#She-Ra and the Princess of Truth | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

that-ari-blogger · 2 months

Text

How One Scene Tells A Story (Pulse)

For an action adventure series, the fight sequences in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power have been rather underwhelming. The series has been carried by its cinematography, and for the most part, everything else has been above par, but I still find myself unimpressed by the majority of the choreography.

Animation is a medium that quite literally allows you to show anything you can picture. If you can draw it, you can animate it. This allows for more fine tuning of expression within complex movements. Shonen Anime is known for taking advantage of this, but the fights in She-Ra have mostly been relegated to static characters flailing at each other while the camera movement covers the cracks.

This doesn’t destroy the show at all, but it’s something I noticed, and something I want to point out. Because the biggest reason for this is that in media aimed at kids, there are things you aren’t allowed to show. Most notably. Adora has a sword, but the show isn’t allowed to show her actually stab someone with it.

The reason I bring this up, is that I want to show off how the series gets around this wall, and how it cheats in order to create a few scenes that are genuinely incredible.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I want to clarify what I’m doing here.

Choreography is not a measure of quality. The correlation between good choreography and good television is just the relationship of good craft with itself. A good scene can involve anything, and one aspect does not make or break it.

I run an analysis blog, and I am specifically commenting on how the fights have not given me much to work with in that regard, with a few exceptions. For the most part, there have been generalised combat that is exactly what I mentioned earlier, with what I will call “set piece sequences”, which is where all of the character acting has gone.

However, I have found the majority of these set piece sequences to be lacking. Yes, there is action there, but its never really that revealing.

Case and point, Adora vs Catra Double Trouble in The Valley Of The Lost. This sequence boils down to characters standing still while trading identical blows and missing or parrying, then finishing it off with something clever. And this is actually a really good example of why what I’m saying doesn’t matter, because what you remember from that sequence isn’t the combat, it’s the tree that rises up behind them, it’s the shot of the bridge, it’s the dialogue. I am talking about a really small element of an overall picture.

I also want to clarify that complexity is not as important as people online say it is. Good art is defined by how much of an emotional response it evokes from its audience, not by how intricate it is. For my example of this, Glimmer and Shadow Weaver vs Catra in Moment of Truth is my single favourite fight sequence of the entire series, and its really simple.

Catra stands still with a whip while Glimmer and Shadow Weaver teleport around and the camera whirls around them all in a way that gets more impressive the more you know about what’s going on behind the scenes. Rotating 2D objects is really difficult to do.

The emotion of Catra’s spiral is what sells this moment, as well as the unease of Shadow Weaver sapping Glimmer’s strength, symbolised by that vice like grip she has on her wrist. This scene hits you like a truck and is genuinely scary. It even ends with a demonstration of the cost of victory through Shadow Weaver’s needless abuse of the defeated Catra.

Notably in that one, the characters never make contact with each other. There are no blows that they are sent reeling from, its barely a fight, and this is a recurring thing.

This is a part of the series’ rating regulations. No graphic violence, keep realism out of the picture, etc. etc. I would argue that the series plays extremely fast and loose with these specific two rules, but that’s just me.

The way the series circumvents the guidelines is multifaceted. First, most of the enemies are robots, which can be slashed apart in as many creative ways as you want without anyone stepping in. Second, for the organic mooks, Adora’s sword is now mysteriously blunt, and Bow’s arrows are all suddenly nonlethal. So, if you get hit with either, you just fall over and you’re fine. It’s ok, but I’m lukewarm on this at best. Then there is the school of implication.

If you want an example of this, watch the season one finale, and take note of how many blows actually connect on camera. Because for all the ones that are dealt, the camera only shows one or two of them. The rest are from the victim’s perspective as the projectile hits the camera itself, then cut to a reverse shot as they fall away.

Alternatively, the screen cuts to black as claw marks appear in red on that background. Technically, there was no violence on the screen, but we all know what happened.

Enter Pulse, actual the subject of this post.

“Oh, it’s you.” “Who else would it be?”

We open with quite possibly the best example of Glimmer’s impulsiveness and dramatic irony in the series. Catra effectively tells Glimmer there is a spy, and she misses it because she is so focused on her objective.

And the fight begins, a few tracking shots follow Catra here, positioning her as the underdog as she evades Glimmer’s magic. We now have a dynamic set up, slow and strong vs fast and evasive. Also, Glimmer is straight up out for blood here. Usually, it’s the villain who rocks up out of nowhere to try and kill the protagonist. I wonder if there’s some symbolism there.

The explosion masks a shot transition to the destroyed boxes, revealing what’s inside, as we get a lull in the fight for a moment.

We get shouting and needling. Psychological warfare is a part of the fight, and giving the moment space to breathe allows the audience to get ready. The first skirmish set a vibe, then pulled back to let anyone who isn’t ready for the next step to back out now.

“Guess you don’t know everything.”

I want to point what Glimmer does when she gets truly angry. Throughout the series up until now, Karen Fukuhara has played Glimmer as a fairly loud, extremely expressive character. But for one line, she goes quiet.

I love it when string emotions change a character’s entire demeanour, and sometimes that means a quiet character starting to shout, sometimes it’s the other way around.

It’s worth noting what it was that got this reaction from her.

“Using your own friend as a decoy? Wow. Didn’t know you had it in you.”

Glimmer has a black and pink morality. She views ethics in terms of alignment, those who agree with her are the good guys, those who don’t are the bad guys. Catra’s mild suggestion that the world is more complicated than that infuriates her.

So, Glimmer appears in front of Catra, outmatching her in manoeuvrability, and once again goes for the kill. Cut to a close up of her face, hidden behind holy light, then a reverse shot of Catra looking up in terror.

The use of colour and light in this sequence is actually really interesting. Here, it screams “be not afraid!” in order to cast Glimmer as angelic, giving off light to shine down upon Catra. But the light isn’t coming from Glimmer’s own radiance, is the readying of a spell. Suddenly, that angel has shifted into “say your prayers, chump”.

Impact frames separate Glimmer storing the magic and turning it into a beam, but also serve to sell the force of the blow as Catra evades it and it turns on you. You feel like you are part of the set and you are collateral damage that Glimmer does not care about.

This scene really doesn’t show Glimmer in the best of lights. Pun very much intended.

