#adora is the one about to die and catra is like “no one wants me :((((”

[aprillikesthings]

*sobs*

....don't judge me

I really, really love the random scenes where they let Aimee (Adora's voice actor) go off the rails a little

(one of my other faves being the bit in Promise where she's like "clearly nothing in this place is listening to me!!")

speaking of comic relief in this episode lolol

the way Catra's eyes go back and forth really quick right here as she's forced to remember what's happening--it's just so well done

hah, you'll carry her like that again in uhhhhhhhh a season and a half

I've said it before and I'll say it again: how much do they think about all of this, during the year or so they barely speak after this? Like. Catra. Girlie. The universe was shattering into pieces--because of something you did--and she still attempts to rescue you.

I say this knowing damn well why Catra rejects it--even if she was ready to give up on being The Villain, the lack of autonomy here, being "rescued" by Adora, would sting too much. Adora still zapped her into unconsciousness (which is a little too close to the way SW tortured her--not only as a child but recently, like an episode ago!) and carried her onto the skiff even knowing Catra didn't want that.

From Adora's POV she's trying to save Catra

From Catra's POV Adora is rejecting Catra

UGGGH I'M NOT OVER IT I'm not not over this. Catra's furious at Adora refusing to play along in the fake portal reality just a tiny bit longer, she's so angry about it, and then Adora decides to just take Catra out of the Fright Zone. This was always going to fail. This was always going to end up going this badly--Adora thinking she knows what's right for Catra without asking her, and Catra being angry at Adora for rejecting the portal reality (and from her POV, herself)

Like, don't get me wrong, the shit Catra does leading up to the portal is so awful, I know, I've talked about it before

But this episode is nearly Greek tragedy levels of them misunderstanding each other, with disastrous results. They're both trying so hard to love each other in their own way, but their circumstances and previous history mean they're just making each other even more convinced the other doesn't give a single flying fuck about them. Aaaaaaaugh. Jfc no wonder they both get worse after this.

look at her!! she's so conflicted!!!!!! augh it fucking kills me aughghghghdka;hgkd;ajkl she wants to listen to Adora and she just can't let herself do it. she can't. it's going to take her getting everything she thought she wanted only for it to be nothing but ashes, until she thinks she has nothing left but deciding how she'll die, before she can bring herself to stop pushing Adora away.

AAAAUGH FUCK

the nuances of "Come with me" vs "Stay with me" is so much of their problem, fuck

y'know, you just SAID you'd rather let the world end then let her win, and then you grab her collar and yank in an attempt to keep her from falling into the abyss

not screenshotting the look of "eh, fuck it" Catra does before letting go and falling herself

anyway

eheheh

okay. look. i'mma just. watch the kinky bit okay.

i don't need to screenshot that distorted "hey adora" i've done it so many times but lemme just tell you, the physical reaction i have every time is just ridiculous

don't mind me

Can’t wait to engage in one of my fave midnight hobbies: get high as balls and rewatch bits of She-Ra and sometimes post screenshots with overemotional/horny captions

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

so, i've wanted to address this quote for a while. because it's stupid. let me explain.

i've seen very few heroes who are willing to sacrifice their loved ones to save the world. usually they find some kind of loophole that lets everyone live. also, sacrificing the world to save one person is not romantic. it's not desirable. what good is a world without its people? what's the point of living in a world where only you and one other person exists?

this quote is just the trolley problem paraphrased. it's the dilemma of saving one person over multiple people. it has no right solution because both of the possible solutions result in the death of someone.

coming back to the post itself, this is yet another case of adora being victim blamed. because c//a stans never get sick of that, right? the post is implying that adora would sacrifice catra to save the world (which is not true, she was sacrificing herself) and that catra would sacrifice the world to save adora. is that true?

research says no.

i mean, come on, the show literally spells it out for you. catra says word for word that she'd rather destroy the world than let adora win (hint: live).

and before you say "that was before she was redeemed!" don't forget that she left adora on her deathbed, instead of staying with her when she needed love and support the most.

again, c//a stans trying to twist canon into something it's not. what's new?

[canibalistic-brownie]

Multi shippers are cool but why always three? Why stop there? Why not make a fun little map of ships that your readers have to check at the top of every chapter to remember where tf your web is at today? The possibilities are endless you fucking cowards!!!

[antispopausandstuff]

Adora's Underwritten Psyche

.

list of unexplored, underdeveloped opportunities granted that the writers didn't take for their main ( keyword - main ) protagonist:

being the next poster child of the Horde, desiring Shadow Weaver and Hordak's approval.

Shadow Weaver putting not only the responsibility, but the life of another child ( a volatile one, at that ) in her hands when Adora herself was, at most, 10 years old.

her promotion of Force Captain, which would mean she would be responsible for more lives, while she herself is still a child.

being different from her peers for unknown reasons, and being antagonized for it from a young age ( by Catra ).

constantly having to cater to Catra's person, often including her mood swings and sadism, to either avoid conflict or to make Catra happier.

not only her entire world being turned upside down, but having to fight the only people she knew as family.

being so incredibly sheltered and manipulated that she doesn't even know what an aunt or a party is, showing she was completely unable to have even a modicum of an actual childhood.

not knowing her own culture, home planet, people, biological family, if they ever wanted her, and being given away.

Mara. Mara.

Catra's repeated, increasingly violent betrayals, her hypocrisies, manipulations, etc. after abandoning Adora, while claiming she was the one who was abandoned.

likely feeling even more responsible for Glimmer, Bow, and Angella's lives, a part of it out of immense guilt.

being repeatedly harassed // stalked and assaulted by Catra.

being repeatedly harassed // stalked by Shadow Weaver.

Entrapta's "death". and her betrayal.

being drugged, kidnapped, and essentially nearly "leashed" by Catra.

the Portal. Corrupted Catra. everything.

