#the way entrapta changed him for the better helped him find his own path and identity

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

how do people still call c//a a tragic shakespearean romance when s5 entrapdak exists?

#lord that “what have you done to me” STILL gets me #it's so corny but also so so heartwrenching #the way entrapta changed him for the better helped him find his own path and identity #made him believe that he was beautiful no matter what his abuser said #catra could never #i'll never forgive crew-ra for the way they prioritized c//a over entrapdak #spop #she ra #entrapta #hordak #spop hordak #spop entrapta #entrapdak #entrapta x hordak #💜💙

[spacebatisluvd]

Summary: Things do not go as expected when Hordak and Entrapta arrive in Salineas.

Content warning: Chronic pain, ableism, speciesism, Mermista being unpleasant (and responsible for most of the aforementioned ableism and speciesism), internalized ableism. Bear with me, folks. Things will get better.

-

The second leg of their journey was decidedly less comfortable than their time on the ship. “Sorry. Bethany’s not really designed for long journeys,” Entrapta said as they cleared another copse of trees. “I’ve been intending to install better shocks but—" Bethany tumbled down a steep hillside, her loping run intermixed with sliding somersaults. The harness barely held him in place, and absolutely nothing absorbed the shock of impact as Bethany barreled through the forest. “—You know how it is.”

He nodded, trying not to let his claws puncture the seat leather. “How much further?” he asked. His voice was firm, almost harsh.

“Not far!” she said. Which was what she’d been saying for most of the journey. He eyed Bethany’s path and braced himself as they approached yet another forested hillside.

Even with his armor, the jostling was aggravating his defect. Pain radiated down his arms and across his back, spreading all the way from his forearms to the base of his spine. He grit his jaw and flexed his hands, trying to focus on his breathing. Just a little longer, he lied to himself, grip tightening as Bethany leapt forward. Her landing rocked the cockpit, throwing him first into the harness and then back against the inadequately padded seat. “Doing okay back there?” Entrapta asked, glancing at him.

“I am fine.” And he was. He was fine—or he would be, when Bethany finally stopped and he could take a sedative and sleep through the pain.

“Oh—look! I think that’s the festival.”

He looked past the sea of trees, focusing on the glimpse of colorful tents just barely visible now that they’d topped a small rise. “So it would seem.” A bubble of nervousness swelled in his chest. How had she persuaded him to willingly surround himself with his former enemies for absolutely no purpose whatsoever?

He glanced at Entrapta as she urged Bethany forward. “This is going to be so much fun!” she said, fingers tapping excitedly on the controls. Perhaps not entirely without purpose. These were Entrapta’s friends. He would need to make peace with them for her sake. Tolerant coexistence should be attainable—his interactions with Sea Hawk had proven that, at least.

They plunged back into the forest, and the tents disappeared, but Bethany had her bearings and ran on, dodging trees and boulders as they went. Hordak braced himself again, grateful that he was not lying to himself this time as he mentally chanted that it was only a little further. Finally—finally—they reached the edge of Plumeria, and Bethany lowered her bulky body, cockpit sliding open so he and Entrapta could disembark. She jumped out with ease, and before he could attempt the same, her hair pressed the button on his vambraces to activate the cuffs. He paused, about to protest that he needed his hands to get down, when he found himself bodily lifted from the cockpit by a rope of hair and set on the ground. He huffed, looking at Entrapta. “That was unnecessary.”

“But fun!” she teased, looping her arm through his. The mech disgorged their trunks, and Entrapta waved at her. “Bye, Bethany!” she exclaimed as the mech ran off to explore. She leaned close and ‘whispered’, “She’ll be back in a few days.”

For once, he wasn’t listening. His gaze was fixed behind her, on the people that had gathered there. Fauns, he thought they called themselves. He stiffened his spine, despite the shock of pain that ran like a bolt down his back. They were staring at them—at him—and Hordak’s hearts began beating harder and faster. They were deep in enemy territory, with no guards, and only a shaky justification for his presence. He glanced at Entrapta, trying to gauge her feelings on the situation, but it was clear she hadn’t noticed.

She grinned at him and walked around the crowd, talking excitedly about her friends and the festival as her hair casually dragged the trunks behind them. The fauns lingered, watching them with eerie, goat-like eyes. Hordak toyed with the button to release his bonds, uncomfortable with their scrutiny and ready for a fight. All the while, his body screamed that he needed rest, but he pushed that aside, relying on his exoskeleton to keep him upright.

They left the fauns behind without incident, but he remained watchful as Entrapta led him toward a collection of yurts, the outer hides dyed in fanciful colors. A fire pit rested in the center of the circled of huts, and though the fire was not currently lit, the princesses and their partners were gathered there.

Naturally, Sea Hawk saw them first. He leapt from his place beside Mermista and waved exuberantly. “You came!” he exclaimed, running for them.

Hordak did not want to be hugged, especially not right now, but as he opened his mouth to say as much, a rope of hair caught Sea Hawk around the middle, holding him at a safe distance. “Hi!” Entrapta greeted him. “Is everyone else already here?”

“Yes—I was hoping you’d both get here before the festivities began.” He tugged at the rope of hair. “Er. Do you mind releasing me?”

“Oh, right! Sorry. I’m just not really ready for a hug right now....”

Sea Hawk blinked, then flinched. “Aw, yes. I was perhaps a touch over-enthusiastic—but I respect your boundaries. I’ll stay here. Unless...” He eyed Hordak.

“No. I do not want a hug.”

Sea Hawk did not seem put out. “When you change your mind, I will be—"

“What is he doing here?” Mermista demanded, pointing at Hordak as she stormed over. “I didn’t say he could come.”

“Well, technically, he’s not here of his own volition.” Entrapta stepped up beside Mermista, while Sea Hawk sidled over to Hordak, grinning. He kept true to his word and didn’t try to hug him, so Hordak offered a nod of acknowledgement. “See?” Entrapta’s hair tugged on Hordak’s wrist, pulling his hands up to showcase the bonds. “I kidnapped him!”

Sea Hawk grinned at this, elbowing Hordak to stage-whisper, “It was my idea.”

“I am aware.”

Mermista groaned, one hand covering her face. Their shenanigans had attracted some attention now, and the others hovered close by. The archer’s eyes widened. “You...kidnapped...?”

Catra bent in two, cackling. “You actually—!” She slung an arm over the young queen, still snickering. “Can you believe—?”

Bow glanced at her, then sidled up to Hordak’s other side, saying, “You are okay, right? She didn’t really kidnap you, did she? You want to be here? You’re not being forced, are you?” Hordak stared at him, ears back, as the archer anxiously looked him over.

Hordak was about to ask him why he cared, when Mermista threw her hands up in the air and said, “No. Uh-uh. This is not happening. It’s not cute or fun or funny. I’m done. You—" She pointed at Entrapta. “—are sending him back to Salineas, And you!” She glared at Sea Hawk. “Stop encouraging this! Stop trying to make friends with the guy who tried to conquer the world and hand us all over to a megalomaniacal dictator!”

Entrapta retreated a bit. “I thought.... I mean. He was invited.” She looked to Scorpia for help. “And-and Sea Hawk said he’d see us here. I thought there was an implication of tacit approval—“

Mermista stepped close to Entrapta, looming over her. One hand was balled into a fist at her side. The other was raised, finger extended and leveled at Entrapta’s face. Hordak’s ears drew back. “Don’t you get it?” Mermista asked, “Don’t you see what he did? He doesn’t get to just pretend like nothing happened and everything is fine! He’s lucky he’s not rotting in a prison cell.”

“Oh.” Entrapta threaded her fingers through her hair, searching their surroundings for a safe place to look. “I...I didn’t realize you felt that way.”

“Hmph. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one—"

“Enough,” Hordak snapped, stepping between them and using his body to shield Entrapta. “You will not speak to her like that.”

Mermista glared up at him. “Oh, yeah. I’m definitely going to take manners lessons from someone like you.” His ears flattened, and he bared his teeth, unable to articulate why she was so clearly in the wrong. “Look, I don’t care what Geek Princess does. She can stay here or she can go back to Dryl. It’s whatever. But you’re not leaving Salineas until you fix what you broke!”

A rope of hair caught his elbow. “Hordak, why don’t we go?” Entrapta had pulled in on herself, huddling against his side. He looked from her to Mermista, glowering and wishing he could find the right words to make her see just what she was doing to Entrapta.

She tugged on his arm, and he allowed her to pull him away. Sea Hawk darted forward, looking distressed. “My love, surely you don’t—!”

“Can it. He doesn’t get to go on vacation or make friends. Not while Salineas is still in ruins.”

Sea Hawk fell silent, looking from Hordak and Entrapta to Mermista. “But....”

Catra checked Mermista’s shoulder as she passed. “Whoops,” she said, smirking. “‘Scuse me.” Hands behind her head, in a pseudo-relaxed position, she walked up to Entrapta and Hordak. “So? Room for me in your ‘bot? Or do I need to find my own way to Salineas?”

Though Hordak was having trouble tearing his gaze from Mermista, he spared her a glance. “What?”

“Can I go with you to Salineas or do I need to find my own way there?” she asked, slowing her words down as if re-stating something that should have been obvious.

“Catra?” the She-Ra asked, “What are you doing?”

“Sorry, Adora. Can’t go on vacation or make friends until we fix what we broke. See you in...?” She glanced at Hordak. “How long is this gonna take?”

“My work in Salineas is nearly done, but general reconstruction will not be finished for several years. Longer, if one considers the ecological damage—"

“Sure, right, whatever. See you in a few years, then!” She waved at Adora and started walking vaguely in the direction Entrapta and Hordak had come from.

Hordak cocked his head. “I do not know what game you are playing—"

Scorpia was suddenly at his elbow as well, her smile big and broad. “Uh. I know you don’t like hugs, so—" She touched her elbow to his, still smiling. “It will be an honor to serve with you again, sir.” She joined Catra, who glanced her way and offered an arm, which Scorpia took with glee.

Hordak, growing annoyed, looked at Entrapta. “What are they doing?”

Entrapta just shrugged. “No idea, but here comes Adora.”

The She-Ra paused in front of Mermista to say, “I mean...I did spend most of my life in the Horde. On-track to become an officer, too.”

Mermista stared at all of them, floundering. “But. You were a kid. It doesn’t count.”

The She-Ra shrugged. “It’s hard to tell what ‘counts’ anymore. I mean, how do you ever really know when you’ve done enough to fix things?”

With that, she walked past and paused in front of Hordak, offering an abbreviated—and what he would characterize as ‘overly familiar’—salute. “Reporting for duty, sir.”

He cocked his head, ears folded back. “I am not your commanding officer. You are not a soldier. What is—?” He sighed, taking a moment to compose himself. “Sea Hawk. You have never been in the Horde. What are you doing?”

Sea Hawk, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Adora and mimicking her salute, grinned. “Ah, but I was a no good, underhanded, scheming pirate.”

“I would find it difficult to believe if you claimed to be ‘good’ at piracy.”

“Thank you, my friend! My honest heart prevented me from taking things too far, but—" He dropped the salute to dramatically throw his hand over his eyes. Adora giggled, while Hordak tried to cross his arms, only to be brought up short by the cuffs. He sighed instead. “—I too have a sordid past!“ He inhaled deeply, and began to sing. “~As a child—~”

Hordak’s eyes went wide and panicked. He looked to Adora, who seemed just as frantic. Thankfully, the archer appeared behind Sea Hawk and threw an arm over his shoulders. “Hey, uh, why don’t we save the song for another time, okay?”

“But it’s thematically appropriate!”

“Enough of this farce!” Hordak snapped, “I do not understand what is happening!” He pointed at Catra. “You! You started this. Explain. Before I lose my patience.”

Unintimidated, Catra crossed her arms and leaned her weight on one leg. “Isn’t it obvious? You didn’t exactly conquer half of Etheria by yourself.”

Entrapta perked up. “Ooh! I see! It does seem unfair that the treaty places the bulk of the rebuilding efforts on you and you alone.”

His ears drew down. “Those were the terms I agreed to. I do not object to rebuilding what I helped destroy.” If pressed, he’d admit he found the process cathartic.

Scorpia raised a claw. “Yeah, but...it’s not fair that we’re allowed to hang out together and have fun if you’re not.”

“Exactly,” Adora said, smiling. “So, if you’re not allowed to take a break until reconstruction’s finished, then I guess we can’t take a break either.”

He cocked his head, still trying to process what was happening. Mermista was not having the same difficulties. “Ugh. You have got to be kidding. You’re seriously on his side?”

“They are not on my ‘side’,” Hordak objected, “This is absurd! I don’t even know what they aim to accomplish with this display.”

The princess from Plumeria stepped forward. “Maybe we can find a compromise?”

Catra snorted. “What? You want to put him in a guest prison during the festival?”

“I mean, that’s not a terrible idea…is it?” the young queen asked, looking from the She-Ra and the archer to Mermista.

“Yeah, actually. It is,” Catra said, arms crossed.

“Perhaps, it would be for the best,” the princess from Plumeria said, hands folded neatly in front of her. “His presence might make some people…uncomfortable. If he were to remain in a yurt during the day, Entrapta would still be able to take meals with him. Oh! And it would give him a chance to reflect on the vastness and severity of his crimes!”

“He knows!” Catra snapped. “He already apologized during treaty negotiations! The first four pages of the fucking thing are nothing but him apologizing for—”

“That kind of language isn’t very productive,” Perfuma said. “Perhaps we should form a drum circle and work out our negative feelings before proceeding?”

Mermista threw her hands up. “This is stupid! We’re not forming a drum circle—and he’s not staying.” Catra started to object again, but Mermista pointed at her and snapped, “Look, he’s not the same as you or Scorpia—and we all know Adora’s time in the Horde doesn’t even count. He’s just—he’s different. He’s not even Etherian!”

A strange silence fell over the group. Hordak looked to Entrapta for guidance, but she’d pulled her welding mask down, and her hair was frizzing. “Yeah. He’s different,” she said, voice echoing behind the mask. The hair on the back of his neck lifted, and he reached for her, sensing something was wrong.

“Starlight?”

She caught his hand with her hair, grip tight. “We’ll leave in the morning.”

“Wait—" the archer said, darting forward, but Entrapta was already walking away. Caught by her hair, Hordak followed along, bemused. “Entrapta,” he said, walking beside her. “You don’t have to go.”

She stopped to stare at him, mask down. “If he’s not welcome here, then I’m not welcome here either.”

Hordak’s ears pulled down. He stepped close to her but didn’t touch, leaning down to say softly, “You do not need to abandon your friends for my sake. You could stay, and I will return to Salineas.”

“No.”

