#like the catra portal scene

[fabulyeux]

Negative Blossom

[ericas-spop-blog]

All Your (My) Fault

===============

Man, it's almost like Corrupted!Catra isn't really Catra, and is instead a spectre giving voice to Adora's deepest fears!

[canibalistic-brownie]

I have to keep reminding myself that none of y'all know me in real life and even if you think what I'm writing is cringe, its not for you, its for me. But h-h-h-h-holy shit is it hard to get out of that mindset of anxiously wondering what other people will think of your writing the entire time.

[lightlavenders]

also i think spop does a great job at showing how people struggle to think rationally in the face of their trauma. like, i couldnt understand why catra would activate the portal despite everyone telling her otherwise, but she'd been *badly* hurt prior to that scene and all she knew was that the rebellion, her enemies, would "lose" if she pulled the switch, so, regardless of the cost, she pulled it

similarly, hordak tries to send catra to beast island when she lies about losing shadow weaver. as far as things that have happened in the horde this isn't so catastrophic, but he insists on it, even arguing with entrapta when she defends catra's place in the horde. i think the only reason he changes his mind is partially because he decides the crimson waste would be an equally fitting punishment. but despite the fact that catra is the only one keeping the horde running, his trauma at being cast out by prime has led him to value absolute loyalty, and he won't keep her around

you can see it in adora too!! she struggles greatly to remember her own inherent value as a person like, all the time, *especially* when shadow weaver is around

and glimmer, after losing angella and having to be responsible for her kingdom and the rebellion, hurting and not used to taking personal responsibility, lashes out and blames adora when things get heated

entrapta too, on beast island, where she's fully aware that her life is in danger as long as she stays there, has to practically be dragged out, because she can't face integrating back into society, having friends again when she thinks she totally failed at being a friend

i just think the show does a great job of explaining why its characters do the things they do. like even if it doesn't make logical sense, there's emotional reasoning for everything, and i think that's neat.

[manic-sapphic]

gonna pretend i'm sorry for this cause tbh- it's just a string of spop gifs where i rant for way too long about the feels i get from each scene~

(-hey - i said sorry, ok ... sure, i openly admitted it was a lie - but i guess i just hoped you'd appreciate the slight effort of the pretense-)

this moment obviously kills me- just like i know it does for alotta you- but i just gotta call attention for a sec to what exactly kills me the most about it: up until this point, we've constantly been shown brief moments of catra's expression betraying her true vulnerable state - even if it's just a close-up of her eyes - during which less than a second passes before the look in them transitions from sad/hurt or disappointment/self-hatred (anything of the sort, really) to anger/ resentment/ rage. her brow usually falls quite quickly as her eyes narrow, refusing to allow her real feelings to continue just being felt - (& tbh, for most the show, i think she's just so fucking afraid of what might happen if she does let herself feel them- esp s4 after the portal)

but in this scene - that's changed. it's completely turned around, flipped upside down - she starts off w her usual habit - a display of resentment and rage - that dissolves into the most heart-breaking freaking expression i think i've ever seen. because you can see just how heart-broken she is- and it kinda seems like she's tryna admit, w/o having to say it- that she was already heart-broken for a really long time, and is tryna make one last attempt at getting adora to understand- not to choose catra- that's not the point, that's not what catra's after, even if it is what she wants and needs to know (for her own peace of mind) if the feeling is mutual-

rn, all catra is desperately tryna get adora to even just think about - is herself. take away every single person she feels responsible for - which is literally everyone.. everyone - a feeling, btw, catra now understands to be an unconscious reflex born of the trauma shadow weaver had caused adora. she's finally able to see it was never just her - adora was just traumatized far more secretively & in ways that would be harder for others to notice (which i'm sure was very much on purpose)

- the weird convos w shadow weaver, disguised as personal pep talks, looked as if they only took place when shadow weaver had adora alone - but in failsafe, catra hangs back to listen & make sure there's no bull shit going on- just like she said she would- "i'm only going to make sure shadow weaver doesn't try anything - it's not because i like you-" (yeah yeah we get it- u DoN't LiKe HeR ~ duuuh, that's cuz u luv her u dummy <3)

oh but now- now i gotta talk about THIS look right here- as if the expression they give catra when/after she asks "what do you want, adora?" isn't enough to see me out in the backyard digging my own goddamn grave- then they throw this shi on my tv screen just seconds later ?! tf. i mean- the way catra's eyes shift up- no longer able to keep looking at adora after the only answer she can give her as to what she wants is "i have to do this, catra - i'm the only one who can" ... FUUUUUUU THO OK

for so many reasons, too many for me to get into in a post i already feel bad about cause dude i ain't near done ranting on scenes and moments annnd i see how long it's already gotten- my bad, fr- so i'll just try (and fail) to narrow it down and keep it brief- catra's questioning what adora wants is definitely aimed most importantly at her hope that maybe she can still get adora to even just think about that- to realize that she's allowed to and should think about it.

