#scorpia deserved better

[antispopausandstuff]

not sure if someone's already talked about this, but imma do it regardless!

i feel like at least a small part of the reason why the fandom is very quick to deny Catra is an abuser is at all is because, and hear me out, she is shorter and skinnier than the ones she abuses the most, Adora and Scorpia.

generally speaking, in a lot of media with abusive relationships, queer and straight, the smaller one is the victim. while this isn't incorrect, in a lot of cases, this does give people a harder time to grasp that anyone, of any shape and size, can be abused by anyone else of any shape and size.

it's why victims who are bigger ( especially if they're muscular ) will likely get questions and phrases like "why didn't you fight back?", "but you're so much stronger than them!", "you should've been able to defend yourself, shouldn't you?" amongst others.

( this is especially true if you're a taller, masc person dating a shorter, femme person, due to standards and statistics )

hell, even if they're not stuck in a physically abusive relationship, people might still have the idea that they could've done something, because we can often equate height, weight, gender, ability, etc. to power and apply it to every situation, even when that generalization isn't called for.

consider Adora and Scorpia are both taller and, supposedly, stronger than Catra, there's likely at least a few people in the fandom who think that they had no reason to not be able to defend themselves against Catra if they 'really felt so hurt // endangered'.

so, it might seem ridiculous, but this has happened irl and has led to more people getting abused because they believe that they 'should've been able to handle it' without help. i wouldn't be surprised if stans had this logic applied to c//a and s//c.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

If you had a choice, how would you have wrote Kyle’s character/redemption arc?

i don't know if kyle needed a redemption arc at all. he was kind of like adora in that sense, he works for the horde but only because he was either brainwashed into thinking they were right or because he had no other choice.

we never know which one because the creators didn't care enough to give him more depth, but i think it's obvious that he didn't even like to fight all that much, let alone participate in a war.

i would just give him a little more characterization beyond the "bullied kid" or the "wimp". for a show that seeks to break gender norms and has instances of men being feminine and women being masculine, i don't know how spop fumbled so hard with kyle.

anyway, i digress. i think the easiest way to develop kyle's character is by having bow recruit him into the princess alliance. i think bow would see himself in kyle because like kyle, he's not the most physically capable fighter either, his skill lies in archery.

it would have been interesting if kyle also had some skill other than fighting that would be useful in a war but the horde never took it into consideration because they were too busy viewing him as the useless wimp.

similar to how scorpia got some reassurance from perfuma and glimmer, kyle could have found people who actually care about him, instead of being stuck in a relationship with his bully and an enabler.

[misssakurapetal28]

One thing I have to admit about SPOP is that it just seemed like the other princesses disliked Entrapta for “being annoying” than the things she actually did harmful, which is dumb af tbh?

You have countless characters in the series who has done arguably worse than Entrapta has ever done, not to mention that the princesses aren’t prefect peaches themselves, but Entrapta acting out on her neurodivergent traits is where we cross the line? And the show had the absolute GALL to frame the majority of the princesses problems with Entrapta as Entrapta’s fault ENTIRELY? Like she’s the one who has to apologize and ONLY her?

This is what people were talking about as far as the show’s morality, bias and the acknowledgement of only the things that Itself wants to acknowledge. It’s not the fact that Entrapta is being held accountable for her bad actions as far as aiding the horde, it’s the fact that the princesses only seem to like and care about Entrapta when she can offer something useful in return. Other than that, screw her I guess 😂 She’s the creepy and annoying scientist who makes us uncomfortable, no wonder she’s alone right? 🤪

They just sprinkle nice moments between them here and there to make it appear that they care for her as much as the creators say that they do 😊

[yourhighness6]

Season 4 Catra, you are making it very difficult to like you.

[theatervine]

More Willow Thoughts...

If this series doesn’t end with Airk/Elora/Graydon officially married after Elora and Graydon break Airk’s mind control and Kit and Jade running off to live with the Bone Reavers with Scorpia and Boorman then I don’t even know what we’re doing to be honest...

