#spop parallels

[bl3ssdbethefruit]

Israel is ruining the vibes.

[azurethenerd]

Blonde lesbians at their lowest point, about to use the apex of their power, fueled by the love of a girl that they care deeply for.

[catras-breakup-song]

[imaginationfanstar]

OH MY GOSH! You are absolutely right! How did we miss that? It seems so obvioius now. Wrong Hordak is just a speed run of Adora’s defection arc and sort of played for laughs. I mean I knew Hordak and Catra had their similarities but Story wise I never made the connection. I shouldn’t be surprised though. Spop is all about parallels. It’s endless.

Idk if this has been talked about before but do you think Hordak and Wrong Hordak are kind of parallels to catra and adora? Adora and WH both fully believed the hoard was truly good, and only defected when they realized it was a lie. Their values never changed, their realities did. Catra and Hordak both seemed to know the hoard was actually pretty evil, but didn't care. They both had there own reasons to rebel in the end, personal pride and whatnot, but mostly it was their love for adora and entrapta that pushed them to change sides.

Yes, I absolutely do.

Wrong Hordak even has a scene where he's petting a horse for the first time, just like Adora!!! And they both have this sort of existential crisis.

They both believed they were honorable missionaries of the Horde, that the Horde was perfect. Whether it was Adora believing the Horde were victims of rebel insurgents, or Wrong Hordak believing that Prime was the smartest and most merciful man in the universe. Sweary Shera amps this up to 11 with their Wrong Hordak having heard a bunch of lies about gay people, kind of like how Adora heard a bunch of lies about princesses (also gay people).

With Catra and Hordak, it's more like... okay, yeah, they were ALSO brought up in these cults. And I would actually say that Hordak was far more "brainwashed" than Catra, because to begin with Hordak fully believed in the hype of Prime, at least for a while. He was cast aside as a defect, and knew of the violence of the Horde, but still believed in his creator's perfection, unlike Catra, who knew from the start that Weaver was full of shit and realised over time that Hordak was too.

I'd say though that both of them were SCARED of their masters, and were trying to get their approval, to sort of... prove that they were wrong about them. Because the little voice Prime and Weaver put in their heads says "You are wrong, you are a failure", and they need to silence that in order to function. This is why Catra never defected, she needed to prove herself in the system and Weaver would "win" if she quit, and this is why Hordak scrambled to Prime's feet once he arrived.

But something changed over time. The versions of Hordak and Catra we get at the end of Season 4, their hearts aren't in it anymore. All of their actions across S4 are driven by different motivations to before.

For Hordak, his motivation actually flips over - He hardly gives a shit about reuniting with Prime anymore! What he wants to do is prove to Entrapta that she was wrong for leaving him behind, and prove to himself that he isn't a worthless piece of shit failure like everyone thinks he is. Hordak goes from a sheltered scientist to leading the army on the front lines, embracing the violence of a warlord and sort of making a name for himself rather than hiding behind the rest of the Horde. He's in the state of mind Catra was in the previous seasons!!!

For Catra, her motivation... well, it ends. We saw the fire and rage from her in the previous season where she was so determined to prove herself that she ended the world, and this is a Catra who has to deal with the consequences of that. She realises that she has very little left in her life and she tries to cling onto those ideas, even to bond with Hordak despite everything he's done to her, and she goes through the ten stages of grief, ending up on Prime's doorstep as having... started to think about what it is she really wants. Like, she sees Glimmer fuck up big time but try to fix it anyway, she goes "You can do that???", and I think Catra starts to accept she still cares about people, she cares about Adora and even Glimmer and Hordak. She's a character filled with so much empathy who tries to crush it dry.

Hordak and Catra both get the "death and rebirth" in the final season, after their "rebirth" they become more introspective with all the rage tempered or gone. Hordak, in close proximity to Prime, starts to see how truly weak the man is, and how hollow his version of "Love" is, especially compared to the sheer strength of heart he sees from Entrapta. And Catra, in "Save the Cat", are their bare selves, all notions of hero vs villain stripped away, just those two girls who grew up together trying to survive. Catra afterwards still has the final strips of her mask that she claws onto, but she lets them flutter away.

