antispopausandstuff

[antispopausandstuff]

can we talk about how incredibly fucking insulting it is that Catra became a Force Captain just because, when Adora worked for her entire life to get to that point? and we can see that she worked that hard, because there's of the flashback to her training as a cadet?

like, Adora had the experience, she earned her right to be a Force Captain, and i don't care how uncanon it may be, there is no way she grew up without corporal punishment if she made mistakes.

meanwhile, Catra's been riding on Adora's fucking coattails and is the reason why she's alone, because none of the other cadets like Catra, and for good reason, and why she's held back so much, because Catra doesn't want to let go of her security blanket.

then Hordak just replaces a strong, capable, very smart girl with someone who had never tried hard enough, yet kept whining and complaining when everyone doubted her abilities and didn't have faith that she'd make it very far, for what?

if anything, he should've given it to someone like Lonnie, since he wants to be throwing the badge around like candy.

[antispopausandstuff]

https://www.tumblr.com/antispopausandstuff/789077028266721280/i-am-not-immune-to-glimmadora-propaganda-lh-j?source=share

🤔 I thought you were because of Glimmer blaming Adora for Angella's sacrifice at the end of season 3?

it's more of my version of Glimmadora than actual canon, but, honestly, the art i've seen of them is adorable and there are artists out there who acknowledge at least a few of the grievances i have!

the older i'm getting, the more i'm understanding that, while i was valid to have my own opinions, i don't always have to stand by them. at least, not so rigidly as i've been doing.

so, while i may have different views on Glimmadora from others, i do find the content people make of it really nice.

just keep in mind that when i'm talking about them, i am most likely talking about my universe and version of them!

[antispopausandstuff]

i am not immune to Glimmadora propaganda ( /lh /j ), and, as a result, the amount of Angella and Micah // Glimmer and Adora parallels in my universe might be immense, romantic or otherwise.

yes, i'm listening to "Would You Fall In Love With Me Again" and imagining how much Angella and Glimmer have changed since the last time they saw the person they love, why'd you ask?

[antispopausandstuff]

Hold On

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[ synopsis - there's nothing more undoing than a child. ]

cw // tw - blood, near-death.

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lovin' and fighting' accusin', denyin'

i can't imagine a world with you gone

the joy and the chaos the demons we're made of

i'd be so lost if you left me alone

-

it was a fall.

one wide, endless, and torturous.

Hordak never knew fear like in that moment the shadows consumed that light. her light.

the impact on his body, an eruptive weight bursting throughout his flesh, his bones, it blinded him and left him breathless.

and for long, silent moments, he couldn't move.

he didn't know when or how he found the strength to open his eyes, to drag his body and pull it towards that same light. adrenaline might've aided him then. or perhaps just pure foolishness.

every sound, every aching muscle, every broken bone, they were pushed farther and farther to the back of his mind with every breath.

because blood pooled at her head and she was running out of time.

Hordak held back a cough, metal on his tongue, as he looked down and saw her face.

Adora's face.

she was pale, eyes closed and chest just barely stuttering with breath, curls in disarray and uniform rumpled, stained with blood.

her blood, instead of his own.

ignoring the painful creak of his back, he brought the child into his hold. green sparked from the nape of her neck before metal peeled itself from her skin and clattered onto the floor. damaged. and he held her tighter, refusing to let go.

"Adora," Hordak breathed, cradling her small, fragile face in his clawed hand. she was smaller and sweeter once, years ago, barely fitting into his palms. sickly and weak, but remaining alive. "Adora..."

she breathed in, labored and rasped.

once, she was just an infant, with nothing but love to give.

now, she was a hardened soldier of a woman, broken by many hands, including his own. and she still had nothing but love to give.

"Papa..."

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i pull you in and feel your heartbeat can you hear me screaming

"please don't leave me"?

hold on, i still want you come back, i still need you

let me take your hand, i'll make it right i swear to love you all my life

hold on, i still need you...

[antispopausandstuff]

Adora is. so. Rumi-coded. in my head.

please. PLEASE ask me my thoughts.

PLEASE.

