#I do understand why this one is divisive for people though. I choose to look at it through a character/humourous lens.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Kiss Kiss Fallen Tree!

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[drakaripykiros130ac]

What is it with this Targaryens are blood supremacists bullshit?

Let’s make some things clear right now:

1. Targaryen blood is superior. It’s not some sort of twisted Nazi belief, like some people make it out to be. It’s actual fact.

Sue the Targaryens for constantly pointing that out and lacking modesty. It doesn’t make it less true.

Their blood gives them godly features and the ability to ride dragons. The hypocrisy of Andals never ceases to amaze me: they have a tendency to complain about how Targaryens have ‘queer customs’ but what actually bothers them is that they choose to keep their ‘superior blood’ within their family and not share it with others. Andals criticize Targaryens for being different and yet trample over one another for a chance to marry into their family so that their offspring would have godly features and ride dragons. If Targaryens are so “bad”, then why don’t Andals keep to themselves too?

2. When did it become an actual problem to want to stick to your own kind?

Valyrians are not originally from Westeros. Their home was destroyed. They found another home, of people who constantly judge them and look at them differently despite hundreds of years after conquest.

Despite the many flaws in the show, there is something that actually stuck with me: when Daemon said, “Valyria is gone. We don’t belong anywhere.”

This actually broke my heart a little and got me thinking: how many Targaryens actually felt like strangers in their own home despite having been born and raised there?

I mean, Andals constantly treat them differently and yet blame them for wanting to stick to their own Valyrian kind (Targaryens, Velaryons and Celtigars).

The Conquest in itself is no excuse. The Kingdoms were divided and at constant war with one another, which destroyed the smallfolk. The Targaryens took away their individual powers, united the Kingdoms and gave the people a better chance at peace. The Andals are pissed because they lost their autonomy? Well, considering what they used that autonomy for, they shouldn’t have had it in the first place.

I applaud the Targaryens for taking charge and conquering Westeros for a better future. I mean, do you honestly believe that they would have been accepted in Westeros if they hadn’t? That they would have showed up with their dragons, asked to be a part of the Andals’ world and they would have been accepted with hugs and kisses? Don’t make me laugh. They would have never survived if the Andals kept control of Westeros.

And do keep in mind that if their intentions were actually bad, the Targaryens would have turned Westeros into the new Valyria. They didn’t do that though, did they? They even accepted and converted to their faith.

3. Valyrians are actually attracted to their own kind. So what? It’s their custom and nature. It’s the one thing they asked for. The only exception. To be able to keep their traditions of marrying within their family, not only in order to keep their blood pure for the purpose of controlling dragons, but also because they feel comfortable with one another. They connect with one another. They don’t want to lose ties with their true home, with their history, language, culture etc.

Andals will never be able to understand Valyrians. It’s called having a connection with someone. It can be both physical and emotional (like it was with Daemon and Rhaenyra). Why is that such a crime?

Targaryens are constantly criticized for wanting to stick to their own kind, yet the Andals have been treating them like strangers for hundreds of years simply because they are different.

Who is the blood supremacist here?

Who are the ones who constantly discriminate and create the division lines? Answer: the Andals.

[rosecelebi]

Now that Fire Emblem Heroes has opened it's yearly Choose Your Legends voting period.... I am kindly asking you to consider sparing a vote (or two!) to two of my favorites in the series: F!Robin and Sigurd!

Why?

Well let's start with Robin,

Robin fans won out last year when their Male counterpart won the male division of CYL 7 alongside Soren and I'm sure many F!Robin fans (myself included) helped him reach that victory by voting, just as we did in previous years with Chrom and A!Tiki. F!Robin has waited for her time to shine and has supported her competition for several years now. It's time for her to receive the Awakening vote love!

If that wasn't enough to sway you, let's look at F!Robin's legacy in FEH.

1. Her base version was a year 1 grail unit with a mediocre (affectionate) refine that takes max investment to work around

2. Her summer alt is a year one seasonal with a bad weapon and book 1 era stats (but she sure is cute!)

3. Her legendary alt isn't even her- it's Grima. Grima took away her chance at being a legendary unit

4. Her Halloween alt is another Grima alt. She didn't even get to participate in Halloween because Grima took the spot :(

5. Her Valentine's alt is adorable but still a seasonal locked unit

6. Her rearmed version is yet another Grima.

HALF of all F!Robin's in FEH are Grima alts. There is no F!Robin available to summon in the normal 4/5 star pool. Getting a brave alt would be a big deal for her and her fans.

Please, spare a vote to the best tactician around, F!Robin!

~

Now, let's talk about Sigurd

Sigurd comes from FE4, Genealogy of the Holy War, a game I know many of you may not have played yet. That's okay though! I get it! It's a bit old and jank to play and you need to emulate it with a translation patch if you don't understand Japanese. So I'm gonna explain who this man is to you....

Sigurd is the heir to house Chalphy and a descent of the crusader Baldr in Judgral, which makes him kind of a big deal. Throughout his game, he makes allies with many people throughout Judgral in an attempt to unify and fight back against the rising corruption.

Along his journey, he meets Deirdre and the two fall in love and end up having a son together, Seliph. Sigurd is devoted to his family and loves Deirdre more than anything in the world. Sigurd is a family man. Look at this Cipher art if you need more explanation:

(*SPOILERS ahead for FE4, but FEH and Engage already spoiled this so if you somehow don't know what happens to Sigurd, maybe stop reading here*)

Tragedy befalls the couple not long after their son is born... Deirdre is kidnapped and her memories are wiped clean as she is needed for a sinister plot... Her holy blood is needed to help the Loptous cult resurrect their dark God so they use Deirdre as a pawn and marry her off to Arvis.

Sigurd is distraught with his wife gone and searches and searches for her but ultimately must continue through on his plans. He returns to his home and is met by Arvis, the Duke of Velthomer, and the descendant of the imperial family. He welcomes them in as a deceitful trick and declares Sigurd a traitor and calls for his execution. Before he issues the order, Arvis lets Sigurd meet his new wife- Deirdre as a sick and twisted punishment. With that, Arvis calls down Valflame and kills Sigurd and many of his army members.

Sigurd's legacy is carried by his son, Seliph, who will free Judgral from the horrors that the dark cult inflicted many years later.

~

So that was heavy. But do you understand why he's such a compelling character??? He has such an unfortunate heroes tale, but FEH let's us see him again and be able to reunite him with his love and his son.

Seliph got his own brave alt two years ago in CYL 6 and it feels right for it to be his father's time to step up and shine as a brave hero.

Let's look at Sigurd's legacy in FEH:

1. His base version is a year 1 sword cavalier who's a bit outdated but not unusable by any means with proper skill investment

2. His duo dancer alt is Deirdre is one of the best arts in the game and I won't let anyone convince me otherwise

3. His Legendary alt was a meta threat at one point in time and the art is gorgeous

4. Lastly, this year he got his second seasonal alt, a tea time Butler alt that just cute. He definitely is serving tea for Deirdre and making sure she's happy.

A brave alt just seems perfectly fitting for him at this point!

~

In conclusion, these are two characters who are ready for their moment to shine in FEH with a brave alt. They've waited for their friends or family members to get there first and now it's (potentially) their time for the brave win. Thank you for reading all this and may the CYL odds be in our favor!

TLDR: Vote for F!Robin and Sigurd in CYL 8!

[z0-iq]

About LGBT.

LGBT is a much-discussed topic right now, and I thought, why don't I put my five words in on it.

Actually, the idea of this post came to me after watching the cartoon "Nimona", which I didn't like, to be honest. Before watching it, I saw that it was a very progressive film, but after watching it, I wouldn't say that. I have nothing against people of non-traditional orientation in the main roles, but in this cartoon it is clear that the authors did not want to reveal this topic, but simply added it in order to look tolerant in the eyes of investors, is reminded of this too often and straight .

Some may say that I'm just a homophobe and don't accept people of a different orientation, but that's not true, in my opinion . To prove this, I will give an example of the correct display of people of non-traditional orientation. An example will be from the work of One Piece, namely characters such as Bon Chan and Ivankov. When you see them for the first time, you might think that they are some kind of clowns, and in general, they insult the entire community LGBT with his caricature view . But if you look further, you can understand that Such caricatures were chosen on purpose to show that a person should not be judged by his appearance and orientation, A person should be judged by his actions (same Bon Chan is one of the best and most heroic characters in all of One Piece, who has sacrificed himself for others more than once, even though he looks like some kind of pervert).

My personal opinion is that I don't care about a person's orientation, I will judge him only by his actions, and the same applies to race and nationality, after all, just because a person is a black skin color doesn't automatically make them a gangster, a drug dealer, or a basketball player, just as just because a person isn't German doesn't mean they're a Nazi who drinks beer every day. It is a trivial simple idea that a person is always a human being, after all, we are all of the same kind, he is distinguished from others only by his actions.

The only thing I don't understand is stories where employers, for example, choose a person not by their skill level, but by gender and race. To put it this way: the very division of people into groups, according to the signs described above, breaks the whole essence of equality, because equality is when people do not pay attention to, say, a person's gender, and here we get a situation where people are still divided into groups, giving one of them prioritythat is fundamentally the wrong approach

I also want to say that I think that this whole topic of supporting people of non-traditional orientation in countries like the USA makes almost no sense, because people there no longer reject gays in society and do not consider them somehow inappropriate. But where help is needed is in countries like Afghanistan , where if you are not of traditional orientation, you will face the death penalty.

I hope I've expressed my point well, otherwise I have problems with it. If you want to argue with me, or express your point of view, then the comments are always open, I always try to correct my mistakes.

I'm not gay, I'll clarify right away 🐢

[anamericangirl]

I remember seeing this post about a design for a transsexual flag. I thought the new stripe meanings were a good idea, and I wanted to ask if you could choose, you would prefer people using this flag instead of the other trans flag, since that one has some negative implications nowadays since it’s attached to the transgender movement.

https://www.tumblr.com/theconstitutionisgayculture/719699006978129920

Also, I have additional questions since I find this viewpoint extremely interesting:

I don’t know much about trans terms, but I thought transsexual was supposed to be a derogatory term for the group, or was it just a regular term/original name before getting replaced with transgender?

Would you have less beef with the whole “community” if they didn’t say that some procedures/side effects are reversible, were less aggressive about society affirming them, didn’t involve children/minors, or didn’t see surgeries, like phalloplasty, as a good idea (I find the idea extremely scary, but that might also partly be my fear of surgical procedures)? I’ve also seen Blaire White listed in both the link and the answered ask I saw from you (I’d have to look for the link but don’t want to make this any longer), the former saying that she accepts that even though she isn’t biologically a woman, she still enjoys living as the opposite sex and feels secure in her transition, so I’m assuming that she’s a positive example?

I’ve seen some reblogs about how top surgeries can also be harmful, and I can understand why since most surgeries will be very difficult to live with afterwards, but in what ways is it more risky than beneficial, and what is something you think would be a better alternative, if there is one?

Why do you think that there isn’t any medication for true gender dysphoria yet? One of the things I’ve read actually made me think about that. If it’s considered a mental illness, then why isn’t there any evident research for creating a medication for it?

Other than that, hope you’re doing well so far

Personally, I'm kind of over the idea of pride flags in general. But if people want a transexual flag then that one seems like a nicer idea to me and isn't so divisive.

1.I honestly don't know what terms are supposed to be derogatory or offensive anymore lol. They change so fast and no one in the community even agrees so I really don't know. If I remember correctly it wasn't that long ago that it was used pretty regularly so I'm sure it's offensive™ now but I wouldn't know why.

2. Yeah, I'd have essentially no problem with them at all if they didn't spread disinformation, aggressively go after people for not agreeing with them and prey on children. Those are really my only issues with them. I might not personally agree with their ideology and think they make some bad decisions but I wouldn’t be actively against them as a community if they didn't use their transness as an excuse to censor people, lie, and target children. But I absolutely would consider Blaire White a rare positive example. Even if Blaire didn't acknowledge the reality of being a biological male and knows that no matter the amount of procedures or treatments her gender can't be changed that's not necessary to just be a decent person. Which Blaire White is.

3. I think top surgery is more risky than beneficial because it comes with a physical health risks. It's a major surgery and the only benefit of getting it in the context of a sex change is that it makes you feel more like the gender you want to be. It doesn't have benefits on its own merit. So on one hand it's a major surgery that is irreversible and is a drastic change to the body that comes with possible physical health risks but on the other it might give you some superficial peace of mind. And that's why it should only be an option for adults.

4. That's a good question and honestly there's a lot of reasons I think could contribute to that. First, mental illnesses are hard to treat and often a medication doesn't do much other than alleviate symptoms. Therapy is probably the best option for any type of dysphoria in my opinion because dysphoria can go away and most of the time does if you actually seek therapy and treatment rather than "affirmation." I've seen studies done on detransitioners and the main reason given as to why they detransitioned was they realized their dysphoria was related to "other issues" which is something people typically find out in therapy. Another reason I think there's not much headway in a medication for gender dysphoria is financial incentive. Medical and gender affirming institutions get a big check for every one child who transitions and they're more interested in making money than anything else. It's not healthcare at this point. It's just activism.

[pansy-picnics]

Okay hi! I first want to apologize for how long this will be, but I just found your page and am sort of new to tumblr.

For one, your art is amazzingggg! Every fandom you're in is heavily blessed. It's especially awesome for myself as a tts geek, to see so many dedicated to creating content. As far as the unknighted ship goes, from what I can tell, and this may be totally wrong so please correct me if it is, you want more people to be in the ship? I 100% agree that the division in this fandom is honestly detrimental to its growth, however, I feel like it keeps the peace in a way.

