Scorpia - Tumblr Posts
It only took like 3 months but I’m done 🙃🙃
where that catradora disaster parents with their 20 something disaster gay friend group content at?
👑🎭Love how the "Average Joe" character end up becoming a fan favorite in most media!👑🎭
Shera Prompt Day 1; Gone Wrong
Catra wished she'd seen it coming.
Ador- No, She-ra, raised the blade above her, grinning psychotically.
Her eyes flicked over to the distant calls of Scorpia.
Whom she wished she had spent more time with.
Entrapta is gone.
She ran while she still could.
Adora cackled aloud once more, before bringing the sword of protection down, plunging it into Catras heart with a sickening crunch.
She hears Glimmers cut scream.
She's so dizzy...oh...so dizzy...
The pain is indescribable.
As if she's been torn to pieces by the claws that tipped her fingers.
As if someone reached down her throat and crushed her heart in their hands.
She had no way out of this one.
Her back arches into the blade uncontrollably as she let's out a blood chilling scream of agony.
Her throat feels stolen. Her abdomen pulls apart, bloody shards of skin, rough and horrible.
Her whole body feels as if its aflame.
Scalding white flames dance across her heart and torn body.
Scorpia let's out an awful yell of a sob.
She-ra sends the sword of protection deeper, still corrupted.
The agony gnaws at her, her life force wavering, shaking, trembling.
She's dying.
White. Black. Multicoloured.
She lets out a small, pained moan as her eyelids flutter midway.
She-ra's sword is retracted, the killing pierce of the blades tip done.
For a moment, Catras whole body is cold and numb.
And then she's gone.
------------
Glimmer does not understand.
Wasn't she supposed to be glad?
Catra is gone.
She needn't worry no more.
The malignant magicat who had schemed and plotted against her.
Gone. Dead.
It was a numb sort of pain.
Adora had fainted the moment after, out of shock of what she had just done.
She had crushing the disk when she had landed on Catra, spewing blood over the snow.
Scorpia had silently fallen to her knees, unmoving, wholly afraid.
Anyone would be, after bearing witness to such a grotesque event.
Glimmer had felt a nausea unlike anything she had ever felt before.
She could not lose the image of Catras fearful expression, her pleading, her useless, fading gasps of breaths as she weakly clawed at the blade until she had fallen completely and utterly still.
When Entrapta reappeared from the Hordes base camp, she too had been shocked to her core.
Catra.
Gone. Dead.
It was too much to register.
Glimmer was still in shock.
A part of her screamed for her to bawl her eyes out.
Another begged this to be nothing more then some horrible nightmare, and that she would would wake up and everything would be normal.
She would be early to the rebellion meeting and she would talk to Adora and Bow about how they would beat the Horde in the next mission.
But that wouldn't happen.
------------
Adora woke in her room.
She attempted to recall the memories of the previous evening, but it was all but a red blur.
She went looking for Glimmer, only to find her gone from her room.
She had gone to the dining room, considering the fact that Glimmer may be there.
But she did not expect to find her asleep against Angella, who was still asleep herself.
Adoras smile flickered.
When did Glimmer get along with her mother?
Maybe Bow would be able to tell her what she missed, She considered, and set off to find him.
Strangely enough, she found him sitting silently by the Moor behind Brightmoon Castle.
'Bow? Is everything okay?' She frowned.
'Its nothing, really....Do you remember what happened yesterday?'
'No, it's just a big blur. Why? Did something interesting happen?'
He walked up to her without a word, and showed her his trackerpad.
A group of Horde soldiers were all gathered in the Whispering Woods.
'Are we going to fight them?' Adora asked brightly.
'Absolutely not. One, because I think we all need to recover from yesterday, two, because they're having a funeral.'
'For who? And what happened yesterday?'
'Adora....Yesterday....You murdered Catra. That funeral is hers. Its your old unit, Scorpia, Entrapta and a few others. Scorpia told us the plan for her funeral when we parted ways'
The whole world came crashing down in that moment.
(Continued on my wattpad; Chipped_Melog!)
Let's begin this by saying that I love She-Ra, however... I watched the video She-Ra and Redemption by The Sin Squad and it inspired me to rewrite one little scene at the end of the series: the one where Scorpia hugs Catra.
Scorpia was right there.
She was having a conversation. Catra shouldn't intrude on that, right? But she couldn't make her feet stop.
Scorpia turned--and her eyes hit Catra with something she was beginning to be very familiar with: guilt.
Catra rubbed her shoulder nervously as Scorpia lifted Frosta from her shoulders and set her on the ground.
Everything was silent for a moment.
It felt strange, not having Scorpia's arms sweep her up into one of those hugs she was so proud of. She was so proud of her hugs, in fact, that she included them in the list of her four best defining qualities. Brave, strong, loyal--Catra's heart sank. She didn't deserve Scorpia's loyalty anymore.
Neither of them spoke for a moment. Perfuma tapped Frosta's shoulder and led her away, the young princess staying quiet for once. Catra wasn't entirely sure if she was thankful for that.
"Look," Scorpia began, before stopping and trying again. "I don't..."
"I get it." Catra smiled in an expression she hoped looked reassuring. She hesitated, before reaching out slowly, hand open. "Truce?"
Scorpia took her hand, and they stared at each other for a long moment.
"Look, I-I'm really sorry. For everything."
Scorpia's eyes turned down to the grass, and she loosened her grip until she wasn't even holding on at all. "I just need a little space."
For a moment, Catra's old habits refused to die. She wanted to grab Scorpia's hand hard--she wanted to pull her towards her--to force her to hug her. 'She's going to leave you,' those instincts whispered, 'You're going to be alone again.'