He paused, glancing at the archer, who seemed just as lost. “No? Do you...have another suggestion?”

“If you go, I go.”

He frowned, ears down. “I would not ask that of you.”

A droplet of water condensed on the lower edge of her mask. She shook her head and the droplet disappeared. Was she...? “I know you wouldn’t.” She inhaled deeply, her breathing unsteady. “I told you, Hordak. You’re my best friend. If they can’t accept you, then they can’t accept me.”

The archer looked thunderstruck. “Wait. He’s your best friend?”

She nodded firmly. “I’ve compiled the data. My feelings aren’t clouding my judgement. He’s treated me better and been kinder to me than any Etherian ever has.” She started forward again, leaving both Hordak and the archer behind.

“That can’t be right,” the archer said, while Hordak said, “Entrapta. That cannot be true.” They looked at each other, but Entrapta’s grip on Hordak’s hands soon tugged him forward.

She walked up to the princess of Plumeria and asked, “Which one is ours?”

“Um.” She tapped her fingers together. “We actually had separate yurts for you two....”

“We can share.”

Hordak flushed. “Entrapta, is that...appropriate?”

She turned to him, mask still down. “Oh. Would you be rather be alone?”

“I.” His ears flexed. “You are...upset. I will remain with you if it would be a comfort.”

“Great!” She turned back to the other princess, who mutely pointed to a yurt decorated in various shades of purple. “Thanks!” Entrapta tugged him along, and he followed obediently.

The archer trailed alongside her. “Entrapta, you don’t really mean...? We were nicer to you than—?” He looked at Hordak and fell silent.

She paused in the doorway. “Do you want me to send you the data?”

Hordak sighed. “I am sure that is unnecessary.”

Bow looked between them. “Um. Right. I’ll, uh, figure it out myself.”

“Good!”

With that, Entrapta tugged Hordak inside and shut the door, one rope of hair deactivating his cuffs. He only had a moment to brace himself before she flung herself at him, and he found himself with an armful of Entrapta. She buried her face in his chest and huddled close. He grunted as he caught her up, pain radiating up his arms—though he would not let her see him wince. Not here. Not now.

He threaded his claws through her hair. “Starlight?”

She gripped him tighter, shaking her head. Her hands grabbed the front of his dress, and ropes of hair wound around his arms, guiding them to wrap around her in a hug. He—gently—squeezed in assurance. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have insisted we come here,” she said, voice muffled. “I thought...I thought this would be fun. I thought it would be a good opportunity for everyone to get to know you better. But I misread the situation. Again. I really thought....” She sniffled and her body heaved. “I’m so stupid.”

He stiffened. “You are not stupid. You are the furthest thing from stupid.”

She looked up at him, face still hidden behind her welding mask. “Then why does this keep happening? I should have known that this would happen. I should have been able to tell. I wouldn’t have brought you here if….” She took a shuddering breath. “Why am I so bad this? It comes so easily to everyone else. What’s wrong with me?”

Hordak exhaled slowly, trying very hard not to get angry with the teenagers outside—getting angry would not help Entrapta. He pulled one hand free of her hair to cup the side of her mask. “There is nothing wrong with you.”

“The evidence says otherwise.”

“You are only looking at a narrow subset of data. You must look at the whole picture.” He disentangled himself from her, but only to hold out a hand and say, “Come.” She placed her gloved hand in his, and he paused, remembering how she’d taken care of him when he’d been having one of his bad days. “Bed?” he asked, “Or chair?”

She pointed mutely to the bed, and he guided her over, sitting her on the edge. Though it caused a spike of pain along his spine, he knelt and removed her shoes. In only her socks, she pulled her feet up onto the bed, and he looked around, spotting a blanket folded neatly on a trunk at the foot of the bed. He picked it up and draped it over her. After a moment of consideration, he pulled off his own boots, though he left the compression socks on. A rope of hair pulled him up onto the bed, and he went without protest, folding his arms around her and holding her from behind. “Are you comfortable?” he asked.

She nodded, leaning back against him. “Physically, yes.”

“Good. Now, let’s review the data.” He ran his claws through her hair, gently scritching her scalp. She made a soft little sound, low in her throat, and leaned in to the touch. “You have gone into hostile territory, multiple times, to rescue a friend. You have risked your life, your safety, and even your free will and sense of self in order to save them.”

“Yeah, but...who wouldn’t?”

He chuckled. “Starlight, you underestimate exactly how incredible you are.” He trailed his hand to the nape of her neck, and her head bowed forward, allowing him to run the blunt side of his claws over the unbroken, unmarked skin. “Even in small matters, you amaze me. All the little things you do for me. And for Kadroh. You are kind to us in ways we have never experienced. You treat us as people, as individuals.”

“Because you are!” she said, turning. She pushed her mask up, brows furrowed and mouth turned down.

He pressed a thumb to her cheek, wiping away the tear-tracks. “Not everyone sees that. You see things differently.” Her gaze skittered from his, but he continued. “I know that can be...challenging. Perhaps you...miss certain things. Things that others might find obvious. However, that does not mean there is something wrong with you, and it certainly doesn’t make you stupid.” He huffed a little, still appalled that she would call herself that. “Others miss what it obvious to you. Without you, I would no longer exist as an individual. Nor would Kadroh.”

“We don’t know that for sure—"

“I do.” He huffed, pushing her hair out of her face. “It seems to me that you are working very hard to understand your friends, but they aren’t putting forth much effort toward understanding you. Which is unfortunate; they are missing out on something quite extraordinary.”

She blinked. “What’s that? What are they missing?”

He smiled softly. “You, Starlight. You are extraordinary. If they can’t see that, then they are to be pitied.”

She cuddled against him, resting her head on his chest. Her hand sought his, and she laced their fingers together. For a while, they were quiet, then, softly, she said, “I know that I’m different. I’ve known that since I was a kid.” She squeezed his hand. “With everyone else, I’ve always felt like I had to change in order to be friends with them. And, when I couldn’t do that—and I never could; no matter how I tried I could never be normal—then I at least had to be useful. You’re the only one that ever seemed to like me for me.”

He shut his eyes and tried to push away his rising anger. “They are fools,” he growled.

“Then why do I want them to like me so badly?”

He didn’t have an answer for her. He just held her tight and hoped that would be enough. For now, at least.

-

I'm honestly braced for pitchforks after this chapter.

All your comments are greatly appreciated. I may not reply (for a variety of reasons) but please know that I treasure any feedback I get. Thank you! (And, uh, please be nice.)

#entrapta #hordak #entrapdak #intimacy log #spop fanfic #catra #adora #sea hawk #mermista #perfuma #scorpia #my work #ableism #speciesism

[prince-toffee]

Okay so I’m not sure how this happened, it kind of just did. I had this moment in my head, I wanted to write, of Adora and Hordak have a father daughter bonding moment while drinking beer. It’s not like something I do (hate beer), but I couldn’t get it out of my head.

It was nothing formal. No big celebration or festival or parade, they were saving it all up for Etheria Day next week, the fifth annual planet-wide celebration of the defeat of Prime and the Horde. In the eyes of the Etherian public that is, of course there were still hundreds apon thousands scattered Galactic Horde cells all across dozens of galaxies. But shhhhhh, let the heroes have a breather.

Glimmer very clearly stated she wanted the gathering to be casual, a small barbeque. Her father gladly working on the grill. Only close friends were invited, or at least that was the plan, but when each of the princesses know each other it gets crowded fast. And everybody felt bad not inviting Entrapta, but obviously that meant she’d bring Hordak, which was a big no go for most of the attendants. Ex-conqueror and all that.

But not inviting Entrapta felt wrong, like putting down a puppy. They felt an obligation to invite her. Mermista was slightly afraid she’d play ping-pong with their molecules if she found out they didn’t invite her, since she did casually mention once before she could do that. And so the party was in full swing, while Entrapta was educating the others that she was in fact just an adult woman with dwarfism rather than a child, her partner chose to relocate to a far corner of the royal garden and sat down on an old log near the hedges under the shadow of trees. He hoped he’d manage to disappear, hide in plain sight. Hoped he’d be forgotten if he didn’t interact, he only came for Entrapta.

Unfortunately for the alien, he was remembered. He felt weight descend apon the log a few inches away from him. He turned his head to the right just to be eye level with a fellow extra-terrestrial. She-Ra. Adora.

The golden Valkyrie warrior gave him a weak smile, it was clear that she had no idea how to approach small talk. Neither did he, that’s why he walked off, but there was no person on Etheria more stubborn and hopeful than her. God bless her heart.

“Sooooo, I don’t exactly know how to hit the ground running, so I resorted to the best conversation starter,” Adora held up two green tinted glass bottles, “You’re a beer guy right?” Hordak took one of the bottles, accepting the kind of gesture, he’d drink anything, anything would taste better than the purification pool. Adora was about to hand him the bottle opener to help with the cap, knowing Hordak wasn’t exactly made of muscles. But to her surprise the skeleton man didn’t require it, as he simply bite down on the cap and tore it off and spit it out. He sniffed it for a moment and proceeded to take a sip. He found out he didn’t hate it.

A small shiver escaped Adora as the chilly wind danced across her back. She currently didn’t have her jacket on her, because she gave it to Catra to keep her warm, a real - what one would call - serious power move. “You’re not cold?” She swore Hordak was the one most strangely clothed. He sported his iconic black dress, metallic knee high boots and forearm gauntlets, with dark red stained bandages pocking through underneath, and something that resembled a turtleneck without sleeves.

The silence returned. Hordak stayed quiet for longer than Adora expected, he took and another sip. His head bowed down in what Adora could only describe as anguish. “I can’t feel the cold.” He followed the statement with another gulp.

The Princess’ eyes widened slightly, “Oh... I didn’t know. I- I kind of thought you’re defects were healed, when Prime... you know... I should go.” In that awkward pause she decided that mentioning a person’s disability maybe wasn’t the greatest idea, between you and me, he is really sensitive. You should see him crying in bed after a night terror. Heh, what a looser.

“You aren’t incorrect.” Hordak admitted to her, which she took as a permission to stay. “Defection isn’t a path you can avoid. It simply happens. You may slow it down, but you can’t get rid of it. It simply... happens. That’s why Prime never bothered keeping defects around. Our ebb in efficiency is inevitable.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Really? I think it’s quite funny. A broken nobody faced against literally the strongest woman on the planet. Funny how the universe works.”

“Hey, I’m sorry. Cheer up.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, but removed it immediately as Hordak gave her a death glare. No touchy. She got it. “Ah, sorry again. W- Hey look I know it’s hard, and it’s tough to get the right words out. When I left the Horde I had a lot on my mind... C-... Castaspella runs private therapy sessions. Catra goes to her all the time, I went to her when I first got here. You should try it.” The girl gave the used-to-be warlord a reassuring smile, Hordak attempted to hide his own, pesky smiles, Hordak found that those kinds of gestures were infectious. He couldn’t count the number of times Entrapta made him turn into a, and I quote, ‘blushy-mushy’ puddle.

He cleared his throat, “Thank you for the advise. I will take it under consideration.”Satisfied with herself she extended her bottle to him, he indulged in a victorious clink of the glasses. And they both downed their drinks as if in a rush.

“What made you take me?” That was unexpected, but well, it had to come up eventually.

“What.”

“You know what. In the field.”

He looked down, trying to find answers somewhere in the empty bottle, no such luck. “I do not know. Shadow Weaver said she was potential in you. But I didn’t know what I saw. You were new. You were a completely unknown variable. Maybe there was - what you call - ‘good’ inside me all along, maybe you fascinated me on the level of a third grade science project, maybe there was nothing - I just did it and there’s nothing behind it.

...Or maybe everything was behind it.”

“Alright, I- Thank you for the ‘strongest woman on the planet’ complement, but it’s kind of undone by the ‘science project’ comparison.”

“My apologises. I have been told before I lack social skills.” He said eyeing the inside of the bottle checking if there was anything left inside. There wasn’t.

“It’s fine. You’re on par with Entrapta’s morbid space fascination. We kind of got used to it.”

“No one’s on par with Entrapta. She is unequalled.”

“You really fell head over heels for her didn’t you?” Adora stated as she attempted to slap the bottom of the bottle to get the last drops of the drink. Hordak couldn’t hide the smile that emerged at the mention of her name. “I know what you mean. When you find that someone, you’re other half, a soul mate. It’s a dream.”

“Is it? A dream, is that what it is?” Hordak massaged the bridge of his nose. Adora turned to him, all ears. “I- do not know how to put it into words. I have memorised the entire Etherian dictionary, and yet.”

“Really? Wow, who has the time? Wow. How? Wha- Nevermind, carry on.”

“I think I was going to take you in no matter what. It is not that I believe in a higher power, I can’t. But I feel like it is all set in stone, like it is all written out. Like no matter what, for better or for worse, it was always going to go the way it did. The exile. The formation of the Etherian Horde. You. The portal. And through that me dooming this world. It is as if it all needed to happen. All my life I wasn’t alive, I was asleep. In a dream. And then one day, I woke up.” 

“Ho-”

“I- I can’t tell when, the defection, coming to this world, meeting her. But... the world changed. It all for the first time felt real. Like I had weight. Like my footsteps had impact. I awoke to reality. And for the first I’ve been looking around, sleeping things, taking it all in.” 

“Hordak.”

I have had people interact with me. And I have done things. It all feels so real. Too real for a dream... but... Everything I thought was right was wrong and everything wrong was right. I look around at the things I notice them and I don’t know if they’re right or wrong - or if there even is such a thing. Or maybe it’s a matter of opinion, but can opinions be right or wrong.” 

“Hordak, breath.”

“Are there any rules, qualifications, and conditions necessary for one thing to be itself, the way it is or does nothing matter? Is it all meaningless? Formless? I- I mean is an animal that obeys the laws of nature and the food chain right, or is it wrong?” 

“Calm down. Slower. I ca-”

“My entire reality has been flipped on it’s head! I feel like I’m walking on a black and white chess board, but I can’t tell the colours apart. And if I misstep, I fall. But everything is upside down, so I don’t know where I’ll land. It’s all so different. I am imprisoned. Caged. Trapped. Am I falling into reality or into another dream. I just d-” 

“Hordak!” Adora placed a hand on his shoulder, this time firmly, and it didn’t move away. “Bud, you’re on a loop.”

“My apologises, again. I just thought- I just thought after Prime it’d be all perfect, but it’s not.”

“...I know what you mean.”

Right. Of course she did. Hordak knew he dragged her and her fellow cadets into the loop. He kept walking in circles - he never broke the cycle, it was Adora. Because she was stronger and he was weak. Heh, funny how the universe works. Without a word the two looked down at their empty bottles and stood up simultaneously and went over to the barbeque for another drink, however stayed for Micah’s surprisingly good burgers.

