#so when i go to do replies etc my brain goes poof

[ladyjote]

sorry for the lack of activity i’m just super insecure about my writing atm :)

[ceoofanticatradora]

We need more anti C//A who are Adora stans (like you seem to be) so that people can understand that C///A is bad for Adora. Heck C//A is bad for Catra too, but the shippers don't seem to realize it. If Catra had been able to let Adora go maybe she could have healed instead of her festering and the abuse may have ended instead of escalated.

Hello Dear, welcome on my Blog and a big thank you for your message! Firstly I wanna apologize that this response is reaching you more than three full days, almost four later. Just real life getting into the way of my online presence (at least I got my A-Levels admission!) but I assure you that replying to you was on my To Do List the entire time. And while I could've typed something quick, I thought you deserved a full length response just as much as the person before you received. That goes for anyone really to ask/write me anything in the future.

Adora is a character that has flaws, her own interests, things she struggles with/is insecure about etc. but she also still works on being better (up to Season 5). This makes her relatable, fleshed out and overall three dimensional. Overall for me that makes Adora very likeable. Which is funny because when I first watched the show I thought of her as too goofy and felt like she as a character was overall just flat. Her character design did not speak to me either, the ponytail with the weird hair poof and these pointy shoulders of her jacket just really were not my taste. Isn't it amazing how perceptions can change?

As you can guess from that description I did not always stan Adora and she's probably still not my favorite character but over the almost two years I've been in this fandom I've grown rather fond of her. Other important characters to me are Kyle (a very relatable comfort character of mine, he learned to stand up for himself and others and I support that, f*ck Season 5 for barely acknowledging his existence), Lonnie (apart from treating Kyle badly (which I really do NOT support or excuse) I really love her, man, some women just do me like that, I mean she really stood up to Catra like that), Entrapta (I'm autistic too! It's great to have some representation, seeing the ableism/treatment she experiences in the show is not so much though), Seahawk (I don't even know why, I have some issues with his behavior towards Mermista at times but overall I love this dork), Scorpia (she reminds me of myself so much and I really wanna give her hugs, I'm so glad she chose to no longer let Catra treat her like that even though I will be forever salty she just immediately forgave her), Peekablue (I can explain this even less than Seahawk, especially since it was not even really him in the end but his existence somehow helped me cope with Season 5, without him I probably would've left this fandom ... and also my favorite color is blue) and Double Trouble (now there's enough people already critcizing how they're not exactly great Non-binary representation but this dramatic lizard will forever be in my heart, that reality check they gave Catra, basically slapping her in the face with facts was satisfying as h*ck, also I like lizards overall).

Now there's plenty of characters I like, dislike (or even hate) or am simply indifferent about but after all this is not a tier list but me talking about Adora, Catra and Catradora. Adora started off as this girl that was so sure what she was doing is right but once she was taught differently she was willing to leave everything she knew (except Catra, because she valued her despite everything) behind. And not only that, she broke out of the abuse cycle that Catra tried so hard to keep upright. And that is exactly what makes Adora such a good role model. She teaches children (or people) that:

Your past doesn't define what/who you are or what/who you can become

-> Adora used to be a Horde soldier and did not know where she came from, but nonetheless she found herself a family and became a hero that saved thousands of people

You can always change your mind and start a new life if you feel disappointed in what you are doing/who you are as a person

-> Basically the exact same point, Adora started a new life as she saw what the Horde really was and changed her mind about who to fight for

You deserve love too, be it platonic or romantic (or se*ual???) (If you're aro and/or ace just ignore the part that does not work for you)

-> While Adora for various reasons thought her only use was to please others and meet their needs and expectations (mostly due to Shadow Weaver and Catra) she learned to accept that she too deserves love and validation (if the love aspect would not have been focused on it being romantic love so she could smooch Catra in the finale this would've been a billion times better because she got love from her friends that showed her her real value)

You can walk away from something/someone, that does not make you egoistic/selfish

-> Adora walked away from the Horde, after Catra stubbornly refused to come with her despite many offers (basically Catra broke the promise, not Adora) from her too and that did not make her a "traitor" or "selfish", h*ck, Adora in the end did this for a bigger purpose too, even if part of it was her not wanting to live with such wrong morals

Your opinions, feelings etc. about a person/something can change and that is perfectly fine and valid, being able to change is part of what makes someone human

