Catdora - Blog Posts

Chapters: 14/14 Fandom: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Adora & Bow & Catra & Glimmer & Melog (She-Ra), Glimmer & Horde Prime (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Bow & Catra (She-Ra) Characters: Bow (She-Ra), Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora (She-Ra), Catra (She-Ra), Horde Prime (She-Ra), Wrong Hordak (She-Ra), Horde Prime Clones (She-Ra) Additional Tags: Chipped Glimmer, Queen Glimmer (She-Ra), Glimmer is a Good Friend (She-Ra), Glimmer-centric (She-Ra), Glimmer Needs a Hug (She-Ra), Bow Needs a Hug (She-Ra), Everyone Needs A Hug, Horde Prime Being a Jerk (She-Ra), Warning: Horde Prime (She-Ra), Horde Prime's Ship (She-Ra), Traumatized Glimmer (She-Ra), Implied/Referenced Torture, Psychological Torture, Manipulation, The resistance also makes a short appearances!, Alternate Universe - Character Swap, Canon-Typical Violence, Violence Summary:

Catra tries to save Glimmer... But things don't go so well. Instead, Glimmer saves Catra from Horde Prime, knowing full well that Horde Prime needs her alive.

Now, the group returns to Horde Prime's ship... To go save the Queen.

  Complete!!

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SO GUESS WHO’S BACK! YA ITS ME, YA BOY!! I’ve decided I’mma try to get back into using Tumblr more, but I am more often than not, scheming up new ideas for fics! (Including my whole theme of ‘not letting any of my children (fics) be put up for adoption!’)

I swear I’ll probably add more Incorrect quotes, but they may not be as organized. (I suggest you go to my AO3 for organized incorrect quotes! <3)

I’m still trying to work, but hopefully with more freedom, I’ll be able to return back to this hell of a community. (Dw yall, I love yall <3) I MISSED YOU MUTUALS!

Season 5 - Adora’s Sexuality Arc

So forgive me if other people have already done this to death (I’ve been meaning to write this for a couple of days but iron deficiency has left me exhausted), but I just wanted to talk about the way in which season 5 handled Adora’s sexuality.

The way in which it was handled was both so subtle and so explicit at the same time and I’ve never seen something handled in such a mature, natural fashion.

From just the small glimpse of their world we’re given, homophobia doesn’t appear to be a thing that exists. However this doesn’t mean that it’s all clear-sailing for any of them when it comes to sexuality.

In Adora’s case, she was raised in an environment in which she was expected to excel and lead, without any real regard for her own wants and desires.

Needless to say, it didn’t set her up with the best support system. Despite Shadow Weaver essentially being her mother, it doesn’t seem likely that even Adora could have gone to her about anything that might have been going on in her head.

Even upon leaving the Horde, Adora’s emotional needs still aren’t met. Despite building herself a good support system (or rather the support system built itself around her), she still struggles to act selfishly in any situation and no one around her can empathise fully with what she’s been through.

Even into season 5, Adora describes herself as a “punch your feelings out” kind of person.

Which indicates that she doesn’t really talk about her problems and instead chooses to get on with what she believes she needs to do.

To me, this gives the impression that Adora had never really thought about her sexuality before and had never been able to think about what, or who, she wants. (Even if some of the looks she gave girls throughout the series tell a story of their own!)

Central to the season was Adora’s inconsistency with her ability to become She-Ra. At first, it might have seemed that She-Ra would come to her when she really needed her, but quite quickly throughout the season this is put into uncertainty.

However, there is one variable that is usually present when she is able to transform into She-Ra; Catra.

Unsurprising? Yes.

The first time she was able to transform again, it was out of her need to protect Catra. And, in many ways, this was her first real selfish move. After all, many Etherians really wouldn’t be too bothered if Catra made it out alive, given what she’s done in the past.

Even Bow and Glimmer, who trust Adora, probably struggled to understand why she cares so much for Catra, despite everything she’s done to them. That is until they see her holding her.

I feel like this is when it began to click for both Bow and Glimmer. That Catra is Adora’s sense of stability, and that she holds an important place in her heart.

The entire season, Adora is constantly asked what she wants, and she’s never able to give a complete answer. It’s always “I need to do this.”, never “I want to do this.”.

For a while with Catra back in her life, her abilities as She-Ra return, but Shadow Weaver is constantly there to stick an unwanted spanner in the works.

Whatever progress Adora might have made in figuring out her feelings towards Catra begin sliding backwards as Shadow Weavers words sink in. Even if she doesn’t trust Shadow Weaver, her word is still something she grew up on, and for her mother figure to tell her she’s confused, it certainly adds to her feelings of self-doubt.

It is clear by this point that Catra already knows how she feels about Adora (even if she might not know how to process it) and so this separation in understanding further expands the rift between the two of them, which leads in turn to She-Ra drifting further and further away.

During her struggle, we see Mara tell Adora that she’s also deserving of love and that she shouldn’t self sacrifice so much.

But even that doesn’t truly reach her in the way it needs to.

It isn’t until Catra’s confession that we get to see Adora finally allow herself something.

The kiss between them wasn’t just magical because of the love behind it, but also because it displays the moment that Adora accepts her own wants and needs. And it’s through that level of love and self-understanding that She-Ra returns.

This scene shows a different kind of confidence than has previously been seen in earlier seasons. Whereas before her confidence as She-Ra seemed a lot to do with her physical strength, this confidence seems to come from within.

From self-content.

And for someone like Adora, who always seems to need to be doing something for a greater cause, her calmness at the end of the war is a perfect conclusion to her self-acceptance.

And then, at the end, she has Catra, and she’s not ashamed by people knowing. She finally allows herself to be selfish and in love.

(Sorry if this makes no sense, it’s really late and I should be asleep 😴 but I just thought that the series handled this really beautifully.)