| Bea/Kayt | 16 | ENFP | Virgo | Bi | Philippines | Slytherin | Dead Head | Favourite Quote: I would rather live a life full of "oh wells" than a life full of "what ifs"
Equestrian AU Part VII: Happy Anniversary Catradora! This was only supposed to be showing Catra being nice to Swifty so she can get some alone time with Adora but I realised it’s the 15th today! Two months baby woo hoo!
This post serves as a conclusion to a larger project, see the links above. If you’ve read them all, thank you so much, I hope I could some insight into these characters and their relationships. If you haven’t, that’s still cool, I’m hoping you’ll give this post a chance as I’m going to summarize what this project has been about.
These are all canonically queer characters in animated series primarily aimed at children, and I believe there’s a huge importance to that representation. What’s even more important is that these stories have depth to them, that even if certain scenes like a kiss are censored, you cannot take the significance away from these stories. Because these characters are so well-developed and because their queer love is a part of that development, it becomes a part of the story itself. This manifests itself in various shapes and forms through these three shows.
Marcy and Bonnie both embody the repetitive nature of history where time is an illusion and everything stays just as you left it. Marceline’s trauma represents being stuck in the same cycles of abandonment and betrayal but her transgression signifies that there is a life beyond that. Bubblegum’s anxiety of the future is justified in a world such as Adventure Time’s but she lets go of control and focuses more on herself. Their shared moments thrived on subtext and packed so much meaning into small moments that by the time their romance grew into plain text, there was no question as to what they mean to each other. Because it took so long and so many small steps, Bubbline isn’t always appreciated for the milestone that it was, but hey, they’ll keep going on. They are quasi immortals, after all.
Korra and Asami balance each other out just like the four elements do. Korra is eager to fulfill the role of the hero but gets rejected over and over again, only to redefine that role and embrace her own empathy and spirituality. The more Asami loses the more she creates and builds a new modern world, and in the end she’s able to face her own demons and let go of the trauma she’d been carrying. Their bond was unexpected to even the creators but they took a chance on both these characters and it grew into something beautiful. They find compassion and happiness in each other as they’re finally allowed to just be themselves in a world that demands so much. It took time and effort and their final triumph might seem small today, but that’s okay. If anyone, Korra and Asami are used to the world diminishing the importance of their achievements.
Catra and Adora grew up with each other only to find themselves on opposite sides of a conflict. They have to process their childhood trauma before they can find their way back to each other and this time around be honest with each other. Adora learns self-worth when she stops basing it on her identity as a soldier and hero and allows herself to want something. Catra accepts vulnerability and stops using excuses and misdirected anger, takes responsibility and allows herself to feel her truly feelings. Their love is such an integral part of She-Ra story that it saves the day, showing how far we’ve come. It’s not a triumph to be taken lightly but it is one that gives hope for the future. Their love saves Etheria and paves the way forward in the real word.
I titled this project Trauma, Transgression, Triumph and set out to examine six characters and three relationships from these angles. What makes them all unique is not just that they were even allowed to exist in the first place as queer stories, though that in itself is a transgression. They are all stories where we can relate to these characters, truly feel for them, and cheer for them when they overcome adversity and succeed against all the odds. With all of them combined, we have diverse stories with diverse figures who are all united by their love. Here are three shows that not only featured queer characters but made them complex and gave them compelling arcs where they ultimately succeed.
What a time to be alive that we see this level of compelling storytelling with queer characters and in all-ages TV. And again I would like to emphasize how this triumph shouldn’t be taken for granted as every one of the creators behind these shows had to fight for what we ended up getting. But it is, ultimately, a triumph, and this project is meant to celebrate that. This epilogue had its own various versions and in some of them I was tempted to elaborate on some of the things I mentioned in the main posts. Like I said at the beginning, these are not deep-dives meant to cover every single aspect of these stories and there’s so much more to be said. For now, though, I thank you once again and at the same time urge you to explore the stories you’re presented with. Queer viewers had to search for breadcrumbs for the longest time. Now that we have more explicit representation it’s truly fascinating and satisfying to look at why these stories work - and why they matter.