but i also read it as, once again, these two knowing each other so well that they don't always have to say exactly, word for word, what they wanna ask or tell each other- the emotional stuff is weird and hard for them to even put into words still, tbh; cause i mean, ya know- orphaned child soldiers discouraged from even showing any signs of illness when sick, cause asking for medical attention would be a real loser move for a kid to make, right.. like, wtf? dude- they can take on so much and handle the gnarliest situations that require strength and skills and abilities i couldn't ever ever fucking fathom facing - but feelings? tf? all i can ever hear them thinking in response to those: "ohhh fckfckfck what is this, why is this & how do i make it stop -???"

so when catra asks adora what she wants, i mostly hear her begging adora to be a little selfish - just this once, at least - and let herself think about herself, but i also hear catra's most vulnerable, desperate, & honest ask of adora so far. what i hear woven in what catra actually says aloud, is another quiet question she's still too scared to put into words, but that i kinda think she hopes/knows adora will hear if she's really listening- "do you want me?"

uggghh and the way that after a moment of an outward, unfiltered display of grief over adora's answer (or more accurately, lack of an answer), catra wipes her eyes and turns away. the switch flipped. back on her bull shit. emotional defense mechanisms she's once again starting to feel are the right idea & always were, and is prob feeling like a fool for ever thinking she might actually get to have a life where she doesn't have to feel them as necessities - where it doesn't feel like that's the only way she'll ever survive.

cause maybe by now, she's seen that some people get to have that - but it's just not the life that was ever meant for her. just like adora was never meant to have a life of her own - at all - period. they're both still so easily fcking convinced of what they've been conditioned to believe about themselves, their lives, and the inevitabilities associated w their existence - (FUCK OFF FOREVER SHADOW WEAVER)

and the quick little moment of adora shown just after catra disappears - possibly gone from her sight forever - the shorter close-up of her reaction before the shot goes waaay back and she cries out for catra - i feel like it def doesn't get enough recognition (prob mostly due to the fact that the clip of adora yelling catra's name comes only seconds later and is portrayed far more dramatically, & in a way that crushes tf outta ur soul, ofc)

but that lil bit there- that brief second of adora's initial reaction- the moment she starts to process that catra just left- that catra's gone, and that this time- adora thinks it's probably for good- her short, shuddering intake of breath followed by what seem like more hurried, forced breaths that kinda appear difficult for her to take- sound like the first seconds of a fcking panic attack to me dude.

and it certainly hurts to watch just as much as when she calls out after catra - although yeah, tbh, that bit stings a lil extra in its own way- i mean, knowing catra had to have heard adora pretty much scream out her name seconds after she disappeared w melog- fuck. (idk how tf catra didn't come right back tbh. i'd be visible again so quick, rushin to adora like "omg bb i'm so sorry- pls don't cry, never ever, ily so much, won't ever hurt u again ok- ilysm omg omfg ily i'm so sorry" & btw, that's a totally normal thing to think when watching that scene ok-)

oh but then - omfg - adora gets a swift slap in the face from the crystal castle - the haunting of a sudden, unexpected vision of catra. all the catra's. catra in so many of the different forms adora's known her through, even if it was as enemies. it reminds me a bit of an excerpt out of the "don't go" fanfic - "catra hasn't been in her life for a long time - but she hadn't known how unbearable it would be to lose her for good until that moment" -

neither of these bitches ever wanted each other gone- catra (very sadly so) def spent most the series tryna convince herself that's how she felt about adora- tho it's just cause her conditioning taught her to think needing someone makes you weak and easy to hurt, and tbh, i think catra knew she needed adora for most their lives, even if she could never admit it to herself in even the form of a full, conscious thought--

but i think she also believed that, after the promise, that need was confirmed to be mutual. and in that way, it was something catra never needed to say but also never felt the need to be ashamed of/embarrassed by- until adora left. and her belief that the feeling of needing each other for support & protection (and let's be honest, care & affection) was mutually shared between them was shattered - & in such a way that i imagine catra musta felt like she was the actual idiot all along - adora had never needed her, and now she needed to figure out how to achieve that same independence - she needed to figure out how to not need adora.