The falling shot has a stock background that implies motion without having to actually show it, and the perspective on the whip is a really nice animation detail. But notice how many different shots we are running through in quick succession. They create a sense of instability and dynamics that the first little skirmish didn’t quite have.

Even the simple act of falling has four different angles before Catra hits the ground. The two above, then one of Glimmer’s face, then the whip wraps around her foot. We’re changing quickly and constantly moving, even when the camera is staying remarkably still within shots.

This explosion slows all of that pacing down. It’s a long drawn out shot of Glimmer fallen from grace, insignificant in scale in comparison to the damage she has just done.

It’s notable that Glimmer outclasses Catra in all physical aspects, but Catra is smart, and uses her opponent’s strength against her. The damage that is done to this place was done directly by Glimmer’s recklessness.

Glimmer now has to contend with not being the biggest threat in the room, and now she has to think quickly as well, we have more dynamism as the fight resumes and the characters are both suddenly dodging an unbiased third party while also trying to kill each other.

Side note, this is my answer as a GM to how fights in certain TTRPG systems feel samey. I have a table, I get a player to roll on it once a combat round, and there’s a chance for something to change. Half the time, nothing happens, but sometimes something catches fire, or a ceiling cave in, or luck itself shifts. These changes always affect both parties, but they mean that certain areas are off limits or similar effects, meaning tactics have to shift.

Notice the colour here as well. Almost everything is a shade of red, the colour of danger and anger, as the dominant power is now that fire. Everything is trying to get away from it.

Also, the camera now won’t sit still. I will remind you that it is animated, you can’t get a handheld style when there isn’t an actual camera in animation unless you create it yourself, intentionally. But that’s what’s happened, everything is shaky, everything is unsafe.

I like the little touch that Catra’s ears prick before she turns. She hears Glimmer approach, then turns to face her. It sells the feline senses.

The red is matched by a blue for a moment as Glimmer appears from behind Catra, and pay close attention to who’s perspective this fight is taken from. At the start it was Glimmer, then they share the spotlight, now Catra is just trying to survive while Glimmer appears out of nowhere like a horror movie monster.

We have contact. Except remember what I said about cheating? Glimmer’s beam was established as being able to cut metal, but this is just a minour explosion caused by energy sent through another object. It’s second hand. But its enough. We see the reaction, and crucialy, we see the follow up.

The camera really shakes as Catra collides with this wall, selling the brute force of the strike. But other than that, she’s fine. She doesn’t appear injured by it. The cinematography here is working in tandem with the choreography to back up where the animation isn't allowed to go.

“Where are you going, Catra? Not scared of some sparkles, are you?”

Glimmer’s just talking here. Talking and walking. She’s not shouting or running or being overly expressive at all. She’s just speaking, menacingly.

Anyone else notice that Catra is standing in a different place between shots? Like, she’s about a metre and a half to the right of where she’d need to be to press that button. Did the two just stare awkwardly at each other as she shuffled to the left? I know it doesn’t matter, but it's funny to me.

I’ve been waiting for one of these the entire fight. This is a Dutch Angle, the horizon is diagonal, it makes the audience feel unbalanced, and adds to the unsafeness. Up until now, the scene hasn’t needed one of these, but now it has use for one.

The tilt exaggerates the perspective and makes Catra look even smaller by comparison.

Still with the Dutch angle, but now we’re looking upwards approximating Glimmer’s perspective. Key, however, is that this thing doesn’t fit on the screen. It’s too big for even the camera, and you are too close to it.

The music surges with emotion in a way I can’t quite explain, and we cut back to the surroundings twice to remind you that this place is still on fire. Then to this:

Catra has won, she has activated her trap card and can easily just run. So, she offers Glimmer a choice, save the forest or kill her, and I want to stress the decision Glimmer makes.

Glimmer’s first instinct isn’t to save anyone, it’s to kill her enemy. If Catra hadn’t got herself trapped, Glimmer would have either killed them both, or kept trying until she was caught in the explosion.

Catra gets lucky in this fight, several times. She should have been killed had it not been for things falling on her in just the right way. But she’s also smart, and she needs credit for this.

The key theme of Glimmer’s arc is stubbornness and impulsiveness. Here, it almost caused her death. But there’s something in that.

I keep going on about how tragedies subvert themselves in this series, and here’s one of those. Glimmer finally gets over herself and starts thinking things through, she has a problem she can't punch, and she comes to a conclusion that lets her fix that problem without anyone getting killed. She avoids the tragedy at the last possible moment.

We’re starting to see a lot of that in this series.

Final Thoughts

The word of the day with Glimmer is hubris, the idea that she thinks herself to be infallible. The black and pink morality is what it says on the tin. There is evil and there is Glimmer. In her mind, that is how the world works.

Next week, I’ll be covering Protocol, and the return of Light Hope. It's an episode I have mixed feelings about, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

#rants #literary analysis #literature analysis #what's so special about...?#character analysis #spop #she ra #she ra princess of power #spop glimmer #spop catra #mermista can do no wrong #fight scene #cinematography #meta #meta analysis

25 notes · View notes

thenotebookwizard · 1 month

Text

She-Ra | Defiance CH19: Slow

Scorpia goes to Duncan and he stays with her while she faces the truth of the Horde - and Shadow Weaver. Adora emerges from darkness and begins to face her fears about herself, who she doesn't want to become, and what Shadow Weaver might want her to be.

Adora has a few more chapters coming up here and there before we get to the end of the arc - which pretty much just her.

Next week, we start the sequence of chapters ending with Catra's coronation. After those, we move into (hopefully) another side-story, and then into the last chapter or two before the first major time skip.

Then the second major time-skip, a few chapters of Catra being a princess, a princess of crime, and trying to solve the world's problems with infrastructure and beaches. Adora will get some appearances in the time-lapse phase of the story.

Then - the endgame for the arc. Once we finish this arc of the story, we will be rushing headlong towards the two meeting up.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I am surprised how much Catra I've written. I really did expect this story to be mostly Adora and Scorpia and Duncan, but it's become the inverse. Adora's story will pick up the pace quite a bit at the end of the arc and as we move into the second arc of the story.

I'm actually very excited about it.

