#such as glimmer being manipulated by shadow weaver

[adorawasright]

wild that spop stans act like they stand for abuse victims and then they turn around and claim adora is an abuser or that she never suffered abuse in comparison to catra

[sunshowerr]

I’m actually very sick of seeing needless spop-criticism in these tags

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

another theme between spop and gravity falls that i want to point out is one of the characters being shelved for most of the series, and revealed to be alive towards the end. Micah and Ford.

only difference being:

1. Foreshadowing

from the first episode, we see that Stan has some sort of a secret and that he's working towards something.

and throughout the series, we get hints that indicate the existence of a twin brother, one episode even straight up SHOWS Ford (but viewers were led to believe it was Stan).

Micah, on the other hand? the only scene that could be proof of him being alive is during the fake reality in s3 finale.

Micah: Angie, Angella wait! I'm not-

people assume that Micah was trying to tell Angella that he's not dead, but we have no way of knowing for sure. it could have been anything.

so basically, there's no foreshadowing that Micah was alive and i'm pretty darn sure that the writers only wrote him in so that the viewers would forget about Catra killing Angella. Glimmer just needs one of her parents, it's not important which one.

but that's just before. what about after? do these characters have any importance after they are finally revealed to be alive?

2. Plot Relevance

even before the big reveal, Ford was a very important part of the plot. he was the mysterious author of the journals, he was the missing puzzle piece in Stan's life, his connection with Bill was clearly seen in the structure of Mystery Shack.

and after he emerges from the rift, he is even more relevant to the plot. especially because of his history with Bill and his knowledge about the supernatural. even though Stan is the one who defeats Bill in the end, it could not have been done without Ford.

not to mention, his relationship with Stan is essential to the plot. they are a direct parallel to Mabel and Dipper, and the entire series is about familial relationships.

the show just wouldn't be the same without Ford, because he was always one of the main characters, even before he was officially introduced as a character.

and how about Micah? he literally plays no role in the narrative after he is introduced.

one similarity between Ford and Micah is that they were both stranded in an unfamiliar place for years, with no connection to humanity.

but the difference is that while this is used for comedic purposes with Ford, it is also given enough emotional importance, especially when it came to his trust issues and his relationship with Stan.

whereas with Micah, it is solely used for comedic purposes and we never see how being forced to survive on a deserted deadly island has affected Micah's psyche or his relationship with people.

coming back to my point, Micah doesn't even seem all that bothered after learning that Angella is dead. he is shocked and sad for a moment, and then that is completely forgotten.

reconnecting with Glimmer? everything is settled with just one generic emotional speech and a hug.

reconnecting with his sister, Castaspella? barely touched upon.

like Ford, Micah had history with a master manipulator - Shadow Weaver. they could have expanded on this, shown us how Shadow Weaver's treatment of Micah had an impact on him.

but no, apart from him being all "you can't trust Shadow Weaver!" he provides no new insight. if anything, he just got in the way of Shadow Weaver trying to do something good for once.

other than that, he's just a silly goofy dad who wants to bond with his daughter. that's it. he has absolutely no relevance to the plot other than making a fool out of himself, and kind of forming a connection with Frosta.

we're supposed to believe that Micah was this powerful sorcerer and the king of Brightmoon, when even the writers don't give him the respect that he deserves.

newsflash: you can make a character funny and important to the plot. Ford had his fair share of comedic bits, but that didn't take away from his emotional moments and his role in the narrative.

[age-of-wonderbeasts]

I'm obsessed with She-Ra (2018)

and it may not be why you think.

Don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE catradora fan, and I love the character development that's shown throughout the 5 seasons in many of the characters. Glimmer's reliance on Shadow Weaver as a maternal figure in season 4 after losing her mother. The manipulation of her grief. Catra's descent to complete rock bottom, and still being redeemable. The connections between Mara and Adora, and the self actualisation of Adora's she-ra after she broke the sword.

But my favourite part of this show is how it showcases Adora's ability to love. Her ability to see the good in absoloutely everybody (aside horde Prime, but he's one of those villains who is just completely evil).

the famous line "I never hated you" Adora says to Catra just proves her ability to love above all else. Catra literally tried to kill Adora numerous times, set off a portal that collapsed time and space, which in turn was the thing that killed Glimmer's mom. She led the armies who took over and nearly destroyed Etheria. But Adora never hated her. Never Hated Her. As soon as Catra saved Glimmer, Adora didn't hesitate to risk her life to save her. Adora may have been angry at Catra, sure, but she always loved her. Adora's ability to love above all else is the thing that saved them. Adora isn't called Adora because everybody is destined to love her. No, Adora's name is fitting to her because she loves deeply, she makes strong and deep connections with people, and she's always willing to see the good in people. She does what she does out of love.

And she deserves love too 🥳

[mara-defense-squad]

I think the thing that really appeals me to catradora is the fact that they weren't supposed to make it.

Think about it for a second. Their whole lives they were pitted against each other, because Shadow Weaver wanted Adora and Catra only ever interfered with that. But they still built up their friendship. They made The Promise. They had each other, throughout their time in the Horde, despite Shadow Weaver desperately trying to drive a wedge in between them. They were never supposed to last, but they did.

And then when Adora finds the sword, becomes She-Ra and joins the rebellion - well they definitely weren't supposed to make it then. They were enemies, on opposite sides of the war. Yet, in early season 1 (pre-Promise) Catra still defends Adora in her absence. She lies to Shadow Weaver, lies to everyone about Adora being She-Ra and when SW finds out, she says "She's just confused". Still protecting Adora, despite her leaving. And Adora doesn't stop trying to convince Catra to join the rebellion, even though the rebellion would likely prefer it if she did. They weren't supposed to be fighting for each other - but they did.

And then Promise happens. Like Shadow Weaver, Light Hope sees Adora's friendship to Catra as a threat. So, she takes that wedge SW jammed inbetween them and drives it all the way home. She convinces Catra to cut Adora off, and convinces Adora to let go of her. And Light Hope succeeds where Shadow Weaver failed - they are now enemies. And they stay that way. This is how it was always supposed to be.