I myself like new dream and am fine with the poly ship, but, i was speaking with a friend who doesn't ship unkighted and cassunzel at all. They were explaining to me how it seems like most of the unknighted shippers do prefer cassunzel, which is again fine. I'm not sure if that's a fact through and through but the sentiment is there. But it got me thinking about how that perception in itself could disuade newcomers who are more into the Eugene/Rapunzel relationship? As far as division goes, I mean.

Again it's no problem to have favorites, in fact it's actually great that this fandom has so many spaces to include people who have a particular liking to any one thing, but it's rare to see anyone here really neutral on pairings if that makes sense? I know those people exist, but even beyond ships, our favorite characters, platonic relationships, and much more are pushed usually, very individually.

Love Cass? Great there's a ton of blogs for that! Rapunzel? Eugene? Varian? So many blogs for them too with art, concepts, etc! But with this fandom being so tiny- and that other weird anon we shall not mention by name, I think as long as people aren't flat out rude to each other, maybe a little separation is alright. Not everyone mingles well together. Maybe it's for the better?

I hope this wasn't annoying to read oops- but I am interested to hear your thoughts, if you feel comfortable responding.

oh no absolutely and i really enjoy these kinds of discussions!! i 100% agree lol and i’ve never meant to make it seem like i don’t. the distance between the fandom is absolutely what keeps the peace and as much as i SAY i want people to branch out more i know if it actually happened it would probably just leave us with even more division and infighting LOL😭

the neutrality is VERY rare and it’s honestly the only reason i’m so passionate about it, because i’ve never fallen into any of those divisions and it makes it really hard to find likeminded people!!! it’s why i put so much effort into my characterizations and how i portray all the dynamics, it tends to cater to everyone because i’ve never been able to pick and choose favorites myself haha

i would love for more people to find enjoyment in uknighted dream especially, since the dynamic is so important to me, but i totally understand it’s just not everyones thing and thats cool too!! :) i’m a bit surprised about the idea that most of us prefer cassunzel though, i never thought about it that way especially since i’ve never had a preference myself. i do sometimes find myself drawing cassunzel more, but that’s less because i prefer them over new dream and moreso because i feel the need to be super upfront about it…💀 i’ve had a lot of new dream fans comment on my uknighted dream art who seem to COMPLETELY miss the point and/or just disregard cass entirely. when i try to be subtle abt it most people don’t acknowledge it so most of my art is just me like violently pointing to them like LOOK!! she’s in love with BOTH of them!!! THEY’RE KISSING!!!!

as someone who’s been super involved with the uknighted dream community i’ve never felt like any of us really have a “preference”, a lot of us are hardcore cassunzel fans but that’s a given cuz that’s usually what drives us to the polyam ship in the first place. i have seen a lot of people argue that like “its just an excuse to ship new dream and cassunzel at the same time” and like….Yeah???? thats kind of the point??? 😭 i really don’t understand how people make it out to be a BAD thing bc like. the point of fandom is just to do whatever and have fun. so what if we wanna ship two pairings at the same time. why NOT just shove them into a polycule

it’s not like cass and eugene don’t have chemistry either???? they obviously care about each other and they don’t get along solely for rapunzel!!! i can’t speak for all ukd fans obviously but i think in my experience most of us did just start off “shipping two things at the same time” but with all the substance involved they VERY quickly become a set. cass and eugene’s dynamic whether platonic or romantic is really fun to explore and they all bounce so well off of each other i think it’s perfect!! they all just mean so much to me ok. they’re all equals and at the end of the day that’s really what i try to portray most in my work :3

[ginza-division]

Masa's Thoughts on Chiyoda Division

Fusao Ise

"Ah, Mr. Ise. A bright, intellectual man. I believe some of our equipment here in the church, our loudspeakers and such, were all manufactured by his company, Wonder⇓anD Sound Systems. Brilliant company, and brilliant equipment, if I do say so myself. You are truly an amazing man, Mr. Ise. Truly, truly, amazing, indeed." Masa says all this with a smile on his face. He sits down at a desk, placing his hands in front of him, still smiling. He then sighs, almost with a regretful tone.

"It's because of your intellect and enthusiasm that I respect you so much. ...And it's because of that, that I simply cannot understand why, for the life of me, you'd choose to work against me instead of with me to create a new and more perfect world. You insult my vision, my work, my church, call me out of my name, and try to prevent me from bringing more followers into the fold. If those were the only issues, I could have easily forgiven you. Because believe it or not, Mr. Ise, all of those things I am quite used to. I am quite used to dealing with the ignorant and those who don't fully understand my methods. And as I stated, if those were your only sins, I could have easily let them fall to the wayside."

"...But." Masa's voice takes a sudden change as a frown appears on his face. "The one thing I cannot forgive you is your heinous acts against my good friend, Eiji Noguchi. Eiji-san and I... we have a mutual relationship. And though he and I don't always agree, we are friends, as well as partners. And if you aren't aware of this, Mr. Ise, it's that I look out for my friends. Whatever problems or troubles they are going through, I do my best to help solve them. So to hear that you have been giving him no end of trouble... it upsets me. It upset me... very, very much."

"I don't know what your issues with Mr. Noguchi are, Mr. Ise. And to be perfectly honest, I do not care. But I strongly advise that you take whatever issues or problems you have him and get over them. If not, I won't be responsible if anything... untoward happens to happen to your company. Do give that some thought."

Raiden Otoha

"Raiden, my old friend!" Masa gives a small grin at the self-proclaimed scientist. "A shame you ran off the way you did. Juu was so upset, as was I. You were probably one of the few people who managed to get away from her, and she didn't like that. Not one bit. So... she, unfortunately, took out her anger and frustration on your dear older brother. My apologies for that. I assure you, his injuries weren't as bad as they looked! ...Well, okay, they weren't as bad as they seemed. ...Actually, you know what? Forget I said any of that. It's a sin to lie after all. Plus, I feel I'm doing Juu and my followers a disservice by saying that. I'll just say this, instead: what happened to him wasn't meant to happen, but it did. And if you need someone to blame for that, then I suggest you look in a mirror."

"I understand you may feel anger, or get a sense that what happened to your kin was wrong. But I've always found that one should always strive to look on the positive side of things. For all that your brother went through, he proved one thing: he was far stronger than you could ever hope to be. The fact he survived what happened to him proves it. ...But do not worry, my child. For I promise you, at the D.R.B., I shall extend to you the exact same punishment. And when it is over, I shall leave your fate to Ippei. He's been wanting to get his hands on you for the longest now."

Chiyuri Seiguni

"A curious child, if I must say so. Though he looks human, he lacks that, shall we say, spark that makes him as such. Of course, I mean that in as a positive manner as I can. After all, far be it for me to judge a child. I'd have to like to have made him one of my followers, but it seems my old friend, Raiden, persuaded him not to. Such a shame. I wanted to find out more about him, not only to learn of his past, but also because Oki, himself, was interested in him, which was a shock. Apparently, Oki thinks that he knows this boy from somewhere, but cannot recall where. Perhaps he knows something about the two years that Oki has been gone. If that is true, then I certainly need to make contact with him as soon as possible, regardless of what Raiden says or thinks."

狂音INC.

"Quite a fascinating team you've come up with, Raiden. A shame you couldn't see past your own ego or your own foolishness. If you had, we could have done amazing things together, along with your brother. But, if I must dirty my hands to get you to open your eyes and teach you a lesson, then so be it. I shall see you at the D.R.B., old friend. I'm certain our match will be one to remember. I'm going to provide you and your team with my very best scriptures."

[twilightmalachite]

Twin Peaks - factorization 7

Author: Akira

Characters: Hiiro, Kaoru, Hinata, Yuuta

Translator: Mika Enstars

Proofers: 310mc & feesh

"I don’t think there would be any difference between the two, actually! They both have the same nutritional value and such." "You sure do just say things, huh, Hiiro-kun."

Season: Autumn

Location: Shopping District

1 hour later, following the Twin Peaks rehearsal…

Kaoru: Hmmm. I did hear that 2wink was in a complication of sorts, but it seems like things have gotten crazier while I was looking away, huh?

Yuuta: C’mon, that’s because you always keep your eyes away from what really matters!

Hinata: I wanted you to only have eyes for me for eternity![1]

Kaoru: Huh, what? It’s my fault?

Hehe, I don’t really get it, but I’m glad the both of you seem to be relaxed enough for banter.

You were saying stuff about a “showdown between the twins”, so I had thought it’d be one of those fraught inter-unit divisions that Yumenosaki would have.

Hinata: An inter-unit division would just divide us into one and one person, though~, so to outsiders, it would basically look to be just siblings fighting.

Yuuta: Though, that’s also probably the reason why before the Setsubun Festival, our problems weren’t taken very seriously by the people around us.

Hinata: Being taken seriously sure is a double-edged sword, huh~. But to be fair, sibling arguments are usually considered a family matter.

Yuuta: And it’s common sense in this country to not meddle with that kind of business. It’s polite nonintervention.

Hiiro: Hmm. I’ve never heard of that before. I’m so glad to learn more and more things by speaking to you guys.

Yuuta: (whispering) The way Hiiro-kun just grows at an explosive speed like it’s nothing is a li’l scary, isn’t it?

Hinata: (whispering) It’s like a gigantic truck rushing in from behind you at top speed, right?!

Yuuta: (whispering) In all honesty though, I think that’s the exact same impression we should give to other people.

Hinata: (whispering) But nobody ever gets jealous or wary of us~. I guess it’s ‘cause we do our best to look that way, but I do feel like we aren’t taken seriously because of it.

Kaoru: …? Anyways, I don’t really know why I’m doing this, but lemme run over everything again.

Hinata: Awwh! That’s obviously ‘cause you’re surprisingly considerate, Hakaze-senpai~! ♪

Yuuta: Yes! That’s exa~ctly why I like him sooo much! I wonder if he got it from Sakuma-senpai’s eager-to-meddle nature~?

Kaoru: Right. So, to simply put, 2wink was invited to perform on the music program Volcano Island—so famous, even I know of it.

Hiiro: Huh, so that’s what its name is!

Kaoru:: You’re involved yet you don’t even know that much…?

Anyways, they’re only letting one person participate at this Volcano Island.

And so, you’re holding a contest to decide who from 2wink will perform in the program, correct?

Hinata: Spot on~! We can’t decide on our own since we just end up trying to give the spot to each other. So, we’re letting a third party make the call!

Yuuta: And besides, we’re idols, we should let our fans choose what they think is the best option, right?

And that’s why we’re having a live showdown, Yumenosaki-style! That’s our Twin Peaks!

Hinata: That’s right! I didn’t want to fight against Yuuta-kun, honestly, buuut…

Either way we’ll be doing a battle live, and let the audience decide who is better by voting with their light sticks.

Yuuta: It’s a music program, right~? So the one with the better singing—or rather, the better live performance should appear!

Hinata: Heheh, so tell us, whatcha think about our perfect plan?!

Kaoru: Right. I understand what you’re going for, but... y’see, there’s a couple holes in your approach.

Hinata: How can that be?!

Yuuta: Oh-ho! Then by all means, show me these holes you speak of…!

Kaoru: Well~ I dunno, you guys seem to be a bit too chill about this… Not that I’m saying things have to be as weighty as last winter, but…

While I do think that friendly and carefree vibes is one of 2wink’s best qualities…

Like, that’s your thing, right?

But with a situation like this, no matter how carefree you make it out to be, your fans will be taking it seriously.

Only one of the twins from 2wink will be entrusted with an important role—That’s a pretty cruel deal, no matter how you look at it.

It would be incredibly stressful to know that their vote could mean the difference between the twins’ fates, wouldn’t it?

Yuuta: Well, I do see where you’re coming from... Since we’re pushing important choices that we should be making onto other people.

Hinata: Something like this is no laughing matter, so for now we’re just saying it’s just some “playful showdown for fun” and nothing more.

Kaoru: If you do that, then it’ll hurt them even more when they find out the truth later.

Fans aren’t stupid, and unlike us who were brought up in Yumenosaki, they’re delicate and sensitive.

It’s like feeling horrible because you were only told that the food was poisoned after you ate it without much thought.. It’ll hurt 2wink’s reputation.

Yuuta: Hmm… That’s also true, I didn’t think about that.

Hinata: “Our” popularity would go down, even if we were able to perform on a famous music program, huh… We’d be mistaking means for ends, wouldn’t we.

Kaoru: And well, not to speak on behalf of the general public, but…

From the perspective of anyone who doesn’t know you two very well, you guys are more or less completely indistinguishable.

Even if you guys go onstage for a battle live, they won’t be able to tell who is who in the first place, so you won’t really be able to rely on the votes.

Yuuta: Y-You’re right! We miscalculated~!

Hinata: Our selling point as twins has bitten us back~!

Now that you mention it, when it comes to our song repertoire and dance choreo, our output would be almost the same. It’d be difficult for an amateur to choose which one of us is better just by watching, wouldn’t it~?

Yuuta: It’s like trying to figure out the male chick from the female chick, isn’t it[2]… It’s pretty tricky for ordinary people to distinguish other living things from one another.

Hiiro: I don’t think there would be any difference between the two, actually! They both have the same nutritional value and such.

Hinata: You sure do just say things, huh, Hiiro-kun.