I continue to write away at this fic, and I am constantly surprised at the things I discover myself writing and some of the things that crop up. Not just in my comment threads, which have been fabulous - but in terms of how much of my own planning and worldbuilding I'm getting to use. I had figured this would be one of those stories where I use less than half of what I create, but I'm using almost all of it.

The next (planned) side-story is me cleaning up and posting another outtake, similar to Arguments & Apple Candy, in which I wrote something I liked a fair bit, but it really didn't fit with or would slow down the rest the of the fic.

In this case - Catra's first birthday in Halfmoon.

Other writing notes:

The fourth installment of Red Creme Fizz is and remains 'nearly' done, but I keep falling on my face with the ending. I'll be taking another swing at it after I write this (which is written well before posting hour each week, because I'm a chronic over-preparer and hate having to write things at the last minute.)

For those who care, I will be posting my first Babylon 5 fic as part of the WIP Big Bang. One scene left to go. The hardest, of course.

The fifth installment of Red Creme Fizz is underway and will (hopefully) provide my Catradora shippers with love for me and inspire patience for what's coming in Defiance.

As we approach the end of the year, I will have to spend a bit of time finishing up a few other things. one of which I hope to write fairly quickly and on the DL. It's more done than not, and I feel like it will be a fun story for fandom (some of) my followers will know, but most will not.

As always, thank you to all my readers and all my commenters, and all the people who support me on the journey Defiance has become. Because it has been a journey. I started this story in March 2024 with the idea of writing a 90k fic about Princess Catra and Adora finding each other again.

While I certainly *have* done that, I have done far, far more than I thought I would, and I am looking forward to everything that's going to come out of this story.

13 notes · View notes

ultravioletqueen · 6 months

Text

Hace mucho tiempo que escucho canciones del musical de heathers y mi favorita de todas es "i say no" ya que es cuando verónica reconoce que no hay nada que hacer con jd,reconoce que el no va a cambiar y que no vale la pena estar con alguien que la usa como excusa para hacer cosas malas,simplemente me encantan estas escenas en las que los personajes confrontan a sus parejas abusivas y reconocen que merecen algo mejor.

Ahora últimamente he vuelto a consumir contenido de she-ra y las princesas del poder y me doy cuenta de que ODIO EL CATRADORA Y TODO LO QUE TENGA QUE VER CON CATRA.

¿En que se relaciona esto con la canción de heathers i say no? Simple,esta canción es el ejemplo perfecto de como pudieron manejar la "relación" de catra y adora al final,catra es irredimible y adora merecía decirle sus verdades en la cara,solo dejaré la letra algo modificada para este escenario ideal que tengo de adora dejando a catra en el polvo por todo lo que le ha hecho pasar,no planeo traducir la letra al español porque sino sonaría muy raro.

Para esto me inspire en los post de @spop-romanticizes-abuse y @anti-catradora-collection

I have been listening to songs from the Heathers musical for a long time and my favorite of all is "I Say No" since it is when Veronica recognizes that there is nothing to do with JD, she recognizes that he is not going to change and that he is not worth being around with someone who uses her as an excuse to do bad things, I just love these scenes where the characters confront their abusive partners and recognize that they deserve better.

Now lately I've been consuming She-Ra and the Princesses of Power content again and I realize that I HATE CATRAdora AND EVERYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH CATRA.

How does this relate to Heathers' song I Say No? Simple, this song is the perfect example of how they were able to handle Catra and Adora's "relationship" in the end, Catra is irredeemable and Adora deserved to tell her truths to her face, I will only leave the lyrics somewhat modified for this ideal scenario that I have for Adora Leaving Catra in the dust for everything she's put her through, I don't plan to translate the lyrics into Spanish because otherwise it would sound very strange.

I was inspired by the posts of @spop-romanticizes-abuse and @anti-catradora-collection

(Adora)

"You are a drug

You are a poison pill

I’ve got to kick this habit now

Or else I never will

I hated the rush

When you would hold me close

And you will not be satisfied

Until I overdose

This is it

Hit the brake

I am finally awake

Let me be

Let me go

You need help

I can’t provide

I am not qualified

This troubled teen is getting clean

I say no"

(Catra)

"Adora, who else is gonna be-"

(Adora)

"No, no, no, no!

Don’t say a word

You speak and I cave in

You’ll twist the truth again

And drill deep down beneath my skin

You said you’d change

And I believed in you

But you’re still using me to justify the harm you do

This is it

Hit the brake

Call it all my mistake

Long as you let me go

You need help

I can’t provide

I’m not your friend

You’re not mine

It’s not too late

I’m getting straight

I say no!

Blame your childhood, blame shadow weaber

Blame the life you never had

But hurting people? That’s your choice, nobody to blame

But I believe that love will win

And hate will earn you nothing in the end

This is the end!"

(Catra,pulling out her claws)

"But I love you!"

(Adora)

"You-

This is it!

I won’t cry

Starting now, I will try

To pay back

All the karma you owe!

Start again

Somewhere new

Far from monsters like you

So goodbye

'Cause now I'm

Saying no!

Just in time!

I say no!

Somehow I’m saying no!

Just say no!

I say no!

No!"

#Spotify #anti catradora #anti catra #adora deserves better #she ra and the princesses of power

25 notes · View notes

brf-rumortrackinganon · 6 months

Note

Thank you for the write about the Dan Wooten video. I hope as he investigates the SS, he finds how far back this PR campaign against members of the BRF goes. I firmly believe most of the negative articles about Catherine in the 2016/2017 era were from Meghan but I would like that confirmed from someone in the business. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes back even before 2016. She had her sights set on Harry before she met him and she had a blog post about Catherine’s wedding in 2011. I’m not saying all negative articles about Catherine are directly related to Meghan but she does have an unhealthy fixation on her sister in law.

I don't think her writing about the royal wedding in 2011 was her having her sights on Harry.

The royal wedding was huge. It consumed American culture for weeks. Meghan wrote about Kate and the royal wedding in 2011 because everyone was talking about it. She said the things she did (e.g. "She-Ra's my homegirl, not this princess") because Meghan's whole attitude/brand back then was "courageous 'speaking my truth' opposition." In other words, her messaging in her Tig Days was "I'm not like everyone else and you must adore me for it."

(Which frankly is her message still today - "I"m not like everyone else and you must adore me for it!" - but it's hollow because at the end of the day, she actually is like everyone else and she keeps markling herself because of it.)

