#but catra is the last person who gets to complain about that

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

catra stans: scorpia was toxic because she didn't respect catra's boundaries! she kept invading catra's personal space so she deserves to be mistreated and emotionally abused

meanwhile catra:

[that-one-kiddo-in-the-back]

Fandoms creepy obsession with torture... Lily doesn't understand depression or trauma.

I've been sitting on this one for a while, so let's dig in. Today's word of the day is "Martry," a person who is killed for a belief.

Right off the bat, Lily starts talking about how we as a fandom is obsessed with the torture of WOC using Korra, Luz, and Anne and an example for a dark joke she made in her moon girl review and in this video she's only gonna be using Korra, Luz, and some She-ra.

She starts with Korra and the torture she experienced with the red lotus, the group that's been trying to kill Korra ever since she was born, and how in her Korra is garbage she was pretty harsh for how it portrays her trauma at the final season. She then goes on to explain the torture scene, how you saw everything in all its gory detail, makes a small insult towards Korra's VA, then how she's tossed around like a rag doll then almost suffocated with the end of all that being shown Korra weakly reaching for her father before she passes out... "a heartbreaking shot that is under cut by the sheer sadisticly glee the writers had when the tortured Korra." Something I found kinda funny was that in her long ass Korra is garbage video, she complained that you didn't see a dictator...acting like a dicktator. Korra is the main character in a made for teen show made in 2012, so yeah, you're gonna see the poor girl getting beaten down. In the 2010s, a lot of shows that were aimed for teenagers showed a bunch of main characters getting beaten down with barely any psychological effects. Teen wolf, young justice, the fosters, your name, and Chronicle all shows during the 2010s that displayed pretty horrific scenes of torture or just getting beaten up and that wasn't because of the fandom or the writers being fucking weird it was more of a trend that started out of nowhere.

Lily then decided to call that all torture porn all because Korra's trauma is erased, with there still some mercury in her body. She then goes on about "how people said that Korra's behavior is realistic because that's what people think trauma looked like you being sad and demotivated." She continues by explaining that trauma is deeper than which is true to a degree. That fact is trauma is not one thing. You can be depressed and not even want to get out of bed, which changes how you think. Lily thinks that just because Korra was able to slowly pick herself up that she's back to normal and not bothered by almost getting killed to which I say Lily did you really want to see Korra have panic attacks and constantly hallucinat? Because it sounds like you do.

At the end of her talking about Korra, she finishes it by saying that the torture wasn't necessarily and a big fuck you to character development and that it was just the writers getting off to the idea of torturing women... now to Luz.

Lily starts out by saying that Dana terrace is really into depressing and the macabre, but on a fan girl surface level and still thinks creepy pasta is cool (keep that shit out of your mouth Lily) Lily really can't help herself but to drag women/nb/transmen creators through the mud in her Korra section she didn't name drop or even show a picture of the creators or writers even though she said the men where showing off their creepy "torture fetish" before watching this I watched her video on Catra and Adora's relationship and how abusive Catra is and Lily called ND Stevenson a Creep and an abuse fetishist and I think this all comes from a place of jealousy because they were able to make something amazing and be green light for shows where no one is a right mind would trust Lily with a five dollar bill.

After Lily was finally able to pull herself away from talking shit on female creators, she finally started talking about Luz's trauma, bringing up how, in the last episode of the first season after Eda was dragged away she starts to fight Lilith and says that was her trauma response which it's not really. Eda being captured was the beginning of the traumatic experiences Luz was gonna go through. As the show went on, you can see more of Luz blaming herself for things out of her control. Even when it was the smallest thing, she'd go way out of her way to make it up. Luz's trauma response is trying to fix what she broke she's the kind of person that would bring treats as an apology and tell the person she wronged how sorry she is for a week.

Lily then goes on to complain that in season 3, she doesn't do anything she mops around instead of trying to fight like in season 1, but a lot has happened between 1 and 3 Luz's trauma and depression all falls from her blaming herself for everything that happened.

Eda being captured, seeing her mother and the promise she made, failing to attend her father's grave, seeing all of the past golden guards empty helmets, watching Hunter get dragged under by belos, finding out she help belos met the collector who in turn gave him the draining spell, and the final nail in the coffin being King sacrificing himself to protect her resulting in Luz and her friends being stuck in the human realm with no idea if their parents and family are alright. Who the fuck wouldn't be depressed after all that?! She says she wanted a scene where Luz talks about her trauma which she already does she talks to her mother she knows that everyone else isn't having a good time either so she doesn't want to talk about it. If you found out all of your friends were not doing so hot, would you really want to bother them with your problems? That's the thing with deep deep depression it makes you think the world would be better off without you. That you're a pest to your friends and family and that they would be happier without you, which isn't true, and even when you know that you can't stop thinking that anyway. Lily talks about depression like it's something easy to get over with, that if Luz just really sat down and talked about it, she'd instantly feel better and go back to her ass kicking self but that fact that she didn't Luz is now a terrible girlfriend.

Now, we all know how Lily deals with people who have crippling depression which to say she kicks them to the curb and dusts off her hands of the situation. Remember Lily broke up with someone who was in a horrible state of depression saying that she was being toxic and a waste of time, and to that, I say what kind of a cruel person ditches someone like that?

She calls Luz a shit person for having crippling depression for not talking about the root of her self blame. Luz has been keeping her role in helping belos with the mass genocide and other things a secret and lies because she believes the truth would hurt them more she's not being a shit person on purpose. Luz never expected her friends to paddle her bad behavior or to even shower her with affection she's expecting the opposite. She thinks that if she tells them the truth, they will look at her with disgust and leave her, you know, like the mind trap the collector put her in that showed her worst nightmare. That you would have known if you watched it!!!

Lily once again blames Dana for not having a crying scene when her show was canceled, and instead, we got a realistic depiction of crippling depression. She goes back on calling everyone in the fandom creepy fucks that like our slow burn hurt with no comfort fics and how we like it even more when it's with women and black people. Now I like my edgy fan fiction, and it's not because I like seeing black women getting tortured. I simply like it as an outlet. I like seeing strong men and other characters at their lowest. Seeing how people write out how they would react most of the stuff I read, I would never want to happen to me or my loved ones. Hell, if my friends tell me their in a depressed state, I'm not gonna leave them to dry (like some people).

Lily also really has the biggest balls to call professional writers bad when she only writes fanfiction she's done it with RS, ND, and Dana. As if she could do better. I write fanfiction, and I would never put myself up there with actual show writers and published authors she brings up her shit Star Wars fic, saying how her fan base around the story wanted to see the angst that she scrapped out then proceeded to call them all racist and sexist for wanting angst. This shows that her fic is so boring that people want to see more things happen.

And now we are finally towards the end of this garbage video, where she brings up how, in her personal life, she used to like being called names, and her "friends" told her it's just a kink and it doesn't mean anything but her therapist told her it's a problem she then goes onto say that she was making herself worse until she met people who loved her and that kink went away... now I'm glad she was able to fix her own problem, but that's not a universal thing. Some people need outlets, and kinks can sometimes help. It's not for everyone but to call people liars, freaks, and judge them for their own outlets is a fucked up thing to do.

Lastly, no writer has the intention of having their audience of kids jacking off to torture scenes. I think that says more about you, Lily, if that's what your conclusion was. The writers weren't freaks because you thought it was hot.

Do yourselves a favor and don't take mental health advice or writing advice from Lily.

[catras-witchy-girlfriend]

!!How Catra Would React If You Had A Meltdown!!

{Neurodivergent Edition}

💥 She can sometimes sense when your meltdowns are about to start. She just gets a feeling that something is off with you.

💥 Sometimes they're clear things like, you suddenly staring into oblivion, your eyes watering, your posture getting smaller, your body shaking.

💥 But other times the signs are more subtle and rely on how much she knows you.

💥 She'll notice how you slowly stop engaging in conversation, the confused look on your face, the slight twitch in your nose, eyes, or lips. She's learned all your tics over time.

💥 She'll lean in close to you and whisper, "Princess? Are you okay?"

💥 If you say, "I'm fine," and give her some poor excuse, she'll sigh but let you continue with what you're doing at least until something really noticeable happens--

💥--in which case Catra will gently guide you out of the room and to your shared bedroom or somewhere quiet.

💥 If you're the type to compulsively apologize whilst having a meltdown, cut that shit out, Catra's not finna be having you feeling bad about something you can't control.

💥 Catra will never complain about stopping to make sure you're well and safe.

💥 If you're the type to yell, or scream, or cry when having a meltdown, she never wants to make you feel bad or try to belittle you,

💥Catra's had her own share of meltdowns and destructive outburts, remember? She understands!

💥 You're not allowed to tell anyone, but Catra is really soft and gentle with you when you're having a meltdown. (And just soft with you in general, but it's not cuz she likes you or anything ;))

💥If you're on the verge of a meltdown because you're overestimated Catra gives this spine chilling death glare to anyone who's even a little too loud for her liking.

💥Catra has heightened hearing so if someone is annoyingly loud to her then she assumes they're being way too loud for you and either they're gonna quiet down or she's going to make their next training session a living nightmare. (Perks of being in love with your force captain)

💥Speaking of perks of being in love with your force captain, Catra always excuses you from any short of training when you're overstimulated or having a meltdown. Is it favoritism? Absolutely! Does she care? Not even a little.

💥Also Catra is fiercely protective over you. It rarely ever happens anymore, because Catra sent the last person who did it to the infirmary, but if anyone ever made fun of you because of your meltdowns? Oh baby, it's on.

💥You know Catra don't play like that, and she has no problem putting assholes who disrespect you back in their place {or in a body cast}

💥Basically, if your brain is making you have a hard time, don't even worry about training, the horde, or whatever, because Catra's got your back through thick and thin and will always be by your side when you need her most.

[spopsalt]

Spop episode one rewrite

Fair warning, this is a very long post, here are some changes I made for people who are curious but do not want to read the whole thing 1. Made slight tweaks to Glimmer, Bow, Adora, and Catra's personalities 2. Emphasized the consequences and effects of war more 3. Added more dialogue and interactions 4. Catra is actually a good friend to Adora 5. Brought up Glimmer's dad, he will not be coming back in this rewrite. 6. Made it very clear that Adora and Catra are siblings 7. Kyle best boy is treated with respect Tell me if you have any suggestions! I am also unsure if I want to keep Adora single or have her date Glimmer, let me know what you think I should do in the comments! Rewrite under the cut

Adora woke up smiling, clinched her belt around her waist, put on her boots, and put her hair in a ponytail. She was a pretty girl, with blonde hair and pale blue eyes, she was around 17. She jumped out of bed and walked over to the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and looked over at a punching bag, it had a princess taped on it, she punched the bag without hesitation with a smug smirk "Hey princess, why are you looking at me?" she asked, talking to herself. She saluted the mirror, and did finger guns to it, giggling for being such a dork.

A voice over the pa boomed "All squadrons, report to the training area immediately for evaluation." She immediately went there and saw three other recruits, she was wondering where her sister was, she had dark brown hair, heterochromia with blue and yellow eyes, freckles, a tail, cat ears, claws, and a crimson headband. She looked around, where was she? She asked one of her other recruits "Psst. Hey, Lonnie where's Catra?" The recruit she had, an African American girl with brown hair shrugged her shoulder "I dunno." Adora sighed "This is the 5th time this week." She mumbled slightly frustrated. A horde commander walked back and forth, commanding them "At attention, cadets. Your simulation is about to begin. Here's your scenario. You'll be passing through the treacherous Whispering Woods to reach the heart of the rebel insurgency, Bright Moon." a blonde boy whimpered, Adora put her hand on his shoulder, smiling, she whispered, "We can do this, what's your name?" Kyle smiled a bit, feeling a little more relaxed "Kyle." He said, still slightly scared, Adora smiled, putting her fist up for a fist bump "Adora. Don't worry, there's no need to be scared, remember it's just a simulation. Either way, we can do this!" Kyle smiled and they bumped their fists, giggling, The horde commander eyed them, and towered over Adora, crossing their arms "Hey Adora. Where's Catra?" they asked annoyed "She'll be here! I promise!" Adora said, defending her sister once again.

