#adora: I love it when a woman can just actually fucking kill me

[spopsalt]

spop fans:

Me: yeah, 'cause when C*tr* is abusing, toture or gaslighting Adora you spop fans and C*tr* stans act like " woohoo, go queen go " but when Adora is deffeding herself from her abuser you are like " boo, how could you Adora after you betray Catra ".

spop fandom:

Me: dude, what the fuck ?! C*tradora's whole arc is about how the abuser literally dates her own victim and doesn't give a fuck about anyone but herself, " Adora inspiring Catra to be selfless " yeah 'cause for sure C*tr* felt bad for killing Angella, killing and hurt innocent people and abusing Adora but i don't remember when she feels an ACTUALLY sorry for what she did, " Catra teaching Adora to be selfish " WHAT ?! Adora is not selfish and she would never be, you C//A stans says you know both C*tr* and Adora but you don't because Adora would never be selfish and C*tr* would never be selfless because we saw how the show explaine it.

people, when they see a man abusing a woman: omg, that's terrible, poor girl

people, when they see Catra abusing Adora: omg, sexual tension, lesbians, they are so gf

me: wow you guys are monsters literally, when you see a man doing awful things to a woman you wan't to kill the man so bad but when C*tr/ does the same to Adora you are like happy. If you are like this i don't wan't to imagine how would you react a woman abusing a men because...

well friend, here i am roasting C//A tweets, also i find very disrespectful how people normalize that when a man abuse a woman they find it horrible but when C*tr* does the same thing they are okay with it and that's so wrong , idk what was Nate thinking about creating she-ra and making kids believe that abuse, torture or gaslight the person they love would actually make them fall in love automatically with them and how normalize girls can abuse girls and still be in love. Also if you think about it shipping C*tr* and Adora is like shipping Valentino and Angel Dust in hazbin Hotel because both C*tr* and Valentino abuse Adora and Angel Dust

Hello! Please cut out or censor the usernames whenever you react to tweets and as usual do not harass these users!

yeah, basically Catra will manipulate Adora (and brag about it!) And that's perfectly find, but Lord forbid that Adora fight back! For the second tweet, most of this is just Catra being selfish "What do you want Adora? " and when Adora tells Catra what she wants Catra left and whined about Adora not wanting her. And the first 2 had selfish intentions. And the fourth one had nothing to do with Catra??

#spop critical #spop salt #anti spop #spop discourse #spop criticism #spop crit #anti catra #anti catradora #antic//a #anti c//a

[turtle-ly]

Do you have any catradora fic recs?

i am MADE for this, okay im gonna pick some non-popular ones bc who havent seen them got rec'd a thousand times? let's fucking go:

Oneshots (<5k):

1. blood by lesbians_harold, pre s5 nightmare angsts have a different Spice to it <3

2. Houses Will Build Themselves by jockvillagersonly, somft domesticity, adora builds a drawer

3. but at least the pain will last by TurtleTotem, i throw you on a loop! itsa angst again :) i love soulmate aus but soulmate aus when they're enemies? muah

4. we didn't start the fire (it lived in us) by blackranger (robpatFF), oh how i've thought about you days and nights, op'd adora is very good for your health actually, i've talked about it more here

5. Memory by CabbageCommander, yes i've rec'd s1 angst, s2 angst, now it's s3 angst >:) this fic urged me to do a gifset, one of the only 2 i've ever made, the impact 😌

6. When you’re away (losing sleep) by ClaraZorEl, i love character studies cant you tell

7. Gold, Falling from the ceiling by oliwellwhocares, hair, and the feels

8. how a blessing feels just like a curse by artemiswords, oh turtle you said you dont like angst that much! now explain your bookmarks pls. infected!she-ra :)

9. being chill, being chill with you (oh it kills, they ain’t chill at all) by emdashcomma, how does it feel to see our two favorite dumbasses dancing around each other but like, through the horde kids POV

10. your catra by bogfenwetland, or adora's fight with prime hive mind catra

Oneshots (>5k):

1. Eclipse by theamberissubtle, i guess this is canon divergence since it's from 2019, but great post-war fics are timeless and come in all shapes and sizes

2. Gold, White and Red, hnnnng im feral over goddess adora post s5, see me losing it over the fic here

3. Time to Go by elowen_p, as much as i like canon divergence, im not usually one for s1 cd fics. This is the exception, bc it's slightly Fucked Up and my guilty hc is that everyone in the horde is fucked up in various ways and degrees. adora remains in the horde, but at what cost?

4. tell me (you won't leave me) by insanetwin, post s5 catra submits herself to the mortifying ordeal of being known in order to enjoy the rewards of being loved

5. want me down to the marrow by auberigine, i am rubbing my hands all over s3 aus

6. a rumor, a legend, a mystery by nuttyshake, anastasia au, im gonna be honest with you, i havent watched anastasia for reasons, this one still melted my heart though

7. how can anybody have you by lavendersgreen (M), horde lord! catra. i almost forgot this one is angst angst disguised as fluff lol

8. brave face talk so lightly (hide the truth) by nuttyshake, this is the second time i rec'd this author in this post so im gonna do you a favor and add their tumblr, @/clacing, okay no more angst and its cousins this fic is pure yearning and fluff i promise

9. Meet Me At The Finish Line by clottedcreamfudge (E), haha dumbasses, you should also check out their other spop fics, namely the galling stones series lmao

10. baby, i'm a house on fire (and i wanna keep burning) by wittchers, i was about to stop with these but i cant scroll past this, i think this one is popular with the early fandom actually, medieval arranged marriage au with lord catra, sexy :)

Multi-chapters:

1. 82 Hours by burstofpeony, dancer au where they also got separated bc drama, the usual, but now on a train. i read this fic in one sitting i think

2. notes on fashion by slowdown, im adding this one bc i have taste

3. dangerous woman by n7punk, i KNOW i know, who havent known them?! but this hc is superior babes!

4. on another note im gonna rec on the other side + their and they were roommates collection too. at the 3rd reread im considering this is my comfort fic, if comfort fics are the kind that makes you roll around on your bed and take several breaks to calm down from the dumbassery.

5. wild things by sevensevan, Shadow Weaver sends Catra into the woods to die. Catra doesn't. tbh i'd like to read more about this since im soft for aus where catradora leave the horde on their own, it's still good where it's at tho

Im pulling my bookmarks out for y'all except the almost pure spicy ones that i wont name in this post haha. read these and you might just be able to pinpoint my fic taste :)

#she ra #catradora #catra #adora #spop catra #spop adora #and bc i spent nearly 2 hours on this #my footprints #my she ra stuff #my asks #fic rec #i gonna srb this so hard #spop #i know some of the author tumblr but im lazy

[sevens-evan]

Hey, I know I'm late but catradora 23 for the prompts list if you're feelin it. Love your fics!

superhero/supervillain au supremacy

Adora doesn’t expect to make it out alive.

She’d been warned about the bomb with literal hours to spare, and warned by the bomber herself, oddly enough. It’s planted in a police station downtown, in the basement, and they’d had time to evacuate every single person in the block before Adora went down to try to disarm it. The police had tried to convince her to let the bomb squad handle it; Adora had refused. She has Bow in her earpiece, and she’s yet to run into a piece of tech he can’t reverse engineer off a few photos and a detailed description.

Besides, if the bomb does go off, Adora might survive. She has a better chance than any normal human, at any rate, with her magically enhanced skin. Not a good chance, but at least a chance.

When Adora gets down into the basement and her earpiece fills with static, she mentally takes that chance and throws it out.

Without Bow, there’s no way Adora can defuse the bomb. But she’s seen this particular bomber’s work before, and even with the block evacuated, Adora doesn’t trust it not to kill people. There are police outside, a few reporters, bystanders gawking from behind the police tape line. All of them are in danger, unless Adora does something. Defuses the bomb, or throws herself over it, takes the blast with her own body.

That would kill her for sure. But Adora knows what her body can take, and if it comes down to it, her own death could prevent somebody else’s. So Adora stays in the basement, staring down at the wires attached to the bomb and praying that whatever’s jamming her signal to Bow will stop before the timer ticks down to zero.

“What are you still doing in here?” The voice comes from behind her, and Adora whirls around to face its source.

It’s the bomber. She’s dressed as she has been every time Adora has crossed paths with her: black spandex and maroon body armor, her whole head hidden beneath a black helmet that curves back into two points, almost like ears. The purple eyes of the helmet glow in the low light of the basement, and the voice modulator the bomber is using makes her sound robotic and dead. She hardly seems human, if not for the way her arms are crossed, fingers digging into her own biceps like she’s angry, or frustrated.

“You,” Adora says. She never calls the woman by name—she doesn’t know her real name, and she thinks that the media’s insistence on calling her Catwoman is both cartoonish and unimaginative. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“That thing is going to go off, She-ra,” the woman says, gesturing at the bomb. “There’s nothing you can do about it. Go.”

“I’ll disarm it,” Adora says. The woman tilts her head, and the glowing eyes of her helmet seem to narrow.

“You might,” she agrees, “if the signal jammer I hid inside the wall stops working suddenly. Otherwise you’re going to be doing it without your little friend in your ear, and for some reason I doubt you have the expertise.” Adora grits her teeth. She wants to ask how the woman can possibly know about Bow, but she doesn’t have the time to waste.

“Either try to stop me or leave,” Adora says, and, in a move that is probably very stupid, she turns her back to the bomber. She kind of expects an immediate attack. She doesn’t get one. The woman lets out a frustrated huff, which sounds like an electric sizzle through her voice modulator.

“It’ll kill you, dumbass,” she says.

“That’s a price I’m willing to pay.”

“For what?” The woman sounds angry now, and...familiar? Something about her tone, even through the modulator...

“I’m not explaining my plans to you,” Adora says, turning back around. “Get out of here before it kills you, too.” The woman makes an aggravated noise, stomps her foot, and pulls her gun.

Adora doesn’t have time to defend herself before a dart lands in her neck.

When she wakes up, she sees the sky. It’s a beautiful day in Bright Moon, sunny and bright with the occasional fluffy white cloud passing by. The light immediately gives her a headache, and she rolls onto her side, groaning in irritation.

“Welcome back,” a voice says, and Adora remembers how she ended up passed out on a rooftop. She tries to jump to her feet, but she can’t quite balance, and she ends up on her hands and knees, glaring at the source of the voice. The woman is sitting a few feet away, her feet dangling off the edge of the rooftop, looking back over her shoulder at Adora.

“You drugged me,” Adora says. It comes out sounding a little offended.

“It was that or let you kill yourself,” the woman says.

“Wouldn’t that solve a lot of your problems?” The woman doesn’t answer. "Why did you save me, anyway? We’re enemies.”

“Yeah, I know,” the woman says. “I just didn’t wanna see your guts splattered all over the bomb crater.”

“But you’re fine seeing someone else’s?” Adora says. The woman looks away, down towards her own feet, and crosses her arms in front of her. The move had looked angry in the police station basement, but now, from what Adora can see, it’s...sad? The woman’s shoulders are slumped, her head down.

“Nobody died,” she says. “I’m good at what I do. That bomb destroyed the police station and absolutely nothing else.” Adora blinks, processing that information. Between the extensive warning she had been given about the bomb, and the way it was apparently engineered to only destroy its target...Adora wonders if this woman actually wants to kill anyone. It certainly doesn’t seem like it.

“Just tell me why you did it,” Adora says. “Why did you save me?” The woman groans.

“For fuck’s sake,” she says. “Because I’m in love with you, okay? And I don’t want you to die.”

...What?

Adora has no idea what to say to that, but her mouth settles on, “You don’t even know who I am.” The woman laughs. Halfway through, her voice modulator shuts off, and her laugh comes out unfiltered: raspy, sarcastic, familiar.

An impossible fear settles itself in Adora’s chest.

The woman reaches up and lifts off her helmet, revealing short, messy brown hair and a nasty-looking scar on the back of her neck. Then she turns her head, and Adora’s heart stops.

That laugh isn’t just familiar. It’s the laugh that Adora grew up with, fell in love with, hasn’t heard in almost six years. It’s—

“Catra,” Adora says—whispers. Catra smiles at her.

“Hey, Adora.”

#catradora #catra #adora #spop #my fics #fic: catradora #perhaps i could get some reblogs for this one. #i like it a lot #please. #gimme-tea-bitch #answered

[testudoaubrei-blog]

TL/DR - Catra is a uniquely complex and compelling character who has -so much going on- compared with most characters in any medium. Her character arc is psychologically astute, morally powerful and dramatically compelling, and it pushes the boundaries of the audiences sympathies in ways that are really groundbreaking for a kids show, and her arcs conclusion celebrates love, growth, and the power to change in a way that is all too rare in TV for grown ups.

Content note for mentions of suicidal ideation and self harm.

Well, now that the summary is out of the way, here’s a massive fucking dissertation on why Catra is such a great character.

This is the first of a series of posts outlining things that make She Ra a truly great show, one that stands out even 15 years into a golden age of TV animation for kids. This isn’t going to be a comprehensive account for why the show is great - the real answer is that this show has so many arcs and so many fully realized characters and they are all growing and changing in ways that interact with each other and complement each other so well. But I’m going to highlight some particular standouts, things that this show does better than anything else, things that made me step back and say ‘holy shit they did this in a show pitched at 10 year olds?!’