Then Catra opens the Portal. They get each other back for a second, but it only serves to prove they were never meant to last. Catra completely turns on Adora, and when it's over, Adora completely gives up on Catra. Any hope of reconciliation is shredded.

Catra continues on her downward spiral. Adora moves on. The war rages on, and they keep walking their separate paths. This was how it was supposed to end.

But then - then, in the rubble after the Heart of Etheria, at the moment Adora expects it the least, Catra saves Glimmer, and she apologises. She does this with no hope of seeing Adora again, and Adora doesn't know how to deal with it at first. If she was following the path laid out for her her entire life, she would have left Catra to die on Horde Prime's ship, grateful for her sacrifice, and grieving what could have been. That was how it was supposed to go, and it was exactly what Catra expected from her. But she defies it. She puts aside the greater good, and she storms Horde Prime's ship, for no other reason than that she wanted to. This is not what's supposed to happen.

In Save the Cat, Catra was supposed to serve Horde Prime. She's completely stripped of her autonomy, forced to fight Adora. She's supposed to break her. When she manages to break through - just a little bit - she is supposed to die. She falls off that platform, into the abyss, no hope left for her. Adora is supposed to let her. Instead, she summons She-Ra, and brings Catra back to life. They were never supposed to make it this far.

And it doesn't get easier. For a while, in Taking Control, they still don't really know how to act around each other. They have to learn it again. But they keep trying, against all odds. Catra starts to heal. Adora watches. They get to rekindle what they lost.

But then Shadow Weaver comes back, and the Failsafe happens. All their old wounds are raw again. SW is pressing all of Adora's old buttons, desperately reinforcing that wedge between them, so that Adora will take the Failsafe. At first, Catra resists this - she eavesdrops on Adora and SW conversation, and she seas her manipulation for what it is - and she tries to convince Adora to do the same. Ultimately she fails when Adora accepts the Failsafe. Catra knows that Adora is going to die being the hero, and she can't face that so she leaves. They are separated once again, and it doesn't look like there's any way back. It could have ended here too.

But in Heart, Catra sets down her hurt and her fear and she goes back to warn Adora of the new danger as Horde Prime hacks the planet. She finds Adora fighting for her life, and losing. Catra saves her, and allows SW to take Adora on to the Heart. She tries to sacrifice herself again. They both should have died there.

Only Adora comes back for her, once again. She rejects her destiny to save Catra. SW dies instead.

They've reached the final hurdle, the Heart itself. Adora can't transform into She-Ra, so she's doomed to die saving the world. Catra is supposed to let her.

But against all odds, they confess their love and it works. They both get to live.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. At every turn the cards were stacked against them but they still won. They still made it. And I love that for them.

(sidenote but this is also why i love catra as a character and her whole arc. She was supposed to live a miserable life and die a miserable death but she got to live and change and grow as a person. Ugh I love this show)

[thestargayzingetherian]

Shadow Weaver's "Redemption"

So I often see posts going around about Shadow Weaver's death scene and how she "deserved worse" or "doesn't even count as a redemption". In my opinion, like a lot of She-Ra stuff online, it ignores a lot of the nuance of the show's actual writing.

I don't really call her arc a redemption arc... but I do see this scene in particular as her finally, at long last realising how much harm she's caused to Catra and Adora. By keeping them apart... she's actually made Adora weaker, ironically, all those years of manipulation... and it's been for nothing. Adora isn't her perfect little pawn, she's weak and dying of green prime virus running through her and hurting at the thought of her best friend dying to Prime's little pet cthulu.

I see way too many people say that SW should have died sooner and to be honest, yes, if this was any other story, yeah they'd have probably killed her around season 3. If they genuinely did want her to have a redemption, they'd have made her arc in seasons 3 and 4 more genuine, have her work to really be an ally of the rebellion and not being the manipulative witch she'd always been. But that's not what Nate Stevenson wanted to do. By keeping SW around as long as the show did, they got do more with her and show how someone like her is in various environments, both in the Horde and on the side of the rebellion.

I genuinely think this WAS SW doing a "one good thing" like Catra did. And to be honest, it was the only good thing she could really do. There is no way that if she did survive this that she could truly make ammends for the harm and cycles of abuse she perpetuated, especially not at this point in the story.

Hordak was at least under the influence of his programming and war was the only thing he knew when he started the Horde. Sure, he's not entirely absolved of his actions in the war, but he's at least more of a victim and his compassion for Entrapta show's he's at least worthy of a second chance. Shadow Weaver was clearly a woman driven by power, a desperate need for control and that was her own choice, likely from being scared of being weak. (I believe she was telling the truth when she told Catra that Catra reminded her of herself, that she was once a weak and hurt young woman who hated being weak and wanted to be stronger and that began her lust for power.)

Also, what she says to Catra and Adora? "It's much too late for me, but your story is just beginning. I'm so proud of you. You're welcome."

She could have very easily just said sorry, much like Catra did when she rescued Glimmer.... but would ANY apology be really able to make up for what she did? No, probably not. Instead its just... "you're welcome" as if to say "you're finally rid of me, congrats". Because she knows that pain now and how it tore Catra and Adora apart. And the fact she does this with her mask off, without any hint of lies, as if to be finally honest for the first time in so long.

I know it's fun to dunk on SW and say she's the worst ever and yeah, I do enjoy that too... but I also know what her arc, if you can call it, that is about and why she is in the story. Like everything in She-Ra, she has a lot of nuance to her, even if you didn't realise it.

[loganofthenorth]

For those that saw my other Shera Swap AU post, sorry this took so long. I got invested in an SMP Minecraft Server recently and forgot about this. 😅

For those who haven’t, I’m making a Shera Swap AU! I’m designing the characters in Hero Forge because I don’t have the patience to draw.

Anywho, here is Adora as promised! More info below the cut off, warning for spoilers if I actually write this.

In this swap AU, Adora isn’t the one to find the sword and be chosen by it. Catra is. Ergo, she is not convinced by Bo and Glimmer to snap out of it, but instead Catra ends up leaving the Horde to join the Princess Alliance and Adora, being a rule follower that sees Catra as a traitor, stays loyal to the Horde.

