#I'm aware she looks like Catra

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

saw an spop fan say that “catra doesn't have fur, it's just peach fuzz”. which makes even less sense, all things considered.

[aprillikesthings]

So this is somewhat of a continuation of my "you could headcanon Catra as demisexual based on canon" post, but I wanted to write a new post for this.

So there’s a fascinating conversation to be had about why, in fics where Catra and Adora aren't together (yet), so many of us have written Adora as…not a prude per se, but far less likely to hook up with other people—and have written Catra doing that, instead. (I mean, I have an unpublished WIP that includes that; I'm not throwing stones at glass houses here.)

And I do think some of it is that Adora is awkward in that way that’s so often some combo of a sheltered upbringing/ADHD/autism; whereas Catra is in fact more openly flirtatious.

(Disclaimer: In this post I'm using "slutty" in a neutral-to-positive sense.)

But the irony is that One, plenty of people who share those qualities with Adora are in fact hella slutty*; and Two, Catra clearly doesn’t intend to follow through on all that flirting.

ANYWAY time for my actual thesis of this post:

The real reasons, IMHO, that it's easier to see Adora as less slutty than Catra:

Adora is so visibly uncomfortable in her skin, and Catra is not

Adora doesn't even realize when she's attracted to other people

Catra however is aware of when people find her attractive (and changes how she interacts with them based on that)

The tweets aren't connected; they weren't part of the same thread. But ND's made no secret of the fact that he gave Adora a bunch of his own traits**, and it was after s5 that he started coming out as trans--which isn't to say Adora is intended to be read as dysphoric. But the way Adora never thinks of herself or what she wants carried over into not thinking about her physical body as anything other than a tool, and not feeling comfortable in her body, and not feeling like she owned it. (Which....is probably related to ND's religious trauma, considering how many conservative/fundie Christians straight-up tell women and girls their body doesn't belong to them. In those words. Literally.)

And I think that's part of why Adora reads as so awkward. The idea of someone wanting her and finding her attractive is just bizarre to her to the point that she doesn't even see it.

She does clearly find other people attractive! But I don't think she realizes she's doing it--she reminds me a bit of when I was 15 and stared at women in bikinis on the beach and tripped over my own feet because I was looking at them and not where I was going lol, and had literally zero idea I was doing it until my best friend told me about it later.

Adora didn't even know she wanted to kiss Catra until just before it happened--if Glimmer had pulled Adora aside in the Crimson Waste and said "lol you want Huntara so bad," Adora would've been genuinely confused!

And that's all before you get into the whole She-Ra thing, and you could write a long-ass essay about Adora's sense of identity and the degree to which she sees She-Ra as herself or not. But the fact is that She-Ra has a different body than Adora! Taller, stronger, a lot more hair lol. And the people around her clearly value She-Ra differently than they do Adora. So that's a whole. Thing.

Meanwhile: Catra just feels comfier in her body. She does try to tamp down her cat-like qualities to some degree, especially in s4, but a lot of it was just that her ears and tail tended to give away her emotions, and she was trying to hide them. She stops suppressing that at some point after Save the Cat. (And then the Universe gave her a mood ring alien cat, lol.) Catra's got her own pile of Issues, but her body is just not one of them.

There’s a scene at the end of The Coronation (s4ep1) where Catra is in her s4 outfit for the first time, and she basically does the “I’m in charge now” thing at Hordak, and I’m sorry but it’s...not NOT sexually charged, even leaving aside that her new outfit has thigh slits and a boob window. She’s sitting in his throne and purring (loudly!) and then purrs out a "Hey, Hordak."

She basically forces him to his knees, taunts him, and then we see from his POV as she sits back in that throne and crosses her legs. If she’d done that in a scene with literally any non-male character it would be seen as ship-bait!

Is she intentionally flirting with Hordak? Lol no.

But you'll notice: She doesn't do it with Scorpia, when she's mean to Scorpia. With Scorpia she's just...biting and cruel. So she clearly has some idea what she's doing when she taunts people, enough that she knows Scorpia would take it differently. She knows Scorpia finds her attractive and is trying to push Scorpia away.

Catra also doesn't do it with Double Trouble! Double Trouble flirts with Catra, but Catra gives none of it back, and as noted in my previous post, is even visibly uncomfortable with it at times.

Which isn't to say Adora never does the "flirtatious taunting" thing:

But like, where. Where do you think she learned it from.

(this post is once again relevant)

EDIT: another example of Adora learning it from Catra, taken from a "She-Ra Crack" video:

(*Me. In my 20’s. Just remember kids, lots of neurodivergent nerds are hella slutty.) (**iirc that's how he got diagnosed with ADHD. Everyone just like "hey is Adora intentional ADHD rep" and he was like "no, I wrote her like me?? ...oh. shit.")

(Lastly: anyone reblogging this to shame people for writing/hc'ing/shipping whatever they want will get blocked. I'm not even sure I hc Catra as demi and I wrote a whole post about it lol.)

[catras-breakup-song]

yeah sure, i'll tell you something that repeatedly pisses me off to no end:

images shamelessly stolen from here

when catra haters say this type of dialogue is a good example of her "abuse"

it's lighthearted affection, playful bantering! many friends bully each other this way all the time for the laughs; i know i always have and nobody minded!

some people may not like it, and that's fine, you don't have to! but your opinion does not change how the characters canonically feel about it. if adora happily takes it without strife and understands the intention in the moment, then there is no issue. you could argue that she calls herself an idiot the episode after she rescues catra from prime's ship, but i genuinely believe that's just a result of her being too harsh toward herself all the time anyway without any influence from catra. even when she didn't have to worry about her as an enemy throughout her average days in bright moon, she still kept that weight burdened on her shoulders regardless.

such an example of the criticism i'm referring to is someone complaining in this reddit post, albeit not necessarily from an anti since they seem to simply not understand and therefore disapprove based on their own personal feelings about the situation among the replies. there's also this comment, which adds some objective truth to catra's partial-insult.

as another individual pointed out, throughout the first seasons it came from more of a "duh! how do you not get it?" condescending attitude (think of adora's final revelation in 01x02 that the horde was evil while catra had known her whole life, and later on in 03x03 when catra points out how silly it sounds to admit you'd listen blindly to anything an old hologram has to say ─ even if it did happen to be correct), but i also added that when it comes to season five it originates more from a place of concern, hence upholding her half of the promise for the two of them to look out for each other at all times. if adora lacks so much awareness, she'll constantly end up in dangerous situations, and that's exactly what eventually ended up happening when she followed shadow weaver's manipulated guidance to accept the failsafe.

it drains so much energy from me to give this bad-faith argument any attention so hopefully i'll only have to do it this once. it's not worth getting frustrated over so don't waste your time trying to convince reactionaries that this trait of all things is what makes her such a terrible person.

[antispopausandstuff]

the c//a // catra // adora editing community is so funny because all of them ( literally all of them ) do at least one of these things:

edit c//a to a song that's either about abusive relationships, broken relationships, nonexistent relationships ( "One Way or Another" is about a stalker, for ex ), or about familial dynamics ( typically siblings, but i've seen c//a being edited to "Mama's Boy" recently ).

the healthy relationship songs they DO use are typically by Taylor Swift and // or are completely tone-deaf to the scenes used.

show adora having a bad time via catra's hands while using some cutesy or romance-angsty lyrics.

edit catra to badass audios, but use scenes where she's clearly NOT having a good time ( i've seen some edits be of her dying or getting beat up ) 🤣.

use 'Toxic' by Britney Spears ironically ( they think this is funny to make fun of antis with, i think??? ).

their edits are so disconnected from everything that it's not even funny, it will just give you an eyesore ( saw an edit with 'Dark Red' by Steve Lacy to an edit that was both badass and romance angst??? ).

if they do show the 'bad side of the relationship', they use songs that typically soften the blow, as if corrupted catra is gonna look any better with Taylor Swift's ricochet song in the background-

if they make a 'badass couple' edit, they use scenes that have one party ( typically catra ) hurting the other instead of standalone scenes or smth.

i noticed that a lot of the 'happy' edits are with a bunch of fanart or of s5. hm. wonder why that is.

use songs for catra edits that really work better with adora ( for ex, "911" by Elise or "Potential Breakup Song" by Aly & AJ ), because the songs would typically be from the victim's POV ( which i find funny in the worst way tbh ).

in the rare case that the stan has awareness of catra's actions, they still edit c//a because they think redeemed catra is fine ( one step forward, five steps back. we sigh. ). or, edit catra because they think she's well-written or smth, idk.

it's just a mess, and it would be even more funny if i didn't feel like a migraine was growing in my brain every time i noticed it.

feel free to mention some others i may have forgotten, 'cause i'm sure i've seen all the types at this point, just don't rmbr them all.

