#catra love

[saijspellhart]

Tumblr keeps recommending me posts with some of the worst takes on Catra’s character. Always an//ti//Catradora posts. (Like, did we watch the same show? We couldn’t have possibly watched the same show. Why the fuck would anyone compare her trauma to Hordak? Because they are on two entirely different character journeys, at wildly different age ranges and maturity, and with wildly different amounts of time to grow and change. Never mind the constant outside negative authority influences on Catra all the fucking damn time, that Hordak never has to deal with until season 5. And fortunate for Hordak, Prime doesn’t allow him the free will to choose a path, so Hordak gets a free pass, his character growth and budding humanity remain intact.) Don’t get me started on this, I could write a whole critical analysis on why Catra is a wonderfully written complex character, and why comparing her to Hordak is fucking ludicrous. Honestly the lack of comprehension about writing, character, fantasy, narrative and trauma astounds me when I see some of these Catra hate posts pop up in my recommended feed.

Tumblr, hopefully your algorithm gets this, but I LOVE Catra. I love her. I love this tortured mess, I love the writing that went into her character, I love her waffling precarious hold on sanity and reason. I love how she struggles to cope with her trauma. I love the realism put into her character despite the fantasy setting. But I also love that they didn’t push the realism too far, because it is at the end of the day a fantasy story. I love the delicate balance they wove into her character. I love the complexity and thought put into her entire character arc through the whole series. (And before anyone comes to crucify me, I say I love Catra, as a person who suffered immense parental trauma and manipulation. As a victim of some of the worst of it. I shouldn’t even have to mention my own trauma to justify appreciating a FICTIONAL character. But here we are.)

Would I have loved one extra season to really explore her redemption more thoroughly? Yes of course. An extra season would have been delightful to explore a lot of the character relationships more thoroughly. But we didn’t get that, and what the show creators did give us was still wonderful and satisfying. (Even if I have some critiques on some things.) the writing of the show at the end of the day is still smart, and tight, and so so competent. (Looking at the myriad of other story driven cartoons and shows that fall apart in the later seasons or just have an overwhelming amount of inconsistencies and botched writing. **coughs** Voltron, Miraculous, YGO, Netflix Carmen Sandiego, Bleach, many animes in general, just to name a few. Not that I didn’t love and adore most of these shows too.) the fact that She-ra (2018) stayed consistently tight and snappy and smart with their writing, narrative, and characters from beginning to end is a treasure.

Anyway. Catra is great. I could write a character analysis going into why from a writing and storytelling standpoint. But honestly I don’t think anyone cares that deeply, and I don’t exactly have followers who are particularly interested in She-ra. Tumblr, you god forsaken windfall apple, please stop suggesting an//ti//Catra and an//ti//Catradora posts. I don’t want to see them. I support the canon relationships. And I support the non canon ships too. What I do not support is hating on shippers who like other ships. It breeds contempt in a fandom, and leads to a fandom canabalizing itself until there are no fans left. Also letting hate and disdain take up such a large amount of time and space in your brain, leads you down some dark paths mentally.

[inkskinned]

in internet posts it is easy to cut them out of your life. they are hurting you! they aren't listening to you!

they held your hair back. they lent you lipstick. they held your hand at the train station and got you home safe. they rounded on your bully, got loud, said get fucked, spitting-mad in your defense.

they also cut the hair off again. told you that you should really think twice before wearing something like that. took you for granted. took your insecurities and threw them in your face again.

you know logically it should be easy. all the internet advice comments always read it will feel better. like an equation - if a person is rotten, you just remove them. you pull the tooth that's hurting.

but it was never a big flare-up moment. you don't live in a sitcom. they never tried to take your boyfriend or steal from your apartment. they showed up to birthdays and they wrote songs about you and bring you water without you asking. once you found out they carry an emergency inhaler for you, even though you haven't had an asthma attack in years - just in case.

where is the line? people fuck up. sometimes they fuck up badly. sometimes people have raw personalities, like a powerline, and being around them is dangerous. addicting. sometimes they can't help themselves, but you know they're trying. sometimes they are just rough-around-the-edges. sometimes they don't even realize how they sounded when they said that. sometimes it's just - you've both loved each other for so long now, the way this thing hurts goes back to the root.

and that's the fucked up part. you have pushed your fingers against the sweetheart of memory. things these days are electric, tense, harrowing. they didn't used to be. there were a lot of good days in there. sometimes you want to just close your eyes and say can this be over yet? do we still need to be fighting?