[entropy-sea-system]

Thank you spop for giving me notp emotions /lh (glitra art jumpscare /lh. I guess I dont ship catra w any of the bfs ... )

[2xhbergggg]

Help I was just gonna fall asleep while watching one more episode of the gay princess show but then I realized I’m on like one of the most emotional seasons and I can’t stopppp <3333

(P.s. I’m sorry racon, ily <3 I promise to still sleep earlier than last night)

[cherrytea556]

yk what fine, lets play their game

their are many other truamatised woman or colour with one of them being autistic

so why tf arent they talked about more? Why is it always catra centric as if shes the only truamatised woc (who doesnt even have bpd canon wise)

Its just irritating seeing people use poc, truama and mental illness/mental developmental disorder (if thats the correct term to use) as a shield to defend their favourite fictional character. What they are isnt an excuse for WHO they are especially when they truamatised other woc (because most of the characters i listed are whom catra truamatised)

me: kyle deserved better

spop stans: OH so you just care about the stupid white boy huh?? you think he's better than a traumatized woc with bpd?? you disgusting, racist and ableist piece of shit, you are definitely white and neurotypical for you to say all that crap! catra never did anything wrong, she was abused and (extremely long essay of Why Catra Matters)

[lucky-clover-gazette]

white out is probably one of the more notable episodes of she ra bc it's just catra at her absolute worst behavior, like objectively the portal had far greater consequences but i think the cold got to her in this one bc she's such a fucking menace. "looks like you're mine now adora" "always so perfect, look at you now. you're coming back to the horde under my command" "i wonder which of your friends i'll have you annihilate first" "I'VE GOT CONTROL OVER ADORA. I'M NOT GIVING THAT UP." like when corrupted she ra throws catra at the ground like a ragdoll she deserves it, 100%, no questions asked. there isn't even a time/space anomaly making catra act up, they just put her in outpost 31 from the thing with her ex and suddenly she's the homoerotic joker.

even scorpia's briefly like "ahahah maybe i don't want to have a crush on catra after all" bc she's acting like such a freak. but also scorpia spends the entire episode trying to ask catra out, and tells adora, "you two, even when you're trying to kill each other, you can tell there's a real bond" and she is JEALOUS of that?? actually you know what this is also a catradora at their worst behavior episode too, like the way they immediately start trash talking and then ditch everyone to scrap the second they see each other is beyond unprofessional. catra's favorite number is canonically 42069 (confirmed by nate stevenson) and adora knows this by heart. if those two idiots were in the same room for five minutes while adora's on loopy mode the show would actually just end, and this episode fucking KNOWS it and refuses to give us the satisfaction. bro. scorpia telling loopy adora that catra is misunderstood and shouldn't SHE know that better than anyone else is just like. wow. ouch. rude. scorpia is actually the mvp of this episode she straight up judges adora to her FACE for abandoning catra and swears not to do the same, even though honestly she probably should, because catra fucking SUCKS in this one. scorpia reveals that "catra once used my rock-hard exoskeleton as a nail file" why?? why would you let this happen?? stop simping she's not worth it!! but scorpia is still the mvp bc at the end of the episode she just straight-up realizes that catra is out of her goddamn mind and breaks the 'controlling she ra' disk for catra's own good bc clearly something about low temps and her ex makes catra go 25% more feral than usual and it's pretty cringe. it's like when i dispose of the dead fly my cat has been antagonizing for the past twenty minutes like babygirl i don't like the person you become when you're in these conditions!! and of course OF COURSE we get literally two seconds of sober wordless communication between catra and adora that's just like ohhhh adora's gonna remember this one, you're going to be doing the dishes for the first fifteen years of your relationship once this galactic war shit wraps up and you save the universe by kissing with tongue. oh my god, what the fuck is with this show. how does this show exist. how does this episode exist. how does catra exist. they put this gay catgirl in an environment under 32 degrees farenheit for one episode and it's enough to make her say some of the most toxic, deranged dialogue in the entire series. i think soup would fix her, and also a cocktail of psychiatric medication and cognitive behavioral therapy. she sneezes like a kitten and needs a weighted blanket in the evil uber away from cringefail summit as she's mentally drafting the 'i fucked up' email to her boss. she thanks scorpia and shares the blanket with her bc she's so exhausted by her own bullshit. she ra and the princesses of power season 2 episode 5 white out is for the cold gay heartbroken bitches and it might just be one of the series' best. looks like you're mine now adora, good fucking night.

[antispopausandstuff]

aight, before i say what imma boutta say:

i know the actual meaning // intention of the song, this isn't to say that c//a or s//c fits the exact image at all, this is just a thought experiment. i have no idea if i'm using that term right.

"good luck, babe" is a really popular queer song and it's been rotting my brain since i added it to my liked songs playlist. but i had a vision in my head, when i was thinking of what i could edit next, and the lyrics sorta aligned with it.

lyrics altered to assist in helping my viewpoint:

and when you wake up all alone, in the middle of the night with your head in your hands, you're nothing, even by his side and when you think about me, all of that time ago you're standing face to face with "i told you so"

you know i hate to say it, "i told you so" you know i hate to say it, but i told you so

if i ever get s//c scenes, then the full idea would be complete, but i'll likely just settle for the scenes i already have ( c//a ).

basically, this is a sorta 'retelling' of catra in s3-s4 from the perspective of adora // scorpia.

once again, i know what the song means, this is just for fun.

so, yeah, expect an edit like this soon, i guess.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

hey. remember when entrapta talks hordak down from sending catra to beast island and basically saves her life?

now remember how catra later sends entrapta to beast island without even thinking twice?