They sat opposite each other, at the picnic bench. Hordak sank his fangs into the meat of the burger, bite off a large chunk, and found that he quite enjoyed it. He became more keen on the meat groups. No one in the history of Etheria had ever seen The Evil Horde’s Hordak eat. And next to She-Ra, it was like seeing bigfoot riding a unicorn. He greeted with an all too familiar bush of purple hair puffing around his shoulders. Entrapta had returned from her personal lecture session and looked tired because of it. “Umm, your burger looks good. Can I have a bite?” Her partner handed her the half eaten burger without a word. She yanked it out of his hand and began to nibble on it, despite her adoration for tiny food, she managed to make quick work of it. She just turned to face Hordak with puppy eyes silently.

“[sigh] Want me to get you another one?”

“Please and thank you.”

#spop #adora #hordak #entrapta #entrapdak

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

tthhhbt thbt tbt glimmadora meta headcanon thing & languages of love thbbbbbbth 

 rewatching spop agaaaaiiin some things stick out

Like how Glimmer is super tactile, and Adora’s a lot more careful / guarded / stiff with how she touches people 

Glimmer does hugs, hand holds, lots of casual touching, getting so close faces smoosh together. She kisses her mom on the cheek in public and literally leaps on Adora while the whole throne room is watching. Her mom, aunt, and Bow are all kinda like this so it makes sense Glimmer’d be very hands on in her affection too

Adora? She lets people hug her but mostly just stands there while it happens (with ONE exception~), she does the casual arm-slung around neck, she does maybe a shoulder pat. Even in Theymore she held onto Catra’s wrist instead of her hand. She probably hasn’t held hands properly with anyone since she was a kid

Super Scientific Conclusion: When it comes to giving or getting comfort, Glimmer is touch and words of affirmation, Adora is quality time and acts of service

ok what does that mean. well it means that-

When Bow wants to cheer Glimmer up he squishes her cheeks and reminds her she’s amazing and he believes her. And it works. Later how does Glimmer try to calm down Adora after she left the Horde? By putting her hands on Adora’s shoulders and telling her it’ll be okay

That’s how Glimmer knows to get and give affection, with a touch and some reassuring words.

She does it again with Adora in ep 3, in bed and later in Plumaria- but Plumaria showed how uncertain and scared Adora really was despite all of that. She felt out of place, wrong, and Glimmer’s touches and words weren’t enough to change that

And this is just a wishful head canon, still, I like to think Glimmer realized that by the end of ep 4

Because at the end of the episode she does something different

We know, from seeing how Adora cheers up Catra in ep 1 and the flashback when they were kids, we know Adora’s way of showing affection is to spend time with someone and to do things for / with them

Borrowing a skiff so she could take Catra for a ride on it. Going out of her way to piss off someone (Octavia) bigger and older than them after Catra got hurt in a scuffle with them...

Glimmer never saw any other that

But she did wake up to Adora curled up at the foot of her bed, after Adora’s run in with Glimmer’s very intimidating mom. She did see Adora get on the exact wrong side of Angella, then stand up to her anyway to help Glimmer get the mission to Plumaria. She’s seen Adora stand stiff as a board whenever hugged and how she never (in the beginning) leans in or reaches out when she’s clearly worried. She more likely to walk off and brood, or pull inward

So after Plumaria, when they get back to Bright Moon, what does Glimmer do?

She gets Adora a bed she’s comfortable with- she sets up a sleepover so Adora won’t be alone- She uses Adora’s way of showing affection to make Adora feel better  

Acts and quality time. She comforts Adora in a way Adora understands.

It works. Adora flops over blissfully onto her hard flat bed and ends the episode laughing as the BFS have a pillow fight

In the ep 5 Glimmer is the one who is stressed and needs comfort 

What’s fun is how Bow kicks back and has fun fanboying over sailors and Seahawk, while Adora is the one taking action whenever something starts frustrating Glimmer

Glimmer goes to Seaworthy to find a ship + captain? Bow enjoys the sights, Adora takes the tavern visit v e r y  seriously and is clearly sizing up everyone in it

Glimmer tries to get Seahawk to take them to Salineas and Seahawk is Seahawk? Bow squees. Adora scowls

Glimmer’s bargaining attempt fails? Bow watches. Adora wins Glimmer a ship and captain via arm wrestling (which Glimmer cannot believe worked. this is the ep where poor glimmer is the lone brain cell for once and she’s Not Enjoying It)

Seahawk annoying Glimmer on the trip- Adora beats him in arm wrestling again. Sea monster blocks their path- Adora goes She-Ra on it’s tail and gets rid of it in a flash. Glimmer needs a way to get Mermista on their side and asks if Adora can fix the Sea Gate- Adora barely can even read the instruction manual and did NOT have a good experience last time she tried fixing something magical, but is 100% ready to try again anyway

She doesn’t go about it in the perfect way, but Adora spends the whole trip trying to help Glimmer

See, I think Bow picked up on something in ep 4 when Adora spoke up for Glimmer. I think he had an ah-ha moment, and after years of being the only person Glimmer had that was completely on her side no matter what, he saw that maybe that didn’t have to be true anymore

Maybe Glimmer could have two supporters- him, AND Adora. For the rest of season 1 it feels like Bow is stepping back a little and letting Adora step in when Glimmer needs a boost

Of course Adora doesn’t do support the way Bow and Glimmer do

So even though she is there for Glimmer in ep 5, just like before when it was Glimmer trying help her in ep 4, it doesn’t sink in because it’s not happening the way Glimmer is used to. It’s a miss. Which, again, I think Adora noticed

I think she noticed because in ep 6 there is a blink and you’ll miss it moment

Tiny. Teeny. Buuut it is animated so i’ll efing take it

Ep 6 starts out carefree (well, maybe not for Bow) Glimmer has had two successful missions and Adora doesn’t have to worry about She-Ra stuff because Dryl has no runestone. Both of them are playing around, teasing Bow, having fun and enjoying the perks of She-Ra for once

(side note: it’s cuuuute how Adora is showing off, plainly just for Glimmer bc Bow is busy going nooo, and Glimmer is so totally into it <3)

Then things get tense. There’s a second, a moment, when Glimmer is standing next to She-Ra and they’re both like uh-oh as Entrapta’s castle fills with Ominous Noises, and then Adora just… reaches out. 

she puts her hand on Glimmer’s shoulder. Just for a moment

They were already standing and no one was staggering, so it’s not as if Adora was steadying herself or Glimmer. It looks like she just made contact? 

Like she was going, Yes Glimmer is there. Hey Glimmer don’t worry I’m right here too

And that stands out because Adora really doesn’t DO touching (other than the casual arm over shoulder thing). But she did it there. After an episode of not managing to make Glimmer feel supported, she does something more like what Glimmer would do for her

Yes I AM digging too much into this I’ve watched this season dozens of times ok I’m allowed 

Anyway, throughout the rest of ep 6 Glimmer is the one who scared and needs comfort again, but Adora’s on cloud nine for most of it. So when Glimmer holds Adora, cradles her, smooshes their faces together and hugs her, she’s mainly doing it for herself

Adora isn’t stressed. Snuggling Adora might not work even if Adora needed comfort- But it works for Glimmer and she really needs it right then

Later when Adora is back to normal she DOES have a moment of worry, and what does Glimmer do? A hug? Tell her it’ll be okay? Bow does that, and Adora smiles like she did when Glimmer did it in ep 4.

Glimmer knows better now, though. So as soon as she can she finds something to distract Adora, something Adora can do well and have fun with (smash moar rocks!!), and then she gleefully joins in

She uses Adora’s love language again. Spending time with her, doing something for and with her. Doing something together

And as Bow watches his two reckless idiot friends run off together, first he go -_- but then he can’t help :)

He went from Glimmer’s First And Only Friend to Guys Please Don’t Die because now Glimmer has both him AND Adora to support her

Ep 7 ..... sad. And also sweet

A bad night’s sleep leaves Glimmer groggy and short tempered and too busy waking up to notice stuff

There was something like this in the very start of ep 4 too, Glimmer tired and rushing to go to bed, flying through Adora’s tour of her new room and laughing when Adora asks if the decorative waterfall is for washing in. It wasn’t a joke and Glimmer also doesn’t see how nervous Adora is to be left alone 

Second Super Scientific Conclusion: Glimmer needs her sleep

Re: ep 7 as a groggy Glimmer teases Adora about being kept awake by woodland creatures.

But then Adora looks away from her and…. There’s a pause, and then you can just see Glimmer go Oh No. The click moment of wait something is really wrong

She tries reaching out, on instinct, like she’s used to. It only ends up freaking Adora out again 

Groggy Glimmer instinctively tries reassuring Adora with words, thinking it’s the whole hacked She-Ra thing that’s stressing Adora because most of Adora’s stress so fair has come from She-Ra and Glimmer knows how it feels to have and important job you’re not perfect at

Glimmer knows Adora isn’t super physical. She can’t help touching Adora’s arm though, she doesn’t want to spook her, but she also doesn’t know what else to do

So she decides in a flash (Bow’s reaction shows this wasn’t planned or discussed before) that they need to go to Mystacor! STAT!!!

Why? Because Adora needs a vacation. And Glimmer does not hesitate a second to give her one, a nice relaxing thing for all of them to do together. Exactly the kind of thing that DOES help Adora feel better

That’s Glimmer whole reason for going to Mystacor, figuring out what will help Adora

Pretty sure Glimmer spent most of that time tense because she does do several small touches with Adora even though by now she knows those won’t really work. Like in ep 6, I think they were less to reassure Adora and more mainly to help Glimmer deal with her own worry over Adora

The steam grotto scene was the moment when both of them  f i n a l l y  got to relax

It also showed that while Adora isn’t used to the whole physical affection thing, she does seem to like-  it once she feels Safe

How she starts out hesitate as Glimmer leads her into the water and helps her ease slowly down, how she glances from there hands to Glimmer, then leans back with her and smiles

How she wakes up still smiling, look down at Glimmer snuggling against her chest and just settles back ready to bliss out again

darn sweet. SO earned

She’s not just letting the contact happen. She’s enjoying it 

So later when Adora thinks Glimmer is pissed at her (eff u shadow weaver) she tries to reach out. She tries to do what Glimmer always does, she tries to connect in Glimmer’s style, the one she’s beginning to get comfortable with 

……. Aaaaaand the stupid not-Glimmer shoots her down. Feh

At the end of the ep Adora tries again but doesn’t complete the motion

Glimmer, the REAL Glimmer, is there when she wakes up from a nightmare, strokes Adora’s hair and reassures her she’s right here. And Adora’s hand does this little move likes she wants to reach out again. But, she doesn’t

It IS nice though, how she settles down right away. I love how S1 Adora can sleep so easily as long as she has Glimmer there with her

8 is the prom and here the thing with Bow’s new role pops back up

Glimmer assumed he’d go with her and Adora. ‘m pretty sure he would have gone with Glimmer, Perfuma or no Perfuma, if Adora wasn’t there

BUT Adora is, Bow isn’t the only one propping up Glimmer anymore, he felt safe enough to go do his own thing for a bit

It was a big change. A big unhealed of Glimmer’s world and everything she’s been counting on. I think Bow was counting on Adora to be there and help Glimmer come to terms with the change

And Adora was. Kinda. She was trying

She was also a fish out of water and made a mess of meeting Frosta, which she could tell didn’t help Glimmer reform the Alliance plan, and so Adora spent part of the first half of the ep doing her best to patch things up with the pre-teen ruler 

But when she wasn’t doing that she was steering Glimmer over to their friends (quality time), not just leading Glimmer over but actually doing the touch thing

Even so she was making the same panicky mistake as Glimmer- Doing what would make HER happy instead of figuring out what would work for Glimmer. When Glimmer acts happy for Bow and Perfuma, Adora smiles and wanders off, cheer-up mission accomplished!

Adora’s not… really very good at getting into other people’s heads. At all.

(could say the only thing straight about her is her hair and her way of thinking)

BUT!  BUT!!!!!

She does seek out Glimmer

When her plan to make help out by winning over Frosta fails, she goes back to Glimmer 

After three successes in a row Glimmer has relaxed into the whole princess alliance thing and Frosta joining or not joining immediately is not anywhere on the same level as the crisis of her and Bow- Bow her first and for a VERY long time ONLY friend, who is busy hanging out with his other new friends…. without her

Glimmer grew up pretty isolated in some ways. She had her mom (tense), her aunt (smother), and Bow, the only one she was sure liked her for who she was and trusted her to not be a complete screw up

Adora on the other hand, Adora grew up popular

She had a whole squad full of friends and everyone said she was the best of them all. They cheered her on when she did good, had her back during training- Lonnie especially, who might have hated Catra in part because she got some special treatment from Adora (and knew how to leverage it). Maybe because Adora wasn’t a jerk even though being Shadow Weaver’s favorite would have given her plenty of power to be one, maybe that cut down on any resentment the others might have had for her 

Point is, even though Catra was special for Adora back in the Fright Zone, she wouldn’t have been alone if Catra left to hang out with someone else. And Catra wasn’t Bow- Catra was always doing her own thing anyway, sometimes without Adora, grabbing any scrap of independence she could, but always coming back again when she was ready 

That’s the kind of dynamic Adora is used to. So she can’t quite get why Glimmer is so worried about Bow

Bow’s not abandoning Glimmer, he’s just doing his own thing for a bit. And now with the princess alliance Glimmer has her own ‘squad’. Why is Glimmer still stressed?

Adora doesn’t get it. So what does she do? 

She stays and listens as Glimmer explains it to her

And then she does the thing Glimmer’s been doing, she comforts Glimmer the way GLIMMER would want to be comforted. A soft touch, words reassuring her that everything will be okay-

-cue interruption-

If the whole Catra bombing prom thing hadn’t happened I’m pretty sure Adora would have gotten through to Glimmer

Glimmer would have realized what Bow already knew- That Adora is here for her too now- They would have danced, maybe during the dance Bow and Glimmer would make up, and back-to-normal Glimmer would’ve gotten Frosta into the Alliance before the night was over

But I guess the plot had to happen so *shrug*

For the last few episodes we see Adora regress a bit in terms of the whole physical intimacy thing

Probably thanks to everything that happened at prom and later in the fright zone and LATER with Light Hope making her feel like she hurts everyone around her (Thank You For That Light Hope How Very Helpful)

We do get one nice thing though

Remember how Adora doesn’t do hugs very much? 

