#anti spop finale

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

friendly reminder that in s4 when adora was being taken by the vines on beast island, she never once thinks about catra. she thinks about angella, glimmer and bow, and her other friends. and she specifically calls out glimmer's name before transforming into she-ra.

so much for c//a being “planned from the start”. the only people who gave adora courage in a time of crisis were her real friends.

#i loved these scene so much #because adora had finally moved on from catra #s5 who? #spop only has four seasons and glimmadora get together by the end of it #spop critical #spop salt #spop criticism #spop discourse #spop #she ra #anti spop #anti catradora #anti catra #anti c//a #antic//a #anticatra #anticatradora

[anti-spop]

catra is not obsessed with adora bc she's a disaster lesbian, she's obsessed with adora bc of their mom conditioning adora to be "perfect" and to "keep catra under control". catra resents adora for smth that is not even her fault. and she never unlearns that by the end of the show.

#s5 finale catra: ADORA CHOSE SHADOW WEAVER NOT ME!!!! #what the hell #i post #spop critical #anti c//a #abuse tw #incest mention tw

[spopsalt]

Kyle is probably my favorite character and I despise how he is treated in both Canon and in the Fandom

People think it's fun to bully him because he's white. But it's not funny.

(Also when I first watched the show and had no idea of any of the lore in the reboot or og show I thought that Kyle would end up as a male version of She-Ra like Adora because I thought that the 2 were twins or something. I know now that it's impossible but boy did it make me love Kyle even more.)

Anywho, sorry for bothering you. Have a good day!

Hey dw it's not bothering me! I love getting asks! But yeah, I don't know why they chose to bully this poor boy, he just wants a friend and everyone is just a complete jerk to him, if it was just the villains I guess I could get it? But even Adora does it, she's supposed to be the hero! Come on Adora, you're better than that. I just feel bad for the poor guy. You can do a pathetic wet cat man well, for example Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club I've been wanting to get an excuse to talk about Ouran for so long. Now while he is made fun of, all of this is lighthearted and all of the host club members have shown time and time again that they really do care about him. (I won't spoil anything but if you ever want to watch Ouran I HIGHLY recommend it it is VERY good!) But with Kyle the poor boy is always made fun of, and the other horde members have never been shown to care about him, I just want the poor boy to get some rest and some good friends

#spop criticism #spop discourse #spop crit #anti catra #anti catradora #antic//a #anti c//a #anti spop #spop critical #spop salt #Yes! I finally got an excuse to talk about Ouran #Anyways if you wanna watch a good funny tv show #that also has a cute couple #I would highly recommend it

[ben10shera2020]

Shadow Weaver's sacrifice was a final act of manipulation

To all Shadow Weaver stans, Shadow Weaver never changed as person nor grew as a person she was a monster until the end. Catra and Shadow Weaver were always enemies.

The only, ONLY reason she went to the heart was because Catra convinced her that Horde prime was going to infect the heart before Adora could use the failsafe, which risked upsetting her own plans so she agrees and from there she personally begins to guide Adora to the heart. It is only when she realizes the heart will be lost soon combined with Adora's refusal to proceed to the heart without Catra, that she decides to sacrifice herself, not to save them, but to ensure that Horde Prime loses and so she can go out on her own terms. Her your welcome at the end is exactly that, her playing the hero in her own story as she always thought she was, dying on her own terms, because it was literally the only option left.

Shadow Weaver believes she was the hero of her own story but all of her actions were fueled by greed for power. She cared about no one, she was manipulative and abusive to everyone around her.

So, like we know, Shadow Weaver sacrificed herself, she quite literally blew herself apart with the last of her power to kill that monster and allow Adora and Catra to save the planet, her last words being 'you're welcome' to them. So, if she was really so selfish all this time, why did she give up her life like that? Well, Horde Prime was about to literally destroy the planet, so if they didn't activate the failsafe the planet was doomed and so was her. But she still could've let Catra die! Except we saw that without Catra, Adora would've very likely died before getting to activate the failsafe and save the world. Even if she didn't stop, she likely wouldn't have made it in time.

So no matter what happens, Shadow Weaver would've died. If she let Catra stay behind, Adora would've died and so would've done the world. If she stayed behind and let them go ahead, she would've died. There was no outcome where Shadow Weaver could've survived- and sure, maybe she could've still tried with Horde Prime, but she's smart enough to know that she had no chances of even staying alive or keeping her free will if she joined Horde Prime. She was screwed no matter the outcome.

So wouldn't that mean that Shadow Weaver sacrificing herself was the most selfless outcome? Sure, it could be seen this way, but let me remind you- Shadow Weaver despises Catra, Shadow Weaver is very controlling and does NOT tolerate when things don't go her way, and she is fully capable of physically lashing out and punishing anyone under her control if they rebel. We already saw how she only held back in the past because someone stopped her, and we saw in this season how Adora and Catra are both going against anything she says so much easier and faster than before, they already know what her game is and refuse to keep letting her toy with them any longer. Glimmer is also not following her advice anymore and no one else will listen to her.

Shadow Weaver effectively lost all the control she had over anyone or anything in the world, and now? Now she has no longer a way of winning. No outcome is favorable for her anymore. Even if Adora did die saving the world, the bonds between the rebellion are stronger than ever before, she can no longer count on mourning and ill feelings to give her an easy way out while they deal with the aftermath.

So if she has to go out, then she might as well do it on her own terms, still have some control over something. Not only that- what is more satisfying for a controlling, manipulative and abusive individual like her? Just dying and letting the world die with her by taking away its only chance at survival, or dying as a hero and letting Adora and Catra deal with that knowledge?

Shadow Weaver didn't redeem herself with her death, but by allowing Adora and Catra to save the world, she did die as a hero. Adora and Catra will have to deal with the fact that their abuser died saving them and that if it wasn't for her death, they wouldn't have lived and gotten to be happy together. If it wasn't for Shadow Weaver's sacrifice, their world and loved ones would be all gone. And at least for a while afterwards, they'll have to remember Shadow Weaver just because of her sacrifice, and then they'll have to remember what she has done in the past. Shadow Weaver can and will haunt them for who knows how long while they still sort out and deal with their trauma, she just ensured they won't leave her in the past so easily.

By sacrificing herself, Shadow Weaver has effectively said 'fuck you' to Catra and Adora- maybe with more class than that, but it fits her with how much she resents them and Catra especially. Shadow Weaver really puts Catra’s past and future in perspective and it's so unfair because her entire life Catra has been put down by her, and now Shadow Weaver is sacrificing herself, Adora and Catra are free to be together without her, Catra has made up for her mistakes, it really is the beginning for her, but Shadow Weaver has to frame it like Catra gets that chance because she's giving Catra it. Her "You're welcome" shows that Shadow Weaver was never redeemed by her sacrifice, it was selfish and one final way to put Catra down. All her life Catra has been looking for validation and she only gets it right when Shadow Weaver dies and Shadow Weaver implies it's only because of her that Catra is where she is now and the future she has with Adora. She wants to make Catra feel like she owes her even in death.

#anti shadow weaver #shadow weaver sacrifice was final act of manipulation #spop critical

[ultravioletqueen]

Hace mucho tiempo que escucho canciones del musical de heathers y mi favorita de todas es "i say no" ya que es cuando verónica reconoce que no hay nada que hacer con jd,reconoce que el no va a cambiar y que no vale la pena estar con alguien que la usa como excusa para hacer cosas malas,simplemente me encantan estas escenas en las que los personajes confrontan a sus parejas abusivas y reconocen que merecen algo mejor.

Ahora últimamente he vuelto a consumir contenido de she-ra y las princesas del poder y me doy cuenta de que ODIO EL CATRADORA Y TODO LO QUE TENGA QUE VER CON CATRA.