She gathered the impulse up like she'd learned to do with her anger, and exhaled it slowly. "Okay."
Scorpia turned and walked away. Perfuma smiled at Catra as she went to catch up to her, Frosta racing ahead of her.
A hand rested on Catra's shoulder. It was Adora. "What... what was that?"
She had to start explaining. Oh, Etheria.
"I hurt Scorpia, okay? I hurt her a lot." Catra squeezed her eyes shut, trying her best not to drown in all of the memories.
Adora's grip tightened. "But you're better now! You won't hurt her anymore." She twisted Catra's body, both hands on her shoulders, so she was forced to look into her face. "Why are you pushing her away?"
Catra laughed. It was a dry, hoarse laugh with very little humor in it. "Oh, Adora, I'm not pushing her away. You've seen me push people away before. You know that isn't what I'm doing here."
Her hands wrapped around Adora's.
"I'm letting her go."
"But--but--" Adora seemed confused, so Catra cut in.
"I know you wanted a perfect happy ending. But Scorpia can't be ignored for that." Hoping Adora wouldn't interrupt, she kept going. "For so long, Scorpia was just an afterthought in my story--a sidekick--whose feelings could be completely disregarded."
She looked down, and said, softly. "She asked me to stay with her in the Crimson Waste, and I refused."
Catra shook her head to refresh her thoughts, avoiding Adora's eyes. "But I can't treat her like that anymore."
--
And there it is, folks! Did you like it?
A
netossA
spinnerellA
castaspellA
octaviA
huntarA
The art style???!! ❤️
SCORPIA MY BELOVED
An old hyperfixation has resurfaced fellas. Have some she-ra doodles from that one episode
Hello
A few days ago me and my friend compared RWBY and She ra characters aaaand here's the result 😃
Also I bet Clover and Qrow and Bow's dads are 100% comparable because of Clover's dork energy
I'm still reading you latest awesome essay but I wanna point out before I forget in the process: Shadow Weaver as you said used Adora as a puppet against Catra, and then almost immediately Light Hope does the same by using fighting simulations that are designed to make She-Ra comfortable into killing Catra and "letting go"
:: Adora and the darkness within-
Hey! Thanks so much for the kind review! And thanks for bringing this up, because you're exactly right. It not so cute like it seems- (Adora becomes completely useless in s2ep1 the second Catra shows up ☺️- turning her sword into a coffee mug and then a flute!? lol!!). That said, the meaning behind Adora's training is indeed something that's actually very scary to watch...
But it couldn't possibly be like that, right? After all, Adora wouldn't really do it, because when she puts her sword to Catra's throat in White Out, Catra then flirtatiously teases her...
.. Sadly, that's not the end of this, Adora does internalize to this brutal conditioning after all. (spoiler warn ⚠️) Adora thinks of herself as a solider, and does continue drilling hard on the idea of killing Catra. And, she almost does so- if you don't know to what I'm referring, it has to do with the one other 100% canon SPOP source material- I'll cover it below in the spoiler section.
Just... know that Adora really does internalize this concept-that she must kill her best friend as part of her 'destiny' (more later.)
It's this belief in 'destiny' by which Light Hope is still able to continue to manipulate Adora, even after she refuses to leave her friends behind, to "let go". Destiny is a concept that's so important to Adora's perception of self value that Light Hope uses it against her, towards the goal of her evil purposes, and of getting Adora to "let go." If Light Hope can get Adora to kill Catra, that's a whole lot of 'letting go' all at once. It would have broken Adora, she never would have recovered. It's so terrifying.
Where does this belief that Adora must do anything to fulfill 'destiny' come from, why is she so concerned with it that she stops thinking any further? Why must it be Adora's burden to do this horrible thing ?
For instance, we know Adora does show wisdom by refusing to leave her friends behind- she's not willing to give in to Light Hope's idea that she should seclude herself in the woods. Adora knows that something isn't right with Light Hope. And yet, isn't Catra also Adora's friend- one which she hurtfully turned against to enact a false destiny, much like how she played favorite to their abuser in the Horde, and whom Adora is now plotting to kill ?
What's really going on is something that's very ugly- despite the cute overtones to lighten the mood. Light Hope is using Adora's sense of duty against her to get her to potentially do something that's very hurtful to herself, and to the person who loves her most. What's so wrong with Adora's 'destiny', that she's got to kill someone she loves? How can that be right, is the only answer for this that war is terrible, or is the war on Etheria even what we think it is, or is it something different? And, is Adora killing Catra for it the right choice ?
Why- that's the big question. Why is it Adora's, or She-ra's, job to save the Princesses from the Horde? Why does Angella feel the need to make this Adora's burden? Could the Rebellion really not have done it themselves, or did they just give up out of grief? As Catra says in s5ep9: "Why does it have to be Adora?"
Like Catra says in s5- this is exactly right: all throughout SPOP, nothing about Adora's situation is right, or fair... it never was. Everyone is just forcing their burdens on her... and she ends up a desperately anxious person because of it.
And it's all a lie, a set up to make Adora fail- just like Mara did.
Like Mara, Adora was "never meant to succeed. They made a plan for" (..her) -it's history, all over again, and everything Adora thinks she's doing for 'destiny' and to end the war is part of this lie. That includes the 'destiny' as Angella describes it for her: it's just another likely set up: "I know the legend of warrior of the one the First Ones called She-ra, they said she would return to us in the hour of our greatest need to bring balance to Etheria". How, exactly ? By winning the war at any cost ?
This is also almost certainly a myth started by the First Ones to prepare the next She-ra for failure, as part of their plan to use the weapon. A deception purposefully implanted within cultural beliefs, meant to further enable their betrayals- Light Hope and the First Ones never had any intention of bringing balance to Etheria, they only wish to use the weapon. And again, why is it Adora's job to save the rebellion from the Horde???