Her design at the start of the story is pretty much just cannon Adora with her Force Captain Badge:

But in ‘season 2’ of my AU, she looks very different. Mostly due to loyalty to the Horde and battles with Catra.

I’m thinking Catra scratches her face in a desperate attempt to escape, or out of anger for something Adora says to her. Either way it’s enough to leave a scar so it will most likely be a really intense scene.

Also thinking Adora gets her hair burnt off, either in a fight with the Princess Alliance or by Shadow Weaver. Catra will taunt her for it regardless.

She gets edgier too, since when she starts to realize the problems in the Horde’s logic she digs her feet in the ground. She doesn’t want to admit that she turned against Catra, then eventually Bo, and lost so much of herself fighting the wrong battle.

Also when Catra gets her cool Shera Sword Adora gets huge Sword Envy so Bow makes her a cool sword.

Adora is still a people pleasing perfectionist in this AU. Even more so, actually, since she doesn’t end up turning against the Horde. She becomes even more vulnerable to Shadow Weaver’s manipulation after Catra leaves, and often just does whatever she’s told by Shadow Weaver. Glimmer will eventually start rebelling against Shadow Weaver and pushing for Adora to advocate for herself and her team.

As Adora gets more confident, more frustrated with the Horde’s lack of progress, and more angry towards the Princesses, she ends up climbing the Horde’s ranks through her own strategic genius and skills. I think the turning point will be Princess Prom, when Catra captures Glimmer and uses her as a bargaining chip against Hordac. Hordac pretends he doesn’t care, but Adora can tell he does. So she plans an invasion on Bright Moon to get Glimmer back. While in there, she manages to steal documents about Bright Moon’s defences in order to make more efficient plans in the future. Unfortunately they lose Entrapta during the invasion, more on that later.

There will probably be a point during the invasion where Catra catches Adora and they fight. Catra tries to break Adora from Shadow Weaver’s manipulation, but Adora has already broken free from her mentor’s influence. “You captured my best friend and used her as a hostage. I don’t need Shadow Weaver to tell me right from wrong anymore, I can see for myself what needs to be done to establish peace and order. Shadow Weaver is a coward, and won’t allow the Horde to succeed. I am willing to take matters into my own hands.” ~ said before calling on Entrapta to send an army of robots to invade Bright Moon.

Adora often works as the team’s leader, and supervises everyone else’s roles. She’ll often give herself the responsibility of dealing with Catra. She’s a lot more respectful to her team than Catra was in the cannon show. She takes into account their strengths, weaknesses, comfort levels, etc when assigning them roles.

She often gives Kyle the job of fetching supplies for the others, and encourages him to motivate the rest of the team. Kyle is never given anything to do alone because Adora is worried he’ll get hurt.

Bow is often tasked with making sure Entrapta and Glimmer don’t do anything too reckless and settles disputes within the team. Basically takes over the leader position if Adora isn’t able to. Bow’s role in plans is usually to hide somewhere strategic and snipe enemies with his bow, or help Entrapta in a Mission Control kind of role.

Glimmer is usually the muscle in plans, and one of the people fighting alongside Adora.

Laudie and Rogelio also fight alongside Adora by default, but they’re usually Adora’s go to people to send elsewhere if the group has to split up.

After the Bright Moon invasion, Adora is hard on herself for losing the Horde’s greatest asset. The only reason Hordac doesn’t obliterate her for it is because she did succeed in saving his daughter.

After learning that Glimmer has a connection to the Moonstone, Adora plans *another* invasion on Bright Moon to steal the crystal. Shadow Weaver refuses to allow it, but Hordac is concerned by how weak Glimmer gets after her connection with the stone made her stronger. Shadow Weaver is imprisoned when she agrees to assist in the invasion, only to betray Adora and sabotage the mission.

The Horde succeeds in stealing the Moonstone and brings it back to the main base, but retreat immediately afterwards due to being overwhelmed by Bright Moon’s improved defences. Stealing the Moonstone does lead to the Whispering Woods withering, but Bright Moon has a sudden tech boost that helps to protect them despite this.

Weird

Anyways

Glimmer gets more powerful, and more headstrong. Bo is very concerned by this development but is supportive of his friend.

Adora tries to get Shadow Weaver’s help in understanding the Moonstone and why Glimmer is connected to it despite not being a Princess. She tries to convince Hordac not to obliterate Shadow Weaver even though she’s dangerous to the Horde and its cause. Shadow Weaver manipulates Adora into helping her escape, but brings Adora with her to Bright Moon. She tries to convince Adora to switch sides with her and maintain balance in the world. Adora refuses to listen as they are both held prisoner.

Adora learns that Entrapta betrayed the Horde, that Glimmer was a clone of both Hordac and Bright Moon’s former Queen, that Adora herself is from another planet, and that Hordac is trying to bring an alien invasion to the planet. She also sees that Catra is happier in Bright Moon. Adora gets overwhelmed, has a breakdown, then manages to escape Bright Moon and return to the Horde despite Catra trying to stop her.

Glimmer manages to convince her father not to eliminate Adora.

Instead, however, Glimmer, Bo, and Adora get sent on a mission to the Crimson Waste because Bo thinks there are materials there that can help him upgrade their tech.

Now I’m not entirely sure how the Crimson Waste goes. Adora survives in cannon because of extremely specific circumstances and she isn’t as cut throat as Catra. Since this is a Swap AU, I could make it that Huntara used to be part of the Princess Alliance but left it when Queen Angelica and King Micah were captured. So she can still help Adora and the group survive due to wanting to gain the Horde’s trust so she can find out what happened to the King and Queen she’s loyal to. Adora is still naive and very gay for Huntara so the manipulation’s not hard.

Speaking of manipulation, Double Trouble is basically the same in this AU. At least in how they’re introduced. They approach Adora similarly to how they approached Catra, though they don’t get along with her nearly as well during their time working together.

