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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 4 days

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Ok so She-Ra pulled such a great hat trick with Hordak's characterization, and I LOVE it

One of my favorite things about 2018 She-Ra is Hordak's story and development (and Entrapdak cough but that's not the point of this particular post), and the cleverest thing is that so much of it is actually being set up and told to us in seasons 1 and 2 before we even realize that that's what's happening.

When we first see Hordak in the show, he's giving "generic evil overlord" vibes. Garden-variety baddie. Maybe a little more reasonable than some and clearly capable of long-term thinking, but that just serves to make him intimidating. Everything about him--the way he runs his empire, his armor, his color scheme, his minion, his Villainous Eye Makeup(TM), even his name--are all projecting to the audience "yup, Acme Bad Guy here. Move right along."

But then, backstory. And everything snaps into focus. Not only is it one of the first big oh SHIT moments of the show, where we suddenly zoom out and realize that there is SO much more going on than we realized--it's also the start of the audience seeing Hordak as a character rather than an archetype. Suddenly we realize that he's not conquering Etheria because he wants power, or hates happiness and sparkles, or whatever--he's doing it out of a desperate attempt to prove his worth to his brother/creator/god. This moment where Hordak lets Entrapta in is also the moment the show lets us in on what makes our favorite spacebat tick.

On top of that, we've also seen him bonding with Entrapta and opening up to this person that he respects and trusts...probably the only person he's ever respected or trusted apart from Prime. And she's Etherian--someone of a lower species, someone he's supposed to subjugate, someone who he has been raised and trained and programmed and mind-controlled into believing is below him in every way.

But instead she's brilliant and creative and mesmerizing. She's not afraid of him, and she's fascinated with his work. For the first time since being abandoned by Prime, Hordak finally has someone that he can talk to, who is on his level and both understands and cares about the science! (because he is a giant nerd). She's kind to him, a mere defect. And it just sends his whole worldview into a spin, and that's all before--

Bam, mans is a goner. Entrapta's "Imperfections are beautiful" comment punches right through all the toxic bs that Hordak has been steeped in his entire life. You can see on his face here--I think it's the moment Hordak fell in love with Entrapta, but this is also the face of a spacebat reevaluating his entire worldview. If Entrapta, who is amazing, believes something different from Prime...what does that mean? If Entrapta, who is brilliant, believes that he is worth something, and that she herself is a failure...

Well. We know what happens after that, and how Hordak begins to doubt, and eventually fights back against Prime (and remembers his love for Entrapta after TWO mind wipes help my heart ack). But we also get to see what life in the Galactic Horde looks like: the only life Hordak ever knew before coming to Etheria.

It's not nice.

It's really not nice.

Prime operates in a very specific way, and we learn a lot about it in season 5. Prime expects complete obedience, devotion and worship from his clones. He allows no individuality from his subjects, not even a name. Failure or deviations are punished, mind-wiped, or destroyed. We even learn from Wrong Hordak that facial expressions are considered a privilege reserved for Prime (apart from, presumably, expressions of rapture caused by being around Prime).

And once we learn all of this, suddenly thinking about season 1 Hordak becomes very interesting indeed. The time we spend with the Galactic Horde and Prime throws absolutely everything that we know about Hordak into a whole new context. Now all those traits that made him a generic villain are actually hugely effective characterization! And what that characterization is telling us is that Hordak had already moved much farther away from Prime than we (or, probably, he) had realized, even long before he met Entrapta.

Horde Prime does not allow his underlings to have names, personalities, or any differences of appearance. Not only does Hordak allow this among his own troops, he chose a name for himself as well! Season 5 tells us that his very name is an act of blasphemy against his god. And yet Hordak took one for himself, and that name is part of the core identity he is able to hold on to when rebelling against Prime.