[pongnosis]

Part two of 'Everybody lives or by God, Hill is going to fucking murder them himself', because Yassen Gregorovich is going to single-handedly cause every single one of Hill's grey hairs.

Zhao falls into step beside him like he never left and maybe Hill deserves the incredulous look.

“Risky,” the man notes, “to argue with Mr Gregorovich.”

A year ago, Hill wouldn’t have done it, either. But then his entire world was wiped out in a second and he can’t bring himself to care what he used to do.

“We’re responsible for his security, not just when it’s convenient to him. If he makes risky decisions, it’s my job to call him out on it. He personally murdered his way through a good part of the old board and he knows the risks of internal threats. If he wants bootlickers, he can get another team.”

A year ago, he might have added a comment about Sagitta but now he doesn’t. Both because he needs to get on better terms with Orion this time around and because whatever else he might think about them, Sagitta has stood up to Gregorovich for their boss before and Hill can respect that. Even with Orion’s explicit protection, it’s a ballsy move.

… And, Hill will admit if only to himself, Sagitta was allowed to stay by Orion’s side in the future that he’s going to do his fucking best to steamroll out of existence. Dr Three approved of their presence around his hand-picked little protégé, and that’s the sort of attention that nobody wants but everyone knows speaks volumes. Sagitta had grown with Orion. They haven’t yet, they’re still the babysitters for the kid that’ll hopefully have years before he’s put in charge of anything bigger than an operation, but the potential is there.

Hill needs that sort of firepower in his corner to stop this whole disaster. Especially because he can’t appear to know anything about it. Gregorovich is a fucking bloodhound; even the ghost of a hint that Hill might’ve acted on more than training and instincts, and that deadly focus could be turned on him instead of the actual rat-fucker that Hill needs to somehow find a way to take down.

Hill hates politics. SCORPIA hired him for his skills for massive destruction and full-scale massacres, not juggling the sort of politics that comes with being in charge of the business.

Zhao makes a non-committal sound. Not quite agreement, not quite disagreement. The sort of commentary he’s perfected after years of working together.

Hill had never reached that stage with Owen. They were still finding their pace together when -

- This happened. Whatever this is. Purgatory, or a second chance, or just a hallucination from a brain that hasn’t realised it’s dead yet.

Deimos was a good team. Solid, skilled, dependable. Didn’t ask questions and followed orders. But they weren’t Danube, and the gaping wound where Danube should have been had been too raw and painful to allow Hill to get close again.

Another thing he has to keep track of. He’s a different person after everything, of course he is, but he can’t be. Not now. Gregorovich and Danube know him better than Deimos and Crux had time to, between stressed operations and damage control and clearing out the infection that had spread through SCORPIA, and that’s the person he has to be again. Somehow.

Hill needs somewhere quiet to settle on a course of action. To figure out what’s happening and how he can use what he knows.

He’s not getting that, either.

First things first, then.

“I want M’Hamid base put through every security protocol you can find. Every single fucking one of them. If you can find any of Kurst’s old ones that we don’t already include, those are good. If Orion has added some unofficial ones, those are even better.”

Another non-committal sound. The fucking sass is so familiar it hurts.

“That will significantly delay Mr Gregorovich’s departure,” Zhao points out mildly.

“Then Mr Gregorovich should consider taking his security measures more seriously.”

And not act like a fucking farm cat in a bathtub whenever Hill mentions the words ‘due caution’ or ‘risk assessment’.

Hill’s mistake had been to accept that. This time around, he’s going to make it everyone’s problem.

Zhao doesn’t argue. Maybe he agrees with that, too.

-----------

They find the IED under the helipad, exactly where Hill knows it would be, and it’s a big one.

There was not much left to examine the first time – for obvious reasons – but staring at the photos now, Hill wonders how he survived at all.

“A hunch?” Gregorovich asks next to him. If he’s in any way disturbed by his brush with death, it doesn’t show.

“Mostly spite, sir,” Hill says before his brain can catch up with him, and Gregorovich honest to fucking God smiles at that.

Maybe it was a test. Maybe he just appreciates pettiness in all its forms, including his head of security being willing to inconvenience all of them to make a point.

