#anti shadow weaver

[yourhighness6]

Some ppl literally hate complex female characters so much they want one-dimensional, awful female villains instead because at least they don't have to contend with messy emotions. Like "pro-shadow weaver" wtf is that

[anti-catradora-collection]

@anti-catradora-collection would you believe me if I said that that Catra is way worse and way toxic than Shadow Weaver?

i'm feeling a bit dizzy as i'm sick rn but I'll try to answer this in the best possible way, please correct me if I'm not making sense:

catra and shadow weaver are both terrible people, however, i believe that it's natural that some people think catra is worse given the fact she has way more screentime. we've seen catra "mirroring" a LOT of shadow weaver's actions (well, they have that "abusive mother who raised an abusive daughter" dynamic, so it's natural for that to happen too), but not only because of shadow weaver's abuse to her: catra also did everything she did cuz she chose to do it. i won't dive into their backstories, I'm just analyzing the surface: their actions, what (briefly) made them do it and the consequences of it.

both wanted power, both chose to do horrible things, both manipulated other people, both tried to kill other people. honestly, i can't see them being any better from each other. i can understand people who say "catra is worst" or "sw is worst", but for me, they were just terrible in their own ways.

(also, both had a rushed and incoherent development.)

[spopsalt]

Shadow Weaver: *Abuses Adora*

Spop stans: Ugh what a horrible person! She's homophobic! What a bitch!

Catra: *Abuses Adora*

Spop stans: Awww my poor little meow meow, she loves Adora so much! It's Adora's fault for leaving her! Mmmmm sexual tension!

[ben10shera2020]

Why Shadow Weaver from SPOP was not a good person nor a hero and why Shadow Weaver was a narcissistic abuser, a narcissistic monster, a complete sociopath and the embodiment of pure evil until the end. Why Shadow Weaver's sacrifice was a final act of manipulation, a final way to put Catra down, and to make Catra feel like she owes her even in death.

Consistent Manipulation: I highlight how Shadow Weaver, both as Light Spinner and Shadow Weaver, consistently manipulates others for her own gain. This pattern suggests a deep-rooted character flaw that may be difficult to overcome.

Self-Serving Goals: I point out that Shadow Weaver's actions, regardless of which side she's on, are ultimately motivated by a desire for power and control. This selfishness makes it appear unlikely she'll prioritize the well-being of others.

Lack of Remorse: I emphasize Shadow Weaver's absence of regret for her actions. Without acknowledging her mistakes, true redemption seems unlikely.

Comparison to Catra: The contrast I draw between Shadow Weaver and Catra is interesting. Catra, despite her flaws, shows glimpses of compassion and the potential for change. Shadow Weaver, on the other hand, doesn't exhibit these qualities.

Shadow Weaver's manipulative nature: I point out how Shadow Weaver, both as Light Spinner and Shadow Weaver, consistently manipulated those around her for power. This manipulation extended to Catra and Adora, causing them emotional and psychological harm.

Catra's potential for redemption vs. Shadow Weaver's: I argue that Catra, despite her actions, shows glimpses of remorse and compassion, suggesting a path towards redemption. In contrast, you see Shadow Weaver as incapable of change due to her lack of regret or self-reflection.

Shadow Weaver's sacrifice as a final act of control: I interpret Shadow Weaver's sacrifice not as a selfless act but as a final attempt to manipulate Catra. I see her "you're welcome" as a way to burden Catra with a sense of obligation even in death.

Shadow Weaver's manipulative history: Throughout the series, Shadow Weaver is shown to be manipulative, often using Catra and Adora for her own goals. Her sacrifice could be seen as a final attempt at control, ensuring Catra feels obligated to complete the mission.

The smug smile: As showrunner ND Stevenson points out, Shadow Weaver's final smile can be interpreted as a "now you have to forgive me goodbye" moment [CBR]. It adds weight to the idea of manipulation, a final dig at Catra.

The guilt trip: By sacrificing herself for the mission's success, Shadow Weaver puts the burden on Catra. Catra might feel responsible for Shadow Weaver's death, even if it wasn't entirely her fault.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

“left you to rot” catra stans will never stop villanizing adora for something she didn’t do, will they?