¿En que se relaciona esto con la canción de heathers i say no? Simple,esta canción es el ejemplo perfecto de como pudieron manejar la "relación" de catra y adora al final,catra es irredimible y adora merecía decirle sus verdades en la cara,solo dejaré la letra algo modificada para este escenario ideal que tengo de adora dejando a catra en el polvo por todo lo que le ha hecho pasar,no planeo traducir la letra al español porque sino sonaría muy raro.

Para esto me inspire en los post de @spop-romanticizes-abuse y @anti-catradora-collection

I have been listening to songs from the Heathers musical for a long time and my favorite of all is "I Say No" since it is when Veronica recognizes that there is nothing to do with JD, she recognizes that he is not going to change and that he is not worth being around with someone who uses her as an excuse to do bad things, I just love these scenes where the characters confront their abusive partners and recognize that they deserve better.

Now lately I've been consuming She-Ra and the Princesses of Power content again and I realize that I HATE CATRAdora AND EVERYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH CATRA.

How does this relate to Heathers' song I Say No? Simple, this song is the perfect example of how they were able to handle Catra and Adora's "relationship" in the end, Catra is irredeemable and Adora deserved to tell her truths to her face, I will only leave the lyrics somewhat modified for this ideal scenario that I have for Adora Leaving Catra in the dust for everything she's put her through, I don't plan to translate the lyrics into Spanish because otherwise it would sound very strange.

I was inspired by the posts of @spop-romanticizes-abuse and @anti-catradora-collection

(Adora)

"You are a drug

You are a poison pill

I’ve got to kick this habit now

Or else I never will

I hated the rush

When you would hold me close

And you will not be satisfied

Until I overdose

This is it

Hit the brake

I am finally awake

Let me be

Let me go

You need help

I can’t provide

I am not qualified

This troubled teen is getting clean

I say no"

(Catra)

"Adora, who else is gonna be-"

(Adora)

"No, no, no, no!

Don’t say a word

You speak and I cave in

You’ll twist the truth again

And drill deep down beneath my skin

You said you’d change

And I believed in you

But you’re still using me to justify the harm you do

This is it

Hit the brake

Call it all my mistake

Long as you let me go

You need help

I can’t provide

I’m not your friend

You’re not mine

It’s not too late

I’m getting straight

I say no!

Blame your childhood, blame shadow weaber

Blame the life you never had

But hurting people? That’s your choice, nobody to blame

But I believe that love will win

And hate will earn you nothing in the end

This is the end!"

(Catra,pulling out her claws)

"But I love you!"

(Adora)

"You-

This is it!

I won’t cry

Starting now, I will try

To pay back

All the karma you owe!

Start again

Somewhere new

Far from monsters like you

So goodbye

'Cause now I'm

Saying no!

Just in time!

I say no!

Somehow I’m saying no!

Just say no!

I say no!

No!"

#Spotify #anti catradora #anti catra #adora deserves better #she ra and the princesses of power

[anti-catradora-collection]

okay, so, i let my inner demons consume me and finally created this blog. this is my first time actively engaging in creating a blog, so please be patient with me.

here comes some clarifications:

this is a SPOP AND CATRADORA SALT PAGE. i'll be rebloging lots of other posts related to it as well as posting my own analysis and thoughts here. this blog WILL contain discourse;

also a glimmadora appreciation blog btw;

call me by kendall;

any pronouns;

minor (16+);

brazilian, soon, english isn't my native language and there may be some mistakes in my writing;

i have BPD, autism and attention deficit. also diagnosed with anxiety disorder and depression;

yes, i am an abuse victim who's trying to recover;

not particularly an anti of catra, however i WILL criticize her treatment towards adora;

although i usually find my spop salt twitter page (@/sherasadoras) to be sufficient, i decided to continue with my tiktok channel (which was named anticatradoracentral, but i lost the access to it and created another one called acervoanticatradora. it's language is mainly brazilian portuguese, however ill be also creating videos with english subtitles there too) and also to create this blog.

STANS DNI! YOU WILL GET BLOCKED.

well, i suppose that's it? thanks for reading.

#anti c//a #anti catradora #anti spop #spop critical #spop discourse #spop salt #spop criticism #anti c/a

[danielfosseyart]

Daniel's She-Ra Watch-Along Blogging

I'm making this post to announce that there will be She-Ra Live Blogging happening now. It does include art tho so it's still art related but yes hi hello spop fandom it's nice to finally meet you.

Hi, my name is Daniel Fossey.

I'm 23 years old, bi, nonbinary, an artist, & also I'm a fucking idiot too.

I've never seen She-Ra.

Okay, well, I HAVE seen the original 1980s She-Ra show.

But we'll discuss that later when relevant.

I have.....vague nostalgia I guess?

I did WATCH both the original He-Man & She-Ra as a kid.

But I only did so if I didn't have a better option.

As for the reboot:

See, I've never seen this show. But I decided this year, I want to experience the whole thing. So, instead of binging it, I've decided I want to keep track of my experience going through this entire show. Episode by episode. In order to see how I feel as the show goes on, to see what effect it has on me, & it's also an excuse to get myself practicing art in a cozy way. How so?

Okay let me break it down.

Every single episode will be watched & then have a blog post made discussing my thoughts on the episode, & along with that:

Each time I watch an episode, I want to draw an art piece to go with the post, so it'll get me drawing consistently & maybe I'll grow as an artist in the time it takes me to watch the whole thing.

When this show first came out, I was still stuck in my 'anti-sjw edgelord white boy' phase, I had yet to realize that I was bi & even less aware that I'm nonbinary. It was a dark period of my life. I passed on this show largely because I felt like I wouldn't be a good human or whatever. Well, I'm still depressed & sad but I'm much more matured & no longer in the garbage angsty idiot teenage white boy mindset I was once in. & Idk, I know this show means a lot to a lot of folks.

I want to see how it affects me, understand what made this reboot click with so many people, understand why there was a lot of idk, 'controversy' about it? Idk why but I know there was a lot of shit spewed & I guess I'll see what the fuss was about there.

And ultimately, look I think I'm repeating myself now so just:

I wanna take this journey. And I hope you will accompany me on this journey. Maybe by the end, I'll have grown, maybe you will too.

Grown both as an artist & as a person. So-

BY THE POWER OF-Wait, wait shit wrong show.

Ahem

FOR THE HONOR OF GREYSKULL....

I HAVE THE POWER (to watch a cartoon about some lady with a big sword who hits things really good with said sword)

I will be making a proper pinned post later that will keep track. So this is just the "hello" post I guess

Wish me luck, I hope you enjoy the journey.

#daniel watches she real is now real #daniel fossey art #she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #announcement #daniel fossey #gecky

[shaftking]

https://www.tumblr.com/godmodebeginswithlesbians/732567688496431104/we-need-less-sanitized-queer-stories-youre-the

I can’t believe the amount of notes this post has of people agreeing with it. I have no idea what The Locked Tomb is so I can’t speak on that, but regarding She-Ra, ever since the finale, I’m one of the people who’s been agreeing with the statement that OP is mocking here. To clarify, though, I’m not a puritanical anti at all- in fact, I’m all for less sanitized LGBT stories (yes, LGBT, not q**r), but I want them to still be well written, make actual sense narratively, and deliver a positive message for a target demographic of children, all which She-Ra failed at.

I read some of the notes and aside from the typical nonsense I’m used to seeing toxic She-Ra fans spew, there are people who reblogged this defending She-Ra while simultaneously admitting that they DIDN’T EVEN WATCH THE SHOW. Ofc they’re not gonna understand or interpret any of the criticism in good faith if they haven’t even watched the damn show. That’s the brainless mob mentality that’s to be expected on this site.