It’s not even a lie. It’s not a hunch when he knew it was there.

Now Hill just needs to somehow unravel the rest of the conspiracy without implicating himself in the process.

[stanlunter]

It's always "Scorpia deserves better than Catra" and never "Adora deserves better than Catra"

[baggebythesea]

Things Catra believe

(In no particular order)

That there never has been and never will be any good reason for indoor waterfalls

That - fancy as princess food might be - ration bars still are better

(After meeting Adora's brother and learning about Skeletor) That SHE could take Castle Grayskull in a week if she wanted to.

That horses are idiots (or at least that one particular horse)

That cats should hibernate over the winter months (Melog backs her up on this one)

That she didn't beat up every single higher-up in the Horde to STILL have to do morning runs, ADORA!

That the way Adora looks when she comes out from the showers is the single sexiest sight in the universe

That if ONE MORE muscular bimbo comes simping for HER girlfriend someone will die.

That Hordak's power armour is kinda cool

That Scorpia and Entrapta are idiots for forgiving her and that she doesn't really deserve it 😿

That Sparkles is up to something (she's right)

That she hated every minute of being chipped and doesn't secretly sometimes long for the bliss and freedom of responsibilities that came with the loss of will

That she only lets Bow give her ear scritches to do him a favour. It's not like she secretly loves it or anything

That Glimmer dresses like that on purpose (she's right)

Don't let the water princess know, but she's getting hooked on the Mermystery books

[theonlypterydactyl]

Catra, the realistic abused child

Shadow Weaver gives Catra her view of the world and Catra becomes an outlet for her shame and self-hate. Love is weakness and weakness isn't allowed. Love is finite.

When Adora leaves Catra's sense of safety is shattered. Adora was the person who protected her and gave her value. If Adora is gone what value does Catra have? So, Catra has to prove herself. If she never needed Adora her betrayal can't hurt.

Catra's story is about protecting the little girl who didn't know the cruelness of the world, who was innocent. She does everything to protect her, even if that means pushing everyone away. So, she's cold and cruel to Scorpio who wants to give her the closeness she needs. But, Catra is a walking paradox, she craves connection, but closeness is a precursor to pain.

Adora is begging her to come with her, and Catra doesn't. It would've saved a lot of time and pain, but going with Adora means that she would have to accept the word of two complete strangers. Adora chose the two strangers over her. When Catra sees that She-Ra is Adora this proves to her how meaningless Catra is and how great Adora is.

To Catra familiarity and power mean safety. If she's at the top no one can hurt her. So, she takes on Shadow Weaver's role to feel safe. But, it stops working. She is tortured by Horak and sent to the Crimson Waste to die.

In the Crimson Waste Catra changes. Just a short amount of time away from the place where she's been abused and traumatized she's nicer towards Scorpia and more playful. When she captures Adora and finds out that Shadow Weaver went to Brightmoon, to Adora. Adora is greater than Catra even if she defected. She's still the golden child.

She has tunnel vision. There is only one thing that will match the amount of pain that she is feeling. She pulls the lever, knowing full well that everything will change.

Everything is how is should be. Adora is Force Captain and Catra isn't in charge. Shadow Weaver is kind. But, no matter how much Catra tried to make her stay, Adora was bound to leave anyway. With nothing left to lose she lets herself and the world burn.

Catra comes back to her addictive patterns full force. It's easier to hide from the pain that to confront it. Her treatment of Scorpia is reflected in if love comes to easily it isn't worth something.

In Corridors we see Catra and Adora as children. Adora is friends with Lonnie. Catra thinks that Adora is going to leave her and be with Lonnie all the time, because to her love is finite. Catra loses value to Adora because there is this other person she has to compete with and Catra isn’t deserving of love. She goes and talks with Glimmer and they start talking about Adora. Catra realizes that maybe Adora didn’t leave for power and glory, maybe she loves Glimmer, and maybe, just maybe, she loved Catra as well. Maybe it’s too late, but Catra gains this new clarity and wants to do one good thing in her life. She saves Glimmer and expects to die at the hands of Horde Prime and she’s okay with it. There is nothing left for her. The only person who cared about her was Adora and she left for bigger and better things and better connections.

Adora comes back for her. Catra has two options, accept Adora’s forgiveness or be dumped on a planet and die. But, her forgiveness is what cuts through. Adora is the only person who has seen both her pain and the person beneath it, so if Adora can forgive her maybe Catra is forgivable?

The addictive cycles are far from broken. She’s actively trying to be a better person. But, she falls back on old patterns when she is scared. It is easier to accept hate than it is to accept love that can be taken away. To Catra love is finite.

