#Yes this is about Catra from Shera

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Idk if this has been talked about before but do you think Hordak and Wrong Hordak are kind of parallels to catra and adora? Adora and WH both fully believed the hoard was truly good, and only defected when they realized it was a lie. Their values never changed, their realities did. Catra and Hordak both seemed to know the hoard was actually pretty evil, but didn't care. They both had there own reasons to rebel in the end, personal pride and whatnot, but mostly it was their love for adora and entrapta that pushed them to change sides.

Yes, I absolutely do.

Wrong Hordak even has a scene where he's petting a horse for the first time, just like Adora!!! And they both have this sort of existential crisis.

They both believed they were honorable missionaries of the Horde, that the Horde was perfect. Whether it was Adora believing the Horde were victims of rebel insurgents, or Wrong Hordak believing that Prime was the smartest and most merciful man in the universe. Sweary Shera amps this up to 11 with their Wrong Hordak having heard a bunch of lies about gay people, kind of like how Adora heard a bunch of lies about princesses (also gay people).

With Catra and Hordak, it's more like... okay, yeah, they were ALSO brought up in these cults. And I would actually say that Hordak was far more "brainwashed" than Catra, because to begin with Hordak fully believed in the hype of Prime, at least for a while. He was cast aside as a defect, and knew of the violence of the Horde, but still believed in his creator's perfection, unlike Catra, who knew from the start that Weaver was full of shit and realised over time that Hordak was too.

I'd say though that both of them were SCARED of their masters, and were trying to get their approval, to sort of... prove that they were wrong about them. Because the little voice Prime and Weaver put in their heads says "You are wrong, you are a failure", and they need to silence that in order to function. This is why Catra never defected, she needed to prove herself in the system and Weaver would "win" if she quit, and this is why Hordak scrambled to Prime's feet once he arrived.

But something changed over time. The versions of Hordak and Catra we get at the end of Season 4, their hearts aren't in it anymore. All of their actions across S4 are driven by different motivations to before.

For Hordak, his motivation actually flips over - He hardly gives a shit about reuniting with Prime anymore! What he wants to do is prove to Entrapta that she was wrong for leaving him behind, and prove to himself that he isn't a worthless piece of shit failure like everyone thinks he is. Hordak goes from a sheltered scientist to leading the army on the front lines, embracing the violence of a warlord and sort of making a name for himself rather than hiding behind the rest of the Horde. He's in the state of mind Catra was in the previous seasons!!!

For Catra, her motivation... well, it ends. We saw the fire and rage from her in the previous season where she was so determined to prove herself that she ended the world, and this is a Catra who has to deal with the consequences of that. She realises that she has very little left in her life and she tries to cling onto those ideas, even to bond with Hordak despite everything he's done to her, and she goes through the ten stages of grief, ending up on Prime's doorstep as having... started to think about what it is she really wants. Like, she sees Glimmer fuck up big time but try to fix it anyway, she goes "You can do that???", and I think Catra starts to accept she still cares about people, she cares about Adora and even Glimmer and Hordak. She's a character filled with so much empathy who tries to crush it dry.

Hordak and Catra both get the "death and rebirth" in the final season, after their "rebirth" they become more introspective with all the rage tempered or gone. Hordak, in close proximity to Prime, starts to see how truly weak the man is, and how hollow his version of "Love" is, especially compared to the sheer strength of heart he sees from Entrapta. And Catra, in "Save the Cat", are their bare selves, all notions of hero vs villain stripped away, just those two girls who grew up together trying to survive. Catra afterwards still has the final strips of her mask that she claws onto, but she lets them flutter away.

Wrong Hordak and Adora "had it easier" when it came to defecting because they were entrenched in the false values of their system, and just applied those values to their new situation. Whereas Catra and Hordak had to develop new values from the ground up, since the whole time all they were made to care about was whether they were on the good side of the person in charge, because if they werent, they were going to get the Stick.

#she ra #spop #catra #hordak #adora #wrong hordak

[tenaciousdecapitator]

Entrapta, like Catra, has all the foundations for a corruption arc. Pre-existing deviance, a solid motivation for revenge, climbing up the enemy ranks until she is the head boss's left hand, and then gaining powet over Hordak himself. Like many villain scientists she assists and joins with the good guys from time to time.

What makes Entrapta different is that, through all of this, she ISNT a mastermind, morally grey ends justifies the means scientist. She is in fact a complete cinnamon roll who's hurt by what happened but doesn't hold a grudge at all and has joined the villains because they gave her sense of belonging, and a place to foster her love of science. So you have the top dog villain at the start of season 3 when shes finally got power over Hordak, and she's using it to tell him to love himself, to show him that our flaws are what make us beautiful and they shouldn't be masked, especially if we need help. And in season 5 she's not the sneaky ex villain getting a questionable redemption, she's literally leading the front lines in terms of converting people to the Rebellion, pulling one clone of a million clones out from under Prime and immediately being able to connect with him, being the one to tell Prime to his face he will never understand love, wrecking his brainwashing network, her connection with Hordak leading to Prime's death.

It's... so OPPOSITE to Shadow Weaver, who joined the rebellion about the same time Entrapta overtook Catra in the horde and then disappeared. Weaver has the standard "redemption" arc but doesn't learn a damn thing in her life, has no humility, and is constantly fucking with people's heads underneath her silver tongued words, all stuff Entrapta literally cannot do.

So you have this very compassionate pure of heart character influencing the iron cold leader of the villains, and this incredibly manipulative abusive character influencing the leaders of the heroes.

I think it's interested how shera plays so hard with tropes.

Yes! Exactly! One of my favorite parts about Entrapta’s character is that, in seemingly direct contrast to Shadow Weaver who looks, talks, and acts like a fairy tale Disney villain evil witch 24/7, with even her attempted ‘redemption martyr moment’ just piling more mental scars onto her surrogate daughters,  everything that we’re presented with in the first few minutes System Failure gives us the idea that Entrapta is this typical (albeit sweet-toothed) Mad Scientist soon-to-be-if-not-already-villain. She lives in a classically evil scary castle on a mountain, it’s full of traps, secret passageways, and (conveniently timed) robot zombies, and there’s mutants in the sewers apparently?!? Especially since some fans know her old incarnation was a shallow villain, once she finally crawls out of a vent like a goddamn Xenomorph with welding mask eyes glowing with menace the audience thinks they have her character figured out, and then she subverts these expectations by greeting our heroes with a genuine, cheery, hospitable welcome that still acknowledges the immediate danger they’re facing and her direct involvement in it. And ever since then, all she’s wanted to do is help people and do science (and hopefully make friends with people by doing those two things). Even when she learns She Ra’s most direct and effective weakness, even when she’s given the chance to use that weakness *again* after she thinks the BFS and Princess Alliance left her for dead, she still doesn’t take the opportunity to go full "They laughed at my experiments, but now I’ll show them all! Brand New Day! Muahahahaha!” etc etc. Shadow Weaver WISHES she could’ve climbed the evil corporate ladder as fast as Entrapta did, and ironically she accomplished it by doing the exact opposite approach to SW: Being 100% genuine and honest about her opinions, knowledge, and feelings. And Hordak establishes time and time again that he hates dishonesty in his ranks (mostly because he’s not great at subterfuge and trickery himself) and gains valuable knowledge and self-worth from Entrapta’s genuine honesty. I may be forgetting something, but I’m pretty sure the one and only time Entrapta intentionally, consciously lies about something is that bit in System Failure where she find the lab and says “We’re here! Uh, I mean, of course we’re here, we were never lost.” Of course, just because she never even considers taking steps towards actual, conscious Villainy and Vengeance doesn’t mean we can’t think up AUs where she does go down that path a bit.  One concept that I’ve yet to make into a proper fic is an alternate ending to Season 5 in which she has a more active role in usurping Prime, fully disconnecting him from the other Clones before Hordak does the Darth Vader/Emperor reference, then taking over the Velvet Glove’s army of clones, droids, and drones in order to collect data on the flora, fauna, and magic of Etheria before expanding her DC Brainiac style "data collection” to the rest of the newly entered galaxy. 

