planning strategies

It really takes Shadow Weaver like seconds to figure out how to get under everyone’s skin:

You know, surely there’s some kind of risk in plugging Helpful Hordak into this new building. You don’t really know what his reset button is

Lesbian Eye Contact Count 2: Adora staring as Catra makes a new door in their mysterious abandoned building:

“Seems Wrong Hordak has begun to question the meaning of life. [Sobbing] “Who am I if not an exaulted brother of Horde prime?” Helpful Hordak bursting into tears the moment he has to deal with anything that he’s not used to. Relatable content

Catra was right to hesitate to take her helmet off, I think. Just because they can breathe doesn’t mean those glowing spores are safe

“I think the feeling I had about this place is a bad feeling,” said Glimmer, as they were chased out of a hallway by numerous spikes trying to impale them

[Deadpanned and emotionless] “Go through the door on your left.” That Entrapta message doesn’t at ALL sound suspicious

Update from 1 minute later: It was not Entrapta speaking

“I thought it was bad but it’s not. It’s magic.” Ohhhhhhhh love that Glimmer’s understanding of magic has grown with time!!! Her being the first to understand the illusions they’re seeing:

Is the illusion creature a cat or did it just choose to be a cat for Catra?

“I’m sorry I got angry. It’s something I’m working on.” [Endeared] “Oooh. You are?” Me and Adora being impressed and endeared whenever Catra shows the bare minimum of growth hahahaha

I can’t believe the payoff for Catra’s five season fursona is that she can speak alien cat hahahaha

“They dug into the ground. Built machines.” “The First Ones. That’s what they were doing. They were mining this planet’s magic, just like on Etheria.” Everything eventually circles back to space colonization

God I love the addition of Melog, Space Cat to Team Princess

“Brothers, Horde Prime lied to us. He is a false ruler. We must rise up against him and free the universe from his unjust reign.” We love the self-radicalization of Helpful Hordak. He said we will seize the means of production and overthrow the bourgeoisie (his rude brother)

“Etheria isn’t a weapon. It’s a living creature.” Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh Shadow Weaver said I see your Space Cat Friend and Raise You Planet Friend

“We can destroy the restraints the First Ones built, set the magic of Etheria free and use it against him.” Didn’t work too well when you tried that on Daddy Hordak, did it, Shadow Weaver? Shadow Weaver said: Never forgive, always forget

“What is this tingling sensation?” “That’s warmth, buddy.” That’s Rough Buddy vs. That’s Warmth Buddy stand-off in the streets

I was wondering if Melog was going to be added to the intro in this ep and while Melog wasn’t, I did notice how the Catra and Adora fight has changed to more of a friendly and playful ahhhh I love when intros match the emotional stories of the protagonists

What good is the Hive Mind if it can’t see She-ra right in front of them LMAO

“Oh... expressing facial emotion is a privilege reserved only for Prime,” said Helpful Hordak, like doesn’t burst into tears every time he’s stressed

Obsessed with Helpful Hordak mimicking any expression he sees ❤️:

[Horrified gasp] “Princesses? Where?” [slams door] wild that the princess propaganda that Catra and Adora were raised on as Horde children has eventually circled back to being true

Hahahahah Glimmer and Bow are incapable of not trying to recruit people to the Rebellion for even 30 seconds in a shop

I like that Melog is now Catra’s means of using magic. If you're not born into royalty, adopt a giant cat with whom you develop a symbiotic magic relationship and it’s basically the same

“My fight is over. Lord Prime has given me peace.” [popular Netflix show voice] There’s no war in the City of Light

HAHAHAHAHA @ CATRA BEING OFFENDED AT ADORA HESITATING TO FIGHT HER CHIPPED HOMIES, WHICH IS NOT AT ALL THE SAME AS FIGHTING A FRENEMY WHO WAS A BELIGERENT BELIEVER IN TYRANNY UNTIL 4 EPISODES AGO

Adora: How are we supposed to fight our own friends?