omg tho dude - pretty sure i've said it before but i can't not say it (aka rant on it tho tbh- sorry lol) again and prob every time i ever share anything that features this couple seconds of what i kinda feel to be adora's most honest, selfish, & vulnerable moment we see up to this point- & without her needing to say a fucking thing- just tears that fall from her eyes after catra basically says "uhh yeah ok so- fuck that nonsense- i'm not leaving, idc wtf happens- i'm staying with you"

--(cause yeah, maybe she spent the last few years too prideful and stubborn to admit that was always what she wanted to do and where she loved being the most- and after so little time spent back by adora's side- it was breaking her fucking heart all over, knowing her chance at having time w adora was going away again- but regardless, catra gets now- that part's not up to her; it's never been her choice to make- & not even adora's, really- but deciding to stay w adora no matter where she goes- that's always been up to her- and she's not ever fucking making the mistake of choosing not to stay right beside that silly sweet dummy ever, eeeever again)

BUT duuude tho - the way adora cries a bit but says nothing - doesn't attempt even once to try n convince catra to go, to push her to leave and get somewhere safe - i just can't help but figure catra staying with her is exactly what she wanted, but never would've asked for in a million years. never would've even let herself form the question in her head.

but in spite of that, when catra states it unequivocally and clearly adds w confidence - "no matter what happens" - adora can't argue. she can't insist. much like catra hasn't really been able to do for quite a while now - adora can't fake it anymore. she's just too tired and she finally has to recognize she wants someone to take care of her, too - just like she's felt compelled to do for everyone else for so long. and in that moment, i feel like she's finally wordlessly admitting to catra, not only does she want her to be the one to take care of her - she needs her to be (and always has)

ahhhh but oof-baboof bro - then there's all this.

somehow, catra straight up delves deep into the abyss currently consuming adora & pretty much says - "fuck no. plsss wake up - you can't just die like this, not before you ever get a chance to live your own fcking life, good god dude - i get now why you couldn't before, but please, this time - STAY."

(huh- stay.. another way of saying "don't go"... hmmm :) <3)

these gurls literally got so much love for each other that catra is able to straight up force open an entryway into adora's fading subconscious (which seems to be the only part of her that's still alive) - just by talking to her - barely above a whisper there in the heart, but in adora's mind, she's screaming at her.

the desperate, hopeful sentiments uttered, urging adora to keep going - to push through this and come out the other side alive - to please survive because you deserve to - are just that much stronger when they come from catra- it's that loud to adora when catra is the one saying it- cause she's finally freaking realized, catra's the one she most hopes to hear it from. knowing catra feels that way about her is something she's never really had, and vice versa ofc, even when they were both in the horde. it wasn't the kind of thing they were taught to say or even acknowledge feeling - but hearing catra beg her to just stay alive - and then hearing why catra so desperately hopes for her to - adora's made certain that it really is true -

she does deserve love, and there's someone whose love she's realized she wants- and they're holding her, telling her she has it & always has. and suddenly staying isn't a hope, isn't a plea - it's an inevitability. adora ain't going nowhere--

and, so reminiscent of adora's line to catra near the end of save the cat: "c'mon catra, you've never listened to anyone in your life - are you really going to start now?" we hear catra imploring adora: "you've never given up on anything in your life- not even on me- so don't you dare start now!"

they both know each other so well, they know the best buttons to push that might just work when tryna reach each other, even when one of them is lost to the point of nearly being gone for good - they don't find a door to open - they take a saw to the fucking wall and make one. and pull the other back through. cause everything will be ok if they just stay together. and once they've both finally accepted the truth to that - that's all they wanna do, to the point of refusing to allow each other to die when faced with that possibility. and likewise, refusing to die- just knowing the other is there waiting for them, wanting them, is enough to bring them back -

wanting the life they haven't gotten to share yet, and straight up refusing to let anything take the hope of that future away - even if it means unlocking their true, innate she-ra form (and beginning to understand that they are magic & it was never about the stupid sword) - or if it's wielding some strange, mysterious power w/o prob even knowing they are- like reaching through a metaphysical doorway into the mind of the love of your life and grasping as far and as desperately as you can for their hand, trying- and succeeding- to pull them back from the brink of death.