[antispopausandstuff]

i know it's super self-indulgent and highly unlikely to have even crossed most people's minds, but 'SW being a good mom' AU(s)...

i dunno, i know SW is a good villain in the OG and one of the better written characters in the reboot, but i just really like the idea of her being a good mother in an environment not built for people like that.

she'd still be morally grey, i think, but she would have her family in mind first.

( gonna be totally honest and say i don't really care one way or the other if Catra would be a better person in an AU ( or AUs ) like this, but it's more likely than her ending up being a terrible person, i guess. i'm mainly thinking of SW and Adora here. )

and i like the "monster & child" trope, soooo...

SW probably being a bad person, but a good mother >>>

[carto0ncritter]

So I came across a very... interesting post regarding the fact that C//A are not sisters, so I decided to debunk it for fun. I won't mention the person's username or comment on their original post

I'm gonna make a little hypothetical scenario here.

Imagine if the kids in the Horde were all high school students who were all put in the exact same class and had the exact same teacher (Shadow Weaver). Except, Adora and Catra were the only two students who knew Shadow Weaver both as a teacher and an adoptive mother.

The scenario above is exactly what's happening here. It doesn't matter that everyone grew up in the Horde. What matters is that Adora and Catra were the only ones who were raised by Shadow Weaver specifically as her adopted daughters, and the only ones who saw her as a (toxic) mother. Not to mention all the canon sources that state C//A are sisters, but I guess we're gonna ignore those.

To fix this issue, all the writers had to do was to have Adora be raised by Hordak, and Catra by Shadow Weaver. That's it, problem solved. The ship is no longer incestuous because Catra and Adora, in this scenario, were raised in the same place since childhood, BUT BY TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE. There would be no goldenchild/scapegoat dynamic. There would be no jealousy on Catra's part regarding the fact that she thinks Shadow Weaver will never "love" and "cherish" her the way she "loves" and "cherishes" her sister.

If she was just their caretaker, then why do Catra and Adora have a goldenchild/scapegoat dynamic that mirrors sibling rivalry? Why does Adora admit to Glimmer that Shadow Weaver raised her as a mom would? Why is Catra filled with genuine happiness after Shadow Weaver caresses her cheek? Why does she gently touch that spot and smile? Why is Catra so heartbroken and furious when her mind basically tells her: "Shadow Weaver betrayed you." Why does Catra immediately give up her potentially happy life with Scorpia once she reveals to her that Shadow Weaver once again chose Adora over her?

Like... this rivalry is at the heart of C//A. Not romance, but rivalry between two adopted sisters who have a toxic and abusive adoptive mother.

And no, whether or not you cut ties with your toxic parent, that doesn't erase the fact that they were indeed your parent. A parent who raised both you and your sibling since childhood.

I'm gonna make a parallel between Spop and TAWOG. So, Gumball was raised by his biological parents, Nicole and Richard, and, at one point, Darwin joined the family (just like Adora "found" Catra) as his adoptive brother (but brother nonetheless).

What does this mean? That Gumball and Darwin are brothers, and that Adora and Catra are sisters.

Uhm... no. Close friends ≠ siblings, unless everyone admits that they see each other that way. Then they wouldn't consider a romantic relationship in the first place, unless there's some confusion present. For example, person A admits their feelings for person B, and person B says: "Ew no way, I see you as a brother/sister!" But at some point, person B's feelings change into romantic ones and they get together. See the difference between this, and the relationship between Catra and Adora?

Goofing off with someone, teasing them and being close with them doesn't automatically make that person your brother or sister. But being raised in the same environment, by the same person, since you were a child, that is incestuous.

Adora and Glimmer didn't grow up together and they don't share the same mother. Angella was Glimmer's mother, and Adora's mother figure. There is a difference.

These two girls did NOT grow up in the Horde together, they did NOT have a sibling rivalry, they did NOT have a goldenchild/scapegoat dynamic, their arc was NOT about standing up to their abusive adoptive mother.