anyway thanks for prompting and then coming to my Ted Talk

#not technically a question but hey I'll take it #cracked open the Pandora's Box with this one #thanks Tipsy #entrapta #she ra and the princesses of power #she ra spoilers #character analysis #shadow weaver #hordak #she ra season 5 #Cartoons #netflix #longish post #asks answered

[swearyshera]

Warning: positive rant ahead

Honestly I love sweary shera so much cause most of the time comedy/parody content is just like, hating on the source material. But it’s so obvious that you care about the characters and love the source material, and that makes it so much better and cooler than the people that just simplify and attack spop for laughs. (I see a lot of comedy stuff simplifying Catra down to bare bones tropes and making fun of her) but sweary shera is both funny and complex/sympathetic and that makes it so much more amazing! Thanks for making all this.

The pleasure is all mine! I love this blog for so many reasons, but mostly because I get to raise a little smile on people's faces in a world that needs more levity.

And yes, I absolutely love SPOP and that's why enjoy lovingly mocking it. I think that, certainly among the main characters, I have to make them a little more complex than simple caricatures because you spend a lot of time with them, and simplified, one-dimensional main characters would get tiring. The side characters, however, can be slightly more that way - look at Swift Wind's 'high school student who just discovered communism and thinks it will solve everything' schtick. That kind of continued, repetitive line would make someone like Bow or Adora annoying (and it is with Swift Wind, but he's supposed to be annoying!).

But I have learned a lot about comedy writing and character from doing this blog, and it is always a pleasure to be making new posts for it. It's a lot of work, but it's always worth it, and I can't wait for you to see what's in store.

[neopuff]

wips

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips. (You can make your own post or reblog this one!)  I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? Dnd campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!

tagged by @drewsaturday

lol i have...a lot of fic and video wips. and then not a lot of art wips. i should stick with ones i can actually see myself finishing one day but honestly you just never know what i’m gonna do next. i believe the oldest wip here is from 2006 or 2007

(under a cut ‘cause it got too long)

FICS

Ace Attorney

boat

mayaedgeworth

kmeme prompts

DuckTales

charity auction

scrooge dying

its a little late to be asking for my number

because i’m scrooge mcduck

amnesia goldie

stop calling me

weblena journal fic

amnesia goldie (yes, another one)

misc untitled wips

scroldies first continuation

truth serum

you’re my person

left it in the will

GlomGoldie Outline (collab)

gilt tales (collab)

Fullmetal Alchemist

5 times they were set up and 1 time they weren

after promised day

An undercover assignment

eds wedding

eh

elizabeth

five people

havolina1

roy hawkeye origin

six people

waking up

greeza

kimbliza poto

Generator Rex

holidaywiththeholidays2

(TMNT crossover) bisholiday

Pokémon

alternate

dangerr

decisions decisions

denial

dovey

dp153 meowth

drunk james

james sick

kiss goodbye

luvdisc

mood changer

remember

the single life

ultraball

Teen Titans

warp

terradrabblethingschange

ravenseason4drabble

Raven

Trollhunters

stricklake2

stricklake3

stricklake4

Other

Sym-Bionic Ttian: badimitationilanca

Xiaolin Showdown: jackim

Kaijudo: lobachavez one word prompts

VIDS (not including wip mep parts cuz thats too much)

American Dragon: Jake Long

jakerose 30 otp day 29

jakerose 30 otp day 30

jakerose soulmate

jakerose

Amphibia

anne sprig always gold

BH6

bh6 collab

Bojack Horseman

beatrice believe me

Code Lyoko

aelita sad machine

Danny Phantom

valerie machine

DC/Marvel

dantemala do i wanna know

jlu otps princess of hcina

livmay ophelia

losh thinkin too much

DuckTales

bradheron

della havent met you yet

duck hets piano man

fendra electric love

goldie never enough

ducktales family

scroldie back to you

scroldie hopelessly devoted

scroldie must be the place

scroldie stay

scroldie stubborn love

scroldie too close for comfort

weblena when she sees me

weblena ocean avenue

Ever After High

dappling mama say

Fulmetal Alchemist

royai shake it off

royai the hills

scar feel my heart

Generator Rex

circe scream my name

holix breathe

holix calendar

holix dna

holix idk

holix thousand years

holix violet hilll

rex astronaut in the ocean

rex caesar let my people go

Infinity Train

infinity train lay down in the tall grass

Kids Next Door

knd come back down

nigelabby listen to your heart

Leverage

natesophie i knew you once

parkerhardison someone to you

Miraculous Ladybug

lukanette evergreen

Moomins

groke shes a lady

Motorcity

jukebox suburbs

Multifandom

cartoons pictures of you

eyes blue like the atlantic

id chars little lion man

kainessa dantekamala lvoe by mistake

multicrossover we were sparkling

multiship time after time

rocketshipping jacsee feel my face

wonderwall otps

Non/Disney

heverlyn forget her

heverlyn strange addiction

The Owl House

collector

Psychonauts

psychonauts asylum give us a little love

razlili kiss me more

Riverdale

choni all night

Seis Manos

silencio happiness

SheRa

catra oceans

lightmara when you break

Star Darlings

star darlings lost stars

Steven Universe

pearlnet perfect

spinel bellyache

Tangled

cassunzel into the dark

cassunzel oceans

cassunzel uh

cassunzel

Teen Titans

bbterra halo

robrae forever

robrae jealous

robrae love will tear us apart

robrae so close

robrae soulmates

robterra nightmare

teen titans mashup mep

terra distant shore

tt one day more

TMNT

karai dont wanna be

Total Drama

jacsee empire

jacsee feelings

jacsee oh no

jasammy tear in my heart

Trollhunters

stricklake obsession

stricklake what you do

X-Files

msr s1

msr s2

msr s3

msr s4

msr s5

msr s6

Xiaolin Showdown

jackimiko va va voom

#carro does a meme #im actually shocked at the fma fic wips because i dont remember writing those but some of them have a LOT written #i should get back into fma

[mk-vasy]

Daily Prompt Forty-Two

< "Why are you still here?" She demanded.

"Because I care about you asshole.">

She laughed running her hands through her messy brown hair. "I don't get it. I just don't get it."

"What don't you get?" I asked.