#ask #sussexes

29 notes · View notes

midnightechoes · 1 year

Text

Okay, so My Adventures With Superman was everything I hoped it would be and more! Clark is a fun, charming, earnest himbo. Lois is a driven, confident reporter with a knack for finding a story and not really thinking of the trouble it'll get her into. And Jimmie is an eager conspiracy theorist who's ready to uncover the truth with his friends.

I honestly love this version of the main trio. They're funny, energetic, and lively and they go together well. And most of the background characters are fun so far. Perry is fantastic as their perpetually tired and fed up with their bs boss. This Ma Kent is FANTASTIC. And this version of Livewire is an interesting (and hot) take on the character.

And I love how immediately into each other Lois and Clark are. Their obvious crushes on each other is refreshing and done really well, leading to a lot of cute moments just in the first two episodes.

So okay, when I watched this, my first thought, after just "holy shit this is great!" was that WOW, for a completely straight show, it just kind of feels gay. Like, it has a very queer vibe to it. Somehow, despite Lois and Clark being a het relationship it kind of feels sapphic as hell in the way it's done. And I'm sorry, but this version of Livewire was designed for lesbians:

So I looked at the credits, and yep, it made sense.

The show was developed by Jake Wyatt, who worked in the animation department for the Duck Tales reboot and Steven Universe. Josie Campbell is the co-producer, who was a writer and story editor on She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. The first episode was directed by Jen Bennett, who directed 17 SPOP episodes, including Princess Prom, Promise, and Save the Cat. And the second episode was directed by Diana Huh, who was a co-director and storyboard artist on SPOP, and a storyboard artist on the Duck Tales Reboot, Infinity Train, and DC Superhero Girls.

My point is that there are a number of SPOP alum working on this show and it shows because somehow, someway, this silly little (so far) completely het show about one of the oldest superheroes and America's boy scout, feels fresh and gay as hell.

And who knows, maybe there'll actually be some queer content down the line. I mean, Kara is supposed to show up at some point. 😏 A girl can dream, can't she?*

My Adventures With Superman feel fun, fresh, and very anime-inspired and I 100% recommend checking it out. It airs on Adult Swim and HBO Max, and the first episode is free to watch on Adult Swim's Youtube page.

Also, I want you all to know that I worked really hard to make this a decently coherent post and not just a lot of squealing about how great this show is and how adorable fucking Clark and Lois are.

*For real, if, against all odds, this show was somehow the show that pulled off Supercorp, I would LOSE. MY. MIND. I know, there is a 0.0002% chance of that happening, but again, a girl can DrEaM!

#superman #clark kent #my adventures with superman #lois lane #kal el #clois #jimmie olsen #martha kent #ma kent #pa kent #john kent #jor el #leslie willis #livewire

122 notes · View notes

sheraandtheprincessofpower · 1 year

Note

Hey! :) Can you do a Yandere glimmadora HC‘s on what Adora and glimmer would do if there darling ever ran away, and what they would do for punishments? Thank you :3!

Of course, I hope this is good :)

Adora would freak out if you escaped

Glimmer would be angry, knowing the truth that you had escaped

Adora would think Catra kidnapped you

When they find you, Adora coddles you

"Oh I was so worried! Are you okay?" She'll hold you close, afraid to lose you again

Glimmer will roll her eyes and lock you up in her room

She'll lock everything up and keep guards outside your door. But if there's something Glimmer loves about you, it's your resilience

If you want something, you will do anything to get it

Though, Adora makes it hard for you, because she's smothering you, worried that you might get kidnapped again, because she still thinks you were kidnapped, because there is no world where she thinks you'd leave

They would never hit you, but Glimmer gets close, because of her anger issues

When she gets a hold of her magic, she does use that against you

She does get a little sadistic when Shadow weaver turns her around for a while

But Adora always protects you

She could never think of hurting you or causing you any harm

Adora and Glimmer are totally opposites of each other when it comes to you. Though they both love you more than anything

So much it's terrifying

But it's okay, no one would dare hurt you, knowing you have a Princess/Queen and THE She-ra protecting you

And you'll never be able to leave her, because where are you going to go? There's nowhere you can go that you'll be safe or without someone telling the resistance

Hope Catra doesn't find about you

Her jealousy might get you in some big trouble, though it'd be even worse if she gains a crush on you too

#spop #spop x reader #yandere adora #spop adora #adora x reader #adora headcanons #yandere adora x reader #yandere spop #yandere spop x reader #yandere she ra #yandere she ra x reader #yandere shera #shera #shera x reader #yandere glimmer #yandere glimmer x reader

59 notes · View notes

thestargayzingetherian · 8 months

Text

Catra's Favourite Number

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53205772

(1514 words) by TheStarGayzingEtherian Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra) Characters: Adora (She-Ra), Catra (She-Ra), Bow (She-Ra), Glimmer (She-Ra), Swift Wind | Spirit, Entrapta (She-Ra) Additional Tags: Canon, Fluff, Post-Canon, Post-She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) Season 5, numbers, Catra is in Love with Adora (She-Ra), Adora is in Love with Catra (She-Ra), Action, Oblivious Entrapta (She-Ra), Blushing, Lasers, Episode: s02e05 White Out (She-Ra) Summary: While testing out Brightmoon’s new defence grid, Adora finally discovers the truth about Catra’s favourite number. (Catradora, Canon, Fluff)

#Catradora #Catra #Adora #She-Ra #Spop #Fanfiction #Fluff #Canon #Glimmer #Bow #Entrapta

22 notes · View notes

feathered-serpents · 1 year

Text

Imagining Egypt - Sekhmet, Details & Explanations

Once Sekhmet served Ra, her father, faithfully. She would deal out brutal punishments or miraculous healing based on her own code of judgment. Ra trusted that judgment, and for lifetimes she was left to carry out her duty under her father's approval but of her own accord.

But as the eons passed and her father grew "old" even to gods, he began to act on paranoia and impulse and started to question her judgment. Ordering her to go against her own code she'd followed unbroken since the beginning, and when faced with the choice between her father and her duty, she chose her duty.

Ra knew his daughter's strength and would not have her as an enemy, nor lose her as a weapon. And so he tore out her right eye and replaced it with one of his own, binding her to his will and his will alone.