Angella was a mother figure in Adora's life (and in Bow's life, too), but she was not her, or Bow's mother. Shadow Weaver was Adora and Catra's mother, until the end. Why? She. Raised. Them. She. Taught. Them. Everything. They. Grew. Up. With. Her.

*deep sigh*

Okay? Okay.

Alright, I'm getting tired at this point. So long story short:

Shadow Weaver was Micah's mentor and mother figure

Shadow Weaver was Glimmer's mentor (why tf would she view her as a mother figure??? It was out of despair that Glimmer had to learn from SW, not genuine affection. Also she still had her biological mother???)

Angella was Glimmer's mother

Angella was Adora and Bow's mother figure (which ≠ incest for the abovementioned reasons)

Shadow Weaver was Adora's adoptive mother (still a mother)

Shadow Weaver was Catra's adoptive mother (still a mother)

About that "argument"... the underlying issues and insecurities Adora and Glimmer acted out are literally present between Catra and Adora, so... yeah.

Case closed, goodbye.

[adorawasright]

wild that spop stans act like they stand for abuse victims and then they turn around and claim adora is an abuser or that she never suffered abuse in comparison to catra

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Role swap AU in which Sasha ends up in Wartwood, Marcy in Toad Tower and Anne in Newtopia, but Sasha is still a manipulative little shit and Marcy a total sweetheart despite Sasha being with the "good guys" and Marcy with the "bad guys".

It's not like she enjoys tormenting Marcy for sport. It's not like using all her insecurities against her and destroying her confidence brings her joy, but she and her toad friends are threatening her Wartwood and her frog family and oh boy, she should have kept her head down among her books where it belongs because Sasha is not going to let this offense slide.

[dougydoug8797]

I know this going to trigger Catradora stans/fans and mainly the entire Catra stans/fan/fan base/fandom; but, To all Catra fans Catradora fans. Shadow Weaver deserved redemption and a second chance not Catra. SW changed Catra did not. SW cared about Adora. Catra did not care about Adora. I stand with Shadow Weaver and Adora. Please don't defend Catra. She's a toxic person. Shadow Weaver is less toxic than Catra. Catra is more toxic than Shadow Weaver.

[spc-rambles]

Ehhh, even with Horde Prime doing the despicable stuff he did, it was Shadow Weaver who manipulated the one thing that motivates Horde Prime's main foil to carry on.

[spopsalt]

How do you feel about Shadow Weaver?

Thanks for the ask! Now as for Shadow Weaver...they are another person who got a redemption arc even though they did not deserve one, abusing children and traumatizing them ring a bell? Catra definitely deserved a redemption arc before Shadow Weaver but noooooooooo let's give one to the child abuser first. I just think spop was too obsessed with redeeming villains. Some villains need to just stay villains. Also, the way their arc ended by death is so fucking stupid istg. Also, if I remember correctly, nobody confronts her about abusing children? I mean Catra gets mad at her sometimes but besides that, she gets off scot-free.

[ben10shera2020]

Shadow Weaver's sacrifice was a final act of manipulation

To all Shadow Weaver stans, Shadow Weaver never changed as person nor grew as a person she was a monster until the end. Catra and Shadow Weaver were always enemies.

The only, ONLY reason she went to the heart was because Catra convinced her that Horde prime was going to infect the heart before Adora could use the failsafe, which risked upsetting her own plans so she agrees and from there she personally begins to guide Adora to the heart. It is only when she realizes the heart will be lost soon combined with Adora's refusal to proceed to the heart without Catra, that she decides to sacrifice herself, not to save them, but to ensure that Horde Prime loses and so she can go out on her own terms. Her your welcome at the end is exactly that, her playing the hero in her own story as she always thought she was, dying on her own terms, because it was literally the only option left.

Shadow Weaver believes she was the hero of her own story but all of her actions were fueled by greed for power. She cared about no one, she was manipulative and abusive to everyone around her.