…In the end, our results will be the same regardless of whether it’s Yuuta-kun or I who appears on the program, and I guess the program doesn’t care who participates, either, but…

Yuuta: We care.

That’s why we thought to compete against each other Yumenosaki-style, to find out who’s better—to decide which choice would be “correct”.

Hinata: I didn’t feel like the concept itself was bad, but it’s not really going well… I guess we just can’t do things well by the book either, huh…?

← prev | story directory | next →

Hinata likes to sometimes jokingly slip into a “needy girlfriend” persona to tease others with. It’s characterized by his switch to the “atai” pronoun, which is a shortened, “sluggish” version of the feminine pronoun “atashi”.

Male and female chicks are more or less indistinguishable and need a trained eye in order to tell them apart. So much that “Professional Chicken Sexers” are highly valued in the industry!

[dojae-huh]

oh im sad that you dislike the new additions to the jaedo tag :( hopefully you'll find something to your tastes. but to put my defender-of-fanfic-writers cap on, in aus some degree of ooc is completely understandable. because they aren't the real jaedo, and aus bend the reality of the characters to fit narratives. just dont make them 100% ocs cuz then its no fun anymore. i guess im lenient hehe. but one of the reasons i rarely read canon compliant is because the ooc becomes too glaring in that case. aus have wiggle room.

about dotae: they were only winning the poll until the jaeyongers got wind of it, then literally jaeyong surpassed everyone else by a huge margin and when i saw it last/near the end it was almost 5k votes. dotae are too platonic to be a strong contender. the friendship rings felt like fanservice and never mentioned or used again since then. feels... contrived? they'll always have their moments though bc they are besties, so shippers will be fed. at least their interactions are not as awkward as some other ships.

now lets get cracky. what is up with jaerose? since you keep up with jaehyun, i wonder if you know how this ship started? (i searched the blog for it and only found one post about it). because i cant trace it back to any particular moment. is it just pure delusion? it seems so popular. there are so many incredible edits of them lol. they actually would look cute together, if jaehyun wasn't so... obviously head over heels for a man.

anyway jaedo is in the small moments people dont usually catch, not on the overt fanservice idols do purposely. that's why it isnt that popular, i guess. which is fine in the end of the day. they have each other and that's what truly matters.

Of course AU setting will change some character traits or the level of their expression (nurture), that's the point of an AU (what if). However, certain core characteristics (nature) should always stay for a character with a name of a real person/existent character to be recogniseable.

It's interesting that you call DoTae "too platonic", when I had debates here on the blog about Taeyong being gay/bi and being in love with Doyoung. DoTae is a ship like any other, there are shippers who believe in the couple (on the level shippers usually do, "in pretence") or who fight over top/bottom division.

Fanservice for 6k USD? Lol. Doyoung wore the ring for a long time and posted a photo of it when he wrote about Taeyong staying behind at home and healing. Tae took the ring for an important photoshoot. However, Tae didn't like that Do used the rings to cover up JaeDo, he wanted smth for them only. I guess with time Do got the memo. I don't think Do fulfilled Tae's original desire to have friendship rings correctly (maybe the model, maybe choosing them alone without Tae, showing it to fans, gifting them before going away to spend time with Jae, etc).

NCT 127 and BP debuted same year, as same gen and from the big3 neos are shipped with BP girls. I think JaeRose gained following when Jae hosted on Inkigayo. He looked at her, she looked at him, her friends giggled knowingly... Some ships gain popularity just because, without a real reason, just right place and time, good content creators, bored fans, "they look good together", whatever.

[hungergameshyperfixation]

It's Reaping Day! May the odds be ever in your favor.

Do you think it’s significant that the Reaping is on USA's Independence Day? Why do you think Suzanne Collins choose this date?

Do you think Reaping of 74th Hunger Games is rigged? Yes/No? Why?

If the Reaping could be rigged. Who do you think participate in this process?

Thank you.

YAY

(Long ass reply so I’ll try to divide it into sections)

~~~

I definitely do think it’s significant that Reaping Day is on July 4th, BUT I’m not sure where I stand on whether that was an intentional choice by the leaders in Panem. If that makes sense.

I 100% believe Suzanne Collins did it on purpose for the readers to understand (she’s like slapping us in the face with the book lmao), but I don’t know if I headcanon that the leaders in Panem intentionally chose that date (and what for). I’m actually really hoping that we’ll learn a bit more about this in SotR!

I think one of the main interests for me with the world of Panem IS the world of Panem—we know that the characters know they live in what was once North America (Katniss and everyone else probably knows a VERY propagandized version of history, though). But we still don’t know the extent of what ‘people behind the scenes’ know. I think (and hope) that this will be covered/briefly mentioned in Sunrise on the Reaping, with the focus being propaganda and all that.

I can’t speak on the exact WHY Suzanne Collins chose this date, but I do have some thoughts and interpretations. This arguably deserves its own mini essay lol but to keep it short…

One could say that it’s just such a clear contrast/strong imagery of The Hunger Games itself. Regardless of your thoughts on the US Independence Day (and America in general, really), July 4th has very CLEAR ideas associated with it: patriotism, freedom, celebration, etc etc (I won’t deny that I’m pretty left leaning, so I have strong opinions about those things irl, but I won’t fully go into it here). I had started to type out a lot of rambles, but to put it simply: I think July 4th as Reaping Day is because the holiday (that we know) acts as a mirror to what Reaping Day (and The Hunger Games themselves) represents.

The fervor we see, the excitement,

It’s considered a celebration to some, while to others it’s a representation of everything that’s wrong. One could even say it’s divisive, like how it is here.

The excessive and wild displays of patriotism (maybe I’m letting my own opinions slip through, sorry!). I think that’s how we can see it in regards to the era that Katniss and Peeta live in (74th Games, and the status of the Capitol at that point in time).

BUT looking at the time in tbosas, the Capitol was NOT as rich and luxurious; the wealth and power there looked different. It felt different. Whereas we see the excessive and “freakish” lifestyle the Capitol citizens live during 74th games time period, the nation during the 10th games was still recovering from a war. The culture was different. (Plus, we do see Panem through two different characters: Katniss and Coriolanus Snow. That impacts our perceptions too)

So, during tbosas, I think reaping day being July 4th is a nod to the darker side of nationalism and patriotism (the reality of the after effects of war, the Capitol in the ripe early stages of decay before fascism takes over). The resentment shown for the districts, the broader context. I view it more as implicit.

And during Katniss’s time, I think it can be paralleled to the patriotism we see as well as a representation of the “excessive.” Of the fervor that’s almost sickening to witness from Capitol citizens. The blindness to the horrors staring them in the face—the rejection of reality while also readily encouraging the cycle. I view it more as explicit here.

The Hunger Games act as a nationalist holiday, really.

~~~

I actually don’t think the 74th games are rigged! At least, not in district twelve. They could be, and I’m not opposed to the AU/concept, but unless Suzanne Collins heavily implies/confirms it, my answer lies on ‘no.’

I think them being rigged can possibly undermine some of the messaging in the series. I personally side with the opinion that the Reapings being random is part of the point.

It also makes sense with Snow’s character and worldview, if you choose to view it through him being in control of the games to some extent.

I personally think it’s a lot more powerful that the 74th reaping wasn’t rigged.

Despite what I literally just said, I do think it’s possible for reapings to be rigged in general, though. Of course it is. If Snow or even a gamemaker/someone in a higher position so chose, I don’t think it’s any stretch to say that it can and would happen. Though, as the years go on and the games become more routine, I don’t think it’s likely too many reapings are rigged.

Again, I could kind of see it either way. I guess that’s one of the perks of accepting multiple headcanons/readily exploring AUs (canon compliant and non-canon compliant).

I would view this as an AU and not canon, but I could totally see how the Capitol would rig the reapings or orchestrate the hunger games to an even further degree; they might do it to make sure they keep people engaged, choose a few districts they want to favor in winning, etc etc. Kind of like a manufactured reality show, where the show runners knew the ending before it even started production.

I feel like that would lean more into a ‘media control’ narrative though, and that’s just not fully how I view THG. I still view the hunger games themselves to be somewhat looser of a process; it’s routine, but it still allows for humans to have wiggle room (Katniss being able to volunteer for her sister, rather than it strictly being Prim only)

If the reapings WERE rigged somewhat regularly, I think there might be a special subdivision of the gamemakers or team-responsible-for-making-the-hunger-games-happen-every-year that would handle it.

[bull-and-seeress]

Today we live in a world where bigotry spreads fast through cultic imitation. Lately, I began to wonder how ancient peoples would have understood unfamiliar kinds of people. If you've never heard of something in your life, it's easy to be apprehensive, but hard to be truly hateful. So here's some hypothetical scenarios.

Neolithic Balkans; 6000 BC "Let me tell you. There was this group of traders and travellers who stopped here for a day. They'd come from down south, from the archipelago. Five men and three women. See, the sun's hotter down there, so they're all a bit tanned, though of course the men are more tanned than the women, so their culture isn't so different from ours. They all look a bit outland, but one woman catches my attention since she's taller than me, and we strike up a conversation. Now bear with me; you might not believe this. Turns out that she wasn't always a woman. She told me that she had once been a man, but somehow changed into a woman. Now, I'd never heard of such a thing, so was asking all kinds of questions. She said her body is like a man's, but that in all respects she lives as a woman. She has a husband at home and does most of her work indoors. I asked her how she came to change, and she said that manhood never felt right to her, and the gods told her in a dream that she would become a woman. Isn't that so interesting? What a wonderful world the gods have made for us."

Palæolithic West Asia; 20,000 BC "You want another one? Alright. I've been far looking for buyers, very far. I've wandered west over mountains and fields. If you follow the glacier west far enough, you'll find more temperate steppes. The people who live there look quite different from us. See, we're pale skinned, but they're dark brown, even the ones who live near the ice. Otherwise they look quite like us when it comes to noses, heads, and so forth. I was camping out by a river one night when a band of them came over. They seemed happy to see me. I think they'd probably seen one of my kind before, but I'd never seen one of them. They laughed when I stared at them; their teeth were quite clean and white, which stood out against their dark faces. Anyway, the next day they welcomed me to their camp and after we had a feast I presented some of my wares. They were very happy to buy my blue-gems, do you remember those? They were very generous and accomodating. Anyway, point is that not everyone in the world looks the same. I guess humans are animals after all, and animals come with different coat patterns. I've visited a lot of peoples, and while local customs vary, I've met no man that'll turn down a chance for a megaceros feast and some song and dance. People have diverse looks and ways, but ultimately everyone's the same animal. I'm old enough to know that."

Palæolithic Northern Africa; 12,000 BC "When most boys become men, they become attracted to women. But there's often a few men who, for whatever reason, don't really care much for women, and are fascinated with other men instead. Now, I don't understand what this feels like or why these men choose to be this way. But I know that it can be helpful for the community to have some of these men. Most men have women to attend to, and later babies and children. But men who like men don't have any children, so they can be depended upon for tasks that take a lot of time, like babysitting, trading, long hunts, and long fishing trips. Of course everyone wants to be at home, but these men can make a home for themselves anywhere, and aren't tied to their wife's living area. Men who like men tend to trust each other a lot, and some have this weird way of coordinating when it comes to hunting. Most men would argue over their share of a kill, but since they only need to feed themselves, they don't care for arguments, and often try to mediate the division. Although women are also often good at that, it's useful to have a man out at the scene of the hunt to stop the married men from clawing each other's eyes out over limited meat. Of course, the downside to having a man who likes men is that he doesn't make grandchildren for his mother and father. Thus, his parents will try to make another son who likes women. But since he has no duties to his own wife, a man who likes men can be a valuable uncle-babysitter, allowing his brother to go collect food and resources for his family, and do his duties as a man, and so on. Before you were born, the leader had a brother like that. His brother helped him to stay an active leader while he had three children and a wife. A strong leadership that was; we've fallen since then."

[justbadcompass31]

Scavs: An introduction

Hello everyone and welcome to my lecture, glad to see so many familiar faces and some new ones too. Today we will be discussing one of the major groups inhabiting our post-calamity world. The Scavs.

Now an important distinction I shall be making right off the back is that a Scav isn’t the same as your average scavenger. Though Scavs are scavengers, that does not make every single scavenger a Scav. Scavs are a mostly nomadic people who wander the wastes scavenging for supplies either for themselves or to sell at settlements. I’m sure you've seen a few of them selling their goods in this bunker. Now I’m going to go over what makes them different from the average scavenger and why they are a distinct group.

From what we understand from what they have told us, Scav’s have their origin in the far north in a region known as the highlands. As part of the Calamity there was a great war and as part of that this region was invaded by a hostile power. This area as you may know is already isolated since the underground does not go that far north, consequently it took some time for a response of this invasion to be properly organised by our former government. In this time local communities took matters into their own hands to defend their homes and families, some seeing this as their chance for greater independence, disillusioned with their government, while others simply sought to protect themselves while waiting for help to arrive. These communities began stealing weapons and supplies from the invaders, which they then promptly used to fight a guerilla war against said invaders. By the time a real defence had been organised by this land's former government the invaders were in no condition to fight and were easily beaten back. However the scavenging did not stop, with the arrival of the government's military there was now just more stuff to loot. Shortly before the government collapsed. It was the Scavs who first became independent. Forming the Kingdom of the Mountains.When the government did eventually collapse it was also the Scav’s who first took the initiative to plunder this land for supplies and were best prepared to do so. Taking boats from the highlands into the ruins of coastal cities, looting everything they could then sailing back to their kingdom in the north.