Angella's sacrifice. with her Atlas complex, there's no way Adora should've been as stable as she was after seeing someone, quite literally, for all she knew, die for her.

Glimmer blaming her. i get it, but it felt like the show quickly made it so that Adora was more upset about not being enough for her than the fact that, y'know, she was the only one blamed for someone's, let alone Angella's, death.

the Heart of Etheria.

Horde Prime's invasion. you cannot convince me she wouldn't feel at least somewhat responsible for that.

Horde Prime telling her, to her face, that Eternia was gone.

Catra being back in her life.

Chipped Catra. no, not for shipping angst reasons.

Catra antagonizing her again, for literally no reason.

Melog being the last of their kind, Adora being the last of hers. maybe not psyche-related, but it certainly should've affected her way more than it did ( which was p much not at all ).

Shadow Weaver. oh, wait, sorry, i forgot that only Catra has trauma related to Shadow Weaver /s.

the Failsafe.

Catra antagonizing her for the umpteenth time, for no reason.

Catra abandoning her, for no reason.

the Failsafe.

but she's just a dumb jock lesbian who's in love with Catra, right? that's alllll that matters. /s.

[am-i-interrupting]

hazbin hotel (whoever you want) with an s/o that's just smol. like shorter than Lucifer and maybe 5'1 or 5'0 because I think Lucifer is like 5'3

Husk

He likes the fact that your shorter than him.

He doesn’t really make any comments about your height.

It is clear regardless that he enjoys that he’s taller though.

When he’s feeling cuddly he’ll wrap his arms around your torso and place his head atop yours.

Maybe he’ll wrap you up in his wings. Maybe he’ll rub his face against the back of your neck.

Will come up behind you and just surround you with his presence, hands on your hips, and ask if you need his help grabbing something.

He likes that he can wrap himself around you and swarm you because it lets him know that you’re there, that you’re safe, and he loves nothing more than that knowledge.

Rosie

She can be a bit of a puppeteer to people she cares about.

Constantly having a hand on the shoulder, the back, looped arms. Just constantly guiding.

The fact that your shorter means she might have to bend down a bit more or stretch but she doesn’t mind.

She’ll rest her hand atop your head if it’s closer.

Constant fingers running through and petting your hair.

She will also give you a neck massage while she’s at it which can be very. . . interesting in public.

If you do the Catra & Adora dip from She-Ra, I think she might die again.

Vox

This man made a short joke one time and depending on how you react depends on how he’ll take to doing it in the future.

If you just sort of roll your eyes expect at least one short joke every week.

If you (are like me) pulled him down to your height and threatened him. Never again. He’ll never make one again.

He’s the type to lean against the wall and watch you struggle until you ask him to get something for you and depending on his mood, he might get it for you or he’ll smile and walk away, watching you from his cameras.

Because you’re short, it’s harder for him to kiss you. . .

Unless you’re walking past his chair in which case he’ll grab you by the waist and pull you in his lap and lavish you.

Expect to be picked up and put in tables, counters, against the wall, so he can kiss you and sometimes it’ll be with no warning so here’s to hoping you don’t break his screen in accident.

[manic-sapphic]

~~absolutely love that adora kinda looks insulted when she demands prime let catra go and his response is "i'll give her to you - if you want her.."

i hear the look on her face saying "oooh you mf'er how dare you - ofc i want this btch why else would i be here ?? i want her and only her tbh - (i just don't know it yet but i will def doomslay ur entire flagship if u don't gimme this kitty fr")

- (every time i watch catra hold herself, just tryna keep from falling apart - i fall apart. just a teeny tiny bit. itty bitty shred of my jagged stone heart chips off, but idc tho - she's worth it <3)

( also - the way adora tries to stand but her legs give way beneath her is just another addition to the list of reasons it's all so heart breakingly gut wrenching [yee i combo'd the phrases - it feels warranted fr] cause the fact she can't stand tells the audience she's gotta be in a lot of pain too that is only healed after she suddenly transforms- and she's ignoring that pain, so focused on catra that we don't even see her react to it aside from being unable to stand.. damnit adora <3 )

~~sooo the promise moment really is just - ahhh. gets to me. i read it as this unspoken question that catra knows she doesn't need to explain - she just needs to say one word and knows adora will understand what she's truly asking -

"promise?" - i read this as catra not just asking if adora promises to take her home - but asking for a much deeper, broader hope of reinstating their first promise. to stick together and look out for each other.

a promise that was broken by both of them tbh but at this point catra decided to keep it for what she figured would be her last chance to do so in corridors, and then here in save the cat adora comes back and holds up her side of their promise as well.

after all that time apart as enemies, they each risked their lives and more and fulfilled a promise that seemed long forgotten. and i see catra here as putting forth a desperate, hopeful plea to agree on renewing that promise for good- and not just taking her home, but acknowledging that what home really means is the two of them staying together, no matter what.

and without hesitation, adora replies, "i promise."

she understands what catra's really asking; imo there are so many words that pass between them during and just after save the cat that are never actually said - thank you's and apologies and explanations that they mutually recognize and know the other feels and genuinely means w/o ever needing to make each other say it.

mistakes were made on both sides & they've both realized by then that sticking together was and always had been what they needed to do, cause they were finally starting to admit to themselves that what they both really needed all along, more than anything else, was each other. <3

ps i thought i'd tack on my previous rant about adora choosing to jump down after catra in save the cat cause that moment makes my heart implode every time~

(& cause when she does that - it's her keeping the promise that she had just restored. it's her determined refusal to ever, ever break it again - no matter what. even if it kills her - just like catra in the finale, fighting the monster and refusing to leave when adora tells her to. these lovelies would much rather die w each other than live without the other - and they definitely figure that out the hard way, but the only thing that really matters is that they do figure it out~~)