And so the first of these posts is about Catra. I’ve never seen a character in a kids TV show like Catra before. Depending on the season, she’s an anti-villain, an outright villain and an anti-hero and then, in the end, a hero. Being glib, I describe her in villain mode as a Saturday morning cartoon Supervillain as written by like, Dostoevsky. She’s got the trappings of classic villain camp - long speeches, sneering, over-complicated plans, she’s oddly ineffectual at times etc/ Yet all of this is underlaid and justified by something much deeper - her feelings of rejection, her desire to lash out at everyone around her, at her self-hatred and hatred of everyone and everything else (at least by Season 4. Good God.) And her actions are as dark as her motivations - she nearly destroys reality out of spite, betrays literally everyone who cares about her (often multiple times) and isolates herself so completely that in the season 4 finale she is a solitary, suicidal wreck of a person. Hell, in her last fight with Hordak, I was definitely rooting for Hordak (to say nothing of Glimmer, who is a pretty impressive antiheroine, like if Sparkles had just blasted her into glittery oblivion would we have held it against her?).

Let's start by discussing trauma. It comes up a lot with Catra for obvious and good reasons. But I almost feel like that word is insufficient for what's going on with Catra, or at least, we shouldn't stop with it (I know there are terms like complex trauma, but rather than simply using those I want to explain the difference between Catra’s consistent abuse and a single traumatic event). To use another example from a different show, Korra was also traumatized in season 4. But she was traumatized by a series of an events when she was a young adult. She had something horrible happen to her, and it fucked her up, and then she had exposure therapy with Zaheer and at least starts to get better. Catra...Catra is much more consistently abused. It's not just that shadow weaver traumatized her with the various acts of torture, but that Shadow Weaver taught Catra both an explicit worldview and a series of coping mechanisms that she struggles with through young adulthood. First, Shadow Weaver trained Catra to seek her approval. This is something she is particularly vulnerable to with Shadow Weaver, but also what she does with Hordak and to a extent Double Trouble. Catra's instinct when people mistreat her or show that they aren't trustworthy is to invest further in the relationship, until the breaking point. By contrast, when people treat her well Catra lashes out or takes them for granted. This is uh…a dymamic I am acquainted with among people who have been abused as kids, people whom I love. It is pretty rough.

She also developed a desire to prove herself. This starts off being tied to her drive for approval, but combined with her competitive streak (which is expressed in both healthy and unhealthy ways with Adora) it turns into a desire to beat Shadow Weaver and then Hordak at their own game.

At the same time, Catra learned by always being blamed for everything to evade and deny responsibility, no matter what. I think this form of self reassurance is tied to her self doubt (I think at some level she does think she is worthless) and her self hatred. It is also enabled by Adora’s martyr complex and willingness even act as Catra’s punching bag (as we see in the flashback in Corridors). This is a dynamic that actually repeats in an even worse fashion with Scorpia. Far from being arrogant, her constant evasions, put downs against others and preening speeches sound like the words of a woman who is trying to convince herself most of all. This tendency borders on narcissistic self delusion by season 3-4, which she begins recounting her version of events and possibly believing it even when it is obviously false, and everyone knows it.

When it comes to worldviews, Shadow Weaver taught Catra that love is about control and manipulation. We see this in seasons 1-3 where she congratulates herself for manipulating Adora when all she has done is take advantage of Adora's lingering love for her. Meanwhile, she’s learned that power is her only protection, and that the only way to stay on top is to abuse those beneath her.

The final kind of static tendency in Catra is her identity in the horde and her view of herself as one of the bad guys. This is something she rarely articulates but underlies much of her her decision to stay and not join Adora (at least at first). I think one thing to consider is that even if Catra never believed horde propaganda, it may have made her cynical and unwilling to imagine something better for herself or the world. Another factor is having struggled to belong in the horde for so long, she isn't going to give up now. At first this ties into her desire to win the approval of shadow weaver and Hordak, then it comes from her desire to prove herself better than them. Another factor is her self hatred. She sees herself as someone who hurts people, perhaps as a monster. She sees herself as a bad guy and so team evil is her side.

So yeah, our girl is kinda fucked up.

And yet Catra is never reduced to the sum of her traumas and bad habits. At every step of the way she is shown as a moral agent. She is shaped by shadow Weaver's abuse but she remains aware of and responsible for her actions. This is a double edged sword. She is fully responsible for her actions, but also she is never shown as broken by abuse or mental illness. She’s fully responsible, but by the same token is also redeemable, because she still has a choice.

So with that our of the way, let's go to Catra's arc.

I’m not going to recite everything terrible Catra does because I’m still on my first complete rewatch and I honestly find it hard to list it all. It’s a lot. So let’s talk about her shifting motivations. Early on, we see her desire for approval and recognition motivating her in ways that are so easy to sympathize with - she’s been told she’s worthless for years, and she wants to be worth something. We see how much she’s been scarred by Shadow Weavers abuse and by the ruthlessness and callousness of the Horde, and can sympathize with her desire to survive and advance since her own position is so untenable. We also see how, at first, she wants to be reunited with Adora. Her first huge turn into much darker territory is Promises, when she tries to kill Adora in order to permanently sever her connection with her own life and eliminate a possible rival for advancement (should Adora ever return). She’s told herself that she doesn’t want Adora back, and at least partly means it. Yet we still show her care for Scorpia and Entrapta and even Shadow Weaver in Season 2. It’s when Catra realizes that Shadow Weaver has chosen Adora over her once again that she takes her darkest turn. It’s not just that she destroys reality out of spite, it’s that she rejects her chance for a better and happier life, betrays every friend she has and focuses single-mindedly on hurting Adora (and arguably herself) and then on surviving when her attempt fails. Then Catra spends an entire season both fully inhabiting her role as a villain (and not a sympathetic one - really only our history with her leaves us sympathetic) and being utterly self-destructive and miserable. At the end, as mentioned, she’s a broken, suicidal wreck who has destroyed everything she’s strived for. If this was an HBO drama, we’d roll credits here and she’d go down as another self-destructive antihero. It would perhaps be too much to call her ‘Walter White as a catgirl’, but still. Of course, her story doesn’t end there.

Something that is incredibly dark that is happening in step with this is Catra’s hardening of herself, indeed, her dehumanization of herself. We see her struggle with her natural compassion, her kindness, her need for connection, her desire for happiness, and we see her ignore it all, stamp it down and nearly snuff it out. This is a huge factor in her descent into becoming a real villain (no ‘anti’ qualifiers needed). Every step of her descent is a struggle for Catra - not going with Adora in the second part of ‘The Sword’, trying to kill Adora in ‘Promise’, going back to the Horde, betraying Entrapta, lying about Entrapta, threatening Scorpia, destroying the world - but she always chooses evil. And with every step she becomes more isolated, more callous, and more cruel. Her default reaction becomes not just bravado and mockery and insolence, but threats, bullying and intimidation, until her management style is identical to Hordak’s, and indeed, is quite a bit worse. Catra starts off fighting for Hordak and Shadow Weaver’s approval and struggling to survive, and ends up cackling maniacally at her brutal and murderous conquests. She has very deliberately turned herself into a cruel conqueror, and a tyrant. This self-dehumanization is a huge part of evil in the world, I think, and it’s really powerful to see it so clearly in a kids show.

Meanwhile her insistence on evading all responsibility finally results in a self-serving, self-protective narrative that insulates her from responsibility or self-examination but also cuts her off from reality and other people. It’s always a bit unclear to what extent her various untruths (about Adora leaving her, about Shadow Weaver’s escape and her concealment of it not being her fault, about Entrapta betraying Hordak) are things she believes, lies she is telling to have power over others (mostly Scorpia) or things that she doesn’t quite believe but is trying to convince herself of. It’s probably all of these at various times, and in different degrees for each lie. The end result is that Catra is even more alone, because only she inhabits the safe cocoon of lies she’s built around herself. It also is the key to her and the Horde’s downfall - Catra is so isolated and in such denial that she can’t see how thin her forces are spread, and this crack shows up even in episode 1 of Season 4, with her insistence that the Princess Alliance is in shambles (when, in fact, it’s already rebounding, and proves more resilient than she allows herself to believe, and is led by a woman as ruthless and determined as herself). This part of Catra’s arc brilliantly shows how deception (of yourself and others) can feel protective by keeping shame at bay, but ultimately is destructive and strips someone of so much of the intellectual and moral qualities that we call ‘human.’ It’s also chilling to see since we’ve seen the end game of this mentality play out in US national politics, at the highest level.

I said at the opening that we’ve never seen a sympathetic character like Catra in a kids show. What about Zuko? I would argue that Zuko is never a cruel, or as callous, or as self-destructive as Catra is at her worst. Zuko is motivated by a desire for recognition from his abusive father (much like Catra is initially motivated by desire for recognition from Hordak and Shadow Weaver, and indeed Adora), and perhaps a desire to belong in the Fire Nation. All of this gets wrapped together in his ‘Honor’. He’s a young man with a very weak sense of what he truly believes, instead relying on external guides to what he should do. He’s also incredibly self-involved, and initially indifferent to anyone’s pain but his own and anyone’s needs but his own need to restore his honor. Uncle Iroh is there throughout to push Zuko both to see the needs of others and to become his own person. Zuko’s redemption arc, then, is a twofold quest to recognize other people and to find his own moral center and act from it. This is a pretty powerful coming of age story in that it is about him becoming his own person and throwing off the shackles of his upbringing. Politically, it’s a powerful story of a young man taking responsibility for his own actions in an authoritarian regime and refusing to participate in its imperialism any more and to embrace a new way forward both for himself and his nation. At the same time, in some ways it is easy to sympathize with Zuko because his greatest crimes are those of weakness - he’s not strong enough to stand up to his nation and his family until midway through the last season. Catra though...Catra does what she does, eventually, because she wants to hurt people. She’s cruel, and spiteful, and destructive in ways that are truly scary and which prevent any excuse or mitigation.

Which brings up the other comparison - Azula. But while Azula is (somewhat inconsistently) shown either as a monstrous child sociopath or a traumatized and broken child who can’t help it (and thus, perversely, as not a moral agent but something like a monster), Catra is consistently shown as a moral agent. Catra chooses her own path, every step of the way. She has so many chances to do something else - Adora’s offers to leave together in the two-part series opener, Promises, Scorpia’s suggestion that they dessert the Horde and become desert gang leaders, etc - and until season 5, she turns them all down. While Azula seems destined for evil and madness, with Catra we see a young woman very deliberately walk down the path into unmitigated evil with both eyes open. And then we see it destroy her.

And after she is basically destroyed, we see her build herself back. This process actually starts in Season 4 with the creeping realization that even when she is winning she is miserable and alone. She doesn’t even notice Scorpia is gone for several episodes, then she completely loses it. She spends the entire time when she is at her most triumphant isolated and raging and borderline incoherent, as ineffectual as she accuses Hordak of being. She’s won, and she’s alone, and she’s the most unhappy she has ever been, and I think for the first time she realizes that. And that’s the worst blow to her, even before all the external things come crashing down. She’s already miserable before Double Trouble and Glimmer deal her a triple coup de grace of destroying all her armies*, turning her and Hordak against each other and then Double Trouble’s epic evisceration. By the time Glimmer shows up, Catra is, as mentioned, literally suicidal. But she’s also already begun the process of changing in that she knows that she has a problem (her, and her self/other-destructive tendencies). Moreover, she knows, at some level, that what she really wants isn’t conquest, or to prove herself as the baddest leader of the Horde, but love - and she’s seen how she’s squandered that at every opportunity.

Let’s just pause for a moment to observe how much better Glimmer is at villainous machinations than Catra. In a couple episodes she makes a faustian bargain for unlimited power, kills all her enemies armies, sets her two chief foes at each other’s throats and literally cripples one while rendering the other helpless. And given her ironic non-answer about hurting Catra (‘we’re the good guys, remember?’ and the fact that she’d tried to kill Catra twice before**, she walked into Hordak’s sanctum fully intending to end Catra’s life, one way or another. She does all this through ruthlessness, recklessness and treachery, and she could give like, a TED talk on villainy. Of course it also blows up in her face and is actually way worse than the portal did in Catra’s, endangering the whole universe (I always assumed that the portal only threatened Despondos), dooming Etheria to invasion and all that. Of course, Catra pulled that switch and then fought Adora knowing that the world was ending, while Glimmer was just ignoring warnings from...just about everyone, including Shadow Weaver. So yeah, Glimmer, best kids show antihero since Princess Bubblegum***(unless we’re counting Catra as an antihero, which works for the first half of season 5).

Anyway, at the beginning of Season 5 Catra is adrift. Though some interpretations, like TV tropes, see her as immediately falling back into old habits and casting her lot in with Prime, I see her actions from the end of Season 4 onwards as more ambivalent. She seems to be kind of...going through the motions. She doesn’t have any of the drive or passion in her plotting that she once did, she seems to be maneuvering into Prime’s good graces out of habit. At best she’s back in the survival mode of early season 1, but without the ambition and desire to prove herself that motivated her. Some interpretations put a lot of stock in Prime being someone that can’t be bargained with or appeased, but...I don’t buy it. I take him, to an extent, at his word when he says that he was ‘exalt’ Catra (I am sure it is something awful). Catra actually gets what she wants halfway through “Corridors.” Only it’s not what she wants. She’s done jockeying for advantage, especially in a world where she truly would be alone because all she has is this psychopathic narcissist and his clones for company. She wants connection. She wants to do what is right. She’s suppressed all her humanity (felinitity? Anyway) for years and it’s made her miserable, and now she’s ready to embrace it. At the same time she confronts her own culpability, seeing just how much harm she’s done and admitting it for the first time. Her first lifeline is Glimmer, the only person she can actually talk to, the only other Etherian, the woman whose mother she doomed and who has nearly killed her three times. But Glimmer is also going through her own dark night of the soul - Glimmer and Catra’s character arcs were converging at the same time that Catra’s and Adoras and Glimmer’s and Adora’s were diverging. And they come together on either side of that forcefield, just talking and being people in an environment that is designed to be as dehumanizing as possible. Even this barest lifeline is enough for Catra to hold on to for dear life, and enough to inspire her to not just feel bad about the bad things she’s done, but do something good.