Catra, scoffing, like she didn’t instigate 98% of their fights: It never stopped you before

I think Spinerella’s use of the word beloved (a term Netossa has said they don’t use) is Horde Prime being purposely cruel ☹️

“I must access the memories stored in this version.” Can’t believe we’ve graduated from Daddy Hordak to Grandpa Hordak

Speaking of Daddy Hordak, I have been waiting all season for him to find Entrapta and join the Rebellion. It feels like a matter of time

Side note though: I do think he will sacrifice himself for the Rebellion and Entrapta. He’s done a lot of damage so I can only imagine that’s how his story will end with four-and-a-half episodes remaining

“So the only person I’m fighting here is... my own wife?” WIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HER WIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD

“We were gone. We weren’t here to help our friends.” Bow you literally were helping your friends!! You can’t be every at once, sweet boy

“We won’t abandon Erelandia,” said Glimmer, before teleporting away

Perfuming crying because she hates managing people. Same girl:

“But can we circle back to your not-at-all-weird-and-very-detailed theories on our weaknesses?” Netossa said: I have a had a lot of time and trauma while you were gone

“Glimmer: Crippling self-doubt mixed with overwhelming hubris.” “Whoa, whoa, whoa, that’s like, really personal compared to fire.”

1) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

2) True

3) Same

“Your negative vibes aren’t appreciated here, Catra.” Perfuma directly calling Catra out for being a vibe killer

“They can’t defend themselves. They’re dads.” This is such a wonderful line, I feel like they just breeze past it jkdhkdjhdj

“’What did the First Ones say when they burned dinner? It was ruined.’” Bow’s parents leaving him a note about their secret hiding place with a doodle of themselves, drawn hearts and a joke inside is peak parenting. Lance and George deserve an award for this kind of communication:

“This one’s mine.” Perfuma wants to stay above fighting her friends but Netossa truly has no such qualms about fighting her wife. She said: Are you kidding me, my wife will kill us, we gotta kick her ass

“Mara wasn’t alone. She was working with a group of rebels going against their First One’s leaders.” OOHHHHHH ARE WE FINALLY GOING TO RESOLVE MARA’S PLOTLINE? I LOVE

My money is on Arxia being the Fright Zone or Bright Moon

“Friendship isn’t a weakness. It’s my greatest strength. And Scorpia’s too.” Is this cliché? Yes. Do I adore Perfuma being too nice to hurt her friends anyway? Also yes!!!

“Because Spinny, you’re my weakness.” AHHHHHHHHH NETOSSA:

Perfuma reassuring Catra that it’s okay to keep your heart open is why I think she should date everyone she interacts with. She just has the vibe of everyone she knows living in her heart

Well, colour me incorrect! Arxia is on Mystacor, I kinda forgot about Castaspella and Shadow Weaver LOL

Netossa and Spinerella being reunited in the intro with a kiss 🥺💘 I’m love them

“Would a ‘please’ kill you?” Fjlfjfjhfjkh that ‘a’ really sounded like an ‘I’ and was really thinking Castaspella was escalating hahahah

“Micah was an exceptional sorcerer even then. It’s a shame it didn’t run in the family.” Shadow Weaver is determined to antagonize everyone who has joined her on the Arxia Rebellion Field Trip

“This isn’t about tech. It’s about our chipped friends. If I can get this to work, I can save them.” THAT’S RIGHT BABYGIRL, ENTRAPTA’S EMPATHY ERA HERE TO STAY

Lesbian Eye Contact 3: Adora loving that Catra is trying to rescue her and Catra being embarrassed about it

RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEIR TERRIBLE FOSTER MOM LMAO

“I see you and Catra are close again. Do you really think that’s wise?” Yaddah Yaddah Generational Trauma: Emotional Distance Edition

Also this is horseshit, every time Adora has transformed this season has been in the interest of protecting a loved one

Speaking of generational trauma, DADDY HORDAK IS BACK BAYBEE:

This is certainly a rough way for Glimmer to reunite with her father

“Adora, it doesn’t always have to be you!” Ohhhhhhh Catra

Vhjkvhjvhkjvh I know it’s like. To prevent them from wreaking magical havoc. But wild for Adora cave-in Micah and two other sorcerers in a hidden magical prison without food or water