"You." She said. "All I do is mess shit up with you. It's like I decide to make every single wrong decision with us. Every choice I choose is the wrong one. If I were you I would have walked a long time ago."

"Good thing I'm not you then." I shrugged.

She closed the space between us gripping my shoulders tightly. Her breath hot against my face. "Any sane person would have left. This isn't healthy. We aren't healthy."

I grabbed the sides on her face bringing her forehead to mine. "You don't get to decide what is healthy for me. You light up my whole world. You breathe fire into my heart. Yes, you can be stupid and arrogant and hard to deal with but that is why I love you. I love you because underneath all of that you care. There is kindness, vulnerability, and love. I know you can't see that, and that is why I am here to see it for you."

Tears welled in her eyes spilling down her cheeks. "All I do is hurt you."

"Yes, you hurt me. Sometimes I even think to myself why am I still here? But love isn't something that just happens. It's not just a feeling that comes on its own. It's a choice. Sometimes it's a hard choice. But I choose you, and I will choose you every goddamn time until the day I die." I tell her meaning every word.

Her lips pressed into mine with hunger and desperation. Like she needed to know I was real. It was sloppy and angry. Angry at herself for making such poor decisions and angry at me for forgiving her. I wrapped my arms around her waist pulling her tightly against me. Leaving no space, not even for air. She had to know that someone was going to choose her. No matter her decisions, no matter her harsh words, I would choose her. I was her anchor to reality and she was mine and nothing was going to get between us.

Author here. Hello hello and welcome back to the Daily Prompts that aren't daily. I hope you liked it and yes this was a little based of Catra and Adora from Shera but honestly it could be anyone. Just a reminder for those new that the prompt will be in <> with my original writing afterwards. Thanks for reading!

#fantasy #fantasy novel #short story #writing #writing prompts #ficition #steamyromance #kissing #love #author #enemies to lovers #reading #angst #catradora #she ra and the princesses of power #she ra netflix #she ra fanfic #catra #adora

[musashi]

ok so the vinyl records are definitely affordable thats like. incredibly good. very very very good. im gonna melt into this band.

im assigning you scorpia. cause. like. reasons that exist. shes hot youre hot. she gives her bestie a hot tea when she notices somefins causing stress. she is soft and warm like mash potatoes and also incredibly self sufficient.

i saw that post and tbvh i stopped watching the anime after they changed the english voice actors so some time after after battle frontier which is a massive shame cause the contests looked cool but if you ever had a moment i really want to know about the everything after, did the anime stop contests same as the games did dawn ever win any badges what happened with kalos cause ive never seen ANY content ever for kalos that wasnt the games

can i send my discord tag

HES READING ABOUT FRANZISKA IN THE PAPER HES IS GETTING ON A PLANE +1 SIBLING POINT. total points!: -49

YEAH LITERALLY NO ONE KNOWS ABT XTC OR RLY CARES ABOUT THEM SO IMAGINE THE VINYLS ARE SO CHEAP... my copy of drums and wires was a gift that a friend of mine just found in some random record store here in seattle long before the current boom. i would love to own more on vinyl but i dont actually own a record player anymore i left mine back home TToTT anyways XTC so good im screaming

scorpia and catra are usually the two kin assignments i get from ppl sghsfhgf. its pretty even split with just a little bit of lean in catra's favour. i've only seen like 5 episodes of shera but i vibe more with adora than anything dffhfd who know!

also sdlfkhgjsfd i can sadly only really infodump about my current special interest, more power to autistics who can have more than one special interest at once but that just isn't me dffghdghgf.... if i ever get back into pokemon i'll keep you in mind hahaha it is a damn shame you stopped watching when the anime actually got really really good D:

but to answer your questions:

contests kinda sorta came back in kalos as showcases but they are inferior in every possible way they suck SO bad. contests did not ever truly come back the way they used to be

no dawn didnt win any badges dghgf

kalos is so fucking weird. when its good it's REALLY REALLY GOOD but overall it's one of the worst legs of the anime. which is so fucking weird because it came before sun and moon which is easily the best fucking leg of the whole anime ever no contest

yes send me your discord tag i like you. just bear in mind i will answer your DMs like i answer your asks sometimes. my ability to DM is very inconsistent and i am not a good conversationalist. i will respond just at my own pace :3 but i like u and wanna be discord fwens

YOU MADE IT THROUGH BIG TOP SO FAST LMAO... YOU'RE ABOUT TO PLAY MY FAVOURITE CASE IN THE WHOLE TRILOGY! MY FAVOURITE CASE OF ALL TIME! THE CASE I SPEND ALL MY TIME THINKING ABOUT! PLEASE TELL ME ANY THOUGHTS YOU MIGHT HAVE IF YOU LIKE! WAHHHHH

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

Just realize I have some preference for characters that want to do good in the world but are easily manipulated and have a tendency to doing things the wrong way even if highly intelligent, because they also have a need for closeness in terms of feelings and people just assume because they are strong and dedicated, they don't need that type of bond where they can be vulnerable and where the other person can support them through the dark sides of their personalities.

#I found out this because I was trying to think what does my fav character have in common #It's also about the need of loving someone so much you would devote your whole life to them #And the need to prove others that there's worth in your life beyond what they expect #Yes this is about Catra from Shera #Jayce from Arcane #Sakura from Naruto #Tomura from bnha #Etc #Shan's personal rants

[adorascake]

14 and catradora if ur not too busy :D

lab partner au

ask fic prompts

the tea is that ive liked a total of two science classes in my entire life. great subject, horrible curriculum (and confusing af)

“You can’t be serious.”

Adora looked up from her syllabus to meet the dismayed visage of her former best friend. “Uh...hi?” She gave an awkward wave, immediately regretting it and letting her hand plop into her lap.

“I’m not doing this.” Not even a proper acknowledgement. Adora would’ve been offended if not for their history. Catra swiveled around and marched straight to their teacher, a young woman with long hair dyed a bright purple. Ms….Dryl, yeah that was her name. According to Bow and Glimmer, she was smart and...interesting, but fun overall.

Adora tried to return to her syllabus, where she had been reading over the outline of the next semester, but was distracted by Catra at the front of the room, very clearly arguing with her. She couldn’t help but smile. It brought back unwarranted memories of Catra during the years they had been friends, how she never seemed to make a good first impression with teachers unless they were nice. She shook her head and forced herself to focus.

Two minutes later, a beat up black backpack dropped onto the lab table, partially on Adora’s things. She huffed and glared up at Catra, who returned it with twice as much hostility.

“We’re not allowed to switch partners until the first nine weeks is up,” she grumbled, shoving herself onto the only stool beside Adora.

Adora hummed in response. If that was the case, they were in for a very long, very tiring two months.

-

Catra rarely let Adora pour the substances into their glassware, and this was one of the many reasons why.

“I leave you alone for five minutes,” Catra joked as she helped Adora clean up whatever chemical they had spilled. Adora knew absolutely nothing about chemistry, and relied heavily on Catra for help in understanding it, but she knew this chemical wasn’t dangerous. That part of the pre-lecture she understood just fine.

“An alarm went off on my phone and I jumped,” Adora defended, lightly nudging Catra’s shoulder with hers. “It’s not like I do these things on purpose.”