Catra finds Adora after taking over the Crimson Waste and turning them against the Horde. She tries again to convince Adora to switch sides. Adora, at this point, is convinced that she’s making life worse for her friends, and that Catra and the Princess Alliance are better without her. She captures Catra and takes the Shera Sword from her because Hordac needs it for the portal. She thinks that if she earns Hordac’s forgiveness then she can fix all her mistakes.

Things get crazy after that.

Glimmer finds out at some point that her Mother is on Beast Island and wants to go there so she can find her. Adora knocks her out to stop her from going somewhere so dangerous.

Bow doesn’t think the portal will work and wants to warn Hordac. Adora doesn’t want Hordac to hurt Bow so she knocks him out too.

Catra and the other Princesses infiltrate the Horde base with Shadow Weaver’s help. They don’t have Glimmer’s teleportation magic but I feel like Castapella and Shadow Weaver’s magic would be strong enough to make a teleportation ritual. Then Scorpia and the Garnet can help boost Shadow Weaver’s powers.

Shadow Weaver lectures Adora for her idiocy after Huntara grabs Glimmer and takes her to Beast Island. Adora breaks down and forces Hordac to activate the portal.

I think the painful part of this AU for me is that it doesn’t work on Entrapta’s end if Hordac still cares about her so there’s no: Where’s Entrapta? I need her!

I love Entrapdac with a burning passion

Entrapta’s my favourite character honestly

But I think I can have Double Trouble play some sort of role instead. I dunno.

But yeah anywho, perfect reality happens. I’ll have to chew on what everyone’s perfect reality would be in this AU.

I might have to rewatch Shera because I forget what happens after the portal stuff is dealt with.

I think it’s basically Adora trying to convince Hordac not to execute her for Glimmer’s disappearance

Adora is breaking down mentally.

Hordac is breaking down physically.

The only reason Adora isn’t executed for Glimmer’s disappearance is because Hordac thinks she was captured in the invasion and Adora convinces him that he needs her in order to get Glimmer back.

Meanwhile Bow is like: Bullshit I’m out

Bow switches sides to the Princess Alliance and helps them get to Beast Island to save Glimmer. They get Queen Angelica and King Micah back in the process. Entrapta, who went with them, wants to stay on Beast Island. Bow apologizes to her for how they treated her in the Horde and tries to get her forgiveness. Catra bribes Entrapta with letting her drive the space ship.

Adora goes bat shit insane because all her friends left her. Even Kyle, Rogelio, and Laudie are like: Fuck this shit I’m out

She only has Double Trouble and they don’t even like her. They end up giving her false information and lure her into a trap for the Princesses.

At this point Adora goes into a fawn survival response. She apologizes to Catra for everything. Catra doesn’t forgive her, however, after all the hardship she’s caused. Bow and Glimmer avoid her, most of the Princess Alliance is hostile towards her. Scorpia and Sea Hawk are the first to give her the benefit of the doubt. Perfuma tries to be nice to her for Bow and Scorpia’s sake. Catra avoids her. Shadow Weaver attempts to console Adora in her own strange way. Shadow Weaver also becomes a close mentor to Glimmer. Entrapta quickly forgives Adora though and accepts her.

Adora becomes close to Angelica as the two of them help each other understand everything they didn’t know. They’re both people pleasing perfectionists and they become close because of it. Inadvertently, however, Glimmer hates Adora for having an easier time getting close to Angelica than Glimmer does.

Glimmer does get close with Micah though even though they aren’t biologically related in this AU. He quickly sees her as a daughter and Castapella reluctantly agrees to treat her as a niece. Castapella also isn’t happy about giving the throne back to Angelica but Shadow Weaver promise that they will take back Mystacor for her.

Catra refuses to talk to Adora and Adora goes insane from it. She tries to go back to the Horde with Glimmer and get the Moonstone back to Bright Moon to make it up to Catra but doesn’t realize that reconnecting Glimmer to the Moonstone while Catra is with Light Hope will result in the weapon activating.

Hordac catches Adora and Glimmer and tries to kill Adora. Glimmer saves Adora, but then Horde Prime finds them and brings them on his ship.

Catra is pissed off that Adora did something so stupid and now she has to go save her. She pretends it’s just her agreeing to go with Bow, Entrapta, and Angelica to save them.

So yeah intergalactic war stuff happens.

Adora just gives up when she’s brought in the Prime’s ship. She advocates for Glimmer’s survival, since Horde Prime wants to kill Glimmer for being an abomination, but not her own. She insists that she’s the abomination, not Glimmer, because of all the people she’s hurt. Glimmer feels sympathy for Adora, and advocates for both of them. She convinces Horde Prime that Etheria is a weapon, she’s part of it, and Adora knows how it works.

I’m thinking Adora is just shut down and disassociated the entire time on the Horde Ship and Glimmer is trying to keep her alive and get her responsive. She responds when Catra is brought up, and Horde Prime determines that he can use her as bait for Catra. Horde Prime sends a signal to Catra’s ship and tries to use Adora as a hostage, but Adora fights against him. She tells Catra not to come for her, that she isn’t worth it. Catra, however, doesn’t like being told what to do.

Anywho gay shit happens. Catra lectures Adora for being an idiot while Adora’s possessed and tries to break her out of it. When Adora falls, Catra jumps after her. Catra regains her Shera form saving Adora. When Adora wakes up, the two argue constantly because Adora thinks Catra should have left her behind.

Adora: You have no reason to forgive me. I know you all hate me.

Catra: I never hated you! I already forgave you! I hated seeing you get used! I hated Shadow Weaver and Hordac using you like a tool! I hated being away from you.

Adora: Then why avoid me? Why act like I’m dead to you?

Catra: Because it hurt! It hurt that you thought so lowly of me that you never bothered to listen when I finally started taking control of my life. When I became a better person, you became worse, and I hated myself for it.

Ha ha ha

These two both need therapy in every universe

I also want to give Adora and Catra more time together so they have more time to heal, grow, change. I want them to be friends and healthy before their gay love saves the universe.

Adora gets Swift Wind instead of the magic dog Catra gets. Not talking like Swift Wind but a horse with wings with magic powers.