their story is literally so lovely. & individually, they are truly such honest, raw, complex and thought-provoking characters - presented in a way that offers viewers a fairly rare experience, even these days, of seeing a story written by people willing to honor the honesty everyone deserves to see and may kinda need to see - things aren't always shiny, happy, good times & people aren't perfect- quite literally, no one is- but that doesn't mean there's no point trying. that doesn't mean there's no hope of a happy ending - or that you don't deserve one. it's literally all just part of life, part of living that you'll find yourself faced w figuring out along the way- whether the answers are good or bad. and that's an insane idea to thread into a freaking cartoon dude - wuhhh tf

oh and ps- catradora are canon. (almost wanna end every rant w this reminder lolol) ~~ they cannot be stopped, this shit won't ever be undone lmao. & that makes me wanna say- "hell yes!" and for anyone who it makes wanna say "hell no" - all i got in response to that isssss "more catradora for us then - hell yes x2"

:) <3

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

for all of spop's bad writing and tonal inconsistencies, they actually did a really good job of writing a scarily realistic abuser. catra acted exactly like how a lot of real-life abusers act, from the victim blaming and physical attacks to the casual insults that just find its way into the victim's head and stay there.

i would even argue that catra was a more realistic depiction of an abuser than shadow weaver. that's not to say that shadow weaver wasn't abusive, she totally was, but if we put aside the manipulation, she mostly used magic to abuse people. which could take away from the realism factor a little bit.

meanwhile catra only used magic when she used that first one's tech to mind control adora. other than that, she mostly used her hands or tools when she was physically abusing adora. you know, like a lot of real abusers do.

catra also displayed that classic self-pitying “woe is me!” attitude that shadow weaver often times did not. it's one thing for your villain to be horrible and abusive, it's another for them to think that they're the victim while they hurt and kill others. a lot of real people are like that where they think their actions are justified because they've had a hard life.

we also get a lot more instances of catra being abusive on screen, compared to shadow weaver. i can't speak for everyone but there's a reason why catra reminded me of That One Shitty Person In My Life more that shadow weaver did, despite them both being abusive.

when you watch the previous seasons, it's hard not to wonder if the writers planned to redeem catra at all. there were a lot of scenes that were just taken straight out of a psychological horror movie (looking at you, the portal sequence from s3) and i just can't imagine the writers thinking that this was the perfect redeemable villain.

i do think that any villain could be redeemed, regardless of how horrible they were. but the more ruthless your villain is, the more effort you need to put in to effectively redeem a villain. characters like amity or pacifica do not need long and drawn out redemptions because they were just mean girls. bullying is definitely a harmful thing, but it pales in comparison to abuse, murder and genocide.

anyway, i digress. my point is this: it would not be as frustrating if catra wasn't such a realistic portrayal of an abuser. the writers could have just made her a cartoonish villain and called it a day, but they didn't.

for example, it would be a lot less traumatizing if someone like bill cipher was redeemed (though it would be awfully out of character for him) because despite all his crimes, he was such an over-the-top cartoonish villain, it's hard to take him seriously.

the other characters don't seem to have any trauma from dealing with him. they're scared of him or mad at him, sure, but that's the extent of it. it would still feel ridiculous to have them suddenly forgive him, don't get me wrong, but it wouldn't be sending the message of “forgive your abuser, they're just really sad 🥺”.

[cirusthecitrus]

Question 6 from the entrapdak question game? :))

Thank you for the ask! There are two terrible takes that to this day make me believe that some antis watched spop skipping every scene that had Hordak in it

Well, the first one is more of a crazy conspiracy theory, but I still wanna mention it - "Entrapdak is a pedo ship cause Entrapta was meant to be a teenager" and "her age was actually retconned so the writers could ship Entrapta with Hordak". I do wish that Entrapta's age was confirmed in the show itself, cause this aspect of her character did genuiely confused a lot of fans, but thinking that she was actually written as a minor but then was aged up just cause the writers wanted to make entrapdak less problematic?? Insane

The other take is "entrapdak bad because Hordak was manipulating Entrapta to work for him and was abusive towards her". And it used to be such a prevalent opinion in the main fandom too! I honestly think those people just hated Hordak sooo much (mainly for being a threat to Catra) that they were making shit up to make him even more evil and irredeemable so everyone would stop liking him or wishing him a happy ending. Many also loved Entrapta, but hated Hordak so much that they imagined he'd be a terrible partner to her and were insisting that she "deserved better" and was actually unhappy with him (some fake ass Entrapta fans imo) Like, lets dissect this take again. At first, as fellow Hordak fans always say, Hordak couldn't even manipulate himself out of a plastic bag. Plus there wasnt a single scene where Hordak manipulates Entrapta to do smth for him. It was Catra who made Entrapta side with the Horde and convinced her to work for them. Hordak didnt mind, but he also had no say in this. And when they became lab partners it was Entrapta who forced herself into Hordak's lab and in his life, she was the one always insisting on getting information and knowledge out of him, who insisted on working with him, bro just could not make her leave!