Unfortunately nowadays their kingdom isn’t what it used to be, with the arrival of the Mechnocrats they’ve been pushed back to a small island called Skye. However they have turned that small island into a veritable fortress and with the help of the Empire of the High Seas it looks like they’ll remain independent for some time yet.

The Scavs as a people have spread far and now inhabit to some degree of every part of this island, and even beyond to a limited degree. Many people who were Scavengers adopted the traditions of Scavs seeing their success further increasing the spread of these people on this island. Now I’m going to discuss some of the traditions of these folks. First it's important to understand the groups they themself have divided themselves into, though it's worth noting before I do so this is a very informal classification. This division is mainly established by how they choose to approach conflict. First there are the Rats, these are Scavs who will avoid conflict at all costs even if their victory in a given fight is almost guaranteed. They will instead prioritise the much lower risk and lower reward activity of scavenging abandoned structures for loot that they can then either use themselves or sell. Then there are the Cats, these Scavs will scavenge like their contemporaries but will also look for fights against both bandits and their fellow Scav in order to make greater gains. This may seem strange and a bit brutal to us. But to Scavs it is in a way just business. It's also worth noting people generally cannot recognise one another once they're out “in the field” as they call it, so the whole process becomes very impersonal with a very “they would have done the same” type attitude. You can generally distinguish the two “in the field” by how much gear they bring, generally Rats pack lighter in favour of the ability to more easily escape a given conflict if one arises. While Cats pack heavier in search of that conflict with the expectation they will get hurt to some degree. Thus packing greater armour and medical supplies.

It's also worth noting that Scavs do have rules and this is what separates them from your average thief or bandit. Most of these rules are very self explanatory such as a ban on cannibalism but there is one worth discussing which is their rule on areas designated as”safe zones”. A safe zone is an area that one is not allowed to fight or Scavenge in, these are typically areas such as settlements and stations. However it can be at times difficult to tell if an area is a safe zone if it is not either of these things. The easiest well to tell is if the wall if one such area has the names of numerous Scavs well known in the area graffitied on it. If it does this area has been designated a safe zone by these Scavs and as such is. Safe zones are generally areas where more is lost then gained from fighting within them. At Least by the community at large.

Scavs that violate any of the rules of Scavs such as by killing in a safe zone or engaging in cannibalism are labelled as a third classification, Demons. Demons are no longer protected by the rules of safe zone’s with their name and appearance being spread by Scav’s as far as physically possible in order to warn settlements of the danger they present. Further than this many Scavs actively hunt Demons both as a way to bring them to justice and to earn themselves prestige. Any Demon that survives for any length of time past their initial exile quickly becomes extremely dangerous. As any person who can survive alone in the post-calamity wasteland while being actively hunted naturally becomes. Over time they slowly lose any humanity they had left and become no better than, well, Demons. Hence the name. Though the classification of Rat and Cat Scavs is rather vague and is often decided by the person being classified themselves, the classification of Demons is significantly more concrete. To label someone a Demon wrongly is an incredible insult against Scavs that could quickly get you killed, so don’t do it.

Another important thing not to do in order to not insult a Scav is to misname them. To Scavs a name, specifically a nickname is an incredibly important thing. A nickname is a sign of respect and is given out by nicknamed Scavs to other Scavs considered to have achieved something notable. It allows a Scav to stick out from the group and is a sign that they are important and have made an impact on the world. To not call a Scav by their nickname is thus considered a great insult, with the implication being that you do not think them worthy of that name, implying that you do not think them notable. 

A good example of a nicknamed Scav is “Sledgehammer” Samuel Smith. “Sledgehammer” gets his name from the fact he uses a sledgehammer in favour of conventional weaponry. A feat he gets away with via wearing a bomb disposal suit, having 2 cybernetic legs and using a cocktail of Military grade Stimulants and Pain-killers. This makes him both (for all intents and purposes) immune to pain and deceptively fast. Which causes utter fear in those he is fighting making him an even more effective fighter. You don’t know fear until a several hundred pound man is sprinting towards you at roughly 30 mph with a sledgehammer after running through a wall. Especially after you throw a grenade at him and he just keeps going.

“Sledgehammer” rose to fame at the battle of Station 13, or “The siege of the Sun” as it is often known. At this battle he engaged in a duel with Mechnocrat captain Martin Kan of the 1st Clockwork Knights. Despite the heavy armour and shielding of his opponent he came out victorious with naught but his trusty Sledgehammer. Through such a legendary achievement he earned his nickname “Sledgehammer” Samuel Smith and entered Scav legend.

Another good example of a nicknamed Scav is “The Wanderer” who is the main source of our information of the world outside this Island. They are a Scav who, as the name implies, wanders the world and records their journeys in a diary. Copies of this diary eventually make their way back to his home and family in the highlands along the trade routes who have then reprinted and distributed this diary to the Empire of the High Seas. Who have in turn distributed it to everyone else. From the most recent copy we have received they have recently entered the city of Istanbul. If our old world maps are accurate that means they must have travelled well over 2000 miles while mostly on foot. An incredible achievement and one we are endlessly thankful for due to the invaluable information they have sent back.

Now I’m afraid that's all I have time for today. If you have any further questions feel free to see me later and I’ll do my best to answer what I can. With that being said feel free to leave at your leisure. 

-Edward Morgan, Head of Modern studies in Bunker 12.

[redrobin-detective]

Ok, I’ve tried and tried and tried to write this fic because I see it so clearly in my mind but it’s just not going no matter what I do. But I don’t want the idea to die with me. The closest this came to being written was exile which was an attempt to bleed out some of the energy of this au.

Anyway, so it starts off vaguely similar to canon only more aggressive. There had been underlying tension between ghosts and humans for a while, the dead jealous/angry at the living for disrespecting them. The successful creation of the Fenton ghost portal (and another halfa) was considered an act of war and so the ghosts responded in kind. So basically all of S1 occurs fairly close to canon except ghost attacks are more violent and have increasingly more consequences as time passes. Also the attacks aren’t just in Amity Park with ghosts becoming a worldwide issue but Amity is a focal point. Regular people know the ghosts hate them though they don’t know why. Phantom is very much a controversial figure as he is a ghost but also clearly is fighting off the more violent ghosts. 

One day, not long after the events of Control Freaks, Amity Park wakes up to find three of their own are gone. Danny Fenton, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley are nowhere to be found. There’s a massive manhunt, the parents go on TV and beg for information but they cannot be found. Curiously enough, town hero Phantom was also missing. There’s some evidence they left of their own volition so the Mansons and Foleys eventually relent that the kids fled on their own. The Fentons are 100% certain the kids were stolen/killed by ghosts as a statement. And the fact that Phantom went missing around the same time means he was the one who killed them. Jazz knows Danny was Phantom but had no idea what was going on and knew her parents wouldn’t listen she just, kept quiet and privately tried to piece together what happened. 

Three years pass and finally it looks like the Ecto War is coming to a close. Young, naive ghosts attempted to raise Pariah Dark in a bid to win. It went disastrously but Phantom (who was periodically spotted around the world, deep in the worst battles of the war) and group of loyal allies subdued the king. By the law of ghosts, Phantom was named heir apparent and he declared that the fighting would stop. Humans and ghosts would have to negotiate and co-exist in peace. But he’s not king yet, no he needs to be crowned at the place where it began, Amity Park’s Fenton portal (”where it all began” has a double meaning of the beginning of the war but also symbolically where Phantom began as Kings assume the crown where their living life ended to show their abandonment of their first life and the commitment to their second). Amity is NOT happy to hear that their former hero is coming home.

Amity has been through the wringer, ghost attacks got pretty bad. The Fenton’s throw themselves into their work to cancel out the grief, they create a group of ghost hunters nicknamed the Reds (for their red blood, ghosts are nicknamed Greens) to control the threat. Valerie heads the young adult division and is considered one of the best, she drops out of school to devote herself to it full time. Oh also her dad is now the Mayor as most have died or didn’t want the job. There are still people who like Phantom and see him as a hero (a lot of Casper Kids) but it’s generally an unpopular opinion in town. Maddie and Jack are ready to obliterate the ghost that took their son’s life the moment he’s within city limits. It’s a powder keg ready to blow. It all comes to a head when Phantom and his entourage arrive.

First off, Phantom looks very different, much less human looking than when he left. He’s clearly aged like a normal teen but his eyes look much, much older.  His skin is dead white with a blue tinge to it from his ice core and his aura is super cold. His hair is longer and is very misty that kind of swirls around him and his has fangs and claws. When he’s deep in battle or his obsession, his sclera turn black and he looks scary af. His entourage is ghosts who have sworn loyalty to him, who he picked up along the way after battling beside them for 3 years. Fright Knight, Skulker and Frostbite are recognizable allies. They are not happy that their future King is back in Amity (secretly fearing they’ll lose him once more to his human life). J&M have a shot and are going for the kill when they see something that shocks them; Sam and Tucker are in Phantom’s entourage.

There had been whispers that Phantom interacted with humans, that humans were in his inner circle but this is something else together. And so are Sam and Tucker. Sam is Phantom’s General, she is talented and collected and half feral. She used to be a pacifist but the trials of war and understanding that peace sometimes needs to be fought for made her compromise. She’s covered in scars and an extremely talented fighter. She’s missing her right hand up to her forearm, she can form a ‘phantom limb’ (basically borrowing ectoplasm from her future ghost) to do some things with some powers. Tucker is the support, he uses human and ghost tech to organize, weaponize and generally keep things running. He’s covered in homemade tech (shields and weapons and computers) and he rarely removes. Both he and Sam have kinda forgotten how to interact with and really BE human after so long among the dead. They had attempted to conceal themselves but they had forgotten how strong parental love and recognition is. J&M want to know about Danny, the teens don’t know how to respond but assure them he’s alive. Phantom can’t bring himself to look at them.

This is where I start to lose track of things but there will be parallels of Valerie/Maddie vs Sam as female warriors on opposite sides who are willing to go behind, possibly compromising the things important to them, for victory. Tucker will be contrasted against Jack/Jazz as the one making weapons but also generally keeping the human parts of the team mentally/physically afloat. *Severe* PTSD for all three of them. They’re also unnaturally codependent on each other, get super anxious when one of the trio is out of sight and sleep in a big cuddle pile. They will fucking Kill You if you look at one of them wrong. Vlad will be involved, he had been jailed for war crimes but convinced Walker to stage a coup to overthrow Danny and take the crown before he’s actually declared King and is too powerful. Vlad is more unhinged here, more ghost than human (a hint on what could happen to Danny if he’s not careful). He is eventually defeated but he sacrifices his life for ghost power which, in the end, is what makes him able to be beaten.

 There’s lots of ideas on what it means to be live or dead and where the divide really is, is it a heartbeat or it is how you choose to use your existence. On how duty shouldn’t mean you need to give up everything. Because Jack and Maddie believe that Phantom killed their son and, in a way, they’re right. Before they left, the ghost war had gotten so bad and the rumors of Dark being resurrected were going around. Amity attacks were at an all time high, people in their school were being killed just because Danny went there. He realized he had to choose between Fenton or Phantom and he chose to protect the world. He abandoned his human identity and went off to fight in war. Tried to convince Sam and Tucker to stay but they followed him through hell and back. Because Danny spends so much time as Phantom, Fenton is severely neglected. His long hair is cool and floaty as Phantom but is unkempt and stringy, hanging in his face as Fenton. He’s wan and underweight and looks like a walking corpse. He knows his human half will give out soon if he doesn’t give it more attention but he just can’t there’s too much to do, too many people to save.

It would end with Danny being outed to the town, not the world, just the town. Jack and Maddie need to recon with the fact that their boy DID leave of his own choice but only because their failure to protect him (from both the portal and ghosts) made him feel he had to take all this responsibility on his shoulders. Danny also has to recognize that he (and Sam/Tuck) can’t do all this on their own and they can trust and rely on the people around him. Phantom is crowned King but he decides Amity will be his base. The trio eat more, sleep some, catches up on school all the while continuing their duties as King and court. The ghosts also see that Phantom’s humanity isn’t a weakness but a strength and will bring peace to the Earth/Zone so they also take some of the burdens off his shoulder. 

Basically I load up heavily with angst at the beginning and end with all the love and comfort imaginable. I just can’t fucking figure out the middle and my motivation will not let me write this shit out. But I can’t let this AU die bc it fucking keeps me up at night.

[bleachbleachbleach]

Chapter 065

I love this panel, because whenever I read the English translation my first instinct is to read it as Ichimaru and Zaraki not having adjutants at all, period, like that’s some kind of burn and as though Byakuya hasn’t had his current VC for a whole whopping paltry 2 months. I mean, that’s not how it’s supposed to be read, because of course they do have VCs, just not present with them currently. But does that change how I read it every single time? NO.

Beyond that, though, it’s just a fascinating panel. My personal translation of Byakuya’s line is: 

Two captain-class shinigami out together, both without their adjutants. // What do you want with me?

Byakuya suggests that this is an unusual occurrence--for captains to be together? for captains to be without their VC? Probably not the latter, since it’s not as though Byakuya expects Renji to be attached to him. Surely it’s the combination of two captains in the same place at the same time (why?) and without their VCs, which I feel like the grammar supports. Byakuya lines these two ideas up to parallel each other, which I wanted to preserve that in my translation. Since the divisions heretofore operate so autonomously, any time more than one captain is in a place, it’s likely a formal occasion. He’s remarking upon the fact that not only are Ichimaru and Zaraki hanging out (and tag teaming him), especially since they haven’t brought the appropriate accoutrements (VCs), if this meeting of three captains was to be made reasonable. 

