#catradora negativity

[calltainn]

I heard a couple of good Catradora break-up songs recently and now my mind is haunted again by the post-canon fic I long to read but doesn't seem to exist about the horribly realistic and (to my mind) inevitable breakdown of their romantic relationship. And maybe building a better friendship as a result, but I'd take a fic with the break-up only.

[candyskiez]

a thing I wanna take a moment to appreciate is catra's arc of being there for adora more. because like, yeah. she can be self centered at times. that's the point. thats one of her major character flaws that we see her grow from. that's the point of having a flaw. and I really like how she grows from it.

one of her main issues is how personally she takes everything and how centered everything is on her and adora. when adora leaves the horde, she only sees the war as a conflict between THEM. not between the rebellion and the horde. it's all about her and adora. that focus on taking everything personally is the thing that bites her in the ass so many times. that's what holds her back so hard for so long. she's her own worst enemy in that sense. and in season five, we see her unlearn that. we see her realize, no. seriously. adora never stopped caring about her just because she liked lonnie too. love doesn't work like that.

a thing I wanna point out is I think catra was lying when she said she wasnt doing it for glimmer. we see her look upset at the thought of glimmer being hurt. she cares about her. a lot. the realization of just how serious this is, this isn't just distant harm anymore. she learns to see the bigger picture. she learns to show other people compassion. not just for adora, but for herself. we see her worried about scorpia, about entrapta, even if her focus is still on adora. and she learns! she learns to be healthier about it! to have relationships with people who aren't adora so they aren't dependent on each other! she becomes friends with glimmer and bow, genuinely. she starts working on repairing things with entrapta and scorpia. she makes friends with melog. she forms connections outside of adora, not just for adora's sake, but *for herself.* she learns how to love people healthily. she learns how to look out for herself while also looking out for others.

a thing I really love is her line "I promised her a long time ago I'd look out for her. it's time I made good on that." because it's so huge for her development. she realizes she can't keep running away anymore. her running has an impact on people. her leaving has an impact on people. even if it's easier to think that nobody cares when she disappears, nobody's effected by this. yes, there is. and she's finally realized that. and she's terrified of staying because it feels like she's just inviting disaster by letting her guard down for even a second. they could leave at any time. why give them the chance to?

but maybe they won't. maybe leaving them so they don't leave her hurts them just as bad as her being abandoned. maybe she leaves for no reason. maybe...maybe she has to be better. THATS why her saying she'll stay is so big. "I can't keep doing this. I'm hurting adora by doing this. it's not me protecting myself. its me self destructing and hurting everyone around me in the process. it's not fair to them. adora needs my help, and I need to be there to give it. even if she doesn't survive this, she needs someone to be there when she goes. because knowing her, she's trying to handle this all by herself. I'm going to try and fix this. I can't keep running."

so she goes back. she can't keep running, because that's not fair to adora. and she's there. she's there when adora needs her, when shadow weaver dies, when she's weak and injured, when she's breaking down. she's there. two big things I wanna point out.

• "no, I'm not leaving. whatever happens, I am staying with you."

this. this is HUGE for her arc. she runs away whenever things get hard. that's one of her big flaws. and here she has the strength to stay. to stick with it. she stays even when shit gets bad. because she's finally realized, adora needs her here. she sees her self destruction for what it is. adora is being a self destructive bastard right now and she needs someone here. this isn't adora playing the hero, this is adora having serious issues. and she's there. she's there, because adora needs someone there. and she's finally seen that for what it is.