Many used to say Hordak was only using Entrapta for her skills (and also didnt care about her as a person, like hello?? have they seen s4 and 5?) when Hordak never made her do anything she wasnt intersted in - he didnt made Entrapta help him build the portal, she was already curious about portals! he didnt make her take care of him or build him a new set of armor, it was her gift! and he was never forcing Entrapta to stay by his side or be loyal to him or the Horde - she simply enjoyed working on this project and spending time with him. And when Hordak was told that she betrayed him he just... accepted it and never thought about revenge or punishment or anything like that. And he wasnt angry cause he lost a tool that could upgrade his tech or fix his problems, he was devastated because he lost his only friend. But you know who only saw Entrapta as a tool-

Then the abuse part - by that antis usually meant those two moments when he yelled at her/ cut her off while being in pain (and also brushed off Entrapta's hair). Like, yeah, Hordak has anger issues and he does scream a lot, and my boy should work on that, but such behaviour never made Entrapta feel distressed or afraid of him. She was either unbothered by Hordak's attempts at being scary and intimidating, or she was sad FOR him (and slightly dissapointed) - she never took his outbirsts as Hordak being genuinely mad at her, she knew smth was wrong with him, but it had nothing to do with her. He yells when he tries to imitate Prime and make ppl leave him alone, or when he's in so much pain he can't handle it and once again wants to be left alone (all because he himself doesnt feel safe around ppl T-T). Should he still apologize for snapping at Entrapta? Yeah. But is such behaviour abusive? I can be, but in case of Hordak? I dont think so

[spopsalt]

Hey, remember that badass scene in "The Portal" when Adora decided to stop taking responsibility and feeling guilty and at fault for Catra's actions and then in season 5 spop was just like "Haha got youuuu it was Adora's fault the whole time for leaving her toxic environment and not staying to protect her toxic catgirl sister!"

[antispopausandstuff]

i just remembered some Scorptra edits and it's kinda ironic, cuz they reference C//A as what Catra actually wants, while Scorpia is someone that reminds her of Adora, when like...

with how the show is, it kinda feels like it should be the other way around? there's very few scenes where Catra and Adora don't get into a ( one-sided ) fight when they're not enemies. and, no, the Portal doesn't count, cuz it was a fake.

even with the Portal, it escalated quickly to Catra being willing to use violence, again, on Adora to keep her quiet and return to the status quo, as well as gaslighting.

meanwhile with Scorpia and Catra, obviously the relationship is still bad, but they have... much better, genuine scenes there?

especially with how Catra had more guilt over Scorpia than she ever did in her entire fucking life with Adora.

legitimately, it just makes more sense for those "with them cuz i miss you" esc songs to be about Catra thinking of Scorpia than anything else, cuz girl doesn't even care about who Adora actually is, let alone enough to think about her in a positive light.

[bitterlynsposts]

Man... i really dont like this scene. Like i know its supposed to be this " beautiful" moment, oh adora loved catra even at her worst but like... why?

After everything she did adora is still like i love you.

Like they could have honestly just put portal catra here too, like why not, adora loved her there anyway. She loved her when catra left her to die, she loved her when she was beating her and berating her for everthing, when she tried to kill her friends, when she ruind her friends kingdoms, when she tried to DESTROY the world, when she sent a double agent to destroy her friendships. Like in her vision with s4 catra, everthing around her destroyed and with a smug look on her face. And adoras just like yup i love her.

lol i didn't expect this to be so long. I probably sound angrier/saltier than i really am, im pretty chill yk. But i mean why not, its just for fun.

If you like catradora that fine, i respect it so if this reaches the wrong crowd. Lets just be civil about this.

take a shot everytime i say "like"

[dearladynightmare]

18 for the Entrapdak ask meme please?

Your favourite Entrapdak CANON moment?

I think I have to go with the scene in Season 3 "Moment of truth" when Entrapta and Hordak talked about the portal and they just have to keep it open long enough to get a signal through to reach Prime.

Entrapta sadly: “And then you’ll have to go with them.”

Entrapta brightens up “But there’s still so much data we could collect. What’s the rush? We’ll just keep working on it until it’s perfect.”