---jump in save the cat rant---

when adora chooses to jump down after catra, the fact that she is, innately, she-ra is still something adora has almost no clue of whatsoever. her expression lingers in the frame just before she throws herself down after catra, recalling the fixed look of equally determined resolve we see on catra’s own face in corridors when the decision to save glimmer (and, yes, most importantly to catra, save adora by extension) is cemented in her mind; a decision catra makes, mind you, not expecting to survive it. and imo, same goes for adora & this moment in save the cat.

adora chooses to follow catra into the darkness, despite her currently regarding her connection to she-ra as gone and having no expectation of manifesting the nearly invincible power she could rely on from being she-ra in the past (and therefore lacking any way to heal catra, even if she could get them both to safety, there’s no way she’s unaware that catra’s body is pretty much guaranteed to be broken beyond repair after the shock her nervous system got from prime when disabling the chip, coupled with the long fall.)

and to me - the most poignant thing this tells the audience about adora making this choice is that she didn’t leap down after catra because she was clinging to the hope that, somehow, she could still save her.

instead, she willingly fell to depths unknown, the landing completely obscured by shadows that she just watched consume catra, simply because she knew that catra would be down there all on her own, and there was absolutely no fucking way that adora wasn’t going to make damn sure she was there to hold her. even if that meant jumping after her and possibly dying down there together. it just meant that much to adora for catra not to have to face the end alone... i mean, wtf dude, it's jaw-dropping in the best way ever <3

[largemovingtorb]

The Prosecutor returns her attention to the datapad, and with a few deft finger taps on the screen, sifts through battle entries as her brown eyes dart left to right, searching for a specific event.

 “If you don't mind, I want to run through an example of how this particular scenario plays out. I’m going to select an engagement—one you should be familiar with, in fact—and I want you to tell us how this ‘shock and awe’ worked to dimmish any unwanted deaths.”

The datapad beeps as Euridice’s eyes light up. As the Prosecutor turns the electronic device in her direction, Catra realizes that her earlier notions of being led like a lamb to slaughter are accurate. Once again, she recognizes the many Horde engagements written out before her, but this time, something obscene is between the lines of text. It blemishes the interstitial space between clearly formed words, seeming to drown them in crimson. She knows that only she is privy to this vision—her sin—highlighted like a halo around a single location and date.

“How about Glenmar as an example?” Euridice says—as if randomly selecting it. “How would you pacify Glenmar? Actually! Based on its size as a village and what you told me about the Horde procedure, a high-ranking Horde officer would have been in charge of this assault. That was you, wasn’t it, Catra?”

If one emotion can crush you to an utterly narrow point, it is anxiety, and at that moment, Catra is caught in its clutches. It blooms like a hideous flower in her chest, threatening to cast her into a whole universe of desolation—a separation from love—for that is about to happen.

 Catra is held firmly in place by two brown eyes—two very narrow eyes of the only other person in this courtroom who knows the truth. Knows the truth of who Catra is and what she is capable of—and soon—will tell everyone. Everyone will know, including Adora, and it will break her heart into pieces, no longer to be put back together. Her love for Catra will die.

“Yes, I was in charge when the Horde went to Glenmar,” Catra said in a near whisper.

Illustration from my fanfic, Traces of Crimson, done on commission by Henar Torinos, a.k.a., @ilikeyoucatradora!

The link to my fanfic on AO3 can be found below:

Traces of Crimson

[rius-cave]

Adamsapple brainrot won't leave me, so have more silly thoughts and character comparisons:

I don't know if you've ever seen the She-Ra reboot (if you haven't and don't want spoilers feel free to ignore this ask!) but Adam is so Catra to me (and by extension, Lucifer is Adora, that one just lines up significantly less well).

Like this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVuq41Mi74Y

Adam: "I told you not to come back [for me]! But you just love feeling like a hero, don't you?"

Lucifer: "You'd rather I left you there to die?"

Adam: "What do you care?! I know you all hate me!"

Lucifer: "I never hated you!"

Adam: "...then you're even dumber than I thought."

It fits them so well to me aaaaaa.

This is literally just an edit with a collection of Catra quotes but almost every one of them suits (specifically sinner!)Adam so well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiJiGv40QSc

Anywhizzle, hope you enjoy the share of brainrot ✨

Indigo <3

I saw like one episode of she-ra lol but I WAS in Tumblr when that show exploded so I know a couple things about it! Oh man just gotta love those enemies to lovers ships huh?

[spopsalt]

I found all of these on Pinterest TODAY. And I’m only gonna be able to unpack SOME of them.

“Better than the rest of the female population”? Jfc, did whoever make that one hate women or something? Because Catra is the lowest bar for a person. Not even a bar, that chick is the fucking floor.

I don’t even understand what the Jesus one is trying to say. But I don’t think I want to. Im pretty sure whoever made that is susceptible to falling into a cult. Which is fair, since this fandom essentially is one.

“We wants S4 Catra.” First off, I feel like they’re specifically saying S4 bc thats the season most people agree she’s legal. Second, that’s literally Catra ar her worse. Look, I understand liking villains. Im a simp for villain characters. But something tells me the type of person who made that meme doesn’t understand liking a villain and acknowledging they’re a villain. They probably think S4 is the best because she’s ‘Mommy’ or whatever, and would probably defend everything she did in that season and pretend she wasn’t a villain, without realizing S4 Catra (Every Catra really) would literally let someone die for being an inconvenience, try to murder suicide someone to prove a point, send someone to a death prison for saying no, and would essentially rip out someone’s pacemaker for a laugh. Yes, the perfect partner. 😒

“Why can’t Catra be real?” Well… Catra specifically doesn’t. But people like her do. Most of them are war criminals, dictators, politicians, mass murderers, abusers, ableists, rapists, people in positions of power, in jail, the type of person to hit someone for talking back, single for a reason, you get the idea. So, in short whoever is out here simping for Catra hopefully realizes the difference between reality and fiction when having a crush. And if they don’t, they need help. I’m not even getting into the fact about half of these are her as a minor (if not all of them.)