Anyway, as a writer who majored in animation, seeing posts and notes like this is so disheartening. I don’t have much hope for the entertainment industry (especially animation) or the LGBT community. Both have proven that their standards are lower than dirt and that they all have piss poor media literacy and critical thinking skills that lead them to harassing and hating on anyone who dares criticize the media that they blindly worship. It’s insulting as a writer and sets a bad precedent that professionals can just produce poorly written fan fiction with a budget that validates childish NPCs who eat it up as long as it caters to their sensibilities and is under the guise of progressivism for kids so it can be praised as “groundbreaking.” It makes me wanna steer clear of this industry entirely tbh.

I’m also familiar with SPOP but not The Locked Tomb, so I can speak on that. And we all know that I really can’t stand SPOP. I personally view it as one of those shows that was fine and even good at times until it self destructed in the last season and especially the finale with just an astonishing lack of self awareness.

The problem with Catradora, especially compared to the other ships in the show for the most part, is that’s it’s dysfunctional and toxic in a show that is targeted to children that otherwise pushes a lot of life lessons subtexually and textually. This also isn’t just a problem of the relationship itself, it extends to their actions towards other characters, such as the fact that there is no real consequence for Catra literally killing Glimmers mother out of complete selfishness. I think the whole show kind of suffers from sudden character amnesia about other characters past crimes. Because it happened with Hordak and Scorpia and Entrapta as well to varying degrees.

And I think the doublethink the show has about being Mature and Complex vs It’s A Children’s Show So You Can’t Criticize It extends to fan attitudes. And let’s be real, the Catradora kiss was not that revolutionary when SU and LOK already had their representation moments years before. In fact it’s weird and dysfunctional asf to have characters who were implied to have grown up as sisters and raised together (the literal reason why Catra was jealous and over dependent on Adora) just kiss and have all of their problems and past just basically vanish so that they can have a few cute shippy moments before the series finale.

All that aside I personally hate being pandered to and baited. I genuinely want to see stories about people who are LGBT and different races and with different belief systems and backgrounds, but just slapping a label onto a character or story doesn’t make it good, you still have to write good characters and story. You still have to work to make things cohesive and you have to understand that as a writer you will always face criticism. Especially when you market your work so hard as the next big thing.

And as an audience member, at the very least as a teen and onwards into adulthood, you should be capable of media literacy to the extent that you can watch a show about a couple toxic codependent weirdos and recognize that they were toxic codependent weirdos even if you mostly just had fun watching them get up to fucked up shenanigans.

#ask #im a hater! I will remain a hater! #sorry for the anti Catradora rants but like what the hell

[gaykneecaps]

after like 6 months of having this account im finally making an intro post! whoop whoop!

ABOUT US

THE CLOWN COLLECTIVE!

call us 427, tom, or clown/clowns!

bodily a minor, either a polyfrag or OSDD system (endos DNI)

we love our partner sys @patchworkboy <3

he/it collectively!

we are AUDHD, psychotic, have OCD, OSDID, BPD, bipolar and suspected NPD!

we are physically disabled!

the hosts are tom, kasa, martin/gerry and dameon :)

HYPERFIXATIONS/SPECIAL INTERSESTS:

-radiation / nuclear events

-sonic

-the magnus archives (DONT SPOIL!!)

-hannibal

-hatecrimes MD

-a series of unfortunate events

-project sekai

-the stanley parable

-timothy dexter

-avatar the last airbender

-the raven boys

-over the garden wall

-SPOP, TOH, SU

-horror games

-FNAF

-obernewtyn

-ever after high

and a few other things we forgot/might add later!

ALTER INFO AND DNI UNDER CUT

FREQUENT FRONTERS / USEFUL INFO?

TOM - he / it

P-DID host (usually), tied up fixing shit in headspace right now so will only appear fronting occasionally! fictive (dont ask about source)

KASA - he / glow / star

Host for now while tom is in headspace! a subsystem, and a fictive of tsukasa from PJSK! happy to talk about source!

MARTIN ( he / him ) / GERRY ( he / it / eye)

two alters from a subsystem, cohost of the main system!

others will tag posts as they front but may be averse to interaction depending on who they are :3

_____________________

DNI:

-endos

-TERFS

-basic DNI (homophobes/transphobes/racists/sexists)

-anti neos

-uses terms like 'narc/histrionic/borderline/antisocial abuse'

-supports JKR

-aphobes

BOUNDARIES:

-dont ask to meet certain alters (not how it works)

-if we dont respond/dont interact, its probably because we arent up to it!

-DO NOT flirt with us

-please dont shit talk our sources- our introjects can't control where they introject from and they're allowed to talk about their memories

sorry this is super disorganised i am very tired! hope this is everything!

(anything triggering will be TW'd and put under the cut)

[class1akids]

You've probably gotten too many of these and are really tired by now ^^;; but I wanted to say thank you for your comments about the leaks.

I am a a bonafide BakuDeku shipper on main. I don't really care in what form they come in- platonic, romantic, whatever- and kind of do like Feral!Midoriya in the way specific to Bakugou.

On one hand, yeah I want Bakugou to undeestand JUST how much he means to Midoriya- "You're my image of victory," "Give him back (to me)," *constant admiration and imitation*

But I really don't want another 'oooOoOoO strong cool berserk Midoriya saves helpless beaten up Bakugou (again)'. You're right, it does feel like a cop out, and it's been bothering me this whole time (since I literally unfollowed a shit ton of people to avoid leaks/spoilers, and yet I STILL see them).

I dunno if I am making much sense sorry my brain is a little scrambled right now, but your points are so down to earth and like... yeah, you're right. Getting beat up beyond compare is literally a staple show of strength in Shounen. As much as I would love for Midoriya to rush in (and for Bakugou to see, not just that Midoriya cares for others, but how much he cares for Bakugou, specifically), it also feels like such a wash of his character.

Personally, I was imagining more of a reverse Heroes Rising (someone come help Bakugou/Deku!), but that's still... :/

I dunno it's nice to see someone acknowledging the bond between Midoriya and Bakugou, but in a way that puts Bakugou and his strengths first. He's always been strong, and a part of his development was him coming to accept his weakness, but... It's still really annoying to see everyone (BakuDeku-centric at least- which is one of the only ways I really get content from this fandom, since I had way too many run ins with antis) reducing Bakugou to just 'someone Midoriya cares about' or 'someone for Midoriya to save'.

As much as I want a Heroes Rising, as much as that little part of me whispers about an SPOP ending (where the fate of the world literally relies on the main rivals realizing/confessing their love for each other (so that the censors have to allow it)), I am also really tired of Bakugou not being allowed to stand on his own.

I saw someone literally writing a whole post about how ""great"" it was for Bakugou to be told that he only has worth because of his connection to Midoriya. As if those words aren't coming from the man who kidnapped him, as if he hasn't spent the entire series struggling with his inferiority, as if "you only matter because of someone else" is praise worthy in... literally any circumstance.

Someone was complaining about antis saying that BakuDekus just want Bakugou to be hurt, they just want him to be weak and saved by Midoriya- and yeah that's mostly just a bad faith argument, ignoring how many people want them BOTH to shine-

But at the same time

^^; Being in these circles (even just my toes), it does really come across that way.

I'm a Bakugou fan before I'm a BakuDeku, lol.

He's BEEN weak, he's faced his inferiority, he himself has talked about how he let his fear and his issues get the best of him.

As much as I want them to fight side by side, I don't want another saving scene.

I want Midoriya to admit out loud how much Bakugou means to him. I want him to finally admit that his powerups were because of Bakugou. It's nice that Bakugou has officially been established as Midoriya's weakness (canonically), but he's MORE than just that.

Platonic or romantic, whatever- it's indispensable how much Bakugou means to Midoriya, and, yeah, Bakugou knows about Midoriya's recklessness and his sacrificial tendencies, but it's (likely) that Bakugou doesn't realize how much of Midoriya's "my body moved without thinking" is SPECIFICALLY for Bakugou.

He's gone feral at villains before, but never quite as unhinged as he does for Bakugou- and I want that to come forth.

I just don't want it to be at Bakugou's expense.