“[Sacrificing yourself for Etheria] is what you’ll always choose. I don’t have to stay and watch it happen.” Someone was listening to Shadow Weaver’s emotional distance lecture a little too hard

“Adora doesn’t want me! Not like I want her.” It took her 51 episodes but Catra is finally admitting that her feelings for Adora are not entirely platonic LOL

Having non-verbal communication and comfort from an animal friend was really an element we’ve been missing until Melog. A talking horse just doesn’t hit the same feelings:

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH GO REBELLION:

We are back to the realm of the Romantically-Charged Friendship Simulation. I wonder what Bow and Glimmer will see in here, if anything

You’re telling me instead of needing a bunch of princesses, all Horde Prime needs to do to activate the Heart of the Etheria is to invest in an auger drill? LMAO

"I never could’ve done any of this without you. Thank you for being the best friends anyone could ask for.” ADORAAAAAA ☹️☹️

Catra going back to warn Adora only to stumble on to Shadow Weaver getting drunk in the middle of a war while Adora takes all the world’s burdens. Incredible. Truly representing the average parenting energy of this show

FINALLY they’re acknowledging that water conducts electricity. Just as the planet is about to explode

I can only imagine Entrapta being captured will trigger Daddy Hordak to turn. [Rafiki voice] IT IS TIME

“Take care of her, Horde Scum.” “That’s the plan, Sparkles.” I LOVE CATRA BEING IN THE BEST FRIEND SQUAD 😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️

“Bow. I love you. I love you. I love you.” “I love you too.” Kind of figured Bow and Glimmer were headed in that direction. Every single friendship in this show is romantically charged hahahaha

More like the Best-Friends-To-Lovers Squad, am I right?

“You’re worth more than what you can give to other people.” MARA 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

“Doesn’t it remind you of the first time we met? You also tried to kill me then. 😌❤️” Sea Hawk for Most Boyfriend in the History of Etheria

Everyone’s suddenly being really forthright about their romantic feelings. That’s TWO I love you exchanges from the Team Princess and self-admission from Catra. They said if we’re gonna die we might as well speak our feelings

“Hello Babygirl.” Micah for Most Haunting Use of Babygirl Award:

“How strange. I must have fought her. I must’ve known her face. But I have no memory of it.” Last minute theory of Light Hope/Mara/Horde Prime love triangle. I don’t really think it’d happen, but it would HILARIOUS to me if it were true

CATRAAAAAAAAAAAA (also Shadow Weaver). Ex-Horde reunion LOL

“My mother raised me to be brave. My friends taught me to be kind. And I’m stubborn. I get that from you. I will never stop fighting. And I won’t lose another parent.” GLIMMER 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Side note: Until this point I have kind of been assuming Angella would be freed from her dimensional trap during the finale, but it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen

I love that Bow and Entrapta’s knowledge together is what takes down the chips!!!! TECH BOY AND TECH GAL FORCES UNITE

“It’s time to take back our world. It’s time to fight.” BABY BOY BOW INSPIRING ALL OF ETHERIA TO FIGHT BACK

WHAT DO YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS SHADOW WEAVER CAN LEARN SOMETHING:

“It’s too late for me. But you, this is only the beginning for you. I am so proud of you, Catra.” Shadow Weaver said: The cycle ends with me, actually

“Whatever happens, I am staying with you.” Catra said: ‘Til death do us part, Adora

“I made a life of my own. I made... a friend. I am Hordak, and I defy your will.” I knew Daddy Hordak was incapable of killing his favourite child:

Hordak didn’t really think through the whole Hive Mind thing when he threw his brother/parental figure/supreme overlord into a bottomless pit

Adora’s dreams for the future are so sweet ahhhhhhhhhhhhh:

(On a less serious note: What wild hair choices for everyone LMAO)

“Don’t you get it? I love you. I always have. So please, just this once, stay.” They got there eventually! GOOD FOR THEM

Not to be dramatic but lesbian love is literally going to save the whole universe. I repeat: GOOD FOR THEM ❤️❤️❤️