But the first way she does this is a cop out. Her plan, like Shadow Weaver’s in the finale, is to sacrifice/kill herself doing ‘one good thing.’ That way she doesn’t have to figure out how to live with the consequences of her actions, face the possible rejection of the people she loves whom she’s wronged, and do the hard work of building herself back up as a better person. She gets to die a hero rather than live as a villain. That said, unlike Shadow Weaver she does at least get off one apology, and it makes all the difference.

Then Adora fucks Catra’s sacrifice up, in glorious, space operatic, gay AF pulp fiction fashion, by saving the cat. Catra is mind controlled or unconscious for most of this episode, but what she does do is so crucial. When Adora comes for her, she reaches out to her, as soon as she is able. She doesn’t push her away, she takes Adora’s help, and her love, and Adora does the rest in badass fashion. The next few episodes plus the so perfect its canon Don’t Go are my favorite part of Catra’s entire arc.

She nearly falls back into her old habits, at least partly. Now that she has to live with what she’s done rather than just dying for it she just wants to run away again. But when she has to choose between losing Adora all over again and confronting herself and her past, she chooses Adora, and asks her to stay.

Catra then spends the rest of Season 5 slowly easing herself into the very human world of the Princess Alliance - the comaradery, the dedication to others and a cause, the goofiness. I’m going to talk a lot more about her relationship with Adora in my Catradora post, but I do want to highlight three moments.

The first is Catra running away again. This is actually a big change from what she’s done before - she’s not leaving because she’s angry, or bitter, or spiteful, she’s leaving because she doesn’t want to see the woman she loves sacrifice herself yet again (maybe this time for good) after being manipulated by the woman who had abused them both. But then she comes back. And then she confronts her abuser in a way that she has never done before - for the first time in the series, she not only calls Shadow Weaver out but calls her to do the right thing, and doesn’t give up until she does (this is after Adora also calls SW out and cuts her off forever, meaning that her two charges have finally called her on her bullshit and chosen each other over her, more in my Shadow Weaver Rant...and I guess my Catradora rant).

Then, at the end, Catra both stays with Adora through her potentially fatal harnessing of the Heart of Etheria and then her comes in and rescues her by challenging her to do something for Catra and for herself. Not to be with Catra, or to kiss her, or love her, but just stay for her. Needless to say, Adora responds far more enthusiastically than Catra had dared hope. (more on this in my Catradora rant).

Catra starts the show convinced she doesn’t need anyone except Adora, and she’s willing to even push Adora away if she can’t have Adora on her own terms. She goes down that path - ambition, manipulation, treachery, cruelty and isolation - until she has nothing left. She then slowly, painfully, turns around and reaches out and begins to heal the pain in Etheria and the universe rather than causing more. This is a psychological journey in many ways, but even more than that it is a profoundly moral one. It is a story of her accepting responsibility for her actions, facing reality, reaching out to others and making amends. It is in every sense a redemption. And while it works perfectly with Adora’s own development into her own, fuller, happier, healthier person, it works not because of Adora or the power of love, but because of Catra herself. Adora’s companionship, Adora’s rescuing of her and holding her to account, all of these are necessary for Catra to change for the better. But in the end it is Catra herself who chooses the right path, maybe for the first time in her life. And that’s what makes the romance work in turn - Catra is motivated to change not simply by a desire to impress her girlfriend or by Adora’s shining goodness (to the contrary, Adora’s a healthier and less self-sacrificing person at least in the finale...she comes around later than Catra) but by her desire to be true to herself and seek out what she really needs and wants - which is love, and connection, and to do good rather than evil. It’s a gorgeous story that takes an antihero all the way down to hell and then back again, and this makes it a truly unique redemption arc in all of kids TV - not just because of how far Catra falls, but how far she travels overall.

*(I know a lot of fanficcers talk about there being a lot of Horde Soldiers left but like...in the show...they’re nearly all dead, guys. Glimmer and company...okay mostly Mermista... just about killed them all in an afternoon. The cadet Triad survives because they deserted and weren’t there to get drowned/frozen/suffocated by plants when the grand invasion of Brightmoon went sideways)

**Okay, once she was only an accessory to Shadow Weaver’s attempted murder of Catra, the other time she leaves Catra for dead in ‘Pulse’

***I stan PB so hard guys. So hard. Machiavellian genius, mad scientist, god figure, possible Nietzschean Ubermensch? She’s so great. So great.

#she ra #she ra adora #she ra catra #spop catra #redemption arcs

[curiousscientistkae]

oh yeah since I have new peeps here is a rundown of myshe ra kiddos +finally adding some i never talked about. Ages are just to show gaps between kids, they are not "canon". Under the cut stuff. I uh....ramble

Glimmadora:

Harper-20, eldest daughter/child. Born Feb 1st. She/Her, Demi-Bi. Heir to Brightmoon, gets called 'AJ' (Adora Jr) a lot by Glimmer since she looks and acts a lot like Adora. Has shoulder length two toned blonde hair (top half light like She-ra, bottom darker like Adora) with sparkles at the edns, sparkling purple eyes shaped like Adora's, tan skin like Glimmer, glasses, sometimes wears a hearing aid in her right ear. Has cream/purple wing markings on her back that later will turn into feathery cream wings with purple tips.

Sound based powers (cause my brain was like light and sound) but still can create light stuff they just make sounds also. Also can turn invisible. Being unable to control the powers as a toddler, she lost her hearing in her right ear. Everyone in the family knows sign language.

Smart af, witty, as the eldest of all the kids can be protective to a fault, anxious, wants to not fuck up and be a great queen. Will overwork herself and is a perfectionist, though can be forgetful. Is a great shoulder to lean on/be listened to.

Grows to 6' (she got them angella genes (who is alive in this au, not micah) and athletic build like Adora. Named to match the 'er' at Glimmer's name, her sound powers, and the Lyra constellation. Glimmer was the one to have her.

Mira-13, youngest daughter eldest twin. Born July 9th. She/Her, Lesbian, about 5 mins older than Micah. Powerless Princess. Got her great aunt and grandpa's hair color, pale skin (same as Adora), ice blue eyes shaped like Adora's, freckles on face. Usually has hair in ponytail held up by that butterfly pin from princess prom. Also almost always has a red cloak around her. Called 'Mimi'

Born with no magic and not connected to the moonstone (long story short in my au, First Ones cannot use magic without help or it will kill them. Mira got the most FO genes thus she cannot use magic. Whole ass idea i need to explore). Tries to make up for it with fighting skills. While she doesn't show it a lot, she hates the fact she is powerless and will not grow wings either.

Clever, rebellious, loves to explore. Can have a temper to her, wears her heart on her sleeve. Natural born leader. Butts heads with her mothers the most and has run away a few times (once for a very very long time heh). At the end of the day, she doesn't want to be in the shadow of anyone/wants to make her own mark.

Grows to 5'6", chubby build like Glimmer. Named to match the 'ra' in Adora's name and the 'Mi' in Micah's name. OG she was going to have healing powers before I got rid of that so it was also sort for Miracles. 'Mira' is a star, one that is an actual shooting star. Adora was the one to have her

Micah-13, youngest child only son. Born July 9th. He/Him and They/Them. Demi-Boy. Bi, about 5 mins younger than Mira. Has spell powers. Messy, chin length dark purple hair (the same shade as the bottom half of Glimmer's hair), sky blue eyes with sparkles and shaped like Glimmer's, freckles on face. Light tan skin (between his sisters). Has purple wing markings on back and later will get purple feathered wings. Called MJ (Micah Jr) or Mickey

Like his grandfather, great aunt, and Ma before him, he can use spells. Struggles with it but eventually learns he is best at defensive ones. They look up to many of the guards in the castle and wants to be one when he grows up.

Quiet, soft spoken, nervous boy. Def keeps his twin sister from doing something totally stupid. Trusting, sometimes too much, can hold grudges if wronged badly. Tries to see the best in others. Named to honor his grandfather, they want to live up to them and be a great sorcerer

Grows to 5'11, more avg/a bit stocky build. Named to match the 'Mi' with Mira and as Micah is dead in this still (i made them a long time ago) after him. Adora was the one to have them.

Scorpia's Kid

Onca-13, only child of Scorpia. Born May 4th. They/Them. Non-binary Pan. Magicat/Scorpion. OG a scorptra kid but Catra no longer with Scorpia. Has medium length snow white hair, usually in a small pony tail, light brown skin, amber eyes (only iris has the color not the whole eye). Cat fangs and white cat tail. Has those scorpion shouler pads and venom their fangs (not as strong as their mother's) and blue blood. No fur. Called 'Onc' or by Scorpia her 'Lil' Kitling'

Has electrical powers like Scorpia. Venom will only make the part they bite numb, does not fully knock anyone out. Is quick on their feet.

Laid back, quick to adapt, resting bitch face, can be a little lazy, sometimes acts without thinking, and easily distracted. Before growth spurt, they were small and grew a hatred of being seen as always needing help. Just a gentle giant really.

Grows to 6'3, strong build like Scorpia. Named after the latin species name of the Jaguar.

(i so need to work and the following kids more rip)

Bowfuma

Robin-18, eldest son/child of Bow and Perfuma. Born March 20th, He/Him. Gay. Dark brown skin, dark brown, short hair, dark brown eyes. Wears glasses. Has plant powers. Called Robby. Heir to Plumeria.

Plant powers are a WIP kind of, might be like Perfuma or a little dif but is connected to the Runestone. Knows some archery but prefers a crossbow.

Self assured, he knows who he is and what he wants to do, fair-takes both sides of an argument into account. Is the least likely to cause shit. Can be messy and hates when his things are moved. Procrastinator.

Grows to 6', lean build. Named after both Robin Hood, the archer, and the bird

Eliza-16, only daughter. Born Sept 15th, She/Her, Aro/Ace. Dark brown skin, dark brown hair in two braids, dark brown eyes, freckles. Needs glasses but wears contacts. Powers allows her to talk to animals. Called 'Liza'.

Also connected to the runestone, Eliza and talk to animals. She actually started to talk to them before speaking to her parents. When she talks to them, to others it sounds like she is making the animal sounds.

Passionate and loves animals. While her cousin Mira puts her energy into trouble, she puts it into being outside and building things or helping her mom and dad. Hates being stuck inside. Can be whimsical. Loves to be challenged and doesn't back down from stuff, even when maybe she should. Can be a bit dense.

Grows to 5'8", lean build. Named after Eliza Thornberry.

Ash-15, youngest of their siblings. Born Nov 23rd. He/She/They genderfluid. No real label-uses queer. Medium brown skin, medium length, wavy blonde hair, dark brown eyes. Freckles. Has no powers but does not mind it at all.

Unlike his younger cousin, Mira, Ash does not care they do not have powers or are not next in line for the thorn. They are happy to just learn from their father or others. Kind of a jack of all trades.

Has a big heart and a love for all life. Once she is set on something, she sees it through to the end. Very observant of the world and what goes on in it. Can be impatient and doesn’t always take things seriously. Jokes way to often. Free-spirit

Grows to 5'10", thin build like his mom. Named after the type of tree which you could use to make a bow.

Seamista

Newt-18, oldest and only son of Sea Hawk and Mermista. Born Dec 11th, Trans Man He/Him, Pan ace. Dark brown skin, dark brown eyes, short blue hair. Has no runestone powers but can still turn into a merman when in the water.

Newt was next in line for the throne but stepped down, not liking the idea of being a king. He likes to spend time at the beach, swimming, and enjoying being in the sun. Usually keeps his sisters from killing each other.

Hard worker, does not usually slack off, does hate being in the spotlight. Humble. Good at reading emotions. Can lose track of time easily. Has his mother's dry sense of humor. Will faint at the sight of blood

Grows to 5'7", build like Sea Hawk. Named for the salamander that is associate with fire. And with it being an amphibian and transitioning from one stage to another, kind of works there also.

Sandra-15, oldest daughter. Born Mar 7th, She/Her, Pan. Medium brown skin, brown eyes, dark long brown curly hair. Has water based powers (still a WIP whoops). Can turn into a mermaid when in the water.

After her brother stepped down, she is now the heir to her kingdom. Still working a bit on her powers but is connected to the runestone. FIGHTS with her sister all the time.

Very much a girly girl, loves pink, skirts, sparkles, all that jazz. Takes her role as princess seriously. Dutiful and punctual. Hates messes, likes things to be neat. Does not like things randomly being dropped on her.

Grows to 5'8", Mermista's body build. Nickname is Sandy and is called that the most. Named cause yeah....sandy.

Yamuna-12, youngest child/daughter. Born Apr 13th, She/Her, Greyromo/sexual Lesbian. Long blue hair though will dye it many colors, usually orange, light brown skin, brown eyes. Water powers. Cannot fully turn into a mermaid when in the water, just gets webbing and gills.

She can control the temperature of the water around her, freezing it or boiling it at will. Is a great sailor

Pure Sea Hawk child, pretty much his clone. Wild, hyper, will set shit on fire. Takes pride in everything she does. Will blurt out things without thinking and can be pushy. Doesn't like to be told to do things. Zero filter.

Grows to 5'2", small body build. Named after one of the largest rivers in India.

(these guys are VERY WIP so not much to them)

Ada-Entrapta child, on the younger end. Adopted, trans woman, het. Does love robots and what not, helps their mom out a lot. Probably can run on little sleep and still be fine. Name was given to me by my good friend Dorku named after Ada Lovelace, a mathematician and first computer programmer. Very close with Onca

Luka and Felix-Catra's sons, adopted. Both magicats. Catra moves away from everyone and wouldnt really come into focus until much much later when Mira runs off. Luka and Felix idk ages yet but are only a year apart in age. Luka means light (he is one of Catra's lights now) and Felix is a cartoon cat. Would become close friends with Mira later on

(im too lazy to proof lmao and free to ask questions or change stuff up lmao god)

#she ra #spop #spop fankids #she ra fankids #glimmadora #bowfuma #seamista #future of etheria #harper #mira #micah #onca #robin #eliza #ash #newt #sandra #yamuna #ada #luka #felix #she ra ocs #spop ocs

[arceneades]

Why I Love She-Ra (2018)

I watched She-Ra after my YouTube feed had been inundated with She-Ra for a couple of years. I just sort of wanted to know what it was all about. People were talking. I was curious.