• she doesn't think her love is requited, yet she tells adora she loves her anyway.

she thinks adora sees her only as a friend. this is big because she's realized. adora needs to realize how much people want her. not when she's she ra, not when she's useful. but as adora. she needs to hear that someone wants her at her lowest. even if they can't save the world, please wake up. please keep going. because I want you in my life, at least for a few more seconds. you didn't make anything worse. you tried your fucking best and I see that and I see you. I love you, even if you don't love me. so please. don't die on me. if this is the end of the world, then let's take it on together. this isnt your fault. you deserve to live. not because you're she ra but because you're adora. because you're brave and a little over dramatic and can't act to save your life and loyal as shit and love with your whole heart and *you* deserve to live. so keep going. please. I love you.

season one catra would die before she admits she cares about someone. here though, she can. because she's realized it matters.

she tells adora she loves her because she sees the bigger picture now. because she understands adora now. what adora desperately needs is to realize shes worth more than a weapon. she deserves the world. she doesn't think adora feels the same but she tells her, because shes realized adora needs to hear that. that even at her worst, adora makes such an impact on peoples lives. not because she's a hero, but because she's adora. because she wants things. because shes her. and she wants ADORA to live. even if she doesn't feel the same. even if things are awkward and tense after this, she wants adora to finally realize that she's wanted. because adora helped her realize that, and she wants adora to realize it too. she's willing to show her all the messy shit inside her head even though it hurts, because she cares about adora more than she cares about hiding. am I making sense? no. but have these disjointed ramblings anyway. live laugh catradora baby.

[canibalistic-brownie]

My girlfriend let me do Catradora as our gingerbread people, LETS GOOOOO!!!

[twilleansparks]

Bruh Catradora abusive

Cry about it 😘

[gay4h0pepunk]

catradora slander in 2023 because still on the same old shit of it being “toxic abusive” and yet people are now calling it bland toxic yuri, the incomprehensible of it all is showing and I’m at a loss of words

[tempoaryblogformightyjensblog]

Being a Reylo shipper and Kylo fan is great because whenever someone tries to insult a fictional stuff I like with a comparison it falls flat

"Catradora is Gay Reylo!"

"Hunter is just the new Kylo Ren!"

Great! I like both of those things! Nice to hear them compared

[saijspellhart]

Tumblr keeps recommending me posts with some of the worst takes on Catra’s character. Always an//ti//Catradora posts. (Like, did we watch the same show? We couldn’t have possibly watched the same show. Why the fuck would anyone compare her trauma to Hordak? Because they are on two entirely different character journeys, at wildly different age ranges and maturity, and with wildly different amounts of time to grow and change. Never mind the constant outside negative authority influences on Catra all the fucking damn time, that Hordak never has to deal with until season 5. And fortunate for Hordak, Prime doesn’t allow him the free will to choose a path, so Hordak gets a free pass, his character growth and budding humanity remain intact.) Don’t get me started on this, I could write a whole critical analysis on why Catra is a wonderfully written complex character, and why comparing her to Hordak is fucking ludicrous. Honestly the lack of comprehension about writing, character, fantasy, narrative and trauma astounds me when I see some of these Catra hate posts pop up in my recommended feed.

Tumblr, hopefully your algorithm gets this, but I LOVE Catra. I love her. I love this tortured mess, I love the writing that went into her character, I love her waffling precarious hold on sanity and reason. I love how she struggles to cope with her trauma. I love the realism put into her character despite the fantasy setting. But I also love that they didn’t push the realism too far, because it is at the end of the day a fantasy story. I love the delicate balance they wove into her character. I love the complexity and thought put into her entire character arc through the whole series. (And before anyone comes to crucify me, I say I love Catra, as a person who suffered immense parental trauma and manipulation. As a victim of some of the worst of it. I shouldn’t even have to mention my own trauma to justify appreciating a FICTIONAL character. But here we are.)

Would I have loved one extra season to really explore her redemption more thoroughly? Yes of course. An extra season would have been delightful to explore a lot of the character relationships more thoroughly. But we didn’t get that, and what the show creators did give us was still wonderful and satisfying. (Even if I have some critiques on some things.) the writing of the show at the end of the day is still smart, and tight, and so so competent. (Looking at the myriad of other story driven cartoons and shows that fall apart in the later seasons or just have an overwhelming amount of inconsistencies and botched writing. **coughs** Voltron, Miraculous, YGO, Netflix Carmen Sandiego, Bleach, many animes in general, just to name a few. Not that I didn’t love and adore most of these shows too.) the fact that She-ra (2018) stayed consistently tight and snappy and smart with their writing, narrative, and characters from beginning to end is a treasure.