[manic-sapphic]

everything's ok when they just stay together damnit lol

maaan tho, it bums me out that it took till s5 for catra to even be vulnerable enough to admit that w adora actually was where she'd always wanted to be but by that point she'd really come to believe it was too late. that there was no going back for her anymore. doesn't help either though that it takes adora till s5 to fully realize how much she actually truly needs catra and always has. i mean literally, "everything will be ok if we just stay together" adora says it back in s3 during "remember" i think, so it seems tbh like she was already starting to feel like she shoulda tried harder to get catra to come w her in the beginning. like, just made sure she knew how important catra was to her and basically drag her damn ass outta the fright zone. but i don't think she tells catra she needs her till failsafe, and i think atm it's just too hard for catra to hear & believe it, despite just how badly she's always wanted to hear it and wants it to be true, cause she's always needed adora too.

and i def think adora's grappling w regrets in a very big way when catra walks out on prime's flagship. like being clad in a horde prime uniform and opening her green eyes wasn't enough of a shock to her system, the totally emotionless "hello, adora" moment just - i feel like it's written all over adora's face right then and there but also during their entire fight and when she's holding catra after her fall - adora looks riddled with guilt and regret seeing what's happened to catra as a direct result of the sacrifice she'd chosen to make for adora. and all after adora left her behind w the horde and chose to follow a false hero's destiny > her and catra's promise to protect each other. but still after years fighting each other, when faced with the thought of adora truly suffering at prime's hands - esp given catra got to see better than any other character first hand just what a freaky creep prime was and prob felt truly horrified at the thought of what he might do to adora - catra chose to act on the promise for what she honestly thought would be her last chance to ever do so. as sw once threatened her with back at the beginning, "then you will suffer the consequences in her place." but yeah, this time catra fully and willingly chose to take that on w prime if it meant adora would stay far away from him.

-"it doesn't matter what you do to me, glimmer is gone and you will never get your hands on adora" ugh her saying that just kmn ok? the determination and passion in her voice as she protecc her would-be wifey, even tho she's aware that it means she's prob gonna be going through some real bad shit real soon. she'd still rather it be her than adora 💔

and just ugh i'm sure realizing that and seeing catra just consumed adora with grief and utter distress. like i don't think she necessarily felt like she never should've left the horde for the rebellion during the whole save the cat incident, but i can clearly hear her just thinking fuckfuckfuuck how did this happen, how did i let it happen, why didn't i drag this stubborn brat w me kicking and screaming when i left, omg omg what do i do now? how do i fix this?? can i fix this??? it's soul-crushing to watch forsure but at least they fully kick prime's ass into oblivion and get the happy ending they both deserve

<3

[spopsalt]

Sorry this might be phrased badly but... In regards to people sexualizing catra and saying she's a POC (latina) do they realize... That makes it kinda worse? Like I'm sure it's been said but it's stereotyping - she's aggressive, has anger issues, mistreats almost everyone around her etc and ND decided to half agree with "catra is POC" ?? This wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't ya know, an animal (catgirl) or supposedly the only latina character in the world of spop that we see and people are still actively choosing to sexualize her and only her (and she's likely a teenager cause spop never bothered to confirm everyones age which is another reason people like the infantilize Entrapta for being short and neurodivergent but that's another topic). As far as I'm aware you don't see this with other characters. Or at least not as much.

Some people may say "well x this is your group do better with representation" and I guarantee you this was not made with those people in mind nor does the general audience have control over that. Just because the representation (supposedly) exists doesn't mean it's good.

Thanks for the ask anon! Exactly! I touched upon it briefly in some posts but people will say Catra is a woc and according to Nate, she's meant to be Latina....now let's look at how she acts, she's mean, aggressive, angry, short-tempered, she licks herself and she's literally a catgirl which is similar to how Latinas used to be called dogs....yikes

[wiseabsol]

Hey! I wanted to tell you that I love your Dominion reviews, and I also wanted to ask you about your opinion on a possible Azula-Catra comparison. Because people tend to compare Zuko’s and Catra’s redemption arcs in order to debunk the latter, and though I can see the parallelisms, I’ve always believed that Catra is, at heart, much more similar to Azula, and even more if you consider Dominion!Azula (which will never not be the real, full-fledged Azula to me, never mind canon). What do you think?

So I think any redemption arc in media tends to get compared to Zuko's because, A.) The people doing the comparing often grew up with ATLA, so it's the first one that comes to mind, and B.) It's a redemption arc that takes time to develop, has setbacks, and has Zuko working towards earning the trust of those he hurt in the past.

Catra's, I think, is harder for people to swallow. A large part of this is because she spends 4 out of the 5 seasons being an angry, toxic person, especially towards Adora and Scorpia (Scorpia, I want to point out, does not respect Catra's boundaries, forcing physical affection on her when she doesn't want it. This doesn't mean that Scorpia deserved how Catra's treated her, but I think that friendship was unhealthy both ways). I can understand why people, looking at Catra, would say that getting only one season for a redemption arc wouldn't be enough--especially because she nearly destroyed the world and did, functionally, kill Angella. Zuko, in comparison, stalked people and burned down people's homes, but didn't kill anyone.

But personally, I liked Catra's redemption arc. I liked her acknowledging her anger issues and having a therapy animal to help her manage it. I liked her apologizing and trying to make things right to the people she hurt. I liked her realizing that her ambitions in the earlier seasons were mostly a means to have some control over her life and gain the favor of the adults around her. Catra, all things considered, is a pretty self-aware character--she knows how she's been treated all of her life is wrong, and that the side she's on is evil, and that what she wants most of all is to be with Adora. However, she gets hung up over feeling abandoned, lashes out when she's afraid and upset, and ultimately feels so guilty over pushing people away and the things she's done that she's suicidal about it. Dying doing a heroic thing seems, to her, the only way to make things right.

Which doesn't happen, of course. Catra is saved. And ultimately, she's offered a spot of the best friend squad, because people are still willing to give her a chance to be a better person (in part because she took that first step to try to make things right). And that, I think, is really important--because while it's no one else's job to fix you, if no one ever gives you the chance to grow and is always waiting for you to mess up--to prove yourself to be a monster--then what motivation do you have to get better?

But I'm getting off topic. What you actually asked me is if I see similarities between Azula and Catra. And in some ways, yes--mostly in how the fandoms treat them--but in other ways, no. Let's dig into it:

Catra knows that she has been abused by Shadow Weaver and that Shadow Weaver is a bad person and parent. Azula does not realize consciously that she's been abused, or that Ozai is a bad person and parent (though she knows he's capable of hurting his children, due to what he did to Zuko).

Their responses to this abuse differs. Catra is more angry, defiant, and irreverent, and is physically hurt by Shadow Weaver as a result (which isn't her fault--it's Shadow Weaver who's in the wrong). Azula decides to become the perfect firebender and ally to her father, and in doing so secures "safety" for herself from Ozai. Incidentally, Adora also picked the striving for perfection route of appeasement.

Catra knows that the Hoard is evil, but goes along with their goals anyway, largely to get back at Adora for leaving her and to gain Shadow Weaver's and Hordak's "respect." Azula doesn't know that the Fire Nation is in the wrong, because she's fully been indoctrinated. In fact, Azula and Adora are more similar on this point, at least before Adora realizes the Hoard is attacking villages. Would she have realized this, though, if she hadn't spent time there beforehand with Glimmer and Bow? In any case, Azula stays with the Fire Nation because she's never been given a reason to question their conquest, and because that's how she earns her father's "love" and "respect."

Catra is happy about Adora's promotion until she realizes that she won't be shipping out with Adora (and thus is being left behind). Azula and Zuko grow up in an environment where if one of them succeeds, that means the other one is failing, and thus are never happy about each other's accomplishments.

Catra just wants to be the one Adora chooses and tries several times to get her to come "home." Azula desperately wants to be chosen by someone, hence her attachment to Ozai. But also, Azula goes to great lengths to get Zuko to come home too, setting him up with Mai and letting him take credit for killing Aang.

Catra and Azula both break down and lash out when the people they love leave them. They also both experience guilt over what they've done, though Catra, I think, confronts this more head on, while Azula tries to rationalize her actions ("Trust is for fools."). They also both fully believe that they're monsters who no one can love.

Both Catra and Azula treat their best friends poorly and drive them away. Catra, after doing some soul-searching, tries to sacrifice herself to make things right, and is given the chance to redeem herself after she survives. Azula attempts to do some soul-searching, hits a "does not compute" error message, and is not given a chance to redeem herself, in part because there's no more show left. If there had been a season four, perhaps we would have gotten that, but unfortunately, all we have are the (terrible) comics.

Azula is 14 during ATLA. No one reaches out to her or encourages her to think critically about what her side is doing. Catra is apparently 17-18 at the start of SPOP and 20-21 at the end of it. People do reach out to her and encourage her to think critically about what her side is doing. Azula gets no shot at redemption. Catra does.