This is definitely one of my favourite scenes since both of them choose each other over their normal convictions.

Entrapta who doesn't believe in perfection and rather run scientific experiments on trial and error ,even if everything keeps blowing up that way, suggests to work on the portal until it's "perfect"!

In other words she says "How about we set an unattainable scientific goal - the non existing and perfect theoretical way to make the portal work, but of course without focusing too much on achieving it practically while we just keep being together."

And let's talk about Hordak!!! He absolutely was aware of what she meant by using the phrase "until it's perfect" He started to genuinely smile at her because he agreed!! Over the last 30 years he only focused on returning to Prime but in this moment he realised that he doesn't want to return anymore and he was about to choose Entrapta over Prime. He was definitely about to say sth like: "How about we blow that thing up and rebuild it more considered (intends to use unisolated cables again)...

Ahh and then Catra rushed in! And a few minutes later Entrapta found herself unconsciously on the way to beast I island. I'll never get over this AHH

My second favourite scene is this one... I don't think I have to explain. This one just makes me scream!!!💜

Thank you so much for asking!!!!💜💜

[catras-breakup-song]

I remember you making a post about someone (catradora anti) judging catradora edits and i'd just like to add that this one catradora anti i saw hated that a person made an edit of chappell's "you'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling" to the portal scene because it "twists the song's meaning"...

...Only to put catradora with the same song, but instead to paint the ship in a negative light. They said they understood the actual meaning of the song, and that what they made may not connect with that meaning, but they also just wanted to put catradora to it for reasons i can't remember because i didn't really read the whole thing before blocking. Because, like what? Pretty hypocritical imo (tangent: they had a post about how catra was hypocritical for hating touch from everyone else but always initiating it with adora, which is a whole can of worms that i don't want to address but. Man.)

Anyway, just saying this because i wanted you to know that you are not alone because edits are 🔛🔝‼️ and you're based for it all. Never stop

the post in question (fun fact: it's been exactly one month today!)

i really appreciate this message, the support means a lot to me because that really did affect me personally even though it probably shouldn't have. 𖹭

anyway, that doesn't twist the meaning of the song at all lmfao. it's quite literally matching the lyrics. catra did, in fact, attempt to stop the world just to stop the feeling.

i discussed before in part of a reblog chain (you'd only have to read my addition rather than the whole long essay. but here's a short summary) how pulling the portal lever was mostly about getting back at shadow weaver, but i never denied that wanting things to be the way they used to be with adora was definitely part of it.

and i know of a few great edits that do a wonderful job of portraying catradora to "good luck, babe!" by chappell roan: notcxtraa | wyldvfx | drewpyfilms

i don't know how someone could make an anti-catradora edit following the narrative of the lyrics closely unless it was actually about glimmadora, an alternative ship you didn't mention, with adora being the person sung about and glimmer being the one singing, as well as "him" representing catra who is a he/him lesbian btw so true tbh.

scorpia, remember that talk we had about personal space?

this is unrelated to your point but since you brought it up, honestly? i kind of have to agree that catra is technically a hypocrite about boundaries related to touch. i don't necessarily think that's a bad thing though, as long as the people she jumps all over are okay with it too, and adora certainly seems to be unless it's by surprise, so they have the situation agreed-upon. it's entirely her valid choice to be comfortable with adora caressing her and standing by her side at a very small distance but not with scorpia hovering right in her face enthusiastically all the time.

you also have to remember that catra grew up by adora's side and was happy to rely on her for support ─ up until adora left and catra realized how much progress she could make without believing she was standing in her way, of course ─ and apparently didn't even know scorpia existed until they were both force captains. also, catra is very demiromantic/sexual-coded, as elaborated upon already, and as someone who also identifies that way myself (green is a great color for my blog theme, as you can tell!), i can't help but relate heavily to the idea of being overwhelmed by someone we just met already pursuing us.

TL;DR ─ lesbians are complicated and i love that for them!

[anti-catradora-collection]

I find it funny how there's plenty of images of glimmadora being healthy and nice but C//A fans use the same 4 images because there's almost no healthy scenes of catra with adora.

And even then the images are either

1. Adora being herself and stans making it about Catra

2. Not the real Catra (hologram, fake reality)

3. The portal reality

4. Season 5

5. Catra abusing Adora and making it "romantic"

exactly!! it's even funny how c//a stans try to say that glimmadora is "abusive" when their ship has like 1 or 2 healthy scenes (and the healthy scenes are practically always like the ones you said: fake catra, making everything about adora be about catra, etc.)