So Byakuya’s like, clearly this is not a formal inquiry, so why are you here and why are you talking to me? I simp for arcane Gotei niceties/social expectations, so this FEEDS me.

Especially since in context, this is Byakuya’s greeting to these two, after they essentially come up behind him and accost with with metacommentary on his life:

Such composure, 6th Captain-san! // Splendid, splendid! 

Ichimaru is both bubbles, even though they look like they’re being spoken by different people--different fonts (corresponding with different levels of formality), and in this case also different colors: The light blue bubble is normal (Kansai) speech, and then Ichimaru opts for the honorific form in the indigo bubble. He switches registers (and into a super serif font lol), which I think Byakuya reacts to more than the comment about his composure. 

Because it’s laying it on a little thick, considering Ichimaru also continues, Your sister is going to die, yet that coolheadedness prevails. // Fittingly executed, 6th Captain-san. The perfect reflection of a shinigami!

This isn’t captured in my translation, so maybe there are better ways to do this, but the phrase さすが (sasuga) appears as ザッスが, which I read as vocal emphasis. Such praise big wow

Another thing that isn’t captured that I wish were is that the words Ichimaru uses for “composure” and “coolheadedness” both begin with 冷 (rei), for coldness, and I like that repetition.

I just feel like there’s interpersonal madness going on here. Is it respectful? Is it the exact opposite of respectful? Does every other conversation in Soul Society devolve into threat of imminent violence even before “wartime exceptions” are granted?

Byakuya then assures Ichimaru and Zaraki that none of this concerns them. 

The idea of Byakuya referring to any captain, much less freakin’ Ichimaru and Zaraki, as his “brothers” absolutely cracks me up, but also... he kind of does? He uses the phrase 兄等 (keira) as a pronoun, which I’ve never seen before. 兄 (ani) does usually mean brother, and 等 (ra) is a grouping/pluralizing word. The dictionary says that it can be used as a masculine, respectful “you” and is homophonous with 卿, another archaic respectful “you.” Of course, Byakuya doesn’t choose 卿 but 兄, which seems to suggest he does understand Ichimaru and Zaraki to be close colleagues who, at least, are not strangers, with some suggestion of the fraternal? Like, this is a language choice he made.

The rest of the sentence isn’t overly formal--just speech between colleagues, though still in high contrast to Zaraki’s drawl--but Byakuya does use a lot of kanji for words that aren’t always written in kanji in manga, which makes his bubbles feel fancy. So re: his choice of address, it’s hard for me to say if he’s just being well-bred or if Byakuya actually does regard Ichimaru and Zaraki as...well, known entities, I guess I would say. Of course, he and Zaraki then get into a bitching match about social class and seem wont to draw blades, had Ichimaru not tied Zaraki up and run away. Idk, I went into some epic rabbitholes [x x x x] with this one, and as usual all this is beyond my ken. Blah blah usual disclaimer that I do not speak Japanese, etc.

It was really fun, though! And I’m kind of into the fact that this whole conversation is about Ichimaru’s commentary on Byakuya’s relationship with his sister, but also about what fraternity does or doesn’t even mean within the Gotei. Clearly the Gotei 13 is not a “we’re like a family!” workplace, lol, but the dance of relationalities between all these characters is my favorite thing in the whole world.

[ultrastarbee]

sorry for requesting again but i fell sick </3 maybe getting taken care of by toman members? like that kakucho fic you did but all captains and vice captains take care of you as a group -🎀

Hello my dear 🎀, I'm so happy to have your light requests to begin with!

Title: Feeling sick Request: yes Couple: none Category: fluffy Content Warning: maybe bad language? Word Count: 355 Summary: Who would imagine that a bunch of teenager delinquents would be this bad on taking care of someone? Yey they do make you feel better A/N: this is so silly loved it

MASTERLIST ....... RULES ....... SERIES LIST

After Pah got arrested you were choosed to help guide the Third Division for a while. Having this new duty, you go to the captains' gathering even feeling a little light headed.

Draken is the first to see you aren't on your best shape. He asks Mitsuya to keep you close just in case;

Suprisingly the next one to figure out you are sick is Baji. Not because he was looking at you, no, it's because you fell over him;

He fucking panicked. Are you dying? If so, can you stop? Rude;

Mucho is the one who takes you home. Big guy, big arms;

Sanzu doesn't give a single flying fuck, though;

Mitsuya and Draken are the ones who really do something to make you feel better;

Draken puts the twins in charge to bring you something easy to eat. The cloud headed boys bring you a heavy bowl of lamen. Of course you can't eat without trowing up;

Angry feels bad for you, Smiley don't understand why you can't eat. Lamen is so fucking good! You were supposed to be happier eating it;

Baji sure is happy you can't eat that. He will help you eating it himself;

Mitsuya asks Hakkai to get some medicine for your fever;

Hakkai comes back, but with pockets full of candy because no one can feel bad eating sweets;

Not his idea, of course. Say thanks to your dear silly president who is now eating all the candy in front of you without even thinking about sharing;

Baji and Mikey end up being fired of the "taking care of y/n mission";

Hakkai and the twins as well;

Chifuyu is serious. He brings Peke J to your house so you can touch the cat because he read something about pets helping people feel better;

The boys are as dumb as each other and have no clue about how to help, yet they do try their best;

You are part of the team, they wouldn't just leave you for your own luck;

The next day you are feeling better. Still sick, but your heart is way more warm now.

[etheriadearie]

Hello! Absolutely love your analyses! I'd spend breaks during work reading through a piece and I appreciate all the evidence (data as Entrapta would state) you use. I see many people boil Catradora down to being abusive (aimed at Catra) and it's just so hard to argue since there's so much depth to their relationship. What are your thoughts? How would you respond to someone stating so?

:: ... Reflections on the emotional healthiness of Catradora, on Adora's arc, and on SPOP as a morally complex story-

Hi, and thank you so much for this question, I know that some SPOP fans have this kind of reaction, and while I get why they feel bad, I strongly believe such a reaction was not the intended outcome. Which is my first point:

To anyone who feels this way, Hey!!! Noelle wouldn't hurt us like that, and even though we see hurtful behaviors shown in SPOP, this isn't part of suggesting that we forgive our abusers- Noelle wouldn't do that!!

SPOP is unique in that it explores trauma as seriously as it does… this show is so many different things: it's beautiful, it's fun, it's kid friendly, and it's really meaningful. I really, really believe that both Catra and Adora’s stories are meant to be a comfort to people who grew up in situations like theirs… (I, for one, find Catra’s story very comforting).

My second point is that Adora is as much a product of hurtful abuse as Catra is, and this includes that she has some very hurtful behaviors towards Catra, especially as we see the two of them together starting well before her defection. For example-

We all know Adora is a sweetheart, and for her to even behave in hurtful ways is so against her own best nature that it's a sign that she's not really being herself. It's also very wrong in terms of her ability to be She-ra, as Etheria chose her for her ability to love- she is deep down an incredibly loving and generous person, and love is her power. Yet, when we see her with Catra in ep1, she's acting hurtful instead. This- is where their relationship becomes so complex- because Catra really isn't being hurtful, and Adora has a history...

...And, this is a much bigger problem than just her relationship with Catra, because Adora is also hurtful towards everyone in her past life, she vilifies them and fights them- never once does she make an honest attempt to help her former friends- Adora simply makes an assumption that fighting them is a necessary hurt of her 'destiny'.

Yet... this 'destiny' is a lie, and we cannot ignore how Adora's arc from s1-4 ends with her barely avoiding destroying all of Etheria... furthermore, with Horde Prime finding them all as a consequence. Despite Adora's attempts at being a hero through s1-4, it ends with her having betrayed all of her former friends for a 'destiny' which was evil all along- Light Hope never meant to make her a hero, only to use her and the rest of the princesses as a weapon. This is because Adora had followed her 'duty' and therefore failed to be her greatest good as a hero of love.

Her decision of duty and all that goes wrong results because of how Adora believes in duty before all else, including and especially love. This false belief system, where she simply fights rather than looks to help her former friends, and acts hurtfully to enact this false 'destiny', is because of how Adora was hurt by her abuser. And it makes her actions wrong- she isn't valuing love, and, she is being controlled by others, some which are evil, some which are unfair- through her false belief in duty.

This concept of duty, which is so wrong, is what Adora's entire struggles are about- this includes her hero's arc. Her perceived need to serve a false 'duty' is the reason she justifies her hurtful behavior and neglects to help her former friends, it's the reason her s1-4 arc ends in disaster with her destiny being revealed to have been false, (and that she's been manipulated for evil), and, it's the reason she's so hurtful to Catra- betraying all of their love, while failing to make any true effort to understand Catra's feelings

We might not like Catra's reaction, or how terribly wrong the war is (... one which began before either of them was even born-), but Adora wrongly believes in putting her duty so far ahead of all else that she's failing to look deeper. Adora does break promises, and she does hurt people- she hurts everyone in her old life, not just Catra, with her hurtful and blind prioritization of duty ahead of love and all else- her belief makes her vulnerable to further manipulations. Her entire concept of duty before love makes her miss how she's hurting them, and, how she's wrong to do this... ... it results in so much pain. (-in fact, Adora ends up hurting EVERYONE with her stubborn belief in enacting a false destiny, as we'll discuss.) .

So, for the purposes of this question, we need to look at Adora's behavior, and how she's wrong to be so hurtful. Catra ends up very much more wrong- that's well documented- and which we all know- but, Adora is She-ra, Catra is not, and all of Adora's actions matter so much because she is at the center of all that happens as She-ra. And, she's got to learn to value love, going against the hurtful beliefs of 'duty' that her abuser ingrained into her psyche to control her. Even though Adora is trying to do her best, she falls short of what that actually is, and it's all because of her false belief that duty must define her. She is a hero of love, not a hero of duty or destiny- because destiny cannot power her, nor guide her. Love is what must guide Adora, because love is her real power... and as a hero of love, she cannot "leave anyone behind" who needed her help...

Through s1-4, by acting hurtful, Adora is essentially creating a false equivalency by equating evil upon all of her former friends, in a hurtful way which all but ensures further division and misunderstanding. She-ra is supposed to be a uniter, a healer- yet Adora is making no effort to do so. Adora is such a extensive product of abuse that she doesn't even see that she's doing so, and she has to wake up to this in order to become a hero of love...

:readmore:

Also, in part: their division happens because when Adora leaves Catra and everyone else in her former life behind she does so having not once fought for them (see Lonnie in the portal reality, below) - very much like how she didn't fight for her and Catra's love against their abuser. As She-ra, Adora needs to be strong enough to fight for ALL of them, rebellion and the vulnerable people in the horde who are trapped in its abusive system alike- yet, Adora doesn't do so- instead she takes a simplified view of morality, and through it, justifies abandoning her and Catra's love and fighting against instead of helping everyone in her old life. That Adora doesn't try to do better is already hurtful on its own. Adora's choice of such a hurtful path happens out of multiple complex factors, some deal with her history as a abuse survivor- but in reality, it's mostly because everyone else around Adora also is not being their best, either... ...more later

As for Catra- her choices, while very very bad, come out a reaction to Adora's history of hurtful behaviors- her inability to trust Adora is a trauma reaction, just like Adora's, yet, that reaction comes in response to Adora's continued hurtful behaviors: Catra is trying to be apart from someone who has constantly hurt her by naively following duty while showing no effort to understand how she's hurtful or to fight for their love. Adora did this within the horde by playing favorite to Shadow Weaver, and Catra feels that Adora must be misguided, just like she was before, for leaving her- instead fighting against her so willingly and vilifying her... lumping her in with their abuser as evil.

Catra was constantly abused, and watched on as Adora played favorite to that abuser while ignoring how Catra was treated. So, Adora was betraying Catra all along, and had no awareness of it- it shows that Adora has a blind spot- something which she struggles with throughout her hero's arc: such as Light Hope using her for evil. Catra felt as though she had already lost the friend she thought she had years ago, and then Adora's continued hurtful behavior following her defection, while making no effort to save their love, is what causes Catra to feel she must part ways with Adora. By Catra's reasoning, Adora must not really love her- why else would Adora be so ready to hurt her, when she made a promise to love her? Catra doesn't think Adora is actually being a 'good' person by leaving like she does- and Adora's hurtful divisive actions confirm Catra is right- by choosing divisiveness and a false destiny while devaluing their love, Adora is indeed falling short of being the hero of love which Etheria chose her to be...

So, we can see Catra's distrust and Adora's being used by Light Hope as parallel, because Catra is right that Adora is letting people manipulate her, just like she did within the horde- even if Catra is only basing this belief off of her gut feelings in s1. Adora ends up betraying her promises, and being used as a weapon by Light Hope, (and the rebellion, too) for the same reason: her belief in duty which blinds her to all else.