I think the first time I felt like crying was during the theme song the first time I saw it.

“We’re Gonna Win In The End!”

This was a queer show. I knew that. And... well, I grew up in the 1980s. And people, we are winning. We are winning this fucking fight with the forces of fucking darkness, some of which were in my own mind and heart, and it has been a long god damn slog but we are winning.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I worked for a company that published a phone book (yes, a printed book, with phone numbers in it that you could call. It was a different time, okay?) that was targeted to the gay community. Specifically, it was a yellow page directory with advertisements for restaurants, and florists, and plumbers, and towing services, and any other business that you could think of that were paying money to let gay customers know that they would be treated like fucking human beings by that business.

That book doubled in size every year for 4 years. Because we were winning.

It took decades to go from the Defense of (straight) Marriage Act to nationwide acknowledgement of marriage rights. But we got there. Because we are winning. And I care about this fight.

So, yeah. I’m in. Let’s go. We’re gonna win in the end.

The feels did not stop. I cried during “Promise”. Well, I mean, of course I did, I’m not an inhuman monster. I cried during the battle of Bright Moon. I cried for Catra when Shadow Weaver left her, when she hurt her friends, when her pain and rage tore the world apart. She just kept breaking my heart. I wanted her to make just one good decision.

She did, of course, and I cried about that too. I knew what was coming with “Corridors” but it killed me anyway, Adora’s “no, no, no” just bruised my soul.

And “Save the Cat”? Adora’s righteous fury and the power of her love for Catra... again. Tears.

Maybe it was just 2020. Maybe my emotions were just close to the surface. I don’t know. I HURT for those kids. I wanted them to be okay. I still want them to be okay.

But I also felt seen. Seen in a way that... was different.

I was a middle aged, cis-gendered, straight white male. And this show was hitting me, and hitting me hard, and I didn’t know why. I was invested in this love story. I was invested in the war. I knew they were the same thing.

Not unusual, I suppose. I’m a Jane Austen fan. I like love stories. I like it when main characters get together. I’ve read Pride & Prejudice more than twice. But I don’t feel seen when I do.

Part of it was Catra. We all probably have some Catra in us. I might have more than most. It’s taken a long time to get some of my more extreme behaviors under control, although my rage and trauma tends to direct inward, not outward.

Part of it was Adora. I love characters that reflect fierce protectiveness, a part of us that wants to stand between the universe and the people we love and say “No, You can’t hurt them. You can’t have them. They. Are. Mine.”

But hey, you know, Tony Stark has that vibe in “Avengers: Endgame” and even dies to protect what he loves and while that speaks to me, I don’t feel... seen.

Tony Stark is played by Robert Downey Jr, an actor I grew up watching. Avengers is essentially built for me to watch. Literally, I am the target market, me and the kids I’m going to bring to the theater. I don’t feel seen. Marketed to, maybe. But not seen.

Which led me to wonder why a love story about two lesbians who are too young to drink, set in a world where it is not only okay to be a teenage lesbian but it isn’t even worth commenting on, meant so very much to me.

And thinking about that reminded me of something. Which is that when I was super into Second Life, a decade or so ago, I always used a female avatar. Always.

And it felt right. Perfectly right. And I had a lot of conversations with trans people who were also using female avatars because it helped them get along with their dysphoria. A feeling I don’t have. Of course.

I mean, sure. I prefer playing female avatars in games. That’s totally a cis-het thing to do, right? You know the joke, “If I’m going to be staring at an ass, it might as well be a nice ass.”

Okay, so maybe, just maybe, I did sort of decide that I wasn’t a man during that time. I wasn’t sleeping. I was depressed. I hated my job. Totally understandable. My friends straightened me out, shamed me out of that. Maybe that wasn’t the nicest way they could have approached that but I got shamed out of it, didn’t I? If I were actually trans, that wouldn’t happen. Right?

And I like being male. Well, I like the privileges that come with being male. I like having the upper body strength, and I find other men to be sufficiently terrifying that I wouldn’t want to... take off the armor. Not around them.

Yes, maybe, just maybe, I would prefer to have sex as a woman, given the option. That doesn’t make me trans, it just means that I really feel at home around lesbians and want to be a part of their world. Totally normal cis-het feelings there. It’s not like I would actually transform into a woman if I had a magic wand. I mean, not permanently. Not all the time. Just, you know, sometimes. When I wanted to take the armor off. Just when it felt safe.

Totally. Normal. Cis-Het. Feelings.

I mean, obviously I don’t want to be a woman. I don’t want to carry breasts around, for one thing. Looks uncomfortable. I like having just muscle up there instead, thank you very much. And I’m super comfortable with short hair and a beard. It’s a good look for me. I wouldn’t want to look different. I’m happy with my hormone mix. So, there you go. I’m a boy. 

So why don’t I want to be one?

This argument has been raging in my skull forever. Am I a boy? I’m not a girl. I like being able to grow a beard. I’m as Dad a Dad as any Dad on the face of the planet. I don’t want breasts. But... I sort of do want hips.

When I first started questioning my gender, as far as I knew, there were two options. And neither of them fit. Because what I am is non-binary. A fact I would not know if Noelle had not made SPOP, and I don’t know how I can possibly thank her enough for that.

And according to the kids on the enby lesbians server, I’m a non-binary lesbian, which explains the fact that I’m on my fifth Subaru, but doesn’t explain why I don’t currently share my life with a mixed breed Labrador.

I am queer. I felt seen watching She-Ra because I was seen. On Etheria, everyone would use my pronouns. On Etheria, my friends would have helped me through my gender crisis. On Etheria, even in a war, we love and accept each other for who we are. We see each other.

We’re not on Etheria. But I believe we’ll get there.

We’re gonna win in the end.

#spop fandom #gender #queer is beautiful #nonbinary #she ra and the princesses of power #she-ra

[acephysicskarkat]

Redemption, Forgiveness and She-Ra S5

So just to spite the anon who told me to stop posting my opinions, I’m gonna post another opinion!

This will contain spoilers for SPOP, Avatar: the Last Airbender, The Good Place, and Steven Universe.

So the most common take that I’ve heard about S5 from Catra stans is that it’s a story about redemption and forgiveness and that if I’m in any way critical of it then I’m saying abusers can never redeem themselves.

To which I say: the second part is a strawman argument, and the first part doesn’t help because it’s a bad story about redemption and forgiveness.

Part 1: Redemption

The problem with S5′s stories about redemption is that they are, universally, undercooked.  For things that the fanbase had been wanting for months, they’re surprisingly lacking in meaningful impact.

Catra’s is the least bad, because Catra is at least on-screen long enough to tell us that it seems to be sticking, but it’s still not good.  It’s rushed, it’s weightless, and it feels like they didn’t even check what she’d done in the past three seasons that she would need to find redemption for.

At no point does she meaningfully confront her actions (which, in case you’ve forgotten, ranged from bringing about the death of Queen Angella (S3E6), to repeated attempts to murder or permanently harm Adora (S1E11, S1E13, S2E5, S3E4-6, S4E3), to bullying Scorpia (present throughout but most obvious in S4E6), to taking part in a war crime (S4E8)), nor does she really confront the jealousy and spite that drove them.  Indeed, the episodes that could have been spent showing us her character development are spent showing us that she still has a very unhealthy attitude towards Adora (S5E6) and telling us that she underwent her character development offscreen, while we were distracted by Double Trouble (S5E8).

Hordak’s is even worse, because Catra at least admits she wronged people, even if the focus is put almost entirely on Catra feeling bad about it.  Hordak realises, accurately, that being made into a cog in a machine of conquest is bad (S5E13)...but he never makes the leap onscreen to it still being bad when he did it to other people, as he did to Adora and the other Horde kids (S2E7).  It treats Hordak’s decision to break free of Horde Prime as if it in and of itself makes him good, overlooking that the life he’s trying to go back to was the one where he ruled over an empire of stolen children.

I don’t even want to get into Shadow Weaver.

AtLA gave a compelling redemption arc to Zuko by having him confront the consequences of his actions.  SU gave a compelling redemption arc to Peridot by showing us, in great detail, her evolution from antagonist to ally.  SPOP just kinda tells us that characters are good now and expects that to work out okay.

And the really depressing thing is that both these characters actually could have sustained really compelling redemption arcs!  I would have loved to see Hordak meaningfully realise onscreen that the universe does not consist of him, Horde Prime, Imp, Entrapta, and a bunch of largely interchangeable pawns for him to treat as he sees fit.  I would have loved to see Catra wrestle with and overcome her resentment of Adora, maybe come to understand that being Shadow Weaver’s favourite fucking sucked actually.  The show just didn’t bother, and so what we got was on par with a bad fanfic or the backstory for a D&D character.

Part 2: Forgiveness

For my money, one of the best stories about forgiveness in modern media is in a third season episode of The Good Place called “A Fractured Inheritance”.

Explaining it with as few spoilers as possible, protagonist Eleanor Shellstrop discovers that her cartoonishly neglectful mother Donna faked her death and seems to have built a new life where she’s a good stepmother to a child.  Eleanor spends most of the episode convinced that her mother is running a scam, but eventually concludes that this does appear to be sticking and gives up her plan to reveal Donna’s secret, cautioning her not to go back to how she used to be.  At the end, she opens up to a friend about the trauma she sustained as a result of her upbringing.

SPOP could never.

"A Fractured Inheritance” tells a more compelling story about forgiveness in 15 minutes of screentime than she-Ra S5 managed in four and a half hours because The Good Place cares about Eleanor’s trauma.  It’s portrayed as pretty understandable that she has a grudge against her mother, and working through that takes time and sustained proof that Donna has changed.  More than that, forgiveness isn’t portrayed as a magical button that instantly solves Eleanor’s issues; just because she’s letting go of her anger towards Donna doesn’t mean that the harm she suffered as a result of Donna’s neglect goes away.  Her fear of opening up or being vulnerable, stemming from a childhood of constantly being shat on when she did, is still there, even after reconciling with her mother.

Contrast this to She-Ra S5.  The second Catra says she’s sorry, Adora is willing to forgive her and go across the universe to help her (S5E3), even though in their last interaction, back in S4E3, Adora actively tried to kill her for pretty darn compelling reasons (you may remember those reasons from S3E4-6).  Adora gets, like, a brief rant in S5E4 where she seems to be confused about this, but there’s never a point where she meaningfully seems to process the trauma she’s suffered as a result of Catra’s treatment of her, which we know has been toxic, controlling and unhealthy since they were kids (S5E3).

More than that, there’s never really a point where any of the people Catra victimised in the first four seasons gets to deal with that.  Glimmer seemingly never realises that Catra is why her mother is dead (S3E6), which is especially jarring given that the effects of Angella’s death on Glimmer drove the entire previous season; Entrapta barely remembers that Catra betrayed her and sent her to her presumed death (S5E6); Bow thinks someone who’s done nothing but attempt to hurt his friends for as long as he’s known her is adorable (S5E8); Scorpia forgives her before she even finishes saying sorry (S5E13); and both Frosta decking her in S5E9 and Perfuma’s understandable irritation with the woman who bullied her GF in S5E10 are portrayed almost as jokes, the latter never escalating beyond mild rudeness.

This also extends to Hordak, who, after his tissue-thin face turn in S5E13, gets a baffling montage that tries to portray his picking up an abandoned child and indifferently turning her over to an abusive sorceress (S2E7) as somehow heartwarming and a big bonding moment, and then the notion that Mermista might have some grudges against the guy who burned down her home and displaced her people (S5E7-8) is framed as comic.

I’m not even saying that neither of these characters should never be forgiven by anyone!  Just that the forgiveness they get in the show is lacking in dramatic weight, because the actions that are being forgiven don’t feel like they mean anything.  Catra has hurt Adora, Glimmer, Entrapta, Scorpia, Mermista and countless unnamed innocents, and it’s all treated like it has the same impact as borrowing Adora’s Xena DVDs and forgetting to give them back.  Hordak should be considered Etheria’s greatest monster given the number of people who’ve died as a result of his actions and maybe one person is slightly irritated at the prospect of having to send him a Christmas card this year.

(This is without getting into the fact that Glimmer and Entrapta are expected to deal with the consequences of their actions to some degree, with each getting an episode focused around that (S2E2, S2E4).  It’s kind of wild that Glimmer nearly destroying the world because she took a reckless risk in a desperate gamble to try and save the people she cares about from the Horde blitzkrieg, a gambit that she immediately tried to fix when she realised she’d fucked up (S4E10-13) is treated as something that causes a notable rift in her friendships, but Catra nearly destroying the world because she was just that jealous of Adora (S3E3-6) is breezed past with an “I’m sorry.”  Entrapta building the robots causes the Alliance to hold grudges; Hordak waging 25 years of warfare is [shrug] Just Horde Clone Things.)

3. Salvaging These Plot Points

Now, as I implied above, the notion that I think these characters are irredeemable is a bullshit strawman, a thought-terminating cliche that Catra stans use to dismiss criticism without processing with it.  So how would I go about it?