Anyway. Catra is great. I could write a character analysis going into why from a writing and storytelling standpoint. But honestly I don’t think anyone cares that deeply, and I don’t exactly have followers who are particularly interested in She-ra. Tumblr, you god forsaken windfall apple, please stop suggesting an//ti//Catra and an//ti//Catradora posts. I don’t want to see them. I support the canon relationships. And I support the non canon ships too. What I do not support is hating on shippers who like other ships. It breeds contempt in a fandom, and leads to a fandom canabalizing itself until there are no fans left. Also letting hate and disdain take up such a large amount of time and space in your brain, leads you down some dark paths mentally.

[n7punk]

Pairings: Adora/Catra (Catradora). Fandom: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018). Series: Sapphic September 2024 @sapphic-september

Rating: G. Chapters: 1/1 (One-shot). Words: 6k.

Summary: Adora is cursed or something close to it. Ever since she crossed a mysterious woman hiding behind a mask, every hyperbole aimed in her direction has come true and she has been forced into reclusion before someone accidentally curses her into another major accident. She’s used to outrunning every sentence that starts with “you”, but when a persistent neighbor turns up looking for a lost cat, she finds even a negative person can have more optimism than her, or maybe just more stubbornness, because Catra declares she doesn’t believe in magic and she’s going to find what’s wrong with Adora. (Or, the cursed Catradora AU)

[sapphic-agent]

I TRIED giving Chaggie a chance, I really did. When I first watched the Pilot, I thought they were best friends. And then I learned that WAS the original decision for their relationship but Vizie made them a couple because the storyboard writers thought they were a couple.

Now as a writer I'm open to whatever ideas people may suggest for my stories, but I think something Vizie forgot to do was think about how it would impact the plot and characters.

Something I take into account when thinking about my main characters being in a relationship is how it ties into the story and the themes. Like what do these two being together accomplish? How do the other characters react and are they supportive? How do they act as a couple? Do they have their fair share of ups and downs? And most importantly what does the relationship add to their characters?

It's these kinds of things that I feel are missing for the majority of the Chaggie relationship. The show only seems to acknowledge them as a couple when it's convenient and just ignore it for most of the show.

Which begs the question of if it does nothing for the story, why even have it there at all?

Honestly, same. As per my username, I love sapphic couples. I was super into the idea of Chaggie but it's just... Nothing. No chemistry, no significance. Vaggie's betrayal would still hold the same amount of water if they were just friends.

A lot of Chaggie shippers say that it gets hate because it isn't sexualized... But Catradora and Lumity weren't sexualized either and they're still adored by their fandoms to this day. Chaggie's problem is just a lack of them being an actual couple aside from a few comments. This could have been easily rectified by simply sparing a few minutes. Instead of the More Than Anything reprise, we could have gotten a flashback, a heart to heart conversation, something to tell us why and how they're together.

I've heard Vivzie takes fandom input a lot. And there's nothing wrong with that... Until it negatively impacts the story. And in this case, Chaggie is plopped awkwardly in the middle of the plot with no real purpose for existing. I can't get into it because the story has done nothing to make me care about it

[tippenfunkaport]

Bow's Character Arc

There was a discussion on Twitter from people who were confused about Bow’s character arc and whether he had one (he very much does, and it’s actually one of the clearest / most spelled out in the entire show!). To help anyone experiencing that confusion and because it’s never a bad idea to understand how character arcs work if you want to be a writer/storyteller, I might as well break Bow’s character arc down for anyone who might find it helpful.

Buckle in, it's nerd time!