Now, Sekhmet acts not as a goddess but as Ra's brute. Before, when she killed it was a sacred thing. Death is viewed differently in these lands, truly a new beginning. Sekhmet saw it as freeing a corrupted soul to a new land, where it may be repaired and reborn as something better. A form of healing in and of itself. Now it is carried out only to rid the world of those who defy her father, and death is suddenly a thing to be feared.

She has not healed a single soul since Ra corrupted her, she has only brought thoughtless death. For her, the abomination was not that she killed, but that she was denied her duty in the act.

The Eye of Ra

She has her father's eye in her skull. Through it, her father is able to control her actions and thoughts to conform to his own needs. It is unknown how much, if any, of Sekhmet can still see through the curse, but some say they see white-hot tears drip from the eye whenever she kills in his name.

Isis believes that Sekhmet can be saved, and if they remove the Eye from her the true Sekhmet will return.

Ra's Adornments

Sekhmet was never one for jewels before, however now, she is always seen wearing glittering, royal gold and jewels all over her body. "Gifts" from her father. The sun-disk circlet and falcon usekh collar display her alignment to him.

Belt of Hair

The rope-like belt around Sekhmet's waist was crafted by Sekhmet herself, made of dyed and woven human hair. The purpose of such a unique ornament is unknown. Some view the belt as a horrifying reminder, trophies of the defiers she's slayed. Others view the belt as a sign of her devotion, memories of her people always kept with her. Perhaps there is truth in both.

Sekhmet's Blade

Known as the Horn of Mnevis or simply Mnevis, the story goes that Sekhmet forged the sword herself in the fires of the sun. True or not before Ra's corruption the blade was always in her hand or at her hip, and she viewed it as more of a companion than a simple tool.

After her freedom from Ra she declared Mnevis cursed, forsaking it, and so the foreign god Loki took the blade as his own...

Bonus stuff:

Atreus and Angrboda are the ones that free her. They try to use a tactic of weakening her by getting her to drink a blood and beer concoction making her easier to fight. It half-works, but towards the end Sekhmet badly wounds Angrboda and Atreus goes on a Spartan-Rage frenzy. He turns into a lion and rips out the eye with his teeth :)

She nearly kills Atreus too but since he does succeed in getting the eye out she is able to access her healing again and saves both him and Angrboda.

She and Isis are besties

I imagine her sounding like Gillian Anderson as Moro in Princess Mononoke

She and Atreus do NOT get along. Nothing to do with the sword and everything to do with her immutable moral code and belief that people cannot change in life

She goes through a crisis of faith in a way as by her own code SHE now deserves death, but she knows she is needed to take down Ra, but she also believes herself unworthy of fighting at all after all she's done. I'm thinking she may have a "sickness" akin to Atreus' in the 2018 God of War and Atreus will try and find a way to make a similar "cure" for her that his father made for him.

(Basically Atreus saves her life twice even though they Cannot Fucking Stand Each Other)

She actually has two forms, this is the "War" form rather than the healing form. I might draw the healing form later, but it's basically just a regular woman. It is worth mentioning that in the war form, she is really big

#God of War #God of War OC #Imagining Egypt #Sekhmet #Egyptian Mythology #Bare Chest

90 notes · View notes

dragonworshippersblog · 5 months

Note

I am still baffled TG is going on and on about cristy getting ra**d by rhaenyra. His ass was happy, why they gotta come up with weird stories.

I am actually surprised they aren't ranting about their fav aemond getting violated, since in his case it is true. Their other fav crista looks uncomfortable too in that scene. Is it because Aegon, their another fav, ra**st himself orchestrated that ra** they try to forget it.

Hell, they ship aemond with al*s, who I wouldn't be surprised if she did trick him. I mean its gotta mean something that book says her craft had no effect on Daemon. She is everything aemond despises. And it's coming from someone who doesn't ship his ass with anyone (Maybe dark sister, they were quite close)

If they wanna victimize someone do it where there might be some truth. Crispy was no victim. Please. He was thrilled by what happened.

hi anon, I share your opinion. Despite the fact that criston was always attracted to rhaenyra and his happiness in that scene was palpable (these insinuations are also offensive because the show showed us dyana's emotional state after aegon + the scene between viserys and alicent. Criston's didn't look like either of them), the scene was written to be consensual, which Fabien Frankel (cole's actor) confirmed. Rhaenyra in the book was 100% the victim of cole, he was 23 and she was seven when he proclaimed her queen of love and beauty and when alicent said "ser criston protects the princess from her enemies, but who will protect the princess from criston?" she was nine and he was at least 25. Only hotd could portray the abuser as a poor victim (although people with any critical thinking understand that cole is anything but a victim)

You are right, not enough is said about the aemond scene. Viserys was crucified by the greens for what he did to Alicent, and aemond' situation is never mentioned. I really don't understand how they can ship aemond and alys, he went to her house and killed everyone she knew and then took her as "spoils of war" which is much worse than a mistress, he literally considered her a thing in the beginning. Obviously if this version were to be adapted on the show tg won't have the same reaction they had with viserys, because ewan is attractive and that in their minds this justifies aemond for everything. I hope they keep this version on the show and confirm the theory that alys sent him straight to his death. That would be very interesting to see since hotd has already ruined all the female characters

#house of the dragon #anti criston cole #anti aemond targaryen #queen rhaenyra #anon #sorry anon it took me an eternity to answer you #university is killing me

16 notes · View notes

that-ari-blogger · 4 months

Text

Something... new? (Moment of Truth)

Here is a question. In a story about repetition, where the central threat is the cycle happening again, where the very concept of the narrative is that trauma and abuse echo in on themselves… how do you tell an interesting story?

Like, on a general level, stories are about change, so something that is, by its nature, formulaic, would probably be inconducive to storytelling. Right?

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power disagrees with this premise in a weird way. The third season of the series has been questioning the formula in increasingly outlandish way. The first episode gave the same story but with a twist at the end, the second dissected the formula itself by examining the foundation it is built on, and the third flipped the direction of the spiral for a time.

Moment Of Truth features, overwhelmingly, some of the most skill on display that the series will have at all. This isn’t a fan favourite episode, but it is genuinely incredible craft.

However, it is important to understand that this episode doesn’t do anything new. Every moment in this episode, bar the last two minutes, has happened before in the series.

