#does that make their behavior towards their kid any better or justified?

[py-dreamer]

Bout DBK and lil Red Son before he was sealed away...

Do you think DBK, used like that 'soft voice' we all use when talking to babies.

Like Red Son was small enough to fit into the palm of his hand, how else was he supposed to talk to his tiny miracle without so much as blowing him away with his voice.

Do you ever think DBK could be lowkey a bit scared of how he might accidentally hurt his son. He was an absolute beast on the battlefield and while he most certainly would never hurt his family, there was no guarantee something wouldn't happen with this tiny baby

Do you ever think how DBK was so ready to learn to be gentle for once (you saw mans' smile after the samadhi fire ritual, you saw how he remembered his son's birthday, time of day in canon) if it meant being close to the glorious heir he and his wife created against all odds....

And then that chance was stolen from him.

And DBK never learnt to be gentle. His voice never softened to that degree ever again.

And it never will.

(@violetjedisylveon, psssstt u can use this for ur tangled au and perhaps DBK can use that soft voice for the first time in 18 years when his family can finally reunite?)

[mchib]

‘We need more bipolar characters’ 

YOU COULDBNT EVEN HANDLE HIM

first of all i think this is common knowledge but he exhibits a complex and erratic personality which i think could potentially be interpreted as symptom of bipolar disorder - bipolar is a characterized by extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania) and lows (depression) - throughout the series and manga (i think the manga shows this better) mellos behavior fluctuates dramatically displaying periods of intense energy impulsivity and irritability which align with manic episodes,,. - in the manga mellos depicted as ambitious driven and sometimes reckless in his pursuit of catching Kira. he has a chronic case of impulsive decision making such as kidnapping poeple and hijacking a character showcases a lack of regard for consequences which is a hallmark trait of manic behavior - i also think mellos extreme emotional responses ranging from fits of rage to moments of despair mirror the intense mood swings characteristic of bipolar disorder. he also struggles with self esteem and identity also point towards bipolar disorder... individuals with bipolar disorder often experience fluctuations in self esteem oscillating between grandiosity during manic episodes and profound self doubt during depressive episodes - mellos constant comparison to near (who he he and only he sees as his rival) and his need to prove himself could stem from underlying insecurities exacerbated by his mood swings

him developing bipolar could totally be a normal trauma response from literally a lot of abuse that he has faced, most of the main characters from wammys house show no signs of like rebellion or outlandish behavior like he does but that doesnt necessarily mean that nothing happened and i think the author gave characters such as near and the other orphans way too much mental fortitude. bipolar can be developed at any age and its especially common between ages 15-19. not to mention other than it being genetic, theres a huge link between bipolar and childhood trauma. like imagine being groomed your whole childhood into this competitive environment with other 4 year olds to be the smartest toddler so u can substitute this crazy genius when he dies. and think of it like come on theres no chance all of these kids desperately wanted to be detectives when they grew up there was definitely like some sort of foul play. L is an exception obviously since the orphanage became abusive after he came and he was treated like a king basically while the other orphans mental state was completely disregarded because they were only brought in from several corners of the world solely to be his successor. in fact the first generation orphans were literally expected to kill themselves because of the pressure and A killing himself literally was not a shock at all to the orphanage in fact i suspect that a lot of the first generation orphans made to succeed L had a horrible mental state and also killed themselves which if you think about it B (which stood for backup) losing his mind was completely normal even if the way he went about challenging L was not. not to mention how he had to live with shinigami eyes but thats for another post lolol.,,, anyways yeah mello's behavior is actually justified when you think about how much of an abusive household he lived in even if its kind of obvious that the author disregarded coming up with an explanation for the orphans mental wellbeing and how it would have affected their adolescence except from the character of mello and even when they show mello they basically make him seem insane and watari like an angel . reading the la bb murder cases from mello's perspective really opened my eyes to like how it actually was in wammys house u can really understand it from his tone and stuff also with that one page hold on lemme find it

'but what if they could copy him? what if they could make a backup? that was us. L's children, gathered from all corners of the world. children gathered together, never told each other's names. but even for a genuis like watari, creating a fake L was easier said than done. even for near and i, who were said to be the closest to L... the more we tried to be like him, the closer we got, the farther away he was, like chasing a mirage. so i hardly need to tell you what it was like when wammy's house was first founded, when he was still experimenting. the first child, A, was unable to handle the pressure of living up to L and took his own life, and the second child, beyond birthday, was brilliand and deviant. B stood for Backup.'

'L was the goal of everyone in wammys house. everyone one of us wanted to surpass him. to step over him. to step on him. M did, N did and B did. M as a challenger, N as a successor. B as a criminal.'

sorry for my complete lack of spelling punctuation and grammar but i think i got my point across and also big thanks to @monards who helped me finish this draft by giving me the energy to continue and also encouraging my crippling death note addiction by feeding into it with questions and remarks like 'woah!' and 'eureka!'

[ilikekidsshows]

About the throwing CN in the trash can thing, I don‘t necessarily disagree, but why did you completely left out the whole thing about CN‘s constant flirting and calling them a couple and stuff, when LB made it clear multiple times in that episode and before that she doesn‘t like him that way and is bothered by many attempts to make a move on her. Especially in that episode, she‘s already pissed at Glaciator specifically because of it, and Paris as a whole for printing articles and putting up billboards everywhere. The only thing CN does with his shenanigans is irritate her even more, until she has enough.

If I were in a situation where a platonic friend did that to me, I‘d be pissed too. Sure, I probably wouldn‘t throw im in a trash can, but I’d maybe get a little loud at least.

Idk, the garbage toss might‘ve been too much, sure, but pretending like CN has no fault in the situation escalating like that is unfair and LB had all right to go off at him.

That was not what was asked

That's not how the episode frames it

I read over Ladybug and Cat Noir's discussion after the trashcan scene to make sure I understood what the takeaway was. Ladybug did not say, or even hint, that the problem was that Cat Noir went too far or was out of line. She has an issue with being reminded he has feelings for her, period.

This is the same episode where Marinette calls Adrien "my boyfriend who isn't my boyfriend yet" and takes advantage of him being upset to try to win him over romantically. Marinette is forcing her feelings onto Adrien even more than Cat Noir is forcing them on Ladybug, because he at least doesn't expect a relationship from Ladybug in return. The takeaway isn't "don't be too pushy", it's "Cat Noir shouldn't be a bother to Ladybug", because that's what all the lessons in this season seem to be.

And, like, just because Ladybug doesn't return his feelings doesn't mean Cat Noir should hide the fact that he's in love with her to make her feel better, especially since his flirtation is stated to just be an outlet where he doesn't expect reciprocation, that Ladybug understands is an outlet and that nothing is expected from her in return. ("I know your heart's in the right place and that you don't mean any harm.") This has never before been an issue for the two, and now it suddenly is, four seasons in? I don't buy it.

I know the episode is saying that yes, Cat Noir should, indeed, hide his feelings to make Ladybug feel better, but that's unhealthy and I've repeatedly said that the show repeatedly demanding Adrien bury all his feelings so that Marinette can ignore them is wrong.

I also kinda feel like this episode purposefully makes Cat Noir kinda out of character by exaggerating his behavior into such an obnoxious degree and that it was specifically done in order to justify Ladybug getting mad at him (kinda like 'Reflekdoll' implied he'd pranked Ladybug in the middle of a fight, something he'd never do, in order to justify Ladybug being angry in that episode), so it just all feels so fake to me and I can't take it seriously. When I see a show blatantly trying to manipulate me, I tend to veer into the opposite direction out of spite.

So, yes, I went easy on Cat Noir in this episode, but, as you said, that still didn't make anything I said about Ladybug's behavior untrue. Like, Ladybug has reasons to be pissed in this episode, but the writers think Cat Noir alone is the justified target, and that's what I disagree with.

Frankly, if they'd framed that Ladybug's unreasonable anger towards Cat Noir was caused by her totally justified anger at having her private life be so scrutinized, and built the episode around that, this could have been a really good episode that could teach kids about boundaries when it comes to their favorite celebrities. They literally have the framework for that within the episode, but decided to instead give us another "Cat Noir shouldn't even breathe if it bothers Ladybug" episode. It would have been especially valuable since a lot of kids these days are actually following social media or Youtube celebrities or will do so in a few years.

[dotsartspot]

Aight maybe an unpopular opinion but i have to say it bc i feel like i’m going insane??? I just don’t understand why people are so insistent on seeing this season as a black and white scenario in regards to TRG and especially Kipperlily.

First of all I have zero beef with this season. Dimension 20 has never once claimed to be on the same level of narrative seriousness as a show like Critical Role. D20 is a full comedy show on a streaming platform that posts almost exclusively comedic content. I get that people are disappointed and I understand why and it’s fair but it also just seems a little… i guess odd is the word I’ll use, to be so upset about feeling like the message fell flat or that the bad kids were rewarded for being assholes or what have you when Dimension 20, first and foremost, is a comedy show done by professional improv comedians. These comedians have also fully stated on record that emotionally heavy seasons are really rough for them. That’s the whole reason why they haven’t done a second Crown of Candy with the full cast of Intrepid Heroes. Their lack of making this season super emotionally impactful is probably simply bc despite the overarching message that was setup, they didn’t WANT it to be more serious than that.

And the second issue I have with complaints i’m seeing is the way people are coddling Kipperlily. I get she was manipulated I get that it’s tragic its part of why her character is so good but also hey guys can we please stop pretending like the kid who willingly became a pawn of a man trying to become a war god is fully innocent in her own downfall? Can we stop pretending like emotional distress, especially when it’s fueled by so much bitter jealousy towards someone who has truly done nothing to you, is any sort of justification for her actions? She’s the only one who joined them willingly. I’m not saying she wasn’t manipulated and that her story isn’t tragic but she wasn’t a GOOD person. She was a fucked up teenager who decided her sadness was more important than everyone else in the world and then actively aided a plan that would cause direct harm to innocent people who did not affect her in the slightest. Redemption is real and second chances are worth giving but not everyone is worth giving it to and i know some people think that’s such an awful thing to say but as much as they think it’s so awful that doesn’t stop it from being true. EVERYONE has their battles. EVERYONE is messed up in some way shape or form, that’s just the reality of the world. But not everyone who has trauma is an asshole. Because despite whatever pain you may have, you yourself ultimately decide what you’re going to do with it and how you’ll respond to your own ugly negativity towards others. And imho people who choose to take their pain and wield it as a weapon against people who have done nothing wrong are not always worth talking off the ledge. Sometimes these people don’t WANT to be better, they just want their behavior to be justified. Sometimes they take your attempts to reach out a hand to try to drown you instead, or just fully drown you with them. Sometimes people aren’t willing to put in the work to make themselves better, and you can extend all the hands in the world but if that person does not WANT to get better, they simply never will.

[bluemoondust]

I saw Doppo Kunikida for the prompts and I’d LOVE to see more of him. How would he react to his darling always hiding by him when he’s with the agency. Darling is uncomfortable being around Dazai, while they’re friends with Chuuya.

:D The fave! First time writing for him, so I hope I got his character down!

✧Always Hiding By Him✧ — Doppo Kunikida

Warning(s): Slight Hints of Possessive Behavior (I guess?), Hints of Controlling Behavior, Mentions of Kidnapping

"Hm? You alright? Here, you can sit by me for now."

Kunikida actually doesn't mind you sticking by his side when you're in the Agency. As long as you're not interrupting any of his work, it's all good. Besides, he is able to keep an eye on you better this way, so this is a win-win situation for both of you. It's understandable that you would keep close to Kunikida, given his reliable nature in the Agency (which everyone is very aware of). Still, he does wonder why you hide.

It's not like there is any danger in the organization, plus, you're surrounded by members who will make sure no one is hurt. Do the other members make you anxious? Kunikida wonders this as he glances at you every once in a while as he works. You might get bored but...you're still right there. Sitting by him. How peculiar. Still, he is aware that some of his coworkers are...eccentric and assumes that might be why you hide away. He won't admit it out loud, but Kunikida feels a sense of appreciation that you go to him out of everyone.

Even if you haven't said anything indicating if you are wary of the other members, it's obvious to him that you're uncomfortable around Dazai. So of course, anytime his suicidal coworker is present, he makes sure let him near you. He knows how Dazai can be so a pointed look is directed towards the man. "Dazai, please refrain from pestering them." He's also more stern with him because Dazai is Dazai and Kunikida isn't particularly fond of the man's behavior around you. It gives him a bad taste in his mouth. Plus, he values your comfort and doesn't like to see your face contort into a frown like that.

But oh, is it a different story when he finds out you're friends with Chuuya.... He was also the last person to know about it— I kid, I kid. Kunikida found out relatively quickly once he put together the pieces and kept track of your schedule. His reaction? Very wary. He isn't really fond of the idea that you're friends with someone from the Port Mafia, but he isn't going to do anything drastic. No, that would just escalate things into an unnecessary conflict. So far, nothing is amiss and he'd like to keep it that way.

He will ask questions about your friendship with Chuuya, obviously out of concern for you after all. He cherishes you so much and he would blame himself if anything were to happen to you due to your friendship (because obvious reasons...). Heck, he might even try to convince you to break of being friends with Chuuya all together. Just to ease his anxiety. If you refuse, this annoys his slightly.