-> Adora's views on many things changed throughout the show: The Horde and the Rebellion, the First Ones, Catra, being She-Ra, herself, her priorities and so on ... she actually makes use of her brain, which is why Catra saying "Don't you ge it?" or calling her an idiot and dumb never sat right with me, she's a realistic character for shifting with her thoughts, feelings etc. and sometimes just does not fully think things through

You don't have to let other people treat you like sh*t (just because they have some issues they never worked through does not give them any right to let it out on you)

-> This point is obviously centered mostly around Catra and her abusing Adora almost every chance she gets, which is why Adora standing up for herself and not letting Catra blame her for her own decisions and mistakes is so important, "You made your choice, now live with it" is one of the most powerful lines throughout all the five Seasons

Now I'm sure there is still more to Adora's character than what I just listed and unfortunately almost all the points basically got pushed aside, well, Adora as a character got pushed aside in Season 5. All her growth, the things that made me love her, see her as great role model for so many people robbed of their value for the sake of making everything revolve around Catra. That brings me to her and how you are absolutely right that Catradora is harmful to both characters. Of course Adora is affected most by it in the end but Catra too is obviously suffering under the fandoms obsession and just the overall idea of them being romantically involved.

Just like with Adora the stans make almost everything about Catra over her relationship with Adora. She too can barely exist outside of it and if she wasn't the fan favorite she'd most likely would too be mostly in Fanarts that include Adora and not just her (if you google "Catra Fanart" most content is still Catra and Catra only but here and there Catradora still peaks through). But for whatever reason the fandom still views her more as her own person as the other ones? Catrouble and Scorptra Shippers might actually still get less hate than Glimmadora Shippers (I'm not denying they don't get any, they most certaintly do) which is just plain hypocricy and favorism. Kinda like the: A woman needs to be loyal to her husband and her husband only but if the husband wants to be active with other women that is perfectly fine because "that is just how men are" or how i like to call it ... sexism. Now in this case they are both women so it's not sexism but yo do get my point.

But much more importantly, Catra has an unhealthy obsession with Adora. Signs of that are for example:

Constantly talking about Adora, even when said person is not around (to Shadow Weaver, Scorpia etc.)

Obsessing over having control over Adora like in that one Episode "Are you kidding? I finally got control over Adora, I'm not giving that up!"

Building her entire character and her actions around Adora "We need to take Adora down", "Adora left me", "I'd rather see the whole world end than see you win!", also shown in Season 5 where she states she does save Glimmer only for Adora and not for Glimmer or to do the right thing

Getting aggressive or very emotional over Adora like clawing the wall, having nightmares etc. (destructive behavior towards herself and others)

Having no or barely any characteristics outside of her relationship with Adora like, we don't know her interests or likes and dislikes outside of being evil, obsessed with Adora, being abused by Shadow Weaver ...

Trying to force Adora to meet her needs and expectations regardless of Adora's owns

Sacrificing her oppurtunity to be happy in the Crimson Waste for the sake of her Adora obsession and being better than her at all costs

So yes, you were very right with saying that not putting Catra in a relationship with Adora would've benefited both characters. Catra could've learned to exist on her own, develop interests and a life outside of Adora. Learn to accept herself and eventually come to terms with her childhood abuse. She could've been free and not "the abusive cat girl that ended up with the person she unhealthily obsessed over to the point of no return" she kinda is now. Even if we ignore the whole "dating your long term abuser" part from Adora's side and "being rewarded" for horrible behavior, Catra alone is not giving a good example to people watching. As much as I dislike Catra, disdain her even, an ending where she is dependent on Adora, unable to stand on her own two legs after she led armies in war is not what I would wish for her, even with a decent redemption arc (that she did not get).

[sweet-peridork]

TPoH commentary of the week: The wonderful yet sad world of Make-Believe. (This is wordy, so read at your risk):