[antispopausandstuff]

i was with them until they said that catra doesn't expect anything from adora.

like sure, we're just gonna forget that catra got mad at adora for not protecting her from shadow weaver even though she did

we're gonna act like catra never repeatedly told adora that she'll never save her friends and she'll never be good enough and the whole world will go to shit because of her

we're gonna act like catra never forced adora to do things she didn't want to do, like stay in the horde, just because catra wants her to

and even if she did none of these things, she still never saw adora as an individual. even if catra never placed any expectations on adora or made her feel worthless (which, i'll remind you again, she DID. MULTIPLE TIMES.) she still abused adora.

did fans watch this show with a blindfold on? did they forget everything that happened in seasons 1-4? even that's not an excuse because catra still berates adora in s5, saying that she has a hero complex and getting mad at her for the smallest things.

also i would like to add that fans are overexaggerating adora's feelings about she-ra. yes, she was under a lot of pressure and expected to save everyone. but i don't think she only chose to join the alliance and fight as she-ra just because she was expected to.

i think she did genuinely like being she-ra, it changed her life for the better, it got her out of an abusive environment, it helped her make new friends who sincerely cared about her. c//a stans always see she-ra as an obstacle, because that's how catra sees her.

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y'all know the memo, if you happen to know who this is, do not harass them, please and thanks!

once i relearned that the original She-Ra series had Adora make the active choice to be She-Ra and leave the Horde, i disliked the "forced destiny" decision SPOP pulled from the beginning even more, because choice is a huge part of the original show and Nate, quite clearly, did not care about its messages and how much impact it had.

She-Ra shouldn't have been presented as something Adora stumbled upon by happenstance and was forced upon her for some unknown reason, and part of it is because of this.

Adora making her own choices, actively, blatantly, without it feeling like she may have an obligation or can't avoid it is so important. because, sure, she might still end up being She-Ra anyway, but her voice matters, and the original told you as much.

i firmly believe that stripping away that choice and making it an accident, as the writers of the reboot, created a domino effect in which Adora's importance as herself and as She-Ra are constantly at odds and one has to be more important than the other.

that, mixed with a ship-obsessed fandom, is bound to create opinions like this, no matter how wrong it is.

of course, you can absolutely still have Adora have moments of doubt as She-Ra, or make comparisons of herself and her alter ego, but that was never the center point of her story. you can still choose to be a hero and have a lot of growth ahead of you, but i feel there's a lot of people who don't understand that.

if Catra truly saw Adora as a person, she'd have respected Adora's choice to leave the Horde and accept the Sword of Protection, accept She-Ra, rather than continuously trying to force her to do the opposite through sadistic, dehumanizing means. or she'd eventually put in the effort to see that Adora is her own, that she doesn't exist solely for Catra, and work on herself to become a better person. neither of which happens.

and it irritates me that the OP acknowledges that Adora is loved as herself, not just as She-Ra, but continues force-feeding you, essentially, that CATRA did it first, that CATRA had done it from the beginning, that CATRA etc., etc., etc...

this is all to say that the reboot didn't understand the meaning of autonomy and how important it was for Adora to regain it after years of being lied to, manipulated, and abused, and that it's largely their fault why Catra stans have views like this.

personally, i think 2018 Adora had a complicated relationship with She-Ra, through no fault of her own, but didn't hate her at all. beyond the strength and power it gave, the Sword did lead to her having a far better life than she would've otherwise, and it's endlessly frustrating that the fandom puts Catra's obsession above Adora's happiness.

[antispopausandstuff]

my SPOP universe pt. 4 - character bios ( WE'RE AT THE END, FOLKS ) ( of the bios ) ( there's still a lot in my mind- )

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disclaimer // note - it'll be SPOP-focused, but i do take a 'few' things from the original show and implement them here.

preferred style(s) - ATLA // LOK, ROTTMNT, LMK ( s1-s4 ), Spiderverse, or Kill la Kill

( part of the reason for these styles is the VFX, battle coordination, and creature // environmental design, esp with vibrant media like Spiderverse, ROTTMNT, and LMK )

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theme song - something akin to "The Call" by League of Legends or "The World That Ends in Three Days" by Koji Kondo, ROZEN, & Celica Soldream.

rating - PG-15 ( i'm not a writer for young children and don't handle things in a very kid-friendly way )

note - here's some gender // sexuality hcs of the characters, though it isn't all of them.