At the most basic, a character arc is a change (usually growth) a character goes through over the course of a story. Usually good (positive change arc) but sometimes bad (negative change arc). It’s very often a reversal aka the character is often in the exact opposite state by the end of the story than how they start it out. It can be trickier to follow in an ensemble story like SPOP because there are a lot of characters with parallel story lines going on and multiple arcs colliding in different ways, but She-Ra does a really good job of giving each of the four leads arcs (with Catradora as the main leads, Glimbow as the secondary) near equal time.

Yes, including Bow.

What I think throws people about Bow’s arc is it’s based on hypocrisy.

Meaning…

He encourages his friends to talk it out and share their feelings… while hiding his own feelings from his dads and repressing his frustrations with having to be the middle man between Adora and Glimmer (Season 4)

He declares that average people (such as the kitchen staff at Dryl) don’t need the princesses and are just as capable of fighting the Horde themselves… while he believes himself and his abilities inferior to Princess Entrapta’s

He reminds the others (esp Adora) about the need to accept help… while refusing any help for himself (think about “Don't worry about me. I'm the one who worries about you. Can we go back to that? Please?” in Pulse through to that moment when he agrees to let Glimmer take him to check on his dads in Return to the Fright Zone and literally leans on her)

I think a funny way to sum up his character issue is: Not me, though.

This arc progresses across all five season as he gradually changes. He starts the series out repressing his feelings from both his family and friends while doubting his abilities and refusing to ask for help (he IS Adora’s mirror, after all!). Over the course of the series he learns to express his feelings instead of bottling them up (The Beacon > Reunion > really all of Season 4 but it comes to head starting with Boys Night Out through Beast Island > Stranded), gains more confidence in his tech skills (The Frozen Forest > Signals > Flutterina > Mer-Mysteries > Corridors), and starts to learn to ask for help (The Beacon > Pulse > Return to the Fright Zone).

Which of course all culminates in The Heart Parts 1 and 2 where he finally wraps up all threads at once by

a) asking Scorpia to trust him (putting faith in someone else to help)

b) completing Entrapta’s program to unchip everyone (proving he IS as good a scientist as she is)

c) giving the speech to everyone on Etheria rousing the common people to fight Prime (average people can make a difference… which he now fully believes that includes him).

And while you can make the argument that confessing to Glimmer is part of his arc to share his feelings, the fact is that he completes a full character arc without ever behind reduced to just someone’s love interest because none of his character growth is tied to his romantic relationship at all (which was what the original tweet claimed). It's all his inner journey to have faith in himself and his abilities and how they relate to his friends and loved ones.

And thus the guy who starts the series as “only one around here who’s not a princess” with doubt in his tech abilities ends the series as confident Tech Master and future King of the regular people he sought to inspire, which is about as textbook a reversal as you can get.

Does it come out of nowhere?

His character arc progresses and takes significant focus in the following episodes….

S1:E6 System Failure

S1:E10 The Beacon

S2:E1 The Frozen Forest

S2:E3 Signals

S2:E7 Reunion

S4:E3 Flutterina

S4:E4 Pulse

S4:E7 Mer-Mysteries

S4:E8 Boys Night Out

S4:E10 Fractures

S4:E11 Beast Island

S5:E3 Corridors

S5:E4 Stranded

S5:E9 An Ill Wind

S5:E10 Return to the Fright Zone

S5:E12 Heart Part 1

S5:E13 Heart Part 2

That’s 17 episodes out of 52 which means his character development gets approximately 32% of the focus of the entire show… which for an ensemble cast like this where he’s one of four leads is just about dead on as it's over a quarter of the episodes.

That's a significant chunk of screentime with multiple episodes devoted specifically to his character journey.

Is his journey as flashy and action sequence-y as what Adora, Catra and Glimmer get? No, but it's a) a show marketed to girls so it makes sense they get the more cinematic scenes and b) his arc is more emotional and thus didn't need to hinge on big action like theirs did. Though considering the culmination of his arc is him as a 100 foot tall hologram speaking to the entire planet, I personally feel like that was pretty hard to miss.