They just narrowed their eyes "Mm-hmm. Sure. The Whispering Woods is full of princesses. Vicious, violent instigators. They will take you out if given the chance. Don't give it to them. Good luck, recruits." Adora put on her game face and walked into the training area. The rest of the recruits followed suit and Kyle gulped. Adora noticed this and put her hand on his shoulder "We can do this." She whispered encouraging him. He smiled meekly and a hologram of a purple princess appeared over them, Adora narrowed her eyes and everyone else was freaking out, and Kyle was about to run straight into danger, she grabbed the collar of Kyle's shirt "Be careful!" Adora said, Kyle sighed of relief "Thanks, Adora" Adora hurled an explosive "Follow me!" Adora yelled, the rest of the members following suit.

Kyle was hit and jolted back, Adora caught him, and X was on his chest plate. "Aww...first out again..." He complained, Lonnie narrowed her eyes at him "Great job Kyle, as usual." she said sarcastically. Adora narrowed her eyes at Lonnie and said "Don't be so harsh, he's trying his best, he lasted longer than he did last time!" Adora looked at Kyle and smiled "You'll get it next time." She encouraged, dusting him off. Kyle smiled meekly "I hope so..." Three princesses towered over them "Great Kyle! That's just great!" Lonnie snapped, Kyle frowned and looked down. "Watch it!" Adora yelled, slightly losing her temper "Everyone run!" everyone except Kyle followed Adora, putting their shields up, Adora, ever the overachiever, ran ahead of all of them.

Lonnie looked worried "Adora!" An alarm started beeping, and Adora looked around confused, and red hexagons glowed red under Adora's feet and a robotic orb shot up from the floor. The orb morphs into a four-legged robot. Adora runs at the robot with a saber. She pulls herself onto the robot's head and bashes its guns with her saber, sighing after she was done, believing she would be fine now, but then the robot sunk into the floor. Adora leaps off and flops onto the floor face-down. Someone strode past her and pushed the crackling robot into the floor. Adora raises her head and, sure enough, it was Catra, smiling smugly and pointing at the red symbol beneath Adora. Adora fell in and held onto a branch. Catra giggled, and looked down at her "Hey Adora, how's it hanging?" Catra teased, Adora rolled her eyes "Seriously Catra. Again? Showing up late and letting us do all the hard parts? That is low, even for you" Catra giggled "Awww, you know nothing's too low for me" Catra smirked and then reached out for Adora "Now come on! You look stupid hanging from there." Catra giggled. Adora smiled for herself and held Catra's hand, and Catra helped her up, smiling. The voice over the pa said "Training successfully completed." Catra smiled and ruffled Adora's hair "Not bad for you." She teased.

Adora smiled to herself and said "I wish I could say the same about you cat, letting us do all the hard parts again? Really?" Adora teased, giggling, Catra rolled her eyes and slightly pushed her sister "Pshh, you shouldn't complain when I swooped in to save your butt!" Catra defended, Adora rolled her eyes and smiled "I would've done fine without you cat." Catra smirked "Sureee because you were doing so fine, hanging from a branch" Catra giggled "It was a simulation cat." Adora said, walking out of the training area, ruffling her sister's hair. Catra ran after her "Wait for me!" Adora smiled "Last one out is a rotten egg!" Adora challenged, now running. Catra whined, giggling "Heyyyy no fair! You got a head start!" Adora got out first "Hah!" Adora said smugly, Catra rolled her eyes "You only won cause you cheated!' she giggled, pushing Adora lightly, Adora rolled her eyes "You're just a sore loser." Adora giggled.

Lonnie smiled, holding her hand up for a high five "Nice job girls." Lonnie said, Adora high-fived her "Thanks! You didn't do so bad yourself." Lonnie looked at Catra, still holding her hand up but Catra just glared at her hand, and Lonnie awkwardly put it down, she looked at Kyle "Hey, sorry for being a jerk Kyle, I was just stressed." Lonnie apologized, looking down "We're still good right?" Kyle smiled slightly "Yeah, It's fine." Catra smirked "You should've seen Adora's face! She was like, 'Aah, no! Betrayal'." Catra giggled, dramatically falling to the floor while Adora just rolled her eyes, hiding a smile, taking off her chest plate, "I can't believe you're so childish and immature- Oh my god is that a mouse!?" Adora dramatically gasped, Catra jolted up "Where!?" The rest of the cadets laughed and Adora asked "Are you ever gonna not fall for that?" Catra rolled her eyes "It was only once! Are you ever gonna let me live that down?" Adora giggled "Nope."

Shadow weaver, Adora and Catra's adoptive mom approached them, she had a red and black mask with a jewel on it, and a red and black gown. "Adora, you have done well, you have completed the course in record time, I have high expectations for you, and you never let me down." Adora smiled a bit and said "Oh well, Catra completed it at the same time as me, she actually helped me." Shadow Weaver glared at Catra "Oh Adora, you don't have to always defend her. She is simply unmotivated, that isn't your fault." Catra glared "You're also sooo supportive aren't you Shadow Weaver?" Catra snarked. Shadow Weaver glared at Catra, towering over her "Silence! Insolent child. You're lucky Adora is fond of you. I would dread to know what would've happened if she wasn't." Adora looked down and gulped, rubbing her arm, and Catra gulped, and looked down, frowning "Sorry Shadow Weaver...it won't happen again." Catra apologized. "Good." Shadow Weaver said, she looked at Adora "Walk with me." Adora put her hand on Catra's shoulder "Are you o-" Shadow Weaver glared at her "Adora." Adora quickly stopped "We'll talk later." Adora said to Catra.

Adora began following Shadow Weaver. They walked down the hallway, it was an awkward silence before Shadow Weaver spoke "Lord Hordak has been watching you. He thinks you are a fine candidate for Force Captain." Adora smiled "Really!? Me!? That's- wow! Haha! I've been dreaming of this moment but I didn't think I would- " Adora stopped herself and took deep breaths to calm herself "That's a high praise. I am honored." Adora said, trying her best to hide her smile. Shadow Weaver nodded "It is. In fact, he sees such great promise in you. That, he has elected you the honor of leading a squadron in the invasion of the rebel Fortress of Thaymor." Adora's eyes widened and she smiled uncontrollably, but then cleared her throat and put her game face back on "This is a big honor. I am honored that I have been chosen to see active duty." Shadow Weaver continued "Exactly." Shadow Weaver held out the green force captain badge "This is your chance to prove yourself." Adora squealed quietly and took her badge quickly, putting it on her shirt. "My team will come along as well right?" Adora asked. Shadow Weaver shook her head "No, they are not yet ready."

Adora widened her eyes "But- but Catra will come at least right? She has been working ha-" Shadow Weaver cut her off "She is unmotivated. She is not worthy." Adora frowned "But-" Shadow Weaver continued "Isn't this what you have always wanted since you were old enough to want anything?" Adora nodded "Yes. I understand. Thank you for this opportunity." Adora said, bowing slightly and going back to the porch where she and Catra hanging out, putting her elbows on the balcony, sighing, wondering what she will tell Catra. Looking over the fright zone.

Somewhere not too far away, a girl with pink hair is shown in a white castle, complaining to her mom "Mom you can't expect me to just stand around while the horde takes over our land! I want to help! Let me help!" The mom shook her head "No, you are too young." the girl narrowed her eyes "I'm 17! I can help! Please let me help!" she begged, she narrowed her eyes "Glimmer. I told you no. I already lost your father in this war, I won't lose you too!" Glimmer gasped, tears appearing at the corner of her eyes, she quickly wiped them away and continued "Mom-" she interrupted her "I am only protecting you." Glimmer snapped "I'm not a child anymore! Let me do this! I won't stand idly by while another city gets taken over by the horde! I won't let anyone lose someone close to them! You have to let me help!" The mom narrowed her eyes "I said no." Glimmer continued "Dad would want me to-" The mom snapped "You're grounded Glimmer! Room. Now!" Glimmer went to her room and sat on her bed, crying softly.

Adora was still looking out at the fright zone, and Catra jumped on her "Adora! I was looking for you everywhere! What did Shadow Weaver say?" Her eyes focused on her badge, as she took it off of Adora's red jacket "Huh? What's this..? Force captain!? You got promoted!? Adora this is awesome! I'm so happy for you! Just imagine the two of us defending the horde! The two of us conquering the world!" Catra smiled, while Adora frowned "Catra..It won't be the two of us." Catra looked crestfallen, "What do you mean..?" Adora sighed "Catra...it's...it's just me..." Catra looked down, frowning but then quickly shook her head and smiled "I...that's..." she sighed "That doesn't matter...I'm really happy for you Adora.." Catra insisted, with a sad smile "So...I guess you'll be gone for most of the day on missions huh..?" Catra asked.

Adora said "I wish I didn't have to...I can quit if you wa-" Catra shook her head "No, don't do that idiot, I won't forgive you if you do that, you'll be a great force captain, do your best okay? I won't forgive you if you don't. I just...wanna know what's outside of the fright zone..." Adora looked down "Y'know...how about we go together?" Adora asked, Catra moved back "Huh? How-" Adora jingled some keys "I've got the keys to the skiffs" Catra blinked in surprise "Adora! You idiot! Don't you dare!" Catra commanded, lightly pushing Adora "If Shadow Weaver knew-" Adora shrugged "She won't now come on." Catra sighed "If we get caught, I'm not taking the fall for you." Adora replied, "I didn't expect you to cat." They got to the room with skiffs and Catra's eyes sparkled "This is awesome!"

Adora, you're officially even more awesome!" Catra said, beaming, Adora smiled smugly "I know." Catra rolled her eyes "Ew. I regret saying that." Adora giggled and went to one of the skiffs, Catra jumped in one of them, "Oh man! I always wanted to drive these things! You know how to right?" Catra asked, looking at Adora, she jumped in "No, buttt how hard can it be?" Adora asked "I'll just press uh...this button!" Adora said, pushing a random button, the aircraft shot up and Adora yelled "Ahh! Hold on tight Catra!" They both held onto tight, and Catra tried to control it, Adora screamed "Catra! Tree-" The skiff crashed, and Adora fell to the floor, she saw a sword in a blue light entangled in vines and heard a voice "She-ra you must be the one...to save the world. You have been chosen." Catra asked "Adora?! Adora!" Adora got up "Ugh...my head..." Catra hugged her, crying "You scared me...I thought...I...I might've because I ran the aircraft into a tree...I thought you wouldn't of waken u-" Adora hugged her "I'm fine cat." Catra sighed "Good..." Adora looked around "Did you see a sword around here?" Catra looked at Adora confused "What? There's no sword what are you talking about? Are you feel feeling okay?" Adora shook her head "Yeah...It was nothing.It was probably just a dream..." Catra said "O...kay...come on, let's go back to the horde." Catra said, holding Adora's hand and getting back in the skiff "I hope this isn't broken..." Adora said, Catra shrugged "It's probably fine, thanks for this Adora." Catra said, smiling and hugging Adora. Adora looked down and smiled "You're welcome cat, we should do this again sometime, it was fun." Catra smirked "Sounds good to me!" Adora pushed a button, and the skiff took them back to the horde.