Angella and the rebellion gave up on that all on their own, back when Adora was just a small child. Also... keep in mind that Shadow Weaver was allowed to run to the horde, where there was no accountability for her crimes and where she had complete control over little Adora and Catra, which she used to abuse the heck out of them. Considering how the Princesses gave up trying to fight the Horde when Adora was but a small, defenseless child, why is this war supposedly Adora's burden?? There's nothing fair about it.
We see Adora's legitimate feelings of pain, anger, desperation, and sorrow from how she's been forced into her position- everyone is hurting her with their burdens. It puts Adora in a constant state of anxiety, and her feelings of frustration and anger at this is well deserved.
And yet... what's so interesting about Adora's situation is that her anger towards Catra is perhaps the least deserved: even though Catra is fighting against her in a war which is wrong. Adora might feel mad at Catra for refusing to follow her as she enacts her beliefs in this false 'destiny', and Catra instead makes doing so harder for Adora by fighting back against her, and yet, Adora's not even doing the right thing in the first place as her entire destiny is a lie to use her as a weapon. Catra simply refuses to just accept her friend as this person who just turns on people who mean something to her, supposing evil upon them all while making no effort to understand them any deeper. Adora really is doing the wrong thing by enabling Light Hope's evil... and she can't even see it...
Well... in short, what Angella told Adora about her 'destiny' seemed to make sense- and so she went with it. It's not so much that Adora is naive as that they all are- Angella is naively playing into the First Ones deceptions, too. Adora is supposedly there to "bring balance" through 'destiny' by saving them from the Horde. So, for 'destiny', she assumes that she must be willing to do whatever she has to win that war- she has to hurt Catra...
Deception, and more deception- what even is the war on Etheria ? Where does Hordak even come from, other than Light Hope purposely crashing him on Etheria to set a conflict? It's a cruel war that likely started with the First Ones purposely bringing Hordak to Etheria, and it's not Adora's fault that the rebellion couldn't deal with Hordak- she was a small child when the rebellion fell apart. And, Adora's agreeing to win this war at any cost is a bridge too far... if she were to kill Catra, the damage to her own psyche... it would be beyond comprehension. When we see her talking to Light Hope in s2ep1, we finally get to see how Adora is all kinds of hurt by Catra's refusal of her, she's all broken up inside: "she's in my head". Catra wasn't supposed to be Adora's enemy: Adora couldn't realize this, and she made her one by essentially giving in to the prejudiced views of the rebellion.
Long story short, the war isn't quite what we think it is. Instead- who, really, are She-ra's greatest enemies? Next to Horde Prime and the First Ones, Hordak hardly even measures...
Adora's biggest enemy, as She-ra, is, in fact, the First Ones: and we know that because of Mara. We know Horde Prime must have existed as a threat in Mara's time, yet Mara considered her own people, and the weapon which they created, to be so much greater an enemy that she gave up everything to stop them. And just like Mara, what the First Ones want to do to Adora is so evil it outweighs anything having to do with the war on Etheria- the entire planet is at stake if Adora doesn't wake up to the reality of how the First Ones intend to use her for their evil...
What the First Ones did was always the original betrayal..
... this original betrayal is the reason for everything to do with Adora's situation- it's why she becomes She-ra, but also why she does ends up in Shadow Weaver's care, who wanted to use Adora's power for her own benefit and abused her because of it. It's all to do with the original betrayal of the First Ones by bringing her to Etheria to be part of their weapon...
But, Adora is a soldier, she's been trained to expect violence as a necessity of solving problems her entire life, and so she has a really hard time realizing that the entire concept of this belief is wrong and that she's being manipulated. Light Hope uses her belief in 'destiny' and false belief in duty before all else, including love, to control her- as a soldier, Adora does what she told (within reason) because what Light Hope tells her is what she expects to hear. Light Hope tells her that killing Catra will help end this war and fulfill her 'destiny', so she drills the moment of killing Catra to do it. But what hurtful act is too much, what price is too high, what cost to her own morality is too dark? How terrifying it would be for Adora if she actually did kill Catra...
So, here's the warn for LotFP spoilers 🚨🚨 -more good discussion is yet to come- and I promise not to spoil anything more than necessary for you folks-
💞🏳️🌈🌹
(..If you really don't want spoilers, now's your chance)
So... Adora does actually make the decision to try to kill Catra.
In LotFP, it's obvious that Adora had continued drilling the idea of killing Catra, over and over, with Light Hope following White Out. Because- like in White Out- Adora gets a chance to hit Catra- and this time she doesn't hesitate.
Adora consciously attempts to kill Catra. Keep in mind that Adora still had no idea how to heal at that point. Why does Adora try to do that, and what makes her believe she has to do it?
(*p.s- I won't go over how LotFP happens after s2ep5, but if you've been wondering when it took place- yup)
The rebellion may talk a cute game around being more 'humane' with war... but, that's mostly Bow. When it comes to it, both Glimmer and Adora at times choose actions that cross the line into the downright sinister to end the war- no act is too dark for them. Adora comes terrifyingly close to killing Catra because of it...
Luckily for Catra, in the moment of Adora's brutal confusion over her being conditioned to take Catra's life, Catra finally has someone in her life that will take care of her, and Scorpia steps in to protect Catra.
Scorpia then rightly tells Adora off for her continued, out of control, bloodlust towards Catra, willing to murder her friend for what turns out to be an evil destiny, anyways. Catra was never planning to take things that far- she only tries to bring Adora low, or capture her... and to force Adora to confront how naive she is. Why should Adora bear such a burden of the war, at such potential emotional cost to herself and to Catra's life?