Well, guess what she does right after choosing her friends over Light Hope? After coming there to try to heal Glimmer, spending half Light Hope’s talk interrupting Big Destiny Monologues with a “Hah, yeah! But what about GLIMMER”  

Glimmer hugs her, relieved that she’s woken up for the second time after having her mind magically messed with- 

and Adora hugs her back 

Aww~

#spop #glimmadora #glimadora #glimmer #adora #fluff #meta #meta analysis #blarg blarg when will i stop rewatching thissss

[etherian-affairs]

Horde Clones are slaves and were designed for that role

(SUBMISSION, META)

Do you know what Hordak is? Hordak is a clone of the Emperor of the known universe, Horde Prime. 

He was grown in a vat, had no childhood whatsoever and was treated as a drone. He was allowed no name. Hordak never had thoughts to himself because Horde Prime can enter a clone’s mind and read them. A clone of Horde Prime has no privacy of thought because their minds can literally be read telepathically and by touch, if Horde Prime can’t do it remotely. 

This clone, and millions of others like him, aren’t allowed to have a will of their own. 

They were made for the purpose of warfare and if they show any kind of weakness or defect, they are either reconditioned until functionality is restored or sent to die on the battlefield. The drones/clones are conditioned and created for the soul purpose of war and conquest and live to only be an extension of Horde Prime’s will and nothing more. 

 Rae Geiger: … one of the concepts behind Prime is that he upgrades himself with his clones. They’re stock to him. He wants them all to be uniform by his standard, but he wants a little “extra” for himself to establish his superiority, his interesting-ness above them. So if he wants some extra eyes purely for the aesthetic, some clone(s) are going to give up a piece.

These clones, including Hordak, are nothing more than stock to him. clone-chattel.

Slaves. 

 They have no choice but to follow him and are conditioned during the start of their lives to be loyal to their master and do his bidding until they die.

That’s their life. They don’t choose this, they don’t have the option of doing what they want to do in their lives. They don’t even have the concept of self and a will of their own. They aren’t given the ability to learn about thinking independently of Horde Prime’s will. Horde Prime makes them in his image and if he see’s that they have become an “abomination” he will have them reborn. And that entails them getting violated by Horde Prime via hair-tendril, have that needled cable jabbed into the base of their neck/USB Port and have their entire life up until that point be deleted. Then they’re reset to factory settings and then get sent to be reconditioned.

Horde Prime is their God and he is a wrathful and merciless one. *************************

 "Hordak" became faulty after years of service due to a defect he had no control over and was thrown away by the only person he was ever supposed to love and serve. The only person the clone cared about(because he was conditioned to be a servant to Horde Prime and was made for that only purpose) sent him to die. And he was supposed to die, until an errant portal threw him into Etheria. 

Hordak knew it was his fault that he was thrown away, that he was a failure and imperfect. And he hated himself for that. He hated being an imperfect failure and that his own faults caused his misfortune.

Hordak still loved Horde Prime, because that’s what he was manufactured for, and wanted to conquer Etheria and open a portal to the outside universe to prove himself and Horde Prime wrong and that he wasn’t worthless and to go back to Horde Prime’s side. Hordak only wanted to go back to the way things used to be, and only wanted to serve his master once again. Hordak is a designer slave, purposefully constructed to love Horde Prime and be an extension of his will.

He did cause the deaths of possibly hundreds of thousands in the name of Horde Prime, I’m not going to deny or sugarcoat it. But, for Hordak, that was all he knew. The only thing he was ever taught in life was how to wage war and conquer in the name of his brother. He created the Etherian Horde, for Horde Prime. He wanted Etheria to become a gift for his brother and to show HP that he was still useful. 

Horde Prime is an abusive family member and Hordak is the abused person who still tries to prove his worth to his abuser. And for the longest time, he had no one but Horde Prime to look up to and respect.(Because, again, he was manufactured for Horde Prime use)

Until he met Entrapta. 

She was the one who came into his life. She was the one who demanded Hordak tell her everything he was doing AFTER she broke into his lab. And you know what, Hordak told her exactly what he was going to do. He never lied to her. He told her he was building a portal that was to be used for Etherian conquest. She still helped him build the portal machine though. 

But you know what else she did, she helped him with his chronic condition and validated him as a person(something he never got in the Horde and under Horde Prime). She made him armor to help his mobility and told Hordak his imperfections are beautiful. She looked at his body and wasn’t disgusted by it, or called him a worthless defect. She seen the real him and decided that he was great just the way he was. 

They also became equals, Hordak listened to her suggestions, theories and infodumps. Gave her credit where credit was due and treated her with respect. He even saved her from the exploding portal machine and did so when he knew his old armor was failing him. 

They both validated the other and respected each other as equals. Hordak found someone who looked at all his defects and found him still worthy as a person. Entrapta found someone who listened to her and didn’t find her mannerisms annoying. You have to remember, she’s been alive for 20something+ years, and no one’s ever listened to her theories until recently. 

She found someone who became her friend too.

***************

“There was even a time you wished I would not come for you, is that so?” Horde Prime

Hordak found himself back in Horde Prime’s court and when his Lord tried to mind-meld with him remotely, Horde Prime found out he couldn’t do it. So he had to physically touch Hordak to read his thoughts. He then discovered that one of his clones, one of his slaves, actually had the thought of hoping his master would not come looking for him. Hordak broke his conditioning (after 135 days of hanging out with Entrapta and them both working as equals) and was in the process of leaving Horde Prime and going with what he wanted to do, for once in his life. 

Hordak was ready to break away from his toxic environment/Horde Prime and stay in a place that said he was perfect the way he was and that failures aren’t something to be destroyed and are a natural part of science that creates further understanding and growth. 

Entrapta caused a clone slave, a person who was genetically designed to love/be loyal to Horde Prime only, to actually desire leaving his master. She validated him as a person and he was willing to grow away from his environment, away from Horde Prime. Entrapta didn’t redeem him, but she gave him something important. A healthy environment for which Hordak could grow away from the toxic thoughts Horde Prime saddled him with since his “birth”.

****************************** 

You don’t become a good person alone. You don’t magically start out as a good person with holy morals from birth. You learn good and bad things from your environment and if you live in a bad environment you become toxic. Having a way out of a toxic place, is key to helping someone unlearn bad behavior and become a better person. 

You also have to have people that care about you too, you can’t just do it on your own and do it alone. You have to have a support base, someone to help you. You have to have a friend. 

The person needing to change has to make the conscious decision to get themselves out of a toxic environment, but having a friend who validates them as a person and treats them as a worthy individual makes the transition a whole lot easier. 

Entrapta is  a person who was wanting to help a friend and validated him as a person. Something Hordak never had in his life. And that validation of personhood caused a clone slave to actually break his programming and Hordak desired to be left alone by his master. 

Hordak wished that Horde Prime would never bother with him. HE wanted Horde Prime to stay away from him now. HE didn’t want Horde Prime anymore. 

There was a hand holding out for him to take, and instead of ignoring it, Hordak was ready to take it. Hordak was ready to crawl out of the muck Horde Prime covered him with since the start of his “birth”. 

Hordak was finally at a crossroad, one road was still the path Horde Prime designed for him to walk on and one his body and mind were made for. But now, there was a different road, something newly created that said “You’re more than what your Creator made you to be.” And Hordak, with “LUVD” in his chest and someone willing and eager to walk with him on this new path, was ready to go in this new direction. 

Until Catra quite literally electrocuted Entrapta in the back after the latter told the former the portal would cause the end of the world and wanted the experiment stopped and then sent her to Beast Island to die, just so Entrapta wouldn’t tell the truth about how dangerous the portal really was and convince Hordak not to open it. 

Catra then lied to Hordak about Entrapta betraying him for the princesses and then started taunting him about how bad it would be if his “Big Brother” seen how badly Hordak was failing and how pleased Big Brother would be when he conquered Etheria.     

#submission #my badass submitting friend #hordak meta #hordak

[consummate-deviant]

Why I Think Entrapdak is Pretty Neat

Hello!  How’s the family?  Cat treating you okay?  Isn’t autumn just...like… the best?  Anyway, so, my Hordak thing turned out to be kinda popular.  I’m flattered, really!  If there are people out there willing to reward me writing stuff with positive attention, then I’ll just have to write more stuff.  I mentioned back then that I had a similar write-up about Entrapdak, as a ship… and there seemed to be a little bit of interest in hearing my thoughts on the subject. So, here ya go!  I’m Lancer, by the by.  Not a lot to me.  I’m a guy who likes things, and who enjoys articulating why I like things.  I don’t really do it for any particular reason. I’m not trying to pwn haters or convert nonbelievers…  As you may recall, though you might have missed it (I tend to be very lowkey and subtle about it), I’m not your dad and have no interest in the position… unless it pays.  I just feel like the internet doesn’t have enough positivity, and the best way to remedy that is to produce some of my own.  

As fate would have it, I like Entrapdak.  A lot.  I don’t ship often... a relationship has to really sync with me on a profound level to make me invested enough in it to want to write about it, but this one did it.  Now, I’m not really promising originality here.  As someone who explores the tag frequently, I know that plenty have expressed feelings I’m going to share with you here, many of whom did so better than I ever could, but sometimes you want to share your perspective, even if others whose opinions mirror yours have done so in the past, y’know? It’s a human thing! The relationship is a little… polarizing with people, though, I’ve noticed.  A lot of people hate it, and have various reasons for doing so.  Again, I ain’t here to convert you if you feel that way, but I did feel like the best way to kick things off would be to look at some of the major reasons other people tend to react to the ship like it were horseradish on a hotdog, and why those reasons don’t really bother me.  A part that I, in my infinite wit and adorned in my clever pants, have dubbed:

Part 1: Entrapdak- Why I don’t hate it

***EXAMPLE THE FIRST: “HORDAK, THE AGED”***

By now it’s fairly well known that Entrapta is somewhere in the range of her late 20s to her early 30s.  Now a few people refuse to accept this, citing her behavior as childish and accusing the creators of lying.    I’m not really going to engage with that perspective.  Hordak and Entrapta have appeared together in creator works and concept art dating back to 2017.  Their interactions were intended to be a part of the show from the early stages of its creation.  If you have so little faith in Noelle that you believe she planned for her story to have a romantic-coded relationship between an adult and a minor… I don’t know what I can even tell you.

Rather, the perspective that interests me comes from people who accept Entrapta being in the stated age range, but who still find themselves repulsed by the relationship on grounds of age.  ‘She’s an adult, sure, but how old is Hordak?  He could be in his fifties or sixties, or even be hundreds of years old.’  This point of view is at least interesting to think about, so I reckon I can share why this deal-breaker for some doesn’t really bother me.  

To begin,  assigning human ages, and the stigmas thereof, to an alien bat clone just feels strange to me.  The Horde doesn’t seem like the type of place to want to waste resources on alien bat clone daycare... was Hordak born as an infant, or was he artificially developed to his current age?  If it’s the later, do we consider him 0 years old at the moment of his birth, or already an adult?  We don’t have a timescale provided to accurately determine his age, so investing too heavily in trying to learn it seems somewhat tedious and a lotofwhat pointless.

If we do, though, my next question is: what is the element of an age gap that makes it inappropriate?  Now, that’s a personal question, of course. Morality isn’t something that really lends itself to objective declarations, but there are a few answers you can offer.  ‘Morality’ isn’t really the operative word here anyway... since it has more to do with taste, though this particular taste does come from what you believe…  Y’know, it just occurred to me, but…  People who believe that their taste in ships makes them morally superior, and that ships they dislike are supported by moral degenerates, seem like people who just aren’t a lot of fun to be around or think about… but that’s a digression, I’ll refocus my thought-lazer.

For me, with age gaps, it comes down to two things:

1.) Both parties being on the same side of the child/adult divide- I should hope this one sounds reasonable, right?  The ships that really powdered sugar my poptart are the ones that feel like equal partnerships, and relationships that try to cross this line tend to not be especially equal.  

2.) What stage in their lives they’re at-  It’s difficult for even a wizard of self expression like myself to state plainly, so let me give an example: If I saw a 25 year old dating a 50 year old, the 25-year age difference isn’t so much what makes it off-putting, but rather what those 25 years represent in this circumstance.  At age 25, people are still struggling to find themselves.  They’re adjusting to independence, gaining an identity, maybe finally finding an entryway into a career path that suits them.  By 50, a person is already established.  They likely have a career, they have a firm grasp on who they are as a person and what they want to be, and they almost certainly have a greater degree of financial stability.  Thus, if they enter a relationship, which is supposed to be equal, it doesn’t feel that way.  One side has a stronger position than the other, and over time that could become power they use to sway and control the other.

I don’t see Hordak as being in a more advanced stage of his life than Entrapta.  They seem to be at about the same place when it comes to self actualization.  In fact, Hordak is a bit more arrested in his development than Entrapta is, simply because he’s never really thought to question what would make him happy or why.  Hordak rules the Horde, which Entrapta is a part of… which could lead to an imbalance, if Entrapta, like, could be bothered to give even the slightest toss of a salad about status or promotion, but she doesn’t.  Neither of them holds higher ground over the other in a way that’s significant to the two of them.  In terms of life stage, they’re perfectly equal. The fact that Hordak might be physically older than her by some unspecified amount is, by itself, completely arbitrary and meaningless.  

*** EXAMPLE THE SECOND: ‘ENTRAPTA, THE MANIPULATED’***

A second, rarer discussion point for those who are unfond of the ship is that it’s unhealthy, on the grounds that Hordak is manipulating Entrapta.  Taking advantage of her naivete to coerce her into aiding the forces of darkness despite not caring for her at all.  Now, as I mentioned above, I ain’t writing this to change anyone’s mind.  If you’re reading this, and this is a viewpoint you hold as valid, do what makes you happy, homie.  That said, the issue I ran into when I tried to think of why this perspective didn’t bother me was a vexing one. See, I like to fancy myself an empathetic dude.  I try really hard to consider other people’s perspectives when I have a disagreement, and avoid judging anyone too harshly if I don’t know their full circumstance… but even with all that alleged empathy at my disposal… this hot take about Entrapdak is… kinda completely incomprehensible to me? Like, I have no idea how anyone could have seen the interactions between the two and draw this conclusion?

Part of it has to do with how Entrapta is written.  She’s both ADHD-coded and Autistic-coded, and there’s a tendency to perceive the behaviors of both those groups of people as childish.  People who see that ‘childishness’ extrapolate it further to a general innocence/stupidity, and assume the character in question lacks the faculties to engage with other people evenly.

Look, I don’t have ADHD, but I am super, duper autistic.  Having lived with myself for a lifetime, let me just say, I kind of get why this happens.  We get extremely focused on our hobbies, we’re bad at reading social nuance, we have very simplistic body language, we tend to express our emotions in a very blunt and straightforward manner… I get that, for most neurotypical people, the only other group they ever encounter who shares these traits are children, and thus they tend to subconsciously connect the two.  I understand why it happens, even if I do find it awkward and condescending.

