#catra saves glimmer

[manic-sapphic]

- you can't tell me catra didn't expect to suffer. an immediate, quick death to follow saving glimmer? nah, prime made it pretty clear what to expect if she didn't follow orders. in the end, it just didn't matter to her as much as keeping adora safe.

felt like making a set of Corridors gifs, sorry for possibly dragging you into the realm of my current mental state after editing all this shit tho lmao ily & i ❤️ catra

[yourhighness6]

Your Daily Reminder That Catradora Has No Idea How To Use Technology at All

[ac-lesbians]

Sorry homies I gotta talk about She-ra for a hot sec

It drives me INSANE that a common point made throughout the show, usually between Bow and Glimmer, is that Glimmer is unnecessarily violent/prone to torture prisoners

And the show RIGHTLY says "hey we're the good guys, we don't hurt people like that and we will never stoop to that kind of behavior"

But then Glimmer and Bow team up with Shadow Weaver to rescue Adora from the Horde following their trip to the Crimson Waste. Right before the portal.

And it's like, yeah Catra is in the wrong for a lot of reasons, but when she confronts them Shadow Weaver OUTRIGHT says that she will kill Catra, and starts doing so in a slow painful manner.

And you know, you see Glimmer have a little bit of a problem with this. Shes reduced to a pain point because SW is taking too much magic. But she never says anything.

And the only thing to save Catras life? It's not SW feeling merciful. It's not Glimmer resisting SW's magic drain.

It's Bow, telling SW that she needs to stop.

Because she's taking too much from Glimmer. Not because they don't kill/torture the people that have wronged them. Not because Catra didnt deserve to die so painfully. Not because torture is wrong.

Because Glimmers magic was not a price worth paying.

It just drives me up the wall in an Unwell kind of way. This is a point where Glimmer and Bow are face to face with someone they've seen as an enemy, who they know used to be besties with Adora, who has outright stated that SW (Glimmers new mentor- which holy shit dude there's a lot of reasons why I hate/love that little arrangement) abused her and favored Adora over her wellbeing at every turn who is a kid just like them. Then SW tries to KILL her, and they don't particularly HATE Catra just yet. And there's literally no sympathy there. It's jarring to me.

For all the big talk about being the better people, they don't extend that compassion to Catra. It's just as telling when Adora calls Glimmer on their attitude towards the Horde and the individual soldiers in it (S3 E1: "thats different, you're good and kind and-" "and shera? I was just like the rest of them."). The fact that this conversation happens BEFORE SW tries to kill Catra using Glimmers magic, and they don't make the connection that Adora isn't just talking about SW, is just mind boggling.

Atp with the double standards and shit Catra went through, she can have a little world domination. As a treat.

[catras-breakup-song]

how do you feel about the whole "you always wanted more" line that got cut? at first i was wondering why they did that because adora didn't want more until it made me think "huh, what if prime was just running on catra's memories and didn't actually know adora?" but i'm curious as to what you think

OH MY GOD I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED THIS. i am such a sucker for the cut STC script. back in late 2020 & early 2021 i had a twitter layout based on “that little spot on the roof that only they knew about” because S3 is my favorite:

even better, i have another old twitter fancam saved from around that time too that used that screenshot of the script in the beginning. it was by the username yoosene but is now long gone, so i reuploaded it to imgur here (the hands part, i’m going insane…)!

anyway, as for interpretations, it was absolutely to manipulate & guilt-trip adora. i recently saw someone say (i don’t remember where though, sorry) that he was torturing both of them by setting up that nasty fight against both of their wills and had planned to kill catra all along — despite saying he wouldn’t right after she rescued glimmer and was imprisoned for it, in my opinion there was an unspoken “yet” even though he did technically say that word but you know what i mean; “you will be of use to me, and then everyone from your blighted planet, including yourself, will be destroyed.”

that’s the thing about what the show was trying to convey through her stay on prime’s ship via glimmer’s desperate pleas, isn’t it? her illusion of power was only ever temporary. once she no longer had anything of value to serve, what would she be worth? how could she have genuinely believed that he wanted to save her, of all living beings, from the curse of humanity & will of consciousness? what makes one individual different to an omnipotent god compared to countless others across the universe throughout space and time? i truly believe that he was subtly mocking her when he talked of her being “exalted, raised up above the other wretched creatures of [her] home world.”

i was actually trying to find another five by five takes quote about this, because mentioning them is always an obligation for me, but surprisingly i didn't really find anything about how catra had worked her way up to prime's recognized single subordinate (only that moment of reflection afterward, which is just this entire short video), and was under the false impression with a cocky & confident attitude that her position meant something for her safety & survival; i'm mostly referring to this moment:

the horde's the horde...even in space. as long as i'm of value to horde prime, i've got a place in this world. i can work my way up here, just like i did before.