The result is that Adora ends up suitably chastised for her actions in LotFP, and you can start to see a change in her behavior following it in s3ep3-ep6: she's realized she can't just kill Catra. She also begins to realize that Light Hope has been manipulating her, and that she's been living a lie.
Unfortunately, Adora's actions before this realization comes at a cost: SPOP is very clear about consequences: it leaves Catra desperately afraid after seeing the love of her life constantly trying to kill her. Each time Adora sees Catra following Promise, 3 times in total, she ends up trying to kill her- unwittingly during the Battle of Brightmoon, possessed during White Out, and then as a conscious decision in LotFP. Is that acceptable behavior ?
This cruel behavior Adora so hurtfully has towards Catra for false destiny sets up Catra's biggest mistake and her following mental break down:
Catra desperately looks elsewhere for any kind of support- the person she loves wants to kill her... and Hordak is being hurtful and threatening her. So, Catra decides to try to get Shadow Weaver to help her. After all, why not- nobody can be THAT evil, right??? She must have SOME humanity...
That's a mistake, as Shadow Weaver is all bad, and all that Catra gets for trusting her is more horrible emotional wounds and so much more damage that by the time Adora sees Catra in s3ep3, she's one bad hit from totally losing her mind. And the hit comes... and she does... and Adora simply cannot reach Catra through her grief and her anger.
Even though Adora changes her behavior towards Catra in s3ep3-ep6- showing deference for her past mistakes, love for Catra, humility, Catra is too far gone to hear it- she only sees protecting herself from further harm at any cost- that includes pulling the switch and winning the war. It was how she was going to finally be safe...
Everything proceeds to fall apart, so much chaos ensues. One thing that's so scary about Adora's behavior is that it shows she was fighting while having no idea where her line was: what action was too much, too sinister, in service of her 'destiny'? She didn't really understand her own feelings, her own darkness.... and if Adora had taken Catra's life... it's real scary to think about. Fighting without knowing your own moral beliefs and convictions is always scary, it was scary to see for both Adora and Catra.
And so, by the time Portal happens... there's not much Adora can do for Catra. She's too hurt to hear Adora's pleas of love. All she can really do is ask Catra to be better, to heal herself. As Adora says:
"You made your choice, now live with it!*
*WOMP*
She's right, Catra can't live with herself- she's been corrupted by her grief and her fear- and in s4 we see as Catra's anger begins to break down into something else.
Catra is stuck in a downward spiral, and at least Adora is always trying to be better, even if she didn't know what that really is. Can we say the same about Catra? No not really.
One last appreciation-
Scorpia is a good, smart, interpersonal person, she realizes Catra's needs, she protects her like no one else ever has, including Adora. Yeah, Catra doesn't really deserve her, (also- Scorpia was always Catra's best source of healthy emotional support, something Catra should have worked harder at accepting), but it's really good for people like Catra to see someone show care for them, besides. And, Scorpia also stops Adora from doing something she herself never would have recovered from.
Hooray for Scorpia! Hooray!! Without her, no kiss, no saving the universe. Hooray!! for Scorpia!! She's the best- 🖤♥️🤍
Happy 1 year anniversary to Catradora kiss!! 🎉🏳️🌈 💞🎉🥰
Everything in SPOP is always a team effort. Scorpia deserves Adora's gratitude, after all, Scorpia saved Catra from Adora's own hurtful confusion. How scary it is that Adora came so close to taking the life of her future lover... 😥
Thanks as always for a like or a ✨✨✨rebloggg✨✨✨ and let me know if you have questions or concerns! I will gladly answer them-
With Love,
~EtheriaDearie
::Here's a link to the original post to which this refers- all links are on tumblr
🥰 Got time for one more fast and fun read about Catradora love to help the author out? Check on this quick read-💞🏳️🌈
LotFP = Legend of the Fire Princess
Here's the total list of more reading if you'd like to read more 🙂 -
I'm still reading you latest awesome essay but I wanna point out before I forget in the process: Shadow Weaver as you said used Adora as a puppet against Catra, and then almost immediately Light Hope does the same by using fighting simulations that are designed to make She-Ra comfortable into killing Catra and "letting go"
:: Adora and the darkness within-
Hey! Thanks so much for the kind review! And thanks for bringing this up, because you're exactly right. It not so cute like it seems- (Adora is completely useless in s2ep1 the second Catra shows up ☺️- turning her sword into a coffee mug and a flute!? lol!!) We are, indeed, actually seeing something that is very scary-
But it couldn't possibly be that, right? After all, Adora wouldn't really do it, because when she puts her sword to Catra's throat in White Out, Catra then flirtatiously teases her...
.. Sadly, that's not the end of this, Adora does internalize to this brutal conditioning after all. (spoiler warn ⚠️) Adora does continue drilling hard on the idea of killing Catra. And, she almost does so- if you don't know to what I'm referring, it has to do with the one other 100% canon SPOP source material- I'll cover it below in the spoiler section.
Just... know that Adora really does internalize this concept-that she must kill her best friend for 'destiny'... (more later.)
It's this belief in 'destiny' by which Light Hope is still able to continue to manipulate Adora, even after she refuses to leave her friends behind, to "let go". Destiny is a concept that's so important to Adora's perception of self value that Light Hope uses it against her, towards the goal of her evil purposes, and of getting Adora to "let go." If Light Hope can get Adora to kill Catra, that's a whole lot of 'letting go' all at once. It would have broken Adora, she never would have recovered. It's so terrifying.
Where does this belief that Adora must do anything to fulfill 'destiny' come from, why is she so concerned with it that she stops thinking any further? Why must it be Adora's burden to do this ?