But, she stands up to Shadow Weaver for her and Adora. But, Adora is manipulated by Shadow Weaver takes the Failsafe and sacrifices herself. Catra is trying to protect Adora from her own self destructive behaviors, but it doesn’t work. Adora still is determined to sacrifice herself for the sake of Etheria.

She's scared and and runs away. She can't watch Adora sacrifice herself. Catra asks Adora what she wants, maybe just maybe she wants her, but that would be too far fetched, right?

At the Heart of Etheria, Catra goes back for Adora. She stays by her side as she is willing to give up her life for everyone on Etheria. Without expecting any reciprocation, Catra tells Adora that she is loved.

Catra’s story is realistic childhood abuse and trauma. It isn’t romanticized with these vulnerable, meek victims. Her story is messy and violent and ugly, as it should be. But, the solution is just as simple as it sounds. Change. Trauma brain relies on patterns and predictability. In Corridors, Catra is looking down two hallways. A light one and a dark one. The light could be symbolized by Horde Prime’s “light”. He enlightens these worlds and makes them better. This “light” is what strips them of their identity. The light is what strips Catra of her identity. The dark corridor could represent the choice of the unknown, the change that the unknown will bring, or the dark where Catra would hide in order to get away from everything, the dark where Adora willingly sat with her. This change is what led her to breaking the cycle of a trauma mindset and allowed her to accept Adora’s forgiveness. Catra’s character arc isn’t one of linear growth, it rises and it falls because she’s human. Unlearning the familiar cycles is hard and you’re going to fall back on them because familiarity is safety, but acknowledging and pushing past those lows is what leads towards a better tomorrow.

(my own interpretations backed up five by five takes)

[icebluecyanide]

Alex and his anger in Scorpia (2005)

I decided to make a collection of all moments of anger (or lack thereof) from the book.

Alex had to know what had happened fourteen years ago. Discovering the truth about John Rider would be the same as finding out about himself. Because, if his father really had killed people for money, what did that make him? Alex was angry, unhappy … and confused. He had to find Scorpia, whatever it was. Scorpia would tell him what he needed to know. (p. 14)

The tiger was watching him. Alex had twisted round, his hands behind him, his legs bent sideways, in the act of standing up. The tiger's front paws were resting on the desk. Neither of them moved. Alex knew that the door was too far away. There was nowhere else to hide. A surge of anger flooded through him. He should never have come in here. He should have been more careful. (p. 66)

Bitter anger shivered through him. Was this the destiny that Yassen Gregorovich had promised him? Had he come to Venice simply for this? The sirens were still howling. The water had covered the first two steps and was already lapping at the third. Alex cursed, then took several deep breaths, hyperventilating. When he had forced as much air into his lungs as he thought they could take, he toppled over and plunged head first through the hole. (p. 75)

“You're not answering my question,” he said, trying not to get angry. Mrs Rothman seemed friendly enough but he already knew that she was very rich and very ruthless. He suspected that he would regret it if he got on the wrong side of her. (p. 128)

Alex felt hatred welling up inside him. It was stronger than anything he had ever experienced in his life. He wondered if it would be possible to live an ordinary life again one day. There seemed to be nowhere for him to go. Maybe it would be better for everyone if he just took one more step. He was already standing on the very edge. Why couldn’t he just let the night take him? (p. 186)

“We have chosen the one person in the world who - we think you'll agree - most deserves to die. It is someone you have every reason to despise, and we hope that your hatred and your anger will drive you on, removing any last doubts you may have." (p. 188)

“Why did you do it?” he demanded. His voice had become a whisper. He was trying to channel the hatred through him, to give him the strength to do what he had been sent here for. (p. 229)

“If you’re saying my father was so evil, what do you think that makes me?” Alex was trying to will himself to shoot. He had thought anger would give him strength, but he was more tired than angry. So now he searched for another way to persuade himself to pull the trigger. He was his father’s son. It was in his blood. (p. 231)

He held the gun steady. He let the hatred take him. And fired. (p. 232)

“I don’t hate you,” Alex said. It was true. He felt nothing. (p. 272)

It's interesting to see how Alex starts the book already angry (and confused) at MI6 for their lies/because of his inner conflict about his dad being a killer. Scorpia deliberately try to stoke that anger by sending him after Mrs Jones, but when she confronts him about his dad killing innocent people, he struggles to hold on to his hatred/anger (and we learn later that even when he pulls the trigger, he can't bring himself to aim at Mrs Jones). And in the aftermath of the failed assassination he's more numb and exhausted than anything else.