Horde Prime cast Hordak out when he showed signs of physical imperfections. Hordak not only keeps Imp (who is by all appearances a failed clone or similar experiment) around, he treats Imp more gently than we see him treat anybody or anything before Entrapta. Imp is not simply "generic evil guy's minion," he is proof of Hordak's capacity for compassion, and evidence that Hordak cannot bring himself to cast aside "defects" as easily as Prime. Considering where Hordak came from, Imp's existence is a huge, flashing neon sign telling the audience this guy here is better than the hell that molded him, and we don't even realize it until 4 seasons after it's been shown to us!

Very cool, ND.

There's more, though. Hordak's red and black color scheme? His dark eye makeup and lipstick? Very Evil Overlord chic. But nope! Actually these are actually expressions of individuality on a level that Hordak knows would be abhorrent to Prime!

Reading between the lines, I see this as Hordak desperately trying to reconcile two diametrically opposed beliefs in his head: (1) devotion to Prime, whose approval he desperately craves, and (2) maintaining some degree of unique personhood, of Hordak, from which to draw strength. Because a failed, defective clone cannot survive on a hostile world, cut off from the hivemind and from Prime's light. A failed clone cannot create an empire to offer Prime as tribute, nor build a spacetime portal from scraps and memory to call Prime back. A failed clone cannot create cybernetic armor to keep his hurting, weakened body alive; to force himself to keep going no matter what, to fight through the pain and the doubt by sheer force of will.

But maybe Hordak can.

And so there it is. Hordak had plenty of time to gain and explore his individuality while separated from Prime, but I think the reason he did it so effectively (while still deluding himself that Prime would forgive him for these little sins, if only Hordak could prove his value) is because he had to.

Wrong Hordak gained his individuality surrounded by kind, quirky people who took care of him; Hordak was ripped from the hivemind by Prime himself and had to fight for his survival against all odds. And that produced a dangerous and damaging foe for Etheria. But it also produced the one clone with the strength of will to defy Prime himself.

This is long and rambling, but ultimately my point is that 1) I love Hordak, and 2) I love love love love that the show was so clever about his characterization. We learn so much about him and how much progress he's already made in breaking from his psycho abusive cult upbringing, and we don't even recognize it until the show wants us to. Hordak had come so far, all on his own, before he met Entrapta. She just helped push him over the edge and finally realize (at least consciously) that Prime's worldview might not be the correct one.

Idk, I just don't know if I've ever seen all the trappings of Basic 80's Villain(TM) so successfully subverted, where looking back 4 seasons later is actually a smack in the face with the "effective character building" stick. Amazing.

#spop #she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #hordak #entrapta #horde prime #Deep character analysis #Gotta love clever writing #Seriously I could go on about this show for ages #I just love the characterization for everyone but especially Hordak #Best spacebat #I mean I love Wrong Hordak too but you know

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 5 days

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Transformers Earthspark acknowledging Starscream's abuse from Megatron (ಥ_ಥ)

#transformers #starsc #ptsd #hashta

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 5 days

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———-

Hard Work

First I Prev I Next

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 6 days

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Rich pregnant socialite: So we went to this clinic and let them manipulate our genes so we're 100% sure our child won't have any disease, he will have my hair and his father eyes and so much things we did for him! And you Bruce ?

Brucie: Found em in the trash. Except Tim, he found me in the trash.

#batman #batfamily #batfam #dc comics #bruce wayne #jason todd #dick grayson #cassandra cain #batfamily incorrect quotes #duke thomas #brucie wayne #batkids #batsiblings

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 17 days

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One of my favorite things to happen in a show, is when a moment is super funny when you watch it as the audience, but when you think about it from a in-universe perspective is extremely sad and or fucked up.

Heres a perfect example:

Watching adora pulling a knife from under her pillow as a cartoon character? Fucking hilarious. Extremely funny moment.

Thinking of Adora as freshly out of the cult she was pretty much born into, deep inside what only days ago she considered the heart of enemy territory, about how she didn't feel safe enough to sleep until she literally had to hide a knife under her pillow?