We know Adora does show wisdom, by refusing to leave her friends behind- she's not willing to give in to Light Hope's idea that she should seclude herself in the woods. Yet, isn't Catra also Adora's friend- one which she hurtfully turned against for what is a false destiny, and whom she is now plotting to kill ?
What's really going on is super ugly- despite the cute undertones to lighten the mood. Light Hope is using Adora's sense of duty against her to get her to potentially do something that's very hurtful to herself, and to the person who loves her most. What's so wrong with Adora's 'destiny', that she's got to kill someone she loves? How can that be right, is the war even what we think it is, and is killing Catra for it the right choice ?
Why- that's the big question. Why is it Adora's, or She-ra's, job to save the princesses from the Horde? Why does Angella feel the need to make this Adora's burden? Could the Rebellion really not have done it themselves, or did they just give up out of grief? As Catra says in s5ep9: "Why does it have to be Adora?"
Like Catra says in s5- this is exactly right: all throughout SPOP, nothing about Adora's situation is right, or fair. Everyone is just forcing their burdens on her... and she ends up a desperately anxious person because of it.
And it's all a lie, a set up to make Adora fail- just like Mara did.
Like Mara, Adora was "never meant to succeed. They made a plan for (..her)"- it's history, all over again, and everything Adora thinks she's doing for 'destiny' and to end the war is part of this lie. That includes the 'destiny' as Angella describes it for her: it's just another likely set up: "I know the legend of warrior of the one the First Ones called She-ra, they said she would return to us in the hour of our greatest need to bring balance to Etheria". How, exactly ? By winning the war at any cost ?
This is also almost certainly a myth started by the First Ones to prepare the next She-ra for failure, as part of their plan to use the weapon. A deception implanted within cultural beliefs, meant to further enable their betrayal- Light Hope and the First Ones never had any intention of bringing balance to Etheria, they only wish to use the weapon. And again, why is it Adora's job to save the rebellion from the horde???
Angella and the rebellion gave up on that all on their own, back when Adora was just a small child. Also... keep in mind that Shadow Weaver was allowed to run to the horde, and consequently left with no accountability and complete control over little Adora and Catra, which she used to abuse the heck out of them. So why is this supposedly Adora's burden?? There's nothing fair about it.
We see that Adora feels legitimate anger, desperation, and sorrow from how she's been forced into her position- everyone is hurting her with their burdens. It puts Adora in a constant state of anxiety, and her feelings of frustration and anger at this is well deserved.
But... what's so interesting about Adora's situation is that her anger towards Catra is perhaps the least deserved, even though Catra is fighting against her in a war which is wrong. Adora might feel mad at Catra for refusing to go along as she enacts her beliefs and this 'destiny', instead making it harder by fighting back against her, and yet, Adora's not even doing the right thing in the first place as her entire destiny is a lie to use her as a weapon. Catra simply refuses to just accept her friend as this person who just turns on people who mean something to her, supposing evil upon them all. Adora really is doing the wrong thing by enabling Light Hope's evil... and she can't even see it...
Well... what Angella told Adora about her 'destiny' seemed to make sense- and so she went with it. She's there to "bring balance" through 'destiny' by saving them from the Horde. So, for 'destiny', she assumes that she needs to be willing to do whatever she has to win that war- she has to hurt Catra...
Deception, and more deception- what even is the war on Etheria ? Where does Hordak even come from, other than Light Hope purposely crashing him on Etheria to set a conflict? It's not Adora's fault that the rebellion couldn't deal with Hordak, she was a small child when the rebellion fell apart. And Adora's agreeing to win this war at any cost is a bridge too far... if she were to kill Catra, the damage to herself... it would be beyond comprehension. When we see her talking to Light Hope in s2ep1, we finally get to see how Adora is all kinds of hurt by Catra's refusal of her, she's all broken up inside: "she's in my head". Catra wasn't supposed to be Adora's enemy: Adora couldn't realize this, and she made her one by essentially giving in to the prejudicial views of the rebellion.
Long story short, the war isn't quite what we think it is. Instead- who, really, are She-ra's greatest enemies? Next to Horde Prime and the First Ones, Hordak hardly even measures...
Adora's biggest enemy, as She-ra, is, in fact, the First Ones: and we know that because of Mara. We know Horde Prime must have existed in Mara's time, yet Mara considered her own people, and the weapon which they created, to be so much greater an enemy that she gave up everything to stop them. And just like Mara, what the First Ones want to do to Adora is so evil it outweighs anything having to do with the war on Etheria- the entire planet is at stake if Adora doesn't wake up to the reality of how the First Ones wish to use her for their evil...
What the First Ones did was always the original betrayal..
But, Adora is a soldier, and so she has a really hard time realizing this. Light Hope uses her belief in 'destiny' and duty to manipulate her- as a soldier, Adora does what she told (within reason) because what Light Hope tells her is what she expects to hear. Light Hope tells her that killing Catra will end this war, so she drills the moment of killing Catra to do it. What act is too much, what price is too high, what cost to her own morality is too dark? How terrifying it would be if Adora actually did kill Catra...
So, here's the warn for LotFP spoilers 🚨🚨 -more good discussion is yet to come- and I promise not to spoil anything more than necessary for you folks-
💞🏳️🌈🌹
(If you really don't want spoilers, now's your chance)
So... Adora does actually make the decision to try to kill Catra.
In LotFP, it's obvious that Adora had continued drilling the idea of killing Catra, over and over, with Light Hope following White Out. Because- like in White Out- Adora gets a chance to hit Catra- and this time she doesn't hesitate.