All Moment Of Truth does to iterate on the formula, is take events of consequence, and place them immediately after one another. This episode messes with internal context, and it causes the tipping point of the series.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

One thing that I thought was interesting, upon rewatching this episode, is how few and far between the jokes are.

The series has a very distinct sense of humour and uses it in an extremely specific way. This is essentially a story about abuse, trauma, and war, which are objectively pretty heavy things. But it is also aimed at younger audiences, so it cushions each of its heavy blows with a joke.

This is why the character of Madam Razz is the most important character in the series. Her kookiness combined with her wisdom allows her to discuss some truly confronting and uncomfortable topics with grace and good nature. The humour is what makes this show approachable.

This is also why Aabria Iyengar’s style of game mastering for TTRPGs is so fascinating to watch. And, though I can’t verify that she is fun to play with since I have never played at her table (@quiddie please), her fellow cast members in Dimension 20 and Critical Role seem like they are having a good time. Essentially, she balances out heaviness with entertainment, effectively artificially shifting up the Garfunkel threshold of the players she is GMing for.

For context to the absolute mess that was that last paragraph. The phrase “Garfunkel threshold” is used by an English teacher that I had a few years ago and literally nobody else. It refers to the area of emotion where a person is out of their comfort zone, but not truly uncomfortable. Fun scary, essentially.

Back to She-Ra. Moment of Truth doesn’t waste time with jokes unless it really needs it. This episode runs at a breakneck pace, and only stops to give you breath at the last moment.

As a result, the jokes that this episode tells are really funny. Although, if they were told in a vacuum, they probably wouldn’t be. For example:

“You won't try to escape if I just pop out for a quick sec, will you?” “Uh... No?” “Okay, great, really appreciate it.”

This is iconic in the fandom, and for good reason. This is one of my two favourite jokes in the series. The other is also in this episode, weirdly enough.

But… it’s not that funny of a moment.

If you heard this conversation in any other episode of this show, maybe if Adora had been captured for a one-off episode like Catra was halfway through season two, this joke would maybe get a smirk, but not much more.

So why does it work?

One word: Context. This episode stresses you out like few other episodes of television can do, and a few seconds before this joke, it successfully makes you think that Entrapta will try to hurt Adora.

Instead, you get a moment to hold in the tension, then a piece of humour that is utterly incongruous with the tone of the episode so far, and you have to laugh.

This is the same premise behind the humour in Alien, directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O’Bannon. That film has some incredible one liners that allow the audience to breathe and excise some catharsis in what a pretty gritty plot would otherwise be.

The perfect example of what I’m talking about here isn’t actually that much of a joke. It’s literally half a second that abrasively interposes itself into the break in and forces it to stumble. But the build up gives it so much levity.

The scene is off the back of Glimmer’s teleportation and the tension of Angella trying to stop it, followed by the constant stress of how easily Shadow Weaver is playing Glimmer like a chess piece. Mermista makes a quiet comment on the décor, a moment of levity that Shadow Weaver deliberately undercuts. Then we loose Perfuma to a fight we can’t see, the uncertainty of which is more stressful than knowing definitively that she has been killed.

Then the gang runs into Lonnie and Rogelio, two formidable foes, but two foes they have outnumbered. Stress rises, then the music cuts out for barely a moment as Lonnie flicks the alarm lever that is right next to her

It’s not a joke, it’s a character making an eminently sensible decision in contrast to the entirety of the rest of the cast. But the musical cue pauses the tension of the scene for just enough time for you to give a brief laugh, then the scene resumes in earnest, and continues at its previous pace. It isn’t a lot, but it’s enough to keep the story fun.

Basically, the show is made up of seriousness and humour, and those are held together by a single piece of Velcro, and that is working overtime to a truly extraordinary degree.

Except, that isn’t true. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power doesn’t treat humour and earnestness as separate at all, they run together and punctuate each other.

The other main thing that this episode does is a perspective twist. Moment Of Truth is all about context, and so the events play through the views of unusual characters.

Case and point, Glimmer and co. have gone rogue to do their own thing countless times in this series, and every time they get back, Angella chastises them.

However, this is the first time we have witnessed Angella’s reaction to Glimmer’s disappearance, and we get a sense of desperation from her.

Angella doesn’t have to speak her thoughts out loud to let the audience know what is happening. She sees Glimmer has gone and immediately realises that she has gone rogue again, so she checks Shadow Weaver’s quarters, because she knows what her daughter will do in this situation.

Meanwhile, the shots of Glimmer are from Shadow Weaver’s perspective. Almost as if Shadow Weaver is positioning herself as a replacement mother figure for Angella.

I could comment on the animation of this scene, but my analysis there is very much limited to “oooh pretty”. Which is fine, but nothing anybody hasn’t said before.

So, instead, spoilers for the season three finale (skip to the next paragraph if you’re avoiding those), this is the last time Angella sees Glimmer, and she is powerless to stop her. Angella is a character riddled with guilt, and this will come up later when I discuss the finale.

Back to the episode at hand, a significant chunk of this episode is as told by Shadow Weaver, so we get the full breakdown of how terrifyingly competent she is at her designated skillset. Shadow Weaver is a manipulative character, and so she is playing chess with the plot of the entire series in a way that only one other character comes close to matching, and I’m going to start my discussion of that by discussing her powers.

Magic is a facet of narrative literalism, where a metaphor within a story becomes tangible. For example, Glimmer is impulsive, so she teleports around, jumping to conclusions without taking the time to walk. She is also stubborn, so her powers make her uncontainable.

Shadow Weaver, meanwhile, is a parasite. She has magical talent of her own, but in this episode, all she does is leach off Glimmer’s power to further her own ends.

In a series about freedom of autonomy, Shadow Weaver exists in contrast to Hordack. Where these characters focus on the freedom aspect to contain and confine their enemies, Shadow Weaver twists her victim’s autonomy and takes control of them in a way that is insidious and very realistic. She is like Light Hope, which is interesting.

That parasitic nature actually reflects into Shadow Weaver’s manipulative technique, as she never targets someone who is, for lack of a better term, strong. This is difficult to explain: Glimmer needs something, and Shadow Weaver positions herself as the answer. She finds someone who is at their lowest point, and makes them dependant on herself.