Btw, I’m not saying anyone who relates to Catra is a bad person like what I listed. You can relate to her and not actually be like her. But I think most if the toxic stans who ‘want someone like Catra’ are in it for the wrong reasons. I. E. ‘Mommy-dom Cat-girl UWU Catra’ which is literally just an abuser who has probably murdered a lot of people.

Exactly thank you! There's a disturbing amount of Catra simps and as a pansexual I can confirm I never simped for Catra (Or any fictional character if I'm honest) I mean I guess I could see why someone would due to some people simping for villain characters (For example I know a LARGE amount of the Rick and Morty Fandom want to smash Rick, there's literally an account dedicated to it) but I still don't get it. Whatever.

Also they should be happy that Catra isn't real because Catra would be in prison. Also who wants to be the Catra to my Adora...you mean who wants to be the abuser to my victim? I'm so incredibly distributed by Catra fans

[beepsalotl]

crying ugh i love these characters so much and i hate the world so much except i dont and i just wish i could have what these characters had and be in a place that isnt like this one

im gonna cry ugh i dont know why i care so much, theyre not even real. but, like, in my head, they are, yknow? as in, they exist in the space i built for rhem as i read the series and learned about them and their world

fun fact, they were the first two characters whose books (each is the continuation of the story from a different third-person-limited perspective) had their names in the title. black hardcover w green embellishments for moonwatcher, a nightwing. white hardcover w blue for winter, an icewing. books six and seven, respectively. all the symbolism was there before you even open the goddamn books. yin and yang. AND YET.

and also they had two different histories and their tribes had a stale feud for thousands of years bc of some asshole jerkface. moon knew nothing about it bc she was raised in the rainforest practically by herself bc her mom had to sneak away from the shitty volcanic island the nightwings lived on to hide from the historic nightmare jerkface. winter knew all about it (or he THOUGHT he did bc he only knew the icewing side) bc he grew up surrounded by heirarchy and laws and rules and structure. moon didn’t grow up with the resentment at all, which allowed her a chance to see the truth.

she had to be self-sufficient. he had structure to lean on, even if it made him narrow-minded and nearly hard-hearted. he had to break through that, and she learned how to have patience. i feel like moon herself is sorely underdeveloped but i take the hints i can get and i feel that she learned how to forgive him by understanding who he was through his thoughts and, after skyfire, remembering that he was different inside than out and was still struggling.

when they were together, he was trying to be better and learn and he was kinder and softer even though he struggled to always be like that, and she was so patient with him.

heartbroken enraged screaming ensues, really.

like the rey and ben situation at the end of tros.

having him die in the end undermines everything the skywalker legacy stood for and all the development he had and it still breaks my heart bc he proved people can make bad, horrible choices and can survive abuse and break through it and change and be better and be loved. and then he DIED instead of getting his happy ending, which practically is what happened to winter bc the author basically said fuck you go live in the mountains doing work for peace and studying scavengers (which i know is his passion, but….) and your friends will hardly visit or write and they wont tell you the truth about how they defeated the bad guy WITHOUT ANY OF YOUR HELP EVEN THOUGH YOURE MORE THAN CAPABLE and they wont trust you and youll be alone forever.

my list of pairings and characters that i’m unreasonably heartbroken over:

ben and rey, winter and moon, catra and adora, draco and harry, zuko and katara.

catradora got together, ik, but their story still breaks my heart no matter how much hope it also gives me.

anyway, there’s no way for me to end this bc i dont even know what im feeling. it’s been years but winterwatcher’s fate still tears me up inside with the way it dashed my dreams of seeing a character like winter learn to let himself be loved.

i want to learn to let myself be loved, but i dont know how.

these characters are my attempts at finding myself out in the world and seeing if it’s possible. i dont attach my self-worth to them, but it hurts to see them fail to find romantic love where i saw it. idk

— a quick journal entry i wrote in my notes app years ago, as an emotional 16 year old with identity issues and way too much alone time on my hands

[bitterlynsposts]

[Fionna and cake spoilers below!!!]

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Catradora: catra refuses to go with adora after she begs her to come with her becuse the hord is evil. Catra then begins to stalk adora and torments her every chance she gets. Kidnaps her friends to be tortured by the horde. Leaves her to die hanging from a cliff. Then next time she sees her tells her she's glad she's not dead so she can finnish adora off her self. Destroyes the world out of spite ( while smiling ) Continues to harass adora every chance she gets. Puts her in a painful trap and gloats over it. Destroyes mermistas kingdom and more...

Vampire world bubbline: marceline and all the vampires have killed almost every human. Bubblegum and two others are the only ones left trying to fight the vampires. marceline took one of bubblegums eyes out. Bubblegum almost kills Simon for mentioning that they are together in his timeline. Bubblegum Wants nothing more but to kill marceline and makes that very clear. marceline kills a member off bubblegums squad in front of everyone. Then her other member gets killed as well. She tries to kill marceline, then they jump off a cliff together, both presumably dying in the process.

Shippers: OMG THEY WANNA FUCK SO BAD!!! Toxic YUriIii!!!! or something like that

(I actualy like bubbline, the normal bubbline but not this version. And i don't know why but i just find it kinda fucked up that people are shipping this version of them together,when its obvious they hate eathother ( Atleast bubblegum ) and just the implication that even after Killing bubblegums squad in front of her, bubblegum would still want to be with her. Is just soooo wrong to me)

This isn't only about catradora but im not gonna tag Adventure time cuz im not opening that can off worms....