Azula and Catra are both demonized by some of the fanbase, with Azula commonly being pathologized. Azula, despite being younger, being less self-aware than Catra, and being given fewer chances for improvement, is actually treated with more vitriol than Catra--even though Catra knows she's in an evil organization and chooses to stay, and objectively does worse things over the course of the show. My guess is that this is because SPOP offers more sympathetic moments to Catra, which ATLA doesn't give Azula. Regardless, explaining to these fans that these characters are young victims of abuse who responded to it in maladaptive ways, and deserve sympathy and a chance to heal, doesn't work. Instead, because they were toxic and hurt the characters we like (characters on the other side of a war), they are ruined forever. Despite being incredibly young and, for the most part, barely stepping out of the abusive environments they grew up in.

And to be clear on this point--I can understand it if the people these two hurt never accepted them back. Their pain is valid (in fact, I wish Scorpia had told Catra that she needed time, rather than forgiving her easily at the end). However, saying Azula and Catra are lost causes who can't become better people or develop healthy relationships with other people is incredibly reductive. It also tells real people that if you fuck up in your youths, you'll never get better and no one will ever love you again, which is appalling. As someone who had maladaptive reactions to growing up abused, if this had been what I was told--rather than having loved ones who were patient with me, told me how I messed up, and encouraged me to self-reflect and grow--I might not be here right now.

Which brings me to my final point: To be happy and find peace, what Catra and Azula both need is acceptance and love from healthy sources. Catra receives it and works on herself. Azula...doesn't. And I'm not sure I can blame a 14-year-old for stagnating as a result.

[swearyshera]

Reliving this is a trip. I was an interesting feeling the first time thru, and I'm not saying that to humorously downplay a horrific situation. It drew out a little bit of sympathy for Catra I really thought I'd used up by that point, if only cuz what Prime does is really that vile. That's super unusual for me. I went in rooting for Adora to take back someone she cared about, not necessarily cuz it was Catra specifically if you know what I mean, but this got me to want Catra rescued weirdly well. I almost never feel for villains at their nadir like this.

Twisted how empathetic paragon heroes like Adora are among my most treasured characters in fiction, yet I suck at extending the same sympathy they can. You're supposed to see characters like Catra (or Azula or Bakugou or whoever you please) going thru awful things as flawed people with interior lives and subject to exterior circumstances that the heroes are kind/strong/savvy enough to see and incorporate into their responses and my knee jerk is still "fuck off with the pity party, get to the atonement." Or in a lot of cases to laugh while they're down. I always sabotage myself by seeing the author making horrible things happen to the rival/villains, and contrasting them with worse villains, as a cynical tactic to get me and the heroes to sympathize before they've started changing for the better.

It helped that Catra already saved Glimmer at her own peril, and Adora already would've saved Catra no matter what, but still. This is a big reason why villain mind control is one of my least fave tropes. Manipulation and coercion are all good because meaningful agency and responsibility are still there even if characters can't see it, and that is everything in my eyes. To me mind control is the writer hitting pause on a character's growth til a more convenient time in the plot. Or just forever. *cough*🌊🦂🧙‍♂️.

Most of my appreciation for pre-s5 Catra only built up in retrospect through meta-posts and following fanworks like this. So seriously thank you for this series; it's like experiencing the series as it was intended for the first time, weird as that sounds.

You're version of this sequence is as skin-crawling as I think we all could've hoped/feared. Prime is the worst kind of living scum. Great work. Now I can start counting down to the "you miscalculated." scene. Aimee Carrero crushed that line. Can't wait for your version. Positively dancing with anticipation.

It is - at least to me - a really interesting point for Catra to be at, narratively speaking, because it shows the dialectic in her journey. She both did and didn't "bring it upon herself" - yes, she tried to get in Prime's good books, but no, she didn't ask to be chipped. Yes, she saved Glimmer against his instruction, but no, she didn't know the full consequences of what that would do. And when you get people on different sides of the argument, some saying "poor meowmeow didn't deserve this" and others saying, "She's reaping what she's sown", actually they're both right, in this way.

I don't think it would have worked going straight to the atonement, anyway. We don't have these scenes to revel in the depth of her lowest point, we have them to show how bad, how inescapable it was - and then we set up to escape them!

The whole story with Prime has been an interesting writing journey, too. Every time I review the lines, I tweak them to make them that little bit more realistic, that little bit more uncomfortable. I'm painfully aware that we're seeing a lot of similar rhetoric flying around from real people in the media these days (particularly with anti-trans bullshit), and it's no coincidence that Prime is a reflection of this. But my focus isn't on "Oh look, doesn't this character sound like the person trying to destroy our lives", it's on "This character, like the people you've seen on the news, might think they're right but they will never win. They will never defeat us."

Indeed, the Save the Cat books (yes, this episode did remind me of them... It's probably where the name is from) talk about the 'All is Lost' point and the 'Dark Night of the Soul' - this is where we're at right now. It's bad, it's the worst - but it's going to get better.

[hikaaa-bi]

a lot of things that need to be addressed here.

1. we don't "demonize" them because they are traumatized. we just criticize their actions because it's harmful and toxic. also Pink Diamond wasn't even a child? she was younger than the other Diamonds but she was at least a few thousand years old (btw I don't hate Pink, i think she's a really interesting character). as for Catra, she's like 17 at the beginning and in her 20s by the end of the series. i wouldn't call that a "child". Star was a child but basically committed g3nocide so..

(haven't watched Miraculous Ladybug so I cannot comment on Chloé)

2. the problem here is the consequences of their actions. if they just said something that they didn't mean or lashed out in a moment of impulse, that can be looked past. however abuse, murder, manipulation, etc are real issues that people suffer from and should be treated as such. being traumatized doesn't give you the free pass to traumatize others.

3. who tf excuses characters like Shadow Weaver, Horde Prime or the other Diamonds? whoever wrote this confession must live in a different dimension because as far as I'm aware, these characters are very much hated by the fandom. there may be people who like them as villains, but I've seen no one excuse their actions or try to claim that they are innocent.

“I find it extremely concerning that majority of fandoms like to demonize traumatized children ex: Star Butterfly, Chloé, Catra, and Pink Diamond (she’s more child-coded than an outright child but it still counts) for making impulsive decisions under stress, but don’t bat an eye when adult characters like Moon/MHC, Hawkmoth/Audrey, Shadow Weaver/Horde Prime, and the other three Diamonds for doing far worse things like being literal Terrorists, Racists, that abuse, neglect and backstab their own children and have committed/promoted planetary genocide. It’s mind-boggling how many fandoms for kids seems to hate children/abuse victims the most.”

[a-cypress-tree-draws]

Taking a bit of a break from the Ravenloft tarot deck (and everything Ravenoft in general really while @dr-darkwood finishes converting everything to Pathfinder from 3.5), we got to talking a bit recently about what our character's from Skull & Shackles' futures looked like. Roland has decided that Dispatia is going to become a vampire, and that has some pretty dramatic implications for their relationship. Not that Xaitherin is against the whole undead thing, but it means that Dispatia is probably going to try to turn her to, and she isn't with that. Paired with Dispatia's need to return to Cheliax and not be a pirate anymore...

So we came to the conclusion they might not work out.

Anyway, old pirate Xaitherin.

[funkytoesart]

Stars

[aprillikesthings]

can I finish this before I gotta get ready and leave for the Maundy Thursday service let's find out lol

(Edit: Nope.)

THREE MORE EPISODES LEFT

*cries*

s5 ep11 Failsafe

someone hold me

I have to actively suppress the urge to read the synopses of the episodes at this point

oh also lol this is just funny to me, I saw a post Elsewhere Online where someone watched all of spop the first time and they HATED the dumb names everyone has, and I think they mentioned Castaspella specifically.

And like FIFTY PEOPLE responded with "dude they had to use the original names from the 1980's series" and I was the only one there old enough to have watched the original series and I had to point out: the original series was made to sell toys. The vast majority of cartoons in 1985 were only made to sell toys. They gave everyone those dumbass names because it was easy for kids to remember and beg for the toys."

That's also why all the female characters in the original series have the exact same body type. Yeah the body shape itself was due to 1980's-era sexism, but also? It was so much cheaper to animate the show AND make the toys that way!

But also, it's hella ironic to me that the 2018 show has so little official merch!

And now, back to crying over cartoon lesbians:

good question

ugh I hate her

Shadow Weaver: "While you were traipsing around in space,"

OH MY GOD they were saving a few people's LIVES and it was kind of IMPORTANT but WHATEVER

"--some of us have been working to stop the Heart of Etheria from falling into Prime's hands. And we discovered the same thing you did. Rumors of a Failsafe that will break the restraints the First Ones built and set the stolen magic free." Glimmer: "Are you kidding? After everything that happened last time, you're still going after the Heart of Etheria? And you're helping her?" Castaspella: "We're trying to free the magic for all of Etheria so we can be strong enough to fight Prime. I'm doing this for your father and for you. Shadow Weaver is the lesser of two evils."