Catra gave her a long look, then rolled her eyes. “For all I know you could be messing up on purpose just to get me to do the work for you.”

Adora gasped in fake shock. “So rude.” They giggled and finished wiping up the mess. “Here,” Adora held out her free hand. “I’ll throw these out.”

Catra handed her wet paper towel over, and Adora tried not to think about how their fingers brushed as she went to the nearest trash can to throw them out. Thankfully, her blush had subsided by the time she sat back down. Catra had already moved on, pouring the same chemical Adora had spilled into their glass beaker, nose scrunched up in that cute way it always did when she measured ingredients.

Adora did her best to follow along and write down their findings, but she was more focused on the girl beside her. In the last couple of months, they surprised one another. At first, it had been rough and annoying to have to work together, but slowly, they began to get along. There was still a giant elephant hovering behind them every day during second period, but Adora tried to ignore it. Yes, they had history; yes, their friendship that had lasted over a decade ended horribly; yes, Adora was still confused as shit about her feelings and about Catra as she had been two years ago. But they were doing so good right now. Working together successfully, joking, texting each other outside of class (okay so it was mainly about chemistry, but it was a start)...Adora didn’t want to risk losing this fragile reconnection with Catra right when she grasped it.

Her accident, as it turned out, pushed them back further than they had thought, and they didn’t get a chance to finish the lab in time when the bell rang.

“Remember, you get to choose new seats after midterms next week,” Ms. Dryl called after the class as they filed out. “Make sure you have a partner!”

Yeah, Adora didn’t want to think about that just yet. For obvious reasons.

Together, she and Catra went to their teacher’s desk, which was cluttered with junk and...tiny food?

“Um...Ms. Dryl,” Adora began, but closed her mouth when the woman held up a gloved finger. Her focus didn’t turn away from one of her computer screens. Adora shared a look with Catra, who bit her lip to hold back her smile.

They waited for what seemed like an eternity before Ms. Dryl turned her attention to them. “Okay. What can I do for youuuu…” she peered at their student badges, “Adora and Catra?”

“We didn’t finish the lab today,” Catra continued for Adora. “So, should—”

“Oh, just come in after school.” Ms. Dryl waved an absent hand and returned to her screen, already forgetting about the two of them. When they didn’t leave, she glanced at them awkwardly. “My lunch period works, too. I don’t leave my room much.”

Adora looked to Catra. “Uh, after school works for me.”

“Me too.” Catra gave a curt nod.

“Excellent!” Ms. Dryl beamed. Again, she provided no further comment, all of her attention given to whatever she was working on.

They took the cue and left the classroom, parting ways at the end of the hallway with short waves.

Oh god. Being in a classroom. With Catra. Alone.

Adora could barely contain her feelings when they were around other people. Now she was supposed to spend time with her alone in an empty classroom? Adora had seen plenty of teen rom coms with Bow and Glimmer to be a decent level of downright terrified.

Ha. She was screwed.

#catradora #adora #catra #she ra #spop #she ra spop #shera #my writing #asks #i remember absolute nothing from labs bc i only did them in 9th and 10th grade #well some in 11th grade but yeah #okay TECHNICALLY all four years but i dont count food science bc it was just cooking lmao #also yes i projected my confusion of science onto adora what about it #it just means that catra has to explain things to her and aha chemistry am i right #sorry bad science joke

[marristree]

i genuinely want to do a study on why some of the most fucked up characters in books and shows almost always tend to be people’s comfort characters

#including me #im bitchez #yes i am mostly talking about andrew fucking minyard #also kind of mcu loki #can’t think of any others right now but there are a lot #fucking catra from shera #i mean it’s kind of obvious but i would still like to do some in-depth research #anyway #andrew minyard #aftg #the foxhole court

[turtle-ly]

Do you have any recs for ongoing catradora fics?

asdfghjkl yes? i was about to ask you why would you want them but then i remember other ppl are not cursed like me, since one: most rec'd ongoing fics i've seen are never completed, and two: i think im cursed. My subscriptions page is a place where fics went in and almost never make it out 😔 thus i've become a lil wary of them and also less likely to subscribe even when im following it. But bc i love y'all, im gonna put a * after fics i think have little chance of updating, read them at your own risk <3

1. (an example of) the perfect candidate(*) by brightbolt, imperfectlyctor, i've read about 3 or 4 magicatra fics and most of them are oneshot, but this one is just SO promising. the sword chose catra but when had life really chosen her? shera abilities dont come easily and catra has to struggle with that. meanwhile, horde!adora has her own set of traumas and problems.

2. A Blinding Embrace(*) by Mshpiece, Tl;dr Adora's so emotionally gay she habitually turns into She-Ra when her canonical gf Catra kisses her, let's ride the hype of post s5 fluff fics babes

3. a white blank page (to write our happy ending)(*) by scarletite, hnnng im a whore for these canon divergence, catra and adora ran away from the horde on their own and got adopted by george&lance and then all of etheria, tbh it hasnt got to the etheria bit but man if this isnt my greatest hc. #LetThemHaveAFoundFamily2k21, i think about this at least thrice a month

4. a white veil occasion by aswellingstorm, technically it only has one more chapter but bc i love it and i want y'all to have nice things, read it. catra and adora meet again after being separated in the orphanage, in this one catra is basically adopted by mara&light hope (damn have i told you how much i like this hc) and is so emotionally mature, i am so proud of her <3

5. all my glory days are yours(*) by rosebudryot, author!adora and actress!catra, adora's novel got adapted to a movie and catra's the main actor :) they dont have a we-know-eachother backstory in it but im thrilled to watch this relationship grows

6. and i bloom right into you by yangaf, yea y'all know this one, famous soccer player adora and sorority catra, they met by being thirsty for eachother at uni

7. be unbroken or be brave again by RestlessWanderings, beast island au my beloved, scorpia has reasons to believe hordak killed catra and starts a resistance (homegirl i love you), and oh the grief, the all consuming grief of her and adora and everyone catra thought would never care, and the rage, how adora vows to kill hordak with her bare hands not in the name of etheria nor the rebellion (familiar? and thats before s3 even came out) i reread the whole fic to hype for the new chapter back in august and now im insane for it again

8. crowded table by themoonsneverseenmebefore, how gay are you on a scale of 1 to fixing up a house with your ex gf who you’re still in love with :)c pwease author there's only one more chapter left i believe in u, they both inherited Razz's house and are having a grand time <3

9. fickle game by emollience, friends with benefits but there's so much feelings bc how could they not? girls can you please have a clear and straightforward conversation, it's been 9 chapter

10. Knocked Flat by Levellsof, catra loses her memory in battle, she wakes up in brightmoon and they have to navigate their relationship while catra goes on treatment, does she want to remember and should she?

11. laughing till our ribs get tough (that will never be enough) by the wanderer (a_sentimental_man), Catra and Adora are soulmates who can share their thoughts and feelings with each other. It goes as well as can be expected

12. Let Forever Mean Forever (Work) by fruitsandpeachies, the second part of a series!, i love the first part where they got stuck in razz's house 1000 years in the past, and now they are back in brightmoon, a world where they can start again, no matter how rocky it might be (im not telling more bc spoilers but you should read the 1st part first!)