I will mention, this might motivate him to kidnap you earlier on. You obviously can't take care of yourself in the world. Kunikida is sorry to say that, but...look at the facts. Hiding by him when entering the Agency just means you can't handle certain people. With Dazai it's more reasonable, but still. It reads off to him that you constantly need him to hold your hand. So, this just means his actions are justified. You can't argue against him when he states all these things. It's hard to face the truth but it's plain as day. You need him more than you think you do.

"I'm doing what's best for you. You understand that, right? I know you trust me this much, so I assume you do."

[aangarchy]

I feel like i need to reiterate what my opinion on the southern raiders as an episode is bc my previous posts about it are like 3 years old at this point, so here goes. I want to preface this by saying all of this is in fact my opinion and not me trying to state facts. I'm not going to argue who's right or wrong. I'm not going to debate it either. If your opinion is different: great! You're a human being that can also think for themselves!

In my opinion, the southern raiders is not a good episode. The only reason it exists, is because Katara needed to stop hating Zuko and start trusting him, and thus Zuko would be officially and fully part of the gaang. There's a reason they didn't give Toph a life changing field trip episode. It wasn't necessary in the narrative because Toph already pretty much trusted Zuko. Sokka and Aang had their respective Zuko trips, and Suki rode along in Sokka's episode. Katara was the only one left and for some reason this is what they came up with, and they crammed it in right before a filler episode so they could start of the finale.

I particularly dislike Zuko's behavior in this episode. I'm not saying it's out of character. I just feel like at this point in the story he should know better. First he doesn't understand why Katara is still angry at him. Then he gets to the conclusion that Katara has connected her anger towards her mother's murderer to him, which isn't false, but Katara is still justified in her anger because Zuko has also been very shitty towards her. Then once he has the information he needs from Sokka (who didn't ask to get involved and just wanted to have a fun night with his girlfriend and now had to recall one of his most traumatic memories) he just drops it onto Katara, first cornering her by waiting outside her tent to make sure he's the first thing she sees. He also tells her he "knows who did it." Only he doesn't actually know does he? He just knows it's the leader of the southern raiders, but he doesn't know where to find him yet, but he does know where they can find out so it's okay. They only need to ninja sneak into a highly guarded tower and get a the map. No biggie. Then they march over to Aang and tell him they "need to borrow Appa". They don't even ask him nicely, they just say "we need him". Aang is rightfully sceptical.

Now i know Appa is their only mode of transportation in this episode bc the airship is with Hakoda. But can i remind everyone that Appa is more than just a vehicle? He's a living breathing animal and also Aang's pet. And Aang has already lost him once. They're planning on taking Appa straight into the danger zone without Aang or any armor. And they don't even ask permission! They were planning to sneak out with him at night without Aang's knowledge too! What if Appa got hurt? What if they get captured along with Appa?

Then when Aang points out how this plan sounds insane (bc it fucking is), Katara immediately tells Aang he doesn't understand. What's weird about this is Aang is actually one of the few people there that DOES. Aang is a victim of genocide just like Katara. Within a few days he went from wandering the airtemples with the other kids and playing pai cho with Gyatso to learning his entire civilization and culture has been dead for a century. He was faced with his mentor and father figure's skeleton, and with the knowledge that whomever did it has been dead for a long time. He points this out to Katara, and Zuko dismisses him saying this is what Katara needs.

It's funny how Zuko's entire motivation for this plan in the first place is for Katara to stop hating him. It's entirely selfish, and he's essentially using Katara's grief for his benefit. But all of a sudden when they get stopped by Aang and asked to explain themselves Zuko believes this is what Katara needs. Now i am willing to believe that Zuko genuinely thinks this will help Katara at this point, as it seems like he's living a bit through her. After all he too lost his mother (although he recently discovered she is alive) and boy wouldn't he like to hurt Ozai for being responsible for his mother's disappearance. But this doesn't take away that this plan started with selfish motivations.

Aang rightfully points out that this isn't about closure but about revenge, and tries to explain to both of them the airnomad philosophy around revenge. Zuko, still wanting to go ahead with his plan bc he wants Katara to stop hating him, dismisses this and calls it "airtemple preschool". I'll rephrase that: a direct descendant of the nation that eradicated the entire airnomad population dismisses and insults the teachings of said eradicated culture. And it's played of as a joke? Because it's a funny phrase i suppose? Hardy har the oppressor is making fun of the beliefs and culture of the oppressed! And as if this isn't enough, he decides to drive this home even further by calling Aang a "guru goodie goodie" when Aang asked Katara not to choose revenge. Again we're supposed to find this funny, and sure as a kid the line on its own is funny. But growing up and realizing the context around it, it very quickly becomes not funny and actually kind of infuriating, because again the reason Zuko is trying so hard to dismiss Aang is that he wants this plan to succeed so Katara will stop throwing insults his way. Katara is also very mean towards Sokka this episode, claiming he didn't love their mother the way she did. Poor Sokka really got put trough the ringer this episode.

I also again want to point out how dangerous this plan is. The first field trip with Aang was different. They were visiting ruins for the benefit of Aang learning firebending (a skill he needs to face Ozai), so this trip was very necessary. Sokka's trip was "selfish" for other reasons than Katara. He felt like he failed his dad by letting him get captured, and so he wants to prove himself by getting him out. At least we can applaud Sokka and Zuko for not endangering Appa into enemy territory this time around, and for going into the trip with good intentions (aka saving Dad and later up saving Suki). But the consequences of Sokka's trip show up almost immediately because Azula was able to track them down and bomb the place. The southern raiders trip could have very well had the same exact consequences. They could get captured, they could die, they could get tracked and lead the fire nation to the location of the Avatar (who they now know is alive and is once again their biggest threat), Appa could get hurt. All of this to murder a man and they don't end up doing it. (Just to be clear i'm not mad that Katara didn't kill Yon Rah, i'm actually really happy with that choice and how it foreshadows Aang choosing not to kill Ozai. I'm mad at the fact that they did this dangerous plan with bad intentions and didn't even complete it.)

Now by the end, i'm not saying Aang was completely in the right this episode. He told Katara to forgive this man when he knows damn well she would never. I'm not saying she couldn't. She just wouldn't. But he was right in saying that Katara needed to face this man and come to a non-violent closure. He was also correct in the assumption that Katara needed to forgive. He only wanted Katara to aim this forgiveness at the wrong person. Katara did forgive at the end. She forgave Zuko (who still didn't really deserve it in my opinion because we never even see him apologize to Katara personally for what he did to her?) Zuko even admits at the end that Aang was right in saying violence wasn't the answer. Aang's methods were just a bit off this episode, because there was no way Katara was going to listen to him.

To round this off: this episode could have been done differently. The only thing that really needed to happen for the plot, was for Katara to forgive Zuko and for Zuko to ask Aang how he was going to apply his pacifist upbringing into defeating the firelord. Everything else wasn't narratively necessary, and brought up some very questionable scenes. You could argue that we needed to find out what happened to Katara's mother, but honestly we kind of already knew. She died at the hands of the fire nation. We didn't really need to have it laid out, so it wasn't necessary for the story.

Anyway, that's it. Like i said above, i don't really want to debate this. If you disagree with it you can make your own post about it, i'd rather not get into arguments in the reblogs or comments.

[thenewfuture]

Dear Hiyoko fans.

Yes, what Fuyuhiko, Peko and Mikan all did to Hiyoko during the killing game was terrible and evil. Yes, people should not downplay or dismiss Hiyoko's suffering and clear trauma she had suffered during and after Mahiru's murder/class trial. Yes, Hiyoko was absolutely justified in her hatred towards Fuyuhiko after Peko's execution (and this fandom has a serious problem with treating her as a bad guy for it when in reality, ironically, this may have been the only time in the game when Hiyoko was clearly the good guy in the situation).

HOWEVER

Don't you think that Hiyoko's abusers had already paid enough for their crimes against her? Peko was painfully executed (and apologized to Hiyoko after coming back from the dead); Mikan was not only executed, but also would literally be never the same person again now; and Fuyuhiko had done a titatic amount of work trying to atone for his sins, both during and after the killing game.

In contrast, Hiyoko had not, until literally today, done anything to make up for HER OWN abusive evil terrible behavior. She CHOOSE to torture Teruteru when she simply had an option to not hang out with him (if she was feeling any discomfort about hanging out with a murderer). She CHOOSE to torture Mikan(when Mikan was sleeping and defenceless!) even when she knew at this point that Mikan didn't kill her out of her own free will and is not a threat to her or her friends anymore. And she had done all of this while continuing to act like a bratty ten years old kid.

So, if you have any moral integrity, you have to admit: If Hiyoko was right in her hatred towards Fuyuhiko in the killing game, the whole class (and Mahiru too) are right in their hatred towards Hiyoko right now.

Good thing is that if fucking Fuyuhiko had became a better person, Hiyoko can became a better person too... And she's trying to do that right now, so... Don't mess her up by trying to make her believe she had done nothing wrong, if you truly care about her.

Yeah, like enough all ready. It’s kind of like this:

Hiyoko is a bully, straight up. And when she does bully things they act like she’s a total saint. And the sooner everyone realizes the sooner can improve to not be so much of a bully and a better character.

-Mod

[horizon-verizon]

Do you think Helaena has an opinion on the whole Blacks vs Greens situation and the impending war? Do you think she truly believes in the Green cause or just goes along with what they do because she has no choice? From what I’ve seen, Helaena is mostly regarded as merely an “innocent” by both sides of the fandom, I’ve seen neither Team Green or Team Black people say that they think Helaena has either negative or positive feelings towards the Blacks.

In my opinion, it is unlikely that she has negative feelings towards the Blacks despite Alicent spewing her poison, because she happily toasted to Baela and Rhaena in 1x08, who she must know where involved in the fight that took her brother Aemond’s eye, and she also agreed to dance with her nephew Jace, and it seemed to be the first time in a long time where she was truly happy. I also remember her smiling a little when Viserys showed up to defend Rhaenyra against Vaemond. I honestly think that Helaena might wish that she could be closer to her family members from the Black side, and I don’t buy that Aemond treats her all that well either.

Aemond might be gentle with her and defend her from Aegon, but he clearly hates his relatives from the Black side more than he cares about her, given how he interrupted her happy dance with Jace by slamming his fist on the table so he could mock his nephews. Helaena deserves so much better. She was just born into the Greens. I don’t think she actually agrees with what they are doing, especially because she can see the future at times as well, which means she might be able to see all of their tragic fates which are caused by her mother and grandfather’s schemes.

Helaena is not a real player in this whole thing, even in the book. And I think that she likely just wished everyone will get along but knew it will never happen. Both in book and show. The book, written by a maester in a patriarchal society, emphasizes her gentleness and how others thought that trait would work well for motherhood.

In-world & in the greens' schemes, she is a means to:

legitimize and strengthen Aegon’s image and rule

(later events I won't spoil) draw more sympathy for the greens due to how vulnerable her neurodivergence makes her to societal and familial dismissal

a means for Condal/the writers to both add some more mysticism for this fantasy-less show (where are the damn dragons?!)

validate Aegon I’s prophecy and its unnecessary narrative role in HotD (the prophecy may be an element of fantasy but for the purpose of this particular story, it was both unnecessary AND the show writers try to use it as a means to diminish Rhaenyra's willingness to fight back aginst the greens whether that mean the actual usrpation or in one of many of the smaller conflicts before then, bcit's paired w/her guilt, her need to perform as aruler her neglectful & ineffective father said a ruler should be, etc.)

appeal to people justifiably looking for neurodivergent representation in their media and make the show more attractive

I really can’t see Helaena as hateful towards the Blacks. 

The show gives us no real indication that she despises or dislikes any of them because she doesn’t give them any particular look nor does she interact with any of them at all until she dances with Jacaerys. Happily and with more life in her than she ever had with any Green, I might add.

Of course, she would not be close to any Black because Alicent would have kept her away from them for most of her life (not that the jump cut between episodes 5 & 6 helps). But since Helaena seems very distant from Alicent and Otto treats her both “better” than he does his grandsons and a bit condescendingly as if she were a child or he was entertaining a cute puppy’s burst of energy, I would go out on a limb and see her as being a sort of innocent bystander in her own world. 

Otto has no real stake in her behavior apart from her giving Aegon kids and staying quiet and out of the way. Which she usually does from what we get to see.

This is also why, I guess, people also feel her adaptation into being a prophet makes sense and is good. But I already have my problems with her TV characterization (POST & POST). 

About Aemond Defending Her

This is the script piece of episode 7:

Aegon: We have nothing in common.

Aemond: She’s our sister.

Aegon: You marry her, then.

Aemond: I would perform my duty, if mother had only betrothed us.

Aegon: If only.

Aemond: It would strengthen the family. Keep our Valyrian blood pure.

And he looks for a bit longer than necessary at Helaena without directly engaging with her. 

Before Alicent pops up in her room to see her, Helaena also recites in episode 9 that: “It is our fate, I think, to crave always what is given to another. If one possesses a thing, the other will take it away”. So folks heard Aegon and Aemond’s words, the latter’s look at Helaena in the 7th episode, and Helaena’s words here all show a potential or certain reality where he is secretly infatuated with her and she knows of it through her extra sight. 