Catra

I would start by having Catra and Glimmer be in the same escape.  Having her attempt to sacrifice herself in S5E3 had some weird thematic issues given her previously established self-destructive streak (S2E5, most of S3).  If we have to keep the bad plot point where Adora recovers the friend who loves and cares for her and immediately goes “well, we gotta leave our friends back home to deal with a colonial invasion while we charge across the universe to save my abusive stalker ex who’s never respected my personhood or autonomy”, I’d probably look at the two biggest missed opportunities in the season: S5E6 and S5E8.

S5E6 is terrible, and should just be expunged mercilessly with fire for its baffling endorsement of the sentiment “yes i abused u but now u hate me so i’m the victim really”.  Its replacement should probably be focused around Adora genuinely processing the harm she’s sustained as a result of Catra’s treatment of her, probably deciding at the end that she’ll accept Catra’s help but is still understandably suspicious of her given the established mistrust (S1E8) and hostility (S4E3).

S5E8 is easy to fix, though; instead of it mostly being the characters bumbling around a haunted house, I’d make the setting actually do stuff for the characters’ arcs.  We already know that First One ruins can bring up memories, so I’d turn it into a reversal of S1E11 where Adora and Catra’s friendship can actually be rebuilt, probably culminating in Catra saving Adora from falling off a cliff as a symbolic rejection of the resentment she would have been struggling with throughout the episode.  This is probably where Adora starts to actually believe that Catra has become a better person.

Basically, the goal here is to show the audience that Catra is working to overcome her issues and become a better person, instead of telling us that it happened offscreen.

Hordak

The problem with Hordak’s face turn is that at no point in the show, including after we’re supposed to treat him as Good Now, does he seem to give a shit about anyone not on a list that contains maybe 4-5 names.  I’d probably put in some scenes earlier where his experiences seem to be actually changing him for the better: maybe his response to Entrapta asking him to spare Catra isn’t to commute her sentence to a suicide mission, or he feels a sudden sympathy with a captive Etherian after the fall of Salineas, as the shared feelings of loss line up, and orders their release.  Basically, the idea is to put in some groundwork so that it actually feels like he might be safe to have around, instead of him betraying his tyrannical overlord because he misses his life where he was, himself, a tyrannical overlord.

I also would not play the idea that people might be a little bit suspicious of a man with a 25-year history of ruthless oppression, colonial violence and unprovoked warmongering as a joke.  Just one of those personal quirks.

4. Summary

In conclusion:

S5 is a bad story about redemption because it doesn’t give the characters being redeemed engaging or compelling redemption arcs, favouring a blind rush to the ending, and it’s a bad story about forgiveness because it treats the actions that are being forgiven as though they don’t mean anything, even when episodes or entire seasons have been built on the effects of those actions.  It’s not that these ideas are bad in general, that these characters axiomatically couldn’t be redeemed or that forgiveness is problematic; it’s just that the execution is bad.

Anyway, thanks, jackass anon, for inspiring me to set down my thoughts in detail like this!

#s5 salt #spop spoilers #writing thoughts #redemption arcs #forgiveness

[princessofgayskull]

Halsey really is the perfect Catra-angst musician! And like Ashley and Clementine are kinda Adora but the rest!!!!

okay so I have a million thoughts about this so prepare for a long post

Halsey is such a great artist for Catra! I think Halsey's personal journey as a musician almost emulates Catra's own journey throughout canon, so I think that's why so many Halsey songs make for such great Catra songs!

Also, Halsey has been very open about having Bipolar Disorder (which as a mentally ill woman has been a very important to me, I literally could never thank her enough for being open about, especially in a way that's so: you need to take me as I am, or you need to get the fuck out of my face) and I think that falls in line with a lot of Catra's characteristic. Now my personal interpretation for Catra is borderline personality disorder, not bipolar disorder, but the mood aspects of the disorders have some similarities, and the stigma that comes with having either disorder is also very similar, so that falls in line really well.

Also, halsey being bi- catra being a lesbian, some similarity there. Mentally ill wlw solidarity!

some of my favorite halsey/catra songs are

alone (from hopeless fountain kingdom, also the remix song)

hold me down (badlands) especially in the context of season five and being mind controlled by Horde Prime

eyes closed (hopeless fountain kingdom)

forever... is a long time/ Dominic's interlude/ I HATE EVERYBODY (manic) I love the line "talk to your man, tell him he's got bad news coming" repeated the first time in the context of her betrayal of Entrapta, then again in dominic's interlude in the context of She Ra coming for Horde Prime after Catra saves Glimmer.

sorry (hopeless fountain kingdom) just, yeah her relationship with Scorpia

bad at love (hopeless fountain kingdom)

without me (manic) the RAGE, the pure RAGE and grief catra felt towards Adora for leaving her

still learning (manic) definitely a s5 song

hopeless (hopeless fountain kingdom) especially near the end of s4

devil in me (hopeless fountain kingdom) not super applicable for canon imo, but I do listen to it when I'm writing Catra, especially concerning her relationship with shadow weaver

control (badlands)- not the most catra song, but i think it does work. especially for the paranoia that takes her for a terrible ride after season 3

killing boys (manic) halsey said this song was the 'mania' part of the album and I 100% can see where she's coming from. it's that swing towards impulsive in the name of emotion and only emotion, no logic is being accessed, and I think that the tone of the song is so perfect for catra after adora defects because of the "I want revenge!" but also "I don't need you! I never needed you!" vibe of the song

nightmare (single) SUCH. A. CATRA SONG. that total "i'm so tired and I'm so angry and I'm sick of being pushed down" and the "you made me a villain, so I'm gonna act like one" tone. the 'i won't smile, but I'll show you my teeth'? line. Catra. 'kindness is weakness or worse your complacent.' catra for like... four seasons.

gasoline (badlands) i think this is just a fun song for the Fright Zone and what it would feel like to grow up there, pre-canon/s1 catra, and other horde characters. it's like hold me down, but without the pristine feeling of horde prime

i walk the line (badlands) great on-opposite-sides-of-the-war catradora song

strangers (hopeless fountain kingdom) about pre s5 catradora as it gets.

not canon catra, but for Upper West Side! Catra I love the songs Is There Somewhere, Finally/ Beautiful Stranger, and 3am. (especially 3 am)

also, you're right. Ashley is an Adora song (especially how she puts her duty to sacrifice herself over her own desire to live) and I can see clementine being one too, especially since Halsey said those two contrasting voices singing represent the ashley vs. halsey conflict, and how Ashley singing so loud and bold is representative of the confidence she's gained as an artist, which parallels nicely with adora vs. she-ra

last but not least, my favorite song for scorptra is actually Graveyard, from Scorpia's pov!

#on this episode of 'savannah overthinks everything' #if you can't tell i LOVE hasley #this is like a good chunk of her discography

[shera-dnd]

Day 6 - Dungeons and Dragons

Ah D&D, my personal specialty. This time I have decided to give this particular D&D AU a little fun spin....and with that I mean Clitra....this is a Clitra fic, it’s over 6 pages of Glitra smut. I hope y’all enjoy the ride, because I spend a day and a half writing this.

The doors to the apothecary swung open. Behind them stood a knight, beaten and bloodied, but still she carried a smile on her face. It was Lady Verona, the brave fool who never thought twice before risking her life for the good of others.

“Lanael,” She called, limping into the room “I won. We’re safe”

As soon as her name was called Lanael came rushing to her aid. She was this little village’s healer and on so many occasions it had been her job to tend to that stupid stupid woman. She wanted to berate her for her carelessness, but that could wait until she was safe.

She helped the other woman walk to one of the many beds in the room and slowly lowered her so she could lay down. She was used to patching her up, but she had never pushed this far, she was never this close to- No, thinking of that won’t help, she needs to work, and fast. She quickly began unstrapping Verona’s armor so she could tend to the many wounds beneath it.

“If you - Ah! - wanted to see me without the uniform you could’ve just asked” Verona flirted.

“This is really not the time for jokes” Lanael nearly pleaded with her “Please stay still”

“Lanael” Verona called

“I told you to-” She was interrupted by Verona’s hand holding her face.

“If I don’t make it…” She struggled to get the words out

“Don’t just say something like that” Lanael could feel the tears forming in her eyes

“If I don’t make it I want you to know that I…” Once again words failed her, but Lanael still understood.