That shits heartbreaking

And i love it

#spop #shera and the princesses of power #adora #trauma response #ptsd #complex ptsd #trauma #funny in scene sad when you think about it

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 17 days

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She-Ra Binge

Binge-watching She-Ra and the Princesses of Power again because it is So. Damn. Good! <3 <3 <3

#shera adora #shera and the princesses of power #fangirling #excellent writing #excellent plot #why are there so few excellent tv shows with great plots???

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 23 days

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Thick hair. New comic on Tapas

Read here

#comic #art #funny

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 24 days

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I love all your comments, no matter how short or long they are. They never fail to make my day, so never apologize for it, and I know other author's feel the same way, too.

#Writer's stuff #Comments #Reader appreciation

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 28 days

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My therapist calls a lot of these trauma responses, while I am like, "I think this is my personality, tho..." :P

The (basic) thoughts of INFJ

The needs and emotions of others are more important than my own.

I need to avoid conflict, even if I lose out. But when everyone else is happy, I am too.

I love the whole world and don't get that love back, that's why I'm bitter deep inside.

I realise and notice more things than others but can't put them into words

People say I'm an extrovert, but I'm just not shy, I still like being by myself more than being with people and will avoid people if possible.

I feel lonely but are afraid of deep emotional bonds, because emotional stress is heavy for me.

I can handle my life but would wish for someone to help and love me, but also kinda know no one will meet my standards or love me like I need it

I am smart but only because I recognise patterns fast and remember interesting things, I am not exactly an expert in anything

People say I am childish when I'm happy, dramatic when I'm sad or afraid and bitter when I'm angry. It's probably best to not show them too much

I trust only a few people so much I consider them my friends. I'm overly loyal and when a friend leaves, I often don't understand. People seem to often leave me despite me trying my best to do everything for them.

#mental health #psychology #therapy #meyers briggs #personality types #infj #infj feelings #infj personality #infj thoughts

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 1 month

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#thoughtstherapy #thoughts #therapy #mental health #a couple of reminders #take whatever you think applies #take care

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 2 months

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This comic series has my heart! ❤️😭 🤗

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“He wanted to get better.”

First I Prev I Next

#rottmnt #save rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #unpause rottmnt #save rise of the tmnt #rottmnt leo #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt raph #sunset duo #zee draws rottmnt #rottmnt nightmares comic #mental health #emotional support #post traumatic stress

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 2 months

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When you say “metrics,” are you talking about actual numbers or a sense of creative direction? I think it’s the numbers, like what territories they feel they need to see things performing in. As far as I can tell, everything Netflix does is based on how it’s driving subscriber growth. The truth is that when your show does very well in North America, as ours does, as far as Netflix is concerned, pretty much everybody who’s going to have Netflix [in North America] has it. They’re looking to drive subscriber growth in other parts of the world where this IP doesn’t have much recognition. It was odd. You have a call and they give you numbers seven days in and then 28 days in. Our numbers seemed fine. It was what they expected. It was pretty close to what we did last season, so I wasn’t too worried. Then, as the decision to renew the show kept dragging on, I started to get concerned. At the same time, the show has been so critically well received. We’ve been nominated for and won so many awards. People love it. For this show that has a fine viewership but is not a monster hit, but it’s beloved by fans … does that matter? I don’t know. I think we had the bad luck to come out at about the same time as Squid Game, which showed them how crazy numbers could get. Numbers that were totally respectable and successful last year were suddenly seen in a different way. I don’t have access to a lot of this data, and in general creators don’t have access to this data at Netflix, so it’s what you put together on your own. […] A lot of times, Netflix things come out and for whatever reason, if the algorithm doesn’t put it in front of you, no one knows it’s on. I heard from so many people who loved season one that they didn’t even know season two had come out. How is that possible? How does the algorithm not know that you watched and loved the entire first season and then immediately show season two to you? Why is this not getting in front of people that want to watch it? […] Do you wonder if it’s easier to dismiss shows about young girls? I’ve been watching conversations about the Pixar movie Turning Red and realizing there’s a lot of discomfort related to stories about girls who aren’t little children but are also not adults. People are extremely uncomfortable with this period in girls’ lives. It seems to be the time of life that girls lose faith in themselves, and I think it’s because they don’t see representation of where they’re actually at. Girls are expected to go straight from Doc McStuffins to Euphoria. They’re not ready for TV about having sex, but they don’t want to be little girls. So who are they? It’s a really easy time for girls to define themselves solely by how they’re seen by other people and then you don’t get your sense of self back until you’re 35. What if you weren’t missing those 20 years? What if you always got to be yourself and see yourself represented in a real way? And not have to be all about who thinks you’re pretty or who thinks you have the right clothes? Or how old they think you are or how old they think you look? The Baby-Sitters Club speaks to so many girls because it meets them where they are. It’s not about adults telling them who they are. It’s not really about boys, although they have crushes, which is a realistic part of life at that age. There’s something about stories geared to this age that always felt like hindsight from adults, as opposed to what it actually feels like to be that age. What we could do with The Baby-Sitters Club was make the girls as smart and interesting and mature as girls are without making it all about how other people see them. It’s about how they see themselves. […] It reminds me of when people would talk about models being too thin. Blame the fashion industry, who blames the magazines, who blame the designers, and the designers blame the bookers. It’s somebody else’s fault. In media, you’ll speak to female executives who say, “I wish it wasn’t this way.” If only you were in a position to do something about this! I think female audiences are trained to not take their own stories as seriously. Stuff men were obsessed with when they were 9 is treated like Hamlet. How many Spider-Man movies are there? How many Star Wars? They tell it over and over again from different perspectives. That’s all fine, obviously. But what if someone treated something for girls that seriously? Even with a fraction of the money.