…but y’all are underestimating Entrapta.  She’s not helping the horde because she’s helpless and being manipulated. She’s helping them because she has no moral compass to speak of, and will eagerly assist with any scientific endeavor she finds interesting, without care for its ultimate application.  In season 1, she knew well in advance the damage her actions would have on the world, and followed through with them anyway.  In season 2, she happily assisted in the creation of a portal, knowing full-well that its opening would invite a colonialist military force into the vicinity of her home, and only withdrew her support for the project… hesitantly… when it became clearly evident that activating it would eradicate all life on the planet.   At no point is she ever acting while the applications of her actions are being hidden from her by Hordak.  She’s not an innocent child.  

The thing is, though, I agree that Entrapta would be incredibly easy to manipulate… if someone knew what buttons to push. She is very self conscious of how difficult it is for her to form lasting emotional bonds with other people.  She tends to blame herself when she feels she’s been abandoned by others, and feels that her inability make friends is a sign that she’s a defective failure. If someone wanted to manipulate her into doing something she didn’t want to do, they would probably find success if they offered her friendship and then fed into that self loathing, emotionally abusing her by implying that she was indeed a failure, and would be abandoned again if she didn’t obey.  That is totally something someone could do to her, and I would absolutely not enjoy any ship between her and such a person.  Good thing Hordak… y’know… did literally the opposite of that.

***EXAMPLE THE THIRD- “ENTRAPDAK, THE PLATONIC”***

A nice short one to balance out the longer examples above.  Quite a few people just deny that there are romantic implications behind their interactions, and see them as a friendship instead.  I do disagree with this assessment, but honestly, even if it were true, this would still be my favorite relationship in the show.  

Something that has always boggled me about people on the internet is their tendency to treat friendship like some ‘equal but opposite’ force to romance… a status independent of a romantic relationship rather than literally the foundation upon which all successful romantic relationships are built.  Genuine friendship is a beautiful, underrated thing, and acting as though the bond of friendship is inherently less worthy of appreciation than romance is silly.

So… yeah…  platonic Entrapdak… I disagree, but even if you’re right and I’m wrong in the end… I’ll be pretty okay with that, too.  Movin’ on.

***EXAMPLE THE FOURTH: ‘HORDAK, THE IRREDEEMABLE’***

For the last dealbreaker I want to consider today, I figured I’d bring one up that’s a lot like the platonic argument, in my eyes: that an evil guy like Hordak can’t change his ways, even with the power of love.  Thus, the relationship is bust, because what’s the point of of a villain x heroine ship, if not to redeem the villain?

...

So, recently I wrote this whole big thing about Hordak, where I argued in favor of his redemption, and why I felt like that was where the story is going… I stand by the opinions expressed there, but I’d like to ask any who read that to push it out of their mind for now.  Hordak’s redemptive potential is largely irrelevant to my feelings about this ship.  When it comes to entrapdak, when confronted by the possibility that Hordak may remain a villain, my reaction is the most intense and passionate of shrugs.

...I just don’t care.

There’s a tendency to assume that redemption is the aim of a villain ship, and I suppose I can see why that is.  There’s a bit of a stereotype for female fantasies where they fix a broken man with the power of their love, and when people ship villains, that’s probably the first assumption an outsider will make as to why.  I cannot speak for others, but that’s just not a factor in the appeal of their relationship for me.

When you allow yourself to be vulnerable in front of another person, you open yourself up to the risk of being completely devastated by them.  When you show vulnerability to another person, and they accept that side of you, and express vulnerability of their own, you establish a genuine connection with that person, and those connections are kiiiinda one of the most important elements of the human experience.

That Hordak was a villain who did terrible things was always kinda aside from the point of what really makes Entrapta and Hordak such a bewitching pairing for me.  It was always the serendipity of two people who privately believe they’re alone in the world realizing they resonate with one another in a meaningful way.  Resonance is the appeal of Entrapdak, not redemption.

I tend to hope for Hordak’s redemption, I won’t lie, and I do think it’s likely, but I don’t think it’ll be love that redeems him, nor would I want it to be… not entirely.  I like seeing flawed, morally dark/gray characters overcome the obstacles that deny them self actualization, and watching them grow as a result.

That’s got nothing to do with him and Entrapta, though.  Whether the story ends with the pair of them riding into the sunset to collect data and invent shit, or with the pair of them leading the Horde in the name of galactic conquest and terror… I’m down with it either way, dude.   In the context of the ship, I care that Hordak is an evil overlord… about as much as Entrapta does.

However, pseudo-responding to naysayers is a bit negative for my tastes.  I prefer to focus on the positive in life, like the smell of soil and rain on a crisp autumn morning.  I… I’m in a very fall mood, okay?  Sue me.  Y’know what else I like, though?  Entrapdak.  Lemme wax poetic for a bit longer, and I’ll tell ya why this ship is, like, the peanut butter on my blueberry pancakes.

Part 2: Entrapdak- Why I love it

So, uh… If brevity is the soul of wit, I may be something of an idiot.  I’ve made my peace with that, of course, I’m just sayin’: I’m many things, but I’m not pithy.  If someone were to put a gun to my head, though, and demand that I describe the shipping aesthetic I love the most in life in a single sentence… I would probably respond with this:

My favorite ships are ones in which awkward, lonely people bond over a shared fondness of nerdy hobbies.

Now, that sounds super narrow, and it totally is… I don’t get new OTPs very often… but hearing that, I imagine you can see why Entrapta and Hordak immediately appealed to me.  It goes a bit deeper, though.  

The bonds between people are a major part of the story of She-ra.  We see how characters are changed, positively or negatively, by the connection they share with other characters.  Just like in real life, these connections are a mixed bag; some of them are positive, and some are negative.  Some characters, like Hordak and Catra, resonate strongly with one another, but the resonance is a negative force in their lives, which draws them deeper into darkness, and for many of the characters in the show, their character journeys are about breaking free of such toxic relationships and forming healthy bonds.

The bond between Entrapta and Hordak is unique among all bonds in the show though, in that it is the only one that isn’t mixed.  It is an unambiguous positive influence on both of them. Let’s break it down a little bit.

***ENTRAPTA***

Entrapta, at first, seems like the kind of person who isn’t super connected to other people.  At the princess prom, she mentions that she finds observing the relationships of others far more fascinating than forging relationships of her own, and she spends much of the early seasons working alone with her robots, buried in whichever task happens to have her interest in that particular moment.  

Later seasons gradually tear this facade away, though, and reveal a fairly tragic truth hidden behind it.  I mentioned above that she internalizes her failures to form lasting bonds with other people, and is genuinely distraught about it.  When she’s exiled to Beast Island, her frustration at her inability to make friends was the driving force that chained her there, even more so than her love of technology and invention.  It becomes clear that, to some degree, she buries herself in her work to escape her feelings of inadequacy.

This is a relatable and sad thing to realize about a character, but it also has the unpleasant effect of making events that were played for laughs earlier in the show somewhat tragic in hindsight.  Seeing the way she interacted with the Princess Alliance, you could see how she would have come to a very soul-crushing misunderstanding:  That, among other people, she was someone whose presence was… tolerated- at times even appreciated- but never seemed to be enjoyed by anyone. She was the friend everyone sought out when they needed her help, then forgot about.  

This wasn’t the case, of course, and clarifying her value to the group was what ultimately helped her escape the vines in season four, but from her perspective that was how it appeared, and likely how all her previous interactions with other people had gone before that. Some people complained about how easily Entrapta was able to believe that the princesses had left her behind, but it’s the same reason Hordak was so easily able to believe that Entrapta had betrayed him: In the eyes of someone who hates themselves, it’s only a matter of time before others abandon them.  

That said, it also goes to show why Hordak became so special to her.  For the first time in her life, she had a friend who joined her in her workspace, instead of leaving her to a task after giving it to her.  Someone able to converse equally with her about subjects she was interested in.  The elements of herself that made it so difficult to draw closer to others were the very same elements that caused her to get so close to him.  Her intelligence and hyper-focus upon science made her the intellectual peer of a space-faring alien, her lack of awareness of social subtext helped her to see beyond the barriers he put up to keep other people away, and her past experience with failure and rejection helped her to empathize with his pain.

It’s perfectly pleasant to find someone who accepts you and enjoys your company despite not understanding the idiosyncratic elements of your personality, but that pales in comparison to how it feels to find someone who accepts you precisely because they understand those elements.

***Hordak***

Hordak didn’t really have ‘peers’, per se, for most of his life.  We don’t know the level of autonomy the average clone has in the Horde… but I feel comfortable assuming that the level isn’t very high.  Thus, his circumstance differs quite a bit from Entrapta, in that, rather than trying to form bonds with others, and feeling like he failed, for much of his life he never had the chance to try to form them in the first place.

He is, at first, deeply dismissive of the people of Etheria, whom he regards as primitives who are beneath his acknowledgment.  Much of this, as with much of everything that dictates how he treats others, is born of projection… dude has some pretty major self-loathing issues… but regardless of cause, it results in a kind of self-imposed isolation.

Unlike Entrapta, who knew, on some level, that her lack of ability to bond with others troubled her, Hordak kept most of his emotions bottled up... Locked so deeply inside him that not even he really bothered to try to understand them.  That was where her disposition and his meshed perfectly for him.  Because Entrapta was defined by her curiosity, and her lackluster awareness of his attempts to keep her at bay, she was able to metaphorically crack him open, forcing him to vocalize and confront his own motivations.

Sometimes you need someone to just… like... grab you with their hair, push you up against a vat, and demand you tell them everything, man.

I’ve already discussed Hordak fairly extensively in my first blog blurb thingy, and while I repeat myself by accident quite frequently, I’m loathe to repeat myself on purpose.  I just wanted to take the opportunity to marvel at how well their personalities fit together.  Perhaps I’m just high on this feeling: I’ve never actually shipped something a creator so clearly intended to be there, before!

*** In Conclusion***

We’re all born imperfect, and we’ll all die imperfect.  Our imperfections are similar, but never uniform.  Each of us bears jagged cuts and missing sections of many shapes and sizes.  Humans are social creatures, and it’s in our nature to constantly seek one another out.  We keep trying to find people who are strong where we are weak; someone whose missing sections happen to lie in a pattern compatible with our own.

We’ll resonate with many in our lifetime.  Sometimes, the melody will be harmonious, and guide all involved higher and higher into the light of self actualization. Other times the sound will be discordant, and pull us down into self destruction.  Sadly, from our perspective in the middle, it will always be difficult to tell which is which.

I love the relationship between Entrapta and Hordak because it’s a dynamic that elevates both of them.  Not in a moral sense, but in a personal one.  In a series defined by toxic and uneven relationships that wear others down and tear them apart, these two have a dynamic that shelters and reinforces them.  Giving them an opportunity to be glad they were born the way they were, instead of cursing their misfortune.

It’s the kind of relationship that makes me muse about how imperfection really is beautiful.  It’s because we’re imperfect that we never stop trying to harmonize with other people, and if there’s one theme I can’t help but feel that the show itself is building toward, it’s this: Two in harmony surpass one in perfection.  

*** So hey!  Thanks for reading all of that!  Sorry if it was a bit of a mess.  Saying nothing with a great deal of words is a talent of mine, but I really do love these guys, and if you love ‘em too, don’t let anyone grind you down over it!

Let me know if you enjoyed my work, though!  If so, I’ll be happy to share my thoughts on other things, since I’ll be stuck with this series on my brain until I see how my new obsession plays out.  In the meantime take care of yourselves! If you do heavy lifting, make sure to do so with your knees, not your back.  Tell someone who makes your day a little brighter how much you appreciate them.  Then, take some time to savor the greatest of all winter beverages: hot apple cider.

#entrapdak #liking things #Entrapta #hordak #you try killing 8 hours at this job

[abigailnussbaum]

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, S5

Overall I’d say this was the best season since the first one, and the ending it gives the story is a satisfying and moving one. I really liked how the show gestures back at some canonical She-Ra concepts - the rebels hiding out in the Whispering Woods, for example - while at the same time doing things that are completely outside the original canon’s scope - She-Ra in Space! And I thought the ensemble was well-used, main characters, side characters, and antagonists all getting their own storylines and resolutions in a way that isn’t easy with such a wide cast of characters, but was handled with elegance.

But look, if you’ve read anything I’ve written or tweeted about this show over the last four seasons, you know I have fundamental issues with how it chooses to direct its storytelling and characterization energies. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that the concluding season didn’t address most of those issues. A big part of that is that the show I wanted She-Ra to be clearly wasn’t the one Stevenson and her team were making, and that’s fine. But I find it genuinely strange that of the three series that are obvious thematic and emotional successors to Avatar: The Last Airbender - She-Ra, The Legend of Korra, and The Dragon Prince - none of them reach the same heights of plotting and characterization, and at least in She-Ra’s case I think this is rooted in an unwillingness to complicate a rather simplistic central theme. 

(Also, at least part of the problem has to be that the show’s five-season, 52-episode run spanned only seventeen months. Even if you add in the production period for the first season, that’s a truly bonkers schedule that must have told in the depth and complexity of the final product.)

Take Catra, for example. If you’d asked me where I thought her storyline was going before watching the season, I would have said pretty confidently that she was going to get at least some level of redemption story. After all, her situation at the end of S4 perfectly positions her to switch sides by stripping her of all the things she thought she wanted and placing her in a precarious position that she might not be able to talk or manipulate her way out of. The season premiere establishes those facts even further by making Horde Prime a literal monomaniacal monster. And yeah, it’s pretty clever that in a series that places so much emphasis on the importance of friendship as the path towards moral growth, the villain is narcissism personified, a person who has no use for others except as they reflect himself, and subjugate themselves entirely to his will. So it’s not surprising that, finally cut off from any realistic path towards power and made to feel her own vulnerability, Catra would finally start doing some soul-searching and realize how badly she’d treated the people who cared about her. 

(Though if you’ll allow me a snide moment, I can’t help but point out that in the Best Redemption Story Ever, Zuko actually gets all the power and approval he’d thought he wanted before realizing that it means nothing without his honor and self-respect. I think we all know that if Catra had gotten a position of power from Horde Prime, she would have felt no loyalty towards Adora and Etheria, and helped him to conquer them.)