I love that she says this right in front of Shadow Weaver. Like "girl I hate her too"

nice

okay ngl I have mixed feelings about this one because unfortunately she's not entirely wrong here but also, shut the fuck up

(something something people are responsible for their own actions but also she wouldn't have done all that godawful shit if Shadow Weaver hadn't been such a shitty parent)

but yeah Catra gets up like she's about to fucking throw some hands and Adora's like It's okay bb

;_;

but also they do need the information Shadow Weaver and Castaspella have

so it turns out Mystacor was built on top of a First Ones' citadel? huh

Castaspella: "Beneath Mystacor, there are many secret tunnels and rooms, forgotten and sealed off. No one has been able to access them in centuries, but there are whispers of what they contain." Shadow Weaver: "An artifact known as the Crystal of Arxia, hidden there by a group of traitorous First Ones." Castaspella: "You said I could do it!"

lol they bicker like old marrieds

Adora: "If you figured it out on your own, why come back here? Why do you need us at all?" Shadow Weaver: "Because Mystacor is controlled by Micah, who, you may recall, is controlled by Horde Prime."

they've been TRYING

"If he seizes the Heart, it will all be over."

Stop toUCHING HER

oh god Adora turns around to ask Catra to help out--and she's gone

YOU'RE THE REASON SHE'S FUCKING "SULKING" and you fucking know it, why are abusers always so god damned surprised to find out their kids don't want to be anywhere near them

(I mean I know why, they think they should be able to control you forever)

aaahahaha Adora's just like Nah I'mma go look for her tho

anyway roll intro!

omg look at Netossa and Spinny on the bottom left awwwww

she looks so sad

well okay sad and angry

their conversation here is so good, because Catra's fully aware of why Adora's doing this, but is really struggling to push past how much she (justifiably!) hates Shadow Weaver and hates being around her

I actually do kinda wish I'd kept a list of all the times Adora does the self-sacrificial thing, separated into "someone asked her to do it" vs "nobody asked her to do it" lol

BUT ADORA EXPRESSES A NEED oh nice that's progress

Adora: "Hey, she can't do anything to us anymore. Please, come. We--I-could really use your help."

two things I really love about this: One, she doesn't say that she doesn't like Adora, just that it's not the reason she's going. Two, I feel like Adora knows damn well Catra's not being 100% honest here.

Like, to some extent Catra's saying this as a way of attempting to protect herself a little. She's taking baby steps towards vulnerability, and it's terrifying! And I think Adora can see that and is fine with it--not JUST because she's like "any crumbs are better than nothing" but ALSO because she doesn't want to push Catra.

Because yeah, if there was any actual doubt that Catra does like Adora--

WELL.

Entrapta was able to get Spinerella's chip out but says it had started fusing with her nervous system and they're running out of time to safely un-chip everyone.

But she's been digging around the network that connects all the chips to Prime, hoping to figure out how to disconnect everyone at once, and Bow gives her a little encouragement, it's really sweet.

OKAY so everyone who can, teleports to Mystacor with Melog making them invisible. (Apparently Catra doesn't get motion sick from it anymore which is nice lol)

I love the way they animated them being invisible

oh GOD okay

Catra turns around and says "looks like there's no sorcerers here" while, unfortunately, a sorcerer walks into the room. Shadow Weaver grabs Catra and puts her hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, and Catra (understandably!! but unfortunately!!) jerks away in fury and yells

And her fury causes Melog to drop the invisibility

And now the chipped sorcerer knows they're all there

they manage to duck the attack but Adora goes to transform into She-Ra--and can't do it

she had this issue last episode aaaugh it's not from being near Shadow Weaver she wasn't there

okay but also Adora runs behind a pillar to hide from an attack with Catra and it's cute

girl help why is this giving me so many emotions

y'know it's funny how often I've bumped into posts of people who are confused as to why Adora starts trusting Catra again so quickly, and I frequently wonder if they forget all the childhood flashback scenes of these two. To varying extents they both spent their entire childhoods seeing the other as their only consistent source of comfort and (something resembling) safety, and with some notable exceptions Adora's spent the last four seasons (which was like three or four years) visibly holding out hope that one day she could trust Catra again. This despite the fact that she now has other sources of safety and comfort and love!!! Being with Glimmer and Bow and everyone else was healing, sure; but it never erased her grief over losing Catra. She always, always held out the tiniest flame of hope that Catra would change sides.

And Catra basically tried lighting her own grief on fire (metaphorically and kinda literally) over and over and it just didn't go away, and I feel like when she saved Glimmer and apologized to Adora she had sort of come to terms with the fact that her grief over losing Adora couldn't be burned away, but of course by then she figured she'd fucked up so bad Adora would never forgive her or trust her again. And rather than take it out on other people or suffer any longer she was willing to just die, instead. She really did think that sending Glimmer to Adora was going to be her last act, and she wanted Adora to know she was sorry before she fucking DIED. And I don't think her saving Glimmer was consciously meant to be proof that she meant her apology, but it was. And that's part of why Adora trusts her again.

The fact is, even after everything that happened, both of them had a hole in their hearts shaped like the other. ;_;

And that's why Adora runs and hides behind the same pillar as Catra. (I mean yes, it was also closer, but that's not tHE POINT)

Anyway, this is all why, as I previously noted, Adora's not being pushy. That failed on her, spectacularly; the couple of times she tried it. Asking Catra to come along on this mission is the closest she's come. And even then, it wasn't "you're a good person deep down and you should change sides because I think I know you better than you know yourself," It was "please do this for me, because I need your help." And Catra is fully aware of how hard that is for Adora.

And these two still have a lot to work out post-canon (like, Catra has still got to deal with her need to not just be seen as Adora's sidekick/shadow, and lbh right now some of the rebellion is like "we're only putting up with you for Adora's sake" as if Catra was Yoko Ono) but that's part of why I'm writing a fic lolol

I have so many feelingssss on a related note I spent like fifteen solid minutes last night in bed having taken an edible and listening to my playlist and staring at this gifset lolol

ANYWAY Castaspella knocks out the chipped dude and they run for it

AAAND lol I gotta get ready to go to church. There's still 17:30 left on this episode. Pfft.

BACK FROM CHURCH I washed someone's feet, they washed mine, they stripped the altar, I go back at one or two in the morning for the overnight vigil

In the meantime: gonna finish this episode

(what is my life sometimes)

Entrapta plans to find a bunch of clones so she can figure out how their signals to Horde Prime work. Swift Wind is like Ugh, fine, I'll go with you, someone's gotta save your ass

Entrapta: "Thanks, bird horse!"

lol how many times have they had that convo

A family can be a sorcerer and her evil ex, a girl and a boy, two traumatized lesbians, and a cat

But also it looks like something out of an episode of Scooby Doo

Shadow Weaver opens a magic door

ngl that's PRETTY. like it's obviously about the Heart of Etheria but wow!

(and there's a dinosaur???)

Adora notices how stressed out Catra is and says "It'll be okay...Trust me." ;_;

Shadow Weaver: "There's no time to waste!"

"...disturbance."

The disturbance was your fault, dumbass. I am reminded of all the times my dad got angry at us for being afraid of him. And would hit us. For being. Afraid of him. Because y'know. That's how you stop a kid from being afraid of you. By hitting them.

In any case Shadow Weaver is still trying to get between them and separate them and I just really need this bitch to stop.

(Yes yes I remember she dies later)

Castaspella: "We're on the right path. The Crystal of Arxia was rumored to be the key to reaching deep magic within Etheria."

"But those who hungered for more power have long sought other ways to obtain the deep magic...with disastrous results."

HIT THE IMAGE LIMIT lemme reblog

[catras-breakup-song]

something that i've always found really funny is catra's s5 plot armor, or rather, design armor i suppose.

to start with, adora (and bow and entrapta) had no idea catra was with glimmer on the velvet glove.

so they rescue her, and surely her chipped outfit, which she's wearing, is the only one she has after prime discarded her former horde uniform.

but then we see her in the same pajamas that she wore in the fright zone, just without the horde symbol, and remember that adora's looks different.

in the next episode, she's wearing an alternate version of her previous red & black uniform, which there's no way could been packed on the journey to save only glimmer, and they wouldn't have cared about leaving replaceable clothing behind on the ship.

also another thing i want to point out is that the back of the torso is mostly removed, likely by catra's claws due to the fact it had the horde symbol on it and she was now part of the rebellion. but i'm not counting this part since it makes sense.

anyway, she gets a whole space suit made for her by entrapta, who, again, wasn't aware catra wasn't on etheria anymore, let alone would want to leave prime.

and here's a bonus just because i can't tell: was this cloak made with a place for her cat ears to fit into, or is she just poking through the original fabric?

overall, this isn't a plot hole and i don't actually care about these inconsistencies since it's not a serious issue, if one at all. but this has always been something i wanted to share with the fandom since i love details!