They might see Aemond as more sympathetic or morally better than Daemon since that Aemond is also trying to prove himself, and Helaena-- being his sister (Targ custom and Targness) and his older brother’s neglected wife--also would bring him closer to the throne if only Aegon hadn’t existed. Poor Aemond. He has to work for a brother who doesn’t appreciate the position he is in: has the birth order, the girl, the support from the grandfather and the Hightowers.

In episode 8, I think that if you are one to think he is in love with or infatuated with Helaena, you’re inclined to think he got angry for many reasons: 

Lucerys goaded him

he is upset/flabbergasted that Alicent called a cease fire despite the years she’s been telling them all Rhaenyra needs to be usurped/killed and is trying to begin the process of reorienting his life’s mission

Jace is taking all of Helaena’s attention

or/and Jacaerys purposely danced with Helaena just to get back at Aegon for his incessant goading. 

Rather than him just wanting to get back at Lucerys. 

One problem with that Aemond would have to be a lot more explosively angry than what he’s been portrayed so far. Like how he is canonically.

Another problem is that, as you pointed out, Aemond of HotD AND Fire and Blood really care about proving himself more than Show! and Book!Daemon did. (POST, POST, POST & POST).

Final problem is that we do not get a scene with them together alone where we can gauge how he thinks of her and vice versa in a more concrete way after watching episode 7.

We’re given this suggestion of romantic feelings, but nothing afterwards to really cement or negate it.

Perhaps Condal doesn’t even know what to do about this supposed ship himself yet.

[khaleesiofalicante]

Okay. I don't know if what I'm going to say will make sense or not, so bear with me please.

I know we barely had any context with the epilogue, and we don't know much about what happened during that time skip but...

Aren't most of the TMI and LBAF gang being kinda hypocrites? I know they are a very protective bunch and might be worried about Lance and the prophecy, but it seems like gratuitous hate and disregard towards Kincaid. I mean, he may be the Crimson King and son of those worms, but what fault does he have besides that? He genuinely seems to be a sweet kid. And I want to believe that if someone so pure like AJ fell in love with him, there is genuine goodness there. He can’t help the family he was born into or the fate a damn prophecy put on him. In special the TMI gang should know better than judge someone from their parentage, and the LBAF gang regarding prophecies and shit. They saw what one did to David. Now it's as if they're putting on Kincaid the same treatment Kyle and the others had towards David. And again, I know where they're coming from. Fear and love for Lance, but... uh, isn't that kind of behavior that ends up triggering a prophecy? Couldn't they have tried to find a way, maybe getting to know their supposedly enemy first? At least it would've prevented a forbidden love story... Poor AJ stuck in the middle.

Sorry, I know it's too early for all these ideas, but you always make us think so much with your stories. It's pure madness lol

This makes a lot of sense and this is extremely valid. I can't say a lot of things but I can share some stuff for now.

One of the reasons I wrote the epilogue from Kincaid's pov was exactly for this. We might not see his pov in part 5. So I didn't want yall to only see him through the main gang because yall immediately would go "oh ew he is the villain or he is victoria and kyle's spawn ugh" whatever. Because we are biased anyway. So. It was important that I introduced him first. And I'm glad yall support him <3

As for the others. It's very interesting. Because none of them ACTUALLY KNOW Kincaid is the Crimson King. The only people who know are the Lightwood Banes.

Lance doesn't hate Kincaid. He just doesn't like him (which is fair considering what he knows and what his parents did to his family)

Arthur obviously does not. Lol.

David doesn't hate Kincaid. No. We know David doesn't hate easily. Like he didn't even hate Mallory lol. But he is worried Kincaid would hurt his son.

Max actively hates Kincaid. I would he is the only hypocrite here. But i feel like his anger is justified when we get context. (there is a loooooovely scene where David and Arthur talk about why both their families are enemies and i cry thinking about it oof)

Everyone else, they don't hate Kincaid, they just "don't stan" for random reasons. Mostly because they don't actually know Kincaid. You actually see most people (who know him) be nice to him (Abigail, Theia)

But everyone who doesn't know him doesn't like him much. Alec and Magnus are weary of him because of his parents. Rafael and Anjali don't hate him. They are just sus. Lovehallow literally doesn't care about him (iconic as always) and Heronstairs are like meh about it.

As for the kids - Camila hates him because she thinks Kincaid is trying to date Theia and she doesn't like that lol. Iris just hates him because she loves David and she gets angry easily. And Joan just doesn't like him because he is better than her. Arjun and Atlas don't bother with drama lol. And none of these kids know Kincaid is the crimson king.

But lbaf v change will change this. people who like him might end up hating him. people who hate him end up liking him. so we'll have to wait and see.

see you!

[whisperingwisterias]

A Silent Voice and Subtle Discrimination

A Silent Voice is about forgiveness, it’s about realizing your past doesn’t have to define you, but it’s also about the cruelty of discrimination and how many forms it can exist in. Whether it’s upfront like Shouya’s bullying was, or more subtle as we saw in some of the other classmates, it all does just as much harm to people’s perceptions of themselves.

Although Shouya’s bullying of Shouko was the most noticeable and also the most blamed, Shouko faced discrimination from almost everyone. To begin with, although the school implemented some accommodations, like beginning to teach the students sign language, a lot of the time no changes were made to help Shouko at all. On her very first day the teacher taught and gave the students instructions without writing any of them down for Shouko to understand; it took another student noticing her struggling and offering to take notes for her for Shouko to get the help she needed. There was also an issue in a music class where Shouko was not given any helpful cues to tell her when to sing, which caused her to make a fool of herself.

Besides the school not offering many accommodations, there were also several classmates who simply refused to accommodate for her disability. Although many of the girls seemed nice to Shouko at first, they were quick to distance her because they didn’t want to bother with the extra difficulties her lack of hearing posed. When Shouko tried to join in on their conversation, offering her notebook, the girls turned her down and went back to talking together. Naoka also resented having to learn sign language to make things easier for Shouko, wanting instead to just keep writing in her notebook because that was easier for herself.

In addition to lack of accommodations, the film also shows how many people discriminate against both Shouko and Shouya by shifting blame and justifying their own behavior. When they were younger, Shouya blamed Shouko for the way that everyone was treating her, saying that everyone was sick and tired of having to write in her notebook all the time. He also writes a mean message on the blackboard, saying that it was Shouko’s fault that Miyoko left, even though it was really Naoka’s fault for making hurtful comments to her. The other kids and even the teacher are also quick to justify their own behavior and blame everything on Shouya when Shouko eventually transfers schools. The teacher has no hesitation in calling out Shouya for being a bully, despite seeing it all happen and doing nothing to intervene, at most calmly threatening a detention for disturbing class. The other students also have no hesitation in calling him out, even though they also did nothing to stop the bullying they saw and often laughed at it themselves, in some cases even joining in on the bullying. When given a scapegoat to take all the blame, the kids are quick to give him the same treatment that they all gave Shouko, justifying their bullying under the explanation that he deserved it.

When they all meet again several years later, Naoka and Miki continue to shift the blame onto others. Naoka is quick to wave away all of her behavior towards Shouko by claiming to her that it “wasn’t that big of a deal.” She also blames the bullying Shouya received and the way their friend group fell apart on Shouko’s presence, saying that none of that would have happened if she hadn’t been there. She also is quick to blame Shouya’s hospitalization on Shouko’s suicide attempt rather than trying to be sympathetic. Miki also refuses to take responsibility for her inaction, insisting that she never made any mean comments like the others did and exposing Shouya for being a bully in the past to make herself look better.

We see just how damaging this treatment is for both Shouko and Shouya throughout the film. Both of them consistently make it clear that they have both internalized the comments that others have made—Shouya, despite taking several steps to change and genuinely become a better person, still hates himself and thinks that he’s an awful person, to the point that he thought the world would genuinely be better without him in it; and Shouko, despite being the most blameless person in the entire film, truly believes that everything Naoka and the other students blamed her for really is her fault. She blames herself for the way her own disability affected others, for how her leaving caused the other kids to bully Shouya, and for how her suicide attempt caused Shouya to get into a serious accident; even though none of these were actually her fault.

Even though the film projects an overall message of hope and forgiveness and redemption, it also really points out just how awful and cruel of a thing the students' discrimination towards both Shouya and especially Shouko was. Even though most of the students didn’t think they actually bullied anyone, their actions left permanent marks on Shouko and Shouya that marred both the way they interacted with others and the way they viewed themselves. This is why it is important for us to recognize and make an effort to stand against discrimination, no matter what form it takes.

[afterschool-labyrinth]

Main Character tropes

General

Audience Surrogate: Take turns serving as the relatable viewpoint of the audience as they try to make sense of the world they're now in.

Forced Transformation: Are changed into bizarre monsters after entering Dimension Arc, some less humanoid than others.

Kid Heroes: Are aged 7-12.

Monster Adventurers: The kids essentially become these after their Forced Transformation.

Trapped in Another World: They are trapped in an alternate dimension via a ritual that transported them there.

True Companions: Throughout the fic, they are shown to genuinely care about one another.

Alix Umberleigh

Action Girl: She has a little bit of this as things take a turn for the worst, as she survives a few dangerous scenarios with just quick reactions and her wits.

Badass Adorable: Taking on the dangers of Dimension Arc, being only 9, and so cute? She's definitely this.

Badass Normal: She is a little girl with no magical powers or special training struggling to get herself and her friends out of a supernatural dimension, and she succeeds.

Blue Is Heroic: She has blue clothing under her jacket, is blue as a monster, and she's The Heroine.

Kid Hero: She's only 9 years old, and she is the protagonist.

Dolly Young

Annoying Younger Sibling: Ethan finds some of her behavior annoying or reckless, and Dolly often shows disrespect toward his wishes. However, just as often Ethan's annoyance is portrayed as unjustified, being less of a fault of Dolly's and more because he's a bit uptight.

Cheerful Child: She's so cheerful that nothing really brings her down.

Children Are Innocent: The worst thing she does throughout the entire story is sneak into a middle school at night in the beginning.

Cloudcuckoolander: She's a bit of an oddball, but she is just a little kid.

Creepy Doll: Becomes a rare Creepy Good example.

Determinator: Nothing ever seems to wear her down. If she's set on something, she'll go for it.

Fearless Fool: Dolly's innocence and optimism prevent her realizing any danger she's in.

Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: She's very much the foolish kind, but her foolish behavior makes things better as often as they make things worse, either through total luck or because her ideas are better than they seem.

Gleeful and Grumpy Pairing: The eternally optimistic and determined Gleeful to Ethan's Grumpy.

Meaningful Name: Her name is Dolly and she becomes a living doll.

Nice Girl: Dolly is a lot more chipper and kindhearted than her older cousin.

Oblivious Younger Sibling: Dolly doesn't seem to notice Ethan's aloofness towards her, mostly because she's only 7.

Ethan McCrae

Character Development: As the plot progresses, he finds some self-esteem, learns not to avoid his problems and begins to show a sense of responsibility for his cousin.

Classical Anti-Hero: Ethan starts off as cowardly, reserved, and weak willed. He gets better.

Deadpan Snarker: Has these moments.

Gleeful and Grumpy Pairing: The anxious Grumpy to Dolly's Gleeful.

Jerkass Has a Point: While not really a Jerkass so much as just an insecure Jerk with a Heart of Gold, Ethan can be pretty impatient with Dolly, his innocent younger cousin. However, his annoyance with Dolly's carefree attitude is justified. After all, not only are they completely lost in Dimension Arc, but Ethan is essentially tasked with a big responsibility as the older relative.

It's also honestly hard to blame Ethan's anxiety during their adventure. He and his cousin are sent with others into a strange world with stranger bodies, both of which that they have little understanding of, after all.

Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ethan's a good guy, but he starts out as aloof to Dolly when he feels frustrated. However, he grows to truly appreciate his little cousin.

Nervous Wreck: He's mostly anxious and uncomfortable for the greater part of the fic - in Dimension Arc, sometimes he actually has reason to be.

Sibling Yin-Yang: Ethan is awkward, insecure, and worrisome, while Dolly is optimistic, cheerful, and confident.

Took a Level in Badass: Part of his Character Development.

Took a Level in Kindness: Over their journey, Ethan comes to care about Dolly and becomes less awkward.

Shawn Campbell

Deadpan Snarker: Almost always has some comment to make about the latest antics going on around them.

Fiery Redhead: He has an outspoken attitude and red hair.

Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's snarky, uptight, and blunt especially in regards to Sammy. However, he eventually learns to loosen up.

Super-Hearing: Justified as he gains an ear for a head.

Super-Scream: Accidentally discovers he has this power while delivering a Big "SHUT UP!" to Sammy.

Yellow Sash of Power: Is the school's current hall monitor.

Gale and Manny Bondar

Byronic Hero: Manny is melancholic, sullen, attractive, sensitive and surprisingly cunning.

Brilliant, but Lazy: Manny's pretty good at building things and figuring stuff out, but he only uses that to amuse himself.

Character Development: Manny starts off as Brilliant, but Lazy kid, but the group's harrowing adventures make him put his intelligence to better use.

Deadpan Snarker: In frustration, Gale lets out snide remarks about Manny's laziness. Manny's not too extreme, but he also has a few snarky comments.

Delinquent Hair: Manny dyed a red streak on his bangs after his and Gale's parents' divorce.

Dye Hard: In-Universe. Manny dyed his bangs red. It also serves to foreshadow what his Forced Transformation looks like.