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established changes:

the runestones don't exist

the cast is 18+ unless stated otherwise

roles will be changed for plot relevance or sense ( for ex, neither perfuma, entrapta, scorpia, spinerella, or netossa are royals )

the first ones are not evil

mara and adora are the only she-ras

most ships will remain noncanon

there's no white people here, sorry

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cast pt. 4 . . .

Huntara - The Silax Bounty Hunter, Leader of the Crimson Waste. 25 yrs, 6'8, a hardened fighter with an unwavering sense of justice and responsibility, though might have a slight gruesomeness to her methods at times.

after nearly dying at the hands of Scorpia, left in a vulnerable state for days, Huntara was intending to enact revenge. but, as Scorpia was a sister to her, she didn't have the cold heart for it and let her be. this wouldn't be the first time someone abandoned her.

in spite of the beliefs and prejudices, the Crimson Waste is a growing hub for resources and shelter for the homeless, societal outcasts, and outlaws who wish to start over.

Huntara is driven by the belief that a better world isn't by cleansing of all wrongs, but by accepting them and taking the chance to make your life better. because of this, she despises those who refuse and wallow in their own destruction, and has been working hard to make sure the Crimson Waste is a safe haven for those who need it.

design would be inspired by Yoko ( small pink lady ) and Gaa’eng ( big green lady ) and Hotel Purgatorium Mirabel by catboymoments, Alistor by pechemallow, Lobster Cookie by mr.vanhellis, and Dark Lord Design by sleeepybacon. a species that has hunting, trapping, and fighting a huge part of their culture, and Nate did nothing with it. shocker. anyway, my Huntara makes me think of Rumi. goals.

theme song - Last Battle by The Marcus Hedges Trend Orchestra

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Zelna - The Hooved Axewoman, Huntara's Right-Hand, Co-Leader of the Crimson Waste, Ex-Horde Soldier. 27 yrs old, 5'5, went from orphaned toddler to an orphaned cadet in mere days, stuck in numbing shell shock ( or PTSD ) for years. one night, she lost it, and fled after killing a General, only to be found near-dead by Huntara.

nowadays, after treatment and medication, she's a calm, quick-witted, and snarky type, who works as a part-time blacksmith. she also has a long-time partner, Pim.

design would be inspired by Hotel Purgatorium Agatha, Komaeda Nagito Design, and Souda Kazuichi Design by catboymoments. got ridiculously attached to goat lady after i made her important to Beck. for the old followers, Zelna is "Zee"!

theme song - Sheik's Theme by The Marcus Hedges Trend Orchestra

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Pim - The Fluffy-Scaly Contortionist, Huntara's Left-Hand, Co-Leader of the Crimson Waste. 30 yrs old, 5'1, she grew up in the Crimson Waste and watched it go from a dying land to a more progressive community approximately a year after Huntara arrived. before that, Pim was a drunkard, using alcohol to cope with their worsening environment and, eventually, die.

however, after meeting Huntara and Zelna, Pim was given the opportunity to do and feel more, and she took it. now they get to live as they wish, fighting the good fight and being the firecracker she always was. she hasn't touched alcohol in a good few years.

design would be inspired by Brigid and Lu by catboymoments, Monty Gator Design by stainedge_, Huanyu by 2lainn, and Jenny by meetwig. yes, this is that lizard lady from the Crimson Waste episode, but she's gonna look so different, might as well be an OC. btw, she's the same species as Rogelio!

theme song - Deku Palace by Koji Kondo & ROZEN

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Horro - The Favorable, The Near-Perfect Specimen, The Lost One. Unknown Age, appears to be in his early 20s, 9'0, Horro is a semi-lucid, muted man, with little recollection of who or what he was before going through numerous experiments and is now a product of amalgamating genes. and, as far as he's aware, this resulted in him unable to walk at all.

the most consistent detail of his old life that he can recall is his name.