Wrong Hordak and Adora "had it easier" when it came to defecting because they were entrenched in the false values of their system, and just applied those values to their new situation. Whereas Catra and Hordak had to develop new values from the ground up, since the whole time all they were made to care about was whether they were on the good side of the person in charge, because if they werent, they were going to get the Stick.

[jellyfishcharm]

“in every universe?”

“yeah in every universe”

BAKUDEKU ISNT EVEN MY FAVORITE MHA SHIP AND I HAVENT WATCHED SHERA IN YEARS BUT THEIR PARALLELS MAKE ME GO INSANE ITS SO GOOD PERFECT CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO RIVALS TO ENEMIES TO CONFESSION TO LOVERS

[famousfive]

"Elevated heart rate, dilated pupils… Adora means something to you."

[unicornblossom13]

[Catadora & Megop Parallels]

At the start of Transformers One, I think Orion Pax was a bit more similar to Catra, as both were stuck in jobs they were unsatisfied with and wanted to do something more with their lives.

Meanwhile, Adora and D-16 were more serious minded and content with following the rules and work their way up in an environment that was unfair, and sometimes cruel, but was all they knew.

However, in the second half of the movie, when the truth is revealed, that’s when they switch roles.

Orion wanted to fix the corrupted system, trying to avoid using horrible and unnecessary methods if possible. Adora wanted to immediately stop the Horde once she realized what their true intentions were, joining the Rebellion to fix the damage they have done.

On the other hand, D-16 became more and more consumed with wanting revenge against the lies fed to him his entire life. Now, while Catra was well aware of the Horde’s true nature, she desperately wanted to prove her worth to those that constantly doubted her since she was a child.

So driven by their desires and goals, both D-16 and Catra were willing to remove the ones they believed stood in their way, Orion in his case and Adora in hers.

Both Orion and Adora gained an incredible power that allowed them to make a difference and to right the wrongs they had seen.

But it came at the cost of losing their best friend, someone they loved and trusted more than anyone.

Even though these differences in goals and ideals caused them to drift away, their is no denying both pairs are always drawn to each other. Whether friends or enemies, they influence one another’s decisions and actions.

The lingering feelings they have for one another adds to the conflict as they are torn between longing, betrayal, what is right and wrong, and what they desire.

[yourhighness6]

The difference between these two scenes is striking:

In the first one, Catra is so angry and vengeful, but now she is simply done. She is too tired and too empty to fight Scorpia leaving the way she did Adora. Before, she felt the need to prove herself. Now, she knows she's done everything she can to be smarter and better and more violent, but it still isn't enough. Everyone will still leave her.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

ah. some things never change. like your undying jealousy towards your sister who is also coincidentally your love interest.

[cirusthecitrus]

Iliad? In my She-Ra cartoon? It's more likely than you think

Some of you may know that og Hordak and Prime (from the motu franchise) also have "normal" names. Sooo, you know how long it took my dumb ass to realize that Hec-Tor and Anillis are spelled and pronounced suspiciously similar to Hector and Achilles - u know, the heroes from Homer's Iliad??*

I have no idea if this lil trivia fact is an intentional reference or not or if this specific choice of characters is supposed to mean anything at all. But it means everything to ME

Because why Horde Prime of all people was given the name of a hero?? Why Hordak, his brother, was given the name of his enemy and his victim? And why do these names fit the 2018s versions of these characters so well?

!I'm not an expert in ancient literature or greek mythology/history or anything close so my knowledge and understanding of the Iliad and its characters is literaly on the surface level! I'm only making this post cause looking for parallels is fun c:

Horde Prime as Achilles

The mythological hero, Achilles was often reffered to as the beast, or pure element, force of nature, or even a star. Not a person, not a human being

He was an exceptional fierce hero known for his passion and determination, but also his arrogance and stubborness. Noble yet often selfish and capricious, understanding and caring yet cruel

The one who possesed arcane knowledge about the fate of humanity, and with it - about his own destiny

The one protected by the gods, who was so close to godhood himself, whos body was immortalized in the river Styx

And yet, one small part remained vulnerable, a part of him stayed painfully human. And once it was discovered and aimed at, he was as good as dead

The one who was driven by horrific almost animalistic rage. Rage that came from pain and grief. Rage that came... from love?