I'm trying not to be disappointed one way or the other, lmao, but I have just seen so many angst-faith interpretations (not bad-faith, but just... going for the most angsty route possible) that it's just exhausting and annoying.

I want Bakugou and Midoriya to have a moment just as bad as anyone, but I am also really tired of Bakugou just bwing the victim (especially to the guy who kidnapped him before- it feels liks such a wash).

Horikoshi does have a BakuDeku agenda that likes to poke its head in, but I really do hope his Bakugou simp brain kicks in first lmao.

(You don't have to post or acknowledge this lmao. I just wanted to say thank you lol)

I think it helps to be a multishipper, because it keeps close the fact that Bakugou has many significant relationships / bonds, that he's not meant to be "just" Deku's other half, but also an inspirational presence in Class A on his own right and he becomes a much more well-rounded character through interactions with others.

Even before he had a quirk, he had charisma and leadership which made him the gang-leader of the neighbourhood boys. So it makes sense for his arc to return there, where he'll be able to be a pull-force in a team-up made up of Top-10 heroes and his seniors. He's the most junior member of the vs ShigAFO team, he has no legacy to rely on (while Deku gets automatic respect as All Might's chosen after the war from the pros). Bakugou is being kind of treated like a brat (because he behaves like one a lot of time) at the start of this fight, but watch him earn everyone's respect and watch them all get hyped up by him.

Right now, we are in the phase of the fight where people's individual arcs are in the focus (which is why Iida had no role yet in Shouto vs Dabi either). All the main characters will get their growth displayed, as well as the big changes in hero society.

But I fully expect the end to be a group scenario, where everyone helping out each other, joining hands will win the day and some important relationships will get in the focus. Considering BKDK has been one of the main dynamics since chapter 1, I think THEIR big moment will come very very close to the end.

And it should showcase both how their dynamic changed from antagonistic to truly mutually supportive, and also how they have BOTH been transformed by each other's influence - hopefully concluding not only Bakugou's character arc who has come to understand the value of saving, but also Deku's character arc in a way where he's internalized that his self-destructiveness hurts others and he learns to see himself as valuable.

#c1a asks #bnha manga spoilers #bnha 360

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

can we talk about what a downgrade s5 catra was? sure, she was a toxic abuser in the previous seasons, but at least she actually served a purpose to the plot. she was a compelling villain and posed a very real threat.

in s5, catra is a toxic abuser who's also completely useless to the plot. literally all she did was save the bfs from some inconsequential problems a couple times, make snarky comments about the people she hurt, and cry about how adora isn't thinking about her every second of the day.

#she couldn't even defeat that tentacle monster thing in the finale #when she was shown to be strong enough to defeat bigger threats in the previous seasons #how did she get so noobified lmao #spop critical #spop salt #spop #spop criticism #spop discourse #she ra #anti spop #“catra is the braincell of bfs” no tf she's not #she did absolutely nothing to help them how is she the braincell

[spopsalt]

Hi!!

This will be a bit more of a personal rant / ramble about spop if that's okay!

So like I was around 11 when the first season of spop came out. My sister followed Nate and was very excited for the project so we watched it, and we both really liked it!!

So each time every season came out we watched it and came up with fan theories and all that jazz! Keep in mind, we never really rewatched seasons in between. So we watched season 2, waited around half year and then watch season 3 when it came out. So we never watched season 2 again in between those months. This makes it that you forget some things, but that was alright.

I think this is the way the show is meant to be watched. It was enjoyable, we came up with theories, we came up with ships, we bonded with the characters. Season 4 was my favourite season because of all the tension and drama!!

And then well, season 5 was a bit of a letdown, but yeah sure! That's fine, y'know. I am not a shipper at all, my sister is aware at this point that her ships are never really popular so she didn't have her hopes up (she ships glimmadora). She also followed Nate so she knew that he liked c//a and stuff.

Anyways, when the show was finished, people really started watching it because of the lgbt representation. This always felt weird to me? It didn't make sense? I didn't watch Spop with the idea in mind that c//a would become canon in the end. Which made the show a whole lot easier to watch.

I also felt like.. it wasn't really the point of the show at all? There was just a kiss at the end that was about the romance the show had gotten, I didn't get it (im aromantic asexual so maybe that's why).

I have a lesbian friend (they/she) for example, who watched the show for c//a. Which is fine, they really like it and they relate to c/tra, due to trauma and stuff. It's just that it felt so.. weird talking to them about the show. Because everything about the show kinda felt like it was about c//a for them? Just like how you anti-spop blogs talk about how c//a shippers can make any scene about c//a. That's how it felt. Now I didn't really mind, but it felt odd to me.

Either way. At some point, me and my sister finally convinced my other sister to join our rewatch. Which was,, tough. Well, it was alright, in the sense that, I just focused on my favourite characters and (platonic) relationships. (Entrapta! Scorpia! Glimmer!! Adora!!! :D!!)

But the c//a kiss at the end made me physically cringe. (Literally)

I don't really have a point to make! I just believe that Spop isn't meant to be binge-watched? I feel like? I really really enjoyed my first watch, and I have very conflicted feelings about it (due to nostalgia too. dt being the first enban ive ever seen on tv?? mindblowing!!).

I like it. But also as an emotional abuse survivor, it also is just.. tough. All in all it's just, a bit, disappointing?

I guess that's it :) that's my ramble.

I'm not sure if anyone has any similar experiences, as pretty much everyone I know watched it after all seasons came out and it has risen in popularity.

Have a nice day!! Love ur blog

Awwwww thanks for your kind words, also it's ok, the ask buttons says "Rant with Me!" for that reason, I love hearing rants! But yeah, I personally was never that big of a fan, but it's good that you like it! But yeah the representation is definitely bad, the only bisexual character get in m x f ships, which is fine, ofc bisexual people don't have to date only people of the same gender, but...they never show attraction towards other people of the same gender?! The only bi characters get in m x f ships, one of them was extremely rushed, and one of them was creepy considering it looked like an adult dating a teen. Also the main couple is literally just a victim falling back into the cycle and kissing her sister who literally gave her trauma.

#anti spop #spop criticism #spop discourse #spop critical #spop crit #anti catra #anti catradora #spop salt #anti c//a #antic//a #anti glimbow #I mean not really “anti” #because it's not toxic #but it's so rushed #like Glimmer blushed at Bow once #and now they love each other?

[segasister]

Said it on twitter but for years I have been a big Catradora fan and supporter even while acknowledging catra’s worst points and knowing the ones who hate the ship have valid reasons and was against this anti Catradora blog I found getting attacked by rabid fans. Just wondering but how if you worked on the show would you do to make it healthier like I wish they had catra being reluctant to fight adora last longer

Plus you heard there is going to be an Amazon original she ra live action reboot? I wonder what they will do to make it different from spop

First, I'd have Catra join Adora a lot sooner, like when Adora offered her hand to Catra to leave together. But if you want them to still be enemies, have Catra be disillusioned with the Rebellion and, somehow, make her want to go back to the Horde of her own volition. Have Shadow Weaver promise that, "she'll be better," so long as the show still ends with Shadow Weaver dead.

Really, give Catra this inner conflict whether staying with Adora was, "right," or going back to the Horde. Have her show that, despite everything, she still cares for Adora to some extent.

Do this, and keep the final season unchanged, and I think Catradora would be a much better ship.

As for the reboot… I have no words, not until I see some sort of preview/trailer for myself.

#from: cornholio4 #She-Ra: Princesses of Power #Adora #Catra #Catradora

[chena-h]

*Checks my nonexistent watch*

Well, would you look at that? It's time for me to ramble about spop for a bit.

Disclaimer, I guess? So, this is all fairly off the cuff. Also feel like mentioning that I haven't gone back to watch spop since the final season aired. But, you know...whatever.