:: 🛑 There's also the matter of whether Adora and Catra are 'in a relationship' during the war. That's dubious- morality of the war aside, Adora divides their friendship for it, not Catra- so they aren't together anymore... And, as we'll discuss, Adora is coming up short of making the best decision by doing so. But, in regards to our question: what happens during the war between Catra and Adora should be considered separately, as apart from this time in their history, Catra was quite loving with Adora: both before, and then after, the war... and so it's important to not falsely equivalate Catra actions in this way- they are not 'together' (...again, morality of the war aside..) ....more later

We'll come back to Catra's motivations later, but here's the quick reference for the meantime- Catra doesn't do what she does out of wanting to hurt Adora, her love confession in s5 precludes that. And she also doesn't do it out of any great allegiance to the Horde- it's just all she knows, and she stays there because she's trying to live free of Adora- who is a constantly inadvertently hurtful person, as Adora had actually been betraying their love for many years. But: most importantly, Catra does what she does as part of her fight against their real abuser, whom Catra sees as the real evil in their lives. This starts as Catra taking down Shadow Weaver herself, and stays true within the meaning of her other actions through the rest of her arc as well. ...more later

All in all, this is part of how Noelle gave us a morally complex story with SPOP- it's not black and white like most stories we've seen (such as ATLA). The war, while terrible, has multiple sides to it, and with it moral grayness: The horde is wrong, yet isn't really made up of evil people. The rebellion is right to defend Etheria, but has a corrupted view of the horde where they summarily judge all horde as evil. That's an amoral belief, as we'll discuss, and it plays into Adora’s confusion over who she really must be, because their hurtful views block Adora's ability to be the hero of love she's meant to be.

... And, of course- the princesses are part of an evil super weapon, as naive enablers of a generational trauma so dark that it threatens them all... ...more later

Finally, the MAJOR PSA REGARDING ABUSIVENESS.. (and therefore this question)

Since we wish to discuss abusive relationships, we must recognize that there is indeed such a relationship at the forefront of SPOP, but it's not Catradora.

All of their bad behaviors- Catra’s isolationism and hurtfulness for self protection, and Adora’s hurtfulness in the name of false duty and vulnerability to naively trusting in false ideals set out for her by others, is because of how Shadow Weaver hurt them.

SPOP as a series is all about believing in love, (even in other character arcs aside from Catradora-) and it really is about both of their struggles with how their abuser hurt them, which they have to get past to embrace love. Their story is one about the how and why we ourselves sometimes struggle to accept love- many people struggle due to having been hurt like they were- and through them, Noelle tells us a story of our own lives. 💢(minor trauma warn to readers, altho, I promise nothing too dark in this post). It's the real truth of Catra and Adora’s arcs: that they both act out hurtfully due to how their abuser has hurt them, and as such, they both contribute to their division, not just Catra. And, they both go through long arcs of self realization and healing to be better from how they've been hurt, to be their best selves and so they can be together again.

This journey of self realization is what allows Adora to start being a real hero in s5, and accepting Adora's flaws in her actions before then is an important part of understanding her arc, because, as She-ra, everything Adora does matters- no matter how unfair what's done to her is, she's got to be her best, and she has to trust in love in order to win in the end...

That concludes the "short" explanation, but, since abusiveness is such an important issue, we'll cover some specifics it in greater detail. This- is Adora's hero's arc- her and Catra's love IS her hero's journey, because she's not trusting in love in how she acts through s1-4.

So, apologies for how long this will be, but we'll be covering the following subjects as part of this discussion-

1- how and why Adora improperly continues hurtful behavior that started within the horde after she finds the sword, which Catra reacts to, and how Catra wasn't hurtful before then,

2- how Adora could have used She-ra as a liberator to help her former friends, and how the rebellion also being corrupt is why she misses seeing it,

3- Adora's self realization of her truth of love, and how it allows her to step past false destiny and manipulations,

4- how Adora was being a false hero during seasons 1-4 as told through Horde Prime forcing her to fight chipped Catra to save her during Save the Cat,

5- Catra’s wrongness and why she believes she's totally alone against her abusers evils,

6- how the love we see in s5 was always the truth.

Back to the topic of Adora’s hurtfulness, as we see it in ep1, that goes so deeply against her better, loving nature... (part 1)

From the moment we see Adora and Catra together in ep1, it's obvious that their relationship has already become very unhealthy-

This is almost entirely unhealthy on Adora’s side, not Catra’s, as every time Adora speaks to Catra, she does so with a tone- she's rude to her, she's hypercritical of Catra's actions, she's incredibly judgemental, and she acts as if superior to her.

Yet, Adora had become the puppet of their abuser- Shadow Weaver, making the mistake of trying to fulfill the false expectation of being perfect as she was told to do. And in doing so, her naive trust in fulfilling that duty made her an unintentional enabler of her own abuse, as well as Catra's.

So, all of Adora's judgments out of supposed superiority come out as false: she's devoted to a woman who means only to destroy them, it shows that she really didn't know what was going on with Shadow Weaver's abuse.

In contrast, when we look at Catra’s behavior, it's clear she thinks Shadow Weaver is evil. And, in terms of how she interacts with Adora, it's obvious that Catra is actually still being a very loving and supportive friend to Adora- we only see any of her negativity emerge in response to Adora’s own hurtfulness. As things stand in ep1, Catra isn't abusive, if anything, it's the opposite (although I wouldn't use that term).

So, we can start to see that Adora has an entire history of deeply hurtful behaviors towards Catra- starting well before the moment Catra refuses to follow her, or before her decision to forsake their love go to war against her following “Promise”. There was no good reason for Adora’s hurtfulness- it was done in respect to a false duty made for her by their abuser.

This false belief of superiority is another way in which we can see that Adora was failing to see the true evil that was happening as she was playing the favorite- she blindly believed that being good, as measured by an ideal set out for her by their abuser, was her only way of solving her problems.

Yet, Adora always had a choice- her assumption shows a failure of reasoning, because fulfilling that duty as she was told to never would have resulted in anyone being safe- much like her trying to fulfill Light Hope's ‘destiny’. Shadow Weaver only made Adora think that as part of her plan to use and then destroy her.

Likewise, Adora always had a choice to intrinsically value her and Catra’s love over the corrupt duty forced on her by Shadow Weaver- she could have kept the faith in their love, with Catra. Instead, Adora became hurtful towards Catra...

Adora was a bad friend- and her being as such in the name of false duties is the same reason she ends up being used as part of Light Hope’s corrupt 'destiny'. Also, being a bad friend is a canon part of Adora's hero’s struggle, (spoiler warn, LotFP) as being a bad friend can also be seen in how Adora acts towards Glimmer in s4: (as Bow says in s4ep8: "...it's hard being friends sometimes... So why am I the only one who's willing to work at it?". (In LotFP, Scorpia outright calls Adora a bad friend, and rightly so..)

In regards to Adora’s failure in choice- she and Catra weren't children anymore, and standing up to Shadow Weaver was always a possibility. She could have refused to play along in a system where Catra was made to suffer while she was given praise. And, the real kicker is: judging by how easily Catra takes down Shadow Weaver without Adora’s help, it wouldn't have even been that hard.

This shows Adora really was guilty of blind devotion to Shadow Weaver, because Catra had been prepared to step free of that abuse, probably for years. So, when Adora leaves Catra, devaluing their love and instead vilifying and falsely accusing Catra of being evil like Shadow Weaver (which is an immensely hurtful thing to do after the years of torture Catra suffered), Catra decides to step free of her abusers control, while also stepping free of Adora’s continued hurtfulness.

So, we see that Adora has a dangerous level of blindness to the deeper evils that people mean to use her for, which we can see in other places throughout her arc, such as with Light Hope’s plans for her. She can't even see how she's been corrupted.

Catra, in contrast, shows us she knew all along about their abusers' true evil: she shows her awareness by her little rebellions against a corrupt system where she was constantly being hurt. Catra refused to stay weak, and prepared to protect herself from her abuser all along. Yet, all Adora ever did was act out towards Catra for refusing to conform like she did...

Let's jump forward to when Adora finds the sword, and we can apply Adora’s naive belief in enacting duty, while being hurtful in the name of it, to that decision as well:

Adora accepts the sword, and her new ‘destiny’, with blindness and devotion- believing it to be her ‘destiny’, she willingly accepts that it comes at the price of hurting Catra as well as everyone in her old life as part of fulfilling it.

This ‘destiny’, or duty, is actually nothing but a lie made to confuse Adora by Light Hope and the First Ones- it's just a manipulation to use Adora for their evil. Believing in her 'destiny', Adora then makes no real effort to understand the darker truth behind what is really being asked of her, instead trusting in that 'destiny' and betraying everyone in her old life with her hurtfulness, instead of helping them, in service to this ‘destiny’. (...more later)

Adora in effect swaps Shadow Weaver for Light Hope, (the rebellion also uses Adora as a weapon in a hurtful way, which we'll discuss), and in doing so Adora acts hurtful to someone she loves, she agrees to hurt and therefore fail a whole group of people who deserve better from her. Adora has no right to vilify them like she does, after all, she was one of them herself. Also, her vilification shows no concept of her own hurtfulness and previous role as an enabler in that system.

Sure, Adora could complain that it wasn't her fault because she was being unfairly manipulated, yet Adora continually shows that she is vulnerable to those very same manipulations, again and again, throughout s1-4. It's all to do with her false assumption of fulfilling duty at any cost.

... and it brings Adora’s entire supposed ‘moral awakening’ into question, because while she's right to stick up for the citizens of Thaymore, her entire hurtful and superior attitude towards Catra while she does it is false: it's just like how Adora was hurtful towards Catra as part of playing her role as the favorite of their abuser within the horde. She was blind to the real evil that was occurring.

She therefore has no business being so hurtful towards Catra throughout s1, even IF she didn't know about the continued tortuous abuse Catra suffered because of her. All that Adora’s supposed righteousness over her ‘destiny’ actually shows is that she’s blind to what is really happening- in the past, and then again when Light Hope uses her for evil.

Also, fun fact: Adora’s supposed 'holier than thou' newfound morality isn't even her own: we know she's vulnerable to accepting others' expectations- in this case she's accepting Glimmer’s hardline view that all people in the horde must be evil. Adora takes this closed minded viewpoint and uses it as she tries to enact her false destiny all the way through s1-4, never once making an effort to help her former friends.

All in all, Adora falls short of being a real hero by doing this. And, Adora really does take things too far in her stubborn pursuit of her destiny (LotFP spoiler warn). She's so willing to hurt Catra, and all of her former friends, and is so far removed from the hero of love we see in s5 by doing so. Catra is right that Adora isn't the friend she used to have- Shadow Weaver's abuse changed Adora into something hurtful instead. (In LotFP, Adora strait up attempts to terminate Catra’s life; ...in contrast, Catra only ever tries to capture Adora...)

Catra, meanwhile, has no reason to trust Adora when she tells her she's defecting because of Adora's past history as an enabler of her (their) abuse. If Adora could hurt her, while being devoted to her abuser, what reason does Adora give Catra to think that anything will be different with her sudden new devotion to the rebellion? The answer is none, and as Catra had to look out for herself to protect herself from abuse, she won't trust Adora. Meanwhile, Adora can't even make an effort to understand Catra's feelings of being hurt by her actions...

Also- at least Catra had a plan- which we know by how she takes down Shadow Weaver to be free of her continued abuse. Nor, also, does Catra just want to leave everyone in her old life, accepting the rebellions belief that people like her are only worthy of being vilified and condemned by the princesses- Adora's self righteous judgements just makes Catra think that Adora is being hurtful and naive. Adora, meanwhile, had no plan- and even after her 'destiny' is revealed, she's still playing into the hands of her abusers while trying to fulfill her 'destiny'. It doesn't matter if Adora doesn't mean to, she's still got to be better than letting corrupt people use her for evil. She needs to learn to not be so naive.

The best theory for the hurtful way Adora behaves- by being so hurtful while ignoring the deeper truths- is that Adora has a deeply engrained hurtful world-view due to how she was hurt by Shadow Weaver, towards her abusers purpose of using and sacrificing Adora. Because of how Adora was treated, she believes that duty always comes at a cost, and that it will be painful- it's a corrupted, painful way of seeing the world where she just assumes pain comes as part of her reality of being charged with duty.

This is false, it's just what her abusers (Light Hope, too) want her to believe, and waking up to how this corrupt concept of duty is used against her by her abusers is something that must happen for Adora to be able to move past it, so that she can start being a hero of love like she's meant to be. She cannot let naive concepts manipulate her into being hurtful, and cloud her from seeing her path of love. Adora in s1 sees none of this- she only sees her concept of duty which is wrong- she does get wiser throughout s1-4 which sets up for her heroic reveal in s5, when we her true She-ra form.

So, Adora's fighting Catra and all of her former friends, instead of looking to help or understand them, is a presumption that it is a necessary cost of her duty. Upholding her 'duty' was always painful for Adora, and so she thinks hurting her former friends is 'just how it has to be', because Shadow Weaver conditioned her to expect that duty would always feel painful. Her hurtful world view assumes evil on them all, while making no attempt to do better. That's not heroic- Adora is accepting enacting a lesser evil as part of 'duty', just like when Catra was allowed to suffer within the horde while she was given promotion. A real hero faces evil at it's source, by simply vilifying her former friends and breaking her promise to Catra, Adora is being no hero of love...

Which brings us to our next topic: why Adora fails everyone in her old life, and how she could have done better to help the people trapped within the horde’s abusive system. (Part 2)

Adora’s hurtful vilification of everyone in her old life, while never finding a way to help them, really is a failure to all of them. In particular, we can see how much Lonnie feels this way, much like Catra does-

Not finding any way to help them was always a failure of Adora as a hero, something which happens because of her trauma belief of 'duty' before all else, and how her new allies in the rebellion wrongly influence her to believe that all horde are evil. Their corrupted, hurtful views makes Adora miss an obvious possibility:

Adora could have used She-ra as a liberator, rather than as a conqueror.