“I know” She said “I...I love you too”

~~~

“Yes!” Glimmer cheered “Finally”

“All it took was nearly killing yourself” Mermista joked “Hope it was worth it”

“Oh it was” Glimmer assured her. Sure losing her character would be bad after so many sessions, but this was still so worth it “What happens next?”

“I think we can go without the sordid details” Adora answered “I’m glad for you, but no one needs to see where this goes if you two escalate things”

“When have I ever escalated things for no reason?” Catra asked, with a laugh. As the DM escalating things was an integral part of her job and she delighted in it “Fine. She patches you up, it’s all very romantic and sexually charged, sex happens, but we cut to another scene just as things heat up. Mermista, I believe Iris just arrived at the other end of town, what do you do now?”

The rest of the game session was mostly uneventful and soon they were all leaving Catra’s apartment after getting their weekly dose of D&D. All except Glimmer, because she had been struck with what could be the worst idea she ever had, but it was definitely worth the shot...she hoped.

“Hey, Catra” She called, returning to the playing table

“Sparkles? Shouldn’t you have left by now?” Catra asked. She had put her reading glasses on so she could work on her DM notes and Glimmer could not get over how cute she looked. “I thought Adora was your ride home”

“I can always take an Uber or something. Not like I have to be home soon or anything” Glimmer waved off. “I was just wondering if you wanted to try playing out that scene with Verona and Lanael”

“You wanted some elf sex that bad, huh?” Catra teased. Glimmer definitely wanted some of that, but not with the elf. “Sit down, princess, I have a feeling this is gonna be long”

“Nothing wrong with that, right?” Glimmer asked “I’m not getting in the way of anything, right?

“Relax, Sparkles, I’m not gonna kick you out” Catra joked, taking off her glasses “So, she holds the hand you had on her face and says softly ‘I know. I love you too’ what do you do next?”

“I guess I lean forward and kiss her” Glimmer tried

“You’re already struggling to keep that arm up” She explained “I don’t think you can do that kind of stuff right now”

“Okay so I’ll pull her hand close and give it a kiss while look in her eyes” She described.

“Ooh, how romantic” Catra chuckled “She sighs and pleads, ‘We can’t waste time. Please, just hold still and let me help you, please’”

“Okay I’ll sit still for now,” Glimmer agreed “for now” she repeated

“Don’t worry, I’ll give you plenty to get you worked up later” Catra teased, before promptly taking it back “I mean to work Verona up”

“Y-yeah, I get it” Glimmer was starting to regret this decision, but she was determined to go through with this “So what does she do now?”

“That is my line” Catra joked “I guess she’ll finish taking off your armor. She’s gonna unstrap and remove all the pieces one by one and carefully set them aside for you, then she is gonna climb into bed and she kinda straddles you, but makes sure not to put any weight on you, so she can get a good angle to remove your shirt and take a look at the damage”

“Is the straddling necessary?” Glimmer asked

“Are you complaining?” Catra responded

“Absolutely not!” Glimmer exclaimed, before finding her Verona voice again “Enjoying the view?”

“You don’t seem to be as wounded as I thought, so yes I guess I do” Catra roleplayed, the relief in her voice almost genuine “I’m gonna clean you up now, so this might sting a little”

Catra began moving her hands as if she was cleaning something in the air, with just delicate little touches. Picking up on it Glimmer started making little strangled sounds as ‘Lanael’ went about her work. At first they couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at the absurdity, but as she made her way lower and lower, Glimmer started making some different kinds of sounds.

What was Glimmer even doing? She was gonna weird Catra out and then she would never be able to even be in the same room as her again and- Oh wow, Catra was blushing. Was that a good sign? Terrible sign? Either way Glimmer couldn’t get over how cute she looked.

“That...” Catra cleared her throat, trying to get back in character “That cut in your abdomen still looks bad, just hold this cloth in place while I pick up my tools”

“Wait” Glimmer interrupted “When she presses the cloth against me for me to hold I’ll just gently touch her hand” Glimmer leaned closer to Catra and reached for her hands “Like this”

___

Catra had now concluded that Glimmer was clearly trying to torture her. That was the only possible explanation for all of this. She was just trying to torture Catra with her nice, soft hands and weird sexy noises and fuck did she both love and hate everything about this situation.

Oh what she wouldn’t do to be in this situation with Glimmer for real and not just as Verona and Lanael. Maybe she could, she thought to herself. It was very unlikely, but maybe she could use this situation to flirt with Glimmer and even if it fails they’ll still get a good scene for her character out of it. It could also backfire tremendously and she’d never be able to look Glimmer in the eyes ever again, but she would rather not think about it.

“Hmmm, hold on I wanna see how this would work out” Catra considered “Just come here a sec” Oh this was gonna end terribly, but she was still gonna try it. She walked to her bedroom, with Glimmer right behind her, and then got in bed in vaguely the same position as Lanael was “So Lanael would have to scoot back a bit so she could get the right angle to work on that cut, but I think there is still enough bed left that she can do that without falling off or something”

“Well there’s only one way to be sure” Glimmer said, with a nervous giggle, before laying herself in bed in front of Catra. An action that nearly gave Catra a heart attack. “So?”

“Oh right” Catra tried to position herself so she could lower herself over Glimmer’s abdomen, which still left her straddling the other girl “Yup! She could totally do it, so I guess you would have to lean forward a bit so she could like patch you up” She continued

Glimmer did as asked and Catra acted out the simplified medical procedure, making sure she never actually touched Glimmer, a task that was proving quite difficult when the fact that she was in bed with her was consuming most of her concentration.

“Thank you, Lana, I could not have come this far without you” Glimmer’s Verona voice brought her back into focus. Glimmer’s acting was something else, weakly holding herself up and looking at Catra with such loving eyes that made her heart melt. Except she was looking at Lanael now and not Catra. “So what happens now?” She asked in her normal, though a little strained, voice.

“Well, I guess she would run her hands through your body and lean forward so she could kiss you” Catra then tried to do just that. The problem was, Lanael would have the advantage of being able to use her big strong lover as support, but since Catra refused to actually touch Glimmer, she had no real means of supporting herself in that position, something she only realized as she came crashing down on top of Glimmer’s body.

For a moment it felt like someone had cast Hold Person on the both of them. Neither could really move and Catra could hardly think, any rational thought suppressed by the myriad of feeling overwhelming her. Glimmer’s warmth, the feeling of her breath against her skin, the sound of her own heart racing. Still she was the first one to break the spell.

“My bad. This was a silly idea” She apologized, getting up from the bed.

“No no no!” Glimmer caught her hands and pulled her back, making Catra straddle her again “No worries. We can keep going” Her somewhat desperate tone doing nothing to calm Catra’s heart.

“O-okay, if you want to” Catra said, trying to calm her nerves “So I guess she would lean close to kiss you” Catra began lowering herself as she spoke.

“And I would lean forward to meet her half way” and Glimmer did just that “What next?” She asked, they were so close now Catra could feel her breath on her face.

“Well I guess you’d make out and it would be very romantic” Catra narrated, her eyes trying to look anywhere but at Glimmer “But you’re the PC here, you should make the decisions. What do you do now?”

“I would help her out of her shirt” Glimmer said, grabbing the hem of Catra’s shirt and sliding it up. Catra allowed her to do so and then slid it off the rest of the way. When she looked back down Glimmer was taking off her own shirt “My character was already shirtless” She explained, before Catra had the chance to ask.

Catra couldn’t take this anymore. She could not care about Verona or Lanael. The only thing going through her brain right now was if the rest of Glimmer was as soft as her hands, and so she decided to find out.

Leaning forward she let her hands slide over Glimmer’s sides and then meet again at her back. She pulled herself close so she could feel Glimmer’s chest against her own, feel as much of Glimmer as she possibly could. The small part of her brain that survived worried that maybe she was pushing things too far, but when Glimmer pulled her back against herself and kissed her, that last part seemed to fade away.

Their kiss was frantic, driven by a desperate need for each other that they had been suppressing all night. Catra had been so lost in that moment she barely even noticed as they both fell back in bed, only really responding once Glimmer rolled them both over so she would be on top.

“Catra” Glimmer called, separating the two of them for an excruciating amount of time. Her arms and legs pinned Catra down as she intently stared at her. Fuck, Catra was enjoying this way too much.

“Yeah?” She finally managed to answer. Her voice breathy.

“If we’re really doing this, it can’t be just one weird roleplay thing and then we’re done” Glimmer explained “Do you want me, Catra? Not Verona, do you want me?”

“Screw Verona” Catra declared, the roleplay had taken a backseat for her a long time ago “I want you, Glimmer”

“Good” Glimmer answered, with a smile that made Catra shiver “Because I really want you too” And with that out of the way Glimmer got right back to business, her body moving with renewed purpose now that her doubts had been cleared. Any piece of clothing that could get in the way was quickly taken off and tossed aside unceremoniously.

“Wow...” The sound coming out of Catra’s mouth of its own volition. She couldn’t help but bask at the sight of Glimmer, now that she was completely undressed. Her blush at Catra’s admiration only made the sight somehow more beautiful in her eyes. Catra just wanted to kiss every inch of Glimmer’s body, but since she was currently being held down by the other girl, she guessed it was okay to wait a little more.

Glimmer shook her head, trying to cast away her embarrassment, and looked back at Catra with the same determined look as before. Her eyes doing more to pin Catra down than her actual weight, and that freed Glimmer’s hands for more interesting assignments.

Although one still had to keep her body supported, the other hand was more than free to roam Catra’s body, getting little whimpers from her as it slowly made its way downwards. She wasn’t even sure if Glimmer was responding to the sounds, she seemed almost entranced by what she was doing. Her eyes following her hand on its journey.

“You feel fuzzy” Glimmer remarked as she reached her, admittedly long, happy trail.

“I wasn’t expecting this, okay?” Catra complained, looking away “I didn’t think to shave”

“No no! I actually kinda like it” Glimmer explained “Sorry I didn’t mean it that way”

“It’s okay, just keep doing what you’re doing” Catra assured her “Please” then pleaded just for good measure.

“Need it that bad, huh?” Glimmer teased. How dare that woman turn her words against her.

“Less fucking with me and more fucking me, thank you” She answered. Glimmer didn’t follow up on that, she simply continued her way down her happy trail, all the way down her belly, as it grew thicker and wider, until she reached its bushy end and the pool of heat beneath. Catra’s breath was shaky, she really needed Glimmer right now and could do very little to keep her hips from bucking against her hand.

Glimmer tentatively moved her hand across the surface of her more intimate parts and Catra had to choke back a moan. Her struggle against her own pleasure must’ve shown through, since Glimmer gave her a look of worry.

“Are you okay?” Glimmer asked “Did I do something wrong?”

“I’m fine. I j- just don’t want to announce to everyone in the building that we’re having sex” Catra explained, that sentence taking up all that was left of her brain that wasn’t completely dedicated to Glimmer.

“Are you sure you don’t want them to know you’re having a better night than all of them?” Glimmer suggested with a mischievous smile.

“I like the sound of that” Catra agreed, smiling back “Just make sure we send that message loud and clear” 

Glimmer took her task very seriously, as she moved her hand back up Catra’s clit and began slowly working circles around it. Catra made no effort to hide her pleasure this time and just allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of Glimmer’s hand, which was still as warm and soft as it felt against every other part of her body.

Glimmer was also enjoying herself now, apparent by that smug little smile that Catra wanted to wipe from her face. Not being able to punch Glimmer properly from this angle, she decided to go with the next best option and pulled them both closer for a kiss. This had the unexpected side effect of also pushing Glimmer’s fingers inside her. Catra desperately clinging to Glimmer in response to the unexpected entrance.

Glimmer was probably gonna apologize for that, but her mouth was preoccupied with Catra’s mouth, so she chose to make the best out of her situation and put her hand to work inside Catra. She curled her fingers and began softly moving her hand, something that she nearly didn’t have to do as Catra herself was already doing a lot of the movement for her.

To say that Catra had been feeling hot and bothered all night was an understatement and that heat had only built up more and more as things escalated. She desperately need to work this off now, so she frantically moved against Glimmer’s hand, trying to work her way to her release. She definitely didn’t envy Glimmer trying to find a rhythm to the wild mess of her movements, but she was certainly gonna show her some gratitude for it. Thinking of what she was gonna do to Glimmer afterwards was also doing a number on her, so she decided to stick with that mental image to get through the threshold she was so desperate to reach.

When she finally did reach it, it was like everything she kept pent up inside her was released in one big wave of beautiful pleasure. Catra clung even harder to Glimmer, her body bucking upwards a few more times as she rode out that wave and only then she finally released her grip on Glimmer’s body. Her muscles going limp.

“Fuck” The word finally escaped Catra.

“I take it you liked it?” Glimmer asked, now laying next to Catra

“Fucking mark inspiration for that one” She chuckled. Glimmer couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

“You huge nerd” Glimmer joked.

“Look who's talking” Catra responded “Now come here and let me give you some loving too” She began moving on top of Glimmer just for her strength to falter. She really needed to put some points into Constitution.

“Hey, you okay?” Glimmer asked, worried

“I’m fine, just a little more tired than I expected” Catra explained

“You did do a lot of the work back there” she agreed “How about you just lay down again and let me handle that part”

“What? No!” Catra protested “I had this whole elaborate thing set up, with kisses and bites and-”

“I get it, and as much as I’d love both those things, I don’t want you to somehow hurt yourself doing it” Glimmer held Catra’s hand lovingly as she spoke “Also it’s not like I need all that effort to get there right now, just saying” Catra smirked after hearing that part “You did look pretty hot down there” She continued

“And you looked pretty hot from down there” Catra answered “so how about you get on top of me again and I give you that last push you need?” She offered, sticking her tongue out jokingly, but also making it clear what she was offering.

Glimmer began to climb up to Catra’s face and held herself above her for a moment. She was already dripping on her face, not that Catra minded it; in fact she seemed to delight in it, trying to get closer to get a taste. Catra’s over eagerness as well as her breath against Glimmer’s more sensitive parts was more than enough incentive for her to lower herself.

She felt a shiver go through her body as she finally felt the touch of Catra’s tongue, followed by the grip of her hands on each of her thighs. Catra leaned forward, very eager to learn if Glimmer tasted as sweet as she looked. Letting out a soft moan after enjoying some of the taste, the vibrations gave an extra push to the woman who had already worked herself pretty close to the edge.

Glimmer had shown a surprising amount of self control this night, responding to Catra’s actions and not pushing things until Catra had shown interest, but now she simply could not care about any of that. She just needed Catra’s tongue, so she could finally get her release. She grabbed the back of Catra’s head and her whole body clenched as she got closer and closer to what she wanted. She hadn’t even noticed when she shut her eyes tight for a second, when she opened them up again and looked down, she was greeted by the same loving look Catra had given her before...the look of genuine admiration that made her feel so wanted and so loved.

“Ca-!” She began, but before she could form the name, she was interrupted by the bright explosion that came from inside her. Catra lapped up the juices that escaped her, and the touch against her already sensitive parts set off a second explosion, causing Glimmer to collapse back to the side, back to bed. 

“Couldn't even get my name out-”

“Shut up and cuddle with me” Glimmer interrupted her

“Yes, ma’am” Catra answered, helping Glimmer adjust in her bed and laying close to her.