Prince Zed.

design would be inspired by Eli and Body Horror by boots.ocs, Viktor Illustration by crazycomet107, Comic Commission by pinetreevillain, and Burdened Little Goddess by pix_bun. for those unaware, Horro used to be the name i made up for "Wrong Hordak"! but he's so different now, he might as well be separated entirely. whether or not you consider him the same is up to you!

theme song - Stone Tower by Koji Kondo & ROZEN

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Horde Prime - The End. Unknown Age, appears to be in his 50s-60s, 7'9, a merciless man with a hunger for control. who or what he is remains entirely unknown, and stories say he existed before time and space were even recognized. but every single tale, no matter how big or small, held the same message. should you be defiant, Horde Prime will destroy you and every single living, breathing life form on your planet. then the planet itself.

design would be inspired by...

[ files not found. ]

theme song - Final Hours by Koji Kondo & ROZEN.

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HOLY FUCK, WE'RE FINALLY DONE.

I KNOW IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT, BUT THIS TOOK ME HOURS TO WRITE. I'M TIRED, BOSS.

but we've got them done. i can rest now.

...now onto the worldbuilding-

[antispopausandstuff]

working on the fourth and final set of character bios as we speak, i am so sorry, y'all-

[antispopausandstuff]

i feel people, especially writers, confuse the power of friendship with the power of unity. or think that it's the same thing.

to give a real world example, folks who participate in protests, spreading news, preparing the masses are largely not your friends, except for a few people. but that's still a unity.

honestly, i love friendship, i love any kind of close relationship, but i don't know if i've seen a piece of media that properly centers the message and importance of unity.

the closest example, to me, is The Wild Robot ( ilovethismoviesm ), where Fink tells everybody to get their shit together, be grateful, and just stop trying to kill each other or cause havoc, because Roz risked her life to save them, even after everything they put her through. but it does end in a friendship vibe ( which i don't hate! it's cute! ), so i'm not entirely sure if it fully counts.

SPOP has the problem of slapping the power of 'friendship' or 'love' onto pretty much anything they want, to the point it gets ridiculous. especially because, for the most part, most of these people only talk and interact with each other because the main trio ( Adora, Glimmer, Bow ) are involved.

it would've been a much more solid, understandable road to take if they prioritized unity. because people don't have to like each other or even know of each other's existence in order to work together.

but instead, SPOP is trying to feed you nothing burgers of dynamics that have absolutely zero chance of developing beyond mediocre humor and, oh, look, Sea Hawk is harassing Mermista again, all for the sake of filling up episodes and justify another season.

if you took out all of the filler, every single pointless scenario, SPOP might've last three seasons.

seriously, no matter how hard i try, i can only remember, like, two episodes from s2, and that's because it's entirely pointless. the entire season, it's pointless. nothing happens. at least, nothing memorable. except for Catra being a hypocrite and, oh, there she goes, chasing after Adora and now Adora's under the equivalent of a substance!

don't know if i'm gonna get flack for this, but this is one of the things i really liked about Shadow Weaver's character. she's not trying to befriend anybody, not purposefully, at least, but she's willing to unify with people. even when it's largely for her own benefit.

and, again, i love close relationships, but the reason why i love her in this show is partially because of how much SPOP tries to convince you there's above-acquaintance familiarity in characters you're not gonna remember for the right reasons, anyway.

relationships = unity, but unity ≠ relationships.

[antispopausandstuff]

SPOP and Arcane made me feel even more strongly about the necessity that toxic // abusive siblinghood, especially sisterhood, should have more awareness. for pretty much the same reasons.

collectively, SPOP and Arcane, though, largely their fandoms, had a problem with viewing the youngest sibling as incapable of real harm, at some point in the story.

the eldest ( Adora // Vi ) can do everything right. do their absolute best to keep their loved ones happy and healthy, no matter what it costs them personally. but the moment they make a mistake, even if it's one they heavily regret seconds later, or even if it's not a true mistake at all and just makes the youngest upset, they're considered villains and face constant backlash.

but the youngest can do everything wrong, no matter the intentions, and be praised for it. it's people like that who make me question if Azula, for example, really... should have a redemption to begin with. yes, she's a child, i get that, but that meant she needed help.

Catra isn't seen as solely in the wrong because she thinks Adora abandoned her, when she has absolutely no reason to believe that, and even said plenty of times herself that she made her own choice to stay with the Horde, that she didn't want to leave.

she isn't seen as in the wrong for her inhumane, sadistic, objectifying abuse towards Adora ever since they were children because she's considered a product of her circumstances ( when apparently no one else is ), doesn't know what she's doing ( despite making it clear multiple times she does ), sees Adora as She-Ra ( she almost never uses "She-Ra" when referring to Adora, no matter what form ), etc., etc., etc. she's a girlboss who can do what she wants until she suddenly does something unforgivable, then it's not her fault.