I’ll talk about Catra’s wolf companion when I talk about Catra.

Adora’s people skills end up helping the rebellion a lot especially when they get to the surface and have to undo a lot of brain washing.

Catra crushes hard when Adora stands up to Shadow Weaver’s attempt to trick Catra into sacrificing herself

Catra gets pissed off when Adora tries to sacrifice herself in Catra’s place (as if that could even work). Adora reminds Catra that she promised they’d always stay together, and she already broke that promise when Catra left the horde. Wherever Catra goes, Adora will, even if it kills her.

I wouldn’t want the story to turn into Adora living for Catra, since Catra kind of ends up back in Adora’s shadow in cannon. So I’d probably give Adora her own ark around this part of the story where she leaves the camp to do something to help the Rebellion. Maybe she’ll be investigating something to do with Shera or with the fact she was an alien before and find out that she was originally supposed to be given the sword, but Light Hope chose Catra feeling that Catra would be more capable than Adora. Then they both get to be Shera (maybe I’d give Adora a new Shera design and hers can be called Aura or something like that.)

But yeah I’d want to have them be friends longer too and develop their individual issues separately before they get together in the end. Also longer time actually exploring their feelings for each other. I’ll probably make Horde Prime a bit less powerful but have him slowly get more powerful as time goes on so that the story isn’t so urgent to get through quickly.

At the end scene both Catra and Adora are trying to destroy the weapon together. When they start to falter they help each other stay up. Just as they think they’ve failed, they’ll confess their love for each other, then proceed to have the gay kiss that saves the Universe.

So yeah, that’s Lawful Evil turned Lawful Neutral turned Lawful Good Adora. I still have to rewatch the show and plan everything out properly, but I’m excited to see where this goes.

Glimmer will be next!

[catras-breakup-song]

Would you call glimmer's arc in season 4 a dictator arc? I could be wrong

so, this is actually a very interesting question and i'm glad you asked!

i want to say technically yes, even though she probably may not have seen it that way at first, or did so because she had the mindset of, "i did what i had to do, and anyone who protests must be an enemy."

going into queendom, she obviously wanted this journey to be one where all three of them were on the same page and made decisions mutually together. but as double trouble spun manipulation into the dynamic and bow & adora stopped agreeing with her, she felt threatened and assumed power over instead of with them.

they stopped being a team, and the duo began working against her when it came to the necessary beast island mission, as well as competing to (de)activate the heart of etheria, not to mention the whole... being used by shadow weaver having a role in her leadership incident, which is absolutely what the stakes often come down to once a dictatorship goes too far.

i am mostly referring to this scene as the prime example here:

i can't imagine the average subjects of bright moon would consider glimmer to be anything less than reckless, especially considering angella had been so carefully passive for however many generations; who knows just how long before?

oh, and another thing i should mention: i am a huge sucker for glimmer & catra being narrative foils to one another in many ways! season four is really when we finally see them both step up into their ranks in 4x01 "the coronation", where the latter definitely becomes an absolute dictator without a shred of doubt via overthrowing hordak. i would argue that if nothing else, the former's path looks quite similar in that regard:

[girl4music]

“But, in fact, love is clarity. We never see Adora more focused than when she channels She-Ra in Season 5. And in those scenes, she is most herself: not She-Ra the weapon, but Adora, who cares enough to fight. It’s motivated by love, against all logic, against self-preservation, for her to see the odds and take the gamble because something, or someone, is worth the risk. There’s nothing more clear-headed than that.

It’s love that saves them both in the end. So, why? Why is love this power? We could come up with a bunch of poetic reasons but fundamentally I think it’s that love helps us express our authentic self. That authentic self we talked about before, that can get pushed down and corroded by fear. Because when Adora and Catra accepted their love over their fear, that’s what saved the world. So power and love share the fact that they’re both sources of safety, but of two very different kinds. Are you safe because you’ve accumulated enough influence to keep those around you in check? Or have you developed closeness and connection enough to know that you don’t have to? Newly outfitted with Glimmer’s boots, Bow’s heart, and Catra’s crown, the new She-Ra isn’t a weapon, it’s a celebration of connection. And it’s that same human connection that motivates the decisions that turn the tides in battle, human connection that reaches through to those who were chipped. And as Prime is defeated - it’s clear: the conflict was never love or power, it was authentic connection VS outside manipulation: our genuine selves against the constructs imposed on us. And this contrast between natural and artificial has been a steady motif from the start of the show. Let me explain.

Since Season 1, magic and nature have been associated with each other, and juxtaposed with things that are mechanical. Think, even just the landscape of the Etherian woods VS the polluted wasteland look of the Horde. Horde Prime is consistently associated with the artificial; he and his ship are all jagged edges, creepy sterile white and sickly green. It’s even clear in the language he uses to talk about other people: “every part of the machine is of value”. He collects cultural artifacts as trophies of conquest, severed from the people who gave them meaning. Then, on Krytis, it’s very deliberately revealed that his own weakness is magic. Magic is natural, a part of the planet, and then magic is thematically linked to love. Shadow Weaver describes She-Ra as a “being of pure magic”, and then we see She-Ra’s pure form activated by care for others. So, Prime’s weakness to magic might as well be a weakness to love - something he apparently tries to overcompensate for with this “Etherians are so predictable with their emotions” and “I see all” routine. But neither love nor magic can be quantified, constructed or controlled; like nature, they’re living things that grow on their own. So, love saves the world, magic envelops the planet, and the natural supplants the industrial. Prime’s ship is engulfed by a tree (interject by OP: that’s very ‘FernGully’ if you’ve ever seen that animated movie - it’s a great one that taught me quite a lot growing up). It’s even fitting that Perfuma, with her plant-power, is the one who makes the most compelling case for vulnerability to Catra, a product of the machine-like Horde upbringing. So here the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental conflicts all mirror each other. And with the season’s focus on the mind control chips, we’re brought full circle to the show’s commentary on abuse. Prime’s chips work very well as metaphors for the effects of abuse and trauma. The series has shown us, at different points, people being controlled and manipulated for the benefit of others, whether through chips, the sword, or their emotions. And each time, the manipulator was threatened by love. Light Hope even erased her own memory of warmth for Mara in the name of the mission. Prime’s chips are artificial, but so is abusive conditioning, in the way both lead us away from who we are in favour of imposing on us someone else’s identity, or reality. The Sword of Protection itself was an attempt by others to co-opt Adora’s power; Season 5 She-Ra is what happens when she found her own. We don’t access our own full potential by denying parts of ourselves. Adora shatters the sword, and finds herself, her love and her greatest power, all at once. Surrounded by her Rebellion family, and motivated by her love for them, she only glitches out of She-Ra when she sees Shadow Weaver - the one who, an episode ago, told her to reject love. Both Prime and Shadow Weaver treat those beneath them as extensions of themselves, rather than people with feelings and aspirations. They used different behavioural or technical methods, but the effect is the same. A person’s agency and identity suppressed for their benefit. But we are not the expectations of us; however outside forces might try, we belong to ourselves. Consider in this context, this quote, from Bow to Scorpia: “Prime may have made you do a lot of things but he can’t turn you into something you’re not”.