Similarly, I think I would have given you better odds than even that the series would end with some romantic storyline between Catra and Adora. And I don’t want to downplay the importance of depicting a story like that - before the end of the season I found myself wondering why Bow and Glimmer’s romance was being depicted so chastely, before realizing that the writers wanted the first kiss on the show to be between two women. I respect that impulse and the representation the show ends up delivering - we’ve come a long way from Korra and Asami holding hands at the end of their show. But at the same time, I can’t help but feel that the way that the show arrives at this point requires a significant rewriting of Catra’s personality and character arc, not to mention the history of her relationship with Adora.

As the fifth season argues it, the root of Catra’s resentment of Adora is romantic disappointment. She complains that “Adora doesn’t want me. Not the way I want her”, and leaves the team when Adora decides to risk her life by destroying the Heart of Etheria because she takes it as a personal rejection. But this is, to say the least, a massive whitewashing of what we’ve seen of Catra and Adora’s past relationship. In flashbacks, particularly the ones from S4, it’s made clear that even when they were on the same wavelength, Catra and Adora’s friendship was toxic and dysfunctional. Catra may have always loved Adora, but it was a selfish love, one that saw Adora as an instrument for the validation of Catra’s confidence and self-image, and denied her any opportunity for pursuing her own interests and desires. 

There’s room for a story about Catra growing past that selfishness and learning to love generously and openly, of course, but we don’t get that story in S5. When Catra complains that in sacrificing herself for Etheria, Adora is refusing to want things for herself, it’s not an honest character moment. Catra has never cared what Adora wants - in fact, her refusal to acknowledge Adora’s right to make her own choices and take a path in life that left Catra behind has been the crux of their enmity since the series premiere. Having her suddenly change tunes doesn’t feel organic, but like a parachuted-in personality transplant.

To put it back in ATLA terms, Catra was never Zuko. Adora is Zuko - someone raised with bad principles who nevertheless has enough innate compassion, and a powerful moral compass, that with a little support - emotional or magical - they can break through their indoctrination and become a hero. Catra is Azula - obsessed with power, possessed of very little compassion for others, and, most importantly, seriously emotionally unbalanced. I’m not saying someone like that can’t be helped and can’t become a better person, but it takes a great deal more than what the last season of She-Ra has given us.

Meanwhile, if you look at Adora’s storyline, on one level it gives us what I’ve wanted for a while. I’ve complained a lot about how Adora has remained static throughout the middle seasons of the show while other characters - Glimmer, Catra, Scorpia - got character arcs and changed meaningfully. One effect of that has been to create a strange disconnect between the show’s central themes and its main character. In a story that is supposedly all about the importance of friendship and personal connections, the heroine is someone who achieves her heroic destiny by rejecting those connections in favor of a more global morality, and who then had to struggle with balancing her sense of global responsibility with personal attachments - to Glimmer and Bow as much as to Catra.

The fifth season finally circles back to these ideas and places Adora at its center. I thought her conversation with Mara about having the right to be more than She-Ra, and to do more with her life than sacrifice it for others, was a really powerful moment. I just feel like, once again, the foundation wasn’t laid for it. First because Adora’s growth has been mostly ignored during the intervening three seasons, and second because this is a character arc that clashes with the show’s friendship-above-all message in ways that aren’t really acknowledged.

When you think about it, the moments when Adora has been the most herself are the ones when she rejects toxic friendship and stands up for herself - in her confrontations with Catra, especially over the course of the first season, and when she defies Glimmer’s decision to use the Heart of Etheria and the end of S4 and destroys the sword. So to the already complicated issue of where to draw the line between the things you want for yourself and the things you owe others, you add the thorny matter of when to detach yourself from toxic friends who see you only as a means to an end. Except that She-Ra never really grapples with this extra wrinkle - and again, Catra’s hasty personality transplant plays into this, because we get to pretend that the only problem she and Adora ever had was romantic miscommunication.

In a season that is all about putting aside differences and personal grievances to fight for a common cause, there is a refreshing number of instances that remind us that those grievances are still relevant - the fact that nobody will ever really trust Shadow Weaver, for example, or the other princesses calling Entrapta out on her seeming indifference to the consequences of her actions (though in this case, and yet again, Entrapta’s neuroatypicality is used as a get-out-of-jail-free card from taking personal responsibility). Even Glimmer gets to spend a bit of time in the dog house, at the same time that she and Bow work together and save each other’s lives. But once again, when it comes to the main character, we can’t let pesky matters like a lifetime of toxic friendship get in the way of a happy ending in which lesbian love conquers all.

There was a good story to be told here, one that could have easily ended up in the same place as the series actually did. But it required actually delving into the complexity of a character like Adora, and dealing honestly with the problems in her relationship with Catra. She-Ra ends - as it did throughout it run - by choosing to paper over those difficulties in favor of a friendship-conquers-all message that is a great deal less convincing.

(Also, am I wrong or are there a lot of loose ends still? I don’t think we ever find out who Adora was, what Greyskull is, and what She-Ra actually is.)

#she-ra and the princesses of power #season 5 #is a good season overall #and i had no reason to expect #that the show would suddenly prioritize #the things i wanted it to be #over the things it always was #but i can't help but regret #the better and more complex show we could have had #if there had been any willingness #to complicate the very simple message at its core

[toooldforfandom-liveblogs]

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power S01E06 - System Failure

There's no way the title doesn't refer to the mechanic princess. The way she appears hidden in shadows in the OP makes me wonder if she's going to turn out to be one of the "bad guys," at least initially. It's interesting that she looks threatening _before_ revealing herself to the camera smiling, if she were a traitor it'd be the other way around, right? Hm. Anyway, enough speculation, let's do this!

What's with this horror house atmosphere

Huh. Is the princess a recluse?

They are really setting her up as some weird mad scientist.

I wonder if she's hidden in shadows because the war against The Horde seems to have some "Nature vs Tech" elements, so she's working in something that could be associated to the enemy. Hm.

Oh, she's like Scorpia but for the good guys (at least I hope she's one of the good guys) Same "first impressions don't match their personality" vibes.

cursed screenshot makes me gag just to imagine that amount of hair in my mouth

I really like the Doc Ock but with hair idea.

And here's She-Ra's excuse to visit her.

Or not.

She... doesn't have a lot of danger awareness does she

That's a cool visual. I keep wondering about the tech / nature divide. It's not really just that, right? Bright Moon _has_ technology, it's just better integrated to their surroundings versus whatever the Horde is doing in the fright zone, and they _were_ looking for "First Ones" artifacts in the first episode.

Huh. That's more obscure than the other names. I was expecting something obvious derived from working with machines.

Okay, so she doesn't have a bad reputation because of what she does. I guess I can discard that theory.

I love getting an in-show explanation for where Bow gets his weapons.

Who _is_ Bow anyway? We know more about everyone else.

There's no way this episode is going to end without Bow saving the day using his sonic arrow.

Hey, confirmation that She-Ra's transformations take real time. Can't wait for an enemy to attack her while she's transforming.

Interesting. The change in the subtitles make me think this is not as important as it could be but both Bow and She-Ra are talking about She-Ra as someone external.

Considering everything we've seen from the First Ones (other than the sword) has been kinda techy, maybe She-Ra's powers can also be affected by whatever is infecting the robots? It'd give Bow a chance to shine, which seems to be where this episode is going with all the mocking.

Are those ears? An antenna?

For some reason now I'm wondering if we'll ever see Catra's birth family or at least people of her species.

A zombie episode and it's just episode 6!

* facepalm * I just got Entrapta's name.

Yup, zombie episode. Love it.

I regret waiting so long before watching this episode.

She-Ra being kind of a meat-head makes sense but Glimmer? But I guess She-Ra does tend to distract her.

...you can teleport.

I love this episode already, so many good faces.

Welp, that explains her appearance in the OP. * sigh *, all that theorizing to the trash.

I have to agree with Entrapta, I _love_ tiny food. Makes me feel like a giant.

Aw, is Bow going to show them the power of being just a normal dude with arrows?

OH MY GOD

Oh, so it _is_ considered tech.

oh, she _dumb_

and also a lot shorter than I expected

Welp. Is the sword going to turn evil no– oh wait, does this mean that She-Ra is going to turn evil with accompanying dark menacing outfit? If yes please do continue infecting that sword.

Red eyes and what almost looks like a fang! Not exactly an "evil costume" but it'll do.

Unless "weird old first ones technology somehow disables She-Ra" ends up being a recurring plot, this feels kinda important.

Wouldn't this "virus" give The Horde a way to defeat She-Ra or even turn her into a weapon? Imagine infecting She-Ra while she's at Bright Moon, everything that Adora has done to overcome everyone's distrust would vanish.

Aw, self-confidence~

...she really doesn't seem to care at all about other people, just her tech

Maybe it's doing the same thing the temple did when it detected intruders?

I guess this is her "trait," like learned helplessness was Perfuma's and apathy was Mermista's. Both of them overcame their trait a bit in their episodes, is Entrapta going to learn the value of life~?

I can't get used to her being so tiny. Also great line.

Drunk Adora is everything.

That's really sad. Did Entrapta's parents die in the war? That'd be a good explanation for her behavior.

Glimmer is the best friend anyone could have.

"Shiny!"

I do have to admire Entrapta's one track mind.

So many good Glimmer faces, I feel blessed.

Also I can't wait to watch how Entrapta somehow makes something even worse than killer robots with that sparkle of Glimmer's magic.

Is Bow going to save the day?

So much for being a helpless cook that couldn't possibly hurt a robot

Somehow they managed to make Bow look cool. Is there anything this show can't do?

I'm still curious about Bow though, once it seemed to be clear that this episode was going to be at least in part about him, I was hoping it give us at least some backstory or something beyond what we already knew.

And this is how the Bow fan club is born

What _is_ Entrapta magic power anyway? Is it only her hair? That seems limited versus Mermista being both a mermaid _and_ being able to control water, or Perfuma being able to control plants. I guess her being a genius could count but I wouldn't have expected the kitchen staff to go "eh, they are magic, they can handle it" if that was the case.

Also, the kitchen staff doesn't seem to care much for Entrapta, not even one exclamation of worry or anything. That makes her backstory even sadder.

No one has ever said that so happily before.

The gem is protecting itself? Is the "virus" some kind of AI then?

Aw, his faith in them feels refreshing.

Considering She-Ra's sword doesn't seem to need power, I doubt this is going to work. Being "first ones" tech and all that.

There you go

Computers and arson, Entrapta's two passions.

Oh, I thought her drunkenness was just residual damage from having been infected while being She-Ra but she still had it in her.

The fact that the tendrils seem to be receding into the sword instead of vanishing worries me a bit.

Narrator: She feels that way at some point in the next 30 episodes.

Wow, Glimmer really can't get enough of She-Ra.

She really is a comic book villain in the making. Can't wait for this to happen:

Interesting episode and new character! I didn't expect a princess to be so grey, considering everyone else seems to be very aligned to their respective sides. It wouldn't even surprise me if the real reason Entrapta joined the rebellion was to have an excuse to make and test her weapons.

With the hints of a tragic backstory, her isolation from even her staff and her obsession with her machines, Entrapta really seems to be heading the wrong path. But, would she join or help the Horde if it meant getting more answers about the First Ones? I guess it depends if the Horde was responsible for killing her parents.

She-Ra's sword (and She-Ra herself) getting infected was as full of possibilities as Entrapta's future. There's no way it doesn't come up again when it disabled her so badly. Is the Horde going to find out how to activate it? Is She-Ra going to attack her allies if it happens? Lots of fertile ground for interesting drama. The infection could also be related to whatever happened to the First Ones, maybe they caused their own demise by delving too deep into AI?

I'm a bit disappointed by Bow's plot this episode, not because it was bad but because I was expecting more depth. It didn't reveal anything new about his character, it just spelled it out. Maybe that's all Bow is but I hope it isn't. How did he meet Glimmer? Was he always so confident about his abilities vs having magic powers? I want answers!

Until next time!

#spop #shera #shera liveblog #shera s01e06

[mk-wizard]

She-Ra Final Season Review

Before reading on, I warn you that this review contains a lot of spoilers, so please cease and desist reading if you haven't seen the final season or the series in general of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power on Netflix.

Before I also continue, I have to admit that this is not going to be a positive review. In fact, it's a pretty bad review and I hate saying this because I was absolutely impressed and enamoured with the series, but then the final season left me feeling cheated as it contained many amateur mistakes that affected everything.

Don't get me wrong, there are some good things that came of it which I will list briefly. Number one, we finally got to get to know Netossa and Spinerella. Plus, they turned out to be interesting, entertaining and well rounded characters and you couldn't help, but root for them whether they were together or apart. Number two, King Micah didn't disappoint as he did turn out to be of value to this arc and I like that the fact he was well aware of how absent he was from Glimmer's life was played out. Number three, Scorpia finally found her place somewhere which rightfully was with the side of good and among the princesses after all. She was NEVER a misfit princess at all as all of them are unique and they celebrate that. With that said, she too learned to celebrate her uniqueness. Number four, we got to see the princesses (namely Mermista) find their own strength without being so dependent on She-Ra which they should be considering they literally rule their own kingdoms. Number five, Entrapta found her redemption by finally learning to work with people and to actually care about them rather than always lose herself in her science.

But despite doing all of this, these are the only things I liked in the season.

Everything started to feel wrong for me the moment Bow forgave Glimmer so quickly. Considering the focus of this show are relationships, I was expecting Bow to need more time to forgive her rather than just let everything go in one episode. In Steven Universe which is another show that focuses heavily on relationships, incidents of trust being broken  took into account that rebuilding it and reconciling is a long process. Sometimes, it even spanned through almost an entire season. Having Bow forgive Glimmer immediately after she gives a short monologue is unrealistic and it in fact, cheapens their friendship. It should have taken more episodes and more communication especially on Bow's side.

Then came Wrong-Hordak (yes, that is literally what he is called) who felt like a stand-in for Hordak in the form of comic relief, but this made him very unnecessary and also pretty grating if I may be so bold because the real Hordak was still alive and present in the season. Moreover, there are so many comic relief characters. Wrong-Hordak felt like a replacement with all of the edge and character development taken out, and what is worse is that he never really developed into something which was not already there.

Speaking of Hordak, as a big fan of this new deep incarnation of him, I felt very short changed when I saw how he was barely used and only carried over his new found individually to give him the strength to stand up to Horde Prime at the end. And even then, his body was soon taken over like a puppet on a string. Considering how far Hordak came, this was not fair. I mentioned on Tumblr that it would have been a lot better if his defect started to come up again, but this time, he used it as a strength. In other words, his defect made him able to disconnect from Horde Prime hive mind whenever he wanted making him the ideal spy and in the end, when Horde Prime tried to take over his body, he couldn't because of that. This would showcase Hordak in not only a new light, but represent people in his position that he isn't "defective" at all and that everyone is the way they are for a reason. Nobody is a mistake no matter how imperfect they are.