[antispopausandstuff]

decided that i wasn't gonna die with my ideas, so here's at least some of 'em ( note, they're subject to change )

.

!!! VERY DARK !!!

warnings - severe abuse, death, attempted s__cide, and self-harm

not particularly in perfect order of events.

.

Adora . . .

ever since she was an infant, Adora was a lab rat for a variety of malpractices and extreme experiments. as a result, she has high pain tolerance, is immune to most drugs, and an instinct of danger.

killed Flutterina's mom at age 14 ( based off what might've been a fanmade series of the original She-Ra show ), as the Horde would use their 'disobedient' slaves as 'actual lessons' once a cadet was deemed strong enough. as Flutterina's mother was kind, even in her last words, but was considered an 'easy fight', thus Adora having to kill someone else, Adora attempted suicide the same night. and it wouldn't be the last time this happened.

due to Shadow Weaver's magic, Adora doesn't remember most of the experiments or that she killed anybody at all. this is because mental breaks would be very common, to the point it grew to be expected, and they wouldn't go away if she could remember. in present day ( post-defection ), Adora has conflicting feelings on being mind wiped.

because of her high pain tolerance, she's unfazed by Catra clawing her. if she is hurt, it's on an emotional level, but that eventually doesn't matter, either.

once defected, Adora has intense anxiety, evidence of her sheltered living ( misunderstandings of family dynamics, social cues, always tense with authority figures, culture shocks, etc. ), and nightmares, the former and latter from the fear she'll be hunted down for her betrayal.

can't quite understand how she feels about those she called family, especially Hordak. ( "they've taught me so much, and they weren't... terrible to me. not always. but i don't know anything anymore. maybe i never knew anything to begin with." ) it's these conflicting feelings that trap her in the cycle of trying to save Catra from the Horde, blaming herself for the other's actions, and apologizing frequently, in and out of her relationship with Catra.

after earning Angella's trust, Angella tries to earn Adora's ( it doesn't look that way, though ), wanting to be the mother figure the poor thing clearly never had.

Swift Wind is always, always, looking out for Adora and is very protective of her. he can and will stab a bitch ( and has, guess who it is ) for her.

the disc fucks her up. like, a lot. too many things resurface, and when she's completely aware and conscious, Adora immediately falls into a severe panic attack.

but if she thought the disc was bad, she ain't seen nothing yet ( the Portal, Angella's sacrifice ). i love her, i swear-

when she goes to rescue Flutterina with Peekablue, she's hit with the forgotten memory and almost immediately feels sick. it's disorienting the entire way, but she has to push through. Flutterina has never seen her before.

Adora pledges allegiance to all of Etheria post-defection, but she personally pledges herself to Flutterina after telling her the truth. Flutterina has... a reaction ( leaving it vague on purpose ).

i think Horde Prime's arrival is around the time she confesses, amongst several other things thrown at her, so Adora is suffering a huge mental decline and gets abducted. she doesn't make attempts to escape.

Horde Prime convinces her that she can redeem herself from all the pain she's caused, of the evil she's done, and she becomes part of his fleet ( i'm hesitant to call it a cult ).

this is the BIGGEST if, but maybe Hordak making a temporary alliance with Glimmer and Bow to rescue Adora?

Chipped Adora might be a thing...

.

Glimmer . . .

terrified of change and huge commitments, has been avoiding her aunt's teachings after a particularly bad accident ( resulted in Glimmer's scar on her right eye ). but is considered a prodigy with how effective she is at using her current skillset.

was a child when Micah died, part of her fears stems from that, but she hides it from Angella out of another fear of disappointing or overshadowing her mom's struggles.

hides almost everything from her mom as a result of everything above, and even sometimes struggles telling the truth to her best friend, Bow.

is viewed as the most unserious Princesses, as she not only uses humor and excitement to cope with serious situations, thus coming off as if everything's a game, but is impulsive, reckless, and a bit hardheaded. for a time, Bow is the only one who understands this and doesn't get upset with her.

because of her fear of change, she becomes jealous of Adora the closer she gets to Bow ( this foreshadows the whole "i don't want to be left behind" thing ), and is part of why she's hostile when they first meet. though, to be fair, she's justified in being hostile with a Horde soldier, anyway.

though she doesn't entirely trust Adora yet, Bow does, and that prompts her to at least try ( even though her jealousy streak is still kinda ongoing ), with varying degrees of success. however, there's one incident where she really hurts Adora's feelings ( this would happen in whatever would replace the Princess Prom episode, as Glimmer is still kinda using Adora as a prop ), and Bow gets pissed because Glimmer's been acting super weird and is blaming it on everybody else. then the kidnapping ensues.

when everyone gets back to Brightmoon, she has her first completely honest conversation with her mom, even though it's hard, and, while Angella is disappointed, she understands where her daughter is coming from and tells her they'll get through this together.

with Angella's help, she apologizes to Bow and Adora. they make up ( Bow does take a minute to warm up, though ). and she writers a letter to Castaspella: Dear Aunt Castaspella, I know it's been a few years since I last visited Mystacor, and I'm sorry. How is Double Trouble? Are they doing alright? I miss them. I don't really have an excuse as to why I didn't come back. I know you're disappointed in me, especially since you had such faith that I'd be a great sorceress. But I was scared. Even before I burned my eye, I was terrified. I didn't want to mess up. I didn't want to let you down. But I ended up doing that, anyway. I'm really sorry. If you'll have me, I'd love to come visit again. Or, maybe, you could visit Brightmoon? I know you're always worried about the barrier, but Juliet could watch it for just a few hours, right? Miss you and love you. Your niece, Glimmer

it's not quite as easy to bounce back, though, as Glimmer takes all of her mistakes to heart and can't let them go. Castaspella isn't keen on leaving the barrier under someone else's supervision, so Glimmer ends up visiting, partially hoping to heal and improve her magic ( Shadow Weaver still messed it up badly in this vers ). Double Trouble wants to catch up and bond, but Glimmer's too in her own head and ends up dismissing them.

the lessons end up being a bust and, well, Castaspella doesn't take it too well and Glimmer's traumatic memories kick in. it's revealed that, as a result of being pressured and pushed beyond her limits, Glimmer's magic went haywire and that's how she burned her eye. while this is going on, DT helps Adora and Bow get past the guards, and the three of them defend Glimmer.

"i-i'm trying, i'm trying so hard, but it hurts, and you- you just don't care! i thought the only reason i left was because i-i was afraid of letting you down, but... but now, i see that i left because i was afraid of you!"

though Castaspella isn't the best, she still heals Glimmer, but coldly sends her off, breaking her niece's heart. DT tries to say that it wasn't fair, but is ignored. they deeply apologize to their cousin, and the two share a hug. DT says that if she needs anything, to let them know and they'll be there.

Angella has the mind to start a fight, but supports and comforts her daughter instead.

huge time skip, probably, but when Angella passes, Glimmer is completely devastated, unprepared, and her magic is unstable. she's stressed, tired, and has never felt more alone in her life. Castaspella comes to the ceremony, but only DT talks to her. they, including Adora and Bow, spend time talking, laughing, and crying together.

for one reason or another, Shadow Weaver is in Brightmoon and takes advantage of Glimmer's grief and unstable magic. for a while, Glimmer is guarded, the attempted manipulations unsuccessful, but she's worn down overtime. she needs a mother figure right now. the only one she could have, Castaspella, still won't talk to her. eventually, Shadow Weaver is allowed to walk freely.

a manipulative, power hungry woman + three traumatized young adults, with one of them being the one said power hungry woman raised, Glimmer, Adora, and Bow are divided. they're all exhausted, hurt, angry, and are trying to push through to become the leaders they need to be for Etheria, but it feels like everything is falling apart. Bow is the first one to walk away.

Heart of Etheria doesn't exist here ( i cannot make any goddamn sense of it ), so it's mainly Shadow Weaver that is tearing them apart, isolating the three of them in different ways. Glimmer's magic eventually becomes dark, relying on her pain.

Adora ends up leaving, too, but not because of being blamed for Angella's sacrifice ( she believed that long before Glimmer said it ). rather, because Glimmer's dark magic had physically harmed her, reminding her of Shadow Weaver. an accident, but a terrifying one.

now all alone, with Adora eventually abducted, Bow nowhere to be found, Glimmer spirals and Shadow Weaver takes the opportunity. though she's stronger, Glimmer is corrupted.

though it'd be a victory, dismantling a section of the Horde with her magic and her army, it'd be presented as isolating, violent, and depressing. it's not a victory for her, because her best friends are gone, her parents are gone, she has no one. except a certain cousin and aunt.

DT convinces Castaspella to get her head out of her a- i mean, to be give Glimmer the support she desperately needs, and, while Glimmer is in the midst of nearly destroying everything around her, Castaspella apologizes.

things aren't immediately mended. though Glimmer is grateful, she can't trust her aunt again. further cousin bonding, Glimmer thanking DT for their help.

.