Those who try to control others reject connection in doing so - and without connection, they are simply weaker. Entrapta pretty much sums it up: “You can’t control us! You don’t understand what makes us strong and that’s why you’ll never win!” Love and the bonds we have with each other give us something worth fighting for, and that’s just the stronger “why”. And the finale emphasises this with the sheer number of “I love yous” we get between characters. Without having been child soldiers, we all might have wounds that feel inevitable to us, like we can’t tell where our pain ends and we begin. Pain doesn’t explain itself to us, it just comes. And often, the worst part isn’t just sitting in our own darkness, but feeling like we’re doomed to be the only ones who can see it. Pain doesn’t explain itself to us, but love doesn’t either. We could break love into all its component “whys”, and it still wouldn’t add up to the warmth of a hug or the comfort of a hand to hold. Life isn’t always gentle. That’s just part of the deal and it’s not up to us. But to be kind in spite of it is our choice. And as a battle fought for love breathes new life into the ground, we see that kindness inform the world around it for the better. And maybe, it doesn’t always happen. But if there’s a place for fiction, I think it’s for hope. The Universe might be indifferent, but we don’t have to be. Does this mean love has to save us? Or that it’s the end all to our journeys? I don’t think it’s that simple. And certainly, thinking another person’s love will “save” us might just be another narrative that doesn’t do either of us much good. But we’re not monsters for wanting to be cared for and I don’t think that it’s naive to believe that love can help us heal. And this absolutely includes love towards ourselves; after all, a big part of Adora saving herself was believing that she deserved a future where she wasn’t just a soldier, a martyr, or a weapon. Just Adora. Late to Scorpia’s first ball. Whatever you call them - narratives, expectations - these things that tell us who we are, really are just about control. And control is just another word for predictability. “Adora will make me proud, Catra won’t ever amount to anything” =/= “Will”/“Won’t”. But the world is nothing but unpredictable. Adora leaves! Micah survived! Catra saved Glimmer! Shadow Weaver sacrifices herself! Bow has parents! Catra has a cute sneeze! People can leave you. They can hurt you. Even if they don’t mean to. So what? So. What? Control is hard to come by, and I don’t think it’s the point. A forest isn’t beautiful because we commanded it to grow. A song doesn’t make us feel something because we know how it ends. Genuine connection isn’t a grasp for control, but a desire to share. And it’s those things we share that I think make life sweetest. Sharing music. A meal. Laughing until our stomach hurts. Sleepovers. In the space between people sharing love, we create something new. ‘Cause I think there’s one more word: Home.

Home looks different to all of us. A different skyline, different smells, different laughter. So I think it’s defined best just by the way it makes us feel. Safe and comfortably ourselves. ‘Cause that’s where it really all started. Adora left and Catra thought she’d never see home again. But they finally found each other again, and suddenly home wasn’t a place to go back to. I think home is, through love, life made greater than the sum of its parts. Where, despite doubts we might have about ourselves, or what we’ve seen the world to be, together, even for moments, we can have peace.

And maybe that’s magic.”

An exceptionally well-worded and thought out analysis that I had to transcribe a good chunk of it for emphasis on my point about the theme/trope of “Power of Love”.

At the end of the day, it goes back to Yin and Yang. In all honesty, I think the only time I’ve ever seen the Power of Love theme/trope done well or right is when it is as equally paralleled and juxtaposed with the Love of and for Power. Every other time, it either falls completely flat narratively or I’m emotionally indifferent to it. I feel nothing. I acknowledge that it’s there and then… just move on. But I SHOULDN’T be doing that if it’s the entire conclusion. It SHOULD resonate. I SHOULD feel.

And the fact I don’t is not because I’m emotionally closed off, not listening or not paying attention to it.

The media just fails to capture the heart in me because it’s not sincere or natural enough to influence my mind. In a sense,… it does not psychologically connect, so it does not emotionally resonate. That’s the honest truth.

As Five By Five Takes said: It’s not AUTHENTIC! Only that of which is authentic can ever have a real impact.

[spopsalt]

No because it's hilarious how people will hate on Glimmer for saying this when her and Adora were pretending to fight:

Laughing at one of Shadow Weaver's jokes when she was being manipulated by Shadow Weaver:

Lashing out at Adora when her mom died and she had to struggle with the responsibility of being queen:

Then defend Catra to their grave and ship her with Adora as if Catra hasn't done and said much worse

[should-have-been-at-the-club]

Round 1 Match 26: They Should Have Been At The Club Tournament

Propaganda below the cut.

Propaganda for Adora:

Adora was raised by an evil force, The Horde, with an abusive mother figure, Shadow Weaver, that manipulated and abused Adora and her found/adopted sister, Catra, before leaving The Horde.