actually y’know what… i’m going to tag @horde-princess because this is starting to dive into religious meta which is like… her whole gimmick thingy. we would be blessed (pun intended) to see your take on this writing that never made it to the show, if you haven’t given it already!

now this is veering too far off from the original point after getting sidetracked. the tone of those quotes in the alternate script is (fake) pity, and horde prime was entertained by the struggles of mere mortals. to make adora a failure of what she represented would surely force her to give up she-ra to him, because what would even be the point anymore of living up to expectations if she couldn’t save catra first & foremost (that’s something that she struggled with since initially leaving the horde over three years ago due to how catra made her feel about supposedly breaking their childhood promise… but it’s a story for another post)?

i don’t doubt that your thought process is at least partially right too though, anon. prime didn’t read adora’s mind thoroughly at any point, so it’s entirely possible that he just read off catra’s intense feelings of abandonment & betrayal. that being said, if he really did see all as he claimed, maybe he was able to recreate an objectively accurate collection of events and knows what really happened and what the intentions behind certain actions were. i also wonder if catra secretly knew deep down that adora’s defection wasn’t directly about her but just couldn’t admit it until she had time to deeply reflect on it during “corridors.”

i’ll leave this messy, unorganized post with an amazingly relevant gif set made by an editor whose work on here i really enjoy:

as i said a long time ago, you just had to be there on november 19th 2020 when that excerpt was released because the hype was crazy!

[artemisadore]

Okay but She-Ra Catwin AU when???

(Adore Edwin, Catra Cat King, Glimmer Charles, Bow Crystal, Entrapta Niko...)

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

see, this is what bothers me about catra in s5.

this line implies makes it clear that if horde prime had actually agreed to let catra help him, then she would absolutely not have saved glimmer or redeemed herself at all. catra was 100% willing to aid a fascist dictator who wanted to destroy the world and even maybe take his place like she did with hordak.

it's obviously not surprising considering how she nearly ended the universe herself once, but the idea that “catra is bridging the gap between good and bad” or “catra was questioning her morals at that point” is definitely debunked.

instead of being backed into the only other option she had, it would have been interesting if catra was given a choice. if horde prime actually told her that he's willing to take her as his second-in-command and glimmer tells catra that there's still time to do the right thing. if catra had chosen to finally side with glimmer in that opportunity, it would have been more meaningful. but instead, we get this.

[thestargayzingetherian]

For Catra, For Adora, For Each Other

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra) Characters: Adora (She-Ra), Catra (She-Ra), Glimmer (She-Ra), Bow (She-Ra), Horde Prime (She-Ra), Horde Prime Clones (She-Ra) Additional Tags: Canon, During Canon, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Season 5, Episode: s05e05 Save The Cat, Post-Episode: s05e05 Save the Cat, Horde Prime's Ship (She-Ra), Horde Prime Being a Jerk (She-Ra), that tag is REALLY putting it midlly, Chipped Catra (She-Ra), Torture, Catra getting chipped by Horde Prime in all its fucked up dark as fuck detail, Also how Glimmer got her spacesuit!, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Catra Needs Therapy (She-Ra), Catra Needs a Hug (She-Ra), Adora Needs a Hug (She-Ra), Catra is in Love with Adora (She-Ra), Mind Control, Canon-Typical Violence, There's nothing overly graphic violence wise but it does get very intense, Heavy Angst, Adora Needs Therapy (She-Ra), Guilt, Trauma, Psychological Trauma, Whump Series: Part 37 of Adapted Prompts, Part 18 of Catradora: During The War Summary: Adora wants to save her best friend. Catra has accepted her fate. As their fates intertwine and Horde Prime makes his move, they finally cross paths again… on the darkest day of their lives. (Catradora, Canon, Angst/Hurt/Comfort)

Based on prompts by @canibalistic-brownie and Sovietonion

[hitchell-mope]

I still don’t know why Adora couldn’t have just gotten with Glimmer and/or Bow. Because at least neither of them are victim blaming pieces of shit like the bitchy moggy.

[death-rebirth-senshi]

The real most important reason I didn't finish She-ra was that like 2 or 3 episodes into the last season I absolutely positively could not take the humor and dialogue any longer and swore off children's shows from that moment on

[aprillikesthings]

Glimmer's gotten to know another side of Catra, enough that she was able to speak the words Adora still couldn't bring herself to say and suggest they go back for Catra.

Bow knows Catra saved Glimmer, and that she said she did it for Adora.

He was there when Adora heard Catra apologize, and heard the panic and terror in Adora's voice when Catra's comms cut off.

He also knows that if Catra doesn't make it, Adora and Glimmer will both be broken-hearted. That Adora, especially, will be broken by grief. And he doesn't want the people he cares about to go through that.