Bow . . .

ran away from home after a particularly distressing argument with his dads, relating to failing his studies after complete and utter burnout, being found sneaking out of the house, and engaging in interests that didn't align with their expectations and beliefs, archery and technology.

originally became nihilistic post-runaway in the midst of his wandering travels, and almost succeeded in taking his own life, but he was found by Madame Razz.

co-lived in the Whispering Woods with Madame Razz and the fauna, grew up giving half-truths about his family. it eventually becomes routine. and he tried to be more optimistic.

by the time he's found by Glimmer, he's more or less the Bow we know, but is really confused as to why a Princess is there. because why would a Princess be there? their friendship is sorta on a rocky start, as Glimmer keeps trying to do everything herself and is kinda mean to Bow, but he's insistent on helping.

they talked about their family life and they find a connection in not matching the expectations pushed upon them. and that's what started it all! we love trauma-bonding.

even though he's good at handling conflict ( for the most part ), Bow has intense anxiety about it every time and is almost always on the verge of making himself sick. we would see a scene of him actually vomiting after his argument with Glimmer.

not sure if he'd meet Entrapta early, but if he did, he'd admittedly love her genius, and Entrapta would be soft 'cause why is this strangely adorable child so enamored with her work?

during his imprisonment, Bow has a panic attack because 1. he just fought with his best friend and keeps questioning if he did the right thing, and 2. he has claustrophobia and completely forgot until now. then Kyle comes in.

after the panic attack, Bow would ask how Kyle even knew how to do that, with the boy explaining that it was really common in their sleeping quarters and he eventually learned how to help. then, asking why Kyle would even help him, considering they weren't on the same side, Kyle says "you reminded me of someone." he doesn't elaborate on who, and Bow doesn't ask ( it's Ado- ).

the two talk, relating to and laughing with each other. it's the first both of them have felt relaxed in a while, even though they're both in a less-than-relaxing situation. Bow is a little hesitant, but offers Kyle a space in the Rebellion. "i think Adora would like someone from her old home. might calm her down a bit." Kyle is surprised, but, after a moment, accepts.

when Bow is rescued, he panics, because he realizes that he left Kyle behind and feels really terrible about it. it's the first time he's broken a promise since running away, and the thought brings him a lot of stress.

Angella being his mom 'cause she's gonna be the mom to all of Glimmer's traumatized friends.

i think he should have a solo episode every now and then, so one of them would be him going back to the Horde for Kyle. and Rogelio, because he wasn't going to separate them. it's through them that he discovers someone named Lohni is missing ( this would ensure the Lohni rescue mission ).

there'd be implications or subtle details in the background, or foreground, i think, of when Bow would relate a little too much to a situation ( like Glimmer's relationship with Castaspella ). he's not too obvious about it in front of others, but when it's just him, that's when we'd be able to see everything. the way he has to take deep breaths to calm himself, trying to hype himself up or lower expectations, etc. i want there to be a disconnect from how much we know about him in comparison to the cast. so far, the one who knows the most about his mental state is Kyle, but they're still in the stage of being friends, so he doesn't know a whole lot ( also, my personal favorite tidbit to think about, Bow actually does reveal a little bit of his anxieties, unknowingly, in battle ).

oh, the dads. ohhhh, the dads. while Bow doesn't have 12(?) brothers, he does still have a few, with him being the youngest. and, when he comes back 'home', his dads still compare him to them! fun! /s ( not sure if this would be a solo episode or not, i think both have interesting routes ). and they'd also pretend nothing happened, his brothers would either brag or ask invasive questions, and Bow would largely be dismissed or ignored.

either way, he'd eventually come clean on why he didn't talk much about his family, and Glimmer and Adora would understand.

not sure if i'll actually do this, but like... Portal Bow... literally cracking under the pressure. his body is. cracking.

after Angella's death, Glimmer's reign, this would be near Bow's breaking point. he continues trying to deescalate conflict, keep his friends together, but when he gets kidnapped ( still with Sea Hawk, cuz. ) and, well, neither of his best friends notice, Bow's old pessimism returns and he doesn't return to them with his usual warmth in personality. it's there, but not as vibrant.

soon after Glimmer is in training with Shadow Weaver, Bow gets ridiculed, shamed, and threatened by the same woman, but that almost makes no difference to anyone besides them. not because they don't care, but because they don't know and haven't asked Bow if he's really okay. or, in one person's case, can't find the time. Bow's mental state is bordering on critical, and his fight with Glimmer, her argument about trust, it leads him to explode.

after, Bow disappears. and Shadow Weaver may be the reason.

.

Angella's death being the final nail in the coffin for our three protagonists wasn't intentional, at all, but it works so well.

[manic-sapphic]

srry i guess i'm on one again today cause here's more spop ranting lol~

i really do love that, after everything that went down during seasons 1-4 (both between adora and catra and the experiences they had on their own), we can look at season 5 and see that -

of all the choices that were made during the final season, there are two that seem to impact the conclusion more significantly than any of the other decisions/actions shown to us as we’re nearing the story’s end. their stark, unequivocal importance in leading to horde prime's defeat is just so obvious there's prob no reason for me to discuss them in this rant lol but i think they're ironic in such a lovely way tho so i just kinda wanna talk about em anyway :)

cause i mean, adora making the choice to go back for catra is so sooo distinct from any of the ones we’ve witnessed her enact before, due to its divergence from the thought processes and behavior patterns we’re used to adora following. she allows everyone else with her onboard darla to risk their safety accompanying her, even accepts their willingness to aid her in what i'd describe as a hail-mary-type rescue mission motivated exclusively by adora's personal interest, committing herself, glimmer, bow, and entrapta to a gamble whose stakes are on an incredibly unprecedented level; the array of repercussions that might follow if even one of them should make the slightest misstep are frighteningly intense and volatile, far beyond the scope of their previous comprehension.

it's an insane risk undertaken with no fathomable reason other than want. adora struggles to even bring herself to tell the others that she wants to go back for catra; possibly due, in part, to it being a decision predicated on personal feelings, which are still a fairly unexplored and thus inexplicable topic for adora, remaining just outside her current realm of understanding. like she doesn't even seem to know why she wants to go back for her so badly, she just knows she "can't just leave her there." i mean, we know it's cause she loves tf outta catra haha but it's def an undeniably senseless move made in the face of the worst odds yet, with more weight on adora's shoulders than any of the other times she’s been willing to roll the dice in the past.

the influence of adora's headstrong sensibilities are more prevalent than ever here, and she resolves to turn back, fully devoted to the dangerously entropic endeavor and totally aware of just how desperately untenable the scenario ahead is likely to be, incomparable to any former experience of situations where that’s been a concern. the problematic potential of every passing moment increases exponentially, rises rapidly with each second they spend on prime's ship, and quickly rockets off the charts into completely unknown territory.

but in spite of all the ways that going back for catra doesn’t make sense, adora chooses to do it. a decision founded wholly on her recognition that it’s something she, ADORA, wants to do. so for the first time, really, we see adora let herself make a selfish decision. and she does it for catra <3

even though it puts the entire rebellion in jeopardy, considering the far-reaching and unpredictable consequences the collateral damage to follow would be sure to have if the worst possible outcome of the attempt to save catra occurs and something goes wrong that inevitably leads to the loss/capture of some/all of them. this would extensively influence the success of their allies back on etheria in regards to stopping prime.

adora's growth spikes most notably in spop's closing installment of episodes tho, led along recognizable, established landmarks as she nears the close of her character’s journey w places like the fright zone and mystacor. and then, however briefly, both her and catra regress a bit on their separate self-destructive tendencies. and she thinks catra has left her for good.

but then, even after everything that’s happened since the very beginning, catra turns right tf around and hightails it back to save adora when she sees prime has already started going after the heart & is infecting the planet. and if she hadn't, the whole thing would've gone south. i mean, she reaches adora just in time, finding her injured and weakened with a monster towering over her. and so, if i can wax poetic for a moment (after all that rambling lol), the two choices in s5 that make the most impact on them all winning in the end are:

adora choosing not to leave catra behind

and

catra choosing to stay with adora

and gahh it's just so damn beautiful :')

[catras-witchy-girlfriend]

Hello! May I please request a modern Catra X female reader? (Smut Ofc hehehe with Oral pleasure, fingering and grinding) The two are girlfriends and it started to pour rain on their date so the two rush to Y/N house. Y/N parents are not home. As Y/n dries Catra off and after an intense make out session she tells Y/N that she’s ready to make love with her GF. The reader is top while her precious cat GF is bottom. But Catra makes sure to please her loving girlfriend too. ( Lotsa kissing and moaning 😏) Thank you!

||Getting Used To It|| NSFT| bottom!Catra x top!reader.

A/n: Once again I fell in love with this prompt and probably wrote too much! 😂 Sorry y'all, I love smut with a prompt!