This is, fun fact, why Perfuma, Mermista, and Frosta are seemingly immune to her influence. I’m grasping at straws here for Frosta’s characterisation because she gets about two lines in the entire episode, but I’m onto something with Perfuma and Mermista.

Perfuma is a paragon hero who does not compromise in her beliefs. This causes trouble in the series, as is the nature of this story, but it means that in the several instances Shadow Weaver tries to get under her skin, Perfuma brushes it off. Perfuma considers what Shadow Weaver has to say, but keeps in mind at all times that she is an abuser and therefore not to be trusted.

Mermista, meanwhile, is the best character in the series and you cannot change my mind. In seriousness, Mermista is detached and cold, a strength which, like Perfuma’s ethics, causes conflict at other points in the series. However here, it means that we have a character who does not take Shadow Weaver seriously at all, meaning that her grandiose pontificating is meaningless. Mermista sees Shadow Weaver for what she is, a prisoner scabbling for scraps of power from someone else, and she sees an easy rout to stopping that.

Anyway, the interrogation scene.

There is a spotlight on Glimmer and Bow here. They are on a stage, and Shadow Weaver sits on a couch, watching them. They are performing for her. She is in control.

“You are smart, you want to stop the Horde, and you know I'm the only one who can help you do that. I must admit, I thought it would take you longer to speak with me.”

Shadow Weaver is easing Glimmer into thinking she has control. She compliments her, casually offering her own services as help to the princess. But she also positions herself as lower than Glimmer. The last line implies that she is surprised and that Glimmer has the upper hand, letting her into a false sense of security.

“His machine is complete? And they have Adora? We must hurry. If Hordak has the opportunity to open a portal, he will do so immediately. The Alliance will never get there in time – but perhaps...”

She is surprised again, apparently. Shadow Weaver has taken care to position herself as omnipotent, that’s why the compliment to Glimmer being unexpected is there.

Effectively, if the smart guy is outsmarted, they are on the back foot. If the smart guy is surprised, they are in danger.

So, Shadow Weaver emphasises the danger of the situation, stressing that the alliance’s inability to help. But wait… it just happened to occur to her, just now, that Glimmer might be able to fix this. She wasn’t planning this at all, it was spontaneous, and a piece of knowledge she doesn’t think would work.

Needless to say, I think Shadow Weaver is talking utter bollocks about this. For my evidence, I propose the following questions: If Shadow Weaver didn’t know about Adora’s capture, how does she know about the rebellion’s plans? Is it possible she is pulling facts out of her backside to further her own ends?

“I can make you stronger. I'm still the only sorceress who has ever been able to tap into a runestone. If you allow me to access your connection to the Moonstone, I can enhance your powers. You could teleport us all the way there.”

Here is Shadow Weaver’s gambit. She can solve the problem for Glimmer, she can give Glimmer the assistance she needs. It’s a Faustian bargain, and she doesn’t mention at all what she gains from this deal, that’s just something that slips her mind.

Of course, she could be doing this out of the goodness of her heart, kindness isn’t transactional, but this is Shadow Weaver we are talking about. Shadow Weaver exists on conditional affection and saw fit to make demands as a prisoner of war. I don’t think Shadow Weaver is the type of person to offer aid for nothing.

“I want to destroy Hordak.”

This is Shadow Weaver’s stated motivation, she says it again later on in the episode, and it is mainly used to distract Glimmer and give her a “an enemy of my enemy is my friend” type of bargain. But I’d like to examine this motivation a little bit, because I think she is lying about this as well.

In the end fight of the episode, Shadow Weaver casts two spells, both of which could have been aimed at Hordack, but neither are. Instead, she destroys the room, and she targets Catra. Shadow Weaver is a parasite, and a liar.

Which leads into Catra’s descent into madness, something that is told entirely from everyone else’s perspective. Until the end, but we will get there.

Shadow Weaver physically abuses a child in this scene. That is objectively what this is. The fact that this is magical is the only thing that let the writers get this through censorship. But I want to be clear here, this is not simply punishing misbehaviour, this is not tough love, this is not building strength. Shadow Weaver physically abuses a child in this scene.

This is a mirror of the scene in Promise, to the point where the spell is the same, and it is notable that it would have been easier to just zap Catra and leave her there, but Shadow Weaver decides to torture her.

And this scene is viewed from Glimmer’s perspective, showing her the true monster that she is aligned with, but also the power that Shadow Weaver exhibits. This is the deal Glimmer made, summed up, agency for complacency. Glimmer has to make herself ok, at least partially, with this side of Shadow Weaver, which makes her complicit in what is, again, the physical abuse of a child.

We have seen this scene before, but here it is through a different lens, and that changes how we read it, and keeps it interesting.

It is also notable that Bow is the one who stops Shadow Weaver and pulls Glimmer back. Which is interesting.

Bow is Shadow Weaver’s antithesis. Angella is too, but Bow is her main equal opposite. Bow is kind, uncomplicatedly so, and he is the final character who remains immune to Shadow Weaver’s tricks.

Although Bow stays above Shadow Weaver by playing the same game as her, just more fairly. Bow is a tactician, and a damn good one at that. He isn’t as good as Shadow Weaver, nobody is, but he is easily the second best in the series by a long shot.

But Bow plays fair, at all times. He lets people know what their roles are, he communicates, and he relies on other people as much as they rely on him. His relationships are mutual, where Shadow Weavers are parasitic.

Bow exists on trust.

Speaking of which, when Catra betrays Entrapta, the scene is shot from Scorpia’s point of view, and we again see her utter powerlessness to stop the situation. This is the cycle of abuse in full effect. Catra was denied her own agency, and so the way she tries to reclaim it is by removing others of theirs. Scorpia can’t do anything as her friend is carried away to a death sentence.

The final scene, however, is from Adora’s perspective. We see Catra’s world fall apart around her, quite literally, and we see Adora watch her oldest friend descend into madness. Once again, the watcher is powerless, as Catra continues the cycle of abuse.

You understand that Catra has nothing left to lose, and while you don’t agree with her decision, you can see why she did it, which is important. Reason and justification are not the same, but they do both make analysis easier, which I am grateful for.

This sets up the next episodes and Catra’s characterisation there. Catra doesn’t care about her own safety or the continued existence of the world itself, she just wants to feel better by exhibiting some kind of control over the people she perceives to have hurt her.