And that's enough, despite the multiple years Catra has been their enemy, to make Bow upset and worried about Catra to the point of tears.

"you matter to me!"

the sheer number of emotions that cross her face in that 5 seconds

the way it goes from the shock of "I matter to you?" to being overwhelmed with regret and grief, then to that flickering, fragile hope--

*sobs into hands*

and I just want to point out something I hadn't noticed before, which is that Catra was reaching up to Adora's hand before Horde Prime took over again

(every other screenshot of this moment is even more horrifying than this one okay)

--and I don't think she was intending to grab Adora's wrist, I think she was intending to put her hand over Adora's to hold it there

hard to say

[aingeal98]

Being in the She Ra fandom when it was airing was so funny because you had this highly powerful character filled with righteous revolutionary rage and occasional bloodlust, generally carrying the squad through whatever dangerous mission they're on by teleporting them to safety, often only held back from destroying her enemies because her best friend did not approve of killing or stooping to their level, and the fandom took one look at her pink aesthetic and Catra's unreliable narration and was like "Yeah she's just too nice and boring she probably believes the power of hugs and friendship will save the world."

And then s4 hit and they were so confused why instead of hugs and friendship she believed in fists, murder, and dark magic. Like buddy she's been on this path for four seasons now, that's on YOU for letting the name Glimmer and the pink aesthetic fool you.

[manic-sapphic]

can't sleep so i'm thinking about catra & "corridors" again ofc

after her frustrated obsession with getting to win in the past, the choice to sacrifice herself to save glimmer just kills me that much more tbh...

and here's why:

how increasingly disturbed she is by prime. how much clearer it becomes to her that his whole deal is very very much not something she ever expected or wanted for anyone.

and finding out adora's on her way to deliver herself right into his freaky talon hands (that he just can't seem to keep off ppl, btw) while she, catra, is already stuck there.

so yeah, i feel like part of her thought process in making her decision, was her finally resigning. now she wants adora to be the one to win. maybe kinda thinks, "alright, it is what is. i guess i don't get to win, but maybe i can still help give adora the chance to against this pos creep. so, here goes nothing" ~

and she gets glimmer tf off that ship.

[xenaisnumber1]

I've wondered why Glimmer was so quick to forgive Catra.

But then I realized that she experienced Shadow Weaver's manipulation herself. You see Shadow Weaver do the same thing that she did to Adora and Catra to get what she wants. And after Glimmer mom has just died she more susceptible to Shadow Weaver influence.

And what Shadow Weaver does to Catra that she has no doubt done before.

And after Glimmer realized that Shadow Weaver used her, she has to realize that Catra experienced worse with Shadow Weaver, which is why she is the way she is.

And the fact Catra both saves her and is actively trying to change makes it easy for her to forgive Catra. And you have to wonder if the reason why Glimmer was able to resist Shadow Weaver influence more than the other two was because she actually knows what a mother's love feels like.

[awakefor48hours]

Tumblrina: Catra’s redemption was so rushed. She didn’t do anything to do deserve forgiveness.

Catra: *sacrifices herself to save Glimmer* *apologizes to Entrapta, Adora, Glimmer, and Bow* *puts herself in danger to figure out Prime’s plan* *admits she anger issues and starts to actually work on it* *uses Melog to help get past Prime’s blockade* *instinctually jumps into a wall of fire to save Adora* *fights for Adora to not use the Failsafe* *leaves Adora (simultaneously putting herself in danger of being captured by Prime) when she thinks that she’s a burden* *puts herself in danger to fight the First Ones guardian (a guardian that was made to potentially kill She-Ra)* *constantly fights for Adora to make her own decisions even in the end*

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

catra when shadow weaver is trying to wipe adora's memories: leaves the room and lets glimmer deal with the situation

catra to adora, afterwards: you think i was gonna let shadow weaver hurt you?

[thestargayzingetherian]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra) Characters: Adora (She-Ra), Catra (She-Ra), Glimmer (She-Ra), Bow (She-Ra) Additional Tags: Fluff, Episode: s05e05 Save The Cat, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Season 5, Post-Episode: s05e05 Save the Cat, Catra Redemption (She-Ra), Mild Hurt/Comfort, Adora is in Love with Catra (She-Ra), Best Friend Squad (She-Ra), Catra Joins Best Friend Squad (She-Ra), Based on a Tumblr Post, Glimmer is a Good Friend (She-Ra), Catra Needs a Hug (She-Ra), Adora Needs a Hug (She-Ra), Canon, Outer Space Summary:

While letting Catra rest after saving her from Horde Prime, Adora reflects on how she was able to get She-Ra back. (Catradora, Canon, Fluff)

Based on a drabble by @catrasredemption