Among my laundry list of nitpicks with spop's last season, one of them that stuck out to me recently was the resolution to Shadowweaver's story. Like killing her off (even as a noble sacrifice for her adoptive daughters) felt a bit underwhelming. For a character that influenced so much of the story, her ending seemed too abrupt to me, you know what I mean? Also, like, given the show's anti war message (and the decision to keep Hordak alive), I would have liked to see Shadowweaver get some further development during the final conflict.

Personally, I think it would have been cool (and maybe narratively satisfying) for her to have been involved in the fight against Chipped! Micah. Idk, just something about her going up against her former student is really interesting to me. Like, I think it could have brought her arc full circle in a way, by having her go up against him and be overmatched. Maybe she could have had a moment in that fight where it looks like she's going to die and she has a monologue about her story up to that point wherein she concludes that death is the only option for her, only for Glimmer to come to her aid and help fight off her father. Like, for Shadowweaver to see Glimmer not give up on her could've maybe helped her realize that her worth isn't measured by how powerful she is, but by the fact shes actively choosing to do good outside of personal gain or something? And That her redemption so to speak doesn't have to just be about penance. Idk, I think that would have been neat for her character.

The reason I'd keep Glimmer in that fight is because her arc kinda parallels Shadowweaver's arc (at least in S4), so I think it'd be interesting if they both worked together to save Micah.

#chena.txt #she ra #spop #shadowweaver #vague spoilers for s5 i guess?

[atlasifyllm]

i'm kinda curious how well sul fits into the typical shonen anime tropes, considering i haven't watched a LOT

ruby i'd say represents a shonen protag fairly well, considering she's been inspired by such since the beginning

jay is kind of difficult to pinpoint; they're definitely the "edgy one" but they're not a rival. they're not even a villain either; i think a lot of their tropes i definitely pull from western characters. if i had to say something i'd say they're meant to represent the flip-flopping of the typical shonen protag by being inspired by ed elric rather than [insert toy anime here], but even that comparison isn't super strong.

blaze is definitely the "best friend of the protagonist" archetype; those characters that dont matter to the plot as much as the protag and their rival, but still are there to make the protag feel less alone and have someone who is their sort of anti-lancer. blaze's growth is simple but still very much There

rina is also another character i think pulls from western media as much as jay. she definitely fits the criteria for "the girl", of the group, but that's a huge disservice as to what rina SHOULD be in the story. considering cassandra from tangled, catra from spop, and jinx from arcane are all influences that my beta reader bestie said i should look into for her reference... yeah, she definitely does fall under a lot of western influence. then again, out of the shonen anime i've watched, i havent been SUPER wowed by female characters (with the exception of fma but thats a given)

turqbalt also fulfills the role of "best friend of the protagonist", but mixed into the typical "red oni blue oni" and rival. i dont wanna make him too angsty or brooding (derogatory), so maybe he's not the PERFECT edgy rival archetype, but i'm also still trying to play into how calming the color blue is as a color, considering thats the point of his character representing the color blue

amethyst DEFINITELY is the dark magical girl trope; i'd love to research more about what that means. i think with it being a mahou shoujo trope ame is definitely not as edgy as shonen rivals can be, and her being the "dark one" of the paladins is definitely portrayed in a different way than cobalt's "edgy rival". definitely a trope i wanna look more into; see what works and what doesnt

finally, rose is meant to be more of a majou shoujo protagonist; yeah i said i'd be talking about shonen tropes but her being a shoujo protag is meant to contrast ruby being the perfect shonen protag. they have similar core values of friendship, love, and heroism but go about them in different ways; however it's not like they'd butt heads about it, but understand each other in a way different to the others simply because no one else has the weight of "protagonist" on their shoulders as much they feel.

overall i want sul to FEEL like an anime, but still break enough of the tropes because i still am a western creator who enjoys aspects of western creations while still respecting how much i enjoy anime ways of creating

#atlas speaks; #sul text;

[raayllum]

What are some examples for you that, in your opinion, are the reasons Rayllum is a healthy romance while Catradora is not?

(This is not a ship hate ask question, I'm just curious since I've seen a few comparisons and I'd like to know more)

Short answer? Everything.

Long answer? Under the cut so people have an easy time scrolling past it if they want, since this isn’t quite my usual content. 

And special note to CA shippers: this probably isn’t a post you’re going to enjoy, nor is my mind really open to being changed if you disagree. This is my own personal discussion and opinion, not a debate, and it holds as much or as little weight to you as you want it to. Please choose accordingly whether you want to read something that may be upsetting or if it’s better to just scroll by. Do what’s best for you. 

TW: discussions of emotional & physical abuse

Okay? Okay.

Let’s get into it.

Now, to get the obvious out of the way:

1) Rayllum and C*tradora do have some similarities. Rayla and Adora both have swords and immediately switch sides when they realize their original side was wrong and decide to fight for peace; Rayla and Catra can both lash out when others are trying to get them to open up; Callum and Catra both have issues with insecurities / feeling inferior. The shows also touch on similar themes such as choosing your own destiny, breaking the cycle, overcoming negative parts of your upbringing (for Rayla in particular) and more. Largely due to Shera’s ending, I don’t think it handled any of these themes particularly well, unfortunately, but I will be keeping this specifically centred on the relationships out of preference and because this meta is already long enough.

2) Children can indeed abuse other children, the same way that children can bully/torment other children. Adora and Catra had a “golden child — scapegoat” dynamic with Shadow Weaver as their “shared parental” figure (a very common dynamic for siblings). Someone can be an abuse victim and also be an abuser. Mental health and abuse are explanations, not excuses.

3) No, Catra’s abusive behaviour towards Adora cannot be explained away under the guise of “friends to enemies to lovers.” Mostly because that would mean they’re both equally enemies to one another over the course of the show, like Catra doesn’t always hit Adora where it hurts 100 times harder. Nor can the 4+ seasons worth of harm all just all be magically swept under the rug by one apology and a season where Catra treats Adora the way Bow and Glimmer have been for the entire show. Beyond the really awful stuff — physically attacking and injuring Adora (in ways Adora never returns the same way, ie. scarring her), attacking and kidnapping her friends, electrocuting Adora (s4), trying to kill Adora, tasing her, drugging Adora to use her as a weapon (remember “White Out”?) — there are also far worse emotionally abusive behaviour underneath it all. Guilt tripping, blaming Adora for everything, consistently lashing out, being angry whenever Adora does something good for herself that doesn’t also benefit Catra, wanting to isolate her, not being emotionally supportive, etc. But I’ll get more into that later. Funnily enough, the fact that an abuser was abused doesn’t tend to actually matter to their victim. 

The crucial thing about Catra’s character and her relationship with Adora is that — rather than seeing Adora leaving the Horde as a moral/ethical thing (of which Catra the war criminal just doesn’t care as she becomes Hordak’s right hand woman) or even as Adora leaving an environment Catra knows is shitty (“They’ve been messing with our heads since we were kids”) — she sees it as Adora “leaving” her. She sees it as Adora choosing other people over her. And that’s been something Catra has seen as unacceptable ever since they were children, pushing/punching/scarring Adora on the face and making her cry when Adora is friendly with Lonnie and tries to convince Catra they can all be friends. It’s why she’s so angry about Adora “abandoning” her to be best friends with Bow and Glimmer, and the idea of Adora making the right choice in leaving an abusive environment and not her specifically never even crosses her mind.

The fundamental flaw in their relationship is that Catra never actually lets go of the belief that Adora abandoned her, or that Adora’s actions against her (y’know, when Catra was literally helping the Horde conquer the world and is the aggressor in every fight scene between them) were ever Justified.

[From the finale episode] C: So please, just this once — stay!