Adora consciously attempts to kill Catra. Keep in mind that Adora still had no idea how to heal at that point. Why does Adora try to do that, and what makes her believe she has to do it?
*(p.s- I won't go over how LotFP happens after s2ep5, but if you've been wondering when it took place- yup)
The rebellion may talk a cute game around being more humane with war... but, that's mostly Bow. When it comes to it, both Glimmer and Adora at times take actions that cross the line into the downright sinister to end the war- no act is too dark for them. Adora comes terrifyingly close to killing Catra because of it...
Luckily for Catra, in the moment of Adora's brutal confusion and attempt to take her life, Catra finally has someone in her life that will take care of her, and Scorpia steps in to protect Catra.
Scorpia then rightly tells Adora off for her continued, out of control, bloodlust towards Catra, willing to murder her friend for what turns out to be an evil destiny, anyways. Catra was never planning to take things that far- she only tries to bring Adora low, or capture her... and to make her see how she's naive. Why should Adora bear such a burden of the war, at such potential emotional cost to herself and to Catra's life?
... Adora ends up suitably chastised for her actions in LotFP, and you can start to see a change in her behavior following it in s3ep3-ep6: she's realized she can't just kill Catra. She also begins to realize that Light Hope has been manipulating her, and that she's been living a lie.
Unfortunately, Adora's actions before this point comes at a cost: SPOP is very clear about consequences: it leaves Catra desperately afraid after seeing the love of her life constantly trying to kill her. Each time Adora sees Catra following Promise, 3 times in total, she ends up trying to kill her- unwittingly during the Battle of Brightmoon, possessed during White Out, and then as a conscious decision in LotFP. Is that acceptable behavior?
This cruel behavior Adora so hurtfully has towards Catra for false destiny sets up Catra's biggest mistake and her following mental break down:
Catra desperately looks elsewhere for any kind of support- the person she loves wants to kill her... Hordak is being hurtful and threatening her: So, Catra decides to try to trust Shadow Weaver. After all, why not- nobody can be THAT evil, right??? She must have SOME humanity...
That's a mistake, as Shadow Weaver is all bad, and all that Catra gets for trusting her is more horrible emotional wounds and so much more damage that by the time Adora sees Catra in s3ep3, she's one bad hit from totally losing her mind. And the hit comes... and she does... and Adora simply cannot reach Catra through her grief and her anger.
Even though Adora changes her behavior towards Catra in s3ep3-ep6- showing deference for her past mistakes, love for Catra, humility, Catra is too far gone to hear it- she only sees protecting herself from further harm at any cost- that includes pulling the switch and winning the war. It was how she was going to finally be safe...
Everything proceeds to fall apart, so much chaos ensues. One thing that's so scary about Adora's behavior is that it shows she was fighting while having no idea where her line was: what action was too much, too sinister, for her 'destiny'? She didn't really understand her own feelings, her own darkness.... and if Adora had taken Catra's life... it's real scary to think about. Fighting without understanding your own convictions is always scary, which it was for both Adora and Catra.
And so, by the time Portal happens... there's not much Adora can do for Catra. She's too hurt to hear Adora's pleas of love. All she can really do is ask Catra to be better, to heal herself. As Adora says:
"You made your choice, now live with it!*
*WOMP*
She's right, Catra can't live with it, and we see this in s4 as her anger begins to breaks down into something else.
Catra is stuck in a downward spiral, and at least Adora is always trying to be better. Can we say the same about Catra? No not really.
One last thought-
Scorpia is a good, smart, interpersonal person, she realizes Catra's needs, she protects her like no one else ever has, including Adora. Yeah, Catra doesn't really deserve her, (also, Scorpia was always Catra's best option for support, something Catra should have worked harder at accepting), but it's really good for people like Catra to see someone show care for them, besides. And, Scorpia also stops Adora from doing something she herself never would have recovered from.
Hooray for Scorpia! Hooray!! Without her, no kiss, no saving the universe. Hooray for Scorpia!! She's the best- 🖤♥️🤍
Happy 1 year anniversary to Catradora canon!! 🎉🏳️🌈 💞🎉🥰
Everything in SPOP is always a team effort. Scorpia deserves Adora's gratitude, after all, Scorpia saved Catra from Adora's own hurtful confusion. How scary it is that Adora came so close to taking the life of her future lover... 😥
Thanks as always for a like or a ✨✨✨rebloggg✨✨✨ and let me know if you have questions or concerns! I will gladly answer them-
With Love,
~EtheriaDearie
::Here's a link to the original post to which this refers- all links are on tumblr
🥰 Got time for one more fast and fun read about Catradora love to help the author out? Check on this quick read-💞🏳️🌈
LotFP = Legend of the Fire Princess
Here's the total list of more reading if you'd like-
I'm still reading you latest awesome essay but I wanna point out before I forget in the process: Shadow Weaver as you said used Adora as a puppet against Catra, and then almost immediately Light Hope does the same by using fighting simulations that are designed to make She-Ra comfortable into killing Catra and "letting go"
:: Adora and the darkness within-
Hey! Thanks so much for the kind review! And thanks for bringing this up, because you're exactly right. It not so cute like it seems- (Adora is completely useless in s2ep1 the second Catra shows up ☺️- turning her sword into a coffee mug and a flute!? lol!!) We are, indeed, actually seeing something that is very scary-
But it couldn't possibly be that, right? After all, Adora wouldn't really do it, because when she puts her sword to Catra's throat in White Out, Catra then flirtatiously teases her...
.. Sadly, that's not the end of this, Adora does internalize to this brutal conditioning after all. (spoiler warn ⚠️) Adora does continue drilling hard on the idea of killing Catra. And, she almost does so- if you don't know to what I'm referring, it has to do with the one other 100% canon SPOP source material- I'll cover it below in the spoiler section.
