#bleatings

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CHOO CHOO!! CHOO CHOO CHA CHA LA LA!!! LAAAA!!!!! YYYYAAAAYYYYY!!!!! YYAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!! YYYYYYYYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAAAAA

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The time Catra punched the Entrapdak fandom in the kidneys.

The first instance of Catra gaining clear control of Hordak is particularly memorable, mainly because it pointedly shatters the most positive aspect of his life: his growing relationship with Entrapta. It occurs at the very end of season 3, as we all remember, and highlights not only how good Catra is at exploiting emotion, but how terrible Hordak is at withstanding such exploitation. Observe.

I feel like this is the moment when Catra starts to understand what Hordak really is, what drives him, and what hurts him. Up until now, she’s treated Entrapta as a sort of rival, angry that Hordak trusts her more but not really understanding that there’s a deeper, more vulnerable connection there.

She figures it out right here. And she exploits it. His reaction is best appreciated in his facial expressions. Let us assess.

The initial one is of surprise, plain enough. For a moment, one can imagine that he’s stunned to hear this, and for that moment, one can imagine that he’s going to realize that it’s a lie. Y’know: because he’s an intelligent, grown man who knows that Catra is a lying liar who lies. But, well...

His expression gently falls (watch it animated, it’s subtle), eyes narrowing, brows slackening into a sort of dejected acceptance that breaks my black little heart. There’s no anger, initially. There’s just this... quiet resignation. This moment of “oh... yes... yes, of course she did; that makes sense.” And it’s an awful thing to see because it emphasizes that Hordak’s insecurities run so much deeper than just not being physically useful enough for Prime. There’s a legitimate lack of personal worth there, encompassing so much more than just “I’m not a good general.” It extends to his worthiness as just... a person to be around.

And then he descends into anger, because of course he does. Every time he’s brought face to face with these painful parts of himself, he defaults to anger. Because I’m fairly certain that life as a clone soldier didn’t teach him healthy emotional coping mechanisms.

What’s interesting here is how masterfully Catra takes advantage of it: she laughs at him, at whatever uncertainty he has left, whatever hopeful straws he’s grasping at. This laughter, I think, has a chief role in cementing his acceptance of the lie. He interprets it as her laughing at him, her laughing at his shameful mistake of actually thinking someone like Entrapta would sincerely want to be with him. It exploits his uncertainty and shame, pushing him to accept the lie because fighting it seems... well, laughable.

It’s an ugly thing to do, to cackle at this man’s sudden shock at being abandoned, but she does it, and in doing so, she gives herself the power to withstand his switch back to aggression.

She proceeds to “school” him on how princesses work, and his uncertain expression further confirms that she’s taken her hold of him, that she’s confirmed the awful notions he’s just had. She’s validated his sense of betrayal. Even as he seems curious about her motives a second later, raising an eyebrow and seeming to not quite know what to make of her, the damage is done. 

And so we have the scene ending with the first real moment when Catra directly influences, nearly orders, Hordak to perform an action: opening the portal. She’s learned that Hordak has emotional weaknesses that he really can’t resist at this point, and this clear success in manipulation opens the door for further attempts. Because oh boy, friends and neighbors, are there further, sadly successful, attempts building upon this one. As for Hordak? He’s shown us the real depth of his emotional damage. This isn’t just “sad backstory” territory. This is “I hurt enough that my intelligent judgment is woefully poor.” And it all gets worse once the portal is resolved.

[meadowmiscount]

EVERYRHIBG JS BEAUTIFUL

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she said this

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i love that i can have fun and be myself around people that like me and enjoy my presence

[meadowmiscount]

i haven't felt much solidarity with any kind of large community for the past few years it feels. the only major fandom i found myself interacting with a lot i feel like i've grown out of, and i feel like i don't gel particularly well with lots of queer oriented groups too. not out of any malice or anything i just feel like it isn't for me

really the only group i've found myself in a lot lately is the wider furry community. which is quite nice albeit very vague and broad given it's a subculture, and even while i like it there's some groups where i feel i need to exercise more restraint where you think i wouldn't need to

i dunno, i'd like to be a part of something tangible again someday

[meadowmiscount]

im so cute they should give me every bag of salt and vinegar chips

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very happy im at the "wait a minute, i dont give a shit" point of my life when it comes to any schism on social media

i say this in the least self deprecative way possible but like who gives a shit about what i think about some girl saying some thing on the internet, im literally a cute little lamb