[The multiple and repeated times Adora tried to convince Catra to come with her and even said “I’m sorry for leaving” and “I won’t leave you behind again” and “Please stay, I need you”? Completely chucked in the bin, thanks for nothing - cause yeah, Catra, that certainly never stopped you from scarring or hitting Adora at any point in your life]

While watching S5 and the series through the first time I enjoyed their relationship and even shipped it (the turn around came two weeks later as the more I thought about their relationship, the less I liked it / more deeply uncomfortable I became with it), but one moment rubbed me the wrong way even the first way through it. In the penultimate episode — “Failsafe” as I’m counting the finale as one joint episode — Adora has taken the Failsafe to save Etheria. Delivering it to the Heart may kill her. However, as She Ra, she is literally the only person on the planet — which is about to end! — who can take it and not automatically die. Adora has also, already, taken the Failsafe. It can’t be removed.

C: Why do you always have to sacrifice everything for everyone else? Why are you like this? When do you get to choose? What do you want, Adora?

So despite being literally the Stupidest time Catra could have this concern — again, Adora has already taken the Failsafe, she can’t remove it, the whole world will end if someone doesn’t, and Adora is the only person on the planet where taking the Failsafe isn’t an automatic suicide mission — let’s focus on what happens afterwards, because That is what rubbed me the wrong way.

Adora has made a choice, but it doesn’t align with what Catra wants. So in the penultimate episode, and we’re supposed to believe Catra deeply loves Adora, Adora clearly states what she wants. She is scared of dying and of failing the world, she knows she’s put herself greatly at risk, and she understandably asks Catra — someone who is supposed to love her — for some goddamn emotional support.

A: Catra, please, stay. I need you.

And what does Catra do? She abandons Adora and basically says she’s a liar: “No, you don’t. You never have.” And she leaves Adora, sobbing alone in the woods, with the entire weight of the world on Adora’s shoulders. We later get more of an explanation as to why Catra left, as she states, “Adora chose Shadow Weaver, okay? Not me. Adora doesn’t want me! Not like I want her.” Catra sees Adora choosing the well being of everyone on the planet and her takeaway is, yet again, Adora choosing people over her, somehow. Even worse, part of Catra’s justification is that Adora, apparently, doesn’t romantically want her back.

Just to recap: it is the penultimate episode, the apparent girl you have “always love(d)” is about to possibly sacrifice herself and die, and asks you for emotional support. And then you abandon her because she doesn’t want other people to die and because she might not return your feelings. Are. You. Shitting. Me. 

But put a pin in that, cause we’re gonna come back to it later.

But you know what, why is Adora like that? Why does she always feel like she has to protect and save everyone else, even at detriment to herself? What could have possibly made her feel like a failure at protecting her friends? Who could have blamed her for all these problems that aren’t actually hers to fix, but it feels like they are? Gee, I wonder...

C: As long as we have this sword, we have the power to make her go berserk. We can turn the Rebellion's own hero against them. That's good. [to Adora, smugly] I wonder which of your friends I'll have you annihilate first [...] Are you kidding? I've got control of Adora. I am not giving that up.

A: [quietly, seriously] You wanna know the worst that could happen? Fine. I'm the heaviest hitter, so Catra will separate me right away. Trap me, take my sword, do something so I'm helpless when she turns on you. She knows everything about me, exactly what I'll do, exactly how to take me out. [...] Catra will make me watch all of it before she finishes me off, and then everyone is gone, and the Horde wins the war, and Etheria crumbles, and it's all my fault! [knocks all the figures off the table]

C: It's always the same with you, Adora. “I have to do this. Oh, we have to do that.” Let's be honest, all of this is your fault. If you hadn't gotten captured, your sword wouldn't have opened the portal. If you hadn't gotten the sword and been the world's worst She-Ra, none of this would've happened. Admit it, Adora, the world would still be standing if you had never come through that portal in the first place. You made me this. You took everything from me. You broke the world, and it is all your fault.

A: Why are you doing this [attacking me]? C: Because you left me! (early s1)

C: Where's Adora? G: She...She left us. She's headed to the Heart on her own. C: Of course she's gone! That's what she does, isn't it? (finale s5)

Because there’s nothing more romantic than basically telling someone you’ve “always” loved that the world would be a better place if they’d never been born, right? To the point where Catra basically becomes a trigger in Adora’s mind of how her dominos will fall and culminate in her losing everything she loves. To the point that Catra still acts like it’s Adora’s fault for taking the Failsafe. To the point that Catra’s ‘love’ for Adora reads almost entirely as completely selfish at basically every turn for the majority of the show.

Another moment that rang very hollow very quickly was the fight between chipped!Catra (aka brainwashed) and Adora in s5. Adora has come to rescue her after Catra made one (1) apology and sent Glimmer safely to Adora, doing one (1) good thing after season upon season of terrible thing. The show frames their face off as this big tragic fight — as most brainwashing plots tend to. The whole point of a brainwashing plotline, usually, is to have someone hurt someone they never would ordinarily. Except there is basically nothing that happens in the brainwashing fight in terms of physical harm that Catra hasn’t willingly inflicted on Adora in the past (the last time they saw each other in person, Adora was being electrocuted by ‘Catra’ — another character in disguise, but Catra gave the order for it and saw it happen, so). 

[Screencaps from s5 and s1 respectively, of Catra clawing at Adora’s back; in the lower picture, she breaks through cloth and rips through skin]

Horde Prime is seen as the ultimate evil in the series because he brainwashes people and sets them on their loved ones as well as being an abuser. And Catra does the exact same thing to Adora earlier on in the show (remember that “annihilate your friends” comment?) — and even if you aren’t willing to admit that Catra abused Adora, the show makes it explicitly clear she manipulated Entrapta and flat out abused Scorpia. But Catra is redeemable because...? (Don’t even get me started on the fact that Catra is responsible for the death of Glimmer’s mother, which is a massive deal in season four, and it’s never even mentioned, once, in season five, and Catra never has to face consequences for any of it.)

That being said, I’m actually not opposed to Catra being redeemed, nor was I ever, and I always thought she’d end up with Adora. But the path they took to get there, the utter lack and regard for Adora’s feelings, are incredibly bad and very transparent. The show and showrunners tried to patch this up with statements like, “Catra knew when she left Adora to die — after Adora had saved her life and was begging for help — that Adora would survive the fall from this cliff.” Which is all well and dandy for Catra’s characterization, but does absolutely nothing to address the trauma, or at the very least negative emotions, that Adora would have from that experience. 

That, combined with other prominent facets of emotional abuse in romantic relationships being

The abuser is angry with the victim for prioritizing other things (people, needs, career) over them = a lot of what I’ve pointed out above

The abuser gaslights the victim, saying the victim is to blame for their abhorrent actions (self explanatory)

The abuser seeks to isolate the victim = even Catra as a child not wanting Adora to have any other friends but her that was present at least until s5

The abuser will guilt trip and take out their rage on the victim for “leaving” them

The victim convincing themselves that if they just try hard enough, they can “fix” the abuser with their love, perpetuating the cyclical belief that the victim is really to blame for the abuse, etc. = “You’ve never given up on anything, not even on me” and again, fairly self explanatory

Which is too bad, because as a concept, C*tradora is great. Childhood best friends, raised together (take out some of the consistent resentment Catra harboured for the only person she claimed to love), pushed to be on opposite sides of a war (in which almost any chance — except for maybe two — that Catra has to ruin Adora’s life or hurt her, she takes). Then they end the war, hurray, and live happily ever after!

Anyway, now onto something far happier for me, at least, which is Rayllum.

Ah, Rayllum. A barely enemies to friends to best friends and lovers. Let’s revisit those brief similarities with C*tradora, shall we?

Rayla and Adora immediately defect and swords are involved. They have to turn against someone they love (Runaan, Catra) in order to do so. Rayla ends up aligning herself with Callum (and Ezran) as an ally rather than an antagonist. Even in the brief period she is an antagonist, Rayla quite frankly isn’t aggressive. She’s threatening, sure, and chases Callum down with swords — it’s scary, I won’t deny that — but she also immediately starts stalling.