Just... know that Adora really does internalize this concept-that she must kill her best friend for 'destiny'... (more later.)
It's this belief in 'destiny' by which Light Hope is still able to continue to manipulate Adora, even after she refuses to leave her friends behind, to "let go". Destiny is a concept that's so important to Adora's perception of self value that Light Hope uses it against her, towards the goal of her evil purposes, and of getting Adora to "let go." If Light Hope can get Adora to kill Catra, that's a whole lot of 'letting go' all at once. It would have broken Adora, she never would have recovered. It's so terrifying.
Where does this belief that Adora must do anything to fulfill 'destiny' come from, why is she so concerned with it that she stops thinking any further? Why must it be Adora's burden to do this ?
We know Adora does show wisdom, by refusing to leave her friends behind- she's not willing to give in to Light Hope's idea that she should seclude herself in the woods. Yet, isn't Catra also Adora's friend- one which she hurtfully turned against for what is a false destiny, and whom she is now plotting to kill ?
What's really going on is super ugly- despite the cute undertones to lighten the mood. Light Hope is using Adora's sense of duty against her to get her to potentially do something that's very hurtful to herself, and to the person who loves her most. What's so wrong with Adora's 'destiny', that she's got to kill someone she loves? How can that be right, is the war even what we think it is, and is killing Catra for it the right choice ?
Why- that's the big question. Why is it Adora's, or She-ra's, job to save the princesses from the Horde? Why does Angella feel the need to make this Adora's burden? Could the Rebellion really not have done it themselves, or did they just give up out of grief? As Catra says in s5ep9: "Why does it have to be Adora?"
Like Catra says in s5- this is exactly right: all throughout SPOP, nothing about Adora's situation is right, or fair. Everyone is just forcing their burdens on her... and she ends up a desperately anxious person because of it.
And it's all a lie, a set up to make Adora fail- just like Mara did.
Like Mara, Adora was "never meant to succeed. They made a plan for (..her)"- it's history, all over again, and everything Adora thinks she's doing for 'destiny' and to end the war is part of this lie. That includes the 'destiny' as Angella describes it for her: it's just another likely set up: "I know the legend of warrior of the one the First Ones called She-ra, they said she would return to us in the hour of our greatest need to bring balance to Etheria". How, exactly ? By winning the war at any cost ?
This is also almost certainly a myth started by the First Ones to prepare the next She-ra for failure, as part of their plan to use the weapon. A deception implanted within cultural beliefs, meant to further enable their betrayal- Light Hope and the First Ones never had any intention of bringing balance to Etheria, they only wish to use the weapon. And again, why is it Adora's job to save the rebellion from the horde???
Angella and the rebellion gave up on that all on their own, back when Adora was just a small child. Also... keep in mind that Shadow Weaver was allowed to run to the horde, and consequently left with no accountability and complete control over little Adora and Catra, which she used to abuse the heck out of them. So why is this supposedly Adora's burden?? There's nothing fair about it.
We see that Adora feels legitimate anger, desperation, and sorrow from how she's been forced into her position- everyone is hurting her with their burdens. It puts Adora in a constant state of anxiety, and her feelings of frustration and anger at this is well deserved.
But... what's so interesting about Adora's situation is that her anger towards Catra is perhaps the least deserved, even though Catra is fighting against her in a war which is wrong. Adora might feel mad at Catra for refusing to go along as she enacts her beliefs and this 'destiny', instead making it harder by fighting back against her, and yet, Adora's not even doing the right thing in the first place as her entire destiny is a lie to use her as a weapon. Catra simply refuses to just accept her friend as this person who just turns on people who mean something to her, supposing evil upon them all while making no effort to understand deeper. Adora really is doing the wrong thing by enabling Light Hope's evil... and she can't even see it...
Well... what Angella told Adora about her 'destiny' seemed to make sense- and so she went with it. She's there to "bring balance" through 'destiny' by saving them from the Horde. So, for 'destiny', she assumes that she needs to be willing to do whatever she has to win that war- she has to hurt Catra...
Deception, and more deception- what even is the war on Etheria ? Where does Hordak even come from, other than Light Hope purposely crashing him on Etheria to set a conflict? It's not Adora's fault that the rebellion couldn't deal with Hordak, she was a small child when the rebellion fell apart. And Adora's agreeing to win this war at any cost is a bridge too far... if she were to kill Catra, the damage to herself... it would be beyond comprehension. When we see her talking to Light Hope in s2ep1, we finally get to see how Adora is all kinds of hurt by Catra's refusal of her, she's all broken up inside: "she's in my head". Catra wasn't supposed to be Adora's enemy: Adora couldn't realize this, and she made her one by essentially giving in to the prejudicial views of the rebellion.
Long story short, the war isn't quite what we think it is. Instead- who, really, are She-ra's greatest enemies? Next to Horde Prime and the First Ones, Hordak hardly even measures...
Adora's biggest enemy, as She-ra, is, in fact, the First Ones: and we know that because of Mara. We know Horde Prime must have existed in Mara's time, yet Mara considered her own people, and the weapon which they created, to be so much greater an enemy that she gave up everything to stop them. And just like Mara, what the First Ones want to do to Adora is so evil it outweighs anything having to do with the war on Etheria- the entire planet is at stake if Adora doesn't wake up to the reality of how the First Ones wish to use her for their evil...
What the First Ones did was always the original betrayal..
But, Adora is a soldier, and so she has a really hard time realizing this. Light Hope uses her belief in 'destiny' and duty to manipulate her- as a soldier, Adora does what she told (within reason) because what Light Hope tells her is what she expects to hear. Light Hope tells her that killing Catra will end this war, so she drills the moment of killing Catra to do it. What act is too much, what price is too high, what cost to her own morality is too dark? How terrifying it would be if Adora actually did kill Catra...