[tippenfunkaport]

A Deal

Reunited with the rest of the rebellion, the crew from Darla tries to figure out where they fit on this new changed Etheria. Bow and Catra bond.

(Missing scene set after An Ill Wind)

Read on AO3

“I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll be brave and talk to Glimmer if you talk to Adora. Maybe it will work out for the both of us and we can double date!” “I have no idea what that means.”  “It means like... we’d hang out. All four of us.” “Didn’t we just do that in space?” Catra looked so utterly bewildered by the concept he couldn’t help but laugh. “You princesses are so weird.” “But you love us!” Bow fluttered his lashes at her.  Catra elected to ignore that statement. “You know what? Fine. You’ve got a deal.” “Really?”

In which Perfuma thirsts over Scorpia's back muscles, we check back in with all the characters Tippen hasn't been able to use in a billion chapters, Catra and Bow talk about many things including the portal, Queen Angella, and Double Trouble and Bow attempts the futile task of trying to get Catra to promise to tell Adora how she feels before the end of the literal world.

(can be read as a standalone but it's also Chapter 33 of Going There)

[haemosexuality]

im rewatching she-ra and naturally im gonna want to write about it a lot. starting by breaking down the catradora conflict origin story scene from s01e02 the sword part 2

people have said this before but the most important thing to keep in mind here is how different their understanding of whats going on is. theyre both approaching this with completely different views and so they misunderstand what the other means.

Adora: There's no time. We have to put a stop this.

Catra: What? Why?

Adora: Because this is a civilian town. Look around! These aren't insurgents. They're innocent people.

Catra: Yeah, sure. Innocent people who kidnapped a Horde officer. Now come on, let's get you back to the Fright Zone. Shadow Weaver is freaking out. [laughing] It'd be funny if she weren't such a terrible person.

so immediately theres two things i wanna say about this part, about how catra reacts to stuff. first off, something we learn about catra throughout the whole show and especially in the portal-alternative-reality, is that shes big on Pretending Nothing Is Wrong. whenever shes feeling upset or angry about something, she will start joking around and acting like shes just totally super chill guys, dw ("Ugh, whatever. It's not like I even care. I just wanna get out of this dump at some point before I dieee of boredom). Shes acting like that in this scene. Adora was missing for hours, shadow weaver was breathing down her neck and threatening her, she was already worried adora might have left at this point. she cant let adora know how worried she was tho, so shes all jokes and fast paced conversation. To Adora, tho, it just looks like catra doesnt care, like she doesnt understand the gravity of the situation.

and the other thing is that honestly? I dont think catra does care. about the town, i mean. i think catra was ready for war in a way adora never was. theyre both seeing combat for the first time here, and adora hates it. training for war is completely different than being in the battlefield, and adora couldnt handle it. face to face with it she couldnt tolerate seeing people suffering and dying, houses being burned down, a whole village destroyed. when the horde brainwashed adora into thinking they were only doing the necessary to save etheria, she completely and fully believed it, and when faced with the reality of the horde she immediately realized how wrong that was. Catra, tho, could not care less. she never believed in what the horde said, she knew full well what the horde did, so this isnt a surprise for her. and i do think shes naturally a bit sadistic, or at least growing up among the violence of the horde made her so. either way, shes seeing battle here for the first time and shes completely fine with it. doesnt even spare it all a second glance. why would she care about these people she never met if the most important thing in the world is right here in front of her? (i think even if adora hadnt left that night and went into the battlefield as a force captain, she wouldve ended up deserting. she cant stand seeing people suffer and she cant stand not saving them. shes too good, too selfless for that. catra isnt.) (also she is so ready to kill at all times. she loves violence. i once saw someone say how shadow weaver thought adora was the "cutthroat, ruthless warrior" when that was actually catra and they were totally right)

adora is also trying something futile here, she doesnt need to explain to catra that the horde is bad and hurts innocent ppl because catra has known that all her life

Adora: Catra, no. I can't go back. Not until the Horde leaves this town alone. You have to help me.

Catra: What are you saying?

Adora: I’m saying, this is wrong. They've been lying to us, manipulating us. Hordak, Shadow Weaver, all of them.

Catra: Duh! Did ya just figure that out? Manipulation is Shadow Weaver's whole thing. She's been messing with our heads since we were kids.