Which also sets up my diagnoses of Catra, and I’m not sure how the fandom will react to this, but I think Catra is the villain here.

Catra, in this episode, and in the next few episodes, is abusive, manipulative, and controlling. Essentially, she fits all three of the parameters for evil that the series has established.

Yes, she has a reason for her actions, but she isn’t morally grey anymore, she is choosing to burn the world down out of spite. Cool motive, still murder. Catra is the villain.

But is she irredeemable? I would argue “no”.

Spoilers for the rest of the series, but I can’t really explain why Catra’s redemption is possible to me other than the fact that she was redeemed, and it worked for me.

I don’t believe in good and bad people; I believe in actions. Sure, there are people who do unconditionally horrible things, a lot, but I would argue that the best way to redeem oneself is to stop doing those things and get better.

It’s as if morality is a quality you have to work at, with enough practice, you can improve.

And I think Catra’s redemption is so well executed, specifically because of the fact she is villainous here. If she hadn’t hit rock bottom and then sunk even further, her climb wouldn’t be nearly as compelling, at least to me.

Micah's memory casts a shadow over Angella as she makes her decisions, colouring her argument with her daughter. I wonder if there is some symbolism there.

Final Thoughts

The reason that Moment of Truth isn’t as popular as Promise or Save The Cat, is that it isn’t spectacular, it’s just impressive. By which I mean, the shot composition of this episode is stellar, but I can’t exactly point out every Dutch angle or perspective warp, or how many emotions Entrapta goes through in a single close up.

Also, the pacing of this episode actually slows down, rather than gaining momentum. It increases in tension, but the scenes get longer and more drawn out. We are reaching the event horizon, essentially, and time is getting wibbly wobbly. But that isn’t exactly something that wows an audience.

So if I was to recommend this episode, I would point to the teleportation scene, or the fight between Catra and Shadow Weaver. Both of which look cool, but don’t hold up by themselves when contrasted with other episodes in this series.

Basically, Moment Of Truth is competent, but in a way, its playing things safe on a majour scale, which is unfortunate. This episode deserves more love.

Anyway, next week, I will be looking at Remember, and taking narrative literalism to its extreme. So stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

45 notes · View notes

thenotebookwizard · 2 months

Text

She-Ra | Defiance CH 17: Politics & Perfidy

Catra confronts the Royal Council, taking on the mantle of Princess politically for the first time - and discovers Halfmoon's politics are just as convoluted as the Horde's. As Princess, she has political power and thus, politicians have plans for her.

These two scenes are almost unrecognizable from their very first drafts. They have evolved so very much, and I am very proud of that. Oddly, most of Catra's dialogue hasn't changed much. But a lot of Catra's dialogue in the Council meeting is inspired by J. Michael Straczynski's writing on his series Babylon 5.

J. Michael Straczynski also wrote the original She-Ra episode "Magicats" and may have, in fact, created magicats and Halfmoon itself. It felt fitting.

For those interested in the story behind Catra's piercings, check out my side-story Arguments & Apple Candy.

There's no escaping how much of an impact Babylon 5 has had on me as writer, a reader, and a person. Star Trek was my first fandom, and Star Wars has burrowed into my heart and psyche, but I re-watch Babylon 5 once a year. The dialogue, the story, the themes Straczynski explores speak to me.

I also think Babylon 5 is a fantastic example of how to tell a story, how to use an ensemble cast, and how to deal with a growth of scope and breadth in story. In a lot of ways, as both the creator of magicats and Halfmoon and as the creator of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski has created much of inspiration for Defiance - and my other writing.

Catra's words to the Council echo the beginnings of the political and philosophical journey of a Babylon 5 character and she is facing her own version of that character's nemesis - though Catra's nemesis hasn't quite been revealed yet!

A lot of the themes I touch on in this chapter, and a lot of the plot elements raised in it, won't get fully explored until the second half of my second arc. After Catra and Adora are standing side by side once again.

But they will play out and they will be important. There are hints in this chapter of important things to come, but those hints my not be apparent until much, much later. A lot of the stage is being set for arc two now, at least as far as Halfmoon goes.

We have a couple of Adora chapters coming up, including the revelation of what effect Catra reaching out through the Spirit Ember has on Adora, and what Adora's life in the Horde is like. I'll warn those of you have mentioned things; Adora's story is much darker, much bleaker than Catra's, at least for now.

But I am, in the end, not a darkfic writer. While there is darkness in my fics, and there is darkness in the world they live in, I am far more of a noblebright writer than I am a grimdark writer. While the term originates from tabletop RPGs (so much of my writing vocabulary is tabletop RPGs or fandom lingo, let's face it), it has broken containment and entered into the world of fantasy literature.

J. Michael Straczynski - and JRR Tolkien - were both noblebright writers, I think.

Of course, the genre is just a genre, but it's the best word I (currently) have to explore the concepts I'm writing about. Whether or not its wholly accurate remains to be seen. As per usual.

None the less!

The genre doesn't mean there isn't great darkness or dark paths characters walk. It does mean there are ways out and through the darkness, to be a better future. A better path.

Adora is walking the darker path - this time. Our show certainly had it the opposite. But Adora, as a character, has always known certain truths about the world. Her path was a hero's path from the beginning, because she wanted to save Etheria. Either from the Princesses or the Horde - she always wanted to save the world.

She never gives up wanting to save the world. Save her friends. It didn't matter who stood atop the mountain and said 'you cannot; the world is mine and I bring darkness with me'

Adora stood up and said: "No. You don't."

To Shadow Weaver. To Hordak. To Horde Prime.

Even when Etheria was invaded, beset by clones and chipped, enslaved people, Adora stood up. Again and again.

And at the end, she was willing to die to save the world. We can talk about her martyr complex (she has one!) and we can talk about her not knowing what she wanted. (Though, I think she always knew what she wanted - she just never believed she could have it.)

At the end, she was willing to lay down her life for others, in the dark - where no one would know. No one would sing her praises. Just because it was the right thing to do. And she knew, even if she failed, another you stand up in her place. And another. And another.

As dark as Adora's path is going to be, and as hard as it will be read (and write!) - Adora never learned the preeminent truth of her age: that hope died with the first Princess Alliance.

12 notes · View notes