13. my immortal by lunchables, adora is the last chance of saving eternia, a closed off kingdom that's on the brink of extinction, and catra seems to be a ghost tied to her to the confusion of both

14. peripheries by ethiobird, catradora through other character POV, very interesting and sort of a character study in each chapter

15. pure and high affection by tox09, hehe princess and knight au go brrrr, catra's the princess and they are so gay, that's it

16. Protecting Hope by stealyourfood, gods and goddesses! damn catra looks like the only one normal in here, or does she?

17. somebody to love by chasingcrowns, i am. waiting for it to complete before continue reading okay. but i was interested since chapter 1 and you should too

20. Sound of Silence by BrightYellowBumblebee, She-ra but featuring deaf!Adora (with a She-ra caveat) and supportive!Catra and also supportive!everyone except for SW >:(

21. sweet to tongue and sound to eye by advancingambition, barking and growling and hollering, this brand of 'post s5 and adora is def not human' is MY jam. The First Ones were fair folk, and Adora is no exception, catra's still smitten tho

22. Take Me Into Your Wild Heart by V3NU5_R0S3, Catra had run away from the Horde, leaving Adora behind. The Whispering Woods guide her to the library, where she's adopted into George & Lance's family (g&l my beloveds). she and adora meet again after 5 years and im Waiting for it

23. the ghost of you by emollience, yes, another canon divergence. Adora stays with Light Hope after s1e11. years later, she goes out and is prepared , which means how could she not become someone entirely different? this is a rewrite of an old fic and i can smell from here how angstier it's gonna be

24. till our lonely limbs collide by driluth, i think there's something between me and cd fics, probably lust. A canon divergent AU where Adora chooses to stay in the portal and Angella lets her.

25. for Having Wept in the Darkness, a series by Lycaonpictus77, canon divergence, ...i have no excuse for this. things could have gone as it had been post s2 but BAM, time travel catra says no and decides catradora should be gay much sooner, adora still hasnt got the hint :/ girl why

Anyway y'all should combine brainwave and send telepathic wave that makes authors update with me :) pwease dont let my bad karma got in the way of this

#she ra #my asks #catra #adora #catradora #spop catra #spop adora #fic rec #another one folks #my footprints #my she ra stuff #i am once again astounded by my gravitation toward cd fics #still convinced of my bad karma theory tho #spop

[n7punk]

Do you think it’s a red flag if someone unironically likes shadow weaver? my friend started watching shera and she’s basically justifying Catra’s abuse because she likes shadow weaver. Ik it’s just a show but I’m actually reconsidering my friendship with her lol

Might be controversial, but yes. If someone justifies Shadow Weaver's actions, that is a red flag. If they just like her as a character - because she is an interesting character, and you can like the fact that a character is well-developed without justifying a single thing they do - then that's one thing, but if they completely dismiss the fact that she is abusive, and especially if they place the blame for that abuse on her victims, then I would not personally be comfortable talking to that person. SW is like a copy of my abuser - her actions are not something purely of the realm of fiction (unlike, say, opening a portal that tears apart space-time after being tortured with lightning magic), and the harm that they cause is one of the reasons so many people relate to Catra and/or Adora.

SW is an interesting character because of how well written she is, and how accurately the show portrays that relationship between an abusive parent and their ward without justifying it. It even shows Adora and Catra still caring about her in some ways without making it seem like it is something they are obligated to do, but rather that it is a reality of their situation - a consequence of being raised by her, despite the pain that she caused them.

I often feel like people take Catra's actions in SPOP "too seriously" (and also treat the war as if it is a real one, rather than the metaphor that it mostly serves. The show itself portrays Mermista as handling losing her kingdom to the Horde the same way one deals with a break up), but Shadow Weaver is a very real figure that many people grow up under. Whether they suffered similar verbal or emotional abuse, or they suffered physical abuse (just not via lightning magic, which gives it a slight bit of distance from reality that makes it more cathartic and less like reliving the pain, at least in my opinion), the way SW's abuse is depicted is extremely realistic to how many people with abusive parents experience it (there are, of course, different types of abuse and abusers, but the show nails its portrayal of SW’s type).

There are, of course, nuances to this conversation. Catra does bad things too, because she is a young abuse victim (17-18 at the start of the show) who doesn't know any other way given that she was raised entirely as a child soldier in an environment of abuse, without even things like TV to show her another kind of life. She improves and takes steps to remedy her mistakes by the end of the show.

Shadow Weaver, by contrast, is an adult who repeatedly, for decades, abuses and uses people, never improving as a person, even if she changes to serve the "good" side (which she only did after Hordak imprisoned her and tried to send her to Beast Island. Friendly reminder that Catra joined the side of good without being sentenced to death by her current boss - she in fact was placing that sentence on her own head by freeing Glimmer, but she did it anyway). Shadow Weaver changes allegiances just to chase positions of power where she can continue to abuse people - Catra tries to secure a position of power as self-defense, and because she has never been given anything else to aspire to in the Fright Zone, whereas Shadow Weaver has known both the light and the dark and purposefully chose the one that would serve her best. She has exactly 0 redemptive qualities aside from being good at teaching magic, which I don't consider "redemptive", but rather is just a reason to keep her around.

Villains are fun - loving villains is why I love Catra, and She-go, and any other number of "evil" (or actually evil) women, and I don't expect every post someone makes about a character they like to include an asterisk that links to a meta about the problems with them as a person (especially one that treats them as if they were they real, because most of the time that doesn’t even make sense for the piece of media), but if they are claiming she isn't abusive or it's the fault of her victims, then that's indicative of a questionable personality type to me.

Catra to Entrapta: "I'm sorry."

Shadow Weaver to Catra: "You're welcome."

That's really all you need to compare the two by the end of season five.

#tldr i personally would not be friends with someone who genuinely excuses that #but also theres a difference between posting about a character and thinking their actions are fine #(but also. sometimes there isnt) #hence why i end up blocking so many h*rdak stans on sight despite personally thinking he is an interesting character #anyway sorry this is a fucking MILE LONG POST #i ended up going off because i have a lot of Thoughts #anon #misc

[shortkingvi]

I agree with everything you've said today about people's disdain for masc lesbians and how that relates to fandom portrayal of Yang too. Any thoughts to how this also relates to Catra bc from what I've seen, if someone on twitter even suggests the idea that they're not a fan of femme Catra, part of the fandom goes ballistic. iirc a few months back alot of shera artists drew femme catra just to "spite" a few people who were uncomfortable seeing her as femme. And spite is the keyword here, I saw it used alot. Like there's a difference between spiting incels and spiting other queer women. Idk that whole situation made me super uncomfortable as a masc lesbian myself.

ahhhhh yes i do indeed have a lot of thoughts on gender expression in spop!