I’m not sure if I fully understand why the hell the First Ones did all of this planet weaponization if all it took to defeat Horde Prime was She-Ra finding a lover she could find strength in. They really took the path of Most Resistance

“I remember you.” I cannot believe that She-Ra just exorcised the Horde Prime out of Hordak as if he were a particularly vindictive ghost and not his clone brother/paternal figure/supreme overlord controlling via Hive Mind:

“Hordak! I’m so glad you’re back.” AWWW ENTRAPTA AND DADDY HORDAK REUNION

(Does no one care that Hordak has been terrorizing society for over a decade prior to this, and is probably responsible for killing a bunch of their parents? No? I really thought he was going to die, LMAO)

Edit after posting: Befuddled by what the creator had to say about this relationship, DO BETTER AT DEPICTING AGE AND DYNAMIC LMAO

“Hello! I’m your dad.” GLIMMER AND PAPA MICAH REUNION 😭❤️

Scorpia said, to Catra: My kekkei genkai is forgiveness

“So are we all just like, okay with this?” asked Mermista, glancing at Hordak suspciously, verbalizing what I believe they should all be thinking jgjhkgh

The Fall of Salineas could not be THAT long ago omg

“Look at us. From capturing you to us now being buddies. This is so dope.” Hahahaa, the off-screen dialogue in this scene is def improv

“What a sweet and optimistic ending of everyone having a peaceful friendship, familial and romantic reunions and the protagonists deciding to plan a fun little road trip to bring magic back to the universe, which could not possibly backfire on them given the amount of space colonization that has happened in order to harness magic as a weapon thus far. As with Hordak, we will pretend we do not see it 😌❤️:

#ayesha liveblogs she-ra #ayesha says things #liveblogging #she-ra #long post #television #spoilers for all of she-ra s5 obvs #also i will not lie to you the end of this liveblog refused to save so i had to retype the last eight minutes THREE TIMES #which really represents how much energy i had to put into completing this show in general LOL #like the characters: i got there eventually #also by coincidence i finished this on the three year anniversary of its ending

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hubristicassholefight · 6 months

Text

Swordswoman Showdown Round 3

(Better here in a "preferred character" sense, not "who would win in a fight")

Propaganda below cut

Brienne

gets gifted a sword made with the rarest metal ever because she’s THAT good; she’s simply the best

Brienne is one of the top sword users alive in her day. She's descended from a man who's catchphrase was "I'm better with a sword." Better than what? You. Jaime Lannister. Loras Tyrell. Any five given guys at once. She has a fantastic sword that might be magic or cursed and is named Oathkeeper because that's what she does; I love her

Beat like 20 guys in a tournament when she was 19. Was given a magic sword. Won a sword fight against the premier swordsman in the realm. Very swordly; Very tall and strong. Holds her sword in high esteem. Accomplished with other weapons as well!

She's defeated multiple of the top knights in the series in duels. One such knight gifts her the fabergé egg of swords and she uses it to defend orphans and stuff. Got out of a bad betrothal by dueling him and beating his ass so bad she broke multiple bones. Honestly there's so much more she is the swordswoman of all time. to me; She's buff and ugly and 6' 5" and so honorable and kind that she inspires the guy who fucks his sister to yknow. stop doing that. literally gets mauled for the sake of protecting a bunch of orphans (with her sword). also she's 20 she should be at the club ‼️

One of the best sword wielders in Westeros, the author says he would pick her to defend him. Has a cool sword called Oathkeeper. Manages to go up against 7 fighters and take out most of them,. The only true knight; First off, talking about book brienne, they massacred show brienne, the show runners simply didn’t understand what she’s about.“ She had no chance against seven, she knew. No chance, and no choice” brienne had plenty of choice but she couldn’t leave people to die. The chivalric paradigm is rotten and corrupted, but here is Brienne, the one true knight, who isn’t even a actual knight! “knights are for killing”, but here is a knight who risks her life again and again to protect innocents! Bri IS hope, she is the light in the dark that shows that things can be better, things must be better. Fundamentally an idealist: “Winter will never come for the likes of us. Should we die in battle, they will surely sing of us, and it's always summer in the songs. In the songs all knights are gallant, all maids are beautiful, and the sun is always shining”

Adora

She has a big magical sword for her magical destiny that gives her a magical girl transformation, I love my girl and I love her awesome sword;

FOR THE HONOR OF GRAY SKULL *cool music plays, she's got a transformation* and now she's a legendary warrior that defeats the bad guys!!!