Jinx isn't seen as in the wrong, partially or otherwise, despite the show's intentions from the very beginning, because Vi made a huge mistake in a moment of weakness after realizing her little sister, accident or not, killed their entire family.

she isn't seen as in the wrong for abusing Sevika, obsessing over Vi, which led to her stalking and kidnapping Caitlyn, bombing an entire bridge, killing dozens, if not hundreds, of people ( esp the one that reminded her of Vi, that's not a red flag at all ), etc., etc., because she's evidently mentally unstable and needs help.

and, strangely, she becomes a... hero to Zaun? i'm gonna be blunt, i don't even remember why. instead of her health declining even further after accidentally killing yet another family member, with his last words literally telling her she's done nothing wrong, she feels almost like a stranger in comparison to how she was in s1. there were very few things that didn't set Jinx off, but she feels like... Harley Quinn-esc in s2? if that makes sense?

what i'm trying to say is that i don't feel like people take sibling abuse as seriously as they should, especially not in media.

one of my favorite films of all time is Prince of Egypt and that's largely because it centers around the shifting family dynamics between Moses and those he loves, including Rameses. it adds a lot of depth to terrible people, one's mistakes, how that makes them reshape their whole world and self view, or how it makes them dig their heels deeper in the sand.

Ramses and Moses never had an abusive relationship. at least, not in the beginning. it was clear as day they loved each other. Moses was quick to defend Rameses when they got in trouble with their father, and Rameses was quick to defend Moses when he killed a man.

and, even despite their complete and total differences, with Rameses not being able to see the Hebrews as anything more than objects, slaves, and Moses being a Hebrew and needing to free his people, their love was still there.

it only became hate, from Rameses' side, after it was clear that Moses wasn't able willing to go back to how life was before. but even in that hate, he was still trying to reach his little brother. until his son was in the midst of it and eventually died.

he blamed Moses, when it was him who was at fault for not listening and not freeing the Hebrews.

Prince of Egypt is a beautiful film, artistically and in its writing, and i highly recommend those who haven't seen it to do so. but this is what i mean.

this film held Rameses accountable. Moses held Rameses accountable. and he didn't even hate his older brother, he still loved him, and it pained him to bring the plague to Egypt, his home.

i think it's easier, in some ways, because Moses is the youngest of the two. society generally tends to think that younger people either don't know any better or can lead to better futures. but they're just as capable of bad as anyone else, and people still don't understand this.

it's why, whenever you hear stories of an older sibling being abused time and time again by their younger one, families will excuse it over and over, constantly giving benefit of the doubt, instead of just holding the younger sibling accountable for their actions.

the same issue applies to SPOP and Arcane. it doesn't fully acknowledge that Catra and Jinx are in the wrong for hurting // abusing Adora and Vi, let alone anyone else.

we need more stories that show all possible truths in families. and one of those truths is that the youngest can still be bad and abusive to anyone, just like anybody else.

[antispopausandstuff]

i've been obsessing over Hordak and Adora's relationship in my rewrite, cuz like.

he's so. he's so dad to her. he's a horrible person, and has done unspeakable things, even to Adora herself, but they still love each other so much that it's gonna destroy them one day.

their ending is gonna be so sad, i get miserable thinking about it.

like, i'm not going to sugarcoat Hordak's crimes, not at all, he's absolutely terrible, killed and enslaved so many people, ruined Etheria, but Adora has two completely different images of him in her mind and it's more of a struggle than she expected to fight.

it's not very much like Silco and Jinx, tbh, but they make me think of Adora and her war criminal father.

[antispopausandstuff]

i just realized.

when Catra scratches the shit out of Adora as little kids.

Adora doesn't even ask why Catra did that.

she asked why Catra hit Lonnie.

y'all.