Hidden Depths: Sure, Manny's a typical juvenile delinquent, but he's much smarter and kindhearted than others believe.

Monstrous Humanoid: Both twins are turned into these.

Nonconformist Dyed Hair: Manny's a rebellious kid who's dyed a streak of red on his bangs.

Polar Opposite Twins: Gale is an athletic Plucky Girl while Manny is more brooding.

Red Is Heroic: Manny in his monster form.

Tag Team Twins: They find themselves having to truly work together in order to help the group progress.

Sammy Morris

Class Clown: The resident jokester of his class.

Invisible Monster: Basically becomes this, his current location only marked by his mask-like face. He can only be fully visible in shadowy places such as the Darkrooms.

Plucky Comic Relief: The main comic relief. Makes sense since he's the Class Clown.

Wynn Sullivan

Character Tics: Tilting her head to one side.

Cloudcuckoolander: She tends to space out a lot. She also has a liking to things others would consider odd or strange.

The Quiet One: She doesn't usually talk much.

Shrinking Violet: She’s a bit nervy and quiet.

Stomach of Holding: As a serpentine monster, she can store things in her stomach. It comes in handy, given that the kids have nothing else in which to carry the items they find.

[breckstonevailskier]

Yeah, Cobra Kai being a plot-driven show does mean oftentimes, characterization is sacrificed in the name of the plot. With Amanda, though, I think it goes a bit further, as I'd say that she's less a character and more a plot device. As in, her behavior and personality in any given scene is "whatever they need her to do in the moment to advance the plot". This was very much the case on a few occasions in early seasons, like season 1 where we have Amanda put Sam on total lockdown over a hit-and-run where Sam wasn't even driving and Johnny was partly at fault while also letting Sam off the hook for a pool party (if anything, Amanda got her punishments reversed there; she should've grounded Sam for the pool party in 1x02 while letting her off with a stern lecture in 1x09 concerning the hit-and-run). But Season 4 is where Amanda is at her most plot-deviceiness.

It really shows in the whole storyline with her helping Tory. Particularly when it comes to the backstory anecdote about her vandalizing her teacher's car, and why she's suddenly seeing a lot of herself in Tory and discarding all the previous anger she harbored towards this girl who has attacked their daughter twice. The only reason Amanda's backstory is even brought up is so that the writers can justify Amanda being a part of this storyline (as opposed to using some other adult figure like Bobby). It's not brought up to add depth to Amanda as a character, it has no obvious effect on any of her other choices throughout the show, and after it’s initially introduced, it's never even mentioned again. It's merely brought up so that the writers can provide Amanda a reason to act as a prop for Tory as they do damage control to "redeem" Tory (given that Tory up until this point was basically a cartoon villain).

If Amanda helping Tory was always the plan and not thrown in as some sort of "quick fix" to "redeem" Tory and give Amanda something to do beyond be Daniel's wife and Sam's mother, one imagines that they would've had Amanda's backstory be revealed a lot earlier in the show. Like, instead of only revealing it in season 4 when Daniel point-blank asks her why she wants to help the girl who's terrorized their daughter for the last few months, they'd have Amanda reveal it in season 2 in response to Robby telling her about how he used to scam people at the beach club. Since Amanda cares about Robby, her revealing this backstory nugget in this context would make it a character moment that also fleshes out her relationship with Robby and explains her defending him when that one manager tries to kick Robby out.

Then at the start of season 4, when Amanda is cleaning up broken glass from the house fight, she can have some flashbacks of cleaning up glass in the parking lot after having vandalized her teacher's car. As a result, she harbors a shred of sympathy for Tory when Tory gets fired from her job at the sushi place. Subsequently, Robby (instead of Kreese) reaches out to Amanda regarding Tory's home life, asking for Amanda to do a favor for him. He's bonded with Tory and wants to help her, but isn't in a position to do it. Amanda is much more conflicted than in canon regarding the subject of helping Tory. Because on the one hand, providing kids with alternative influences to Cobra Kai is a good thing, and Tory wants to do better. But on the other hand, Tory did some pretty nasty things to Sam, and Sam has every right to continue to be angry at her over these things. On top of that, Amanda's worried that she might alienate Robby if she refuses to do this favor for him. Eventually, after a lengthy discussion with Daniel and Sam, Amanda is able to convince Sam to sign off on Tory returning to school by agreeing to a deal, with Amanda saying, "We'll sign this agreement and help her, but only if she agrees to leave you alone, goes to therapy, keeps up with her appointments, and you get some therapy as well."

Does Amanda LaRusso ever come off like an inconsistent character to you?

I had to think about this for a while, but I think at her core she’s she’s written fairly consistently in terms of her values and what she stands for. But like every character in this show, she’s often at the whim of the plot and her actions—particularly her parenting—sometimes comes across as inconsistent because of it. Which is a part of the larger problem with s4 for me tbh. It felt like they decided there very specific plot points they wanted to hit, and made all the characters fit around that. But because that story was an unnatural progression from the earlier seasons, and the season itself didn’t do a good enough job at laying the groundwork, it made a lot of characters feel….off. Not exactly ooc, but just kinda. Not Right. At least to me.

[davestriderpostscratch]

very fascinated by jane maryam and how her being a jadeblood connects to her relation to the condesce. does it make her more under the influence of the idea that she’s a part of a normal and completely fine institution or does it make her more aware of the horrors?

ok so technically within the universe of unstuck jane maryam lives on beforus so she would be under empress feferi and NOT the condesce and none of this would be applicable but it’s interesting enough to me to entertain it so consider this like. non-canon to the AU itself but it WOULD be canon if it could be. do you get me

anyway mary jane is a very straight-laced and studious girl that is incredibly preoccupied with being “the best”. not necessarily in relation to other people she doesn’t particularly care about her reputation or whatever (beyond the normal desire to like. have friends and not be an outcast) but she’s very focused on being like. i guess “her best self” would be as close as i could get but it’s not really in a cool self esteem boosting girlboss way it’s a kind of dirk-strider-esque drive to achieve peak efficiency and optimal performance in everything she does (particularly in academic pursuits) and in many ways it would be BETTER if she was competing with people other than herself because it would at least give her something or someone else to engage with instead of locking herself in her bedroom and going insane all the time

she’s a very strict person especially with regards to herself and her own behaviors and will follow rules even if she doesn’t personally agree with them just because of the simple fact that they ARE rules. she might try to exploit loopholes or argue the “it’s a suggestion, not a direction” viewpoint but by and large she is not a rebellious or particularly outspoken girl; she follows orders and keeps to herself sometimes to the point of detriment, and refuses to express any thoughts she personally deems as “out of line” in any way to others which as you can image is doing WONDERS for her mental well-being (< it is not)

in terms of the alternian regime and her place in it i would put her as like. a darkleer type, i guess. just from a jadeblood’s position instead of a blueblood’s. she doesn’t feel any particular fanatical loyalty to the empire (especially as a midblood) but will continue to follow the rules it’s set for her until she literally physically cannot continue to justify them, which is a breaking point that takes a LONG time to come to. she is going to do a lot of incredibly questionable things that she KNOWS are questionable before she realizes that she has to stop

she’s still quite skeptical much like canon jane but it doesn’t really serve her well as a troll because instead of being skeptical towards the empire she ends up more often being skeptical towards revolutionary philosophies LOL. she isn’t being literally actually physically brainwashed/subliminally influenced the way she was as a human with the tiaratop, it’s more like. she’s incredibly susceptible to the general societal brainwashing that all alternian kids are subject to (and actually from what we see in the friendsims jadebloods are probably subjected to MORE of this than the average troll anyway). not in a “there is no war in ba sing se” way but more of a “there is absolutely so much war in ba sing se but they soldiers are telling me to look away and move along so i guess i’ll follow the directions of the authority figures” way

she’s also an academic with a focus on history which on alternia is basically just like. a constant never ending stream of imperial propaganda. that mixed with her mental state becoming increasingly fragile due to her obsession with personal perfection generally leads to her being less likely to even bother questioning the condesce’s regime. kramer voice it’s like perfect blue in here

tl;dr the condesce would have no direct influence on jane but jane’s personality, personal struggles, and position in alternian society would combine to create someone that is very easy to manipulate for a very long time if you’re careful about it

[fairestwriting]

okok this is not going to be my most coherent post and i KNOW how armchair diagnosing fictional characters sounds like but, ive been working on this leona fic recently and it just makes me kind of think harder about his character??? if youve been following me for a while you know i have beef with how they portrayed him in ch 2 and everything and how easily it seems the conflict is solved even though IT WASNT SOLVED AT ALL!

i dont like leona as a Person either like if i knew him irl i would try to beat his ass, genuinely, but i also watched lion king five billion times as a child and i thought scar was the shit, and im the kind of fandom person who always fixates on the idea of rewriting things, so i have been. Thinking. doesnt it kind of feel like leona has like?? clinical depression? i dont think it justifies any of his actions, not in the slightest, but i feel like i can get a much better understanding of his emotions under this sort of theory if it makes sense

he did have that “upswing” in chapter 2 when he tried to come up with that plan to cheat in the tournament, but he gave up on it so quickly, and the way he does clearly feel he needs to cheat to win showcases a very clear lack of self esteem in him. yes he has a superiority complex, but it comes with an inferiority one too, and hes constantly plagued with this thought of how pointless everything is and how “life is unfair”. like in his head the feeling of superiority from his own talent, skill and potential, WHICH REALLY IS A LOT, is just constantly fighting this everpresent lethargy from how nothing he does seems to get him any closer to his goals. that hamster wheel sort of feeling that looks very characteristic of a specific kind of depression case to me

again. doesnt justify his behavior at all. he shouldve gotten so many more consequences from doing the magical equivalent of mass doping and Trying To Kill Ruggie but also thinking about the sort of Situation his head is in plus that tendency towards the grandiose and lack of consequence sight that comes from his privilege in his society. yeah his actions make sense.

and in a way it makes me sort of? sad for him? because hes extremely talented and intelligent, hes clearly powerful enough to counter riddles unique magic, and riddle is said to be the top student in nrc. he has so much potential but hes so beaten down from the things his life branded into his brain that he doesnt really see it.

logically i think he knows that theres more to life than becoming king. again hes very intelligent, but with it having been his dream, him having believed he had the potential required for it (and maybe even actually being better than farena? we dont know enough about farena to be able to tell that though) and then having that torn away from him from whats implied to be a young age, plus the treatment from everyone in the afterglow savannah court. like that clearly did drill some emotional instability in his head. no stable guy whos aware of his potential would have the sort of mindset he does. its illogical he focuses on how he couldnt become king like this, unable to move on from that and the hit his self esteem took from it.

if he had been mentally healthy, being someone whos clearly a very clever and determined type, he would have found another way to make use of his own skills. who knows why exactly he wanted to become king, maybe he did believe in making things better for his country, maybe farena isnt as good as he seems, if it has been a longtime dream of his i have a hard time believing he just wanted it for the sake of wanting it, kids dont really crave power for the sake of itself after all and do tend towards being more empathetic and hopeful than older people, from a psychological standpoint. and he wouldnt have been groomed to want that position, since its clearly established that as the second son, he would only become king if farena died

with his emotional state too, i cant help but wonder the details of how his parents treated him. we definitely wont know that in canon but imo these major depression traits line up with a case of neglect. maybe he doesnt even recognize it as such, he strikes me as the kind of guy who would look back at his childhood attempts at seeking affection as weakness, so maybe he thinks his parents would be justified in not really fulfilling his needs especially as that abyss in his self esteem started forming from his dream being slowly torn down.

HOWEVER, AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT OF THIS IMPROMPTU ESSAY: he is still a cunt and i still hate him. thanks for reading like and subscribe

[zuko-always-lies]

So, question, because I see people saying it often that Iroh has the right to feel animosity towards Azula because she made fun of/derided Lu Ten's death (or something like that), but does she actually do that in that scene? Or does she express disdain for Iroh's reaction, which considering the culture could easily be interpreted as Iroh being the one to make light of it? (Pretty sure there's at least one instance in _Romance of the Three Kingdoms_ where one character absolutely annihilates an opposing force because his brother/father/friend dies, if we want a real-world example of the mentality. Or, like, all of _The Hagakure_.)

Does Azula call Lu Ten a coward for dying? Or does she say that Iroh is for not "getting justice" or revenge for his son's death? For not finishing the task and abandoning the cause Lu Ten died for?

Because one of these means Iroh's dislike could be justified (nevermind the fact that he wasn't present for this conversation, so if he knew about it, he would have only heard about it from Zuko). But the other is an angry/disappointed/disgusted child calling an adult out.

Good question! I think I should start by talking about what Zuko and Azula actually say about Iroh.

"The Western Air Temple"(featuring 13 year old Zuko!):

Iroh: (Iroh looks on, concerned) Prince Zuko, it's only been a week since your banishment. (Cut to a far back view shot of the 2) You should take some time to heal and rest. Zuko: (turns around and raises his voice) What else would I expect to hear from the laziest man in the Fire Nation? (Cut to a close up of Iroh's slightly appalled face as he looks down and sighs) The only way (Cut back to a frontal shot of uncle and nephew) to regain my honor is to find the Avatar. So I will.