Achilles lost someone dear to him and this loss blinded him with desire for revenge, made him chase after the warrior who took his loved one from him. He refused to let go, not even letting go of Hector's corpse

Hordak as Hector

Described as "deserving of love" Hector was a great warrior, deeply devoted and loyal to his home and his cause

A brave unstoppable leader who nonetheless made many mistakes by letting his human emotions and traits make him act unwise, arrogant, reckless and naive

The one who believed in his gods and trusted so many, but in the end was only deceived and lied to. And this lie was the reason why Hector could not escape Achilles' wrath

The cause and the victim of Achilles' rage. His personal enemy, the one who killed his beloved. The one who feared Achilles so much yet in the end stopped running away and faced him in their first and final duel

The one who lost everything. Doomed to die tragically by Achilles' hand. Hector didnt even beg for mercy, only for his body to be treated with respect, but Achilles could not be reasoned with. Instead he dragged his corpse behind his chariot for days on end, not letting him rest. Not letting Hector return home to his family

But wait, who is Patroclus of this story?

Funny how this part of Achilles' story fits Hordak a lot more, since it was him who lost a dear friend and it was him who was consumed with grief and fury. Thus, in a way, Hordak is both Hector and Achilles and Entrapta is his Patroclus. But what's Prime's deal then?

We can always enter fanon territory and headcanon that Prime might have lost someone a long time ago and grief turned him into a monster. Could be a lover, could be a friend or family, could be his old self even. But then what Hordak had to do with it? Why he became the target of his rage?

Perhaps in this version Patroclus isn't even a person. An idea of perfection and control. Hordak's imperfections ruined the image of his ideal world where everything goes his way, ruined his own image, the facade of an all mighty god who could not make a mistake or create something less than perfect. In a sense Hordak's defect and later betryal killed everything Prime was working on and was trying to achieve, everything he believed in

Perhaps Hordak is both Hector and Patroclus. A brother Prime loved so much, but only when he was still a perfect obedient doll with no name. But once Hordak began to change, showing his personhood and becoming harder to control, becoming unrecognizable, HP could not accept it. In his mind Prime lost a brother, and someone who named himself Hordak was his murderer

Again, I have no idea why the hell they chose these names for their aliases. Achilles and Hector were in no way pure or flawless people, but... they were still heroes. Does this say anything about the characters of Horde Prime and Hordak or their dynamic? Especially their motu versions**?? Or was this just a reference for the sake of reference? (oh maybe im only seeing things and its not even a reference??) They could've chosen an iconic pair of tragic brothers instead idk on the surface it'd seem more fitting :/

But i'd rather keep my tinfoil hat on and think that it was all intentional, because I'm LIVING for the implications regarding Prime's humanity .з.

**Motu fans and experts if you're reading this, i'd love to hear your thoughts on this, you have to know more than me!

[genderpunk12]

"Going somewhere?"

[enbeemagical]

My sister reading Nimona: "Hey this is kind of like She-Ra."

Me: "Guess why that is?"

"It's based on She-Ra? She-Ra's based on this?"

"Mm-mm, nope. ND Stevenson, who wrote Nimona, created She-Ra."

O.O "created? not just helped??"

"Yep. Not the old version, but the new one that you know. He was the showrunner."

*she nods, and points to a page* "Adora. And Catra."

(she's pointing to Ballister Blackheart as Adora and Ambrosius Goldenloin as Catra.)

Me, rethinking everything, my brain clicking through similarities: "Oh. Hm, yup, that is... Yup."

*she flips pages and points to the Director* "Hordak."

[catras-breakup-song]

no, catra, come back! (5x03)

why did you come back? (5x05)

part 1 to this

[swearyshera]

[wizardgirlxyz]

Just noticing something. Not forming any fully structured ideas yet about Glimmer being manipulative. I’m just putting it out here. Please don’t fight me on this

Glimmer always goes straight to holding hands with somebody whenever she wants to convince them! And who else does something similar perhaps not with the hand but instead the face??

i don’t think they’re on a similar level. Shadow Weaver is a child abuser and really really fucked up person. I’m just saying Glimmer ispossibly manipulative to an extent.

[sherafaces]