Glimmer was lying in her bed, writing a note, she read it aloud, quietly "Mom, I know you'll never read this, but I need to let it out, I feel like you don't see me as capable, but still as a child who needs protection, I'm capable. I can handle myself. I'm not a child anymore." An arrow shot through the window, right next to Glimmer, she saw a note attached to the arrow, and she read it "Look outside?" she looked seeing her best friend, he was wearing a crop top with black hair, Bow. She narrowed her eyes and whisper-shouted "Bow!? What's wrong with you!? You nearly hit me!" Bow shouted "What?!" Glimmer said the same thing "You nearly hit me!" Bow looked confused "Wha-" Glimmer teleported Bow to her. "Shh! I said you nearly hit me! Why are you here? I'm grounded!" Bow whispered "Calm down, I saw first ones tech in the whispering woods, if you get it, Angella is sure to let you help out!" Glimmer thought about it and smiled "Let's do it." she went to the door "Mom! I'll be asleep! I'm tired!" Angella said "Okay! Goodnight!" Glimmer got some items to make it look like she was under the blanket, and went to the whispering woods with Bow.

Adora was tossing and turning in bed, she couldn't stop thinking about that sword, whenever she tried to sleep, a voice just kept saying "Adora. Adora. Adora." it was a voice she never heard before. Finally having enough, she shook her head, took the skiff keys and whispered "I must be crazy..." she walked out of her bed, careful not to wake Catra, right as she stepped out Catra went behind her. "Adora, what are you doing?" Catra whispered, Adora sighed "I'm going back, I swear I know it's there..." Catra sighed "I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm in." Adora shook her head "No...stay here." Catra looked hurt "But Adora-" "Please. I don't want you to get into trouble. We'll do it some other time ok? But it's too risky for now." Adora begged. Catra looked down and sighed. "Adora, you've been acting weird ever since we got back, are you sure you're ok?" Catr asked, slightly concerned, Adora sighed "I'm fine just...stay here ok? Just cover for me, please?" Catra looked down and then sighed, crossing her arms "Finee. You're lucky you're the only one I like, I would've ratted anyone else here." Adora smiled, hugging Catra "Thanks cat." Catra smiled, hugging her back "Come back soon, okay?" Adora smiled "Of course cat." Adora took the skiff.

it was a lot smoother this time, probably because she didn't press random buttons while walking though the woods, she heard two voices, one sounded like it belonged to a girl, the other one sounded like it belonged to a boy, the boy said "Come on, we're close I can feel it." the girl sighed "Please tell me we're not lost." Adora saw a bright blue light and ran over to it, she heard people running, it was probably the boy and the girl.

They both saw each other and gasped Adora yelled "Princesses!" and the boy and girl yelled "Horde solider!" Adora grabbed the sword and moved back, pointing it at them she yelled "Stay away from me! I don't want to hurt you but I will if I have to!" Glimmer grabbed the sword out of Adora's hand and threw it to Bow, Bow caught it, Glimmer rolled her eyes "Since when do horde soliders not want to hurt anyone?" Adora narrowed her eyes "Says the princesses! The horde is just trying to undo the damage you caused!" Glimmer yelled "Oh yeah!? Well the princesses didn't kill my father!" Glimmer yelled crying, Adora stayed slient, "I...I didn't know I-" Bow glared at Adora and started walking towards her. Adora took the sword from him and a bright light emulated from it, sparkles appeared and everyone was stunned. A blue hologram appeared "Hello. I am Lighthope. This sword was meant for you, will you fight for the honor of grayskull?"

Before Adora could say anything, a bright blue light blinded her, and she was knocked back, and passed out. She woke up with her wrists bound, she struggled and Glimmer said "Listen up horde spy! You claim to not know about my dad, but I know you're lying, tell us everything you know." Adora said "I really don't let me go now!" Glimmer rolled her eyes "No, horde scum! You tried to steal our sword." Adora said "Uhm excuse me!? You were the one who took the sword from me!" Glimmer said "Well too bad for you, the whispering woods is under the rebellion's protection, horde scum." Adora narrowed her eyes "Stop calling me that! My name is Adora!" Glimmer said "I don't care what your name is! Not only did I get First Ones tech for the rebellion but I caught a horde spy! Mom will be so impressed!" Adora screamed "I am not a spy!" Glimmer rolled her eyes "Whatever you say Horde scum, follow us!" Glimmer said, tugging on the vine they tied her in like a leash, she was dragged on for what felt like hours, Bow looked around "You positive we are going the right way Glimmer?' Glimmer snapped "Yes Bow! Please trust me just this once!" Bow flinched back and Glimmer started taking deep breaths "Sorry...just stressed." Bow smiled and looked at Adora "See? She's super nice." Adora looked away "Hmp." Bow rolled his eyes and they kept walking.

Glimmer teleported, leaving on sparkles, Adora glared at Bow "You know she's a princess, right? How can you follow her? Princesses are a dangerous threat to everyone on Etheria." Bow sighed "I guess that's what the horde told you." Adora said, "It's just common knowledge." She attempted to shrug her shoulders but was unable to, due to her arms being bound. Bow said, "And I suppose you've met a princess before?" Adora said "Yes!" Bow gave her a skeptical look and Adora caved "Well maybe not but still-"

Before they could finish, Bow heard Glimmer scream, and Bow ran over to her, dragging Adora with him, Glimmer was holding onto a doll that was burnt, she rubbed her thumb over it and held it close to her heart, tears rolling down her cheeks, they all looked at the city, or rather, what remained of it, people were fleeing, burning buildings, ash and smoke everywhere, Adora could hear people screaming, kids crying, it was horrible. Adora looked out at the wreckage, tears forming at the corners of her eyes and she quickly shook them away "Look at what you princesses did!" Adora screamed, Glimmer defended "What WE did!? Look at the horde robot genius!" Glimmer screamed, pointing the the horde robot, Adora gasped "They...they must've been defending it, protecting it, from you princesses." Glimmer sighed "You're a heartless destroyer. Just like the rest of your people, come on Bow, let's help people evacuate."

Glimmer ran and Bow followed suit, leaving Adora alone, Glimmer went over to a little kid, with broken legs "Come on, let's go." Glimmer said, picking the kid up, the kid was crying "My daddy's in there!" Glimmer looked where the kid was pointing, it was a burning building, the dad was upstairs, surrounded by flames. Glimmer said, "We have to go now!" The kid cried "Please no! I don't want to lose my daddy!" the kid cried, Glimmer looked at the kid and the burning building, the dad was consumed in the flames, and set the kid down gently yet quickly "I won't let another kid lose their father in this war!" Glimmer yelled, then she teleported to the balcony of the house, breaking the window with a rock, and picking the dad up quickly, burning herself in the process, she held back her screams and teleported him back to his child, they hugged and Glimmer said "Now come on! Let's go!" They went away and Glimmer looked at the burn marks on her arms, she ripped off farbric from her shirt, covering her arms so nobody else would see, her mom would freak if she knew that Glimmer got burnt saving someone, they helped evacute the rest of the people, meanwhile Adora was just loking at it "No...no...Hordak wouldn't do this...he wants to change things for the better...make Etheria more orderly...but then why would Glimmer and Bow help evacute the people...they are the bad guys right...?" Adora shook her head, she was far too confused, after a while Glimmer and Bow came back, Glimmer asked "Did we get everyone? I almost used up all of my teleports." Bow said "I think so, be careful with them ok? We need to get back to bright moon." Glimmer nodded and glared at Adora "I hope you're proud of yourself." Adora said "The horde is my home! My family! They took me in when I was a baby! You don't know them like I do." Then Bow said, "Maybe you don't know them like you think you do." they heard thudding from somewhere below, they all looked down and a big insect like creature went up, everyone gasped and Adora heard the voice again "Will you fight for the honor of greyskull?" It kept playing it her head, the beast knocked Glimmer into a tree with it's tail, causing Glimmer to drop the sword on the ground, right next to Adora's foot, she kneeled down, and grabbed the sword and yelled "For the honor of grayskull!" A blinding flash of light caused everyone to shield their eyes, Adora broke through the vines and what was left was an 8-foot woman with glowing blonde hair that fell down to her ankles. She was wearing a white dress and a golden headband with a jewel in the center of it.

[cangrellesteponme]

What disappointed you about She-Ra?

well. for context, i got into she-ra during the release of its last season. so i bingewatched it all, as one does. the show's not bad - it's disappointing in many ways, and the writing is not exactly stellar, but it gets the job done, has a few nice twists, and okay-ish world building. plus, it's pretty.

HOWEVER. when multiple people have the fucking audacity to recommend it for "diversity" when it very much fails to deliver... that gets on my nerves.

(i'm going to complain about racism and white bs in relation queerness. and i'm not being articulate or moderate about it.)

this isn't about the queer rep. i'm perfectly fine with it and i have zero issues with it in she-ra. i'm pissed because i am black and autistic and allistic white queers dared recommend it to me, and many others like me, saying that i was included in that show's rep. that entrapta's characterisation and treatment weren't vile and dehumanising. that the conditionally positive representation of people of colour was good, diverse, well-researched and beautifully executed. i'm very sorry (i'm not.) but if your idea of positive, ground-breaking representation that will help black people feel more seen and loved is only showing black people presenting in ways we're taught to adopt to be seen as non-threatening... that's shit rep. but i can deal with that. the worst part is, of course, catra and adora, and the inevitable stereotypes and objectification of women of colour in queer circles that gets excused or overlooked because "we're not like dirty white men"... the way this was done in canon and the way the fandom received it just has that vibe of white sapphics who are way too into rev girl utena and way too into woc. so that gave me very big, very bad feelings. but that's just how queer fandoms are. most people are white. that gets uncomfortable at times. it happens. it's overall still bearable and i can live with it.

but unfortunately, it was not just a vibe!! these hoes are fr racist actually. i'm not going to go tell the whole thing because i don't have that kind of energy but there was a whole racist joke moment with the she-ra crew... which was not handled well. like, handled poorly enough for me to know with absolute certitude that every single person in that room is not good to black people. which. i. i was not surprised but y'all. why do all of your fave queer creators have so much racial prejudice in their bigoted little bones???

anyway that's pretty much it lmao she-ra's not as good as y'all said and it's worse than i expected in many ways. i still think it's an okay show lmao

[ordinaryschmuck]

Hello. I am also here as someone who has seen both The Owl House and The Last Airbender, love them both, considers Hunter and Amity his top five favorite characters in TOH (Luz will always be number one), believes Zuko’s a co-protagonist to Aang in Avatar (in his own story, that is), and has come to hate Lily Orchard with a passion for a number of reasons beyond her bullshit takes.

Firstly, Lily ALMOST has a point of white favoritism within the Owl House fandom. There’s way more fan content for Amity and Hunter than there is for Luz and Willow, who are often treated as “the girlfriends,” unfortunately. BUT you can also argue that it’s because fandoms love the angsty characters with tragic backstories that fans can latch onto in hopes that these characters get. You see it with Lapis from Steven Universe, Catra from She-Ra, and, of course, Zuko from Last Airbender. It doesn’t DISMISS the white favoritism, as I think even VINEY gets more attention than Gus in the fandom. But it is an argument that has SOME weight given that fandoms loving the angsty characters is a reoccurring trend that happens in every single fucking piece of media that has ever existed. Just look at how many people prefer Batman over Superman, or how writers had to give Luz, Steven, or Aang angst to compensate.

But with THAT out of the way, Lily’s “arguments” towards Amity and Hunter are definitely unfair considering what we forgive Zuko for. Keep in mind, I consider Zuko’s redemption arc as one of the most smartly written redemptions in media. Its praises are sung for a reason, and I’ll never complain about it. BUT, if you complain about Amity and Hunter’s redemptions taking too long or say that Zuko is just a child escaping abuse but blatantly ignore Hunter and Amity for doing the same thing…you’re an idiot.