"The Headband":

Zuko: (standing at the bars) You brought this on yourself, you know. We could have returned together. You could have been a hero! (Iroh turns a shade further away from Zuko.) You have no right to judge me Uncle. I did what I had to do in Ba Sing Se, and you're a fool for not joining me. (Iroh is silent.) You're not gonna say anything? (Enraged, he kicks a stool and bends a blast of fire at the wall.) Argh! You're a crazy old man! You're crazy, and if you weren't in jail, you'd be sleeping in a gutter!

Zuko says some pretty negative things about Iroh, right to Iroh's face!

Now, what negative things does 14 year old Azula say about Iroh? Surprisingly little, even though she clearly doesn't like him. She implicitly calls him a traitor a couple times(during times when he is, in fact, a traitor by all reasonable definitions), but never really explicitly does so. Beyond that, there's very little. This is the only thing I can think of:

Azula: So...I hear you've been to visit your Uncle Fatso in the prison tower. Zuko: (standing, incensed) That guard told you.

Which is actually way less harsh than what Zuko says about Iroh! If anything, Azula's behavior in the present suggests that she only rarely criticized, much less mocked Iroh's behavior to his face when she was younger.

Now let's turn to the meat of your question, "Zuko Alone." There are two scenes in that episode where Azula criticizes Iroh. The first comes before Lu Ten's death:

Ursa: "And for Azula, a new friend. She wears the latest fashion for Earth Kingdom girls." (As Ursa speaks, Azula picks up a doll wearing Earth Kingdom green. The Princess makes a face of disgust.) Azula: If Uncle doesn't make it back from war, then dad would be next in line to be Fire Lord, wouldn't he? (In the background, Zuko runs around practicing with his new dagger.) Ursa: (disappointed) Azula, we don't speak that way. It would be awful if Uncle Iroh didn't return. And besides, Fire Lord Azulon is a picture of health. Zuko: How would you like it if cousin Lu Ten wanted dad to die? Azula: I still think our dad would make a much better Fire Lord than (looking at the doll with disdain) his royal tea loving kookiness. (She holds out the doll and makes its head burst into flame. The screen flashes white and the flashback ends.

There are several things which seem to be driving Azula's actions here. The first is a reaction to the massive favoritism Iroh just showed toward Zuko. The second is a belief, no doubt inspired by Ozai's poisonous statements about his brother, that Ozai, who Azula idolizes, would make a better Firelord than Iroh. Finally, Azula is a confused child who is asking inappropriate questions because she's too young to understand proper boundaries. Nothing she says here is actually that serious, and I would expect a responsible adult(i.e. not Ursa) to either shrug it off, or to carefully reason with Azula in order to explain why what she is saying is problematic.

Now we turn to the other main scene, the one right after Lu Ten's death, and the one you probably actually wanted me to talk about:

Azula: (getting up and walking over to him) By the way, Uncle's coming home. Zuko: Does that mean we won the war? Azula: No. It mean's Uncle's a quitter and a loser. Zuko: What are you talking about? Uncle's not a quitter. Azula: Oh yes, he is. He found out his son died and he just fell apart. (leaning against a nearby pillar) A real general would stay and burn Ba Sing Se to the ground, not lose the battle and come home crying. Zuko: (angry) How do you know what he should do? (looking down, sadly) He's probably just sad his only kid is gone... forever.

You might note that, again, Azula doesn't say anything negative about Lu Ten. You've already noted that Iroh is thousands of miles away at the moment, so having him be "justified" in his hatred of Azula by a conversation he didn't hear doesn't make sense.

Azula is also very angry in this scene, quite possibly the angriest we ever see her at any point. That does suggest that she's taking what's happened, either Lu Ten's death or the abandonment of the siege, very personally. I don't know enough to comment specifically on this, but you are right in that there might be cultural background which specifically proscribes the achievement of vengeance as being of particular importance, and Azula is thus outraged that Iroh failed to fulfill his duty to his son.

But that not at the core of Azula's critique here. What Azula is attacking Iroh for is that he responded to a personal loss by abandoning his duty in the heat of battle, and she is 100% right on this, not only by the standards of Fire Nation cultural but also by the standards of modern western culture. Fun fact: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and Robert E. Lee(screw the latter two, but that's another story) all suffered the loss of children they dearly loved in the middle of the American Civil War, yet none of them abandoned their duty. Archibald Roosevelt(another problematic figure) had two brothers die in WWII, yet he continued fighting on the front line. John W. Geary literally had his son die in his arms in the middle of battle, yet he continued commanding his unit well enough to prevail. Hell, we can even turn to Joseph Stalin here, to some extent.

Again, the core of what Azula says here is absolutely correct. Iroh is a "quitter" because he responded to Lu Ten's death by falling apart and abandoning the siege when it seemed on the brink of success, rather than continue the operation until victory. I don't think we need to go further than that to establish that Azula is entirely justified calling Iroh out here. And again, she doesn't criticize or mock Lu Ten at all, instead only attacking Iroh's reaction to Lu Ten's death.

[etheriadearie]

Hello! Absolutely love your analyses! I'd spend breaks during work reading through a piece and I appreciate all the evidence (data as Entrapta would state) you use. I see many people boil Catradora down to being abusive (aimed at Catra) and it's just so hard to argue since there's so much depth to their relationship. What are your thoughts? How would you respond to someone stating so?

:: ... Reflections on the emotional healthiness of Catradora, on Adora's arc, and on SPOP as a morally complex story-

Hi, and thank you so much for this question, I know that some SPOP fans have this kind of reaction, and while I get why they feel bad, I strongly believe such a reaction was not the intended outcome. Which is my first point:

To anyone who feels this way, Hey!!! Noelle wouldn't hurt us like that, and even though we see hurtful behaviors shown in SPOP, this isn't part of suggesting that we forgive our abusers- Noelle wouldn't do that!!

SPOP is unique in that it explores trauma as seriously as it does… this show is so many different things: it's beautiful, it's fun, it's kid friendly, and it's really meaningful. I really, really believe that both Catra and Adora’s stories are meant to be a comfort to people who grew up in situations like theirs… (I, for one, find Catra’s story very comforting).

My second point is that Adora is as much a product of hurtful abuse as Catra is, and this includes that she has some very hurtful behaviors towards Catra, especially as we see the two of them together starting well before her defection. For example-

We all know Adora is a sweetheart, and for her to even behave in hurtful ways is so against her own best nature that it's a sign that she's not really being herself. It's also very wrong in terms of her ability to be She-ra, as Etheria chose her for her ability to love- she is deep down an incredibly loving and generous person, and love is her power. Yet, when we see her with Catra in ep1, she's acting hurtful instead. This- is where their relationship becomes so complex- because Catra really isn't being hurtful, and Adora has a history...

...And, this is a much bigger problem than just her relationship with Catra, because Adora is also hurtful towards everyone in her past life, she vilifies them and fights them- never once does she make an honest attempt to help her former friends- Adora simply makes an assumption that fighting them is a necessary hurt of her 'destiny'.

Yet... this 'destiny' is a lie, and we cannot ignore how Adora's arc from s1-4 ends with her barely avoiding destroying all of Etheria... furthermore, with Horde Prime finding them all as a consequence. Despite Adora's attempts at being a hero through s1-4, it ends with her having betrayed all of her former friends for a 'destiny' which was evil all along- Light Hope never meant to make her a hero, only to use her and the rest of the princesses as a weapon. This is because Adora had followed her 'duty' and therefore failed to be her greatest good as a hero of love.

Her decision of duty and all that goes wrong results because of how Adora believes in duty before all else, including and especially love. This false belief system, where she simply fights rather than looks to help her former friends, and acts hurtfully to enact this false 'destiny', is because of how Adora was hurt by her abuser. And it makes her actions wrong- she isn't valuing love, and, she is being controlled by others, some which are evil, some which are unfair- through her false belief in duty.

This concept of duty, which is so wrong, is what Adora's entire struggles are about- this includes her hero's arc. Her perceived need to serve a false 'duty' is the reason she justifies her hurtful behavior and neglects to help her former friends, it's the reason her s1-4 arc ends in disaster with her destiny being revealed to have been false, (and that she's been manipulated for evil), and, it's the reason she's so hurtful to Catra- betraying all of their love, while failing to make any true effort to understand Catra's feelings

We might not like Catra's reaction, or how terribly wrong the war is (... one which began before either of them was even born-), but Adora wrongly believes in putting her duty so far ahead of all else that she's failing to look deeper. Adora does break promises, and she does hurt people- she hurts everyone in her old life, not just Catra, with her hurtful and blind prioritization of duty ahead of love and all else- her belief makes her vulnerable to further manipulations. Her entire concept of duty before love makes her miss how she's hurting them, and, how she's wrong to do this... ... it results in so much pain. (-in fact, Adora ends up hurting EVERYONE with her stubborn belief in enacting a false destiny, as we'll discuss.) .

So, for the purposes of this question, we need to look at Adora's behavior, and how she's wrong to be so hurtful. Catra ends up very much more wrong- that's well documented- and which we all know- but, Adora is She-ra, Catra is not, and all of Adora's actions matter so much because she is at the center of all that happens as She-ra. And, she's got to learn to value love, going against the hurtful beliefs of 'duty' that her abuser ingrained into her psyche to control her. Even though Adora is trying to do her best, she falls short of what that actually is, and it's all because of her false belief that duty must define her. She is a hero of love, not a hero of duty or destiny- because destiny cannot power her, nor guide her. Love is what must guide Adora, because love is her real power... and as a hero of love, she cannot "leave anyone behind" who needed her help...

Through s1-4, by acting hurtful, Adora is essentially creating a false equivalency by equating evil upon all of her former friends, in a hurtful way which all but ensures further division and misunderstanding. She-ra is supposed to be a uniter, a healer- yet Adora is making no effort to do so. Adora is such a extensive product of abuse that she doesn't even see that she's doing so, and she has to wake up to this in order to become a hero of love...

:readmore:

Also, in part: their division happens because when Adora leaves Catra and everyone else in her former life behind she does so having not once fought for them (see Lonnie in the portal reality, below) - very much like how she didn't fight for her and Catra's love against their abuser. As She-ra, Adora needs to be strong enough to fight for ALL of them, rebellion and the vulnerable people in the horde who are trapped in its abusive system alike- yet, Adora doesn't do so- instead she takes a simplified view of morality, and through it, justifies abandoning her and Catra's love and fighting against instead of helping everyone in her old life. That Adora doesn't try to do better is already hurtful on its own. Adora's choice of such a hurtful path happens out of multiple complex factors, some deal with her history as a abuse survivor- but in reality, it's mostly because everyone else around Adora also is not being their best, either... ...more later

As for Catra- her choices, while very very bad, come out a reaction to Adora's history of hurtful behaviors- her inability to trust Adora is a trauma reaction, just like Adora's, yet, that reaction comes in response to Adora's continued hurtful behaviors: Catra is trying to be apart from someone who has constantly hurt her by naively following duty while showing no effort to understand how she's hurtful or to fight for their love. Adora did this within the horde by playing favorite to Shadow Weaver, and Catra feels that Adora must be misguided, just like she was before, for leaving her- instead fighting against her so willingly and vilifying her... lumping her in with their abuser as evil.

Catra was constantly abused, and watched on as Adora played favorite to that abuser while ignoring how Catra was treated. So, Adora was betraying Catra all along, and had no awareness of it- it shows that Adora has a blind spot- something which she struggles with throughout her hero's arc: such as Light Hope using her for evil. Catra felt as though she had already lost the friend she thought she had years ago, and then Adora's continued hurtful behavior following her defection, while making no effort to save their love, is what causes Catra to feel she must part ways with Adora. By Catra's reasoning, Adora must not really love her- why else would Adora be so ready to hurt her, when she made a promise to love her? Catra doesn't think Adora is actually being a 'good' person by leaving like she does- and Adora's hurtful divisive actions confirm Catra is right- by choosing divisiveness and a false destiny while devaluing their love, Adora is indeed falling short of being the hero of love which Etheria chose her to be...

So, we can see Catra's distrust and Adora's being used by Light Hope as parallel, because Catra is right that Adora is letting people manipulate her, just like she did within the horde- even if Catra is only basing this belief off of her gut feelings in s1. Adora ends up betraying her promises, and being used as a weapon by Light Hope, (and the rebellion, too) for the same reason: her belief in duty which blinds her to all else.

:: 🛑 There's also the matter of whether Adora and Catra are 'in a relationship' during the war. That's dubious- morality of the war aside, Adora divides their friendship for it, not Catra- so they aren't together anymore... And, as we'll discuss, Adora is coming up short of making the best decision by doing so. But, in regards to our question: what happens during the war between Catra and Adora should be considered separately, as apart from this time in their history, Catra was quite loving with Adora: both before, and then after, the war... and so it's important to not falsely equivalate Catra actions in this way- they are not 'together' (...again, morality of the war aside..) ....more later

We'll come back to Catra's motivations later, but here's the quick reference for the meantime- Catra doesn't do what she does out of wanting to hurt Adora, her love confession in s5 precludes that. And she also doesn't do it out of any great allegiance to the Horde- it's just all she knows, and she stays there because she's trying to live free of Adora- who is a constantly inadvertently hurtful person, as Adora had actually been betraying their love for many years. But: most importantly, Catra does what she does as part of her fight against their real abuser, whom Catra sees as the real evil in their lives. This starts as Catra taking down Shadow Weaver herself, and stays true within the meaning of her other actions through the rest of her arc as well. ...more later

All in all, this is part of how Noelle gave us a morally complex story with SPOP- it's not black and white like most stories we've seen (such as ATLA). The war, while terrible, has multiple sides to it, and with it moral grayness: The horde is wrong, yet isn't really made up of evil people. The rebellion is right to defend Etheria, but has a corrupted view of the horde where they summarily judge all horde as evil. That's an amoral belief, as we'll discuss, and it plays into Adora’s confusion over who she really must be, because their hurtful views block Adora's ability to be the hero of love she's meant to be.