Adora also suffered through the pressure of being She-Ra and had fight The Horde that’s trying to take over the world. Which included her ex-friend, Catra, who’s a toxic cat-woman who’s quite unhealthy obsessive of Adora and is quite abusive and manipulative to Adora and tortured Adora when fighting with her. Adora also literally had to save the entire world - TWICE - from literally ending. One time from her toxic ex-friend who literally stated that she didn’t care if she ENDED THE WORLD, as long as Catra got back on Adora for “leaving” her. (a.k.a refusing the request and/or from Adora to leave the abusive force that she and Adora were raised in with her, due to the fact that Adora bonded with some people that isn’t Catra that Adora met a day or less ago). And a second time from an Alien cultist who wanted to destroy the planet -and all life on it - in order to conquer it, which is something that Adora nearly failed and died attempting to do so. Adora also saw a few people she knew die (Angelia and She nearly died some other times within the series as well.

So because all of the trauma, abuse, pressure, and $h!t that Adora went through within the series as a young adult, she deserves to party and have fun hanging out (with Glimmer and Bow) in the club.

Propaganda for Noa Enomoto:

She was raised in a cult and dedicated her whole life to following its leader

[adorawasright]

spop stans: obviously we care about abuse victims!!!!

also spop stans: *shit on adora every time she stands up to catra, shit on glimmer for being manipulated by shadow weaver during a mourning period, don't take the bullying against kyle seriously, don't see anything wrong with how the princesses treat entrapta, devalue adora's experience as an abuse survivor, sexualize catra abusing adora etc. etc.*

[now-that-i-saw-you]

Catra's Arc: a review

I've been rewatching SPOP and I'm currently on season 5 and I have some thoughts. While rewatching, I took mental notes on whether I liked Catra & her arc or not, and trying to understand the anti-Catra side.

Well, I liked Catra a lot and I enjoyed her arc, but I can see where her storyline falls short so this is a review of her arc the way I see and understand it.

The show starts with Catra and Adora together. We immediately know they're best friends and we also immediately know that Adora is the prodigy, more serious one whilst Catra's a troublemaker. Adora finds the sword, joins the rebellion, offers Catra to come with her and Catra says no. That part is so frustrating to watch because we don't know why Catra refuses, why would she care? she doesn't seem to care about the Horde's mission so her refusal is just stubbornness and being annoying.

As the series progresses we learn more about Catra's past and, most notably, her relationship with Shadow Weaver. Shadow Weaver is an abusive mother-figure, she manipulates Adora, she humiliates and hurts Catra. Shadow-Weaver clearly prefers Adora and sees Catra as a the black sheep & bad influence. What Catra's actually fighting Adora about is the love of a mother-figure, more than anything else. Now I think the problem with the show is that there weren't enough flashbacks to Catadora's childhood. I think we needed more scenes of Catra and Adora talking about having more power and no longer being under Shadow Weaver's rule. We needed more scenes showing how the Horde soldiers are taught that the princesses are evil. And we needed to see Catra being an outcast in the Horde and how Adora is the only one who's kind to her - that way there's ground for Catra being envious of Adora and also Catra feeling like Adora's the only family. All of this could explain why Catra's jealous of Adora's friends and along with their wish to escape Shadow Weaver, could explain Catra's need for power.

Still, the series shows that Catra doesn't actually enjoy her evil deeds. It's all just a facade. The more we see of Catra the more we see that all of her daring, sarcastic behavior comes right after almost having a breakdown. Season 3 gives us more information about Catra and Shadow Weaver. Catra is still desperate for Shadow Weaver's love, but the latter betrays her. At the end of the season Catra is crying when talking to Shadow Weaver about the fact she left her for Adora and then Shadow Weaver tries to kill Catra. I don't think I could respond normally to this situation so I don't find it surprising and horrifying that Catra's reaction is to open the portal that will destroy the world. She's self destructive! Trauma does that to you.

This is also the point where Catra commits her worst crime - sending Entrapta to Beast Island. This is a children show, so there's not gonna be much on-screen death but Catra is basically killing Entrapta. And I personally think that you can easily tell that Catra's doing it out of self-hatred, destructiveness and a bit of madness rather than a one-dimensional thirst for power. Especially because later on she has a nightmare about it, indicating that she regrets it and I think also indicating she regrets everything she's done.

Then season 4 is a very low point for the Rebellion, they are losing every battle, shit's bleak. So you'd expect to see Catra happy but she's not, she's completely losing it. She doesn't sleep, she lashes out on everyone because she doesn't actually enjoy any of this. She's lashing out because that's all she can do, because no one taught her anything else. And I think that this is her punishment and turning point, because after her plans (basically) succeeds and Horde Prime comes, she doesn't cooperate with him. Eventually she decides to do one good thing in her life and sacrifice herself to save Glimmer. She had the opportunity to let Horde Prime destroy Etheria like she tried to do with the portal, but she regrets what she did. Later on she even has the opportunity to stay brainwashed by Prime and not feel any pain, but she chooses to fight it and feel.

Now on season 5 it seems more and more like Catra's learning to undo her toxic mindsets, she tries not to lash out and respond out of fear and anger. She apologizes to Entrapta, the person she hurt the most, and I personally think that this is also supposed to symbolize her apologizing for all of her crimes. She even tells Adora that she's trying to work on controlling her emotions (with the alien-cat). I know it comes in this kind of unserious script, but this is a children show and I think that, despite that, Catra's genuinely trying to work on herself.

We can argue about whether this is a good message or not, but I think the point of the show is that people aren't black and white and anyone can be redeemed/forgiven. Shadow Weaver is power-hungry and has no loyalty, but she really did want to protect her planet and she really did love Micah. Hordak is an outcast, he is in pain and grasps onto power because it's the only thing he can control. Glimmer nearly destroys the world because she reacts out of anger and grief and fear. They're all forgiven by the plot, Catra parallels all of them.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

The densest substance in the universe is the minds of people who rant that Hordak being enslaved and abused by Prime does NOT excuse Hordak's villiany, and then in literally the next paragraph demand for people to forgive Catra's villiany... due to her being enslaved and abused by Hordak.

these people also say the same for glimmer.