Amity, Hunter, AND Zuko are all characters who have built up walls around their hearts and refuse to let anyone tear them down. For Amity and Hunter, every episode that focuses on them causes another crack to be added to that wall. Amity keeps letting hers fall the more she’s with Luz and Hunter keeps trying to build his back up only for them to fall back down faster with each friend he makes. They’re both a good case for how a redeemable character should always get better before they get worse, with their personalities from their first and final appearances being a stark contrast of each other. Zuko is in a similar boat as Hunter, where every time his walls tend to break down, he always builds them back up with glue, spackle, and even duct tape. He occasionally shows signs of softness and clearly loves his uncle more than anything, but he still goes above and beyond to hunt a twelve year old, almost burned an island to the ground, turned his back to his uncle TWICE, and stole from a girl that showed him his first bit of kindness in months. He still has his soft moments and seeing what he grew up with more than makes it understandable for why he does all of it, but here’s the thing: Zuko is the one and only redeemable character who backslides HARD, turning his nose away from all the growth he went through, and getting away with it. When he once more turns to the dark side, despite making peace with himself and is finally given an OUT, it shows that Zuko, the great character that he is, isn’t perfect. And don’t get me wrong, this was a SMART decision, despite how much it hurts to see him do this to himself. It allows Zuko to give himself everything he thought he wanted, realize he’s still miserable, and changes for the better without once doubting himself a second time. That’s GREAT writing…BUT if you’re willing to forgive Zuko for everything he’s done, including how he backslides, you have no excuse for NOT forgiving Amity and Hunter. Especially when they have similar situations and circumstances. Amity feels as though she has to always prove herself to her parents and fear what they could do if she fails, just like Zuko with his father. Hunter was a child raised to be a soldier, doing what he thought was best for his people, just Zuko and the fire nation. There’s so many similarities between all of these characters, and they’re all good in their own right despite SOME problems you have with each of them. They work for the type of stories that the writers of each show wants to tell and it makes no sense why someone would raise one character up on a pedestal and take a shit on the others.

But that’s Lily Orchard for you. She’s a woman who believes her own bullshit until the day she dies, despite how nonsensical it is. Why else do you think she claims her sibling’s rape allegations as “They’re jealous that my life is better.”

Lily Orchard's Double Standards in Regards to Hunter

So one of Lily's critiques of Hunter is that it takes him "too long" to break from Belos' control (four episodes into his arc to be exact...which is not even that long. Like, at all). Ignoring how little water this critique holds by itself, time to bring up...

Zuko. I have not seen Avatar the Last Airbender (I probably should lmao) but from what I've heard Zuko and Hunter have many similarities to each other, with a few major differences setting them apart. And Lily is known to like Zuko quite a bit...

...so...when does Zuko break from Ozai? Why, (from I've been told) it's mid-season 3...

...So Hunter takes four episodes to break from Belos in a single season and Lily complains about it being "too long", but when it takes Zuko almost the entire series to do the same for Ozai, she doesn't complain...

...that's...interesting...Oh, but I'm not done yet with the Zuko comparisons. In Lily's white favoritism video, Lily gets on Hunter's ass for kidnapping and almost forced a bunch of teenagers into the EC (conveniently ignoring the fact that he realized his mistake and fixed it two minutes later).

...even though Zuko did FAR WORSE than Hunter, yet NEVER gets of his ass for that. Oh, and apparently, to Lily, Zuko was never a villain and was "just an abuse victim escaping an abusive situation", yet she never applies this same logic to Hunter for SOME REASON despite their many similarities???

Then there's Amity, a character in the same show as Hunter who also has some similarities to him, being a deliberate parallel to him. Bringing up Lily's complaint about Hunter taking "too long" to break from Belos, she, like with Zuko, doesn't apply the same critique to Amity for some reason...? Like, if you're going to complain about Hunter not breaking from Belos fast enough, why don't you complain about Amity not standing up to her mother quicker?

Hell, why don't you apply this to ANY character with and abusive parent?

....Oh, I know the reason why, actually; Hunter is an "angsty white boy", while Amity is a white girl and Zuko is Asian. The reason why Lily doesn't complain about these things for Amity and Zuko but she does for Hunter is because of his gender and skin color/ethnicity respectively. She's directly holding a double standard that she doesn't hold due to them not being "angsty white boys".

I've said it before, but Lily's critiques of Hunter are entirely biased around him being an “edgy white boy” and double standards like these clearly show that.

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Have any fun headcanons on how Entrapta runs her Kimgdom pre and post war?

Like does trying to be more social make her try to interact with her subjects

I did a story once of post war series of Dryl hosting a science fair and Entrapta is the judge

Having her be a normal responsible ruler is the most boring thing to think about in the world actually. It's just... absolutely not in her nature, nor should it be ever. The idea of Glimmer settling down is already dull enough.

For your question - Pre-war, i have a longstanding oneshot idea for that. At least the early years. But imo Entrapta was not ready, and the position her kingdom was in when it was handed over was absolute hot trash. So she just buried her head in the sand and let it fall apart, building robots for herself and to replace lost staff.

"Your Highness, sorry about your family, we really need you to leave the workshop though, your dad lost his trade deals with Brightmoon when the Horde attacked so there is a shortage of food and wood, we haven't sold any steel in months so the miners have no work, castle staff are leaving in droves especially now, and your coronation ceremony is supposed to be in six minutes. Surely you want to finally take control of the situation and not repeat the mistakes of the late Prince-- Wait, Princess, where are you going--"

So that's why Dryl is a deadzone at the start of the show and Entrapta only has 3 castle staff who don't like her very much, as well as absolutely NOBODY responding to her distress beacon. The cooks were probably recent hires too because they seem so young, two of them could be younger than Entrapta herself. And she had NO qualms handing over her kingdom to the Horde. Catra said "Dryl's forces have fled". I think this is funnier if the only people who lived there were the 3 castle cooks, some daring squatters like the goblin dude, a postman, and a random elderly couple who keep complaining about the large noisy Horde vehicles. Otherwise she let a kingdom full of people get taken over by the Horde, which is a little fucked up even for Entrapta, but not out of her range.

Post-show I think this is where the question really comes in, who is she now? Entrapta has spent the series on a ridiculous and dangerous adventure moving from place to place, things being chaotic for her moreso than anyone else. She hasn't even BEEN to Dryl since she was left in the Fright Zone!! And she clearly didn't miss it much. The last time Entrapta was in Dryl was in the Portal episode and I thought that scene was quite sad, sure there are her robot friends, but it came across as a safe kind of prison (though ofc it's not safe with what she gets up to) where there are no exciting social interactions to get hurt by or enjoy.

When you've moved to the Fright Zone, survived Beast Island, ran from place to place surviving Prime's attack, spent months on a dangerous space mission, and then come back to find your camp has to move again because all your buddies got chipped, the idea of STOPPING that adventure and "settling down" back into that shitty castle labyrinth you locked yourself in years ago, taking on the responsibilities you long abandoned, it must be terrifying!!!

Personally what I see happening is Entrapta just assuming she can instantly get settled in back home since, duh, it's HOME, and when she gets there and the place is completely falling apart because the Horde struggled to survive against the Prime invasion, the outer areas of the castle are overrun with growth, but the inside is as dark and confusing and empty as she left it, there are no people, there's no sound, how can that possibly feel like home??? Where do you even begin to make this town feel like a home to anyone?

But she does have more support now from all her friends, and there are a lot of new people that NEED a stable place to live, and while I think Entrapta's instinct would be to stay wherever her friends are (most of them may be in Brightmoon), she'd probably decide to head home, demolish the castle walls to let some light in, and set up a sanctuary in Dryl for some of the clones. There's lots of room, and if Hordak and Wrong Hordak are there, together everyone can build a pretty cool town. Maybe even a school, and a spaceport!!! Wouldn't that be awesome! What a bunch of nerds.

Doing princessy things like Glimmer and leading dull ceremonies and stuff like that? Never. Entrapta would sooner abdicate. Maybe she does. Or maybe she delegates all the most boring responsibilities to other people and finds a way to do the bare minimum princess work to keep everyone together with the most efficiency. Does anyone see it as princess work or just healthy leadership? I bet Entrapta disappears a lot on science adventures. There is always going to be an edge of chaos in Dryl. People don't like authority in that town, especially not the ruler.

[catrasredemption-moved]

Hi! How about a fic where Catra’s old injuries from Shadow Weaver and being chipped act up and Adora and the BFS help her? I love your writing btw

Send prompts maybe?

Chronic pain.

That was what the surprisingly gentle healer called it when Catra had complained about pain and Adora had practically carried her to the infirmary. She wasn’t even hurt, but Adora wouldn’t let it up.

The healer had asked Catra if she had any history of chronic pain, which had gotten a shrug and, “Yeah, I guess.” Which had led to a ten-minute argument with Adora about what kind of pain, and how long, and why hadn’t she mentioned it, and-

The poor, patient healer had interrupted then to ask Catra when it had started, which led to an unpleasant trip down memory road, recalling all the times Shadow Weaver had used magic to abuse her, right up through everything that happened on Prime’s ship. A quick exam showed nothing was physically wrong with Catra at that moment, which meant what she was feeling now was more than likely a long-lasting effect of the abuse. There wasn’t much to be done about it - she could take something for the pain, try to relax whenever it hurt too much, and otherwise go about her life as usual.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Adora demanded as soon as they left.

“About what?” Catra asked flatly.

“About... About this! About all of it!”

“You knew what she was doing to me, it wasn’t exactly a secret.”

“I didn’t know it was that bad!”

Something snapped in Catra; she whirled to look at Adora, eyes flaring. “Of course you didn’t! What did you think happened all those times we got in trouble and you got sent to bed while she held me back? It’s not my fault it took a stupid magic destiny for you to realize how terrible she was!”

And oh, she immediately regretted saying that. But it was too late to take it back, too late not to see the hurt flash across Adora’s face. Catra stepped back without a word, and Melog wrapped around her ankles, cloaking them both and giving Catra a clean getaway.

Glimmer found her on the roof of the highest tower a few hours later. Her legs were drawn up to her chest, forehead resting on her knees, hands clasped behind her back.

“I didn’t mean it,” she mumbled.

“I know.” Glimmer sat with her, looking out at the Whispering Woods. “You know it’s really fun having you around. I find new places I would never even think to look usually.”

“Yeah I’m sure I’m great to have around when I do shit like this.”

“That’s...” Glimmer paused, then sighed. “I told Adora she was a terrible She-Ra.”

“So did I, you’re not special.”

“At least you said as her enemy and not one of her best friends and the queen.” Catra peeked at Glimmer out of the corner of her eye. “And I was wrong. And I shouldn’t have said that. And I’m not sure I deserved her forgiveness, but that’s beside the point. It sucks, though, because you’re not... wrong. I love Adora, I really, really do. But she focuses on the wrong things sometimes. A lot of the time, actually. The fact that she honestly believed the Horde was good is still insane to me. That’s who she is, though, isn’t it? I mean, it’s who Shadow Weaver raised her to be. Everything is exactly as it seems and everything can be fixed.”

Catra snorted despite herself. “How many times has she pulled we can fix this on you?”

“I lost count. And it gets so frustrating because sometimes you don’t want a fix, you just want to be angry. But she’s either looking forward for a solution or looking back to see how it’s all her fault.”

That was an accurate description of Adora and Catra hated it. “Starting to think we’re the only people who understand her,” she said with a small, humorless smile.

“We absolutely are,” Glimmer agreed. “So what are you going to do, keep sitting up here and staring at your legs or tell her why you’re upset so she can understand?”

Catra’s ears went flat against her head. “I don’t even know why I’m upset,” she admitted.