let’s eliminate catra’s horde gear for a moment and look at her presentation in the moments when she gets to dress and express herself, namely princess prom and adora’s vision of the future,,,,,,,, we’ve got suit catra! both times, catra’s wearing a suit or suit adjacent, meaning she’s likely more comfortable presenting this way,,,,,,,

now, we can’t always go strictly based on clothing here because you could argue that femmes wear suits too or whatever, so let’s go on context clues,,,,,, in princess prom, catra leads during the dance,,,,,, since dance is often a space where gender is played out VERY traditionally, the narrative is positioning catra as masculine here,,,,,, combining her role as lead with her choice of clothing, the narrative gives us way more insight into catra as butch, futch, or just generally masc rather than femme or hyper femme

now, what gets me even MORE annoyed is the fandom assertion that SCORPIA is butch,,,,,,,, because obviously a large, strong woman with short hair MUST be butch right???? let’s ignore her inherent femme presentation in the story because big woman = butch, right?????? it takes a whole lot of not analyzing your own stereotypes to make the argument the scorpia isn’t femme

making a masc (or masc-femme) character like catra solely femme just to spite masc lesbians is SO hurtful and internally homophobic,,,,,,,, take a moment and think about why you’d want to “spite” masc lesbians,,,,,, is it because you think they are a bad representation of the community? is it because you are stuck in the idea of what men and women should look like? or do you just not care about canonicity so long as you’re fuelling your own projections?

part of it also has to do with ppl seeing adora as masc because,,,,,,,, she ra is buff???? idk what the rationale is there,,,,,,, anyways i think a lot of ppl are uncomfortable with the concept of masc lesbians dating each other because obviously we must remain in 1950s butch-femme dynamics to appease the hets,,,,,,, so, since they can’t POSSIBLY imagine buff adora being femme (because in their minds buff = strong = masculine) they have to make catra the femme one even at the expense of their own community members

we won’t even get into the racial connotations behind the demonization of masc women and who we perceive as “acceptably femme,” but in essence, i think anyone seeking to “spite” masc lesbians simply for looking at canon and going “this character is masc” needs to either meet some lesbians in the real world or begin to analyze the residual prejudices they’re holding onto

#sorry i’m apparently writing essays tonight #asks #anon

[witch-apologist]

dude adora has her good moments but overall I just feel like she’s entitled and self aggrandizing. like if anything catra and glimmer and bow deserve a better friend than her bc she’s constantly stepping on their toes (tho unintentionally) and I just get the vibe of white girl who expects to be coddled from her. it’s not a good look and I felt like her breakdowns over losing shera was just more self pitying white savior bullshit she can’t just cry & expect things to go her way all the time

I highly disagree with this. If she were this way about normal things/circumstances and in the Horde I could definitely see reading her that way especially the way she reacts to Shadow Weaver but still she was being manipulated and was a kid.

But after that the times she gets upset/offended is

1: Feeling like she's only good for what she can do for the rebellion/as she ra

2: having her "friend" literally take advice from and give freedom of her home to her abuser

3: Being used as bait and being sent alone on missions without backup

4: not having a choice in whether or not she works herself to death being She Ra

5: Being literally imprisoned by her friend

6: her friend blaming her mothers death on her and literally telling her that she's made everything worse.

7: being gaslit.

Like does Adora have flaws? Yes. Did Adora get cocky in the early months/year of her being She Ra? Sure but trying to take on the burdens of everyone around you and fix their problems so they don't have to deal with it because that's what you've been trained to do from a young age is not "entitlement"

And Glimmer is also entitled and self aggrandizing during season 4 (and a little bit before that)

"They deserve a better friend" it sounds like you just want to Harp on Adoras flaws (real or perceived) and ignore theirs. They're all messy because they all have trauma from their various upbringings but its not like they don't all learn and grow.

[chat-noir-always-here]

I rewatch Miraculous—The Evillustrator

Titled “The Artist” in it’s original French cuz Evillustrator sounds ridiculous.

Once again--this post uses screenshots from the French Dub version of Miraculous, translated by the good people at MiraculousSubs on tumblr. Yeah, I like the French version. FIGHT ME!!!!

“You march yourself down to the principals office! And show him that chicken scratch!”

... Bitch😒😒😒 What a tasteless, insensitive thing to say, Mrs. Crocker.  You’re setting a fine example for someone like, say, Chloe who bullies just about everyone but Adrien on a daily basis. Luka, Nathaniel, Nino and eventually Adrien—Marinette is popular with the boys.

“Artists can be so emotional.”

...Riiiiight, like you’re never not emotional.

“This is a group presentation, not pairs. Deal with it!!!”

Well at least Mrs. Crocker isn’t intimidated by Chloe’s status... like a certain principle i could mention.

...Marinette brings something important to light tho. Sabrina has no concept of what a healthy friendship is like since she’s never really experienced one. As far as she knew Chloe’s form of friendship was ideal. Which isn’t hard to understand. Sometimes it’s hard to see how bad a situation is when you’re too close to it. Sometimes you need to get some distance and take time to grow into yourself to really understand just how awful a toxic relationship is. 

me: slowly looks in the direction of Adrien.

Well as far as graffiti goes, it could be worse. One of the thing’s i love about Ladybug and Chat Noir’s partnership is how Chat Noir isn’t afraid to politely say something when he disagrees with Ladybug’s actions. Queen is usually a very responsible superheroine, but every once in a while she gets worked up and can act irrationally. Like with this episode: leaving Chloe unprotected in a fit of rage wasn’t cool. Or the whole Lila situation in Volpina.  It’s fair to note she usually owns up to it herself and apologizes at some point before the episode ends. This whole thing deserves a post of its own tho so more on that later

Ladybug: “Her name is Marinette. Really cute isn’t she?”

Marinette isn’t just cute, she’s BEAUTIFUL! Now if only she’d wear her hair down more often... Ladybug trusts Chat Noir to handle missions by himself <3<3<3

Chat Noir: “You’re out of danger. So see ya! Later.” Chloe: “Later? What about my presentation?!”

.......Do it yourself.

He’s so fucking cute I CANNOT. I LOVE HIM TOO MUCH HALP!!!

Explodes with laughter at Marinette’s f***ing face in this screenshot. 

Ah yes, the famous “princess” moment which never made it into the English Dub. How many marichat fics have I read where they have Kitty calling her NOTHING but that? Too many, unfortunately.

 I’m not saying I hate his use of “princess” here. I just don’t like how it’s overused in fics, is all. 

I love this moment--and all the little details.

Chat Noir casually pulling Marinette close to him in a way that clearly shows he is comfortable doing so. 

Marinette leaning away as he leans towards her whereas she’d be a puddle of petrified goo if this were Adrien. Here’s proof: 

Her pulling his hand off her waist with one hand and pushing his chin away with the other.

Him letting his arm drop and allowing her to put her arms around his neck before he lifts them away to safety.

Really, we can’t blame Marinette for not understanding Chat Noir loves Ladybug after this episode. He’s quick to show off to Marinette, not Ladybug, even tho he doesn’t know that’s her. Between that and the way he flirts with Ladybug, he’s kind of given her the impression that this is how he behaves around every pretty girl. Even though that couldn’t be further from the truth.

he immediately backs off when she shows she isn’t okay with this, because he’s a good boy and he’s not going to leave his hand there when she clearly doesn’t want it there.

To quote one of my favorite proposals ever, perhaps his “soul” understands what his “heart and mind” don’t yet know. That he’s held this one girl before. That he was meant to hold her. That they are meant to hold each other.