“You still have to show me the kissing and biting thing next time” Glimmer joked

“Next time?” She asked

“Sorry, unless you want this to be a one time thing or-” it was Catra’s turn to interrupt

“I absolutely want there to be a next time, but can we save discussing our relationship for tomorrow?” Catra asked “Right now, let’s just say that we both enjoyed this and get ourselves some much needed rest”

Glimmer was going to argue about the importance of these discussions, but just the thought of sleeping cuddled up to Catra was enough for her to agree.

“I guess you’re right” she agreed, pulling Catra closer to her.

“So, what do you do now?” Catra asked, moving closer to her. Glimmer gave her soft kiss.

“Now? We sleep”

#catra #glimmer #glitra #clitra #smut #glitra week 2

[prince-toffee]

Deleted the original post just to take away the negativity out of the entrapta tags. All sorted out and cleared up now. Gonna put this in my #salted toffee tags which you can filter easily. Keeping this around cause I stand by with what I said.

-----

Misunderstanding, I think

https://garnet-xx-rose.tumblr.com/post/615315863286022144/the-best-part-about-hordak-and-entraptas

Hope the link works. So pretty much I commented on this post belonging to garnet-xx-rose a while back, and it was a bad day for me so I was a little salty, but I thought I cleared it up with later comments, but maybe not. So theoriquewitherseld I hope you saw my replies and didn’t block me, and if you did, if anyone knows them could you tell them what I said in this post. I didn’t want to offend them or anyone else.

I. Do. Not. Think. Entrapta. Is. Dumb.

You miss understood me. I was talking in a mocking tone as an imaginary writer on the show.

I. Love. Entrapta!

I was calling out the lazy writing of the show. I think Entrapta is a competent and genuious-level intellect adult woman! And I know that’s what the writers of the show thought and wanted to portray too! But in my opinion - they failed.

Again, please read through the comments, I pretty much explain my thought process through them, and I’ll say it again, because I don’t want there to be any confusion.

I feel like they should have made Entrapta a more villainous character, make her more serious. I feel like Entrapta got the short end of the stick, in season five she was practically downgraded to a walking joke/gag, not only that she was forced to be portrayed as childish, apologising for acts she did and yanked around like a child by a parent. I felt wrong to watch.

THIS IS AN ADULT WOMAN IN HER THIRTIES!

Instead of being this force of nature, an actual threat and power, this cool awesome amoral mad-scientist, she acts... foolish. And then the Princesses have to grab her or put her on a FUCKING LEASH! Like a dog. It’s sickening. And the worst part is: WE’RE POSITIONED AS AN AUDIENCE TO AGREE WITH THE PRINCESSES! The writing of the show feels like we’re supposed to go: Yeah, Entrapta is stupid and an idiot, if we don’t physically pull her around she’ll end up killing herself.

And it’s horrible!!! At no point does the show show the princesses as the assholes, Entrapta is the one who apologises! And we are positioned to support the princesses! It’s fucking wrong! Like did the rest of the crew know Entrapta was in her 30s or did they think she was a kid??!!! Because that’s how she’s treated!

Entrapta, an autistic adult woman is talked to and interacted with as if she was stupid!

THE SHOW TURNED HER INTO A JOKE!

And the fact that the crew confirmed after the release of season five that she was in fact autistic is just plain insulting! Like yeah, she’s a joke, not just because she’s yet another needless comedic-relief, but because she’s autistic. I have no idea how that slipped under their radar?!

Okay, you say, but that was in season five, the salty comments I made were about season four, so let’s dive into it.

I hate Entrapta’s arc. It’s demeaning.

Instead of having the guts to say that this autistic woman was a cool, badass villain that tops her disabled genderfluid husband and can burn the earth if she wants, so don’t fuck with her, they made her a push over!

THEY HAD HER A PUSH OVER!!!!

So, her hair, is it like super powerful, or something?

NAH. You just pull it and she’s done for. She’s a weak, defenceless baby. We don’t have a moment where Entrapta’s trapped on Prime’s ship and then she escapes and like forges a weapon out of the very walls of the warship and starts to pick clones off one by one. We never see her being capable! We are told she is, but we’re not shown.

Show don’t tell!

We’re told Entrapta survived Beast Island, but we never she her struggle or have a cool moment. Like, great job writers. The lesbians have Catra who practically one shots anyone by jumping on them somehow and Adora that cuts through fighter ships in space and autistic people get Enatrapta: the joke. Fuck that!

I choose to throw away canon, BECAUSE I love Entrapta. In my headcanons Entrapta is a badass and awesome, not... whatever the show gave us.

I’d be set if I had a penny for every time during this show I thought ‘Oh, shit, just you wait until this character starts to wreck shit’ and then nothing happens. After season three I was like, I can’t wait until Entrapta just comes back from Beast Island and kicks Catra’s ass, it’s gonna be so great. We all know what happened instead. Catra felt bad and Entrapta just forgave her. Lazy writing.

When the Beast Island episode rolls around it turns out that, guess what her character arc was? Can you guess? I bet you’d never guess.

She just wanted friends... that’s it... she was confused about her feelings.

...

You know when you commit acts of terrorism and war crimes because you were confused about your feelings? No? Woaw, that’s weird, I thought that’s what all autistic people act like. You know, you’re confused and you build killer robots.

I don’t understand this! They yet again portray her in a childish manner! Instead of portraying her as an adult morally grey woman who goes with the princesses just to rescue Hordak and cut Horde Prime’s brain into pieces, she’s just naïve. It’s revealed that she was naïve and didn’t fully understand her actions because she was confused about her feelings! That’s almost the same level of bullshit as Noelle saying Catra pulled the lever out of curiosity!

Once again, I choose to throw away canon. I believe Entrapta knew what she was doing and doesn’t give a shit, she’s a chaotic neutral that kicks ass and is competent.

It gets worse and worse, her turn is due to one speech about friendship. And that’s it. That’s all it took!

“Oh gosh, you guys was that me back there doing war crimes and acts of terrorism? I had no idea! Gee sorry guys, I had no idea I was doing something bad. My bad. I’m so glad you teenagers half my age were here to tell me what was right or wrong, because otherwise I would’ve just been totally oblivious to my evil doings. Well, gets go, and I’ll fuck a ship or something because I’m a joke and not a real character with effort put in.”

I hate it so much. Again, I’m sure the writers didn’t mean to, but that’s what it came off as.

And I completely agree with the original post made by garnet-xx-rose Entrapta is only portrayed as a respected and truly understood adult when she’s with Hordak. (And Scorpia, I don’t ship Scorptrapta, cause I’m into villain ships, but they’re cute together) But when she’s with Hordak specifically, she showcases her villainous side, her mad-scientist side, which is what she was sold to the audience as so why would you betray the fundamental appeal of the character in favour of making her a joke!?!?!

Look I know I’m pissed and salty, but I hope I made my point clear.

I just feel like you could have easily fixed it by letting Entrapta be more villainous! Make her state she knew what she was doing in the Horde and make her call out the princess’ hypocrisy. They wanted her just to make weapons for them. Make Entrapta have more kick ass moments. Have her interact with Hordak more since their chemistry brings out the most interesting aspects about them.

This is just my opinion,

I’m not saying I’m right,

I’m not saying you have to agree with me,

I’m simply voicing my opinion and clarifying a misunderstanding.

In conclusion, I LOVE ENTRAPTA. And I’m also disappointed with the writing for her. Yes, we exist.

#salted toffee #I deleted the original version to remove the negativity out of the tags #and I cleared up all the disunderstanding #all good

[sparrowkingsley]

More badass women I forever Stan.

11. Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider

How to make my favorite superhero even more cool and steal my heart for real? Easy. Give me an alternate universe and give the cape over to a strong, female lead and I'm sold. Gwen Stacey, thank you for being truly awesome!

12. Sara Lance

So Sara Lance is definitely one of my favorite bisexual characters. She snarky, she got the puns, she god damn assassin, she the captain, she a god damn legend. I mean for real the moment she was introduced as Canary I was like... omg, *swoon* ! Her character development is just awesome.

Oh and Avalance is one of top ships for life.

13. Shuri

I was actually beyond sad she doesn't have more screen time in the movies because Shuri is the best. Witty and an actual to goddess genius who doesn't take shit from anyone. She even becomes the Black Panther in the comics for awhile and to see that in a onscreen adaptation would be truly mind blowing! I found out she has been introduced in Marvel Rising a show I really, really need to catch up like ASAP, I've just been distracted by other shows and stuff recently so... it is on my list! Oh and she is offically a Disney Princess! I don't make the rules, it is just a damn fact!

14. Adora/She-Ra

Speaking of my "distractions", obviously I've been living and breathing She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and I'm still pretty high on it and probably will always be. The She-Ra crew took us to new heights with LGBTQIA representation in animation by giving us a Canon lesbian main character and so many other things that just make me so damn happy. Adora has that dumb jock energy and that's something I absolutely ADORE! (Sorry, not sorry)

Cough, oh BTW Catra is my favorite (I'm definitely biased when it comes to her i admit it!) so I'm happy with them being together, like SOOOO much but my ship for Glimadora never really died and my main ship is still Glitradora

... sorry Bow you're still my best boy, I promise!

15. Harley Quinn

Speaking of characters bringing us some beautiful representation lately, ladies, gentlemen and my non binary beauties I give you the one and only Harley Quinn! With the latest adapation giving us all we wanted with her relationship with Ivy her being canonical Bisexual is only one reason why I truly love this character. Harley broke out from her unhealthy relationship and has become one of the greats if not the greatest anti heros of all time. Fight me on it. Won't matter. Because I love her and I will never stop.

16. Posion Ivy

You know you gotta love a woman that stands up for her beliefs... even if that belief is that plants are better than people annnnnnddddd she's not wrong. Personally I have a black thumb but I have thing for plant Goddesses like her.

17. Catwoman

Oh speaking of my favorite DC women, Catwoman was my first crush. Yes, the Michelle Pfeiffer version in Batman Returns. No, my little baby queer heart didn't understand why at the time. Basically this theif took my heart before anyone else. Definitely the reason I have an affinity toward cat like or cat girls in general soooooo there is that. I love her because no one can tell her what to do. Not even Batman. She is just like, shiny thing i want, i take and hmm maybe I care enough not to kill you if you get in my way but who knows?

18. Abby

So I obviously played the game at this point.

Oh do I stan Abby? Um yes obviously. How couod you not? Am I conflicted about it? Nope. Ellie will always be my girl in this series but at the end of the day Abby's character growth and development sort of stole the show. Like Joel changed when he met Ellie, Abby changed when she met Lev. Cricumstances made her the bad guy. Did she do fucked up shit? Of course. Does she deserve redemption? Yes. I know a lot of people still hate her but I don't get it. I think the perspective shift was one of the most brilliant story telling in a game I have ever witnessed. I'm still emotional about the whole experience.

If you are an asshole that sent the voice actor Laura Bailey death threats unfollow me because fuck you. Seriously. Fuck. You.

19. Azula

Speaking of characters that have done evil things. Let's turn our attention to one of my all time favorite villains. Azula came in and we asked Fire Lord who? Fourteen years, a Clever prodigy that literally has killer instinct and it is not afraid to use her deadly force.You fear her every time she catches up with Team Avatar and then... they go and make you feel bad for her at the end. At least I did.

She loses everything. Her allies. Her throne. Her mind. Humanly flawed and not at all one deminsional.

20. Seven of Nine

Y'all have no idea how truly fucking happy I am that Star Trek brought her back. Seven is my favorite character in the whole series. I was obsessed with the Borg as a kid and when they introduced her character I just instantly fangirled so hard over her. I'm still fangirling over her. Bringing her back literally made me cry. She literally has transformed so much through the years and I can not wait to see where her character goes from here.

To top it off, my heart literally tried to kill me when she had that hand hold scene with Raffi, I was like... omg... omg! Yes, please!!!!! That's all I wanted as a little queer watching this series i just didn't know it at the time.

My mother is literally pissed about this btw. In the novels Seven and Chakotay actually date for awhile and I was okay with it but she loved it. Then that scene in Picard happened. My mom and I have very few things we bond over and Star Trek is one of those. But basically she refuses to believe that hand hold is anything but platonic and I'm just waiting at this point like... come on Star Trek. Give me this one to me please.

Anyways...

Thank you for coming to my blog to witness my undying love for so many women characters. Probs more to come since I'm a hopeless, queer fangirl lifer!

#badass women characters #I forever stan

[lyctorhood]

Glimmer for the character ask thing?

Thank you so much for asking!!!!

First impression - I first saw Glimmer on one of the promos when She-Ra was about to come out and in that particular promo she had saved Adora from Catra and said that she hoped she could trust her and apologized for not doing so earlier. When I saw that scene, I thought Glimmer was a lot younger and gentler than she really is! I really wasn’t expecting her to be as feisty as she is! As soon as she showed up on the series and she was like “MoM YoU NEVER Let ME DO ANYTHING” I was like “OH” ijrifjedeijdeideek I gotta say I love the actual Glimmer a lot more than the Glimmer I first thought she was!

Impression now - I think Glimmer is a really fun character to watch and I love how absolutely chaotic she is but she can also be a good leader and is just doing her best to be the best princess she can be and fight for what she believes in! She’ll protect her friends no matter what and I think she grew a lot from the first moment in the series, she’s really growing into an amazing woman without leaving her goofy side behind! 

Favorite moment - Okay, so I am obligated to say her DnD story! I absolutely love the entire design of that scene and her just trying to be hella badass and pretty much taking all the enemies by herself and everyone’s just like “Glimmer, that would never work” it just really killed me, she’s such a goofball and I love her so much jediedeikkdiddjeidk

Idea for a story - I’ve been saying this for a while but I would pay to read a glitra Wicked AU fanfiction! The song What Is This Feeling really fucking captures their relationship and y’all can’t tell me otherwise.

Unpopular opinion - Fuck I’m so bad at this unpopular opinion shit fieidendjeejjdn I honest to God don’t think I have one regarding Glimmer, I’m so sorry irfjrieedjikdei

Favorite relationship - Glitradora has my soul. More specifically, glitra. 

Favorite headcanon - I mean, she’s defintely a bisexual icon, isn’t she

#asks

[chloe-gayzer]

23 for adoress?

thank you!! I don’t write angst too terribly much but i tried

23. “Don’t cry.”

[Read on AO3]

Anger is flowing through her. It’s burning its way through her limbs and scorching away anything in its path. She keeps herself moving so it doesn’t swallow her up, but she’s angry and not thinking straight and she wants to send that damn drug-soaked bitch down to hell with an arrow to the throat.

And then Whitehorse radios her.

They’ve got Adora at the jail again. They found her, or maybe she found them, but either way, they have her. And she’s hurt.

Jess feels herself choke up a bit at the news, but then she’s already making her way to the jail. She doesn’t have time to think about anything else.

Adora looks horrible.

There’s blood in her hair, butterfly bandages holding a cut together on her forehead and sutures down the length of one forearm. Tracey is busy bandaging it when Jess appears standing there, eyes on the deputy.

“Hold on there, Jess. I’m almost done here, then you can have her to yourself.”

Something about Tracey seems different. Jess doesn’t want to ask who died because she’s not looking forward to the answer.

Adora sees her and smiles. “Jess!”

Jess wants to smile, wants to show how happy she is that Adora is alive and there before her. It's hard to do when all she can think of is losing her again.

She moves closer to Adora, tugging a chair to the edge of the bed. “How you feeling, darlin?”

Adora takes her hand and holds it tight. “I don’t think I really have an answer. But better, now that you’re here.” She tugs Jess in and presses a kiss to her lips. “A lot has happened.”

Jess kisses her back without a thought, but then her eyes flash over to Tracey.