“Then tell her that. Just tell her something.”

Glimmer stood, holding out a hand. Catra took it, sighing, and closed her eyes, hoping that would alleviate some of the motion sickness.

It didn’t.

Somehow, Adora was right there to catch her. She heard Glimmer saying, “Have a good talk!” then the tinkle of bells as she disappeared. Catra forced her eyes open to look at Adora. She looked guilty. Of course she looked guilty.

“I’m-”

Catra presses a hand to her mouth. “Don’t. You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

She tugs Adora to the bed, sitting and curling in on herself. “I shouldn’t have gotten mad. It’s not your fault Shadow Weaver was a terrible person and that I never told you.”

“I should have-”

“What? Known?” Catra laughed bitterly. “I didn’t want you to know and then I was mad when you didn’t know. Tell me how any of that is fair.” Adora didn’t answer. “Yeah, it sucks. And of course she did enough damage to make it hurt for literally the rest of my life. But it’s not your fault. None of this is.”

Adora was quiet for a moment, actually taking the words to heart. “Does it hurt now?” she asked after a moment.

“A little. Everything always hurts a little though. Before Prime it was just some days...” Her hands found their way back to her neck. “But now it’s all the time. It’s not that bad, though. The headaches are the worst, and I can handle those. It’s not a big deal.”

Adora gently pulled her hands away from Catra’s neck. “It’s a big deal,” she said quietly. “If it hurts you, it’s a big deal. I wish you had told me.”

“I didn’t want you to freak out. You know, like you did.”

“Okay, but I’m not freaking out now.” Adora tugged Catra close, half into her lap, kissing the scar from the chip. “And I want to know.”

Catra tucked herself under Adora’s chin, an unconscious purr rumbling in her chest. “Are you okay now?” Adora asked, absentmindedly thumbing the scar.

“Yeah. Better with you.”

That, of course, meant peace would never last. “Have you guys talked?” Glimmer demanded as she reappeared with a pile of blankets and pillows and Bow, who had an armful of snacks.

“It’s time for Catra’s first Best Friend Squad sleepover!” he added cheerfully. Catra groaned, pressing her face into Adora’s shoulder.

“Please, no.”

“Too late, this is happening.”

Adora looked over Catra’s head, giving her friends a small smile. She knew this was their way of trying to distract from the day. Even if Catra complained, she would enjoy it. And Adora was grateful.

[babyspacebatclone]

I was just thinking this weekend about a post I did a touch back, complaining about how up until the second last episode of the series Catra was still verbally complaining that everything was about Shadow Weaver.

And the entire “Well, she’s not a real person” thing came into my head.

And you know what?

That’s what makes me angry!

It’s the show that’s forcing the “fixation on an abusive mother figure” narrative into this mess. It’s the show that’s not letting Catra move on.

Until Catra’s fighting an entire alternate reality battle completely parallel and not actually interacting with Adora’s own climax.

Up until the show says Catra’s plotline is the only canon one now.

Because elsewhere, while Catra’s existential crisising over “Adora loves our mother figure more than she wants to bone me,” the show also remembers the actual plot!!!

Mara calls her out on it! Granted, poorly written to force in the tacked on “[romantic] love is the only thing that fixes things!” plot tumor Season 5 has, but still!!

Adora needs to learn she doesn’t need to sacrifice herself to have worth, that choices where she’s not the first martyr are worth exploring.

You know, the point Angella was trying to make two seasons ago. The point that kinda got muddled, what with the entire traumatizing Adora over Angella sacrificing herself issue.

And the show likes to pretend Catra can at least see the actual Adora climax plotline, over there in the distance.

But the relevant point here is that Catra doesn’t know why Adora is making the sacrifice.

She flip flops in this scene whether Adora is making a choice over all this, revealing the real thing she’s pissy about is that Adora didn’t “choose” Catra.

Why is Catra’s “redemption” supposed to be “Protect Adora from everyone else’s traumatic abusive decisions”??

And this is the text, it’s supposed to be symmetrical to the way Adora rescuing poor abused and traumatized Catra from being possessed and controlled and made the victim from Prime.

And anyone who thinks there is actual parallel between “Catra was mind controlled by the evil overlord she tried to girlboss herself into surviving under, and failed” and “Adora was traumatized by her mother figure for the explicit purpose of taking on the martyr role for the sake of those important to her, and Adora has not had the opportunity to let people deep enough in to fix that what with her second mother figure killing herself in front of Adora and one of her best friends getting corrupted in the depths of their own grief and the very real war they are still fighting”….

…..

Well, they weren’t watching the same Season 4 I’ve been getting recaps from.

(obligatory note: Catra trying to survive Prime and still having issues with SW’s manipulative treatment of her are valid. They’re just not compatible with Adora’s plotline and the character growth she had in previous seasons.)

No matter how much people age gonna scream '"you just can't handle problematic queer girls" at me, I still think SPOP did a steaming garbage job with Catra's arc.

And I'm so fucking tired of explaining that my displeasure for the show's writing regarding Catra's arc doesn't not mean I want my media pure and soft, hate lesbians, hate women, hate cats or whatever else you want to accuse me of.

[jouanasblog]

The last couple of days I’ve seen a lot of criticism based on Catras character so let me remind you something; Catra and Adora were teens when Adora found the sword, they were raised in a toxic environment without realizing it is toxic. I know that many people are aware of this but I don’t think they really understand what that means, when you grow up in a toxic household it can affect you in different ways, Catra wanted Shadow Weavers acceptance so much that she was willing to let Adora “the first person who taught her what love is “ go and that happened not because she was weak or evil but because the Horde was the only thing she knew and for the people who will complain about how Adora was taught the same thing, Catras and Adoras abuse are NOT the same and the way they were raised were also not the same, Adora was taught that she doesn’t deserve love unless she has something to offer, Catra was taught that she isn’t worthy of love in general . Another thing that I want to point out is that Catras plan makes more sense to me ???? Don’t get me wrong I don’t agree with the whole “ let’s destroy everything and everyone” thing but why would you trust someone that you just met, especially when you knew them as you’re enemies, Catra is someone who finds being vulnerable hard and rightfully so, Shadow Weaver has betrayed her and abused her so much that it wouldn’t be easy for anyone, so why would she just say “ Yeah Adora I’m fucking going with you let’s trust our enemies “. So NO you can’t compare their trauma because it is completely different but you can acknowledge that the reason why their relationship is NOT toxic is because despite the different things they went through they have a deep connection and understanding for each other’s traumas and they make each other become a better person.

Idk if it really makes sense English is not my first language and I also have a problem when it comes to writing my thoughts and feeling so pls be nice :)

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Perfuma: *Calls out Catra for being a bad friend and is the only one who gives Scorpia a chance*

Me: Is this the same character? Last I checked, she was nice to BFS, and literally only tolerated (hated but pretended to be above it) everyone else. She doesn’t even act like a friend to BFS, more like an acquaintance.

don't forget she blamed entrapta for being a bad friend. entrapta, the person she leashed and dehumanized. yes, entrapta joining the horde was not a good thing, but perfuma is the last person who gets to complain about it.

[shera-dnd]

A Day at a Time - Recovery

After an unreasonably long hiatus and an even more unreasonable amount of rewrites, it is finally fucking done, the final chapter of my modern au glitradora fanfic.

As usual here’s the AO3 link if you’d rather read it there and let us move on with the show

Catra woke up to Melog licking her face, bright and early like he usually did. She groaned and grumbled, still exhausted from the past couple of days, but still gave her boy plenty of pets and kisses. He had pretty much saved her life, after all.

Yesterday still felt hazy to her, like it hadn’t really happened. That had been her lowest point since she started therapy and taking meds. It was like slipping in and out of a dream all day, with barely any energy to even acknowledge how awful she felt, let alone get up and do anything about it. It took Glimmer and Adora showing up to get her to even eat.

“I must have really scared you, huh Melog?” She commented, sitting up on her bed “I’m sorry. Mommy didn’t mean to make you worry.”

The cat splayed himself on top of Catra’s lap, begging for more pets, which Catra happily gave.

“I’m glad things got better too.” She offered him a weak smile. “Thank you for getting them. I don’t know what I would do without you”

Seemingly satisfied with the pets and now full of energy to burn, Melog tried to drag his mom out of bed so they could eat and play.

“Yeah, let’s not dwell on that...” She chuckled at herself a little, before finally getting out of bed.

Using her bathroom and looking in the mirror every morning was always a pain even when she looked her best - fuck gender dysphoria and fuck her beard for coming back all the time - but today it felt extra bad, because she looked like absolute garbage. That’s what crying in bed for several hours does to you.

She sighed, took her meds and washed her face.

Nope, still looked awful. Apparently being accepted and cared for by the people she loved wasn’t enough to cure her deep-seated self image issues. Looks like all those romance novels lied to her. Well, one step at a time.

And the next step was breakfast, so she made herself a nice meal and left some extra tuna for Melog. She had barely sat down to enjoy that meal, when she heard a knock on the door.

“Hey, Catra,” She heard Adora calling from outside. “Are you ready to work out?”

Catra put her food aside and did her best to look annoyed about this. Being interrupted this early in the morning was a pain in the ass, but it was vastly overshadowed by how excited she was that Adora really came back. They said they’d try to spend more time with her now, but she still worried that they were only saying it to make her feel better.

So today was a little harder for her to put on her grumpy act as she opened the door to greet her crush “Hey, Adora.” She grumbled “Not sure if you can tell, but it’s raining outside. How exactly do you plan on jogging like that?”

“I think we’ve had enough cardio for now.” Adora answered “It’s about time we did some weight exercises!”

“Why do I have a feeling I’m gonna hate this?” She groaned.

“Oh we are,” Adora somehow managed to shoot Catra a beaming smile as she said that. “But we’re gonna look hot as hell, so it’s gonna be all worth it!”

Catra did not understand how Adora wasn’t aware of how insanely hot she already was, but she wasn’t gonna say that outloud. Instead she decided to mess with her “Are you saying that I’m not hot as hell already?”