If you look at all of this and still want to say that Bow did nothing or had no character arc, I think the thing to ask yourself is: why is it so important to you to discount the accomplishments and character growth of this character specifically?

In conclusion, this is the face Bow makes when he spent five season growing, changing and kicking butt as Tech Master and Voice of Reason and you say he did "literally nothing"...

[thestargayzingheroine]

My Adventures With Superman - A Rambling Set Of Thoughts

Okay, I know I don't USUALLY make posts like this and I especially hate getting cynical and nitpicky about these sorts of things because I just don't wanna contribute to all the negativity on the internet... But this is something I just couldn't shake.

So last night I watched the first season of My Adventures With Superman and... I have a lot of mixed feelings about to be brutally honest which is a shame because I know SO many people really loved this show.

Spoilers for season 1 obviously

For the most this show is great and it has a good foundation for Superman and gets him and his relationship with Lois so right. I love how Clark is this big, soft himbo twink dork who really reminds me of Adora from She-Ra and Lois is this fun tomboy who falls head over heels for him. And to be honest, all of their moments were genuinely the highlight of the show for me. SERIOUSLY ITS LIKE CLARK AND LOIS BUT MADE FOR SAPPHICS LIKE ME AND I ADORE THEM

I love the art style and animation too and really does put a very fresh new aesthetic on DC stuff. Sure, it's a bit too much like She-Ra and Voltron in places, but for DC, it's a really good breath of fresh air. Seriously, look at the designs of Deathstroke and Livewire!

But sadly, that's not all the show is and this is where I have to sadly talk about my negatives with it.

Sooooo… this show was written a lot of the same people who wrote She-Ra and it seems to be a big fan of various anime things too, especially Dragon Ball Z and Neon Genesis Evangelion.

To that end, the show has basically... turned Superman into a mixture of Adora and Goku, not just in terms of personality traits and in Adora's case, her relationship with Catra (Seriously, if Clark was a woman and blonde, I would swear she and Lois would just be Catradora)

This sadly does apply to how this show portrays the Kryptonians, who are implied to MOSTLY be a race of evil conquerors who tried to attack Earth only for Krypton to be destroyed. This is VERY similar to how the First One's were depicted in She-Ra, as well as how the Saiyans were in Dragon Ball Z. One could also argue that their attack on Earth is a weird mashup of the movie Arrival and the Second Impact from Evangelion but that's me getting very nitpicky.

So naturally, we have Adora and Goku's traits being applied to Superman. And…. those traits don't really work for Superman, at all. Now I should be clear, it seems to be that Jor-El and Lara were actually like rebels fighting the evil Kryptonians (which is ironically Mara's whole deal... you seeing the She-Ra pattern here yet?) but like... I don't like this idea at all. Poor Clark even has a fucking breakdown later on and thinks he's actually some evil weapon meant to conquer Earth AGAIN just like Adora from She-Ra being used as a weapon by the First One's. And I just feel bad for him because he's trying to be the good decent Superman we all love... but he's getting dragged into this plot that pretty much breaks him... and I don't really like it.

And then there's a whole subplot about Lois meeting alternate versions of herself and discovering alternate versions of Superman who are evil (which is bizarrely how Kryptonite is introduced in this show) which.... yeah I don't like that plot either. Nor am I the fan of Task Force X pulling the whole "the Government is treating clark as hostile because they think he's an evil alien" plot which I have gotten kinda tired of seeing in a lot of modern Superhero media. It's either Superheroes being hated or hunted by the government or being made to work for them.

And you know where this all probably came from for this show in particular? Fucking Zack Synder and Man of Steel. It's kind of ironic because a lot of this show feels like its in response to the Synderverse, like it feels obligated to comment on how people see Superman now because of those crappy movies, something that I know James Gunn is probably gonna do as well with his superman movie basically a live action version of Superman vs the Elite.

And just…. no, none of this shit is really necessary nor is it a good idea. Because it kinda takes away some bits of Superman that I like. I know the show isn't done yet but… I can already make a good guess of where it's going to go. And where it's going… idk if I'm gonna like a whole lot.