CW: obviously nudity, sex, oral, fingering, teasing, modern!au, Catra's first time with reader, talk of past relationships, y'all can guess who but she's not mentioned by name, implied past unhealthy relationship, hurt/comfort, comfort sex, bratty bottom!Catra, slight power bottom!Catra, probably a little cringe lmao

"Kitten-!" You groan playfully at the beautiful woman sitting across from you, "Do you always have to steal my drinks?"

She smirks at you with your straw in her mouth, "What? You never finish it anyways! You always get distracted, and then it ends up melting, and then you don't want it, so if you think about it, by drinking the rest of yours I'm saving us money and saving the planet by reducing plastic waste!"

You blinked twice as you registered what she had said and then laughed, "The amount of mental hurdles you jumped to arrive to that conclusion was incredibly impressive, kitten."

She hummed and played with the straw between her fingers, "Well, I'm sure any bump looks like a hurdle down where you are, princess~"

"That's it give me my drink, you brat-!"

Catra giggled and pulled the drink from your grasp before quickly grabbing your garbage, plastic loose, loose napkins, ect, and throwing them in the recycling bin as she ran outside. You hot on her tail after leaving a tip for the baristas.

"Hey! Come on get back here!"

You two ran about outside, giggling like two school girls, running past disgruntled old men who shouted words you were both too happy to comprehend.

As you two ran to the nearest park it began to sprinkle with small drops of rain. Though both of you were too engrossed in the chase to notice, at least until you finally caught up with Catra by catching her tail, gently pulling enough to make her turn around into your arms and you held her close to you as you giggled.

You pressed your forehead against hers softly before leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Not fair, you cheated" she complained with a smirk spread across her lips.

You hummed against her lips, "Not true, I caught you fair and square, kitten."

A moment or two passed before Catra tried to pull away with a squeak, seemingly finally becoming aware of the rain, but you kept her in your arms. "Shit, now!? Why now!?"

You laughed, still too elated with the woman before you to have your mood dampened.

She began trying to pull you behind her, "C'mon, move it, you know I hate the rain!" she hissed.

You smiled, "Hey, it could be boiling rain-"

"Yeah cause boiling rain is definitely a real thing-" she sassed back before pulling you more harshly, this time getting you off your feet, "Now let's go, please princess~!"

You were gonna continue teasing her until you heard a loud crack of thunder overhead and she practically jumped in your arms.

"Okay, okay, is my place good?"

Catra hissed with a shake of her head, her short hair already getting drenched, "Anywhere is fine as long as I don't get wet!"

As you pull off your jacket you snicker, "No promises, kitten~" and wink at her which causes her to groan loudly in disapproval as you toss the jacket over her head in a feeble attempt to keep her dry.

"Okay, let's g-"

"LAST ONE TO THE HOUSE HAS TO DO THE OTHER'S HOMEWORK FOR A WEEK!!"

"Wha-?! Catra! CATRA DONT RUN, YOU GONNA FALL ON YOUR ASS! CATRA!"

----------

After about a 15 minute sprint you and Catra finally found shelter in your small neighborhood home.

"Hey, I'm home and I brought Catra!" You yelled throughout the house.

"They're not here, you idiot" she sighed with a roll of her eyes as she rubbed her arm.

"Oh?" you giggled, taking off your dirty shoes and tossing them back outside, "and how do you know that?"

She scoffed, "their car is gone Sherlock."

As you looked at her fondly, you noticed the small scrape on her arm and the mud and dirt splattered on her tan freckled skin.

You gently took her arm in your hand to assess the scrape and smirked, "I told you not to run, but noooo~"

Catra hissed, "Don't be an ass, Y/n"

"I'm not an ass just because you don't like that I'm right, kitten~"

She sighs dramatically, "I guess you're right-"

"Thank you-"

"You're an ass because you haven't gotten your awesome girlfriend a first aid kit yet."

"That-!" You start and soon stop, trailing off as you think, "-is actually a good point, wouldn't want my awesome girlfriend to get an infection."

You lean in and kiss the top of her head, "how about you go pick out some nice warm clothes for us while I get the first aid kit, okay?"

"Whatever, just hurry your ass up before I get...I don't know...rabies or something?"

You snicker, "Rabies from the pavement?"

"JUST HURRY UP!"

----------

A little while later you carried a small stack of towels and the first aid kit into your room to find Catra, still dressed in her wet clothes, admiring the pictures of your friends and family you had covering your wall.

"Hey..." you said softly as you set the towels and stuff down, "I thought you were gonna get undressed? You're gonna catch a cold wearing those wet clothes, kitten!"

She groaned playfully and shoved you, "You sound like such a mom when you nag me like that!"

You smirked and pulled her close to you by the hand she shoved you with, "Well maybe if you listened to me the first time I wouldnt have to nag you, kitty~"

Her ears twitched as you said her nickname. You rarely ever used it, usually calling her Kitten or Cat instead, but when you did call her Kitty...it meant something different. It felt different, and both of you knew it.

"And what if I don't, princess~? What are you gonna do about it?"

"Laugh my ass off when you fall on the pavement again?"

Catra whined lowly under her breath making you laugh. You tilted her head up a bit by her chin, "What's wrong? Was that not the answer you were hoping for, kitty~?

She pulled you in by your collar, her face inches from yours, "I want you to kiss me..."

You smirked and kissed the tip of her nose before pulling away, "Nope, only good girls get kisses from their princess...and you've been a brat all day~"

You turn away from her and begin undressing out of your wet clothes that clung to your body. Cheekily ignoring the feeling of Catra's sharp eyes roaming all over your naked body.

As you slipped on your sports bra and boxers you heard Catra mewl, "Nooo, I liked them off~"

You laughed, grabbing a towel and the first aid kit, "Well, we still need to clean that scrape and get you changed into dry clothes," as you pulled out a damp towel and vaseline you looked up at her through mischievous eyes, "and I didn't want you to get distracted~"

She shifted on her feet a bit as she watched you gently care for her small injury, dirty thoughts filling her head.

Not long after you began putting the first aid stuff away and Catra said slyly, "You know...my arm...really hurts-"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah~" she shuffled a little closer to you, "I think I'm gonna need you to help me undress~"

"Hmm," you smile, "for some reason I feel...like you have an ulterior motive..."

"Of course not!" She gasped in a false offence, "I just thought my...sweet, loving girlfriend would help undress me when I'm in too much pain to do it myself..."

You giggled, "Okay drama queen, come here~" you sat on the edge of your bed as she shuffled toward you with a proud look on her face.

You stood as you pulled the soaked top from her caramel colored body and tossed the shirt to the side.

You heard her curse under her breath, "fucking hell it's cold"

Smirking as you had her lean against your body as you carefully slipped off her pants;

"You missed something, princess~" and she grasped your hand, bringing it to her red boxers.

You gulped. You'd seen her without her shirt on a lot, but she had never let you go any further.

"A-are you sure? Y-you don't want me to turn around or any-"

"Y/n." She said your name sternly to cut off your nervous rambling. Catra turned around in your arms so she was facing you, "I want this. I'm ready."

"W-what?" Blood rushed to your face as you felt it heat up.

She pulled both your hands to the hem of her boxers before gently placing both hands on the side of your face, "I want you...to... make love to me, princess~"

She bit her bottom lip between her teeth, a small fang sticking out, "I-If that's okay with you..."

You took a moment to think, taking in the sight of her and processing her words, before pulling her into your lips passionately.

"Of course, kitty-" you whispered against her lips, "-of course~"

Your hand went to the nape of her neck as you pulled her in before gently pushing her down on your bed.

You crawled over her, tearing off your top and boxers and throwing them to the side.

"Fuck~" you heard Catra whisper under her breath with a smile.

You brought your hand back to her boxers, looking up at her again, "You still want to do this?"

She bit her bottom lip and nodded.

You subconsciously licked your bottom lip as you began to pull her boxers down slowly, as though you were opening a present. As you caught a glimpse of her you moaned and shifted on top of her, "god damn you're so fucking pretty, kitty~"

"You talking to me or my pussy?"

You both giggled at her sudden crassness as you finished undressing her and you laid your bare body on top of hers, both of you still cold but your body heat was warming you both quickly.

"Well...I guess in a way...since you're my kitty~" you caressed her jaw in your hand and whispered mischievously, "I guess that means you're my pussy too~"

"Dont-" she giggled and shoved you back, "don't ever say that again."

You laughed along with her, "Aw come on, kitty..." You ran your fingers down her stomach down between her thighs and teased her just above where she needed you, "you know this pussy belongs to me~"

She purred, her back arching slightly, "You're...you're really enjoying this aren't you?"

"Definitely~" you stopped teasing her and brought your hands to her tits instead, messaging both of them in your hands as you leaned your head down and began sucking on her hardened nipples.

"F-fuck~!" She mewled, her claws digging into your back and her hips twitched beneath you.

Your tongue traced circles around her breasts as you rolled her nipples between your fingers. Moaning against her skin and rocking your hips against hers as she moans.