“I- What? No!” That seemed to be enough to short out Adora and deeply amuse Catra “I already…” She lowered her voice considerably. “I already think you’re really hot”

Catra was certainly not expecting that earnest response and it certainly had an effect on her poor heart. “H-hey I was just joking!” She awkwardly replied. “Just come on it. Let me finish my breakfast and then we can start.”

~~~

Catra didn’t know who invented planks, but she hated them with a passion. She wanted to say that she hated Adora too for putting her through that hell for what felt like an hour - it was only a minute - but she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to hate her even if she tried.

After this gruelling workout routine, the only thing Catra wanted was to lay down on the yoga mat and maybe pass out for a bit. Unfortunately that request was denied by another person knocking on her door.

“I can get it if you-”

“I’m fine, thanks.'' Catra interrupted, forcing herself up. Fuck, her abs were so sore, but maybe now she would get actual abs. “Hey.” she greeted as she opened the door.

“Hey, Catra I- Oh wow.” Glimmer seemed to freeze for a second as she tried to process Catra and Adora in their workout clothes, covered in sweat.

“That bad, huh?” Catra joked, looking unbearably smug.

“Oh shut up!” Glimmer complained “I wanted to check in on you, but it looks like you’re doing just fine.”

“Oh come on, Sparkles,” Catra smirked, making way for her to enter. “At least stay for a glass of water, you look like you need it.”

“Very funny.” She rolled her eyes as she walked into the apartment, stopping to give Adora a kiss on the cheek on the way in.

Catra tried not to feel bad about that, but it was harder than she’d like to admit. They had said they wanted her to be a part of their relationship and she was happy for that, but it still felt like their affection was always more directed at each other than at her.

Glimmer seemed to notice. She gave Catra a comforting smile, before walking up to her and giving her a matching kiss. Her lips were soft and Catra couldn’t help the awkward smile that formed in her face. Her expression evolved into a full on flustered blush as she noticed that Adora was not only watching, but giving them both the brightest smile she had ever seen.

“What’re you looking at!?” Catra bit back, trying to sound annoyed.

“Nothing...” She replied, with the goofiest smile she could muster.

Catra grumbled a little more, refusing to acknowledge how happy this made her. “Sparkles, your girlfriend is being weird.”

Glimmer chuckled at that “Do you want her to stop?”

No, Catra absolutely did not want her to stop. She couldn’t even begin to describe how much she yearned for their affection. What she also couldn’t do is be honest about that feeling. It took her worst relapse in a long time for her to open up to them yesterday and she certainly didn’t wanna go through that again.

She couldn’t say no, but saying yes would mean that Adora wouldn’t be a big adorable goof around her anymore. So she settled with the only other option she had left, and glared daggers at them both.

Catra couldn’t tell what led her to that conclusion, but Adora seemed to assume that giving her and Glimmer a big sweaty hug was the perfect thing to do in response to that.

“Eww eww eww!” Glimmer complained, struggling to escape her arms. Catra was already sweaty, but still strained to escape the open display of affection.

When they finally managed to break free, Glimmer pointed at the door and ordered “Shower! Now!”

Adora chuckled “Alright alright.” She leaned in to give Glimmer a kiss on the cheek, before she turned to Catra and asked “Mind if I get back here after that?”

Catra didn’t know what to say. She still had a hard time grasping that people might want to spend time with her and that she isn’t just forcing them to endure her presence, and this situation did not help her one bit. Part of her was still afraid that this would crumble to dust in front of her if she made a single mistake.

Still, if this was gonna disappear at any moment, then the least she could do was try to enjoy it while it lasted.

She leaned forward and kissed Adora’s cheek “You better.”

Adora’s goofy smile returned to her in full force as she nearly hopped and skipped her way out of the apartment. Catra couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Wow.” Glimmer started, in a joking tone “That bad?”

“Oh shut up!” She laughed and playfully shoved Glimmer. Only when she recoiled did Catra realize just how sweaty she was.

“Oh no.” Was Sparkles’ only response as Catra shot her evilest grin. She barely had a second to run before Catra came after with her arms spread wide.

“Come on, Sparkles,” Catra laughed as she ran after her. “Don’t you want some affection?”

“No!” She yelled, “No! Eww!” Unfortunately for her, the apartment was small and Catra was far more accustomed to it than she was and soon she was brought into her sweaty embrace “Ugh, I hate you.”

“Aww love you too, Sparkles!” The whole sentence escaped Catra’s mouth before she even processed what she was saying “I mean- I uh-”

Glimmer pulled her into a kiss and softly spoke “I know. I like you too.” Catra hated how easy it was to stun her with simple things like these. “Now let me go before I kick your ass.” She added, playfully.

“Alright alright.” Catra laughed as she let go of her.

“How about you follow Adora’s lead and go take a shower too?” She suggested.

“Wouldn’t it be a bit weird for me to just leave you alone in my apartment while I’m showering?”

“But you aren’t leaving me alone,” She replied, “I have Melog.” As if on cue, he climbed onto the sofa and began staring at the both of them.

Catra rolled her eyes and turned to Melog. “You make sure she behaves while I’m gone.”

He showed no signs of understanding, but her comment still fulfilled its goal of earning a little laugh from Glimmer. That was definitely a sound she could get used to hearing every day.

~~~

By the time she walked out of the shower Adora had already returned. They were both seated on her couch, with Melog doing his best to sprawl onto the both of them for maximum pets and scritches.

“I see you two have made yourselves comfortable.” She commented as she made her way into the room.

“Yeah,” Adora agreed. “Melog made sure we felt very welcome”

“I’m sure he did.” She rolled her eyes as she leaned back against the wall.

In that moment the silence that followed didn’t feel awkward, it felt strangely comfortable. It was like her life was taking a long content sigh at all that had just transpired. Of course this strange and new found peace made Catra immediately suspicious, especially when there was so much uncertainty still in the air.

“So… what now?”

“Well I was thinking I could make you guys some lunch,” Glimmer began. “And then we can maybe binge something on Netflix.”

Catra sighed. “I mean what about us?” she asks, finally admitting her worries. “What are we? What do we do now?”

That seemed to cast the room into a far more uncomfortable silence. Catra couldn’t help but worry that this was that dreaded fuck up that would undo everything.

“I have no idea,” Adora eventually answered, with a shrug. She got up - being careful with Melog as she did - and walked up to Catra “I only just figured how where things stood between me and Glimmer.”

With that Glimmer took her side, arms hooked around her midriff.

“All I know is that I really like the both of you and I wanna be with you two.” She continued, resting one hand on Glimmer’s shoulder and offering her the other. “And we can figure everything else as we go, if you want to.”

She gently took Adora’s hand, just to be yanked forward into a lung crushing hug. A yelp escaped her along with the last of her breath.

“Adora, let her breathe!”

Glimmer’s request only seemed enough for the hug to loosen just enough for her to breathe, while still being extremely tight, and warm, and comforting. It was easy for Catra to, just this once, leave her anxieties aside and lean into this silly little display of affection.

She could do this, she could just be with them and not worry about the future. Just love them and let herself be loved. She knew this wouldn’t fix every problem in her life, but now when those got too much for her to handle, she knew she wouldn’t be doing it alone. Now she had the two of them.

Melog meowed, annoyed that none of that affection was directed at him.

Okay, she had the three of them.

[horde-princess]

Death With Dignity

Word Count: 3k

Summary: Catra reflects on her redemption and the sacrifices of angella and shadow weaver (and kisses her girlfriend 😌😌). Inspired in a major way by @catradora‘s beautiful illustration of catra gazing up at a mural of angella 💘

--

1. monarch

Bells echoed quietly through the halls of the Bright Moon palace. It was four in the morning and Adora’s arm was draped protectively over Catra, her chest rising and falling against her back, heartbeat slow. If they were back in the Horde, the rhythm of it would’ve been fluttery and anxious. But in recent weeks an era of peace had settled over Etheria, and maybe especially over its destined hero. Her calling fulfilled, her new life beginning… Sometimes Catra let herself dream of it, too. Finding peace.

read on ao3

She quietly slipped out of Adora’s arms, careful not to wake her. She’d had a lot of practice the past couple of weeks, which should probably worry her, but if there was something bothering Catra she couldn’t bring herself to admit it... too afraid of watching Adora’s love shatter in her hands like a fragile glass illusion that was never really hers.

Adora stirred in her sleep and her fist hit Catra’s pillow before she relaxed again. Catra flinched. It was hard to look away from her, a living mosaic of everything she found terrifying and breathtaking. The way the moonlight kissed her skin, the curve of her shoulder. When tears blurred her vision enough that she could barely make out the form of her anymore, Catra turned to leave. 

Walking the halls at night, she found an intimacy with Bright Moon that evaded her during the day. The bright colors were dimmed in shadow, there were no curious faces--or suspicious ones. Just the same few guards who had gotten used to her nighttime wanderings. While the palace was full of beautiful paintings and murals like nothing Catra had ever seen, there was one in particular that she kept coming back to every night. She stood before it and gazed up in child-like wonder.

Queen Angella… The former ruler of Bright Moon--or, as Catra knew her, the Horde’s number one enemy--loomed above, a masterful work of art set with colorful stones, gems, painted glass. Occasionally, light from the torches would refract through it a certain way and almost make her seem to come alive. Wings glittered as though moving in a breeze, giving her a divine essence. The larger than life depiction did little to discourage the way Catra had mythologized her in her mind. 

A mother, a warrior, an immortal queen… and the reason Catra found herself gazing into soft blue eyes every morning. 

“Beautiful, isn’t she?”

A voice from down the hall tore Catra from her thoughts and set her heart racing. She automatically assumed a soldier’s stance, the way she was taught to show respect in the Horde.

“King Micah?--” Her breath caught in her throat. 

It had been two weeks since Micah had learned the truth about Angella’s sacrifice. She hadn’t dared ask for forgiveness. Not even as the days passed and Catra wasn’t able to eat, or sleep, or be of much use to anyone, really. Glimmer kept saying he just needed time. 

Micah approached slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on the mural. He was dressed all in white, the traditional Etherian color for mourning, which drew attention to his sunken cheeks, the dark circles under his eyes. He came to stand beside Catra, who watched him warily before also returning her gaze to Angella. She could hear her own pulse in her ears.

“Just Micah, now,” he corrected after a moment. “My days of ruling have long ended.”

His voice was gravelly, tired. Catra guessed he wasn’t sleeping much either.

“Y-yes, sir.”

They settled into an uncomfortable silence as the queen looked down upon them, in all her dignity.

“I’ll admit…” Micah cleared his throat. “When Glimmer told me what happened, I… Well, I’m sorry. For the way that I reacted.”

A wave of nausea swept over Catra. She clenched her fists, feeling mortified.

“No. I deserved it.”

She could feel Micah’s eyes on her but kept looking straight ahead.

“Did you ever meet her?” he asked.

Catra tried to think, sorting through a dusty bookshelf of painful memories.

“I… I saw her once,” she whispered. “During the Battle of Bright Moon, she was… defending the Moonstone. But not really, no.”

Micah nodded thoughtfully, then smiled. 

“And she always said I was the brave one.”

Mesmerized by the artwork, memories continued to pull at Catra… Glimmer breaking down in tears, Adora and Bow’s restrained anger when they asked Catra to leave. The three of them sharing stories about what a loving mother Angella was, what a strong leader. Adora hugging herself as she relayed the details of what exactly happened in the portal that day. How Angella sacrificed herself to save everyone.

How she sacrificed herself to save Adora.

To save her from... Catra. 

From her own monstrous, vile, misplaced wrath.

Catra realized tears were streaming down her face. 

Too overwhelmed with shame to stand any longer under the queen’s scrutiny, she fell to her knees, as if in supplication. She barely registered Micah’s concerned hand on her shoulder. 

“I--I owe her everything,” Catra wept. “I can’t make up for it, I’m so sorry… I’m so, so sorry…”

Before she knew what was happening Micah had knelt down and wrapped his arms around her and she was falling apart, shaking like a child. She didn’t know how long she cried but at the end of it his white gown was washed completely by her tears.

“You’re forgiven, Catra,” he murmured into her hair, and she could only shake her head, trying to hold back another sob. 

“Why do you even care about me?”

Micah sighed. “The same reason my daughter does: you’re trying to make things right.”

He leaned back to gently rest his hand on Catra’s cheek, encouraging her to meet his eyes. The kindness in them was terrible, burning.

“And wherever she is, I know that Angella forgives you, too.”

Somehow, Catra actually believed him. Not because she could ever be worthy of it, but... because it's who Angella was. 

Micah offered her his hand. She hesitated, then accepted it. He pulled her to her feet and they continued to study the artwork together, side by side. Catra felt like she could stare at it for hours. Truthfully, she had.

“I wish I could’ve known her,” she confessed. “Everyone tells me how kind she was. And giving. Nothing like--”

Catra wasn’t sure where she was going with that train of thought. 

“Like Shadow Weaver?” Micah guessed.

The name was like rusty nails scraping out Catra’s insides. She didn’t say anything more. But Micah placed a hand on Catra’s shoulder and she felt some kind of unspoken understanding pass between them.

“Let’s take the day off tomorrow,” he said suddenly, a mischievous lilt to his voice.

Catra squinted at him, though it was a relief to see his cheerful demeanor returning.