Hopefully i wont get too much shit for this but hey you never know. But Hopefully not :] if you disagree with me please dont yk attack me, we can all be civil ya know :)

[kaiwuzherenz]

(non rushed version on this post)

-under the cut is the non rushed version, but skip it if u dont give a shit- Dont mind me just rambling, so if you dont rambling just keep scrolling (dont say i didnt warn u, i mean i think i even go off topic prob)

So everyone who has watched she ra s5, knows that chipped catra is catra fighting adora (and not holding back) under horde primes control.

and so chipped catra was just fighting under horde primes control, not holding back (head-canon!: i would think that catra could see everything "she was doing" but coulnt stop it). Chipped catra did fight adora for a bit, damaging adora alot with the potential scarring outcome. But for chipped catra to make a kill swing

........just what

if adora didnt dodge (barely), then she would most deferentially be dead and boom! Horde prime just won

but adora did get to catra about bringing her home. That would have hit the "normal" catra and thats when the chip was quickly deactivated for catra to say "Promise?"

you could see how scared adora was to the idea of having to hurt catra to live. but getting to catra with her words (adora is good with her words) Horde prime could see what was gonna happen. Horde prime makes catra say her "final words"

Now what i think happened (im not sure bout it tho) is that when catra said her "final words" Horde prime did a certain thing. Since the chip was on catras neck, that has one of the important nerves in her body, leading straight to the brain. thats why horde prime put it there. When he turned off her chip and cut the connection, he sent something to her brain, cutting off that nerve. killing catra.

now if ur like

heres a simple version.

the chip on catras neck was ontop of something that helped her body work, when horde prime turned off her chip, he cut the line from her brain to that important thing, killing her.

so quick some up, one of these 2 wuz gonna die when catra was chipped. Catra by horde prime killing her, and Adora if catra landed that kill swing

off topic time:)))!!!!!!!!

so yeah, adora saves catras life. adora gave catra a chance. Catra gave back that favor almost

Catra accpeted her death in the final episode, almost to die with that monster thingy that was stopping adora to get to the heart. But as we all know, shadow weaver jumps in

Shadow weaver dies so Catra could live and adora could make it to the heart

Catra feels this act by Shadow weaver the hardest (in my mind) because shadow weaver made catra who she was, and why she has her ways and things around people... Catra was gonna die right then, she accepted only for shadow weaver to jump in.... EVEN AFTER EVERYTHING ADORA HAS DONE TO CATRA, SHE WAS STILL READY TO DIE FOR HER....THAT BASICALLY JUST PROVES HOW MUCH CATRA LOVES ADORA!!

ALSO Prime saying "YOUR Adora will die" and the terror on Catra's face, and we know by now how explicitly Catra wants Adora, makes the fact that Prime previously said "your Adora" to Catra and "your Catra" to Adora hit so much harder, they really did belong to each other

I STARTED CRYING BECAUSE AS MUCH AS ADORA LEFT CATRA FOR THE REBELLION, CATRA LEFT ADORA FOR THE HORDE BUT SHE REFUSED TO LEAVE HER AGAIN EVEN IF IT MEANT SHE'D DIE WITH HER CATRA WOULDNT LEAVE ADORA, EVEN WHEN ADORA LEFT HER 3 YEARS AGO!!!!!!

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Midsommar vs SPOP: Cults and Religious Trauma

i watched Midsommar recently and was struck by how subtle and nuanced the Hårga were, in comparison to the Intergalactic Horde. of course, i don’t expect SPOP to show the kind of brutal gore that Midsommar did, but what i’m talking about is the way these cults indoctrinated members.

Horde Prime just mind controlled everyone to follow his orders and praise him, and it just felt so immature, especially compared to the way SPOP handled some of the other deeper topics. you’re telling me they wrote an actually good manipulator in the form of Shadow Weaver, but couldn’t do the same for Horde Prime? cult leaders are supposed to be manipulative. they don’t just force you to join their cults because it’s so much easier to break out of it. no, what they do is they convince you that this is for your own good. they promise you support, community, happiness, peace. they especially target emotionally vulnerable individuals, because they are a lot likely to accept help from a large community who is seemingly just looking out for them and trying to help them out.

and this is what happens in Midsommar. Dani recently lost her entire family to a murder-suicide, and her boyfriend had fallen out of love with her at this point and he often manipulates and guilt-trips her whenever she points out his mistakes. she was overall extremely lonely and depressed, trying hard to repress her emotions for everyone else’s sake. this is the kind of person the Hårga were looking for. a lot of the audience didn’t even realize that Dani was being indoctrinated into a cult or that joining said cult was going to be very unhealthy for her. that’s how convincing the Hårga were.

Pelle especially seems like the warm, comforting figure that Dani needed, letting her open up about her feelings and listening to her, in contrast to Christian, Dani’s boyfriend, who was often preoccupied with other things, and didn’t even bother to remember Dani’s birthday. you almost root for Pelle and Dani to end up together, until you realize that he is also part of the cult and all of his empathy and compassion is just a clever way to manipulate Dani into trusting the Hårga.

the scariest thing about the Hårga is that they weren’t large, imposing figures with a god complex. they didn’t have a leader who ruled them with an iron fist. they were just a seemingly normal community with seemingly normal people who had fun rituals and celebrations, and seemingly supported and cared for one another. even after seeing two people die brutally, Dani was still manipulated into joining the Hårga because they took advantage of her trauma and her loneliness. she desperately needed actual support and a shoulder to lean on, something her boyfriend didn’t provide. so when the Hårga offered her that support, it was easy for her to believe that this community was exactly what she needed.

and i think SPOP could have pulled something like this off, especially with Catra. if they really wanted us to believe that Catra felt guilty about her actions, they could have gone a more interesting route. i mentioned this in a previous post but instead of Horde Prime chipping Catra, they could have shown him manipulate her and promise her that she can be absolved of all her sins if she joined him. instead of being all like “teehee i know you have a crush on adora, you gay kitty”, they could have shown him feed on her insecurities and loneliness, and promise her a happier future of she joined him, playing on her need for validation and affection.

and in a moment of desperation, Catra believes him. she has lost everyone at this point, so she accepts what little comfort is offered to her. and then it’s the writers’ choice whether to redeem Catra by having her come to the realization that worshipping a genocidal tyrant with a god complex is actually not going to help her become a better person, and that she was just repressing her guilt and convincing herself that this is the best option; or to have her stay and face a tragic ending of sorts. either way, i think it would have been better than what we got.

i know that Nate apparently struggled with religious trauma and guilt (according to a few posts i saw, at least) and i’m not trying to say that i know his experience better than he does. i just think the execution with Horde Prime was really off, and he was almost like a funny caricature of a cult leader, rather than a representation of an actual cult leader.