It is clearly a show wanting to be different from all that has been done before with Superman…. but by being different for the sake of it, it's doing a lot of stuff I just don't like.

I just want there to be a day when we get a Superman thing that doesn't have to justify the man's own existence and role in a story because some objectivist edgelord made a bad movie with him in it eleven years ago.

So yeah, by turning Superman into more or less mostly Adora from She-Ra... I think they might have messed him a bit in my eyes. I hope season 2, whenever that comes out hopefully pushes things in a more hopeful direction and I could genuinely call this a good adaption of Superman. Because there is so much potential with just from the relationship of Clark and Lois alone that tells me that these creators just GET how Superman's character is.

So yeah, I hope that long rambling thought made sense.

[dawningwinds]

@ygorarepairweek

Day Two: Dancing [] Icebellshipping (Rio/Rin) + Moonfragranceshipping (Serena/Asuka)

Sapphic cartoon prom episodes my beloveds. So I redrew them with yugioh ships (lumity grom dance for icebells and catradora princess prom for moonfragrance). The pride flags are basically just there because the was some ugly negative space and I didn't want to spend ages rearranging the canvas.

[spopsalt]

Hi friend :3, now i decided to not talk about C*tr* or C//A but hazbin hotel and helluva boss because i saw you were talking about it ( i'm in both fandoms too ). I have few question but i start with HB: why do you hate Stolas/Stolitz ? ( no neg, i'm just curious, i'm not interesed on the ship because i didn't see it interesing but i would love hearing your opinion and why you hate it ), why do you ship Blitzo x Striker and think is so much better than stolitz ? ( like i said before, no hate i just wanna know your opinion, it could be a nice rare pair maybe better than C//A ) also what do you think about the series in gen ? do you like it ? Now with HH questions, are you an anti ch*ggie too ? what do you think about that series ? and last question which are your fav HH and HB ships ??

Thanks for the ask! I've seen a lot of people call Stoliz the female Catradora, a toxic queer ship that is heavily romanticized by the show and fandom where the abuser is shown as the victim. And yeah that's accurate. Stolas literally is forcing Blitzo to have sex with him for the grimoire which he needs for his job mind you, but the show tries to say that it's ok because....Stolas has a mean wife...? It keeps trying to make you feel pity for the abuser and it's really sad. Next why do I ship Blitzo x Striker more than Stoliz! It honestly just had more chemistry. Before Striker tried to kill Blitzo, they had great chemistry and really got along. Also it's canon that Blitzo thinks Striker is hot sooooo honestly if Striker never attempted to kill Blitzo, I would probably ship them a lot more, but no. Now Hazbin Hotel...that one is a mixed bag...I really like the song despite them basically having no use amd people always pointing out that they're singing isn't really funny? Angel dust is just so....eugh...I made a whole post on it but Helluva Boss episode 4 is really one of the worst things I've ever watched, I wish I was joking. Now Chuggie...I really don't have any strong opinions on it, i think they make good friends but I don't see anything romantic. But it's fine if it people ship it, it doesn't seem toxic and it's not hurting anyone so it's not big deal. My favorite HH ship is probably...hm...Vag x Death, that seems pretty cute. My favorite HB ship is probably Moxie x Millie, they are so healthy I don't know where they went wrong with Stolas and Blitzo,

[nooblord9001]

Are there any particular types of asks that you would mostly want in your inbox?

:D

Questions about my amateur attempts at writing and/or game development (OCs, Settings, Thematic Intentions, Inspirations, etc.) would be the Dopamine shots directly into my bloodstream.

NSFW questions are also a topic I'll gladly get into if prompted; years ago, this account was supposed to be my NSFW alt, after all.