 “What? We have the reparations meeting--”

“I need a break from this political stuff,” Micah complained. "Whaddya say, be my partner in crime? Besides, you’re the only one who can translate for Melog--I’ve been dying to ask how they manipulate light waves with magic to--”

“Okay, okay! Fine,” Catra chuckled. “I guess… It could be nice to take a break from everyone.”

“That’s the spirit!” He mussed up her hair a little. “I’ll make a rebel out of you yet.” 

Oh, man. Between Micah, George, Lance… Dads really were all the same. 

“Now why don’t you get some rest, kiddo.”

He said it so gently, and Catra couldn't believe it. How far down into her darkness the light of one person’s forgiveness could reach. 

“King--I mean, Micah… Thank you. For everything.”

Micah smiled fondly.

“You’re welcome.”

She glanced up at Angella one last time and could’ve sworn she saw a smile reflected in the stones.

Catra started to head back to her room, but something stopped her just after she turned the corner. She peeked around it and watched Micah step up to the mural of his wife. 

He touched his forehead to the wall and let out a long, heavy sigh.

“I miss you, my love.”

--

When Catra returned to Adora’s arms, exhaustion nearly overtook her for the first time in weeks, but she fought it and stayed awake all night just to listen to the sound of her breathing.

2. mother

It was strange, being back in Mystacor. The place held nothing but terrifying memories. 

Catra, she… distracts you. Confuses you. Haven’t you hurt each other enough?

Shadow Weaver is sacrificing you! Why can’t you see that?!

It doesn’t always have to be you!

Catra stood from the table abruptly. The other dinner guests stared at her with alarm and Adora met her eyes from across the hall.

“Are you okay?” she mouthed. 

Catra plastered on a smile to address the room.

“Sorry!--I just... remembered something, you’ll have to excuse me.”

She rushed out of the banquet hall and leaned against the wall outside, heart pounding. She forced herself to take a deep breath in. Then out. In, out. Huh. Maybe Perfuma wasn’t as crazy as she thought. They’d been away from home for a couple weeks, traveling and attending parties and helping rebuild kingdoms. It wasn’t that Catra wasn’t enjoying herself, it’s just that she hadn’t had much time to process… well, everything.

She peered down the long corridor, thinking a walk might help clear her head--and that’s when she saw it.

The statue.

The likeness was so uncanny it sent her into fight or flight mode. But Catra had decided a while ago that she was done running.

Her footsteps echoed in the cavernous silence until she stood directly in front of it. The marble glistened in the warm moonlight streaming in through the windows, and it stood tall among its peers in the Hall of Sorcerers--prideful, stoic, severe, and far too much like the woman Catra had once known. A shiver ran down her spine and she struggled for breath as though the air near the statue was thin, all the oxygen around it sucked out. Lifeless eyes stared forward, her gaze passing indifferently over Catra’s head.

I’m so proud of you, Catra.

Her hands were shaking and she clenched them into fists. Blood trickled from her palms to the floor. She shut her eyes but couldn’t suppress it, the rage, the disgust, it burst out of her from some dark and emaciated fragment of her heart--

“I hate you! I will never forgive you!”

The threat fell on ears of stone. Her body slackened. Lips quivering, tasting metal, her voice shook with anger.

“I don’t care if you helped save her... I will never forgive you.”

It was the one thing Catra held over her, the one birthright she’d ever possessed--to deny her absolution. Even in death. 

Especially in death.

At least you admit she’s evil.

You’re one to talk, aren’t you?

Catra gripped her head in her hands, trying to force the memory out, trying not to scream. But wasn’t there truth in it? Wasn’t she a hypocrite? How could she accept others’ forgiveness yet withhold her own? 

You expect me to believe you had a change of heart in the end?! Catra wanted to scream at her. That you actually cared if we survived? If I survived?

She glared up at the statue’s face, the veil concealing her mouth.

ANSWER ME!

“Catra?” 

All the fire drained out of her when she heard Adora call her name. 

Hurried footsteps, then hands grabbing at her shoulders, her wrists.

“Catra!--What--You’re bleeding--”

Catra collapsed against her, sinking into the warmth of Adora’s embrace. Her chest burned but she had no tears left. Not for her. She could only gasp breathlessly against Adora’s shoulder.

“Shh, I’m here, it’s okay. You’re okay.”

“It’s not fair,” was all she could get out. “It’s not fair!”

--

“You know, it used to be all dirty. Scratched up.”

Catra hummed, more focused on Adora playing with her fingers than on her words. They sat against the wall opposite the statue. Her skin was stained red from the blood on Catra’s hands. 

“I guess Castaspella had it refurbished, after... well.”

“She should’ve thrown it out the window,” Catra said through gritted teeth. “Less effort.”

She could hear the disagreement in Adora’s responding sigh but she didn’t say anything.

“What? You think she deserves to be honored?” she snapped.

“No! Of course not. But... if it wasn’t for her…”

Catra pulled her hand away and rose to her feet. Adora followed after her.

“One good thing doesn’t make up for her ruining our lives!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Adora exclaimed. “I watched her hurt you over and over and couldn’t do anything about it!”

Catra started, her anger dissipating as quickly as it had come. She felt like she was a kid again, back in the Fright Zone, terrified and insecure and every stupid thing that ever happened to her was Adora’s fault, except it wasn’t. Not at all. 

She knew Shadow Weaver had hurt Adora, too. They’d talked about it a lot. Why she was always chasing some destiny and throwing herself into danger with no hesitation. But Catra hadn’t told her everything from her perspective, not yet.

“You don’t even know the half of it,” Catra mumbled, feeling contrite for some reason.

Adora’s eyes filled with torment and a darkness Catra hadn’t known she was capable of.

She reached out for her hesitantly and when Adora didn’t back away Catra drew her close and cradled her face with both hands.

“Hey. I love you,” she said softly.

Adora hung her head and squeezed her eyes shut but the tears leaked out anyway.

Running her thumbs along her cheeks to dry them, Catra brushed her mouth tenderly over Adora’s forehead. Steady arms slipped around her waist and held onto her tightly and Adora tilted her face back up, hopeless, longing. Catra felt something almost holy running in her veins as their lips met and Adora’s kiss was warm, slow--too slow, making Catra’s temperature rise, and she didn’t know how long she could hide the truth of how desperate she was for her. But then a gentle glow behind her eyelids turned blinding and suddenly an explosive crack echoed down the hall. 

Catra jumped and opened her eyes to see both of them enveloped in magic.

“...Whoa,” she breathed, slightly lightheaded.

Adora was staring up at the statue in shock and she followed her gaze. As the dust settled, Catra saw the veil hiding its face had been violently ripped off, leaving nothing behind except vacant eyes and splintering cracks in the stone that ran from her hairline to her jaw. 

They stood together in silence, Catra hanging with a hand on Adora’s shoulder.

Light Spinner, whoever she was, had been mangled, torn away… This was the woman who had raised them. The weaver of their shadows. 

Catra coughed a little from the dust and laced her fingers with Adora’s again.

“Not sure Castaspella will like your remodel,” she tried to joke.

“Who cares,” Adora muttered. “Shadow Weaver chose her path. She wanted to be a hero... but she won’t be remembered as one.”

The set of her jaw was rigid, resolute.

“You can’t forgive her either, can you?”

“No. I--I don’t know. One day, maybe.”

One day seemed like a lofty goal to Catra. The unspeakable suffering she’d inflicted on her, on both of them... yet she always had some twisted justification. As if she believed her intentions were good.

I just wanted to prepare you for the world. I wanted you to be strong.

Tears filled Catra’s eyes as she observed the damaged sculpture, but they didn’t fall. 

“Before she died… She said she was proud of me.”

She sensed Adora looking at her, analyzing. Like she was trying to decide how to respond. Catra could guess what was going through her head. I'm proud of you. You should be proud of yourself.

“For what?” she settled on instead.

“Who knows.” Catra thought for a moment. “For not ending up like her, probably.”

Adora brushed her hair back from her forehead. Her hand trailed down her neck and came to rest over her heart.

“You were never like her.”

“Come on, Adora,” Catra nearly begged. “The things I’ve done, I was so angry...”

“Because you were hurting--because you cared, so much, and people just threw it away, I--” she stopped, misery etched on her face. Catra looked down, wincing. “But Shadow Weaver? She was just selfish. How could there have been room in her heart for anyone when she took up so much space herself.”

Catra let out a shaky breath. This day, this whole trip had been so draining. She leaned into Adora for support who wrapped an arm around her.

“If she hadn’t teleported me to the Heart...” her voice fell to a whisper. “I would’ve lost you forever.”

“I know... When I heard you scream, fighting that monster…”

Catra shivered from the memory. 

The sculpture towered over them, unhearing, uncaring. 

“Adora?”

“Hm?”

“Do you... Do you think the only reason she went back to save me was to make sure you set the magic free?”

Adora frowned like she had already thought about it.

“I think… I want to believe… there was some part of her that wanted us both to be happy.”

The image flickered in her mind of Shadow Weaver removing her mask, allowing them a glimpse of her face for the first time since they were kids. Her scars, her sins laid bare for them to see.

It’s too late for me. But you… this is only the beginning for you.

Catra gazed upon the marred face of her abuser, her mentor--her mother, for all  intents and purposes, though she couldn’t bring herself to actually associate her with the word--and something restful settled in her heart. Not peace, not exactly. Just a sense of calm.

Because her and Adora, they were finally free.

She held Adora closer and nuzzled her ear.

“Well, whatever she wanted from us… it doesn’t matter. We get to write our own happy ending now.”

A smile blossomed across Adora’s face. 

“You think you’re my happy ending, huh?”

“Whatever,” Catra scoffed. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t come back from the dead just to kiss me.”

She grinned and started to lean in, but Adora pushed her off with a groan.

“Are you ever gonna let it go? That was one time!”

“And for some reason, it’s always funny--”

Adora cut her off with a kiss and yeah, Catra had the feeling that everything was going to be okay. She laughed breathlessly and leaned her forehead against Adora’s.

“Can we go home now?” she pleaded.

“Ugh, I thought you’d never ask.”

[turtletotem]

if i leave before you, darling (one of us will die inside these arms)

Post-Season 5 Catradora fic, ~700 words, angsty but in a good way? Also they probably both need therapy but we already knew that. Title is from Iron & Wine’s “Naked As We Came” which is not nearly the kind of song it sounds like.

.

The night of their first wedding anniversary, Glimmer throws them a big party—mostly because she feels like throwing a party, Catra thinks, and their anniversary is the nearest excuse, but Catra's not complaining. She and Adora both love a party.

When they make it to their bedroom in the wee hours of the morning, they're both giggling and handsy from a couple of drinks—only a couple; they have commitments in the morning—and collapse into bed without bothering to undress or turn off the last dim sconce on the wall.

Adora burrows into her pillow, one arm around Catra, instantly relaxed. But instead of falling asleep beside her, Catra lays awake, a weird melancholy creeping up on her. This is why Adora never lets her have more than a couple drinks; Adora's a fun drunk, but Catra gets moody in a way that they both know isn't good for her.

"What would you do if I died?" Catra says, voice loud and sudden.

Adora rolls over and stares at her in the faint light.

"Sorry," Catra mutters. "That's morbid and weird. Never mind."

"Yeah, it is," Adora says, equal parts worried and irritated. "What do you mean? You saw how I acted when you only almost died. I'd be really effing sad, Catra, how about that?"

"No, what I mean is… I know you'd be sad, but you'd probably marry again, right? You'd be sad, you'd miss me, but you'd eventually find someone else. I mean," her face makes a half-smile that she doesn't really feel, "there'd be plenty of takers."

Adora sags onto her back and stares up at the ceiling for a long minute. "No, I don't think I would."