So, like we know, Shadow Weaver sacrificed herself, she quite literally blew herself apart with the last of her power to kill that monster and allow Adora and Catra to save the planet, her last words being 'you're welcome' to them. So, if she was really so selfish all this time, why did she give up her life like that? Well, Horde Prime was about to literally destroy the planet, so if they didn't activate the failsafe the planet was doomed and so was her. But she still could've let Catra die! Except we saw that without Catra, Adora would've very likely died before getting to activate the failsafe and save the world. Even if she didn't stop, she likely wouldn't have made it in time.

So no matter what happens, Shadow Weaver would've died. If she let Catra stay behind, Adora would've died and so would've done the world. If she stayed behind and let them go ahead, she would've died. There was no outcome where Shadow Weaver could've survived- and sure, maybe she could've still tried with Horde Prime, but she's smart enough to know that she had no chances of even staying alive or keeping her free will if she joined Horde Prime. She was screwed no matter the outcome.

So wouldn't that mean that Shadow Weaver sacrificing herself was the most selfless outcome? Sure, it could be seen this way, but let me remind you- Shadow Weaver despises Catra, Shadow Weaver is very controlling and does NOT tolerate when things don't go her way, and she is fully capable of physically lashing out and punishing anyone under her control if they rebel. We already saw how she only held back in the past because someone stopped her, and we saw in this season how Adora and Catra are both going against anything she says so much easier and faster than before, they already know what her game is and refuse to keep letting her toy with them any longer. Glimmer is also not following her advice anymore and no one else will listen to her.

Shadow Weaver effectively lost all the control she had over anyone or anything in the world, and now? Now she has no longer a way of winning. No outcome is favorable for her anymore. Even if Adora did die saving the world, the bonds between the rebellion are stronger than ever before, she can no longer count on mourning and ill feelings to give her an easy way out while they deal with the aftermath.

So if she has to go out, then she might as well do it on her own terms, still have some control over something. Not only that- what is more satisfying for a controlling, manipulative and abusive individual like her? Just dying and letting the world die with her by taking away its only chance at survival, or dying as a hero and letting Adora and Catra deal with that knowledge?

Shadow Weaver didn't redeem herself with her death, but by allowing Adora and Catra to save the world, she did die as a hero. Adora and Catra will have to deal with the fact that their abuser died saving them and that if it wasn't for her death, they wouldn't have lived and gotten to be happy together. If it wasn't for Shadow Weaver's sacrifice, their world and loved ones would be all gone. And at least for a while afterwards, they'll have to remember Shadow Weaver just because of her sacrifice, and then they'll have to remember what she has done in the past. Shadow Weaver can and will haunt them for who knows how long while they still sort out and deal with their trauma, she just ensured they won't leave her in the past so easily.

By sacrificing herself, Shadow Weaver has effectively said 'fuck you' to Catra and Adora- maybe with more class than that, but it fits her with how much she resents them and Catra especially. Shadow Weaver really puts Catra’s past and future in perspective and it's so unfair because her entire life Catra has been put down by her, and now Shadow Weaver is sacrificing herself, Adora and Catra are free to be together without her, Catra has made up for her mistakes, it really is the beginning for her, but Shadow Weaver has to frame it like Catra gets that chance because she's giving Catra it. Her "You're welcome" shows that Shadow Weaver was never redeemed by her sacrifice, it was selfish and one final way to put Catra down. All her life Catra has been looking for validation and she only gets it right when Shadow Weaver dies and Shadow Weaver implies it's only because of her that Catra is where she is now and the future she has with Adora. She wants to make Catra feel like she owes her even in death.

[misssakurapetal28]

I never realized this before, but…it really does seem like that Shadow Weaver was only killed off to give C@tra MORE validation and for C//A to become canon, because it seems like even the narrative knew that the girls were more like sisters than anything, so they have to kill off the person that linked that fact together.

As much as I am happy that she’s gone so she won’t hurt neither girl anymore, this is TOO much of a coincidence to ignore 😵‍💫

[hitchell-mope]

Decent show. I liked everyone EXCEPT for that bitch moggy. But still. Decent show.