[antispopausandstuff]

thoughts on this post?

i mean, i agree that adora's protectiveness was a result of her trauma.

but "catra as the protector, adora's light in shining armor"? really? 💀

even in the final season, adora had to constantly protect catra from the CONSEQUENCES OF HER OWN ACTIONS and defend her in front of the princesses. while all catra did was whine about adora not paying enough attention to her and abandoning adora when she needed love and support.

also do you agree that catra is masc/butch? because i always saw her as femme. maybe not the pink, bubbly kind but more of a dark femme vibe. wearing a suit ONCE does not make her butch 😭

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should go without saying, y'all, but don't harass this person if you happen to know who they are, please and thanks!

to start, this is a side tangent, but Adora does not have a martyr complex, but an Atlas complex. similar origins, but different results.

the martyr complex is described as: "a psychological pattern where individuals repeatedly prioritize the needs of others above their own, often to their detriment, while simultaneously expecting recognition or praise for their sacrifices".

the Atlas complex is described as: "a psychological concept describing a feeling of having to carry the weight of the world on one's shoulders, often stemming from childhood experiences of taking on responsibility".

obviously, Adora does not suffer from martyrdom.

anyway, moving on!

while it's ironic this person is talking about mischaracterization of Catra and Adora, when they clearly are doing the same thing, it's not the first time and it definitely won't be the last.

however, i think this is the first time i've seen an SPOP fan be actively annoyed that Catra is more or less baby-ified. first time for everything, i guess.

first off, one should not be solely dependent on another to be able to take proper care of themselves, physically and mentally. it's extremely unhealthy, isolating, and counterproductive. so, right off the bat, OP is already putting them in a shipping dynamic lens while simultaneously being annoyed at others for doing so just because it's not how they do it. at least, that's what i'm seeing.

second off, Catra hates being protected? not really. the only reason Catra would hate that is if Adora wasn't in the position she wants her to be, i.e, in the Horde as a Force Captain.

it's only when she's on her own, when Adora leaves, that Catra actively goes for independence. not because there was no chance otherwise, but because Adora isn't her doll anymore and she has to pick up the slack. Catra becoming a Force Captain instead was incredibly forced and to justify further drama.

basically, if Adora is on her side, Catra is all for being protected. if not, then that's when she's angry and throwing accusations.

third off, yeah, the knight in shining armor comment is laughable. for four seasons ( and beyond ), we've seen Catra go full sadist on Adora. dragging, shoving, mauling, mocking, degrading, and overall just being a complete piece of shit to Adora for *checks notes* leaving an abusive fascist military and asking her to come with.

and if that's not enough, she actively shits on Adora to other characters, too. so, even if fans wanna argue it's purely for battle ( like that makes it any better ), that's straight up not true.

even in s5, this is a problem, because Catra's unnecessarily distant and callous with Adora ( and Scorpia, but nobody cares about that, i guess ), but she's never properly called out for it. it's just Adora being sensitive and unrealistic, even though she literally almost died lol!

Catra protecting the BFS from Melog was weird, forced, and insulting, since she kept just being a dick to the people who saved her life, but whatever. sure. that's one moment, though.

as for the Failsafe, that was barely even protecting. Catra's been watching Shadow Weaver, yet doesn't say anything to Adora until she's about to get in. totally doesn't look like a show-off case. and, up until that point, Adora is the one comforting and reassuring her.

when it's not possible to throw Shadow Weaver into the fire, Catra suddenly doesn't have any other alternative solutions. so much for her being the "smartest" of the BFS. it doesn't even cross her mind to try it out herself. probably wouldn't have worked, but it would at least show that Catra cared enough to try.

otherwise, this "knight in shining armor" nonsense doesn't apply anywhere else. Adora is the one constantly trying to make Catra feel better, safer, and away from anything that could harm her. she's protecting her from the Princesses, when they have every single right to throw her ass into a fighting ring, she's comforting Catra when she gets nausea from Glimmer's teleporting, she's reasoning with Catra that all they have is Shadow Weaver's plan, etc., etc., etc.

it's Adora catering to Catra at almost every single turn, when Catra should be bending over backwards at the fact she's been given an undeserving second chance.