— Rachel Shukert on Netflix cancelling the The Baby-Sitters Club (Vulture)

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 2 months

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lol

In the Netflix version of Kristy's Big Day, Watson's next door neighbor (who Karen thinks is a witch) is the officiator for Watson and Elizabeth's wedding and she's like "This little girl thinks I'm a witch and she's right." Just... embracing it.

In the Netflix version, she's the aunt to Dawn (maybe great-aunt? I'm not clear if she's Sharon's aunt too?)

#ashleybenlove posts #the baby sitters club #season 1 #Kristy's Big Day

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 2 months

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Would also like to add that even if your efforts don't pan out the way you wanted them to, it does not make your efforts a waste of time.

You do know what is best for you. And every decision you make is what was best for you at the time with the choices you had knowledge about and available to you. And even if you become someone different over time, it does not mean that you did not actually know what was best for you.

<3

I got into my dream university.

It was all worth it. The extra work, the struggle with scheduling, the long study sessions night after night.

But also the times I chose to spend time with family, help a friend, or take the space to rest.

You know what is best for you. Make your own decisions and hold yourself to your own standards. Be honest with yourself.

#tbh I did kneecap my social life to preserve my sleep schedule #but I’m an introvert anyway so #brb running around like a headless chicken rn #studyblr #university #original tags before this #self awareness #know your value #know your worth #know yourself #everything will be okay #everything will be alright #everything will be fine #you're doing your best and that is enough

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 2 months

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the commodification of friendship is the most annoying thing to come out of the internet in ages. like actually i love to break this to you but you're supposed to help your friends move even if it's hard work. or stay up with them when they're sad even if you're gonna lose sleep. you're supposed to listen to their fears and sorrows even if it means your own mind takes on a little bit of that weight. that's how you know that you care. they will drive you to the airport and then you will make them soup when they're sick. you're supposed to make small sacrifices for them and they are supposed to do that for you. and there's actually gonna be rough patches for both of you where the balance will be uneven and you will still be friends and it will not be unhealthy and they will not be abusive. life is not meant to be an endless prioritization of our own comfort if it was we would literally never get anywhere ever. jesus.

#yea people have completely lost the meaning of community #it’s putting in more than you get out sometimes #that’s how we all collectively survive.#Original tags before #General tags from here #friendship #friendship dynamics #relationships #It's not black and white

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 2 months

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"I'm tired of blaming ourselves" and "Why do we have to take responsibility for something that we couldn't control" has my heart. <3