"I've...fuck I've wanted this so bad~" you confessed as you kissed across her chest to her other nipple, your hand sliding down her stomach, "I've wanted you so bad~"

"S-sorry to keep you waiting-" she breathed out through short pants before her hips jumped up and a squeak left her lips as you bit down on her hardened bud.

"Don't be-" you told her firmly before your voice went soft again, "I understood why you wanted to wait, my love...but I'd be lying if I said I never thought about it...about us~"

Her purrs grew in volume as your hand returned between her thighs and you teased around her sensitive parts again.

You kissed up her chest to her neck and began leaving hickies across her skin, "But this time, Kitty...you come first~"

You both moaned in harmony as you finally slipped your fingers passed her lower lip.

"O-oh f-fuck~!" She hissed, her cheeks turned a dark red as she tried to bite on her hand to muffle her sound.

You gently pulled her hand away, replacing it with your mouth as you continued teasing her pussy that was coating your fingers in her arousal.

"Don't do that, kitty. Don't hide your pleasure~" you teased her entrance painfully slow, her hips rising and falling on their own, "I want to hear how good you feel~"

As you rubbed her more you whispered lowly against her ear, "Mmm, youre so wet, kitty, hear that delicious sound your body's making for me~?"

She went to bite down on her lip before remembering what you said, so instead she spread her legs wider for you and let herself pant and moan desperately for you, "P-please princess, I need you inside me~"

Your fingers rubbed against her entrance faster before you finally began pushing the tip of a finger inside her, "Mmm, fuck you sound so beautiful when you moan, kitty-" you moaned lowly, your hips beginning to rock back and forth, rubbing your core against her leg.

"Damn," you swore, "spread your legs a little more for me, kitty~"

Catra did as you asked but accidentally simultaneously happened to push her knee against your core causing you to moan loudly and your eyes to roll back.

You gently thrust your finger deeper and deeper into her inch by inch until she carefully scratched down your arms with her claws, "M-more~! Please princess~! I need more~"

You complied, pushing a second then a third finger in, her walls clenching around your fingers as she reached her high.

In and out slowly then fast and then slow again you thrusted in and out of her, curling your fingers to rub against that sweet spot that had her writhing beneath you.

She pants and moans loudly, her claws left scratches down your back that would surely hurt tomorrow but for now felt so so good.

"F-fuck~!" She mewls as her hips thrust up at the same place as your fingers and she rides them. "D-dont stop, princess~! Oh f-fuck, don't stop~! Please don't stOp~!"

Catra's body shook beneath you in pleasure, her eyes screwed shut as she focused on the intense pleasure you were giving her until every so often when they opened for a moment just to show her eyes rolling back as she moaned and purred.

"Y/n~!" She cried out your name as her walls began to clench tightly around your fingers, her legs began to shake, and rumbling purrs vibrated inside her chest. "F-fuck, princess~! I'm...I'm sO close~! Please...please let me cum~! P-please~!"

"You don't have to ask, kitty~" you assured her as you kissed her temple and cheek, "cum for me, cum for me~"

Her hands dug in your hair as her body jerked up and she cried out your name. Her eyes rolling back as she came undone, her juices coating your hand and making a mess on the sheets.

"Good girl~" She whimpered as you praised her, your free hand tucking her hair back as you scratched her ears softly, "that's my good kitty, just relax...I've got you, I'm not going anywhere~"

As she started to come down from her high you gently removed your fingers before licking them clean and leaning down to kiss her so she got a taste of herself on your lips.

But as you pulled away you noticed her sniffling and tears running down her face.

A surge of panic runs through you and you cup her face, "Oh no, w-what wrong, kitten? I w-wasnt too rough was I?"

"No-" she cut you off and placed her hands on top of yours, "no it's just...I-Im not used to...fuck-" she looks at you through tired but loving eyes, "y-youre just so...good to me...I'm not used to it yet."

Then her face turned a dark red as she groaned and covered her face, "Shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to break down like that...god that must've sounded so stupid-"

"Hey-" you pulled her hands away from her face and tilted her head up by her chin to make her look at you as you smiled warmly, "it wasn't stupid, kitten. I know it'll take time to get used to, but you'll get there, I promise. I'm not going anywhere, and I'm so glad I was able to make you feel good, kitty~"

With that you gently pulled her in to your warm embrace, the cold from outside long forgotten as you found comfort in each other's arms.

Not even a moment or two later you began to feel Catra kissing down your neck and collar bone, "Catra, you don't have to-"

"Hush," she ordered, her hands going down to squeeze your thighs, "it's my turn~"

The way she looks at you sets your blood on fire and makes your pussy tingle. "O-okay~" You breathe out as you subconsciously begin to grind your core against her legs.

"Come here-" she coos gently as she helps you get situated on top of the pillows then whimpers:

"Oh princess~" she moans and spreads your legs wider, "you look so good..."

She looks at you softly, the arousal evident in her eyes, "C-can I get a closer look~?"

You gulped and combed your fingers through her hair, "Yes kitten~" You groan as your arousal takes over your body, "I...I want you to play with my pussy, kitty~"

Her eyes widened as she blushed, but after a moment of gay panic she bowed her head and began to kiss around your inner thighs.

You gasped. She's so close yet feels so far from where you need her, your pussy throbbing between your legs.

"C-catra~" you moan her name softly as you try to pull her mouth where you need her and thankfully she complies.

"Mmm~" she moans lowly as she begins making out with your pussy lips, kissing, sucking, and swirling her tongue around you.

"F-fuck~! C-catra~! Y-your-" you cut yourself off with a loud moan, your hips grinding against her face as you kept her trapped between your thighs, "C-catra~! Y-your...your t-tongue, nnnGGhh~!"

Her eyes widened as she remembered her tounge was slightly rougher than yours thanks to her magicat genes. She tries to pull away and apologize but you push her face back in your cunt.

"Don't you fucking stop, kitten~! F-fuck~! It feels so good, kitty, I need your tongue inside me, kitty~! Now~!"

She smirks against your pussy, your desperation turning her on incredibly and she decides to ravish your cunt like you deserve.

Her bright multicolored eyes meet yours as she pushes her rough wet tongue deep inside you.

Your back arches as you moan, Catra gripping your thighs to keep them open as she eats you out, her tongue running over your walls, and lapping up your arousal.

"Damn princess, you taste so pretty~" she moans inside you, the vibrations sending shockwaves through your pussy.

You gasp and pant as you pull on her hair to ground yourself, "O-oh fuck, kitty~! F-fuck~!"

She can feel your legs begin to shake around her and she decides to up the ante by curling her tongue against your g-spot, hitting it with her rough tongue as she laps up your juices that have started dripping down her chin.

You borderline scream as she abuses your sweet spot, grinding your pussy in her face mercilessly as your thighs clench around her head.

"Yes~! Yes~! Oh yes, kitty~! That feels so good~! That feels so good, kitty~! I'm so fucking close~!" Moans and filthy wet sounds echo in your room and you're thankful your parents weren't home yet as you cry out to her, "I wanna cum all over your pretty face, kitty~! Is that okay~? Please~! Please let me cum on your face~"

She groans into your pussy once more. Your walls tightening as your back arches and your legs shake, "It's okay, princess~! Cum on my face, princess, cum on my tongue and let me eat you up~!"

With a few more thrusts of her tongue you come undone, squirting all over her face and tongue as you cry out her name.

"Oh fuck princess, I wish you could see how pretty you look-"

You intertwined your fingers with hers as you tried to catch your breath and she wiped her face with one of the towels you brought in earlier before sliding up your body. Your chest pressed against hers as she whispered through falsified innocent looking eyes:

"-but I can show you how good you taste~"

And she leaned in to kiss you softly, her tonge grazing yours making you moan and kiss her back passionately.

"I love you so fucking much~" you confessed against her lips before pulling back slightly, "you mean...the whole world to me, Catra..." you whispered to her as though it was a secret, but it wasn't, infact Catra knew that if you could, you would brag about her to the whole world.

"A-and I know...you're still getting used to this...to feeling like this, I am too," you brushed her hair behind her ear and nuzzled your nose against hers, "and you don't have to say anything back, kitten, I want you to go at your own pace but I also want you to know...I know how I feel and...I know I love you and I know I always will."

"I'm yours, kitten~"

Catra bit the inside of her cheek, refusing to break down in tears again, though it was difficult. Feelings that she kept buried for so long because someone once made her feel like they were too much rose to the surface again because of you,

and she allowed herself to smile.

She looked at you like you were all the stars in the sky, with so much love and admiration, and even though she wasn't quite ready to say those three words that her past lover made her feel were worthless, you could see it in the way she looked at you.

She cupped your face in her hands, her claws resting on your soft cheeks gently as she kissed you softly, "I...I want to be yours too, princess." She confessed and felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she hugged you tight and whispered in your ear,

"I want to be yours~"