Then, when Rayla actually does threaten him, she apologizes: “I’m sorry. I have to do this. I don’t want to, but I have to.” And she lets Callum stall her further in their ethical debate, and after he’s lied to her about his identity and run away again, and when the actual Prince Ezran has been revealed. So despite being enemies, either of them actually hurting each other willingly? Completely out of the question, except for one (1) kick Rayla gives him in 1x02. 

You also have Rayla’s similarity with Catra in terms of lashing out when someone tries to get them to open up. The difference is that Catra lashes out at Adora usually because of some negative emotional response ‘Adora’ has drawn out of her. For example, feeling rejected and abandoned because Adora was friendly with one of the other cadets.

Yes, Catra is an abused child and it feels like Adora is all she has in the world, but that doesn’t make that okay or healthy. Catra very clearly wants to keep Adora to herself and rejects any other possible friendships either of them could have. And Adora is also an abused child. Catra pushes Adora, makes her scream and cry, scars her across the face, all for Adora being friendly with another kid their age and coming to see if Catra is okay.

In contrast, Rayla tends to lash out because she’s crumbling under the weight of her own failures. Callum is not connected to why she’s actually lashing out at all. This is how Rayla responds when Callum tries to be there for her after she’s discovered the death of her father figure and has been banished from her village, just like her biological parents were, all of them branded as cowards (which is the worst thing someone in her society can be).

Callum isn’t injured, he’s not crying. He isn’t made to feel responsible for any of Rayla’s emotional turmoil; if anything it’s the opposite, as she places it wholly on herself and her own feelings of inadequacy. Rayla then opens up, processes her anger and grief, Callum is able to successfully cheer her up, and the next time they’re in a similar situation of emotional turmoil, she’s grown greatly. The scene above is also generally considered (and seen, in show) as Rayla’s lowest moment in many ways. Whereas for Catra, it seems like it could honestly fit right in with being a semi weekly experience. Again, I think the screencaps 90% speak for themselves, but this was just for clarity’s sake.

Then you have Callum and Catra. Both have struggles with feeling inferior. But Catra has a tendency to blame other people around her for everything (“You made me this. You took everything from me” and “Some people have a bad day. I’ve had a bad life”) Callum sees the fault line being in himself.

The only time he ever blames Rayla for anything is in 1x06 about rushing them and causing him to forget some of their supplies — a minor thing that she then just teases him over and something he apologizes for later — and for dropping the egg of the Dragon Prince as a spur of the moment reaction. Which he then almost says was his fault later on in the season.

This is especially important, because both Rayla and Adora deeply struggle with a fear of failure and many of their actions are defined by their self sacrificial streak. But Callum never blames Rayla for things, even when he would be justified in doing so, and Catra routinely harps on Adora’s biggest insecurity as a way to cut her open when Catra isn’t blaming her outright for things. Remember that pin we put in, earlier? We’re bringing it back now.

Because Rayllum also has a fight in their penultimate episode about one of them being self sacrificial and the other disagreeing. And it goes completely differently than the one C*tradora had in a few key ways.

1) Callum does not abandon Rayla for wanting to sacrifice herself. He does the opposite, elongating the conversation and trying to get through to her that this may not be the best thing. 

2) It is never, ever, Callum’s concern that Rayla is “choosing something” over him. It does not occur to him, he does not bring it up, his relationship to her — and by this point they’re actually in a romantic relationship — is seen as completely irrelevant to her levels of agency.

R: This all happened because my parents ran away, so I have to stay and protect the [sleeping] Dragon Queen. [...] C: Really? So, that’s it? Just… goodbye? You’re going to stay here and die out of pride? Oh? You have a nicer word for it? Honour? Redemption? It’s just pride! [...] Don’t let your parents’ mistakes drag you down. I know you feel guilty, but you’re not thinking straight! Rayla, you have to let it go!

3) Later after their argument, he calmly approaches her and provides a solution that places the full agency back in her hands. Rayla then resolves to include him in the decision making process.

Again, there are similarities: “Then you don’t know me at all. You never did.” and “No, you don’t [need me]. You never have.” But again, Rayla is the one who walks away from her and Callum’s argument, which is about her risking her life. Adora and Catra’s argument is at first primarily about Catra abandoning Adora in her greatest hour of need without saying goodbye (which Catra never apologizes for or even seems ashamed of) and then Catra switches gears and makes it about Adora. She says that Adora should care about her own needs, but when Adora expresses those needs, Catra ignores them.

The one time that Adora ever thinks Catra has come back for her, she’s surprised.

On the multiple occasions Callum goes back for Rayla (or she, him), she’s almost never surprised.

Which is really just reflective, honestly, of the fact that the vow Catra makes to Adora in the finale is basically the promise/offer Rayla makes to Callum... three episodes into the whole series, the first night they met each other.

Another direct comparison is the early conversations between each pair that we’re privy to. The conversation enclosed below (the bolding are my personal additions, not to indicate actual emphasis)

C: No way. You've been promoted? A: Well, kind of. I mean, yeah, I guess. Heh. But it's not a big deal. C: Are you kidding? That is awesome. We're gonna see the world and conquer it. Adora, I need to blow something up. A: Umm.. C: What? A: Shadow Weaver says you're not coming. C: What? My time was just as good as yours today. What is her problem with me? A: I mean, you are kind of disrespectful. C: Why should I respect her? She's just bitter that she doesn't have any real power that doesn't come from Hordak and everyone knows it. I guess it sure must be easy being a people pleaser like you. A: I am not a pe-- Catra, wait. [Sighs] Look, I'm sorry. I didn't even think you wanted to be a Force Captain. C: I don't. Here, take your stupid badge. A: Come on, Catra. This is what I have been working for my entire life. I was hoping you could be, I don't know, happy for me. C: Ugh, whatever. It's not like I even care. I just wanna get out of this dump at some point before I die of boredom. 

Let’s look over that conversation in more detail, shall we? This is supposedly when Catra and Adora were best friends and happy. This is the “positive” background given that “justifies” Adora’s continued investment in Catra even as she does more and more terrible things. But what actually happens? Adora reveals she’s been promoted. Catra immediately makes it about them as a unit / about herself; no congratulations or anything. Catra then insults Adora for no reason other than her own bitterness and resentment (which is ironic given her comment about Shadow Weaver). Adora apologizes for being promoted and not being able to magically read Catra’s mind. Catra insults Adora’s promotion and when Adora asks if Catra can be happy for her, because “this is what [she’s] been working for [her] entire life” Catra just completely dismisses her and makes it all about herself. Again. 

Below, I’m going to show one of the early disagreements between Callum and Rayla in 1x04 (roughly two days into them knowing each other). Callum said that she (as an elf) was a bloodthirsty monster in an attempt to protect her, although it still hurt Rayla. He’s relieved that they’ve made it out okay, but Rayla quick makes her displeasure known:

C: Ah, it worked. I can’t believe it. R: I can’t believe that you’re such a jerk. C: What? What’s wrong? R: You called me a bloodthirsty monster. You have no idea how that feels. C: But I don’t actually believe any of that, I was just trying to scare her. I thought she’d back down. R: Oh that went well. They tried to kill me! C: I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant to happen. R: Well it did.

Rayla insults him directly for something he’s done (not a decision someone else — Shadow Weaver — has made). She’s open and honest about her feelings. Callum clarifies his own — he doesn’t see her as a monster at all — but he can recognize that even though none if it was intentional, he messed up and hurt her and put her at risk, so he apologizes. And then never does it again, worrying about her being around other humans more than Rayla does throughout the rest of the seasons (1x07, 2x04, 3x08). 

Another notable difference in terms of just overall health is that unlike Catra and Adora, where Catra often slacks off in training and is then angry about being held back and Adora has actually put in all the work to earn her own accomplishments in the Horde... Rayla has something Callum desperately wants — a connection to an arcanum to do magic — that Rayla was born with and does not care about at all, and Callum never, even for a moment, resents her for it. Ever.