( btw, it annoys me that Catra suddenly has an issue with water and teleportation in s5 to make her more "cat-like" // baby-ified. )

like, she is nowhere near the protector the fandom thinks she is, let alone one at all.

and, finally, i didn't think too heavily on it, buuut...

she does have a similar "style" to Catwoman. sleek, form-fitting clothing with cleavage and other exposure ( like the thigh highs? i think that's what they are? ). if people consider Catwoman feminine, which she is, then, yeah, Catra is, too.

which is funny, 'cause she ( and the show ) bashes on femininity for no reason other than just because.

i personally don't hc Adora as masc // butch and more of an open wardrobe kinda person, and i don't know where OP is getting that the fandom doesn't largely view her as the feminine one, anyway? like, there's exceptions, obviously, but the fandom is obsessed with Adora being in that white dress.

anyway, yes, someone wearing a suit once doesn't automatically make them butch, just like someone wearing a dress once doesn't automatically make them femme.

( lol at the "inherent nurturing and protectiveness" comment )

[antispopausandstuff]

figuring out characters ( heavy )

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i had been thinking, for a while, about Glimmer and Bow ( in my rewritten SPOP universe ) more than Adora, and i hadn't realized it until recently!

but, when i did, i started thinking about why. Adora has a few of my favorite tropes, has a lot of moments i love, and i just love her very much. so, why am i struggling to connect with her?

and it ended up, at least partially, being because Glimmer and Bow make mistakes that have consequences.

i love thinking about Glimmer's actions, her corruption, and how she has to redeem herself and help those she's hurt.

i love thinking about Bow bottling up his emotions, regressing back to nihilism, and falling apart after it all becomes too much, trapping himself in a cycle of isolation and loathing.

but when it comes to Adora, i realize i have a lot of things just happen to her, when she's a character of action. she's literally a child soldier, considered the adoptive daughter of Hordak and Shadow Weaver, was experimented on from a very young age, and has suffered severe, soul-crushing abuse for her entire life.

where's her actions as a result of any of that?

my mind subconsciously made it so Adora was forced to be a hero, when that wasn't what i wanted originally. i wanted to keep the choice she made in the original show, where she had the option to walk away, to continue her way of living, but she decided not to. Adora made the choice not to go back to the Horde.

this is why Adora, in comparison, might be considered a weaker protagonist in the reboot, as she sort of just... stumbles upon the sword. she doesn't actively choose to be She-Ra. if anything, she freaks out at the thought. which, while not a bad writing decision, just doesn't fit She-Ra, in my opinion.

so, first step i'm retaking is making her choose what she wants.

now, as for any actions that have consequences...

i think i'm scared of giving Adora too many flaws because of how the SPOP fandom always perceives the existing ones in the show. she's considered dumb, insensitive, too sensitive, naive, etc., etc., etc., and this has instilled a genuine worry of mine that my Adora will receive the same treatment and i'll eventually just not enjoy writing the story anymore.

but acknowledging this fear is already helping me become more comfortable in treating Adora as a person and not just as a vessel.

what stands out about her? what are her strengths?

she's a leader, first and foremost. always strategic, logical, planning ahead, backup plans have backup plans, pretty sneaky, that kind of thing. open up to alternatives, able to break things down, and properly utilize what's at her disposal.

where could weaknesses lie in those strengths?

it could lead to self-sabotage, where Adora doesn't take her own health, physical or otherwise, in account, having absolutely no issue with dying for the cause, become incredibly rigid and inflexible with herself, increasing stress and hurting her body, and even result in taking every single part of the plan upon herself.

obviously, this could lead to conflict, such as Glimmer or Bow getting frustrated that it looks to be Adora isn't listening, acting like or being a "control freak", constantly putting herself in extreme danger if she deems it necessary, and shutting down and becoming complacent.

aside from that, i want Adora to respond to her crippling guilt from the death of Flutterina's mom, Angella, and many others, regardless of her involvement in them.

i think i want her to become incredibly fragile post-Angella's sacrifice, wanting to do everything she can to keep Glimmer happy and safe, to the point she's a bit obsessive and ignoring almost everything else, even Bow.

truthfully, i want these three to hurt each other. Adora, Glimmer, and Bow are young, all having familial issues, starving for validation and love, habitual self-sabotage, and having to survive instead of live.

yes, at first, the three are doing their best to communicate, but it's not the most optimal. hell, they don't even always know what to communicate, whether it's about themselves or others.

all of them are struck by grief, over love, over time, and over loss. i want them to feel real, to feel like they can mess up and try, try, try to fix things, even if it's not perfect.

mental health is messy, complex, and is nowhere near as simple as black and white. good people can still do bad things, no matter their intentions, and that's a perfectly human thing.