I realize that may sound like hyperbole, but, there's plenty of evidence of how Adora fails her former friends, and even more about how the rebellion fails the people of the horde. ->see the following pics-

So, we need to talk about why Adora never tries to help her former friends, in order to open a path to freedom like she was offered because she was She-ra.

Even though the rebellion may have the moral high ground in this story, they still fall short of being their best with their derogatory views of the horde- it further divides themselves from what are essentially fellow native Etherians, it surrenders all further thought to what is essentially hate. One result of their flawed views is how we see its Glimmer that activates the super weapon: as she says “we’re the good guys, remember?”. Are they really being their best, though?

Glimmer and Angella have pain from the war, which gives them a corrupted view of the Horde where they summarily judge all Horde to be evil out of their pain. These are derogatory views which are based on their own personal feelings of injury, which leads to their views, as leaders, crossing over from needing to protect themselves, to enacting a unnecessarily hurtful exclusion of a group of vulnerable people who needed their help.

This isn't to say that their pain isn't real… it is, it just doesn't excuse an isolationist, closed minded view of their situation. Surrendering further thought out of emotional pain simply is never healthy, they take their feeling so far as up never show any understanding to any individuals within the horde, or to try to help them. As the leaders of free Etheria, this is a failure of their station as those leaders.

So enters our sweet Adora, who, while she does always mean well, is a lifelong product of abuse that makes her highly vulnerable to blindly going along with others' expectations of her. Afraid to fail her new allies, Adora accepts Glimmer and Angella’s ��us versus them’ close minded view of the horde as evil as her own, she ignores her deeper knowledge of how this isn't true she has from her time as one of them. Because of it, Adora never considers how they deserve to be given the same chance to be better that she was granted because of her Princess powers.

In all of SPOP, Adora is the only person who is ever actually offered a chance to switch sides. This is a failure that happens because of the derogatory and closed minded views which predominate the rebellion's beliefs- it's no secret that they hate horde soldiers, and that no forgiveness is ever offered. It's prejudiced and amoral.

In SPOP, the Horde isn't evil in the black and white sense that most stories present their villains. They are a combination of bad, but also good: we can see that good in the stories of Catra, Scorpia, Lonnie, etc- even Hordak, the supposed leader of the evil Horde, shows he can be better and gets a redemption.

So, Adora’s intimate connections to people from her former life always demanded more understanding from her than just being crushed under She-ra’s golden boot. ... Not that anybody in the rebellion is actually interested in considering this possibility- and Adora is far too concerned at failing in her new duties as She-ra to stop and see it, and so challenge those views.

It was another missed chance to help people, rather than divide, that Adora misses seeing due to her traumas- her addition to their ranks should have been a chance to change the derogatory views of the rebellion for the better, to open a real path towards freedom for people within the horde who feel trapped by its abusive system, so they can find safety from it like she did when she switched sides.

It's a way in which she could have helped her former friends, and it might even have lead to resolving the war more peacefully- losing soldiers in such a way would have weakened the Horde, possibly even seen its collapse… also, Catra would have seen that Adora was no longer giving in to a blanket derogatory view of people like her... -> ->note, Adora's childhood best friend helms the Horde, and yet, Adora still cannot find common ground ? (This is because of Adora's own divisive and prejudiced behavior towards Catra. Also, Hordak is barely the leader of the Horde- as he hides in his lab and only emerges to makes snide comments.....)

Quick aside: yes, Adora does make a few weak offers of this in s1 to Catra, but always coming after Catra had been further abused because of Adora’s actions, and always with Adora acting in her superior way that shows no understanding of how she's hurtful. It makes Catra doubt Adora’s sincerity.

As it turns out, this derogatory view of the rebellion is a much larger failure: it fails the people of the horde, but very importantly, the way their hurtful views affects Adora equals a personal failure of them all to Adora.

What's really so terribly wrong with the rebellion's close minded views is that we never see any quarter offered to the horde: there's no opportunity for such people to be better- no choice given to them to step free of their abusive situation, and to prove they don't really stand for that. Not having that offer in place is an immoral act, and an abandonment of duty.

Glimmer and Angella’s presumption of evil upon all horde with no path to forgiveness in itself traps those very people in the system which forces them to act in evil ways. War is never an easy thing to solve- but presuming the enemy as evil shuts down all possible further understanding, and perpetuates the violence: as leaders of their world, Glimmer and Angella needed to do better.

And, their hurtful views are also a enormous personal failure to Adora, because it frightens Adora and leads to her continued self hurting-

Adora accepts the rebellion's close minded views that are forced on her, she throws herself into battle continuously trying to make up for her failure to be perfect. She's so afraid to fail them that she acts in compromised ways- such as looking to sacrifice herself, or hurtfully protecting her concept of 'destiny' at the cost of brutalizing her former friends in battle, never looking to help them.

It's a hurtful way to live, and Adora does it because she's so afraid to fail her new allies as a former child soldier from the Horde, and so, their views hurt her- Angella and Glimmer's views that being from the horde is synonymous with evil are a personal failure to Adora, particularly from Angella: as a mother, she could have helped Adora to understand her new role as She-ra, and to help Adora understand her trauma.

Instead, Angella judges Adora and treats her like she's evil unless she fights as she's told to... even though Adora, as an orphan, never had a choice in being from the horde. This is an emotionally hurtful failure to Adora as a friend, (Glimmer) and as a mother (Angella).

::This is also the beginning of a series of failures, one which ends with everyone being hurt, because of Adora’s betrayal of being a hero of love, in what could be considered a butterfly effect-

-> Adora takes the hurtful, close minded black and white view of morality of the rebellion, and applies it to her relationship with Catra- she ignores their intimate history and her promises, and implies that Catra must be evil like Shadow Weaver at multiple intervals following her defection. That is a failure of love, and of their lifetime of their intimate friendship with each other.

Catra had been hurt her whole life, she watched as Adora turned from her as a friend to be the enabler of their abuser. She's had enough of being hurt in this way, and Adora isn't even making an effort to understand why Catra feels so hurt by her actions. So, Catra wants to be free of Adora, who hurts her.

Catra fails Adora as a friend- ending the generosity of love we see her have in ep1-2, that she kept giving despite Adora being so hurtful towards her. Catra is done with Adora’s double standards, she agrees to fight the war against them all, since Adora so seemingly wants it as part of her new life and a 'destiny' which ends up being fake, anyways.

And so, the rebellion's close minded views creates Adora’s failure to Catra, Catra goes to war against them, and so, the one enemy they simply cannot defeat is created by their own close minded views that the forced on Adora...

The rebellion fails Adora -> Adora fails Catra (plus all of her former friends) -> and in reverse, Adora fails ALL of them -> rebellion alike, by failing to make the choice of love, of trying to make an effort to preserve her and Catra’s love, she turns Catra against them all with her lack of faith in their love, choosing to act hurtfully instead. It is a failure of being the hero of love that Etheria chose Adora to be...

A chain reaction that starts with Glimmer and Angella’s own hurtful views ends with EVERYONE being hurt- it amplifies the war, because, Adora is at the center of all that happens, and isn't being the hero she should be... you could ever say it causes a butterfly effect...

Still, Adora had a choice to be better.

Just like she had a choice to stand up to Shadow Weaver in the horde. Just like she had a choice to not turn on everyone in her old life, judging them in such hurtful ways, while never looking to help them. And, just like she had a choice to value her and Catra’s love, and through seeing how her actions hurt their love, seen that the duty she was so blindly devoting herself to was wrongly making her hurt people that deserved better from her.

Adora in s1 has so little emotional presence to be able to see her own hurtfulness- it's due to how she was hurt- that she places her concept of duty so far ahead of love that she can't even see the value of a lifelong relationship of love she had with Catra. Why would Catra think Adora cares about her, when she so casually betrays her, infers evil upon her, implies that Catra must be like their abuser ?

If, Adora was a more emotionally present person, she would have recognized that she needed to find a better way that didn't just brutalizing everyone from her previous life. And the rebellion itself doesn't help her, they just place their unfair expectations upon her. Her trauma makes it hard for her to see why love is important- she can hardly see the bond of love that she has with Catra... so, she doesn't choose love out of false belief in duty and fails to be the hero she's meant to be.. and everyone suffers for it.

In the end, Angella and Glimmer are not in themselves blameless for creating the situation they face with Catra’s determined war against them, because as leaders of the rebellion, they had been failing the vulnerable people in the horde all along.

As the saying goes, hurt people hurt other people. It's true in life and it's true in SPOP. Mostly people hurt each other because of trauma, and in SPOP everyone's trauma adds to the sadness of the war they fight for 4 seasons, horde and rebellion alike, not just Catra... or Adora. It's not the war they needed to fight, it never was, and as such they are all mostly caught unawares when their mistakes in this way results in Horde Prime finding them- ie- the true enemy they all should have been preparing to face...

... Which, it must be acknowledged, results from Glimmer's choice of trying to use a despicable super weapon to win a war- one in which her own bad attitude hurtfully influences Adora and therefore helped to amplify. Glimmer's act nearly destroys them all, while exposing their location to their true enemy all along...

Glimmer’s naive decision results in so much disaster that it really makes you wonder if the rebellion ever deserved to win the war with the way they conducted themselves...

I'd argue no…

Glimmer’s act, and how the princesses are caught so unaware of their true enemies- (ie, Horde Prime and the First Ones) shows them to be so naive that they likely would have inadvertently activated the Heart in time, and thus destroyed themselves, anyways.

They failed to be better, acting in way that added further trauma to the system. (..this is likely really a commentary on the chaos of war in general) And, the princesses really have NO excuse for being caught so unawares like they were- they don't know their own world's history- there's no real excuse for this. Especially when we see that it was indeed possible- Shadow Weaver uncovered much of it as part of her evil plans to attain more power. (Shoutout to Bow’s dads, who made a heroic effort to understand it, while starting from scratch- 🥰)

Add to this that Glimmer’s corrupted choice to activate the heart happens much as a consequence of her listening to, you guessed it, Shadow Weaver, and we have all the proof we need that the princesses don't understand their own “hubris”.

Long story short, everyone messes up the first 4 seasons, nobody is being their best- and so, Adora has to go to great lengths and great personal risk to herself to repair all of their previous mistakes during her s5 arc. She does this in a very beautiful way- she does it through the power of her love- *not* out of destiny, or duty, or even sacrifice. (Part 3)

Adora was always a hero of love, love IS her power, and she should have seen it sooner. Trauma is what blocked her.

A bit of sympathy for Adora:

Even though I'm talking about how she's wrong, Adora constantly found herself unfairly forced into bad situations by others' expectations put on her, some of which are evil, others are at the least unfair and corrupted by hurt. So, she ends up making some wrong choices… yet she's She-ra, she's still got to be better than that.

And Adora shows great courage in getting free of her trauma cycle to trust in the power of love instead of duty, like she was always supposed to do. How she gets past this trauma mentality is by simply learning to reconnect to her best self- and her deepest feelings of love and generosity that she was chosen to be a hero for by Etheria.

... Nevermind the First Ones-- Adora was still chosen by Etheria, as she was as a loving child, before Shadow Weaver ever managed to hurt her and make her into something else.

And, Adora finds this truth within herself with almost no help from anyone with her best interests at heart- Angella tries her best for ~3 minutes in the portal reality, to make up for her own hurtfulness towards Adora. (..Bow and Glimmer do help her some, but are very much involved in their own concerns..) Adora is a hero, but not by destiny… love is her truth.

Now... Adora’s burden as She-ra is indeed incredibly unfair on a personal level, yet as She-ra, she's still got to be able to make the right choices to be able fix the big problems she faces, and making those choices must be guided by love, not by destiny or duty.

So it doesn't matter that she's not responsible for the First Ones original evil, for which she was innocently born into- Adora simply won't quit trying to make it better, because that's who she is at heart. Trying to make things better is always a core motivation for Adora, even though she broke her promise of love to Catra. Love was always her guide, and her strength, that's why Etheria chose her, and in late s4 into s5, we see Adora begin listening to her truth of love.

So, Adora’s hurtfulness with Catra from s1-4 is just the most obvious symptom of how she's struggling with a trauma mindset that blocks her from being the true hero she's meant to be. This means that Adora and Catra's relationship issues and separation was always the real story of Adora's hero's arc, because Adora failed to look deeper and save their love because to her flawed concept of duty.

Being that hero requires not surrendering her reason to false judgements which require her to be hurtful to people who deserved her love and understanding, never mind if Catra makes everything worse with her own hurtful reactions. Adora always needed to be better than that, and being able to be so understanding of the moral complexity of their situation isn't easy, but, she learns to do it. Again, Catra isn't She-ra: Adora is.

::So, SPOP is one big story about people learning to not let their shitty attitudes control them, and of getting past them in order to become better people. Adora had a bad attitude in s1: it made everything worse, she turned on her former friends because of it. Catra’s attitude might be the worst of them all, but they all learn to be better- Glimmer, Angella, Mermista… the list goes on. Everyone needed to be better, and in s5 they are- it's what gives them the power to overcome Horde Prime together.

... Adora rescuing Catra is such an important part of her hero’s arc because of how she is a hero of love, but it's also important because she's making up for her previous mistakes of passing hurtful and false judgements unfairly upon her former friends... and against Catra. We also see Adora’s true powers emerge as she saves Catra, because she's trusting in love...