... And, of course- the princesses are part of an evil super weapon, as naive enablers of a generational trauma so dark that it threatens them all... ...more later

Finally, the MAJOR PSA REGARDING ABUSIVENESS.. (and therefore this question)

Since we wish to discuss abusive relationships, we must recognize that there is indeed such a relationship at the forefront of SPOP, but it's not Catradora.

All of their bad behaviors- Catra’s isolationism and hurtfulness for self protection, and Adora’s hurtfulness in the name of false duty and vulnerability to naively trusting in false ideals set out for her by others, is because of how Shadow Weaver hurt them.

SPOP as a series is all about believing in love, (even in other character arcs aside from Catradora-) and it really is about both of their struggles with how their abuser hurt them, which they have to get past to embrace love. Their story is one about the how and why we ourselves sometimes struggle to accept love- many people struggle due to having been hurt like they were- and through them, Noelle tells us a story of our own lives. 💢(minor trauma warn to readers, altho, I promise nothing too dark in this post). It's the real truth of Catra and Adora’s arcs: that they both act out hurtfully due to how their abuser has hurt them, and as such, they both contribute to their division, not just Catra. And, they both go through long arcs of self realization and healing to be better from how they've been hurt, to be their best selves and so they can be together again.

This journey of self realization is what allows Adora to start being a real hero in s5, and accepting Adora's flaws in her actions before then is an important part of understanding her arc, because, as She-ra, everything Adora does matters- no matter how unfair what's done to her is, she's got to be her best, and she has to trust in love in order to win in the end...

That concludes the "short" explanation, but, since abusiveness is such an important issue, we'll cover some specifics it in greater detail. This- is Adora's hero's arc- her and Catra's love IS her hero's journey, because she's not trusting in love in how she acts through s1-4.

So, apologies for how long this will be, but we'll be covering the following subjects as part of this discussion-

1- how and why Adora improperly continues hurtful behavior that started within the horde after she finds the sword, which Catra reacts to, and how Catra wasn't hurtful before then,

2- how Adora could have used She-ra as a liberator to help her former friends, and how the rebellion also being corrupt is why she misses seeing it,

3- Adora's self realization of her truth of love, and how it allows her to step past false destiny and manipulations,

4- how Adora was being a false hero during seasons 1-4 as told through Horde Prime forcing her to fight chipped Catra to save her during Save the Cat,

5- Catra’s wrongness and why she believes she's totally alone against her abusers evils,

6- how the love we see in s5 was always the truth.

Back to the topic of Adora’s hurtfulness, as we see it in ep1, that goes so deeply against her better, loving nature... (part 1)

From the moment we see Adora and Catra together in ep1, it's obvious that their relationship has already become very unhealthy-

This is almost entirely unhealthy on Adora’s side, not Catra’s, as every time Adora speaks to Catra, she does so with a tone- she's rude to her, she's hypercritical of Catra's actions, she's incredibly judgemental, and she acts as if superior to her.

Yet, Adora had become the puppet of their abuser- Shadow Weaver, making the mistake of trying to fulfill the false expectation of being perfect as she was told to do. And in doing so, her naive trust in fulfilling that duty made her an unintentional enabler of her own abuse, as well as Catra's.

So, all of Adora's judgments out of supposed superiority come out as false: she's devoted to a woman who means only to destroy them, it shows that she really didn't know what was going on with Shadow Weaver's abuse.

In contrast, when we look at Catra’s behavior, it's clear she thinks Shadow Weaver is evil. And, in terms of how she interacts with Adora, it's obvious that Catra is actually still being a very loving and supportive friend to Adora- we only see any of her negativity emerge in response to Adora’s own hurtfulness. As things stand in ep1, Catra isn't abusive, if anything, it's the opposite (although I wouldn't use that term).

So, we can start to see that Adora has an entire history of deeply hurtful behaviors towards Catra- starting well before the moment Catra refuses to follow her, or before her decision to forsake their love go to war against her following “Promise”. There was no good reason for Adora’s hurtfulness- it was done in respect to a false duty made for her by their abuser.

This false belief of superiority is another way in which we can see that Adora was failing to see the true evil that was happening as she was playing the favorite- she blindly believed that being good, as measured by an ideal set out for her by their abuser, was her only way of solving her problems.

Yet, Adora always had a choice- her assumption shows a failure of reasoning, because fulfilling that duty as she was told to never would have resulted in anyone being safe- much like her trying to fulfill Light Hope's ‘destiny’. Shadow Weaver only made Adora think that as part of her plan to use and then destroy her.

Likewise, Adora always had a choice to intrinsically value her and Catra’s love over the corrupt duty forced on her by Shadow Weaver- she could have kept the faith in their love, with Catra. Instead, Adora became hurtful towards Catra...

Adora was a bad friend- and her being as such in the name of false duties is the same reason she ends up being used as part of Light Hope’s corrupt 'destiny'. Also, being a bad friend is a canon part of Adora's hero’s struggle, (spoiler warn, LotFP) as being a bad friend can also be seen in how Adora acts towards Glimmer in s4: (as Bow says in s4ep8: "...it's hard being friends sometimes... So why am I the only one who's willing to work at it?". (In LotFP, Scorpia outright calls Adora a bad friend, and rightly so..)

In regards to Adora’s failure in choice- she and Catra weren't children anymore, and standing up to Shadow Weaver was always a possibility. She could have refused to play along in a system where Catra was made to suffer while she was given praise. And, the real kicker is: judging by how easily Catra takes down Shadow Weaver without Adora’s help, it wouldn't have even been that hard.

This shows Adora really was guilty of blind devotion to Shadow Weaver, because Catra had been prepared to step free of that abuse, probably for years. So, when Adora leaves Catra, devaluing their love and instead vilifying and falsely accusing Catra of being evil like Shadow Weaver (which is an immensely hurtful thing to do after the years of torture Catra suffered), Catra decides to step free of her abusers control, while also stepping free of Adora’s continued hurtfulness.

So, we see that Adora has a dangerous level of blindness to the deeper evils that people mean to use her for, which we can see in other places throughout her arc, such as with Light Hope’s plans for her. She can't even see how she's been corrupted.

Catra, in contrast, shows us she knew all along about their abusers' true evil: she shows her awareness by her little rebellions against a corrupt system where she was constantly being hurt. Catra refused to stay weak, and prepared to protect herself from her abuser all along. Yet, all Adora ever did was act out towards Catra for refusing to conform like she did...

Let's jump forward to when Adora finds the sword, and we can apply Adora’s naive belief in enacting duty, while being hurtful in the name of it, to that decision as well:

Adora accepts the sword, and her new ‘destiny’, with blindness and devotion- believing it to be her ‘destiny’, she willingly accepts that it comes at the price of hurting Catra as well as everyone in her old life as part of fulfilling it.

This ‘destiny’, or duty, is actually nothing but a lie made to confuse Adora by Light Hope and the First Ones- it's just a manipulation to use Adora for their evil. Believing in her 'destiny', Adora then makes no real effort to understand the darker truth behind what is really being asked of her, instead trusting in that 'destiny' and betraying everyone in her old life with her hurtfulness, instead of helping them, in service to this ‘destiny’. (...more later)

Adora in effect swaps Shadow Weaver for Light Hope, (the rebellion also uses Adora as a weapon in a hurtful way, which we'll discuss), and in doing so Adora acts hurtful to someone she loves, she agrees to hurt and therefore fail a whole group of people who deserve better from her. Adora has no right to vilify them like she does, after all, she was one of them herself. Also, her vilification shows no concept of her own hurtfulness and previous role as an enabler in that system.

Sure, Adora could complain that it wasn't her fault because she was being unfairly manipulated, yet Adora continually shows that she is vulnerable to those very same manipulations, again and again, throughout s1-4. It's all to do with her false assumption of fulfilling duty at any cost.

... and it brings Adora’s entire supposed ‘moral awakening’ into question, because while she's right to stick up for the citizens of Thaymore, her entire hurtful and superior attitude towards Catra while she does it is false: it's just like how Adora was hurtful towards Catra as part of playing her role as the favorite of their abuser within the horde. She was blind to the real evil that was occurring.

She therefore has no business being so hurtful towards Catra throughout s1, even IF she didn't know about the continued tortuous abuse Catra suffered because of her. All that Adora’s supposed righteousness over her ‘destiny’ actually shows is that she’s blind to what is really happening- in the past, and then again when Light Hope uses her for evil.

Also, fun fact: Adora’s supposed 'holier than thou' newfound morality isn't even her own: we know she's vulnerable to accepting others' expectations- in this case she's accepting Glimmer’s hardline view that all people in the horde must be evil. Adora takes this closed minded viewpoint and uses it as she tries to enact her false destiny all the way through s1-4, never once making an effort to help her former friends.

All in all, Adora falls short of being a real hero by doing this. And, Adora really does take things too far in her stubborn pursuit of her destiny (LotFP spoiler warn). She's so willing to hurt Catra, and all of her former friends, and is so far removed from the hero of love we see in s5 by doing so. Catra is right that Adora isn't the friend she used to have- Shadow Weaver's abuse changed Adora into something hurtful instead. (In LotFP, Adora strait up attempts to terminate Catra’s life; ...in contrast, Catra only ever tries to capture Adora...)

Catra, meanwhile, has no reason to trust Adora when she tells her she's defecting because of Adora's past history as an enabler of her (their) abuse. If Adora could hurt her, while being devoted to her abuser, what reason does Adora give Catra to think that anything will be different with her sudden new devotion to the rebellion? The answer is none, and as Catra had to look out for herself to protect herself from abuse, she won't trust Adora. Meanwhile, Adora can't even make an effort to understand Catra's feelings of being hurt by her actions...

Also- at least Catra had a plan- which we know by how she takes down Shadow Weaver to be free of her continued abuse. Nor, also, does Catra just want to leave everyone in her old life, accepting the rebellions belief that people like her are only worthy of being vilified and condemned by the princesses- Adora's self righteous judgements just makes Catra think that Adora is being hurtful and naive. Adora, meanwhile, had no plan- and even after her 'destiny' is revealed, she's still playing into the hands of her abusers while trying to fulfill her 'destiny'. It doesn't matter if Adora doesn't mean to, she's still got to be better than letting corrupt people use her for evil. She needs to learn to not be so naive.

The best theory for the hurtful way Adora behaves- by being so hurtful while ignoring the deeper truths- is that Adora has a deeply engrained hurtful world-view due to how she was hurt by Shadow Weaver, towards her abusers purpose of using and sacrificing Adora. Because of how Adora was treated, she believes that duty always comes at a cost, and that it will be painful- it's a corrupted, painful way of seeing the world where she just assumes pain comes as part of her reality of being charged with duty.

This is false, it's just what her abusers (Light Hope, too) want her to believe, and waking up to how this corrupt concept of duty is used against her by her abusers is something that must happen for Adora to be able to move past it, so that she can start being a hero of love like she's meant to be. She cannot let naive concepts manipulate her into being hurtful, and cloud her from seeing her path of love. Adora in s1 sees none of this- she only sees her concept of duty which is wrong- she does get wiser throughout s1-4 which sets up for her heroic reveal in s5, when we her true She-ra form.

So, Adora's fighting Catra and all of her former friends, instead of looking to help or understand them, is a presumption that it is a necessary cost of her duty. Upholding her 'duty' was always painful for Adora, and so she thinks hurting her former friends is 'just how it has to be', because Shadow Weaver conditioned her to expect that duty would always feel painful. Her hurtful world view assumes evil on them all, while making no attempt to do better. That's not heroic- Adora is accepting enacting a lesser evil as part of 'duty', just like when Catra was allowed to suffer within the horde while she was given promotion. A real hero faces evil at it's source, by simply vilifying her former friends and breaking her promise to Catra, Adora is being no hero of love...

Which brings us to our next topic: why Adora fails everyone in her old life, and how she could have done better to help the people trapped within the horde’s abusive system. (Part 2)

Adora’s hurtful vilification of everyone in her old life, while never finding a way to help them, really is a failure to all of them. In particular, we can see how much Lonnie feels this way, much like Catra does-

Not finding any way to help them was always a failure of Adora as a hero, something which happens because of her trauma belief of 'duty' before all else, and how her new allies in the rebellion wrongly influence her to believe that all horde are evil. Their corrupted, hurtful views makes Adora miss an obvious possibility:

Adora could have used She-ra as a liberator, rather than as a conqueror.

I realize that may sound like hyperbole, but, there's plenty of evidence of how Adora fails her former friends, and even more about how the rebellion fails the people of the horde. ->see the following pics-

So, we need to talk about why Adora never tries to help her former friends, in order to open a path to freedom like she was offered because she was She-ra.