Adora, Glimmer, and Bow responding to their traumas in the way they do don't necessarily make them bad people. it just makes them people. and i want to emphasize that throughout their stories.

[antispopausandstuff]

a song that i feel can depict Adora's POV of her relationship with Catra pre-s3 finale ( and a bit of the nonsense that is s5 ) is 'Windswept' by Crywolf.

the best way i can think of to describe the song is it feels like experiencing anemoia for a relationship and all it entails that you never had, and the intense melancholic, bittersweet, and conflicting emotions one can get swept in.

i'm really interested in making an AMV, animatic, or even a fanfic to this song, as i really do feel like it perfectly encapsulates, at the very least, the common experience in victims of nostalgia for something that never was and never has been real, and how deeply traumatizing that can be for one to come to terms with.

sort of feels like a character study. obviously, it's not specifically for Adora and Catra, but that's what it makes me feel.

wanna know, if anyone's interested in listening to it or already has, how you guys feel about the song!

[antispopausandstuff]

the SPOP fandom has instilled a genuine worry that if i write characters having moments of silliness // goofiness, original or in fanwork, they'll automatically be labeled as stupid.

i love writing serious stories, but i enjoy light-hearted, ( mostly ) harmless scenarios, too, where characters make a too quick decision, believe a myth, or have a simple misunderstanding. they can be funny, cute, or just a breath of fresh air.

yet, because of this fandom ( including others, but the SPOP fandom was the first time it was nailed into my brain, specifically, and it's the main one for me ), i always have second thoughts on writing scenes like that. people want multifaceted, real characters, but then always dumb them down into tropes.

and, honestly, i might get flack for this, but it's come to the point where it feels there's an ableist or patronizing undertone to it, especially with characters who struggle with social cues and aren't immediately noticeably labeled as neurodivergent, sheltered, etc.

naive? stupid.

oblivious at times? stupid.

short-tempered? stupid.

impulsive? stupid.

get something 'obviously' wrong? stupid.

poor decision making? stupid.

like, unless the character(s) obviously established as smart, anything that isn't the 'best' for them to do instantly means they're dumb in some way or form. and, even then, smart characters are still called stupid for not understanding certain things.

i still remember when one of the SPOP VAs ( Adora's, i'm p sure ) said that Entrapta would originally be a Trump supporter until someone explained to her what that would mean. because she's autistic. and i was so fucking insulted by that.

so, trust me, not only is it annoying, but it can just be downright dehumanizing for this to happen.

you can't say you want multi-faceted characters, then immediately force them into a box because, gasp, they act goofy sometimes!

are you for real?

[antispopausandstuff]

hey, y'all!

new info for any autistic characters you may be writing!

sensory overload doesn't just have to be:

mind fog // static // mind being pulled in different directions

body sweating // heating up

panic attack adjacent, if not directly a panic attack ( fast breathing, tears, may need weight or contact )

possible aversion or need for touch

exhaustion

it can also be:

immense sweating ( like, everywhere )

kaleidoscope vision // inverse vision ( altered colors and shapes )

stomach cramping ( may feel like you'll have diarrhea )

intense nausea ( may lead to vomiting )

lack of feeling in limbs // can't walk

source - yours truly had the latter on their brother's birthday a few days ago and felt incredibly guilty about it for the rest of the day ( he and my ma told me multiple times that it's okay and my safety is more important ) ( but my autism // anxiety // OCD did not wanna let go of the guilt ) ( i'm okay now, though, and i'm gonna get my lil bro a present once i can )

for those who wanna know, and as a warning to proceed with caution, we went to Meow Wolf. i survived for maybe 3 minutes, not including the bathroom.

it's a really pretty, psychedelic place, but my ma told me my sensory overload was likely from the unknown of the place ( as Meow Wolf's whole thing is kinda having different 'portals' and levels // stages ). so, even though i thought it was cool and wasn't worried, my body processed it very differently.

your mind and body don't always connect ^^;