C: I will learn magic. It’s who I am. //  When I could do magic, I finally felt like myself. I’m just trying to find my way back.

Other Important differences:

Even when Callum and Rayla are angry or upset with each other, they never use it as an excuse to mistreat each other and they never take out their anger on each other — nor are they ever angry at each other for someone else’s words or actions. Callum is upset when he finds out Rayla knew about his father being gone and that she didn’t tell him right away, but all he says is this.

Even when Rayla is mad at him for doing Dark Magic, she still worries about him, makes sure he gets out safely, lays him down gently, and tends to him while he’s sick.

Another thing I love about Rayllum — and this is my aro-specness coming out — is the irrelevance of romantic feelings. Callum likes Claudia at first in 2x02 and Rayla doesn’t like watching them flirt, but she’s never possessively jealous whatsoever or angry at Callum for pursuing something else he wants. Callum also chooses to trust Rayla over Claudia in the end. Then in 3x04, when Callum has a big speech building Rayla up after her breakdown scene, (and he does know he has feelings for her at that point), Rayla kisses him. He fumbles through explaining he wasn’t saying all of those nice things about her just so she would kiss him. Rayla is embarrassed — and covers some of it up with anger — and views it as a rejection (she also saves his life and accepts his help like, three minutes later). But even when Callum is awkward about it the next day, Rayla sets it aside and puts his comfort ahead of her own hurt feelings or awkwardness, so that he can have an easier time of things.

Other comparisons:

A: Did you have to make [Catra] so mean? LH: The simulation is designed for total accuracy. Is the one you call Catra not mean? A: No. She is.

C: You never did have much faith in me. A: Can you blame me?

“Romantic” dancing versus two friends actually having a good time together

Before jumping off a cliff to follow/rescue their partner, Adora and Catra’s last interaction was Catra apologizing over a commlink and sending Glimmer to her. Before that, their last interaction was Catra brutally electrocuting her.

A: Can we skip the speech? I’m done playing your games, Catra. Too many people got hurt when you set off that portal [ie. Catra purposefully trying to end the world so Adora couldn’t ‘win’ and save it]. I hope it was worth it. Because I won’t let you hurt my friends or anyone else ever again.

When Callum leaps after Rayla, their last two previous interactions were both Rayla comforting him, taking his hand and silently asking him to be in the present with her, rather than consumed with worry in his head.

Other Notes:

1) I have no idea what Catra and Adora admire/like about each other. 

The closest I’ve got is “Hey, you were great out there” from Adora to Catra about her fighting skills when they were kids, and “You’ve never listened to anyone in your life, are you really going to start now?” (from Adora) and “You’ve never given up on anyone in your life, not even me” (from Catra). Even in seasons one and two for Rayllum, it is abundantly clear what they admire about each other.

C: I don’t get it, Rayla. Why are you so worried about a dragon that just set fire to a town? R: I’ve been thinking about something someone once told me. About how when one person hurts another, then that person hurts them back, it becomes a cycle that never ends. C: Who told you that?  R: You did. C: Oh. R: But Callum, to break that cycle someone has to take a stand when no one else will [...]  Protecting that dragon doesn’t just feel like the right thing to do, it feels like the right thing for me to do. It’s where I’m meant to be.

Don’t even get me started on season three (“He’s noble and true” “Rayla, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met,” “He’s smart and kind and brave and he’s—” “I’ve seen you get knocked down so many times and every single time you get up again. That’s real strength,” “I don’t think I can do it without him,” “Rayla is selfless, strong, and caring”).

2) This isn’t relevant to the discussion, but someone pointed it out once that when Shadow Weaver sacrifices herself so both of her adoptive daughters can get away, she erects a boundary to keep the monster out. Is there any particular reason she couldn’t have sealed all three of them behind the boundary and just closed the monster off in the other room? Genuinely asking.

3) Because it can be / apparently needs to be said, TDP is nice because Rayla is allowed to form healthy meaningful relationships with other characters, like Ezran, that exist completely separately from her relationship with Callum. Whereas Catra arguably gets Glimmer and all they do, more or less, is talk about Adora (again, Scorpia and Entrapta don’t count because those are abusive, unhealthy relationships).

Glimmer: Wait, are you—are you saving me? C: Not you. Adora.

4) For TDP, they take the character with massive fears of failure and pair her with someone who continually builds her up and says that things aren’t her fault and speaks up when she’s being treated unfairly (without treating her like shit for seasons beforehand). They take the character with inferiority issues and instead of giving them resentment, makes him deeply admire his love interest while she also validates the fuck out of him. Don’t get me wrong, Callum can be insensitive and Rayla can be snarky, but they give as good as they get (an equal standing sorely missing in C*tradora in every season, whether it’s causing physical pain to each other or Adora doing way more emotional support for Catra — the person who has caused her the most emotional distress in the whole series — than the other way around). But Callum and Rayla never belittle each other. Ever. Much less in the season where they get together.

I genuinely don’t know why SPOP thought pairing up a character with deep seated inferiority issues with the person they’ve continually resented, and the character with deep seated fears of failure with the person who has continually blamed them for everything, was a good idea. Especially when, as the screencaps and quotes show, almost none of that has changed in season five. All that’s really changed in season five is that Catra has stopped attacking Adora and started helping her, doing things Adora’s friends had been doing for ages without, again, treating her like shit.

Callum and Rayla meet on a mission of convenience and chance, and although imperfect, they always choose to care about each other. Catra and Adora, meanwhile, are bound together by who and where they raised — things they never ever had a choice in, which is interesting for a series that strives against the idea of destiny so heavily. 

5) Catra resents Adora for being a hero to everyone but her (ie. not focusing solely on protecting/saving Catra) and Callum admires Rayla for being a hero to everyone but him. Catra then tries to destroy Adora’s sense of self and wellbeing any chance she gets up until s5, but even then still resents her even when Adora is showing concern for her. It never, ever occurs to Catra until the season finale that Adora is someone who needs to — in the most literal sense of the word — be saved. Meanwhile, Callum knows this even before Rayla does. He knows she’s a hero, and he knows that sometimes, she’s the one who needs to be saved.

[Screencaps from 1x05 and 1x06 respectively]

[Followed by screencaps from 3x01, 3x05, and 3x09 respectively.]

Concluding Thoughts

As a queer afab, I find She-Ra’s portrayal of abuse in all of Catra’s relationships (the Horde trio — and even within that group, the treatment Kyle consistently receives — Scorpia, Entrapta) worrying, her “big epic romance” with Adora as “true love” most of all. Emotional abuse isn’t cute and passable just because it’s gay, with domestic partner abuse already not talked about in queer relationships, and something this messy and unhealthy being marketed in a show for small children who still like talking horses. I understand the appeal of the show and the ship — I was similarly drawn to it, for a while, for its “complexity” and “layers” — but that’s true too, of the emotionally abusive relationships I’ve been a victim of; I didn’t see them as abuse, either, until I was out or on my way.

Nor have I ever said in fiction that healthy relationships are the be all end all. People like the twisted shit. I ship some things purely for the fictional, non canon dysfunction of it all, and it’s really fun.

But, one of my favourite things about Rayllum is that they’re healthy, and supportive, and work through their problems with generally good communication. They both have trauma and issues, but they never act like those things are excuses in regards to how they treat each other (or even explanations) and you can actually buy that they’re best friends by choice.

And, in my humble opinion, are far healthier than C*tradora in every way imaginable — but that’s not exactly a hard bar to meet when the bar itself is Healthy Relationship.

#darkwolfgoddess #rayllum #spop critical #anti catradora #tw abuse #again this is just my opinion #nobody has to agree nobody has to debate #just scroll on by and don't click on it if it's not your thing #requests #analysis series #analysis #this was a Long Boi #now to finally purge everything shera related from my mind #i'm free