Tracey shrugs. “You know I won’t say a word. Anyone else tries to, they’ve got me and the sheriff to go through.”

She’s talking about the fact Adora and Jess are… dating sounds like the wrong word, but it sums up what’s needed. Not everyone in the area is friendly to their type.

Tracey finishes up the bandage. “I’ll make sure no one bugs you.”

She heads off, leaving them on their own.

Adora wastes no time pulling Jess onto the cot with her.

“I missed you so much,” Adora murmurs.

Jess feels all of the emotions that anger had burned away come flooding back. She takes a deep breath and tries to control it but it’s too late.

“I’m sorry,” she croaks out.

“Wh-- Sweet, what for?”

“I didn’t even notice them take you. You were there and then you weren’t. And I lost the trail and couldn’t find you-- they just took you and--”

Adora’s hands go to Jess’s cheeks. “Shh, shh, shh, baby… Don’t cry.”

Jess hadn’t realized she was crying. But she’s angry; at the world, at herself, at every single damn peggie out there. The rest she doesn’t care to parse but she’s still sad and she can’t ignore it.

“I coulda done something. I-- I’m gonna kill that bitch. She’s never gonna touch you again, I swear, I’ll…” She lets herself be pulled against Adora.

Adora is soft. Jess doesn’t know how else to describe it. The world is hard and cold and nothing is right about it, but Adora is the opposite. She's full of things Jess hasn't experienced much in her life and for some reason she actually likes Jess. There's no real reason that Adora, a Jewish lesbian from outside of Seattle who had a healthy family life and two loving parents, should find any redeeming traits in her. Besides the ability to kill peggies.

Especially here when she can’t stop herself from fucking crying.

“Fuck. Shit.” She wipes at her face.

“Hey, hey… It’s alright. If you need to, you can.”

Jess swears again. “I don’t need to. It’s stupid.” Another swear. “I’m gonna put an arrow in her throat, I…”

“Shh, baby, she’s already gone.”

Jess looks up at that. “What?”

“She’s dead. I promise.” Adora seems to sink in on herself. “She was a bad person but… I think she was a victim first. I don’t think she was always like that.”

Jess is damn near startled to see tears forming in the woman’s eyes.

“She just-- Everything went wrong for her and so many people failed her. And that sick fuck came in and drugged her and-- Tracey said her name was Rachel. Before she was Faith.” She sinks further in, becoming impossibly small on the bed beside Jess. “I didn’t… I wasn’t always Adora. My dads changed my name when they adopted me but-- But they were good. They loved me and made sure I was okay and-- No one did that for her.”

Adora is sobbing against Jess’s chest. She clings there with tight fingers on Jess’s jacket.

Jess isn’t sure what to do. It’s been a long time since she’s been any sort of good with emotions.

“So little could have changed and-- I could’ve ended up like her. I could’ve, could’ve gotten addicted and, taken advantage of-- Or if just one person, one goddamn person had gone to her and, and actually tried to help! Things could’ve been different for her!” She takes a deep breath, pressing her forehead to Jess’s collarbone. “How is our world so fucked that she ended up like that? Who decided I got to have the happy ending and she, she ended up a body in the river? We’re practically the same damn age...”

Just then, Jess grabs her hard. She keeps her close. “Don’t you cry about that,” she growls. “These aren’t choices you got. It’s not your fault she ended that way.” She takes a deep breath. What else is she supposed to say? “She was never sweet. Not like you. She never woulda been as great as you.”

“But we don’t know that…” Adora shutters as she tries to breathe. “If someone had just helped her…”

“Wouldn’t’ve changed who she is,” Jess practically spits. “There’s parts of you that you can’t change. She was always mean. Nothing like you. Shouldn’t think about what could have been anyway. Doesn’t change anything. I know better than anyone.” She’s had plenty of her own nights, wondering how even one change might change her. Wondering what might give her a life better than what she has. The thoughts don’t happen as much with Adora nearby, though.

“I just… I wish I could’ve done something.”

“I know, darlin’. That’s just who you are.”

It’s another few minutes before Adora calms down. Idely, she takes one of Jess’s hands and bends her middle and ring finger down towards the palm, and guides the thumb, pointer, and pinky so they’re straight up. Jess is used to this sort of thing. It’s Adora teaching her signs.

Adora turns Jess’s hand towards her and copies it.

“What’s this one mean?” Jess asks.

Adora goes to answer, but stops herself. She only says two words.“... You’ll learn.”

#far cry 5 #prompt #adoress #jess black #deafuty #my works #elusetta

[shaydraplays]

okay, here are the liveblogs of the entirety of she-ra season 1

because i don’t know how to consume media responsibly

see individual episodes under the cut: 

ep1 - catra fucking purred with excitement, i had to go back to confirm, the furries are back at it again - and she sleeps at the foot of adora's bed... incredible - does she just sleep with her helmet on? wait i guess all these soldiers don't have sleep clothes, but still? - the adora-glimmer-beau fight scene was hilarious. beau and glimmer just straight up screaming at adora with enough force to shake? excellent. - the way glimmer runs with the sword away from danger is SO good - glimmer just DOESN'T stop screaming and honestly, mood - lmao

ep2 - jesus CHRIST the opening is physically killing me - the amount of times beau's voice breaks - the way they animated people moving is just top notch in general - the voices also... very good - hell yeah floppy eared deer people - neigh - incatrible - damn just keep tasing her i guess... rude - catra fucking bodice ripping the netting hell yeah - the transformation makes her and the sword slightly taller like, why??? - :C catra - "wait, whose horse was this" well it's yours now

ep3 - beau's voice continues to be excellent - the amount of screaming beau and glimmer do on average is also excellent - how are you not enraptured by horsie rolling in the grass next to you? - omg pegacorn floppin around - beau and glimmer are masters of the "oh shit" run. trot? - granny is cute - catra has such disaster lesbean vibes - i dont have my glasses you'll have to speak up - how does horsie's wings keep changing color - also i've completely accepted the ridiculosity of all these names but still... - the arc werewolf man makes when kicked - thank u for validating me swiftwind - wait where do you put the sword when not in use

ep4 - how's they get adora's horde jacket out of the bushes near that village? also she lost her force captain pin rip - so do they just never change clothes? i had high hopes from adora putting on stuff to cover the horde symbol but i guess not - aw sleebover - okay they have no sleep clothes here either - general is hot - did catra draw princess on a horse or - zarkon is a twink now. twunk? - is that jasper's voice for that side character - the beast of beast island - those are not tree destruction foley sounds - yeah stop the machines poisoning ur land! environmentalism! - this is a small kingdom. these kingdoms are all really small? - you've been friends for like 2 days - where did they get horde outfits - beau's lil exclamations are.... Good - YAY SLEEBOVER

ep5 - something tells me adora doesn't like boats - i HAVE to mute the theme song. just, wow - go fish........ - who voices scorpia because Nice - nice violin - mermista is relatable - "They're coming right for the Gate!" mermista's big groan is a mood - is catra's MO from now on just gonna be to leap up to wherever Adora is doing hero things and monologue at her - i wanna be on 8-foot-tall woman's side as well - lmao christen the ship right there

ep6 - lmao glimmer's face when she-ra boutta bust it open - only tiny food........ - drunk adora is cute - did they just leave the sword - fizzy lifting drinks - okay so the sword is just animated when its convenient, otherwise i guess adora vores it or something

ep7 - that last episode was trite so now im gonna draw while watching - i love when they reference adora's depressing upbringing. "no i don't know what an aunt is but i was hoping someone would eventually explain". also beau is a bro - so lightspinner is shadowsneaker or whatever, right - naptime - i hope they explain who greyskull is etc sometime - do you not know what a pillow is why are you lying backwards - adora trust ur friends more pls it's been at least a week by now - thats new - catra no

ep8 - soooo prom means they'll change their clothes right - damn scorpia's a princess, what does it mean that they gave up their gemstone thing? no magic? - a true soldier by upbringing, adora - hell YEAH catra in a tux - neau just gotta wear a croptop - how are they gonna let catra in her whole bodys a weapon - hell yeah these ppl snazzy as fuck - so what the fuck is swiftwind doing these days anyway - adora is me. hormf snacks - man scorpia why cant u just let ppl chill - hell yeah sexual tension dance time - how do they know how to dance - catra is smooth - "you don't understand" ouch that is like the worst thing to say to smol frost princess - catra no - "I don't want you to" man she is such a... kovu's mom in lion king 2 or 3

ep9 - beau maDE THEM FIGURINES IM CRY - rip mermista - captain dude is so dumb - scorpia is going to kill u - this rebellion is clearly not combat ready - the black garnet is the one that scorpia's family gave the horde right? - really digging the low res pixels of the cell door being kicked for some reason - kyle pls - beau's expressions are SO good - well this sucks - if adora actually got her memories wiped and rejoined the herd and catra had to pretend that everything was normal man that'd be a good fanfic - glimmer thats very anime of u - catra, a lil bitch as always - damn, nice lighting - THIS IS NOT BECAUSE I LIKE YOU B-BAKA - catra no - damn, she really just got incinerated right in front of the team, huh - had to let the sad end credits music play this time, alexa play despacito

ep10 - "yeah that sure smells like concrete" thanks scorpia - adora is SO excited that she can use magic - i had to look it up but yeah i can definitely hear the amethyst in catra's voice now - yeah entrapta didn't seem like she gave much of a shit in the first place - hell YEAH she just jumps out the window - it's pretty incredible that they haven't miscolored catra's eyes yet, at least that i saw - thank u for coming back to the original disagreement and hashing it out, hell yeah emotional intelligence - just tell ur mom, blease - when queen mom is holding glimmer as she glitches... wow that's very adult fear of you - why do they not animate the sword and backbacks whenever it pleases them? i can excuse magical sword bullshit but c'mon catra needs to eat - hell yeah trippy psychological horror episode PLEASE - catra no

ep11 - hell yeah time for the "save my archnemesis frenemy from being killed by nonsentient technology ostensibly on my side, only to receive zero gratitude and probable betrayal from said frenemy" episode - their interactions are SO good - keeping things close to your chest and not saying anything about entrapta, nice - blease i just want them to be frens again - BAPY CATRA YES - FLOFF - BLEASE - FRENS - tween catra is EXTRA FLOFF - really telling that all their good memories are of getting chased by superiors and fighting each other. fucking horde - teen lizard's hair is good - catra's pretty good at saving herself. can she do it in the way that matters, though? - part cat, part monkey - well then, this memory probably doesn't end happily - oh, maybe this'll give adora hints on how to heal glimmer - fucking shadow... slipper. fuck u - jesus christ well this is just the writing on the wall for why catra can hate adora so easily. fuck u shadow sneak - bapy.... she hiss - w o w

ep12 - creepy. yes. i have been called this before. i n c r e d i b l e - hell yeah aliens - oh my god it speaks - man, what is EVEN scorpia's deal besides comic relief... horde is real bad at cultivating friendship - hack the p l a n e t - god damn, speaker baby imp is creepy. also how did catra not hear/smell that, maybe all horde shit smells similar - so entrapta doesn't have her corresponding gemstone? also oooooh, that's what the moonstone is. - adora, you made a self-cognizant horse, look at it now, it's got self-assurance and helpful words that also perpetuate the message that all domestic or captive animals are suffering, but in a joking manner

ep13 - ok, last ep of season 1, oh boy. can't wait to read all the post s1 fanfic - how did they... switch seating order... c'momn dreamworks - so why is entrapta a princess if she doesn't have a gemstone - WHY is beau still baring his midriff? in armor??? - wait so you can stand on water now? - stop monologueing holy shit - i guess there just isn't water? - k, deus ex machina and big damn heroes, i guess - nice combo attacks - she ra said gay rights. happy wrath month everyone - catra.......... no

#shaywatches shera #she ra #she ra netflix #text post #liveblog

[shera-dnd]

Valentine’s in the Multiverse Part 1 - The Spy Who Loved Me

First story for our AU within an AU Valentine’s Day celebration. For this one we’re gonna revisit the city of Ravnica to see how Catra and Adora are dealing with the aftermath of their confrontation

Ravnica and its inhabitants are no strangers to disaster and the destruction caused by the rampaging krasis was no exception. The Selesnya sheltered and healed the victims, the Izzet started rebuilding and the Golgari scavenged anything that they can salvage. In a month or two no one would remember the 200ft tall monster that was set loose upon the city. The monster that Adora had set loose.

Things were supposed to be simple, but Adora knew that they hardly ever are. Release the monster, watch the Simic create some weird containment spell, steal the spell, kill the monster and deliver the spell to her superiors. Everyone would be happy, the Dimir could use the spell to save many lives in the future and Adora would go back to working undercover with the Azorius. If only Catra hadn’t caught her.

It was because of Catra that Adora was standing here right now. Waiting in the shadows of an alley next to her favorite restaurant. Catra deserved some closure and Adora was gonna give it to her or as close as the Dimir could offer.

As usual Adora did not see or hear Catra approaching until she was right next to her. Adora may be the spy, but Catra was the one raised in the sewers. There are passages in this city that only Catra knew and Adora just accepted that she would just pop up out of nowhere some times.

“Here to tie up loose ends?” Catra’s voice dripped like acid and and brought with it an unspoken concern ‘are you here to erase my memories?’ Adora felt a bang of guilt in her heart at that implication. She would never touch Catra’s memories without her consent.

Adora tried not to melt under Catra’s piercing gaze “In a way” she finally spoke “I know I can never atone for what I did and I’ll not try begging for your forgiveness, but I can offer you a chance for closure”

Catra raised her eyebrow, unconvinced “That is it? You brought me to the restaurant we had our first date in, just to talk to me? Don’t your bosses want me dead or something?”

“Second date actually” Adora never forgot about Catra’s silly comment the day they met “and no, they do not care if you live or die. My mission was completed and they know no one would believe you” Catra clearly wasn’t reassured by that, but Adora pushed through the lingering awkwardness “Well, what I wanted to say is that you can never see me again if you want to?”

“Excuse me?” Catra sounded extremely offended by the idea. Did she think Adora was gonna off her or something?

“I know it sounds weird, but I was gonna talk to my superiors about changing districts and I just wanted to say goodbye and let you say whatever you have to say. That way you can get it all out of your system and then move on with your life like I was never here. If you want I can even erase myself from your memories and-”

Adora’s verbal hemorrhage was cut short by Catra’s palm against her forehead “What was that for?”

“First you betray my trust, then you disappear for weeks and when I finally find your sorry ass you want to fucking leave?” No amount of mental preparation could have saved Adora from the guilt these words inflicted. Years of training were stripped away by the furious words of the woman she loved “Listen here you, dumbass. I trusted you, I cared for you and I fucking loved you, but I can’t do any of those things right now”

If Rakdos could erase Adora from existence right now she would gladly take that opportunity. This was the first time Catra had ever mentioned love and it was destroying Adora. She opened her mouth to say something, but Catra was having none of that.

“I can’t even be sure if the Adora I knew was real, that you weren’t putting on an act from the day I met you, that you didn’t just mess with my memories while I was asleep” That last accusation hurt Adora more than she could describe “And I will be more than happy if I never see your stupid face again” Catra took a deep breath “But if I never see you again then I don’t want my last memories of you to be of hate”

“Wait. You can’t be suggesting that-”

“Of course I’m not suggesting that you mess with my memories, you dumbass” Adora was almost relieved by hearing these words “I mean that I’m giving you one more night. One last chance to give me a good memory and after that we’re parting ways”

Adora perked up at this small ray of hope “Then I’m gonna make this the best night of your life. Trust me on this one” she visibly cringed after those words left her mouth, but Catra just laughed at that

“How did you ever keep that a secret?” She shook her head “I guess I should’ve known. There is no way an Azorius was that good in bed” Adora blushed and laughed at that shameless comment. Even if it was not meant to last, she was happy she got to see Catra’s smile one more time.

#valentine's day #catradora #i'm such a dramatic bitch #ravnica