[azapofinspiration]

Fanfic Writer Interview

Thanks to @bunnys-tales for tagging me! Seems like this should be pretty fun!

How many works do you have on AO3?

I have... 245 fics on there. Wow, I remember when I hit the 200 mark, like, a couple years ago. To be fair, I've been writing and posting fanfics (originally on FF.Net but I've posted and mostly backdated all of my fics onto AO3 as well) for almost 13 years now.

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

I was a bit surprised when I checked because the one that's been number 1 for years now has finally been usurped.

I generally don't necessarily go by kudos (especially since I know that there are re-readers out there like me), but I do appreciate every single one.

So here are my top 5 kudo'd fics!

1. Rite of Passage (BSD fanfic) - Basically, the ADA and PM go drinking together and try to figure out what sort of traditions (or rites of passage) they go through to truly be deemed members of their organization. And it turns out everyone has basically had at least a bit of a crush on Chuuya. Can't blame them.

2. Hell in High Heels (VLD fanfic) - This was basically my top kudo'd fic ever since I posted it in 2018. I'm surprised I have something that's finally surpassed it since every fic I've written that I thought might never did quite as well (though it has had time to accumulate). In it, for a mission, Lance crossdresses and it turns out he can pass pretty well (and work it in heels). I had ideas for some sequels but never really got motivation to try them, though it was basically more shenanigans and Klance moments.

3. With Flying Colors (VLD fanfic) - Forever salty about how the show treated Lance and the Blue Lion. I never got over the Blue Lion never being given a defining trait like the others were at the beginning (except later she was implied to be the easiest or most easy-going which is why she easily accepted another paladin - which wtf), so given the nature of water, I gave her and Lance the trait of versatility and how Lance portrayed at different times all the traits that the other Lions looked for as well.

4. Maid of Steel (BSD fanfic) - I'm sensing a pattern, but in this fic, Chuuya has to crossdress in a maid cafe (to Dazai's delight and Atsushi and Kunikida's bewilderment) to try to investigate a case that's been affecting the PM as well. And then he kicks some butt. Just a fun time here.

5. In the Shadow of Death (Gravity Falls fanfic) - Originally inspired by some fan art (and then inspiring some in turn, Grunkle Stan manages to adopt/befriend multiple death omens over the years of him living in Gravity Falls and they love him so much, they won't let him die. Mostly written when I had free time during substitute teaching.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I certainly try to respond. Sometimes I get in the habit for a decent stretch but then I get busy and forget and then it feels like it's much too late as it's for something I've moved on from or I don't want to bother them and it's just.

I do try to respond as I'm able.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmm. Okay, I'm gonna be honest. I don't actually remember half the stuff I've written. Sometimes I have to remind myself of what exactly my own fics are when they get kudos or comments if it's one of my older fics. And I do write a lot of angst (as much as I write hurt/comfort), but a lot of the time, it's angst with happy ending so does that really count?

And it's really a matter of what kind of angst you're talking about. Same Song, Different Verse revels in the parallels of Vanitas and Louis and how both wished for Noé to kill them (which - I wrote this before the Amusement Park arc ended with Vanitas actually saying he wanted Noé to kill him). In Can't Turn Back I basically tortured Castiel for half the fic and had him deal with the consequences in the other half. Watch Your Back addresses both Stan's sordid past and his current memory issues. Adora realized that Catra had been lost as well atop of everything else in season 4 in Gone. I have multiple fics where characters die or seem to die (and may come back at the end or in a sequel fic).

So really, this is up for debate. I'm not sure what would be considered the angstiest ending, because even if things are better, the root issue may be one that can happen again.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Like I said, I love my angst with a happy ending so...

Maybe one of my sweeter fics like Reciprocated Affection (BSD), Knot Matching (Trickier Than It Seams) (VNC), Girls Become Lovers (Who Turn Into Mothers) (She-Ra), or The Scrapbook (Gravity Falls and ends a series of fics taking place in the finale)? All of them have different flavors of happy endings but it does have good and caring vibes at the end.

Do you write crossovers?

It might appear like I've written more but that's because Case Study of Vanitas has tags for both the anime and manga separately. So when I wrote something that applied to both, I marked both.

In actuality, I've written exactly 2 crossovers since I'm not really interested usually in exploring those possibilities. One is a fanfic shipping Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella (Disney Animated versions) that I wrote for Valentines' Day challenge in my college anime club (but it turned out to be really good so I shared it) and the other is a Stanchez fic that I wrote for a mini-bang event since I thought they'd make an interesting ship and it was a whole thing for a while.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I think I've gotten a few comments before, but the only thing that really comes to mind isn't necessarily hate. Like, back on FF.Net, for a Stony fic that I had clearly marked as Stony, I had someone constantly commenting for several chapters about why it had to have a romantic flavored ship especially of Steve and Tony. Since that site doesn't let you respond to reviews/comments, I addressed them in an author's note in the fic (pointing out that I had marked it and I could do what I want so why were they here if they didn't like it) and the anon immediately became apologetic and then asked if I was mad/forgave them multiple times for the next few chapters. It was more weird than anything.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. My fic What Is Love? for VNC was stolen, terribly translated into Spanish, and then posted as the first two chapters of a fic of what I presume were even more stolen stories translated into Spanish to avoided being found out for stealing on Wattpad. I never gave permission for a translation and they didn't even link to the original or say it wasn't theirs. Luckily, someone let me know, since I don't use Wattpad, and I went through the steps on Wattpad to let the admin know and it got taken down by showing I'd posted mine first and all my fics on AO3 for years have been tagged not to be copied to other sites.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. Back on FF.Net, someone asked to translate a couple of my SPN fanfics into Russian and they linked back to my original so it was okay.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Kinda. A person here on Tumblr and I went back and forth, writing and responding on a post that helped build a story until they couldn't go on. But I don't remember who it was, where those posts are (must not have tagged it as fic as it was kinda a write and response that we unintentionally started), and I can't remember what we were even doing. It was fun though, even though it's lost in the Tumblr slurry.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Uh... It changes. Probably between SKK or Vanoé just due to how recent those are, though I still love both Lumity and Raeda and I will probably never recover from Klance or Kagome/Inuyasha.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I have a YGO fic lurking at the bottom of my Google Docs that I probably will never touch again. I also have whole lists of fic ideas for fandoms I've moved on from.