doing that would give up any chance you get of getting an apology, but you don't always know that you need an apology, you love them. once they flaked on your birthday party. once they told you to get over it, people are always dying. they also let you crash on their couch for a week after the breakup, handfeeding you when you were so sad you couldn't eat. they are also judgmental about everything, occasionally react to banal statements with an attitude that is weird and fiery. they also love you like a lighthouse sometimes, so strong they cut the storm like lightning.

but the problem is that you might be storm. you might be the thing that needs breaking. what if you are two forces who are desperately, horribly drawn to each other, shaped by the other person's passions, and both good for each other and bad in equal measure.

what if you're both just people, and you're no saint neither.

just cut them off! swallowing the saltwater, you catch yourself in the mirror. you've been shaking more than usual. there's an ache in you that is oblique, loud, impossible to soothe. is this what it looks like? when life is "easier"?

your mouth will always have a hole, is the thing, if you remove the tooth.

[mewudon]

so as it turns out i can still draw on my ipad 🖊️

seeing a friend across the US until the first of july! kinda sucks because i wanted to finish designing another friend and i’s spop ocs in time for art fight lol but it’s okayy its finee

[vengesim]

Based on this tweet

[babypears]

a recent catra commission

[aerhartdraws]

Gave our girl a big gun.

I'm sure she'll use it responsibly.

Rescue Mission

“Greyskull-Zero-Two, report.”

Catra surveys the scene before her, brow furrowing as she counts the figures ambling in the valley below her, loading boxes onto the waiting hauler. Their quarry is in there, no doubt about it. Just a matter of– “Greyskull-Zero-Two, report.” An eye twitches at Command’s insistence. “There’s some kind of auditory disturbance coming through my earpiece,” she mutters, through gritted teeth. “It’s very distracting.” “… Very funny, Zero-Two. Report.” Catra sighs, flipping through scan modes on her visor. “Twenty bodies, twelve armed,” she replies. “Most of the cargo’s loaded. Can I shoot them now?” “Negative, Zero-Two. Stick to recon.” Her eye twitches again. “Command, I thought our objective was locating Zero-One. If she’s here, we have to move now. The rest of the 52nd won’t arrive in time to respond to our reinforcement request.” The tension in her voice is barely concealed, the temptation to blurt a string of expletives down the comm withheld but for the thinnest thread of restraint. “Negative,” comes the response. “That’s an order, you hear me? You do not fire unless fired upon.” Catra sits there for a moment, considering. Finally, she stands up, walking towards the edge of the outcrop, her armoured form silhouetted against the planet’s pale sky. “HEY, ASSHOLES!” “Zero-Two, what–” All twenty of the insurgents turn to look at once, twelve guns immediately blazing to life, spewing plasma in her direction. Catra pulls back, narrowly avoiding the hail of glowing bolts spattering across the cliff edge. “Permission to engage now?” A wry smile spreads across her face as she asks the question. It’s greeted with a groan and an exasperated sigh. “… Fine. Cleared to engage. And Catra?” “Yeah?” “You're working for us, now. No more war crimes.” Catra huffs as she steps forward once more, hefting the autocannon to her shoulder, taking aim as her finger finds the trigger. “You’re no fun.”

[elainiisms]

defending evil and hated female characters online is a full time job and i clock in every single morning.

[summerscribbles]

my favorite lesbians <3

[lolalvrrgurl]

That's the look of a woman who'd do anything to keep her wife safe

[forsapphics]

SHE-RA AND THE PRINCESSES OF POWER (2018 - 2020)

S01, E08: Princess Prom — dir. Jen Bennett

[amethystjar]

[a-small-cretur]

happy lesbian day to my babies <3

[sapphicwriterao3]

I support women's rights, but more importantly their wrongs. hot female villains are peak!!

[azulina98]

Here’s my very late trans visibility day post! Have some t4t catradora art!

[lightlavenders]

as much as i hate horde prime i gotta admire how he showed up and humbled the fuck out of everyone. like SO many characters had an Oh Fuck moment where they realised there was so much more to everything than whatever feelings they had about the war on etheria. like he's the fucked up reason why catra and adora managed to rekindle their bond. and why glimmer was able to see she was wrong and apologise to the best friend squad. and the catalyst for glimmer and catra's friendship. and why hordak was able to realise he cared more about the genuine love he had from one person on etheria than anything else he'd ever achieved there. in conclusion I LOVE SEASON 5 YOU CAN PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS.

[sollaire]

i love emotionally damaged characters who get within a hairs breadth of personal growth just to make the worst decision possible, gotta be one of my favorite genders