Speaking of which, I will acknowledge requests to elaborate on specific parts of my history on the internet over the years and how that's affected me as a person For-Better-and-For-Worse-- including matters of politics, drama, content creators I've engaged with over the years, oversharing about my personal life (within limits), etc. --provided everyone in said discussion agrees to behave themselves. I will attempt to hear out criticisms of my own behavior over the years that's made in good faith, and I'll at least flippantly respond to criticisms I sense were being made in bad faith... but I will NOT dignify attempts to weaponize me or my words against the people whom associate with me either online or offline.

Generally interesting questions or even just little Icebreakers, while not at the top of my wish list, would be appreciated as well.

Last but not necessarily least, I'll gladly attempt to provide hot takes on this-or-that media (as well as attempt to provide opinions in individual characters within said media via this ask game; see the "Character Takes Ask Game" tag for characters I've done prior), provided I've actually engaged with the media in question enough to comfortably have opinions about it. In fact, I might as well provide a non-exhaustive list under the cut:

Stuff I've engaged with and am confident enough in my experiences with it to have Opinions on:

TCoA&L (Duh)

Huniepop 1 (LMAO)

Doki Doki Literature Club

Wizard 101

World of Warcraft

Kingdom Hearts

Nier: Automata

Metal Gear Solid

Deus Ex (not quite as much the first game, but definitely HR & MD)

Halo MCC (Fucking SOMEHOW!?!)

Mass Effect Trilogy

Star Wars

Haven

Portal Duology

Most Nintendo Stuff (remind me to elaborate at some point. or don't. whichever floats your boat), particularly Pokemon & Super Smash Bros

Most Superhero Films (remind me to elaborate at some point. or don't. whichever floats your boat)

Most Pixar Films (remind me to elaborate at some point. or don't. whichever floats your boat)

ATLA

Owl House

Hazbin Hotel

Various, Assorted Science Fiction Films

Dungeons & Dragons 5E 😒

Stuff I haven't directly engaged in, but thanks to cultural osmosis I've absorbed enough information second-hand to have Strong Feelings About (almost always negative, unless specified):

The Legend of Korra (I don’t hate it like most of the other entries in this category; I just wish it was Better)

Soulsborne games

Warhammer 40K (and by extension, Helldivers)

Baldur’s Gate 3 (Karlach & Wyll are cool though)

Catradora

Stuff I've engaged with, but for one reason or another, would struggle to provide anything remotely insightful or interesting to say about them other then either "yeah i like it" or "yeah i should finish watching/playing that at some point":

Bionicle

Honey Girl

The Big Bang Theory

Baldur’s Gate Duology

Horizon Duology

Fighting Games (Namely SoulCalibur, Tekken, with a bit of Street Fighter and Skullgirls)

Soulstice

Control

Helltaker

Fallout: New Vegas

Resident Evil games

Dragon Age games

Sanic stuff

Metroid

Final Fantasy XIV

Magic: The Gathering

Pathfinder 2E

Lancer

Battletech

Transformers

[swearyshera]

A couple of Sunday asks as we head into the very final week!

@negative-speedforce My kingdom for a lesbian!

@gay-ghostwriter I have considered it, there's been a couple of more popular shows that have come to mind. But I don't think any of them have the same combination of factors that worked for She-Ra.

The Owl House doesn't take itself quite as seriously as She-Ra, and that really hampers things. Amphibia, I'm not so familiar with, but it's largely episodic nature in the first two seasons means it's more difficult to get a storyline going that's any different. Personally, I think The Hollow would be a fairly good candidate but nobody watched it except me.

So, for now, I have no other Sweary shows planned. But I might make some other stuff for this or maybe another show if the perfect one hits me.

I'll have to actually decide on what to do next, I think! At the moment, an audio series (or possibly whatever the audio equivalent of a feature is) is looking most likely. I do have the main beats of a story mapped out, so this could well be my next SPOP project. Whether I pose it as a sequel to Sweary or a fan continuation of the original (essentially 'if we're not getting a movie, I'll make my own), I'm not sure yet.