Even though the rebellion may have the moral high ground in this story, they still fall short of being their best with their derogatory views of the horde- it further divides themselves from what are essentially fellow native Etherians, it surrenders all further thought to what is essentially hate. One result of their flawed views is how we see its Glimmer that activates the super weapon: as she says “we’re the good guys, remember?”. Are they really being their best, though?

Glimmer and Angella have pain from the war, which gives them a corrupted view of the Horde where they summarily judge all Horde to be evil out of their pain. These are derogatory views which are based on their own personal feelings of injury, which leads to their views, as leaders, crossing over from needing to protect themselves, to enacting a unnecessarily hurtful exclusion of a group of vulnerable people who needed their help.

This isn't to say that their pain isn't real… it is, it just doesn't excuse an isolationist, closed minded view of their situation. Surrendering further thought out of emotional pain simply is never healthy, they take their feeling so far as up never show any understanding to any individuals within the horde, or to try to help them. As the leaders of free Etheria, this is a failure of their station as those leaders.

So enters our sweet Adora, who, while she does always mean well, is a lifelong product of abuse that makes her highly vulnerable to blindly going along with others' expectations of her. Afraid to fail her new allies, Adora accepts Glimmer and Angella’s ‘us versus them’ close minded view of the horde as evil as her own, she ignores her deeper knowledge of how this isn't true she has from her time as one of them. Because of it, Adora never considers how they deserve to be given the same chance to be better that she was granted because of her Princess powers.

In all of SPOP, Adora is the only person who is ever actually offered a chance to switch sides. This is a failure that happens because of the derogatory and closed minded views which predominate the rebellion's beliefs- it's no secret that they hate horde soldiers, and that no forgiveness is ever offered. It's prejudiced and amoral.

In SPOP, the Horde isn't evil in the black and white sense that most stories present their villains. They are a combination of bad, but also good: we can see that good in the stories of Catra, Scorpia, Lonnie, etc- even Hordak, the supposed leader of the evil Horde, shows he can be better and gets a redemption.

So, Adora’s intimate connections to people from her former life always demanded more understanding from her than just being crushed under She-ra’s golden boot. ... Not that anybody in the rebellion is actually interested in considering this possibility- and Adora is far too concerned at failing in her new duties as She-ra to stop and see it, and so challenge those views.

It was another missed chance to help people, rather than divide, that Adora misses seeing due to her traumas- her addition to their ranks should have been a chance to change the derogatory views of the rebellion for the better, to open a real path towards freedom for people within the horde who feel trapped by its abusive system, so they can find safety from it like she did when she switched sides.

It's a way in which she could have helped her former friends, and it might even have lead to resolving the war more peacefully- losing soldiers in such a way would have weakened the Horde, possibly even seen its collapse… also, Catra would have seen that Adora was no longer giving in to a blanket derogatory view of people like her... -> ->note, Adora's childhood best friend helms the Horde, and yet, Adora still cannot find common ground ? (This is because of Adora's own divisive and prejudiced behavior towards Catra. Also, Hordak is barely the leader of the Horde- as he hides in his lab and only emerges to makes snide comments.....)

Quick aside: yes, Adora does make a few weak offers of this in s1 to Catra, but always coming after Catra had been further abused because of Adora’s actions, and always with Adora acting in her superior way that shows no understanding of how she's hurtful. It makes Catra doubt Adora’s sincerity.

As it turns out, this derogatory view of the rebellion is a much larger failure: it fails the people of the horde, but very importantly, the way their hurtful views affects Adora equals a personal failure of them all to Adora.

What's really so terribly wrong with the rebellion's close minded views is that we never see any quarter offered to the horde: there's no opportunity for such people to be better- no choice given to them to step free of their abusive situation, and to prove they don't really stand for that. Not having that offer in place is an immoral act, and an abandonment of duty.

Glimmer and Angella’s presumption of evil upon all horde with no path to forgiveness in itself traps those very people in the system which forces them to act in evil ways. War is never an easy thing to solve- but presuming the enemy as evil shuts down all possible further understanding, and perpetuates the violence: as leaders of their world, Glimmer and Angella needed to do better.

And, their hurtful views are also a enormous personal failure to Adora, because it frightens Adora and leads to her continued self hurting-

Adora accepts the rebellion's close minded views that are forced on her, she throws herself into battle continuously trying to make up for her failure to be perfect. She's so afraid to fail them that she acts in compromised ways- such as looking to sacrifice herself, or hurtfully protecting her concept of 'destiny' at the cost of brutalizing her former friends in battle, never looking to help them.

It's a hurtful way to live, and Adora does it because she's so afraid to fail her new allies as a former child soldier from the Horde, and so, their views hurt her- Angella and Glimmer's views that being from the horde is synonymous with evil are a personal failure to Adora, particularly from Angella: as a mother, she could have helped Adora to understand her new role as She-ra, and to help Adora understand her trauma.

Instead, Angella judges Adora and treats her like she's evil unless she fights as she's told to... even though Adora, as an orphan, never had a choice in being from the horde. This is an emotionally hurtful failure to Adora as a friend, (Glimmer) and as a mother (Angella).

::This is also the beginning of a series of failures, one which ends with everyone being hurt, because of Adora’s betrayal of being a hero of love, in what could be considered a butterfly effect-

-> Adora takes the hurtful, close minded black and white view of morality of the rebellion, and applies it to her relationship with Catra- she ignores their intimate history and her promises, and implies that Catra must be evil like Shadow Weaver at multiple intervals following her defection. That is a failure of love, and of their lifetime of their intimate friendship with each other.

Catra had been hurt her whole life, she watched as Adora turned from her as a friend to be the enabler of their abuser. She's had enough of being hurt in this way, and Adora isn't even making an effort to understand why Catra feels so hurt by her actions. So, Catra wants to be free of Adora, who hurts her.

Catra fails Adora as a friend- ending the generosity of love we see her have in ep1-2, that she kept giving despite Adora being so hurtful towards her. Catra is done with Adora’s double standards, she agrees to fight the war against them all, since Adora so seemingly wants it as part of her new life and a 'destiny' which ends up being fake, anyways.

And so, the rebellion's close minded views creates Adora’s failure to Catra, Catra goes to war against them, and so, the one enemy they simply cannot defeat is created by their own close minded views that the forced on Adora...

The rebellion fails Adora -> Adora fails Catra (plus all of her former friends) -> and in reverse, Adora fails ALL of them -> rebellion alike, by failing to make the choice of love, of trying to make an effort to preserve her and Catra’s love, she turns Catra against them all with her lack of faith in their love, choosing to act hurtfully instead. It is a failure of being the hero of love that Etheria chose Adora to be...

A chain reaction that starts with Glimmer and Angella’s own hurtful views ends with EVERYONE being hurt- it amplifies the war, because, Adora is at the center of all that happens, and isn't being the hero she should be... you could ever say it causes a butterfly effect...

Still, Adora had a choice to be better.

Just like she had a choice to stand up to Shadow Weaver in the horde. Just like she had a choice to not turn on everyone in her old life, judging them in such hurtful ways, while never looking to help them. And, just like she had a choice to value her and Catra’s love, and through seeing how her actions hurt their love, seen that the duty she was so blindly devoting herself to was wrongly making her hurt people that deserved better from her.

Adora in s1 has so little emotional presence to be able to see her own hurtfulness- it's due to how she was hurt- that she places her concept of duty so far ahead of love that she can't even see the value of a lifelong relationship of love she had with Catra. Why would Catra think Adora cares about her, when she so casually betrays her, infers evil upon her, implies that Catra must be like their abuser ?

If, Adora was a more emotionally present person, she would have recognized that she needed to find a better way that didn't just brutalizing everyone from her previous life. And the rebellion itself doesn't help her, they just place their unfair expectations upon her. Her trauma makes it hard for her to see why love is important- she can hardly see the bond of love that she has with Catra... so, she doesn't choose love out of false belief in duty and fails to be the hero she's meant to be.. and everyone suffers for it.

In the end, Angella and Glimmer are not in themselves blameless for creating the situation they face with Catra’s determined war against them, because as leaders of the rebellion, they had been failing the vulnerable people in the horde all along.

As the saying goes, hurt people hurt other people. It's true in life and it's true in SPOP. Mostly people hurt each other because of trauma, and in SPOP everyone's trauma adds to the sadness of the war they fight for 4 seasons, horde and rebellion alike, not just Catra... or Adora. It's not the war they needed to fight, it never was, and as such they are all mostly caught unawares when their mistakes in this way results in Horde Prime finding them- ie- the true enemy they all should have been preparing to face...

... Which, it must be acknowledged, results from Glimmer's choice of trying to use a despicable super weapon to win a war- one in which her own bad attitude hurtfully influences Adora and therefore helped to amplify. Glimmer's act nearly destroys them all, while exposing their location to their true enemy all along...

Glimmer’s naive decision results in so much disaster that it really makes you wonder if the rebellion ever deserved to win the war with the way they conducted themselves...

I'd argue no…

Glimmer’s act, and how the princesses are caught so unaware of their true enemies- (ie, Horde Prime and the First Ones) shows them to be so naive that they likely would have inadvertently activated the Heart in time, and thus destroyed themselves, anyways.

They failed to be better, acting in way that added further trauma to the system. (..this is likely really a commentary on the chaos of war in general) And, the princesses really have NO excuse for being caught so unawares like they were- they don't know their own world's history- there's no real excuse for this. Especially when we see that it was indeed possible- Shadow Weaver uncovered much of it as part of her evil plans to attain more power. (Shoutout to Bow’s dads, who made a heroic effort to understand it, while starting from scratch- 🥰)

Add to this that Glimmer’s corrupted choice to activate the heart happens much as a consequence of her listening to, you guessed it, Shadow Weaver, and we have all the proof we need that the princesses don't understand their own “hubris”.

Long story short, everyone messes up the first 4 seasons, nobody is being their best- and so, Adora has to go to great lengths and great personal risk to herself to repair all of their previous mistakes during her s5 arc. She does this in a very beautiful way- she does it through the power of her love- *not* out of destiny, or duty, or even sacrifice. (Part 3)

Adora was always a hero of love, love IS her power, and she should have seen it sooner. Trauma is what blocked her.

A bit of sympathy for Adora:

Even though I'm talking about how she's wrong, Adora constantly found herself unfairly forced into bad situations by others' expectations put on her, some of which are evil, others are at the least unfair and corrupted by hurt. So, she ends up making some wrong choices… yet she's She-ra, she's still got to be better than that.

And Adora shows great courage in getting free of her trauma cycle to trust in the power of love instead of duty, like she was always supposed to do. How she gets past this trauma mentality is by simply learning to reconnect to her best self- and her deepest feelings of love and generosity that she was chosen to be a hero for by Etheria.

... Nevermind the First Ones-- Adora was still chosen by Etheria, as she was as a loving child, before Shadow Weaver ever managed to hurt her and make her into something else.

And, Adora finds this truth within herself with almost no help from anyone with her best interests at heart- Angella tries her best for ~3 minutes in the portal reality, to make up for her own hurtfulness towards Adora. (..Bow and Glimmer do help her some, but are very much involved in their own concerns..) Adora is a hero, but not by destiny… love is her truth.

Now... Adora’s burden as She-ra is indeed incredibly unfair on a personal level, yet as She-ra, she's still got to be able to make the right choices to be able fix the big problems she faces, and making those choices must be guided by love, not by destiny or duty.

So it doesn't matter that she's not responsible for the First Ones original evil, for which she was innocently born into- Adora simply won't quit trying to make it better, because that's who she is at heart. Trying to make things better is always a core motivation for Adora, even though she broke her promise of love to Catra. Love was always her guide, and her strength, that's why Etheria chose her, and in late s4 into s5, we see Adora begin listening to her truth of love.

So, Adora’s hurtfulness with Catra from s1-4 is just the most obvious symptom of how she's struggling with a trauma mindset that blocks her from being the true hero she's meant to be. This means that Adora and Catra's relationship issues and separation was always the real story of Adora's hero's arc, because Adora failed to look deeper and save their love because to her flawed concept of duty.

Being that hero requires not surrendering her reason to false judgements which require her to be hurtful to people who deserved her love and understanding, never mind if Catra makes everything worse with her own hurtful reactions. Adora always needed to be better than that, and being able to be so understanding of the moral complexity of their situation isn't easy, but, she learns to do it. Again, Catra isn't She-ra: Adora is.

::So, SPOP is one big story about people learning to not let their shitty attitudes control them, and of getting past them in order to become better people. Adora had a bad attitude in s1: it made everything worse, she turned on her former friends because of it. Catra’s attitude might be the worst of them all, but they all learn to be better- Glimmer, Angella, Mermista… the list goes on. Everyone needed to be better, and in s5 they are- it's what gives them the power to overcome Horde Prime together.

... Adora rescuing Catra is such an important part of her hero’s arc because of how she is a hero of love, but it's also important because she's making up for her previous mistakes of passing hurtful and false judgements unfairly upon her former friends... and against Catra. We also see Adora’s true powers emerge as she saves Catra, because she's trusting in love...

Speaking of Save the Cat… (part 4)

Still, if you're at all doubting that Adora struggles with being a false hero from s1-4, it's all well confirmed as Adora faces Horde Prime during Save the Cat in order to save Catra…

When Adora shows up to save Catra, and to save their love, Horde Prime pits chipped Catra against Adora, making her play out their entire history of hurting each other for false reasons in order for her to save Catra. This is meant to be a sly and forceful character assasination by Prime of Adora as a false hero, and as a bad friend. He wants Adora to feel weak, that her failures as a hero are so total, and her lack of love so hurtful, that it's much too late for her to fix her mistakes.