Next was Shadow Weaver's redemption which felt tacked on because even though she had bits of good in her, she was kind of person who was beyond redemption because she was the biggest repeat offender in the series. She wasn't even traumatised into the dark side. She chose her path and stuck on it by continuing to be power hungry, a plotter and a manipulator. Her redemption literally came out of nowhere and she should have had more moments with King Micah considering he was her former pupil when she was Light Spinner not Castaspella.

Next, there was Catra's redemption. Unlike Shadow Weaver, I could see Catra redeeming herself, but like the mending of Bow and Glimmer's relationship, it came too fast and honestly, I was shocked that Adora went back to pleading for her to come back to her so hard the instead Catra did one good thing. While it was in character for Adora to go back and save Catra from Horde Prime, it made no sense for her to be so forgiving of all her crimes. If anything, it is because Adora loved her so much that I would imagine she would be the most hesitant towards forgiving her in which case, Catra would be the one pleading for Adora to start being more cautious and care more about herself.  The only positive thing I could say about Catra's redemption was that she acted more believable in the end and finally confessed her love to Adora. However, it does change that the journey needed more time.

Finally, all of the little questions were never answered which left big gaping holes in the story. Who was Adora really? Who were the First Ones? What is Eternia, Grayskull and how does it relate to Horde Prime? How did Horde Prime start his reign of terror? What is Horde Prime's backstory and what is his real name? What were Hordak's Horde troops doing once Horde Prime came along? What more could be said behind the history of She-Ra even long before Mara? Where did Catra come from? These questions all matter and not answering them leaves the story feeling unfinished because they are relevant to the plot.

I still think this series is great overall despite stumbling at the end and Noelle Stevenson is still a great writer in my opinion, but the final season was pretty bad and it needed more episodes and possibly even a sixth season for everything to have been resolved properly.

I give She-Ra's final season a 3/10. It did deliver on giving us a few things we wanted to see, but the amount of amateur mistakes just couldn't be overlooked. I do hope that if She-Ra once again gets rebooted, good professional writing will remain consistent especially at the end because a good story is like a good restaurant; you're only as good as your last meal.

#She-Ra #She Ra #netflix she ra #she-ra spoilers #review #negative review #negative #tv shows #tv series #horde clones #horde prime #hordak #she ra entrapta #she ra season five #she ra season 5 #glimmer #catra shera #catra

[emperorsfoot]

Finally, some much needed Entrapdak fluff. Angsty fluff. But its still fluff. 

Also, the Horde garrison in Dryl misinterpreting pretty much everything about Hordak and ‘family’ in a wholesome and -hopefully- comical way. 

Also, also, this:

...

Hordak was programmed to stand for a commanding officer whenever they entered a room. To be waiting for them, in formation and at the ready when they arrived on their flagship. In his current circumstances, as a refugee from the Fright Zone, deposed from command of the Horde, Entrapta held the higher rank. Princess of Dryl and sovereign of the territory he was currently residing in. In this scenario, Entrapta was his commanding officer. Dryl was her flagship. Hordak wanted to be standing at attention, waiting for her arrival home.

But he could not find the entrance.

Curse this labyrinth of corridors the locals dared to call a ‘castle’! There was no rhyme or reason to them. Hordak tried learning the layout. He tried marking the turns. He even tried making his own map. But it seemed like the layout changed semi-periodically. His marks inexplicably disappeared. And his map was useless by the next day. Hordak didn’t know how the mongrel got around without getting lost, but then, the mongrel was small and usually traveled through the air ducts and ventilation system. They probably did not have these problems.

All Hordak knew was that Entrapta was already home by the time Hordak finally found her.

Not in the entrance hall. He still wasn’t sure where that was anymore.

But he did find the kitchens.

Where Baker was just finishing up a pastry molded into the shape of a tiny creature with a pig-nose and bat ears. She looked up when he entered. It only took her half a glance to realize he was lost. She arranged the pastry creature on a tray held by one of Entrapta’s bots.

“That one’s going to the lab.” She told him.

Without saying anything, only offering a grunt as a ‘thank you’ Hordak left the kitchens and followed the bot.

The twisting and winding path the bot lead him on was not the same rout the mongrel lead him on the last time he was escorted to the lab. And they passed that damn painting of the flerken with the over-large eyes twice before they came to a familiar hallway. Then, finally, the lab.

The bot entered through a separate panel at floor level.

Hordak entered the passcode Entrapta gave him.

Thankfully, the door slid open without problem or incident.

Entrapta was already inside, reviewing the data from the exo-suit. Catching herself up on his condition and prosthetics.

“Oh. You made it.” She looked up at him with a smile. Happy to see him.

She crossed the room, propelling herself on her hair. Arms spread wide. But she stopped short of hugging him. They did not touch. She was mindful of his condition which often gave him muscular pain, and he was unused to initiating physical contact –it was not a thing clones did. So they never touched each other directly. Only through Entrapta’s hair.

Entrapta placed a lock of hair on his shoulder, giving the exo-suit an affectionate pat. “I missed you!”

Her smile was genuine, and infectious, and Hordak could not help but smile back. He missed her too.

He just lacked the words to tell her. They stuck in his throat. Admitting that he missed her when she went to Brightmoon for a couple of months also meant admitting that he would miss her indefinitely when he returned to Prime’s side and she remained in Dryl.

Instead he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Your clone preformed adequately in your absence. However, it is a relief having you returned.”

He placed his hand over the hair on his shoulder, intertwining his fingers between the strands. Hordak wasn’t used to physical contact, physical contact of affection least of all. He hoped he was doing it right. Entrapta did not pull her hair away immediately, and he decided to take that as a sign that he wasn’t doing it wrong.

“Dak did great!” Entrapta beamed. Wrapping her hair around his whole body, she carried Hordak over to the main monitor. “I’ve been reviewing the data from your tune-ups and it looks like your exo-suit is performing at peak efficiency. We can now start physical training.”

To get him back to a level of warrior proficiency comparable to what he was before being stranded on Etheria. Hordak would never be able to be active without his armor again. Just performing daily tasks like basic hygiene was difficult without it as a mobility aid. His muscles would ache and he would get fatigued easily. With the armor, he could function as any normal person did, but to return to Horde Prime Hordak needed to function better than a normal person. He needed to function like a warrior-trained clone of the Emperor of the Known Universe. Bred from perfection to be a living weapon and extension of his will. For that –even with the armor- Hordak needed training.

Hordak glanced around the lab.

It was tight. An enclosed space. And full of sensitive equipment neither of them wanted to get damaged, chief among them, the First Ones medical array Entrapta took from the ship in the Crimson Waste. They could not perform any kind of physical conditioning or combat drilling in the lab. Did the Crypto Castle have a gymnasium of sorts? Some place he could train. Another place to get lost trying to find.

Already holding him with her hair, Entrapta carried Hordak to the door of her lab. “Scorpia and Dak are already waiting for us in the courtyard.”

The door slid open and Hordak struggled to disentangle himself from her hair. By the Host, he was not about to allow her to carry him out into the courtyard where the remaining Horde that occupied Dryl could see him. The soldiers deployed in Dryl at the time of the portal’s opening were the only faction of the Horde here on Etheria that remained loyal to him. He was not about to shake that loyalty by appearing weak in front of them. And being carried in this tiny Princess’ magical hair definitely made him look weak.

“I am able to walk under my own power.” He assured her.

“Oh. Okay.” Entrapta let him down, feeling oddly rejected somehow.

It wasn’t like she was trying to initiate any kind of intimacy at that moment. He was just already in her hair and they had to go to the same place. It didn’t occur to her that he might feel more comfortable moving himself rather than letter her carry him. Hordak was Entrapta’s very Special Friend, not her Best Friend, that was Scorpia. But her Special Friend. She felt as strongly for him as she did for Scorpia, but… in a different way. And she wanted to hold him.

Not just with her hair –although, that was what was usually most comfortable for her- but with her arms too. The same way Scorpia hugged her when she came to rescue her from Beast Island. Both arms wrapped around, squeezing tightly, even… even bodies pressed together if that didn’t make him too uncomfortable.

But, Entrapta was also mindful of his condition. The exo-suit she made for him allowed Hordak to function the same as any average person. But underneath that armor, he was not an average person. He was frail and delicate. His skin sensitive. Not in the same ‘tactile sensitivity and overstimulation’ sort of way she was sensitive, but in the ‘a carless tap on the shoulder could cause debilitating pain’ kind of sensitive. Not counting Hordak himself, no one was more keenly aware of that than Entrapta. She knew what it was like to be sensitive and did not want to stress his boundaries.

So, why did Hordak wanting to walk on his own make her feel like he was walking away from her?

Because he still intended to go back to Horde Prime? To leave Dryl and leave her.

But that was always Hordak’s plan. Even before he started living in her Queendom. Back when they were in the Fright Zone building the portal in the first place. Nothing had changed.

So, why did she feel like everything had changed?

“It’s this way.” Entrapta pointed with her hair when she noticed Hordak was walking the wrong way to the courtyard.

Hordak suppressed a growl, letting out a hmph instead. “Nothing makes sense in this blasted place.”

Entrapta decided to let that comment go. It was her predecessor who designed the Crypto Castle, and Ensnarea made it intentionally difficult to navigate. Entrapta grew up here, she was well into her adulthood now, almost thirty, and she still sometimes needed the tracker app on her datapad to navigate her way around.

Outside the sky was gray and overcast. Dryl was prone to poor weather. Storms and lightning. An overcast day with heavy but calm cloud cover was actually a ‘nice day’ by Dryllish standards.

It took Hordak a few moments to get used to the natural light, after being in nothing but the dimness of the Crypto Castle for months. Blinking his nictitating membranes, squinting the second set of eyelids until his eyes adjusted.

The center of the courtyard was taken up by a unit of Horde soldier, being put through their drills by the Territory Captain. It had been months since She-Ra and her rebel companion kidnapped Dak –whom for all they knew at the time was Lord Hordak’s heir- and the Captain was not going to soon forget. She was determined that her forces would never allow a repeat of the occurrence. They were soldiers of the Horde, loyal to Lord Hordak, living in the territory of Lord Hordak’s chosen consort, the Princess Entrapta. They would not allow Hordak and Entrapta’s heir to be taken a second time. The Captain was almost fanatical in her training of those that were under her command.

Seeing Lord Hordak walking with his Princess, the Captain snapped to attention and offered a respectful bow. “My Lord, my Princess.” Then, snapped at her soldiers. “Attention! Salute your Lord!”

The company she was drilling performed similar motions. Snapping to attention, backs straight, shoulders tight, tails –of they had them- peaked. Then they bowed, humbling themselves for their Lord and his consort.

Hordak gave a hmph of satisfaction.

“Wow, you guys are so in sync!” Entrapta beamed at the company.

“Thank you, Princess.” Nodded the Captain. “I have been working hard with them. Rest assured that no harm will ever come to you or your… or the younger Lord Hordak again.”

“That’s great!” Entrapta smiled at the other woman. “And I’ll be upgrading your weapons before I leave for Salineas.”

Startled, Hordak glanced at her. She would be leaving again? To build more weapons for his enemies. In Salineas this time. But he thought the deal was only for Brightmoon. She was done in Brightmoon. Why was she going to another Princess’ territory so soon after she just got back? Hordak didn’t want her to go.

But in front of one of their subordinates was not the time or place to confront her about it. As sovereign Princess of Dryl and Lord of the Horde, they had to appear unified and of one mind in front of their subordinates.

Instead of asking Entrapta about it, he chose to remind her why they came out here in the first place. “Princess, you did mention that Force Captain Scorpia was awaiting us.”

“Huh? Oh! Right!” She offered a wave to the Territory Captain. “It was good seeing you Batting. I’ll get around to your equipment once I’m done with this grumpy-gus.” She pointed to Hordak with a tendril of hair.

The Territory Captain, Batting, didn’t know what to say to that, so she only saluted again. Only Lord Hordak’s lover could get away with calling his a ‘grumpy-gus’ practically to his face. Batting tried her best not to react. She tried really, really hard.

As Entrapta said, Dak was with Scropia.

They were off to the side, in a corner of the courtyard that was shadowed by the side of the mountain.

Scorpia had a bucket of what looked like many different colored calks next to her, and was handing them to Dak, whom was using them to draw on the ground.

“That looks great, Dak!” Scorpia was saying. “But, uh, what is it?”

As they drew closer, Hordak was able to peer over the backs of the crouched pair and see that the mongrel had drawn a hexagon and a pentagon with a shared side. A single line was protruding out from the hexagon, and another line that was bent in two places extended from the pentagon. Clearly, the hybrid was drawing some kind of chemical chain.

“You said I should draw something that makes me happy.” The mongrel reminded Scorpia. They labeled the line protruding from the hexagon HO, and the bent line extending from the pentagon NH2. “So, I drew serotonin.”

Hordak could not help the snort that escaped him. A very nasal, very wet sounding snort. Prime would have been mortified. But Prime wasn’t here. Scorpia instructed the creature to draw something that made them happy and they drew the chemical that –literally- caused beings to experience happiness. Hordak still did not like the mongrel, but they did like the creature’s sense of humor when it was not at his own expense.

Scorpia sucked in a breath between her teeth. “Well… I mean… that’s not wrong…” She seemed to be having trouble finding the word to explain to this child what she had meant. “Look what I drew.” She pointed to an entirely different chalk drawing. Sloppy, and childish. But still just recognizable as two figures. One rendered in red chalk with a scorpion tail, the other outlines in purple with many pink tentacles like snakes coming out of the head. The chalk figures appeared to be holding hands, and the words ‘Super Pal Duo’ was written over them in an arch. “This is the time I rescued your mom from Beast Island and she called me her Best Friend.”

Unconsciously, Hordak reached a hand out to run his fingers through Entrapta’s hair. He should have been the one to rescue her. At least, he felt he should. But Hordak did not learn that she had been sent to Beast Island until she was already rescued.

In response to his touch, strands of hair intertwined themselves with his fingers. Gently stroking and reassuring. He might feel like he had failed her somehow, but Entrapta harbored no such feelings. She was just happy he was with her.

It gave him a pang of an entirely different, but even more uncomfortable feeling when he remembered that he would be leaving her as soon as Horde Prime arrived. Leaver her, and not coming back.

But at least Entrapta would still have Scorpia as a companion. Her ‘Super Pal’ and Best Friend. Scorpia would take care of her. Besides, the mongrel would stay here too. Hordak would not take that hybrid thing back to the Velvet Glove and present it to Prime as a brother. Dak, or Hordak Second of the Name, was not a brother. He didn’t know what the creature was, really. But it was not his brother.

