i’ve talked a lot about catra being the scapegoat, but now i want to talk about adora being the golden child. it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, that’s for sure.
when adora was a child, shadow weaver told her that she was responsible for catra’s behavior, and by extension, her punishments. no, adora wouldn’t be punished for it, but catra would, and that was probably worse. this likely instilled the idea that, if catra got hurt because she “misbehaved” (read: did normal kid things), then it was actually adora’s fault–not catra’s (which it isn’t) nor shadow weaver’s (which it is). if catra suffered, then it was because adora wasn’t trying hard enough–to distract shadow weaver with her own accomplishments or convince catra to stay in line or whatever.
catra completely misinterpreted this, assuming that adora enjoyed this favoritism. is this the reaction of someone who enjoys being the golden child, or is this the reaction of someone who’s terrified?
a lot of people have assumed that adora’s behavior is arrogant, but i think it’s actually just…what she’s been told and taught–
–that she’s important, but not necessarily useful unless she’s doing everything the “right” way. sometimes, being important isn’t actually very comforting; it just gives you more power to make mistakes and let people down.
shadow weaver gave adora the illusion of control over more than her own behavior, and when that illusion crumbled, adora was left with…herself, and a sword. it’s no wonder that she clung to the sword as a source of validation and importance, a way for her to actually help people.
this also explains why she feels such strong guilt for anything bad that happens around her, which light hope recognizes and exploits. all adora wants to do is protect her friends (and, y’know, etheria–no pressure though), but what if she only hurts them? she’s convinced that she does have the power to save everyone, that she is important enough to do everything, and yet, she fails, again and again. even when she has the physical power to throw things around, she can’t heal plumeria’s tree or glimmer’s abilities, because she’s just not good enough.
being the golden child, being told that you’re special and amazing and perfect…a lot of people buckle under that pressure and end up paralyzed by fear that they can’t truly accomplish anything.
luckily, adora has found friends who truly do not blame her for not being able to save everyone, and she finds the strength to get up again and try.
How old do you think Harry was when they first put him in the cupboard?
Did Vernon put him in there the night he arrived at their doorstep? Or did he wait until he could use a bed instead of a cot? Did Vernon put a three-year-old boy, a boy with eyes too big for his face and unruly black hair standing in every direction, unsure what he did wrong to not be called “sweetheart” by Petunia, unsure why his uncle seemed to hate him, in a cupboard under the stairs?
Do you think Harry cried the first few days? Scared? And that he then gave up after a week, knowing no one was going to help him, and he got used to being locked away?
Because I think he did, and now I’m sad.
oh no this post
Why would there be a bed in dudley’s second bedroom? I think harry used to sleep there, but then he lost the privilege to have a proper place to sleep
This is too much before noon
I read a theory a while back that suggested that Harry probably hid in the cupboard at one stage – he was a young child who’d been through a trauma and who had then been thrust into a new and not-very-pleasant situation, and small children like having safe hidey-holes when they’re upset, so harry probably found the cupboard under the stairs to be a nice little secure place he could hide away in. And then the dursleys went “well ok if you like it so much in there you can stay in there,” and turned it from his safe place into his prison.
blackash26 