Hawk Moth: “Once I have them all in my grasp... I shall rule the world!”

That’s not even what Hawk Moth wants. To be fair I can see how the English Dub Team would make that mistake. Here’s what Hawk Moth said in the original French:

It’s not an unreasonable conclusion to assume Hawk Moth means “world domination” when he says “absolute power.” We don’t learn until season two that his true goal doesn’t so much have to do with the world as it does with changing history.

 I kinda am hoping he’ll succeed, at least partially. I can see an “alternate timeline” episode being the result of Hawk Moth actually managing to make his wish--and Marinette and Adrien working together to fix the timeline. Kinda like the scenario we got in “Shera” when Catra managed to pull the switch. Hopefully no one gets “trapped between dimensions” though...

Sabrina: “Chloe lent [this beret] to me! She really is my BFF!”

I feel sorry for Sabrina...

Okay Adrien...

Where the heck did you come from?

 Were you hiding inside a locker? 

Did you bunny-hop over the top of the lockers?

 Did you phase through a wall?!?!?!

Adrien: Hey! Marinette: INTENSE AND SUDDEN SCREAMING Adrien: is unfazed and carries on with the conversation

Me:

Adrien: “So what did you think of Chat Noir? Did you think he’s awesome?”

He wanted to know what she thought of him. My heart....!

In conclusion...! Adrien clearly has some sort of ninja skills, Marichat is a wonderful ship, and some of the mistakes made by the English translation team are understandable.

Sometimes.

#Miraculous #long post #my post #i rewatch miraculous #adriennette #marichat #the evillustrator #shera #one piece #when i stop and think about how many ppl Chloe's akumatized #i get so tired of her being the mean girl #it really is frustrating #and predictable #miraculous salt #the proposal i mention is from Glee btw #best proposal ever

[catracorner962]

Karaoke

I promise I can write something that’s pure fluff. See?! 

In the newly renovated Fright Zone, the gang is having a party. Catra and Glimmer duet Shaggy. Catra has a surprise. --- AJ Michalka has a phenomenal voice and covers "Warriors" on the SheRa soundtrack. She does this in character as Catra and even says "Hey Adora," at the end, what else did you expect me to do with that except come up with an excuse for Catra to sing this for Adora? I'm sure this has been done before this is just my take. Also whenever I hear "Wasn't Me," or "Angel," by Shaggy I imagine Glimmer and Catra getting drunk and singing it.

Adora brought a hand to her nose, trying to cover her snorting laughter. Besider her Bow swayed in time to the music. Light flashed from above blue and pink.

“HA!!”

Adora couldn’t stop herself, exploding into a fit of giggles, nearly toppling the cocktail in her hand. Nearly sending pink liquid all over her white pants and halter top.

On the stage, her girlfriend and her best friend sang like they hadn’t a care in the world.

“How could I forget that I had given her an extra key? All this time she was standing there she never took her eyes off me!”

Glimmer sang into the mic, her purple leather skirt sparkling in the stage lights.

“Wooow! Yeah Glimmer!” Bow cheered, he took another sip of his beer. More delicately then anyone else around them and probably the only one with a modicum of sobriety left. All around them people sang along, swaying and trying to dance.

“To be a true player you have to know how to play!” Catra sang, winking at Adora from her place on the stage. Her hair had grown out again in the year after the war. Already falling just beyond her shoulders. Adora took a sip of her drink to conceal the blush rising in her cheeks.

“ To be a true player you have to know how to play, if she stay a night, convince her stay a day, Never admit to a word when she say. And if she claim, ah, you tell her, "Baby, no way"

“But she caught me on the counter!” Glimmer’s voice cracked but she kept going,  

“It wasn’t me!” Catra leaned forward into the mic.

“Saw me banging on the sofa!” Glimmer laughed, leaning in to meet Catra halfway.

“It wasn’t me!”

“I even had her in the shower!”

“They’re not bad,” Bow admitted whispering in Adora’s ear. The blonde nodded, pulling a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Catra had convinced her to wear it down for once.

“Saw the marks on my shoulder!” Glimmer and Catra sang in unison. Catra unsheathed her claws in flash, winking again, this time a little more suggestively at her girlfriend in the audience. Cheers erupted throughout the bar, an eager welcome Adora thought, her chest warming. To have Catra greeted with rounds of applause rather than boos and hisses and threats.

“ Honey came in and she caught me red-handed, creeping with the girl next door, picture this, we were both butt-naked, banging on the bathroom floor. I had tried to keep her from what she was about to see, why should she believe me when I told her it wasn't me.”

Glimmer and Catra belted through the mic. It was all Adora could do not to transform into Shera. Just the sight of seeing Catra in the limelight, black pants held up by suspenders, her white shirt open just a tad too loose. She took a swig of her whisky mid chorus and continued to sing.

“I have to hand it to Scorpia and Perfuma; they've really done wonders with the Fright Zone,” Bow mused. He clapped along to the music and finished his drink.

“They sure have!” Adora answered, finally turning her attention from the stage. “Glad they were able to renovate the place into a karaoke bar. Somewhere in the distance Mermista’s groan could be heard, Adora turned. Seahawk and the water princess sat at one of the tables, the pirate’s eyes wide with amazement at the flaming martini set down before him.

“Should I….?” Adora made a b-line towards their table. Mermista flunk out her hand, a spray of water dousing the flames.

“Just drink it,” she groaned to Seahawk’s evident dismay. Adora bit back a grin. It had been awhile since they’d been able to just kickback and relax, indulge even. Post-war meant bringing magic to all the galaxy. Which meant traveling around, squashing the last of Prime’s brotherhood. Plus meetings after meetings and much needed reconciliation between Catra, Entrapta, Wrong Hordak, Scorpia and everyone else. It had been trying and difficult and the work was far from finished. But tonight, tonight was a chance to simply let loose.

“Honey came in and she caught me red-handed, creeping with the girl next door, picture this, we were both butt-naked, banging on the bathroom floor. How could I forget that I had, given her an extra key, All this time she was standing there, she never took her eyes off me!!” Glimmer and Catra finished in unison. Again cheers lifted from the crowd. Glimmer bowed, losing her balance until Catra caught her by the arm to steady her and they made their way down the stage.

“Wow, that was...wow,” Scorpia’s face nearly matched the color of her claws. “That was..I don’t think I understood half those words! But uhh next, next...we have...Perfuma! Who I’ve been told is going to do an...an interpretive dance called Ode to Rain, so that will be….uhh….fantastic.” Scorpia laughed nervously but clapped all the same while Perfuma seemingly floated up the stage.

“Hey!” Glimmer greeted Adora with a hug and Bow with a kiss.

“You were great!” Bow put his arm around her waist. “Who knew you and Catra could duet so well together!”

Glimmer laughed, full and hearty, accepting a glass of sparkling wine from Bow.

“Where is Catra?” Adora looked around the crowd. “I thought she came down with you?”

“She said she had to get ready for something,” Glimmer shrugged.

Adora nodded, trying to quell the bubble of anxiety that threatened to rise.

Catra would be fine, she can be left alone. She’s not a child. She’s perfectly capable.