Because of his belief, he really isn't expecting Adora to succeed… yet, he doesn't know that Adora has found her truth of love…

He starts out by calling Adora a false hero, rubs it in that she's a First One, part of an evil empire that he easily defeated. And then, as she battles against chipped Catra, he tells her “you will destroy the ones you love in the process.”

This is supposed to be a scathing rebuke of Adora’s actions through s4. One where Adora, and the princesses at large, played into the hands of the First Ones manipulations, where she willingly hurt Catra in the name of her false destiny.

He reminds Adora of all of her failures, and how as a First One she's from an evil race of beings, she's totally at his mercy, just like the She-ra’s before her. He throws Catra at her, tauntingly, offering the chance for her to kill Catra, like she tried to do before in the service of Glimmer and Angella's corrupt expectations that she deliver them from the horde at any cost to herself.

Moments before Glimmer destroys the server, and Adora and Catra get their chance to talk, Prime rubs it in just how much Catra had to suffer for her sacrifice to protect Adora- “she was scared in the end, and she suffered”. A cruelty Catra shouldn't have had to suffer, but for Adora’s long standing history of betraying her for false duty.

Adora tells Catra she's not giving up on her, something she did through the first 4 seasons of SPOP with her blind righteousness towards Catra, never stopping to consider how she herself might have been wrong, instead stubbornly trying to enact her false destiny.

Prime compels Adora- it's too late, the damage is done, he's all but assured to win. She is behind enemy lines, and weak.. “then you are a fool, you cannot stop Horde Prime… he will reign triumphant… it is destiny”.

Her and Catra finally get to talk to each other when the server is destroyed, and as Catra reaches out, nearly taking Adora’s hand, wanting to go home again, he steals it away and taunts Adora one more time: “some creatures are destined only for destruction”- like it always was… Catra was meant to fail from the beginning, to die. And Adora was the tool of her abusers, she threw Catra aside as part of their evil plan to make her fail for their corrupt purposes. He sends Catra plummeting to her near death..

Clutching Catra’s dying body to her chest, Prime tells Adora “it did not have to be like this”. He's telling Adora that it never had to be like this, all of her betrayals of Catra, her struggles in vain against her false destiny, were done in a naive blindness that only ever made everything worse.

Everyone was made to suffer because of her naive belief in that 'destiny', she's failed, and if she's lucky, perhaps Prime might save Catra. By submitting to his will, maybe she can spare Catra her death... or if not... perhaps Adora can at least forget her mistakes like Catra has been made to do…

We all know what happens next. Adora is not the naive girl who played by the rules of her abusers, she's stronger within herself and knows she cannot abandon love. She's there for Catra- she's going to find a way to love her better, even if that's hard to do. As she says to Prime: "you miscalculated”.

And luckily for her, Catra, a true fighter for her own sacred life, surviving against a lifetime of death threats and near death experiences, is able to hang on just long for Adora to be able to save her from the brink of death..

None of this makes Catra’s actions during the war ok, but keep in mind that Catra shows great remorse for all of her mistakes. She's learned her lessons, too… and her remorse and then total confession of love hints that Catra never did what she did as part of wanting to hurt Adora..

Still… what really makes Catra fight against Adora like she does? After all… she had a choice, too, just like Adora did... (part 5)

Catra could have chosen to sympathize with Adora's views at the battle of Thaymore, after all, Adora was clearly right that what was happening to the civilians was wrong, yet Catra didn't.

As it so turns out, Catra isn't very impressed by some suffering of people who have lived their whole lives more privileged than she has, not when every day of her life had been a crime- surviving against abuse and torture with nowhere to run or anyone to turn to, Adora included.

Her life was that of an orphan, singled out for total destruction by their abuser, and as an orphan, the only way Catra knew for sure she could get free of that was through her own actions. She can't rely on anyone liking her or helping her because of innate magical powers like Adora does.

So, putting her life in the hands of the people who have only ever seen her as an enemy makes no sense, she's been hurt too many times before, including by Adora herself, to take Adora’s word for it.

But, she at least hoped that Adora would have chosen her out of love. Adora's willingness to abandon Catra so totally, and then continuing to behave so hurtfully in all of their further meetings, seems to tell another story.

All of Catra’s anger, and her worst actions through s4 can be summed up in one thing, of which never had to do with her wanting to hurt Adora:

Catra believes that she is totally alone in the world against her abuser, that nobody else properly sees Shadow Weaver's evil or will deal with it. And so it's up to her to do what must be done.

Everyone around her is an enabler in some way: Hordak didn't care to take a role in the Horde's everyday, only cared about results. Glimmer and the princesses become the worst kind of enablers of Shadow Weaver from s3 onward by taking her in, giving her total freedom in all but name. (And then there's the matter of Glimmer letting Shadow Weaver channel her power in s3ep4, which she uses to torture and nearly take Catra’s life yet again...)

But the saddest example is how she thinks Adora is a naive enabler who will never learn any better. Catra feels that way because of Adora's hurtful behaviors towards her, and how Adora couldn't even choose Catra out of love, instead vilifying her and hurting her as part of her false belief in duty.

She's wrong about this- Adora sees Shadow Weaver’s evil, too, she just doesn't know what to do about it. Adora had hoped that leaving her old life behind would free her from Shadow Weaver's corrupt influence over her, and yet... we see Adora struggle with how she was hurt right up until the end. Still, if she had just had one decent talk with Catra, it could have cleared up so much hurt between them so much sooner. (but they never did...)

Adora, as we see her in ep1, is a person that is so incredibly naive that Catra doesn't even need to feel that Adora ever intentionally enabled- Adora's blind devotion to Shadow Weaver's plan, followed by total willingness to abandon their fight against their abuser, while instead assuming evil upon Catra while hurtfully lumping Catra in with said abuser, means, as far as Catra could tell, that Adora was never going to choose to help her at all.

Adora’s behavior in the horde was so atrociously bad, that her continued hurtfulness after leaving seems to confirm Catra’s worst fears: that Adora really didn't care about her, and only cared about her duty.

If true, Adora having had no plan to help her would have made Adora's continued naive enabling of Shadow Weaver a clear and present danger to Catra's life. Was playing the favorite to their abuser really Adora's only plan? Would she have just continued to enable Shadow Weaver right up until she pulled off whatever betrayal she had for the two of them, killing Catra, or them both? It sure would seem so.

Add to this the fact that Adora just ends up having enabled a different evil manipulator as part of her deserting her, and Catra is done expecting anyone to ever help her with the realities of her abuser. If the princesses want to call her evil, while sheltering her abuser and further enabling Shadow Weaver’s evil, she won't feel bad if they all get hurt along the way. And Adora is naive, something Catra makes abundantly clear during their fights.

Catra does a lot of dangerous and hurtful things in the name of this belief. But, this is a trauma state Catra learns to wake up from, because she's lost just like Adora is, and her trauma mentality is destructive to everyone around her.

It leaves her with nothing… no moment of happiness, nobody to call her a friend, a life of absolute loneliness with nothing to live for except her drive to punish her abuser at any cost, with little to no chance of forgiveness for her violence. She learns every lesson the hard way- that no matter how much your abusers continued existence hurts you, there's simply some things you just do not do… you're no good to anyone if you surrender your heart to that kind of anger.

Catra does show deep remorse for all of her worst actions. And, she's lucky that Adora saves her. (even if she's a bit pissed at Adora for risking herself like that… 🥺😥)

But, in regards to whether she's abusive… in s5 we don't see that. Catra does act out a little bit while coming to terms with why Adora saved her- she didn't think she would ever get a second chance. From that moment onward we only see love and devotion from Catra, she doesn't want to live in her hurtful ways anymore, even if she still has no idea how to feel safe with her abuser running wild (Adora does see and her best to protect Catra from Shadow Weaver in s5). Catra can't keep living like she was, so living to help Adora makes much more sense.

My final appeal to people who have a hard time accepting Catradora… (part 6)

:: We should all strive to not let our personal hurt block us from appreciating people's situations, and understanding them. I know it may seem like I'm targeting Adora harshly, but that's why I went to such lengths to show how her issues play out in the narrative. Adora struggles to be her best self, like Catra does, and accepting this about her doesn't mean we need to love her any less than we already do!

Adora is absolutely precious, as is Catra… they never should have been hurt like they were- Adora as the ‘hero’ and Catra as singled out for destruction because of how she loved Adora.

They were always sweet girls, like the innocent and loving children we see them as in their earliest memories, before that day when Shadow Weaver hurt them so badly.

The beautiful love we see between them in s5 is what they always deserved- they should have been allowed to grow up with innocence and then fallen in love, but instead they got hurt because of the corrupt intentions of others.

They both spend the arc of the series trying to get past how they've been hurt, to get back to each other. And how they do that is by remembering the way they loved each other before Shadow Weaver was ever able to hurt them so much and drove them apart.

That, was always their truth, their love is good and pure like it is in those childhood memories. They were always supposed to love each other, and their division was a mistake that happens out of how Shadow Weaver and others have hurt them.

Both of them show tremendous courage in working hard to be able to step past how trauma controls them to be better, it's not just Catra who has to do this.

Adora does, too, because she's got to trust in love, not duty or destiny or sacrifice to be incredibly strong in the ways she needs to be to do the really scary things she has to do- such as stopping the Heart, and of solving a millennia old war that was never her fault, plus more. Love was always what makes Adora strong enough to do the very hard things which she has to do.

When Catra is given a second chance in s5, she sees that Adora is being hurt, and how nobody really helps her… they just expect her to do whatever has to be done. And that's wrong, because it’s unfair and it hurts her. Catra knows Adora has been hurt all of her life, she just didn't realize how much...

Catra may have been made to suffer because of Adora, but she survived that, and so she heals herself to be free of it as best she can in s5. And, Catra realizes she can help Adora, really really help her, to do the very hard things that are expected of her… Catra puts everything she has into helping Adora in s5. It's what Catra always thought she'd do, as the wiser child that knew how evil the world really was. She just got all mixed up inside, fearing that Adora would never really love her… and that was wrong of her.

Catra isn't really expecting redemption.. or even for Adora to return her feelings of romantic love back to her in the same way that she feels. She's a bit a of a pessimist, and has been left waiting her whole life to see someone show care and real love to her... But, all she has left is her love for Adora, and so she gives everything she has to her.

I think that's really courageous of her, and when she sees Adora is failing in the Heart chamber, she makes a dazzling series of romantic moves during the dream and the kiss- to show Adora that she's loved, that she's wanted, and that she's not alone. Brave, romantic moves which Catra didn't know for certain that Adora would reciprocate, but... she was still willing to do it, she loves her too much to let Adora fail, and die, while feeling so scared and alone. So, Catra does everything she can think of to let Adora know that she's loved. Catra deserves some credit for that.

We see that it works, as Adora has always loved her, too. Adora was just too blocked from expressing her love by her trauma. And Adora’s final test, as a hero of love, is quite simply to accept that she can be loved, not as a hero, but for who she is...

... I don't know what else to say to anyone who can't accept their love, or at least I won't here. I think it is the most beautiful love story I have ever seen.

In large part this is because it's not simplified. Catra and Adora’s love isn't just assumed to be kismet, they have to work hard to be together. They are both really bad communicators, and had to learn to talk to each other. This is true with most relationships, and in doing so they become truly loving partners to each other.

... So, it might have been nice if there had been enough time for Noelle to give us even one more kiss between them... but, I think Noelle wanted to tell us a very mature, grown up story about overcoming adversity to embrace love. And I think that's really commendable of them.

Sorry that took so long… Anyways, Catradora is the best ship, I don't make the rules! 😅🚢 ✨ I realize I won't be able to convince everyone, but that kiss was beautiful, was it not?? So, I hope my words aren't a total loss, and that maybe I can convince just a few people to feel like I do.

Love is power. 💞🏳️‍🌈☺️

:: Hi!! - I will gladly answer anyone's questions, and feel free to let me know what you thought of this. Thank you.

Also, if you've read this far, thank you for that- if you enjoyed it please consider giving it a ✨reblogg✨ or a like!! *humble thanks 🙇*

Peace and Love,

~EtheriaDearie 🕊

Some final notes:

Yes, I do realize these are fictional characters, but it's easier to talk about them this way- they are the nuanced creations of very creative people, meant for us to enjoy… in that way they might as well be real, because they have so much to teach us-

Got time to read something short (yes I mean it!!) that's mostly pictures? Check out this cool theory about Adora's dream it's real quick!! 💞🏳️‍🌈

-all hyperlinks are on tumblr. Here's a list of my other analyses-

LotFP = Legend of the Fire Princess. It's canon, important, a whole lot of fun, and worth checking out!! 10/10 😉

-note: I will not use the term 'toxic' because of how I feel the word carries cultural connotations which detract from discussion. However, discuss as you wish! I have no issue with the word or the concept, I just seek to be very clear in my meanings -

Finally, here's a link to a YouTube video of Adora saying Catra's name (fast forward to 0:40). You can really hear how her tone changes through time, in particular in s3 right before Catra pulls the switch, as Adora is coming to terms with her mistakes as She-ra. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f_WRT3D3n_I