"glimmer knew shadow weaver was a manipulator, it's her fault that she got manipulated!" first off, that's not how manipulation works. secondly, catra also knew shadow weaver was a manipulator and she still got manipulated.

the double standards in this fandom is crazy. if you're gonna hold hordak accountable for his actions, which you should, you should be doing the same for catra. you can't pick and choose.

[wizardgirlxyz]

Just noticing something. Not forming any fully structured ideas yet about Glimmer being manipulative. I’m just putting it out here. Please don’t fight me on this

Glimmer always goes straight to holding hands with somebody whenever she wants to convince them! And who else does something similar perhaps not with the hand but instead the face??

i don’t think they’re on a similar level. Shadow Weaver is a child abuser and really really fucked up person. I’m just saying Glimmer ispossibly manipulative to an extent.

[antispopausandstuff]

if you're a glimmer fan, ignore this.

.

gonna be honest.

i absolutely hate Glimmer, and not just because of s4.

she was a terrible person from the start and i'll get into why.

i'm going to get into her relationship with Angella another time, because that is a whole mess in of itself [ because of Glimmer ], and deserves its own post.

anyway, Glimmer:

undermines her supposed best friend's [ Bow ] abilities for no reason and doesn't give an actual apology [ her admittance to being wrong also seems really reluctant and annoyed to me ].

has an issue with Bow having friends for some reason, even though this was never brought up in any way before, and uses Adora as a prop to show just how much better fun she's having [ yeah, obsessing over your best friend daring to have fun with someone that isn't you is totally having fun ]. and then when Bow tries to talk to her about, she expects him to apologize [ yes, i know she does apologize for this later, but i hate how she even thinks of this in the first place ].

projects her own insecurities onto her ma like crazy while constantly, constantly going behind angella's back for no fucking reason and being ridiculously reckless, but then whining about how her ma doesn't see her as capable [ this sounds like a familiar cat... ].

this isn't specifically about Glimmer, but it just annoys me how literally almost no one actually helps Adora with Catra constantly harassing and assaulting the poor girl until she's about to die or get kidnapped, like what the hell?

'Ties That Bind' is another episode that was a complete waste of time and did nothing but paint how annoying and asshole-y Catra, Glimmer, and even Bow, unfortunately, are.

'Roll With It' Glimmer [ and everyone else, but Glimmer's a streak atp ] can actually kiss my ass, because this is not what you do in a war or when someone is having a panic attack about someone trying to kill them and everyone else.

no one talks to Adora about White Out. ever. what kinda friends are you?

Glimmer continues undermining Angella and doing stupid ass shit, like letting Shadow Weaver power her up [ yes, this could've been an arc and, maybe, about one where Glimmer would eventually understand what Adora had gone through, but that didn't happen, and she put pretty much everyone in danger by trusting SW. and yes, i'm aware Glimmer apologized to Angella in the fake reality thing, but i don't buy it ] and leaves her ma with the belief that she's a coward [ when Angella's one of the most logical characters out of the cast ].

i'm tired of people saying that Glimmer was manipulated by SW in s4, and that's why she let SW walk whenever she wanted, when in previous seasons, Glimmer has repeatedly brought up how manipulative the woman is and WATCHED HER TRY TO WIPE ADORA'S MIND. Glimmer has no excuse other than doing it just because she wants to and think her rights are of no consequence.

i don't care what people say, Glimmer's plan was stupid. either the planet would die, or they would win. if they were [ realistically ] pushed into a corner, then maybe i can see that being an option they would have to consider. but Glimmer is clearly a 'my way or the highway' kind of person and doesn't even bother listening to her supposed best friends.

manipulates Adora into trusting her with the "i know you don't trust Shadow Weaver [ reasonably. and why do you trust her? she gave you power? ooohhh, wow, it's not like anybody else in your family could've have done that ], but can't you trust me" bullshit. like, wow. honestly wow. the audacity if you.

'Mer-Mysteries' and 'Boy's Night' Glimmer can actually get kicked in the nards. "she was acting" yeah, duh, but did y'all forget that it was heavily implied ( by DT and the expressions on both of her and Adora's faces ) that they were at least somewhat speaking from the heart, and Adora was genuinely hurt when Glimmer said the most inane bullshit i have ever heard [ seriously, her and Catra could be buddies at this point ] by implying Adora wanted to be SW's favorite?

blames her for Angella's death. "she realized she was wrong almost immediately aft-" guess what? still doesn't take it back. especially since Adora watched her die.

uses abuse of power via using her Queen status to prevent Adora and Bow from leaving Brightmoon to rescue Entrapta [ and insults the grown ass woman while she's at it ], and it's really obvious that it was because they told her she's wrong [ and she is ]. because she goes to Light Hope with the intention of proving Adora wrong.

uses Scorpia's insecurities to get her to use the Black Garnet. Catra literally did the same thing in Princess Prom.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE, the entire planet is about to die and the Princesses are getting injured by Glimmer's stupid ass decision that her best friends literally told her would have severe consequences.

manages to avoid severe consequences because even though the world nearly died, there's no civilians to criticize her and rightfully hate her for what she did.

i hate her apology to Adora, not only because it's shoddy at best, but also because Adora immediately forgives her [ like Catra ], even though she was deeply hurt by what Glimmer said and did [ like Catra ].

I HATE HER CONVERSATION WITH BOW. it sounds like she's allowing him to be angry for, idk, nearly destroying the world and pretty much giving out the location of Etheria to Horde Prime, and then she's immediately rewarded with his forgiveness. fuck off.

instead of consoling Adora for being frustrated with Catra after she risked her life to save the ungrateful little shit, Glimmer instead borderline defends her [ or at least undermines Adora's anger ] by going "lol, did you think she'd become a different person after we risked our lives saving her 🤪".

Glimmer and Bow are Catra's ass-kissers now. shocker. and they don't take anything seriously anymore unless the plot calls for it. also shocker.

why does she say [ in the Heart 1 episode ] "it isn't going to work"??? like, it kinda sounds like she'd consider it. which, if you do, just say that atp.

and, just like catra, says Adora left them.

that's not all she did, obviously, and i know she's like this because of the show, yada yada, but i just really hate her.