Catra scrubs at her face, wishing she'd never spoken. "You don't have to say that…"

"I'm not just saying it. I've never wanted anyone but you, Catra. I can't imagine being with someone else, ever." Adora's hand finds hers in the darkness, laces their fingers. "If I lost you, I'd just… be alone the rest of my life. Which would suck, so, you know, don't freaking die."

She scowls at Catra, who stares back, speechless.

"I'd still have our friends," Adora says thoughtfully, expression softening. "And as long as I still had somebody, I guess I'd be okay, eventually. Like, I don't think I'd be a suicide risk, probably." Her voice breaks. "But no, there wouldn't ever be anyone else."

Tears are spilling down Catra's face without her permission. "I'm not nearly as good a person as you think I am."

Adores gives her a look full of patience and affection and concern, reaching out to brush the tears away. "Why do you say that?"

"Because," Catra says, her voice hoarse and tiny, "because that's what I wanted you to say. And I know that's horribly selfish and cruel—"

Adora kisses her, once, twice, half-sitting up to do it properly. "I love you exactly the way you are."

Catra presses into the kiss, bowling Adora over, pinning her down in the bed. Adora submits totally, indulgently, the way she always does when Catra gets like this.

"Your turn," Adora says eventually, pulling back for breath. "You can't ask a question like that and not expect me to want your answer, too."

"Oh, what would I do if you died?" Catra grins. "I'd bump off Perfuma and have Scorpia down the aisle inside of a month."

Adora gasps and tackles her, laughing. "You miserable little—"

"You asked!"

The impromptu wrestling match quickly devolves into more kissing, clingy and desperate.

"Don't you ever leave me," Catra gasps against Adora's lips, "don't you ever leave me alone again, I'd never forgive you—"

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Catra knows Adora can't actually promise that, knows the world is full of wonders and horrors and that intentions can only do so much against them. She chooses to believe Adora anyway. She's learning to make choices like that, choosing to be happy in spite of all the reasons not to be.

She twines herself around Adora, kissing her like her life depends on it, and doesn't ask for anything else.

[golden-redhead]

My experience with spop was this - I knew nothing beforehand. saw how the Internet exploded over their kiss and thought "cute LGBTQ couple endgame? I'm in." started binging and I just kept waiting for them to grow closer but all I got was more abusive behavior? Then I finished s5 and just couldn't believe that that was it? That's how they ended up together? That's what got the Internet celebrating? I think knowing the endgame and how people raved over it made the experience worse for me tbh.

Oof, I honestly can’t imagine watching the show knowing how it ends, excited about getting some wlw rep we crave so much and then... that. I think some of the shows issues must get glaringly obvious if you actually watch it all as opposed to those of us who had to wait months before a new batch of episodes and had time to hype themselves out and just enjoyed the contents of s5 in this slight disconnect from the previous seasons. I am not entirely opposed against catradora (although I do not like it and do not ship it, I just dislike this kind of dynamic, it’s very clearly not my thing even if you completely erase the element of abuse and ignore the fact that they don’t hold the same beliefs or values like, at all), but the dedication with which the show did everything to avoid addressing all the shit that they should have addressed in order for the ending and Catra’s redemption to work is just... astounding, really. 

Like, imagine going SO OUT OF YOUR WAY and still not getting it right. 

For one, Catra never apologizes, not really, because I can hardly count her saying “I’m sorry for everything” as an apology. One of the rules of sincere apologies is that you actually acknowledge what you did wrong, apologizing for unspecified ‘everything’ is lazy and disrespectful and makes it look like some way to just take it off the list and be done with that part of Catra’s redemption. 

Two, talking with other fans really made me wonder how the supposed target audience, so kids aged 7 and older, perceive that ending, because I have an impression that they might have a hard time wrapping their head around it. I’ve heard that some kids are actually scared of Catra? And, honestly, I can see that, yeah. Not to mention just the message that all your abuser needs is for you to prioritize them and stay... Yeah. Um, nope. 

Three, my biggest issue as someone who genuinely loved the shows and the characters, my biggest complain is how everything had to be tossed aside in order to make catradora happen. Everything. Quite literally.

Scorpia getting over Catra, getting friends and appreciation she deserved? Accepting her role of a princess? Forming meaningful and healthy friendships and finding her place in the world? Fuck it, let’s chip her for like, half the season and ignore her conflict with Catra entirely. THE FUCKING DISRESPECT OF THAT.

Adora and Glimmer’s argument? You know, the driving force and main conflict of the entire 4th season? Yeah, yeah, let’s have Adora dismiss Glimmer’s apologies and never address that ever again, shall we?

Angella? Pff, who? Never heard of her!

Micah interacting with Glimmer for like, all of 2 minutes. 95% of that time fighting her while chipped by the bad guy. Um... okay. So much for the reunion with a daughter you didn’t see since she was, um, 5 at most?

Glimmer’s powers? The ones she’s been mastering and being insecure about episode one? Which were a huge part of why she even trusted Shadow Weaver in the first place? Yeah, they’re useless 3/4 of the season and then given to Melog. You know, that new character who is ridiculously overpowered and is basically Catra’s glorified moral support cat, despite being a sentient, intelligent being, the sole survivor of its planet. Of-fucking-course.

Oh, speaking of Shadow Weaver! The fucking HYPOCRISY of having a full season of Glimmer and Adora arguing over Glimmer choosing to work with her only to... Have Adora work with her. The entire season. And never mentioning it again. SURE. BECAUSE THAT MAKES SENSE.

(btw, I love how the show framed their conflict as something where Adora is basically 100% in the right... but when you think about it, Glimmer actually made much more solid points that actually turned to be true. the more you know!)

Mermista lost her entire kingdom because of Catra? Yeah, better let’s get her chipped too, before she has a chance to question why they’re working with the kitty lady who was about to murder them only 2 minutes ago. 

Adora spent 4 seasons trying to learn more about her past? Let’s drop it. Just because. Don’t question it, folks. Seriously, don’t.

Adora was about to die? Well, now she doesn’t! Why? Uh, um, what do you mean why, don’t you know that magical gay kisses fix everything? Smh. 

I just... This is bad writing, okay? 

And it feels like such an insult, because up until the last season I think the writing was really solid, the themes of abuse were handled very well, with respect and realistically, Adora’s conflicted feelings about She-ra, her destiny and her choice in all of this were interesting and believable, Glimmer was a great female character allowed to be (and do) things that female characters aren’t usually allowed to be, the supporting cast was strong and loveable and Prime... God, the way Horde Prime was set up as this intimidating, scary, bigger than the universe villain was genius. Hell, even at the beginning of s5 I had chills every time he was on screen. I was so excited about him, but every episode he was getting worse and worse until he became so meh I felt like crying.

And don’t even get me started on Catra saying that she saved Glimmer for Adora. This? This is when I knew there’s no saving this season. This was a slap to the face and the clearest sign that it was never about properly redeeming Catra at all, just getting her what she wanted.

And it’s a shame, too, because in a lot of ways Catra is a very interesting and compelling character who, despite what it looks like, in a lot of ways got the short end of the stick, because instead of telling a realistic, mature story about personal growth, they chose what was basically a instant forgiveness route and never showed Catra actually dealing with both what she’s gone through and what she’s done. Which is a shame and a huge disservice to Catra’s character.

So... yeah. Sorry about that rant, you are so valid, Anon, and I’m sorry. 

[ladylazuli97]

Can you talk more about how Adora was so wildly out of character this season, because you're one of the only other people I've seen who mentioned that. Sure, we all knew c/a was gonna be canon in some way but the fact that Adora seemed to forget everything Catra had done (including 'kill' Angella, who was a mother figure to her too) was so crazy. It bothered me more than absolutely anything so see Adora's development chucked out the window.

Take a sit. This is gonna be a long post.

One of the reasons I fell for this show so much was because I identified with Adora on a very personal level. She's the character that I have been waiting for all my life. When I saw her on the other seasons, I knew what decision she was going to make, how she was going to act, I imagined how she felt.

During this season (except for the first episode I think) I was in a constant "Adora, sweetie... what the fuck are you doing?". It's as simple as... when Catra calls to let them know she's going to send Glimmer. When Adora heard her voice, she immediately was like "Catra omg my love I missed you so much!!!" and??? Yeah, no??? After everything what happened on S4, I think a much more real response would have been for her to be like "Catra? What are you doing there? Now you're on the Horde Prime side? -.-". I mean, it seemed weird to me in the first place that Adora was never suspicious of Catra. They didn't interact during S4, as far as Adora knew, Catra was still a bad guy, she had no reason to trust her. At least not until Glimmer explained the situation to her.

Ahhh and talking about Glimmer... Forget the ship for a moment. You could see how Adora was legitimately worried throughout S4 about her situation with Glimmer. You could see it was something that mattered a lot to her,  it hurt her that things were wrong with the queen. And now you tell me that when they finally reunited again, her reaction was "Yeah it's okay I'm also sorry where is Catra?"

During the final episode of S3 Adora finally realizes something very important. She is not to blame for the things Catra is doing. She offered Catra more than once to join the Rebellion, giving her plenty of opportunities to redeem herself (fuck, even Shadow Weaver give her a chance to join them). Catra rejected them all, so Adora finally decides to accept that there's nothing more she can do for her. During S4, Adora and Catra meet ONLY ONCE throughout the season, and the meeting doesn't seem significant to them at all. After what happened in "The Portal", Adora got over Catra. She realizes that even though she cares about her, Catra has already made her decision. Adora cannot continue to want to save someone who doesn't want to be saved, and although it hurt, she had to leave her behind. They didn't even talk about her, except when Scorpia mentioned her at E10.

Knowing this... That Adora listens to a message from Catra from the enemy ship and doesn't suspect at any moment that it could be a trap? She decides to come back to save her even though Glimmer just got out of there and could be traumatic to her??? That she immediately forget everything Catra did and accept her "sorry" as a valid apology??? And suddenly she's very clingy with her and she blushes at everything Catra does??? And now it turns out that she has been totally in love with Catra all this time??? Don't get me wrong, that last one is not bad, but it seems to me that Adora would have been a little more open about that. If I knew her the way I think I do, that Adora was so in love with Catra from the beginning would have been very evident to everyone (no my friends, we watched the same show, I'm sorry but IT WASN'T). C'mon, even the plot would have been a little different. But no, they showed us how Adora completely got over her and grow... and then they made them a couple there without any further development.

Adora grew a lot as a person in the past seasons. She learned the value of love and true friendship, and became a loyal and strong hero with solid moral principles. And now she has put aside everything she has learned in order to forgive Catra immediately, and didn't mind putting others at risk as long as Catra was comfortable. I think I can say that Adora had more reasons to distrust Catra than to distrust Shadow Weaver on S4. And you can say "Okay but Catra was her friend, it's normal that I forgive her so quickly" *sight* The thing I loved most about She-Ra was that nothing was solved with the power of love and friendship...

Adora felt guilty for leaving Catra behind. Catra tried to kill her, kidnapped her best friends, attacked her new home, hurt many innocent people, activated a machine that could destroy the entire universe, indirectly she was responsible for what happened to Angella... And despite everything, Adora always offered her a chance, at least until she realized that enough was enough. She suffered a lot for Catra, and when she finally was fine without her, you tell me that she appears and that Adora acts as if no one had happened? I find it incredible that people are accepting that. Even if you're a c/a shipper, you should notice this is wrong. It's your ship, damn it! You must complain that it should have been better developed! No just "okay they're together... Boom! Kiss!"

Adora had a beautiful charecter development in the other seasons. But throughout the entire S5, she acted as she would have on the first day she left the Horde. Sorry guys, but S5 Adora is not the force captain I saw growing up to became the savior of Etheria. That’s why I can't accept this season as a real thing. You can't just take a great hero and make her forget all her principles just to make a ship canon.