(My thoughts may be slightly scattered in this talk, but please go with it. Thank you)Okay, so we know that in the world of TPoH, the world of make-believe is a place where things are made real and are eventually sent into their own worlds(earth, story books, etc.) to exist. Either that, or they run out of inspiration and simply cease to be. Some of these characters come to that world under weird conditions: the many we’ve seen so far have been heroes, taken there by a monster of that world. Others, like that infamous self-proclaimed worst monster, RGB, came to that world under circumstances we don’t know(doesn’t seem like someone brought him there, rather simply death). Another important factor we all know is that once a character leaves, they are stripped of all memory of being in the world of make-believe. Now it seems RGB is an exception, seeing as he finds ways into the real world and still remembers. The point of this commentary though is to compare two different stories that I feel relate to this story. Now no one knows(except modmad herself) the fate of this new hero, the 6-8 year old Indian child whom everyone adores. We can all assume/hope that she goes home by the end of this story. Will she remember the adventure she had in the world of Make-Believe though? First story- The Fairly Odd Parents movie, Channel Chasers. After Timmy gets his magic remote, Wanda explains to him the purpose of fairy god parents while showing him a slide-show of a child with fairies. She explained that fairies are given to children who live unhappy childhoods as well as the fact that they are young enough to still believe in fairies. She also explained that after a certain time, once a child gets old enough, they don’t need their fairies anymore. They move beyond their original trouble. At the same time, the whimsy of childhood fades. The clip ends with the child, now a teenager, going for a ride with her boyfriend. After that her fairies leave and are replaced by new pets that look the same as the old ones. They have become the fixture that has always been there but have not been noticed for a while. Another story- Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends. That whole show was about children making friends to play with, as well as placing them in an adoption home when they “outgrow” them. The whole point of an imaginary friend is to be a playmate for a child when they don’t have a lot of people to play with. As a person grows though, they outgrow the need for that type of friend. Occasionally they may look back and have a laugh, but the friend isn’t needed. In the first movie, Mac’s mother was telling him that he needed to get rid of Bloo. Mac’s mother pointed out that, “you’re eight years old, and you still have an imaginary friend.” Mac then countered that she had one when she was little, to which she replied, “yes, when I was little. But by the time I was your age I didn’t need my imaginary friend anymore.” Now at this point, the question arises about what I’m getting at. Well, the two theories that I’m talking about are that either Hero will return home with no memory at all about RGB and the world of Make-Believe, or that the whole place was supposedly a dream. A dream that Hero will remember as clear as day, or it will be so vague that she’ll lose it. Hero is the center-point as to why I called those two shows to attention. She is either a six or eight year old child. She is still young and still has much to learn of the world around her. She is still young enough to trust and believe in the impossible(fairly odd parents). She is still young enough(although Mac’s mom would disagree) to have an imaginary friend, that friend possibly being RGB. Adding to this, let’s look back at the first few pages of the comic. What was hanging on the wall in Hero’s room? Drawings and a picture. Looking closely, it can be noted that Hero has drawn Madras’ house, as well as herself riding an animal, possibly the idea. It has been confirmed by modmad herself(I read the posts, but can’t find them at present) that these were exactly what they were. Something she imagined could very well appear in her dreams. It can be assumed that she has seen them before in dreams and decided to draw them, to preserve the memory of them. Now hanging above the drawings is a framed picture of flowers. Doesn’t really mean anything right? Well, what do these flowers look like exactly? Something familiar? They look exactly like the flowers that appear whenever negative RGB is on the scene. Last piece of evidence for now is when Hero was walking on the cloud stairway with RGB. Now we all know that jeebs is a huge fan of Mary Poppins, but Hero had commented that she had seen that from a movie once. Dreams come from the accounts of the day. Our brain’s way of organizing information while we sleep. The stairway from the movie could easily be inserted into Hero’s dreams. Now the imaginary friend aspect. RGB is a very well thought out character. But Hero could have easily made him. She could have pulled the image of an old tv actor on the television, and with the telly as his face. . .poof! RGB himself. All the info. he gives her could very easily be things she has heard before, and it’s just her brain telling it to her. Now dream logic never makes sense, but in a wolrd of concepts, sense isn’t exactly needed. It seems to be plainly obvious that there is a distinct gap between a child and an adult. A child looks through life with untainted eyes of childlike wonder. An adult looks through life with eyes of experience. An adult has learned about life to a certain point where they use logic before childlike experimentation. An adult simply can’t look at things a child can. . .not all the time at least. There are people who were born with creativity and will always have it, or there are people who develop creativity. After all, the amazing mod created the cowardly man with a television for a head and terrifying alter-ego. Bottom line of this though, is that these are points to take into consideration when thinking about what this story really is. And while I wonder what the outcome is, I hope that Hero gets to go home, and that she’ll be able to remember RGB and the great people she met. If anyone has read this far, please leave your comments and theories about what I’ve just said. I’m curious on your take.