Speaking of Save the Cat… (part 4)

Still, if you're at all doubting that Adora struggles with being a false hero from s1-4, it's all well confirmed as Adora faces Horde Prime during Save the Cat in order to save Catra…

When Adora shows up to save Catra, and to save their love, Horde Prime pits chipped Catra against Adora, making her play out their entire history of hurting each other for false reasons in order for her to save Catra. This is meant to be a sly and forceful character assasination by Prime of Adora as a false hero, and as a bad friend. He wants Adora to feel weak, that her failures as a hero are so total, and her lack of love so hurtful, that it's much too late for her to fix her mistakes.

Because of his belief, he really isn't expecting Adora to succeed… yet, he doesn't know that Adora has found her truth of love…

He starts out by calling Adora a false hero, rubs it in that she's a First One, part of an evil empire that he easily defeated. And then, as she battles against chipped Catra, he tells her “you will destroy the ones you love in the process.”

This is supposed to be a scathing rebuke of Adora’s actions through s4. One where Adora, and the princesses at large, played into the hands of the First Ones manipulations, where she willingly hurt Catra in the name of her false destiny.

He reminds Adora of all of her failures, and how as a First One she's from an evil race of beings, she's totally at his mercy, just like the She-ra’s before her. He throws Catra at her, tauntingly, offering the chance for her to kill Catra, like she tried to do before in the service of Glimmer and Angella's corrupt expectations that she deliver them from the horde at any cost to herself.

Moments before Glimmer destroys the server, and Adora and Catra get their chance to talk, Prime rubs it in just how much Catra had to suffer for her sacrifice to protect Adora- “she was scared in the end, and she suffered”. A cruelty Catra shouldn't have had to suffer, but for Adora’s long standing history of betraying her for false duty.

Adora tells Catra she's not giving up on her, something she did through the first 4 seasons of SPOP with her blind righteousness towards Catra, never stopping to consider how she herself might have been wrong, instead stubbornly trying to enact her false destiny.

Prime compels Adora- it's too late, the damage is done, he's all but assured to win. She is behind enemy lines, and weak.. “then you are a fool, you cannot stop Horde Prime… he will reign triumphant… it is destiny”.

Her and Catra finally get to talk to each other when the server is destroyed, and as Catra reaches out, nearly taking Adora’s hand, wanting to go home again, he steals it away and taunts Adora one more time: “some creatures are destined only for destruction”- like it always was… Catra was meant to fail from the beginning, to die. And Adora was the tool of her abusers, she threw Catra aside as part of their evil plan to make her fail for their corrupt purposes. He sends Catra plummeting to her near death..

Clutching Catra’s dying body to her chest, Prime tells Adora “it did not have to be like this”. He's telling Adora that it never had to be like this, all of her betrayals of Catra, her struggles in vain against her false destiny, were done in a naive blindness that only ever made everything worse.

Everyone was made to suffer because of her naive belief in that 'destiny', she's failed, and if she's lucky, perhaps Prime might save Catra. By submitting to his will, maybe she can spare Catra her death... or if not... perhaps Adora can at least forget her mistakes like Catra has been made to do…

We all know what happens next. Adora is not the naive girl who played by the rules of her abusers, she's stronger within herself and knows she cannot abandon love. She's there for Catra- she's going to find a way to love her better, even if that's hard to do. As she says to Prime: "you miscalculated”.

And luckily for her, Catra, a true fighter for her own sacred life, surviving against a lifetime of death threats and near death experiences, is able to hang on just long for Adora to be able to save her from the brink of death..

None of this makes Catra’s actions during the war ok, but keep in mind that Catra shows great remorse for all of her mistakes. She's learned her lessons, too… and her remorse and then total confession of love hints that Catra never did what she did as part of wanting to hurt Adora..

Still… what really makes Catra fight against Adora like she does? After all… she had a choice, too, just like Adora did... (part 5)

Catra could have chosen to sympathize with Adora's views at the battle of Thaymore, after all, Adora was clearly right that what was happening to the civilians was wrong, yet Catra didn't.

As it so turns out, Catra isn't very impressed by some suffering of people who have lived their whole lives more privileged than she has, not when every day of her life had been a crime- surviving against abuse and torture with nowhere to run or anyone to turn to, Adora included.

Her life was that of an orphan, singled out for total destruction by their abuser, and as an orphan, the only way Catra knew for sure she could get free of that was through her own actions. She can't rely on anyone liking her or helping her because of innate magical powers like Adora does.

So, putting her life in the hands of the people who have only ever seen her as an enemy makes no sense, she's been hurt too many times before, including by Adora herself, to take Adora’s word for it.

But, she at least hoped that Adora would have chosen her out of love. Adora's willingness to abandon Catra so totally, and then continuing to behave so hurtfully in all of their further meetings, seems to tell another story.

All of Catra’s anger, and her worst actions through s4 can be summed up in one thing, of which never had to do with her wanting to hurt Adora:

Catra believes that she is totally alone in the world against her abuser, that nobody else properly sees Shadow Weaver's evil or will deal with it. And so it's up to her to do what must be done.

Everyone around her is an enabler in some way: Hordak didn't care to take a role in the Horde's everyday, only cared about results. Glimmer and the princesses become the worst kind of enablers of Shadow Weaver from s3 onward by taking her in, giving her total freedom in all but name. (And then there's the matter of Glimmer letting Shadow Weaver channel her power in s3ep4, which she uses to torture and nearly take Catra’s life yet again...)

But the saddest example is how she thinks Adora is a naive enabler who will never learn any better. Catra feels that way because of Adora's hurtful behaviors towards her, and how Adora couldn't even choose Catra out of love, instead vilifying her and hurting her as part of her false belief in duty.

She's wrong about this- Adora sees Shadow Weaver’s evil, too, she just doesn't know what to do about it. Adora had hoped that leaving her old life behind would free her from Shadow Weaver's corrupt influence over her, and yet... we see Adora struggle with how she was hurt right up until the end. Still, if she had just had one decent talk with Catra, it could have cleared up so much hurt between them so much sooner. (but they never did...)

Adora, as we see her in ep1, is a person that is so incredibly naive that Catra doesn't even need to feel that Adora ever intentionally enabled- Adora's blind devotion to Shadow Weaver's plan, followed by total willingness to abandon their fight against their abuser, while instead assuming evil upon Catra while hurtfully lumping Catra in with said abuser, means, as far as Catra could tell, that Adora was never going to choose to help her at all.

Adora’s behavior in the horde was so atrociously bad, that her continued hurtfulness after leaving seems to confirm Catra’s worst fears: that Adora really didn't care about her, and only cared about her duty.

If true, Adora having had no plan to help her would have made Adora's continued naive enabling of Shadow Weaver a clear and present danger to Catra's life. Was playing the favorite to their abuser really Adora's only plan? Would she have just continued to enable Shadow Weaver right up until she pulled off whatever betrayal she had for the two of them, killing Catra, or them both? It sure would seem so.

Add to this the fact that Adora just ends up having enabled a different evil manipulator as part of her deserting her, and Catra is done expecting anyone to ever help her with the realities of her abuser. If the princesses want to call her evil, while sheltering her abuser and further enabling Shadow Weaver’s evil, she won't feel bad if they all get hurt along the way. And Adora is naive, something Catra makes abundantly clear during their fights.

Catra does a lot of dangerous and hurtful things in the name of this belief. But, this is a trauma state Catra learns to wake up from, because she's lost just like Adora is, and her trauma mentality is destructive to everyone around her.

It leaves her with nothing… no moment of happiness, nobody to call her a friend, a life of absolute loneliness with nothing to live for except her drive to punish her abuser at any cost, with little to no chance of forgiveness for her violence. She learns every lesson the hard way- that no matter how much your abusers continued existence hurts you, there's simply some things you just do not do… you're no good to anyone if you surrender your heart to that kind of anger.

Catra does show deep remorse for all of her worst actions. And, she's lucky that Adora saves her. (even if she's a bit pissed at Adora for risking herself like that… 🥺😥)

But, in regards to whether she's abusive… in s5 we don't see that. Catra does act out a little bit while coming to terms with why Adora saved her- she didn't think she would ever get a second chance. From that moment onward we only see love and devotion from Catra, she doesn't want to live in her hurtful ways anymore, even if she still has no idea how to feel safe with her abuser running wild (Adora does see and her best to protect Catra from Shadow Weaver in s5). Catra can't keep living like she was, so living to help Adora makes much more sense.

My final appeal to people who have a hard time accepting Catradora… (part 6)

:: We should all strive to not let our personal hurt block us from appreciating people's situations, and understanding them. I know it may seem like I'm targeting Adora harshly, but that's why I went to such lengths to show how her issues play out in the narrative. Adora struggles to be her best self, like Catra does, and accepting this about her doesn't mean we need to love her any less than we already do!

Adora is absolutely precious, as is Catra… they never should have been hurt like they were- Adora as the ‘hero’ and Catra as singled out for destruction because of how she loved Adora.

They were always sweet girls, like the innocent and loving children we see them as in their earliest memories, before that day when Shadow Weaver hurt them so badly.

The beautiful love we see between them in s5 is what they always deserved- they should have been allowed to grow up with innocence and then fallen in love, but instead they got hurt because of the corrupt intentions of others.

They both spend the arc of the series trying to get past how they've been hurt, to get back to each other. And how they do that is by remembering the way they loved each other before Shadow Weaver was ever able to hurt them so much and drove them apart.

That, was always their truth, their love is good and pure like it is in those childhood memories. They were always supposed to love each other, and their division was a mistake that happens out of how Shadow Weaver and others have hurt them.

Both of them show tremendous courage in working hard to be able to step past how trauma controls them to be better, it's not just Catra who has to do this.

Adora does, too, because she's got to trust in love, not duty or destiny or sacrifice to be incredibly strong in the ways she needs to be to do the really scary things she has to do- such as stopping the Heart, and of solving a millennia old war that was never her fault, plus more. Love was always what makes Adora strong enough to do the very hard things which she has to do.

When Catra is given a second chance in s5, she sees that Adora is being hurt, and how nobody really helps her… they just expect her to do whatever has to be done. And that's wrong, because it’s unfair and it hurts her. Catra knows Adora has been hurt all of her life, she just didn't realize how much...

Catra may have been made to suffer because of Adora, but she survived that, and so she heals herself to be free of it as best she can in s5. And, Catra realizes she can help Adora, really really help her, to do the very hard things that are expected of her… Catra puts everything she has into helping Adora in s5. It's what Catra always thought she'd do, as the wiser child that knew how evil the world really was. She just got all mixed up inside, fearing that Adora would never really love her… and that was wrong of her.

Catra isn't really expecting redemption.. or even for Adora to return her feelings of romantic love back to her in the same way that she feels. She's a bit a of a pessimist, and has been left waiting her whole life to see someone show care and real love to her... But, all she has left is her love for Adora, and so she gives everything she has to her.

I think that's really courageous of her, and when she sees Adora is failing in the Heart chamber, she makes a dazzling series of romantic moves during the dream and the kiss- to show Adora that she's loved, that she's wanted, and that she's not alone. Brave, romantic moves which Catra didn't know for certain that Adora would reciprocate, but... she was still willing to do it, she loves her too much to let Adora fail, and die, while feeling so scared and alone. So, Catra does everything she can think of to let Adora know that she's loved. Catra deserves some credit for that.

We see that it works, as Adora has always loved her, too. Adora was just too blocked from expressing her love by her trauma. And Adora’s final test, as a hero of love, is quite simply to accept that she can be loved, not as a hero, but for who she is...

... I don't know what else to say to anyone who can't accept their love, or at least I won't here. I think it is the most beautiful love story I have ever seen.

In large part this is because it's not simplified. Catra and Adora’s love isn't just assumed to be kismet, they have to work hard to be together. They are both really bad communicators, and had to learn to talk to each other. This is true with most relationships, and in doing so they become truly loving partners to each other.

... So, it might have been nice if there had been enough time for Noelle to give us even one more kiss between them... but, I think Noelle wanted to tell us a very mature, grown up story about overcoming adversity to embrace love. And I think that's really commendable of them.

Sorry that took so long… Anyways, Catradora is the best ship, I don't make the rules! 😅🚢 ✨ I realize I won't be able to convince everyone, but that kiss was beautiful, was it not?? So, I hope my words aren't a total loss, and that maybe I can convince just a few people to feel like I do.

Love is power. 💞🏳️‍🌈☺️

:: Hi!! - I will gladly answer anyone's questions, and feel free to let me know what you thought of this. Thank you.

Also, if you've read this far, thank you for that- if you enjoyed it please consider giving it a ✨reblogg✨ or a like!! *humble thanks 🙇*

Peace and Love,

~EtheriaDearie 🕊

Some final notes:

Yes, I do realize these are fictional characters, but it's easier to talk about them this way- they are the nuanced creations of very creative people, meant for us to enjoy… in that way they might as well be real, because they have so much to teach us-

Got time to read something short (yes I mean it!!) that's mostly pictures? Check out this cool theory about Adora's dream it's real quick!! 💞🏳️‍🌈

-all hyperlinks are on tumblr. Here's a list of my other analyses-

LotFP = Legend of the Fire Princess. It's canon, important, a whole lot of fun, and worth checking out!! 10/10 😉

-note: I will not use the term 'toxic' because of how I feel the word carries cultural connotations which detract from discussion. However, discuss as you wish! I have no issue with the word or the concept, I just seek to be very clear in my meanings -

Finally, here's a link to a YouTube video of Adora saying Catra's name (fast forward to 0:40). You can really hear how her tone changes through time, in particular in s3 right before Catra pulls the switch, as Adora is coming to terms with her mistakes as She-ra. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f_WRT3D3n_I