“That is exactly what a chain of serotonin looks like!” Entrapta nodded at the hybrid’s drawing. Satisfied with her clone’s work.

Dak offered their mother a hesitant smile. Entrapta’s approval and validation was what they craved most in this world.

“I hope you’re not too tired for our next experiment.” Entrapta continued.

Dak practically catapulted to their feet. “No. I’m ready.”

Hordak looked between the two of them, momentarily confused. “Now that you are returned, there is no need for the clone’s continued involvement.”

Except maybe for consistency of care, so that the mongrel could remain up-to-date and aware of his condition and progression. But Hordak was not about to admit that out loud. The hybrid made him uncomfortable and he did not want to admit that there might be a practical reason for continuing to allow the hybrid to be… on his maintenance team.

“Oh, Dak’s gonna be my Control for your vitals.” Entrapta explained, bouncing excitedly on her hair. “They’re not the same physical age as you, and they’re a hybrid with my own DNA, so they’re not perfectly analogous to you, but they’re the best thing I have to compare you to in terms of physiology. Dak is the closest approximation of a ‘healthy Prime clone’. So, Dak is gonna be doing exercises along side you.”

Hordak’s lips curled in a sneer of displeasure.

But he could not argue with her logic. When Entrapta first designed the clone, and yes, ‘designed’ was accurate. She went into his DNA and took out all the corrupted segments of code, filling in the gaps with her own healthy Etherian DNA. Dak was carefully crafted to be healthy. Not a perfect clone. But a perfectly healthy organism.

From her hair, Entrapta produced sterile gel, suction cups, and sensor nodes.

Using the sterile gel and suction cups, Entrapta fitted two of the sensor nodes to the sides of Hordak’s head, lifting herself up on her hair to compensate for their dramatic difference in height. She was mindful of his scar tissue which made the skin uneven. They looked worse than they were, the synthetic skin the First Ones medical tech knitted into Hordak’s real skin to close the wounds was the wrong color and stood out, a bold violet against the white of his face and the dark blue-gray of his neck. But the scratched Catra dealt him in that fight –even miraculously healed using seemingly magically advanced tech- still left the skin uneven and Entrapta had to work around them to get the suction cups to stick.

For his neck, she plugged the sensory nodes directly into the ports there. Same with the ports on his sides, she plugged the sensors directly into those too.

Dak applied their own sensors. Sticking them to the temples of their head, their neck, and their sides. Using their hair instead of their hands –which were covered in chalk and not sterile- the cobalt blue tendrils making sure they were even and secure.

With a bit of a sigh, Scorpia began packing up the colored chalks. At least she got Dak to play a little bit.

Entrapta ushered the clones back into the center of the courtyard.

The soldiers weren’t quite finished with their drills yet, but Captain Batting quickly made them clear the field. Whatever project their Lord and his consort were working on was obviously more important than making sure the garrison kept up their discipline as a single military unit. (Besides, Batting wanted to watch whatever was about to happen. She saw so little of the sovereign family interacting together. She would be lying if she didn’t admit she was curios.)

Hordak was uneasy about preforming in front of his only remaining soldiers. He was keenly aware of his physical limitations and of the fact that he was nowhere near as capable and strong a warrior as he used to be. He did not want to appear weak in front of his subordinates. Fear of betrayal and usurption aside, they were the only followers he had left. He did not want to lose the last and only Horde garrison he commanded because he so weak, even when compared to a literal child.

“We’re just gonna start with a few warm-ups to get your bodies read and establish a baseline.” Entrapta explained. “Just some simple stretches and light activity to loosen-up your muscles and get your blood flowing.”

Standing side-by-side with the mongrel, a double arms’ length apart, Hordak allowed Entrapta to guide him and the hybrid through lunges, tow-touches, jumping-jacks, and a little light running place.

Soldiers snickers behind the face shield of their helmets, or –if their heads were uncovered- hid smiles behind their hands. None of them had ever seen Lord Hordak appear so… normal before. Warming up for a drill. Like he was one of them. A soldier just like any other. And he was training with his heir. Just like a real dad (not that any of them really knew what a ‘real dad’ was supposed to be like). But it was still so cute!

All the while, Entrapta was studying their stats on her datapad, the screen split in half, one side displaying Hordak’s vitals, the other Dak’s.

She had them break for water before diving into the combat drills.

It was not all that different from the drills the garrison had just been practicing. Beginning with basic hand-to-hand kata, first going through the motions on their own, the two clones performing identical actions side-by-side. Then, after several sets, facing off and putting the combat motions into action in a mock battle against each other.

Dak was younger than Hordak. Lighter and faster on their feet. With healthy muscle tissues giving more strength to their limbs. However, Dak had barely been in one fight before, and didn’t actually know what they were doing. Hordak was older and more experienced. He had faced quick and spry opponents before and survived to learn from the experience. He was a seasoned warrior and knew how to handle himself –limitations and all- in a fight.

For the most part they were evenly matched.

Until Hordak over-extended himself. Dak did a backflip –on their hair- to evade the attack. And Hordak fell flat on his face.

The watching soldiers could not hide their amusement this time. Nothing was funnier than watching the terrifying and imposing Lord of the Horde do a face plant while trying to train his child.

Enraged, Hordak threw all manners of a polite spar aside and snarled at the mongrel. How dare they humiliate him like that!

Dak only grinned back. Flashing those razor sharp but pearly white teeth, as if goading the older clone. “Sorry,” they said, not sounding apologetic at all, “Old Man.”

There was a chorus of ‘Oo~oh’s from the spectators.

“Brat!” He growled back. In the peak of his health, Hordak could jump from a moving drop-ship, take out a small contingent of enemies, vault off a building roof, break through windows, and maneuver is close quarters combat. He was not going to allow this composite creature that hadn’t even been alive a year yet to humiliate him in a public forum!

Recollecting himself, adjusting his stance, Hordak assumed the defensive, waiting for the younger and quicker clone to come to him. Hordak didn’t have to beat the mongrel outright. He just had to let the dumb child tire themself out in order to win.

And ‘dumb child’ was right. Dak didn’t even hesitate to take the bait. Bouncing on their prehensile hair, the hybrid leapt into the air, coming down from above Hordak, hands with talons outstretched.

Hordak casually, almost lazily side stepped the clumsy and overly-showy attack. Dak would have smashed skull-first into the hard stones of the courtyard were it not for the quick reflexes of youth. They swung their hair around in front of their face, coiling it like a living blue cushion to pad their fall. Then transitioned into a sort of summersault to land on their feet.

Lowering his defensive stance, Hordak melted into a dignified parade rest. Turing one half-quarter to the side, he smirked sideways at the mongrel. Just to make sure the creature understood how insignificant it truly was to him.

The hybrid took the action as the taunt it was meant to be. Teeth bared in a growl of frustration, hair frizzing out like Entrapta’s often did when she over-excited. They ran at Hordak, attempting to slash at the older clone with their talons.

After facing off against a skilled and season opponent like Catra, young and naïve little Dak was nothing. Hordak barely had to break his rest to dodge. Only moving his feet. Arms still folded behind his back. Expression military neutral. It only took a few passes for the mongrel’s frustration to transform into outright anger.

“This is supposed to be a fight, Old Man!” They shouted.

Hordak smirked at them. “I am waiting for you to begin.”

That was the last straw that broke the back of the mongrel’s control. They did not quite have Hordak’s temper. They were not quick to anger. They could put up with Hordak’s quiet scorn and not-so-subtle distain. When it was just the two of them it was easy to stay calm. When it was just the two of them it didn’t matter. But when Mother was home… When Mother was watching them… When Hordak was making them look back in front of Mother… That was what set Dak off. Dak wanted nothing more than for Mother to love them.

Hair still frizzy, the tendrils and strands fanned outwards, haloing the mongrel in a semi-circle of cobalt-blue tentacles. Hordak would be lying if he didn’t admit it was a little intimidating.

He didn’t let any of it show on his face, however. Hordak, Lord of the Third Division, General on Horde Prime’s ruling cabinet, did not get intimidated by mongrel children.

Dak rushed him, running forward with the same speed as before. Hordak side-stepped them easily. But then the hybrid crouched down and lashed out with their hair, coiling two tentacles around one of the older clone’s ankles. It one solid jerk of the prehensile hair, Dak pulled Hordak off his feed, dropping him flat on his backside.

There was another exclamation of ‘Oo~oh!’ from the watching soldiers.

“That’s enough.” Entrapta called.

From his position on the ground, Hordak kicked up, just barely missing the mongrel’s face. If the move had connected, the metal toe-plate of his boot would have smashed into Dak’s chin.

Jumping back, the hybrid just barely managed to dodge the blow.

Hordak too the opportunity to leap back to his feet.

Dak lashed at him with their hair again. This time going high. For the face.

Raising an armored arm to block the blow, Hordak allowed the plating of his exo-suit to absorb the force of the hit, then grabbed the tendril of hair and yanked. Hard. Pulling the hybrid off balance, causing the mongrel to stumble as they winced in pain at having their hair pulled.

“Ow! Ow, ow, ow!” Dak exclaimed.

“I said that’s enough.” Entrapta repeated.

“A real opponent will do much worse than this.” Hordak informed them. How could the natives of this planet honestly believe that this soft, under-developed child-creature was his ‘heir’? They were no soldier. They weren’t even the kind of sparkling and gentle looking but surprisingly formidable kind of clumsy-fighter the Princesses of the Alliance was. The mongrel was… more like a Horde cadet. A child the Etherian Horde took in and trained. Young and stupid. But full of potential.

The mongrel only growled at him. They pulled the strand of hair, but Hordak did not let go of his hold.

“He’s right, ya know!” Someone called from the soldiers that gathered as spectators.

“Listen to your father.” Shouted another. “He knows what he’s talking about!”

Hordak bristled, uncomfortable at being called the mongrel’s ‘father’. The clones of Horde Prime had no fathers. The clones of Horde Prime had no children. The clones of Horde Prime were all brothers.

“Hey, if your hair is cut, it is like losing an arm?” Asked another. This question went unanswered.

Dak yanked their hair again, pulling harder this time. Pulling hard enough to make the taller and top heavier clone to stumble off balance. Mid-trip, another tentacle of hair lunged out. This this time. With more force. It struck Hordak in the stomach.

Hordak let go of the hair he was holding. Spitting and gasping.

“Stop!” Entrapta appeared between them. Wrapping both in her own hair, she forced the two clones apart. “As big as your ears are, you should be better at listening. Both of you.”

The watching soldiers heaved identical groans of disappointment. They were enjoying the show.

Placing herself between Dak and Hordak, she turned to the latter and held up her datapad. “Look at your blood pressure! The suit is not regulating it the way it should. And that gut-punch just now didn’t do you any favors either.” She turned the datapad back to herself and began scrolling through all the information the device was telling her. Muttering about adjustments and upgrades. About extending the exoskeleton to cover his chest and middle-mass.

As she spoke, Hordak took a breath, forcing himself to calm down. He had not risen to the killing edge. The mongrel was not a big enough threat for that. Not had they made him mad enough to push him to that edge. But Hordak was not as young as he used to be and active combat was not as easy as it once was. Now that he was no longer moving and adrenaline was no longer pumping through his veins, Hordak realized that he was… tired. His muscles under his exo-suit were already sore. His middle-mass most of all. The mongrel’s hair was very strong.

But he could not afford to appear weak in front of his soldiers.

Hordak melted his stance back into a rest. “I shall respect your concerns and end combat training for the day, Princess.”

There was a soft chorus of ‘Aww’ from the soldiers around them. One soldier wrapped her arm around another, the two women cuddling closer. Hordak might be a looming, formidable, terrifying military Lord, but he loved his consort. It was so sweet!

Their doe-eyed, adoring faces, and soft smiles made him uncomfortable. Hordak turned and walked back to the double doors of the main entrance into the Crypto Castle. Quickly realized that he would be lost the moment he got inside, and paused. Turning to look back at where Entrapta was still standing with the mongrel, he held out his arm. A gesture he understood meant he was offering to escort her inside. He hoped it did not make him seem vulnerable and afraid of going back into the castle alone –which he was.

“You can play outside some more if you want.” Entrapta informed the hybrid. “Scorpia tells me children should play. Come back to the Lab when you’re ready and we can go over your data together.”

“Yes, Mother.” Dak demurred.

She crossed the courtyard, moving on her hair, and took Hordak’s offered arm.

The crowd gave a second ‘Aww’ as the couple went inside together.

Entrapta waited until the double doors were shut behind them before remarking, “I think I’ll also add a navigation feature to the exo-suit. So you won’t get lost inside the castle. Not that I mind escorting your around. But I know you like… to go your own way...”

Hordak’s lip curled, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable. It felt almost like she wasn’t talking about his wanting independence while living in the nightmare labyrinth she called a ‘castle’ and more about… his impending departure when Prime finally came to collect him.

“I will always appreciate the things you do for me.” He informed her. Not knowing what he needed to say.

“Thanks.” Entrapta replied. “I will always appreciate you- -your friendship.” She twiddled her hair, looking off to the side to avoid eye-contact, cheeks a slightly pinker shade than was normal. “Out of everyone I’ve met on Etheria –Scorpia included- you are the one I- …work best with.”

A lump formed in Hordak’s throat and he found himself having to swallow a feeling he was unfamiliar with. “Your work is without equal.”

If he thought –even for just a moment- that Horde Prime would welcome Entrapta, Hordak would take her with him. In a heartbeat.

“Thanks.”

Entrapta looked uneasy for a moment, as if question a decision she was about to make. She raised herself up on her hair, so that their faces were on an equal level. Leaning forward slightly to close the distance between them. Her mouth parted slightly.

Hordak had no idea what her intensions were. He had never seen Entrapta behave this way before.

But whatever she was about to do, they were both distracted by shouting outside.

They both turned.

Hordak pushed the double doors open.

At first, they were both confused. Nothing seemed out of place in the courtyard. Everyone was still standing exactly where they were a minute ago when they left. Except now everyone was all tuned, staring in the same direction. Faces tilting up. Staring gape-mouthed, horror struck, and confused at the sky.

Following their gaze, Entrapta and Hordak looked up.

A strange light cut across the sky, shining brighter than the moons. A diagonal slash. The edges of which seemed to fray and peel back, like fabric torn and tattered. As if the very air itself was physically cut with a blade. A blade of light rather than steel. A rift opening.

The gaping Etherians were right to be afraid. They didn’t know what this was. They had never seen anything like it before.

Admittedly, Hordak had never seen it before either. But he knew what it was. He was expecting this.

Horde Prime got his message.

Horde Prime was coming.

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