Giant technological sword gives adora magic powers and can turn into anything she needs while being She-ra

Has a magical sword that gives her magic powers; Has a magical sword that gives her magic powers

#brienne of tarth #game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #adora #she ra and the princesses of power #official #poll #swordswoman showdown #round 3

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deltra-shera · 2 years

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Random observation as I'm doing a She Ra rewatch (I'm at season 4, with all the juicy bits)

I just watched Pulse, which is an interesting point in Glimmer's arch because this is where she first talks/listens to Shadow Weaver, and almost immediately goes behind Adora (and Bow's) back by going after Catra on her own (with Adora as somewhat unplanned but very convenient bait).

But what I noticed was something in the Catra/Glimmer fight in the Horde. Catra sets off the bot as the outpost is falling apart and says "It's revving up to send out a pulse strong enough to level half the woods. It's me or the bot."

And Glimmer's saved from making a decision by Catra being trapped by a falling beam, and takes out the bot.

But in the split second before that, Glimmer gets ready to go after Catra. She had made a decision already, which was to sacrifice half the woods (and possibly the outcome of the war, if the Horde can just waltz into Bright Moon), to instead get her revenge on Catra for hurting Bow, and killing Angella.

(Ik Angella's not technically dead but for the purpose of this conversation she is.)

Which just adds another interesting detail to Glimmer's arch into her power hungriness/trip, and into how she wants to take out Catra specifically no matter the cost.

Which also makes the scene at the end of s4 so interesting, when Glimmer refuses to kill Catra, and Catra starts to look up to her. I wonder if Catra noticed Glimmer's decision back then.

Also, I always think about how Catra was looking at Glimmer and seeing herself, and that's how she saw that fixing her mistakes was an option, but I think Glimmer also looked at Catra at the end of s4 and saw herself as well.

#she ra #meta #glitra #deltragon talks

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silvertherogue715 · 2 months

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hello! This is just a small one before I get into the bigger question, I remember on your deviant art it was implied that Sunstar and Ra Moon were the same entity. Also what did you mean by Terra wasn’t himself when he and Minx first met, and what is Slur’s role in the AU? I hope you have a good day/night! Thank you!

Short answer:

Are Sunstar and Ra Moon the same person?

Yes! They are! Technically.

Ra Moon lacks Sunstar’s full set of memories, and is the part of Sunstar that has been with Minx the longest. “Ra Moon” doesn’t gain back his memories of being “Sunstar” until the end of Arc 1, when Terra essentially “kidnaps” him (which was shown in the comic from the last ask) from SciLab.

Terra wasn’t himself?

No. He (and his brothers) had been exposed to the negative effects of Sunstar’s Negative Energy Crystals (NEC’s or NE Crystals) for far too long. A side effect of this exposure brought out the worst in Terra, which can be observed during the Stardroids first arrival back on Earth after thousands of years.

Also, space and time are funky in this AU, courtesy of Duo–the stardroids are not actually thousands of years old.

What is Slur’s role?

She doesn't appear until late arc 2, but she is a recurring threat throughout later arcs. She carries out Duo's will by 'testing' the inhabitants of life-filled planets to determine whether or not they are "evil." If they are? Destruction. If not? They're left alone.

Long answer:

Are Sunstar and Ra Moon the same person?

Yes.

Ra Moon lacks all of his previous memories as “Sunstar" until Terra puts the NE Crystal inside of Ra Moon back into his ‘Sunstar’ body. This is the red crystal Terra was clutching in the comic from the last ask!

NE Crystals are a whole discussion on their own. Hoo boy. I’m sure some of this will be confusing, but please feel free to ask for clarity. Hope it isn't too overwhelming!