(the captions in the pics are slightly wrong, nvm that.) everything i said before. adora just realized all of this, while catra has always known, probably because the abuse adora suffered was more manipulation-and-brainwashing, while shadow weaver always made clear to catra that she didnt give a shit about her, so she suffered physical abuse with little attempt to convince her this was fine.

the "what are you saying?" is one of the things that show how different their perspective is. adora is talking about going against the horde and helping the town, while catra immediately gets more personal. what do you mean? are you saying that you might leave the horde? leave me?

Adora: How could you possibly be okay with that?

adora means, how could you be ok with the horde lying about its actions, and killing innocent people? how could you be ok with the horde raising us to do the same? and catra hears, how could you be ok with shadow weaver and hordak abusing us?

Catra: Because, it doesn't matter what they do. The two of us look out for each other. And soon we'll be calling the shots. Now come on, can we go home already?

catra replies: because, i love you. because you have my back and i have yours. because nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other, remember? and soon enough, we'll be powerful enough that they cant hurt us anymore. Adora hears, because i dont care about these people dying, the only thing thats important is you and i. and anyways, soon its gonna be Us killing them, isnt that good? lets go back home to the evil murder place.

Adora: I'm not going home, Catra. I can't. Not after everything I've seen. Come with me. You don't have to go back there. We can fix this.

adora says: im starting to realize now how wrong i was about everything. we're not the good guys, and i cant stand for that. i cant stand around and watch people get hurt. i cant stand around and watch you get hurt. lets leave, together, and have a better life, please. lets do the right thing.

Catra: Are you kidding? You've known these people for, what, a couple of hours? And now you're just gonna throw everything away for them?

catra hears, shes willing to leave me. after everything i did for her, all that i took, all of these years of us being together, she would still leave me. she would break our promise. she would leave me behind.

and then she straight up electrocutes adora. ok

she says it was a reflex, but i dont know if i believe her. i dont think she likes hurting adora (not physically. not by this point, anyways), but i do think that shes the type to lash out when upset and immediately regret it, then feel guily about it. which just makes her more upset. :(

Catra: Oh, man. That was a lot stronger than I thought. Are you okay?

Adora: Why are you doing this?

Catra: Because you left me! And if I don't bring you back, Shadow Weaver’s gonna have my head. So, enough with your weird little identity crisis and let's go home already. Or do I need to zap you again?

thats the last time they talk. adora gets teleported away by glimmer, and when they see each other again, its clear that they both made their choice.

the moment adora showed catra she was willing to leave her, there was no coming back for them. because catra would never get over that. she'd spend all her life in that hellscape, putting up with abuse and bullying and probably so much more we dont get to see, because of the promise adora made her. and, in her eyes, adora was ready to leave her on the first opportunity that came up. that hurt. that broke her. and that released something really ugly inside of her.

cue in 2,5 years of homoerotic rivalry and trauma. ok post over if you read this i hope you liked it <3 bye

[shyrgyrryn]

One thing about Catra’s writing in season 5 that sticks out to me is that the writers genuinely don't seem to know how to write her personality now that she's a no longer a villain and that they don't view certain behavior as something she needs to unlearn but rather just how she is.

A lot of Catra’s personality relies on her being snarky, mocking others, being petty, and easily annoyed at times. She seems to be the SPOP writers' attempt a "little shit" type character. And it seems like the writers didn't want to change her personality too much, so they just had her continue certain behavior so that she's still a funky "little shit." Which led to her making comments about buying property in places the princesses aren't welcomed and commenting about how weak they are. These scenes are written as if they're supposed to be endearing, but these scenes completely contracts her redemption as well as make her no different from how she was before (same person, less war crimes). Bullying your enemy tracks when you're being a villain, but Catra isn't a villain anymore, she shouldn't be treating them that way. So, writing her make fun of the princesses when she has...

Actively worked with the dictator government that had attempted to destroy their homes countless times, fully aware of the government being evil.

Tried to kill one of their friends on multiple occasions

Is responsible for one of their friends' mom being trapped in a portal dimension for eternity (which is far worse than death in my opinion)

Helped lead an attack against their friend's kingdom, resulting in their kingdom being completely destroyed.

And countless other war crimes the show failed to mention.

...doesn't feel like the "little shit" behavior they're going for, it just feels like general shitty behavior. It's like the writers don't know how to make her "funny" without making her be an asshole. Somebody in that writing room either doesn't like Catra or everyone in that writing room shrugged and said, "eh, she's just like that," then put zero effort into her character because for some reason they can't seem to find any problem with the way she acts. (which is a major problem)