So, here's the warn for LotFP spoilers 🚨🚨 -more good discussion is yet to come- and I promise not to spoil anything more than necessary for you folks-
💞🏳️🌈🌹
(If you really don't want spoilers, now's your chance)
So... Adora does actually make the decision to try to kill Catra.
In LotFP, it's obvious that Adora had continued drilling the idea of killing Catra, over and over, with Light Hope following White Out. Because- like in White Out- Adora gets a chance to hit Catra- and this time she doesn't hesitate.
Adora consciously attempts to kill Catra. Keep in mind that Adora still had no idea how to heal at that point. Why does Adora try to do that, and what makes her believe she has to do it?
*(p.s- I won't go over how LotFP happens after s2ep5, but if you've been wondering when it took place- yup)
The rebellion may talk a cute game around being more humane with war... but, that's mostly Bow. When it comes to it, both Glimmer and Adora at times take actions that cross the line into the downright sinister to end the war- no act is too dark for them. Adora comes terrifyingly close to killing Catra because of it...
Luckily for Catra, in the moment of Adora's brutal confusion and attempt to take her life, Catra finally has someone in her life that will take care of her, and Scorpia steps in to protect Catra.
Scorpia then rightly tells Adora off for her continued, out of control, bloodlust towards Catra, willing to murder her friend for what turns out to be an evil destiny, anyways. Catra was never planning to take things that far- she only tries to bring Adora low, or capture her... and to make her see how she's naive. Why should Adora bear such a burden of the war, at such potential emotional cost to herself and to Catra's life?
... Adora ends up suitably chastised for her actions in LotFP, and you can start to see a change in her behavior following it in s3ep3-ep6: she's realized she can't just kill Catra. She also begins to realize that Light Hope has been manipulating her, and that she's been living a lie.
Unfortunately, Adora's actions before this point comes at a cost: SPOP is very clear about consequences: it leaves Catra desperately afraid after seeing the love of her life constantly trying to kill her. Each time Adora sees Catra following Promise, 3 times in total, she ends up trying to kill her- unwittingly during the Battle of Brightmoon, possessed during White Out, and then as a conscious decision in LotFP. Is that acceptable behavior?
This cruel behavior Adora so hurtfully has towards Catra for false destiny sets up Catra's biggest mistake and her following mental break down:
Catra desperately looks elsewhere for any kind of support- the person she loves wants to kill her... Hordak is being hurtful and threatening her: So, Catra decides to try to trust Shadow Weaver. After all, why not- nobody can be THAT evil, right??? She must have SOME humanity...
That's a mistake, as Shadow Weaver is all bad, and all that Catra gets for trusting her is more horrible emotional wounds and so much more damage that by the time Adora sees Catra in s3ep3, she's one bad hit from totally losing her mind. And the hit comes... and she does... and Adora simply cannot reach Catra through her grief and her anger.
Even though Adora changes her behavior towards Catra in s3ep3-ep6- showing deference for her past mistakes, love for Catra, humility, Catra is too far gone to hear it- she only sees protecting herself from further harm at any cost- that includes pulling the switch and winning the war. It was how she was going to finally be safe...
Everything proceeds to fall apart, so much chaos ensues. One thing that's so scary about Adora's behavior is that it shows she was fighting while having no idea where her line was: what action was too much, too sinister, for her 'destiny'? She didn't really understand her own feelings, her own darkness.... and if Adora had taken Catra's life... it's real scary to think about. Fighting without understanding your own convictions is always scary, which it was for both Adora and Catra.
And so, by the time Portal happens... there's not much Adora can do for Catra. She's too hurt to hear Adora's pleas of love. All she can really do is ask Catra to be better, to heal herself. As Adora says:
"You made your choice, now live with it!*
*WOMP*
She's right, Catra can't live with it, and we see this in s4 as her anger begins to breaks down into something else.
Catra is stuck in a downward spiral, and at least Adora is always trying to be better. Can we say the same about Catra? No not really.
One last thought-
Scorpia is a good, smart, interpersonal person, she realizes Catra's needs, she protects her like no one else ever has, including Adora. Yeah, Catra doesn't really deserve her, (also, Scorpia was always Catra's best option for support, something Catra should have worked harder at accepting), but it's really good for people like Catra to see someone show care for them, besides. And, Scorpia also stops Adora from doing something she herself never would have recovered from.
Hooray for Scorpia! Hooray!! Without her, no kiss, no saving the universe. Hooray for Scorpia!! She's the best- 🖤♥️🤍
Happy 1 year anniversary to Catradora canon!! 🎉🏳️🌈 💞🎉🥰
Everything in SPOP is always a team effort. Scorpia deserves Adora's gratitude, after all, Scorpia saved Catra from Adora's own hurtful confusion. How scary it is that Adora came so close to taking the life of her future lover... 😥
Thanks as always for a like or a ✨✨✨rebloggg✨✨✨ and let me know if you have questions or concerns! I will gladly answer them-
With Love,
~EtheriaDearie
::Here's a link to the original post to which this refers- all links are on tumblr
🥰 Got time for one more fast and fun read about Catradora love to help the author out? Check on this quick read-💞🏳️🌈
LotFP = Legend of the Fire Princess
Here's the total list of more reading if you'd like-
some she-ra backgrounds i made!! feel free to use :)
every time i rewatch spop i find something new to obsess over. this time, its how much i fucking love scorpias princess prom fit.
like. look at her.
The Horde Symbol. I love Catra and Scorpia