Also, if I had any musical talent, I would absolutely write Catradora: The Musical, but I can just about manage parody lyrics XD

[youshouldjustliveinmychurch]

Thinking about the significance of falling when it come to Catradora. Obviously the imagery of cliffs, holding on to each other, and letting go are all significant in the narrative when it comes to their relationship. Two instances in particular stand out to me though as notable parallels. Catra falling into the portal and re-emerging as a twisted version of herself is very much in conversation with Adora falling into the chasm in the First One’s Temple and re-emerging as someone closer to the She-Ra that Light Hope (or her original programming) wants her to be. In both cases they’re reacting to having just experienced a mindbending mimicry of their lives together in the Horde before they split up. This is so eerie partially because reality is being expertly bent in both cases since there is a lot of truth woven into what Adora and Catra are seeing.

Adora is forced to literally let go (of her hold on the Cliff, her memories of Catra, her current feelings about Catra)/fall into the chasm. Light Hope has been trying to get her to let go the whole time because Adora’s attachment to other people threatens the First One’s plans to turn her into a weapon. Isolation. Other people are keeping her human. That of course extends to the Best Friends Squad, though it’s true that everyone expects too much of her, even the people she’s closest with. I think that’s one of the things that makes her relationship with Catra bloom in season 5. Catra wants Adora, specifically, not She-Ra. She is protective of Adora the person in a way that other people aren’t necessarily because she has an understanding of her that Bow and Glimmer aren’t going to have since they didn’t grow up with her in the Horde. Once Catra moves on from feeling in competition with Adora, then she can fully embrace her feelings. But anyway, tangent.

Adora being forced to let go/fall from the cliff is just the continuation of the idea that Adora feels like she has to choose the greater good over her own wants such as when she chooses the Rebellion over Catra. In her mind, she feels like there isn’t a choice. She has to leave Catra, even though she doesn’t want to do so. Light Hope is trying to take advantage of that trait for her own purposes, pushing Adora to follow orders and do what is best in the minds of the First Ones.

Now, Catra. Catra lets go of the cliff herself as reality is being pulled apart. This whole scene says so much about where her character is at this point in the plot. First of all, she tries to drag Adora down with her. She can’t stand the idea of Adora being better than her and on the moral high ground because part of that competitive dynamics is very much rooted in Shadow Weaver’s treatment of them both as children. Adora was prioritized. Catra was directly compared to Adora negatively and threatened with harm if she interfered with Adora’s “progress” in any way. Catra and Adora are both self-destructive at two ends of the same spectrum and the pressure/trauma caused by The Horde & First Ones are pushing them to extremes. Isolating extremes. Catra constantly feels a lack of safety and struggles with self-hatred. Catra lets go as she stares Adora in the eyes because she doesn’t feel worth much. I think that’s symbolic of her constantly pushing other people away on purpose as a way to both punish and protect herself.

When Catra re-emerges as Corrupted Catra we can see that her loathing for what Adora represents in her life has been taken to an extreme. I’m a believer that Corrupted Catra is just that. She’s still partially herself, but all of her instincts are taken to an extreme and it’s a raw expression of her hurt. Her pain is being visually symbolized by pieces of her simply being gone. This is another representation of the affect trauma is having on her and her life. That entire scene is brutal and it is good that Adora finally stands up for herself since obviously Catra is not justified in lashing out, but as she stands over Catra’s passed-out body, I think it’s a reminder that circumstances have been out of their control for a long while now. Trauma can isolate and push people away from each other (even when they need each other for healing), as well as away from being able to fully express themselves.

Then season 5 rolls around. Healing. Other people. Wanting. Self-expression. Wonderful things. Catra and Adora being together - what they bring out in each other - challenges both Shadow Weaver and the Horde’s purposes for them. Together, they defy control. You see, if they are able to truly love and connect with each other, then Adora might not conform to what the First One’s want of her and once Catra is able to move beyond the barriers in her relationship with Adora placed there by Shadow Weaver, she can’t be controlled by the Horde anymore either. They are defiance and self-expression and love and I’m totally obsessed with this show, aren’t I?