Bodies pressed against Adora in the maylay of the crowd. Talking and drinking and laughing. The lights flashed all around them. Dizzying.

There’s so many people here….what if...there could be….threats. Some clone we forgot?

Someone wanting to take Catra down?

Adora forced herself to breathe, gripping her glass tight.

“Adora, you alright?” Glimmer touched her arm.

“Yes!” She smiled automatically, “I’m great!” She took a breath, eyes flicking upward as Perfuma left the stage.

Still no sign of Catra.

“It’s just...I worry sometimes...I worry about leaving Catra alone sometimes...what if there’s…”

Glimmer opened her mouth to respond when a cool light drifted across the crowd from above to the stage.

“Adora….you might want to…” Glimmer pointed. Adora followed her gaze, jaw nearly dropping to the floor. Silhouetted against the limelight a lone figure stood before the mic. The outline of someone wearing a tight fitting black dress that fanned out toward the bottom. Catra’s tail swished nervously behind her, ears flicking. She stepped forward, the high slit of her dress revealing one leg as she moved. The light illuminating her freckled face, mismatched eyes gleaming.

“Oh my….” Adora took the last sip of her drink. Beside her bow gasped. Even Glimmer’s eyes stared wide with shock. The hub-bub of the crowd died instantly, everyone holding their breath. Even Emily and Entrapta, who were observing in the corner, fell silent.

Catra’s shaky inhale of breath sounded through the mic throughout the bar. Adora waited, stunned. Taking in her girlfriend, the deep V of her dress, the way she shifted her weight. Then finally, after a mini-eternity, Catra’s eyes slipped close and her voice drifted out:

“We're warriors, unstoppable. We feel the evil coming, and shadows all around.”

She sang low and haunting, each word a melodic whisper. Goosebumps rose on Adora’s skin.

“Danger surrounds us, but won't bring us down. We're on the edge of greatness, turning darkness to liiightt,”

Her voice undulated and moved like the waves, the crowd beginning to hum. She opened her eyes, gold and blue sparkling in the light. Catra’s gaze looked through the throngs of people finally meeting Adora’s. The blonde felt her knees shake, she passed her glass to Glimmer without looking away. Catra smiled,

“We're right beside you, ready to fight. We must be strong! And we must be brave! We gotta find every bit of strength that we have and never let it go!”

“Wooo!! Yaaaah!!!” People exclaimed, clapping. Catra’s smile widened, she took the mic from it’s stand, now walking across the stage, tall and proud and brimming with pride. Adora’s cheeks ached, beaming with a smile. She too clapped along.

“We're bound to this struggle, with mighty sword and flame, we'll never fail you, when you call our name.”

She turned, again meeting Adora’s radiant face across the audience. Their eyes met, though Adora could hardly see her through a fog of tears pressing against her eyes. Her heart expanded so fast and full she thought it would explode. Catra too grinned with confidence, revealing pointed fangs. Her eyes dazzled, shoulders lifting as she sang, not once looking away from Adora.

“Together we'll be heroes, joining forces as one. Strong as the steel we carry, we rise like a su...uu...uu...un!”

She hit the note perfectly, the whole bar erupting into ecstatic joy.

“Yeah Horde Scum!” Glimmer fist pumped at the air, jumping up and down. Off to the side of the stage, Perfuma pat Scorpia on the shoulder through her tears.

“That’s my wildcat!”

Catra sang through another round of the chorus, parading back and forth. People reached out from below towards her, laughing and whooping.

“Cause we're warriors, we are unstoppable,nothing's gonna get in our way. We're gonna win in the end….”

Catra sang through the last chorus, coming to stand gracefully before the microphone stand once more.

“We're gonna reach inside, still together and fight and never let it go. We must be strong…” She finished with a flourishing whisper. Looking at Adora from her poised position stage, she blinked, slowly, her own voice cracking with emotion.

“Hey Adora.”

Tears streamed down Adora’s face, her heart hammering in her chest. She could feel herself glowing, transforming, this time brought on by pride and admiration for Catra. Catra who only sang in secret, in dark places, until now. Catra who had always deserved every bit of attention and affection and praise but never got it, until now. Catra who was so guarded who never let herself betray emotion or vulnerability, until now.

There was a white flash, people gasped, and Adora didn’t need to look down at herself to know she’d become Shera.

Catra climbed down from the stage with Scorpia’s assistance and made her way Adora, people parting for her instantly, cheering and clapping.

“Catra! Y...you! You’re…”

Catra’s lips cut off the rest of her sentence, pressing in a full deep kiss, nearly melting against Adora, well, Shera’s chest. Adora put her arms around her girlfriend holding her close, one hand to the small of her back. She had to control herself in public after all, though it was hard to do with her girlfriend looking so...so ravishingly gorgeous, so happy and exuberant. A new round of tears spilled down her cheeks.

“I knew you could sing,” she breathed, breaking the kiss only to press her forehead against Catra’s which required her to lean down a little more in this form. “But not...l...like that.”

Catra laughed, holding Adora’s hand to her face and leaning into her touch. The ruckus of people seemingly disappearing. The only thing that mattered, the center of her universe was already right in front of her.

“I love you,” Catra whispered.

“I love you too, so much.” Adora pulled her in for another kiss, the cheers escalating around them.

Catra rolled her eyes only to be shoved by Glimmer’s arms around her waist.

“Catra, where was that voice when we were singing?! I need to up my game!”

“That...that was beautiful Catra!” Bow wiped his eyes with his yellow jacket. “Absolutely beautiful.”

“Alright, alright Sparkles,” she pulled away from Adora’s hold. “Next time we do Angel by Shaggy I’ll be sure to really sing it with pathos, yeah? And take it easy Arrow Boy your gonna get snot all over your jacket.”

Glimmer only rolled her eyes but gave Catra a kiss on the cheek.

“Well next rounds on me Wildcat!” Scorpia announced happily clapping Catra across the back gently. This time Catra didn’t stiffen or bristle at the touch but smirked. A testament to how far she’d come in such a short time. Adora could hardly contain her emotion.

“You may regret that Scorp.”

The night continued on, Catra changed back into more comfortable pants and dress-shirt. Rogeilo sang...well..grunt roared some prolonged ballad that no one but Lonnie understood. Mermista and Seahawk performed no less than seven shanties. A curtin was set on fire by the third one. Frosta entertained with a series of impressive ice sculptures and Double Trouble, dramatic as they were, impressions that left everyone’s sides sore from laughter. Scorpia closed out the evening, singing a rendition of “Beautiful,”  by Christina Aguilera that had everyone, even Catra in tears by the end. Though Catra swore her eyes were she only  irritated by the bright lights.

Adora put her arms around Catra from behind, still having advantage of being in her Shera form. Muscular arms holding her girlfriend close in the dark of the crowd while Scorpia, sang her last few notes. Catra swayed in tandem, tail going around her girlfriend’s leg, she leaned her back against Shera’s broad torso and hummed. Adora planted a kiss on the crown of Catra’s head. The mark of the Heart of Etheria glowing against her chest. In the mass of folks and the company of friends, lights glowing and Catra content in her arms, sniffled happily through tears of joy.

They had indeed won in the end.

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