Let me try to give you a timeline, for simplicity:

Sunstar was the first, and only Stardroid created with 2 NEC’s in his body. These crystals bind best with non-organic material, like Navis, and serve as both a source of power and a place to store memories.

Yes there are Positive Energy Crystals, too. I just call ‘em GVC’s (good vibes crystals) though because it flows better.

Sunstar contained 5 NECs in his body at one point. The power overwhelms him, and the potency also affects the Stardroids (who are also NEC Navis).

His original 2 are in his chest.

He has one in his right forearm, and another in his left forearm.

The 5th is in his abdomen.

Duo (weird space & time god in the anime–) injures Sunstar enough to put him in critical condition during a battle in space.

4 of his 5 crystals are scattered to the stars.

Terra intercepts one of Sunstar’s two original NEC’s before Duo can destroy it, and places it into Ra Moon–a lifeless surveillance drone–and has Saturn send it to Earth (to give Sunstar distance and safety from Duo).

The outcome of the battle did not look favorable for the stardroids–he believed it was his best course of action at the time.

Duo had the mindset of "No crystals = no memories = no Sunstar"

Ra Moon landed on Earth and was found by Minx’s great-great Grandfather, Edward.

Sunstar’s amnesia as Ra Moon is caused by 2 things:

He is missing his other crystal

The crystal in Ra Moon has not adjusted to the ‘new host body,’ and a lack of familiar items or people mean he has nothing to trigger memories of his past self.

‘Viren society’ has long since been buried during their time away.

So basically, imagine waking up and having so idea who you are, and the only clues being:

“Name = Ra_Moon_model71”

But basically, “Ra Moon” has been in Minx’s family for generations. He helped Edward establish a Net-based company, providing both him and his human friend security. Then Edward dies. Edward’s son “inherits” him. Ra Moon is still treated well. Then the son dies. Things get worse. Then it happens again. And again.

And then he is eventually given to Minx (8). She reminds him of Edward, and things slowly start getting better again. Then Terra shows up.

Ra Moon has been with Minx for a long, long time.

Terra wasn’t himself?

No. As mentioned above, he hasn’t truly been himself since Sunstar started gaining more NECs in his body. One NE crystal is already an impressively powerful energy source, and Sunstar was created with two. The more crystals he gained, the more he lost himself, and the more the excess energy–like poison–started affecting the other Stardroids. Even after Sunstar's NEC’s were scattered, residual energy tainted the Stardroids minds while they hunted them down to restore their leaders body.

The Stardroids are not purged of this excess energy until sometime after arriving on Earth again, after Sunstar was repaired.

What is Slur’s role?

She doesn't appear until late arc 2, but she is a recurring threat throughout later arcs. Slur is…interesting, to say the least. Egocentric with a holier-than-thou attitude, like her anime counterpart, to be sure, but…interesting.

Though Slur could/should be discussed in greater detail in a different ask on her own, honestly. But to understand her role, the history of NEC vs GVCs Navis, as well as Viren society (which is basically my name for the ancient Earth civilization that is briefly touched on in the anime) and the creation of Duo as a whole would probably have to be addressed first? It’s a lot of lore-heavy stuff. Would probably be too overwhelming for a single post.

But TLDR: Bad guy. Sociopath. Hate Slur.

#not a cold swooping in and knocking me out before i could finish this post whaaaaat #I'll make a separate post with some Sunstar trivia later when I feel a little better.#I have no idea how familiar you are with MMBN games #or even the anime or manga adaptations.#or any megaman stuff??#My AU takes a little bit of every adaptation of the stardroids and megaman concepts #the corrupted stardroids are heavily inspired by their Gigamix counterparts #And the NEC/GVC crystals are also based on the concept of Hyper Energy Crystals in gigamix! They're also in the games but not really named #I can try to find some translated threads for you talking about the Gigamix Stardroids if you’d like?? I know they exist on tumblr somewher #anyway thank you for the lovely question!#i was SO excited when i saw it. your question is literally one of my most favorite to talk about in length #brainrotau #my art #stardroids #mmbnau #megaman #minx #sunstar.exe #terra.exe #slur.exe

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