Of my recent stuff, I don't know if I'll ever finish my VNC Anatasia AU that I started writing. I am trying to finish my other VNC WIP about hanahaki right now though!

What are your writing strengths?

I've been told multiple times across fandoms that I have very strong characterization. I think dialogue plays a huge role in that and I always try to get the spirit of the characters down.

My plots are also pretty good as well because people seem to be able to follow and enjoy the threads I weave.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I am also bad at getting to the point. Like, I have to have decent set-up which usually takes up pages before I get to whichever scenario the fanfic is actually about.

I'm also terrible at symbolism (it's something I struggled with in school - very much a "why can't the curtains just be blue" type of person back then) and as a result I'm not sure if the themes I want to get across are being properly conveyed. But I worry about my themes getting across even without symbolism that I'm trying to incorporate.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I mean, I have done this. I've written Lance speaking in Spanish and characters in VNC may get a sprinkling of French (though I'm more familiar with Spanish since I at least took a few years of that in high school though it's been years).

Though I think I've usually put in translations somewhere to help readers who don't want to try to translate it themselves.

I think it can be interesting.

Wait, does sign language count? Because usually I just indicate that's what they're speaking in when I've had characters use that.

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

At the moment? None that I can think of. I'll probably only know once my attention shifts.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Ah, I can't pick just one, because again, there's usually something in each fandom I've written for that I'm particularly proud of. But I'll try to narrow it down to 3.

Words is a RWBY White Rose fanfic, one of the first ones I did for that fandom, for the ship week. It's probably also my only blatant soulmates fic that uses those tropes.

Archiviste is a VNC Vanoe fic that explores Noé not only losing Vanitas, but also beoming a cursebearer due to it. And all of his worst traits are elevated as he does everything he can to get Vanitas back. I liked exploring his darker side and also evil Noé is hot.

Finally, one of my most recent fics is this super long one shot On My Knees (Looking for an Answer) for BSD (that includes SKK). As my friends pointed out, it's basically a Chuuya character study from everyone else's point of view and I really loved writing it despite how long it took.

Tagging: Anyone who wants to do this but specifically I encourage @theroadtosomewhere @neontoad @blindblossom @xlillyle

[antispopausandstuff]

What do you think about people comparing catra to Caitlyn from arcane

ah, i had a feeling i'd be asked about something along these lines.

okay, so, just to get this out of the way:

i'm aware that Arcane s2 has very polarizing opinions, points of views, and thoughts from the community, and, provided it's nothing extreme, they're all valid. though my words are largely subjective, i want to apply as much objectivity as possible to create a better picture, rather than complete bias with no desire for discussion.

s2, in my opinion, wasn't as well-written as it could've been. i don't hate it, but i would've made different writing choices for the characters, their arcs, etc., and i feel the ending was lackluster as a result of lack of closure. this includes Jinx's own ending, Isha, Vi's cycle of self-destruct and complicated family, and how i feel there was not enough screentime for the plots and characters given, especially Ekko, Mel, Kino, and Ambessa. and i do feel like the writing choices negatively affected Caitlyn's character, as well, even if i do understand and sympathize with her as a person.

objectively speaking, Caitlyn's dictatorship ( i believe that's what it is, iirc ) was more on-screen than Catra's, but Catra's crimes was heavier, quantity wise, including universal genocide.

because of SPOP's disregard for "show, don't tell", amongst several other factors ( Catra being a creator's pet being the main one ), there is little to no actual weight to her actions, even with the main cast. if there is consequences, it's either more personal than it should be, her mental breakdowns or Horde Prime chipping her, or fleeting, the destruction of Salineas. this is likely why people don't care much for Catra's actions, because there's no legitimate consequences that aren't just her being sad // distressed.

but, while not the best, Arcane writers take into consideration the impact of and to the people. Caitlyn's decisions did have consequences, and it affected more than just her. it changed Zaun, and with Silco and Jinx's absence, the people were anxious and needing a beacon in order to feel safe and empowered.

however, i don't think it's as simple as comparing Caitlyn to Catra.

in the eyes of the people, it wouldn't matter, obviously. as a result of taking her grief and thirst for vengeance out on them, the people of Zaun felt even more unsafe when they were already suffering.

but to us, as the audience, we can empathize with grief blinding us and leading us to making poor decisions that end up being detrimental to our and everyone else's health. keyword: empathize.

Caitlyn still hurt people. there is no denying that. i am simply saying that we can understand where she was coming from and that her grief was taken advantage of by Ambessa.

to their world, it's black and white. people suffer and // or die at the hands of someone in power.

to us, it's more or less than that.

still wanting to remain as objective i can be, i will say Caitlyn's are far easier to remember and hold against her, and rightfully so. but i believe that Catra's are worse and should've been displayed as worse, rather than stated or turned around to be a way for us to feel bad for her own downfalls.

now, let's move onto Caitlyn and Vi // Catra and Adora.

like with the season, i prefer s1 CaitVi over s2.

for me, the divide and conflict felt too similar to how their relationship originally started out and was too repetitive. it felt like the writers wanted another reason for them to break apart, when there was a lot of time spent to them forming together.

but i think CaitVi has more room to grow than C // A ever really did.

for one, Caitlyn and Vi have cared for each other more than they've hurt each other. even when they were at odds in s1, there was no point in the story where they left one or the other to die. if something bad happened, it was by circumstance, not by choice.

but Catra had always hurt Adora more than she cared for her. from physically harming her to degrading her, engaging in extreme sadism, and nearly killing her, purposefully, on multiple occasions, there's no actual evidence that Catra deeply cares for Adora, or that she cared to begin with.

for another, Caitlyn had more reason than Catra. Catra was given multiple chances to make better choices, but she never did and it was intentional and out of spite.

what was Caitlyn going to do with the fact her mother was killed, that her girlfriend's sister was the murderer, and that her girlfriend stopped her from doing from killing the culprit because she thought she'd kill a kid instead?

of course, it was highly likely that she would've killed Isha. again, blinded by grief. but Caitlyn didn't think that way. in her mind, she has more evidence of being an excellent shot than not, so, obviously, the possibility of her killing the child was 0, right?

( and i don't think Caitlyn cheated on Vi with Maddie. i read the end of their argument as a break-up, especially because Vi disappeared. )

and, for one last thing, even when she knew Vi didn't trust her and kept fighting with her, Caitlyn still tried to help.

overall, i think CaitVi did have a... meh(?) ending, but i still prefer them over C // A. if nothing else, for the foundation.

i don't think Caitlyn and Catra are the same. i just think the Arcane writers had more respect for their audience than SPOP did.

[destinygoldenstar]

Responding To Ninjago Hot Takes (Round One)

Hey, remember the post I made asking people for Ninjago Hot Takes?

No?

Links here

I said I was gonna respond to some, so well, here we are. I’ll just do a post per hot take, cause some of these I have way too much to say, and I want to shout out people who made these in the first place. (Please support these people, even if you don’t agree with what they said.)

I’m going to repeat this for every post: I’m going to approach these hot takes in two ways: How hot I think they are as takes, and whether or not I agree with the take. Know that I’m just using both of these to reflect on others opinions, which is always fun to see, and I will try to be as respectful as possible to the person. (You guys be respectful too) And as always reblog some of your hot takes in either this post or the other one, preferably the other one.

So I’m gonna go from oldest reblog and onward.

@favesgrave

They said:

‘i might get burnt at the stake for saying this but i think llorumi is the straight version of catradora (disclaimer: i don't like either ships)’

‘harumi manipulates lloyd, toys with him, tries killing him and his friends multiple times, yadda yadda yadda, but eventually turns good (i cant remember how or why i havent watched crystallized in a while)’

‘catra does the same exact thing to adora!!! and also nearly destroys the world and is the reason glimmer's mom is dead and everyone's chill with that??? but then at the end catra comes out with the "i love you i always have!!!!" and everything's okay’

‘yeah harumi and lloyd dont get together at the end but people sure ship them still’

Yeah. I definitely agree with this.

For me, the whole point of this ship was that it was a toxic ship in the Oni Trilogy. You’re SUPPOSED to say ‘Yeah, this will never work and this is unhealthy’.

And I loved hating it for that reason. These two characters became such good rivals as a result. And it definitely makes you hate Harumi for all the personal torment she’s done to Lloyd. Toying with his feelings, turning his father against him, forcing him to watch his friends supposedly DIE?!?

Like, I was so angry when Sons of Garmadon ended on a cliffhanger (because I was unused to change and was an idiot). I was furious that this lady got away with all of it!

The point of the ship was that it was a lie and she’s toying with him. Like, convince me in any way that Lloyd is not the victim here.

BUUUUUT then Crystalized came in as a pure fan service season that decided to fix something that was NOT BROKEN.

I usually appreciate the writers actually taking time to listen to criticism and attempting to take it to heart and fix issues audiences had in later installments. (Not everything, but what can you do?) It’s why I can respect the shows heart more than anything else. They care about their audience and are willing to admit when they messed up somewhere.

There were people who demanded that Harumi be redeemed though, and honestly, I think listening to those people was a bad call. Because it only ruined the entire character.

I wouldn’t say it ruined Sons of Garmadon and Hunted for me, but yeah, the best headcanon I can think is that Harumi got possessed or something when she was revived cause she is just flat out not the same character in this season.

I think what got to me the most was that she did not EARN redemption or convince me in any way.

The big thing that redeemed her was a few moments where she doubted her place and Lloyd’s fate, and realizing the Overlord made the snake that killed her family. The latter is the big thing that makes her switch sides and attack the Overlord. Which, that could’ve easily been read as self preservation. But no it’s ‘her switching sides’.

We don’t even get an aftermath for her switching sides. Lloyd just says “She’s on our side now” and nothing else is done. She doesn’t even apologize! For goodness sake!

Like yeah, I can definitely understand people being angry at this.

Lloyd went out of his way to help his abuser. Someone who destroyed his life at one point and gave him PTSD from all of that. PTSD that prevented him from stepping out of his friend group and trusting others for a long time. And they treat it like the problem was that Lloyd didn’t consider ‘how to redeem her’. No. The burden is NOT on you to make things right in this scenario. The burden is on THEM.

So yes. I can definitely agree with this. I guess the only thing is that maybe it could’ve worked if there was another draft involved in the editing room, and I can’t deny it was good in the Oni Trilogy.

Idk how spicy of a take this is. Because I’ve seen others say the same things I’m saying. So I don’t think this take is all that unpopular. I’ve seen it everywhere all the time. But I guess to Llorumi shippers it’s a hot take.

I’ll give you a 4 for the Spiciness.

I’ll give you an 8 for the Agreement.

Anyone else want to say your hot takes? Reblog them on the original post!