#I mean I love Wrong Hordak too but you know

[tropicalcryptid]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's not nice.

It's really not nice.

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

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

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

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

Very cool, ND.

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

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

But maybe Hordak can.

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

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

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

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

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

[haemosexuality]

im rewatching she-ra and naturally im gonna want to write about it a lot. starting by breaking down the catradora conflict origin story scene from s01e02 the sword part 2

people have said this before but the most important thing to keep in mind here is how different their understanding of whats going on is. theyre both approaching this with completely different views and so they misunderstand what the other means.

Adora: There's no time. We have to put a stop this.

Catra: What? Why?

Adora: Because this is a civilian town. Look around! These aren't insurgents. They're innocent people.

Catra: Yeah, sure. Innocent people who kidnapped a Horde officer. Now come on, let's get you back to the Fright Zone. Shadow Weaver is freaking out. [laughing] It'd be funny if she weren't such a terrible person.

so immediately theres two things i wanna say about this part, about how catra reacts to stuff. first off, something we learn about catra throughout the whole show and especially in the portal-alternative-reality, is that shes big on Pretending Nothing Is Wrong. whenever shes feeling upset or angry about something, she will start joking around and acting like shes just totally super chill guys, dw ("Ugh, whatever. It's not like I even care. I just wanna get out of this dump at some point before I dieee of boredom). Shes acting like that in this scene. Adora was missing for hours, shadow weaver was breathing down her neck and threatening her, she was already worried adora might have left at this point. she cant let adora know how worried she was tho, so shes all jokes and fast paced conversation. To Adora, tho, it just looks like catra doesnt care, like she doesnt understand the gravity of the situation.

and the other thing is that honestly? I dont think catra does care. about the town, i mean. i think catra was ready for war in a way adora never was. theyre both seeing combat for the first time here, and adora hates it. training for war is completely different than being in the battlefield, and adora couldnt handle it. face to face with it she couldnt tolerate seeing people suffering and dying, houses being burned down, a whole village destroyed. when the horde brainwashed adora into thinking they were only doing the necessary to save etheria, she completely and fully believed it, and when faced with the reality of the horde she immediately realized how wrong that was. Catra, tho, could not care less. she never believed in what the horde said, she knew full well what the horde did, so this isnt a surprise for her. and i do think shes naturally a bit sadistic, or at least growing up among the violence of the horde made her so. either way, shes seeing battle here for the first time and shes completely fine with it. doesnt even spare it all a second glance. why would she care about these people she never met if the most important thing in the world is right here in front of her? (i think even if adora hadnt left that night and went into the battlefield as a force captain, she wouldve ended up deserting. she cant stand seeing people suffer and she cant stand not saving them. shes too good, too selfless for that. catra isnt.) (also she is so ready to kill at all times. she loves violence. i once saw someone say how shadow weaver thought adora was the "cutthroat, ruthless warrior" when that was actually catra and they were totally right)

adora is also trying something futile here, she doesnt need to explain to catra that the horde is bad and hurts innocent ppl because catra has known that all her life

Adora: Catra, no. I can't go back. Not until the Horde leaves this town alone. You have to help me.

Catra: What are you saying?

Adora: I’m saying, this is wrong. They've been lying to us, manipulating us. Hordak, Shadow Weaver, all of them.

Catra: Duh! Did ya just figure that out? Manipulation is Shadow Weaver's whole thing. She's been messing with our heads since we were kids.

(the captions in the pics are slightly wrong, nvm that.) everything i said before. adora just realized all of this, while catra has always known, probably because the abuse adora suffered was more manipulation-and-brainwashing, while shadow weaver always made clear to catra that she didnt give a shit about her, so she suffered physical abuse with little attempt to convince her this was fine.

the "what are you saying?" is one of the things that show how different their perspective is. adora is talking about going against the horde and helping the town, while catra immediately gets more personal. what do you mean? are you saying that you might leave the horde? leave me?

Adora: How could you possibly be okay with that?

adora means, how could you be ok with the horde lying about its actions, and killing innocent people? how could you be ok with the horde raising us to do the same? and catra hears, how could you be ok with shadow weaver and hordak abusing us?

Catra: Because, it doesn't matter what they do. The two of us look out for each other. And soon we'll be calling the shots. Now come on, can we go home already?

catra replies: because, i love you. because you have my back and i have yours. because nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other, remember? and soon enough, we'll be powerful enough that they cant hurt us anymore. Adora hears, because i dont care about these people dying, the only thing thats important is you and i. and anyways, soon its gonna be Us killing them, isnt that good? lets go back home to the evil murder place.

Adora: I'm not going home, Catra. I can't. Not after everything I've seen. Come with me. You don't have to go back there. We can fix this.

adora says: im starting to realize now how wrong i was about everything. we're not the good guys, and i cant stand for that. i cant stand around and watch people get hurt. i cant stand around and watch you get hurt. lets leave, together, and have a better life, please. lets do the right thing.

Catra: Are you kidding? You've known these people for, what, a couple of hours? And now you're just gonna throw everything away for them?

catra hears, shes willing to leave me. after everything i did for her, all that i took, all of these years of us being together, she would still leave me. she would break our promise. she would leave me behind.

and then she straight up electrocutes adora. ok

she says it was a reflex, but i dont know if i believe her. i dont think she likes hurting adora (not physically. not by this point, anyways), but i do think that shes the type to lash out when upset and immediately regret it, then feel guily about it. which just makes her more upset. :(

Catra: Oh, man. That was a lot stronger than I thought. Are you okay?

Adora: Why are you doing this?

Catra: Because you left me! And if I don't bring you back, Shadow Weaver’s gonna have my head. So, enough with your weird little identity crisis and let's go home already. Or do I need to zap you again?

thats the last time they talk. adora gets teleported away by glimmer, and when they see each other again, its clear that they both made their choice.

the moment adora showed catra she was willing to leave her, there was no coming back for them. because catra would never get over that. she'd spend all her life in that hellscape, putting up with abuse and bullying and probably so much more we dont get to see, because of the promise adora made her. and, in her eyes, adora was ready to leave her on the first opportunity that came up. that hurt. that broke her. and that released something really ugly inside of her.

cue in 2,5 years of homoerotic rivalry and trauma. ok post over if you read this i hope you liked it <3 bye

#autism won today this took me 1 hour to write #she ra #catra #character analysis #ig?? #edit while reading old spop posts by other ppl i realized my mind might have plagiarized this from a post i read several years ago. my bad #it wasnt a conscious decision

[birindale]

Hi I just wanted to double check something I am pretty sure I read on this blog. Is the origin of C'yra of D'riluth iii from the original cannon or was it a later addition? Also what does "of D'riluth iii" actually mean? I remember there being some vagueness to what it means

Okay there's a long version and a short version of this story.

Short version: It was a later addition. In 2008 Mattel launched a toy line called Masters of the Universe Classics, which could only be ordered through their website and was aimed at the collector market. One of the things they did was include "character bios" in a sort of homage to the G.I. Joe toys of the 80s, which featured 'personnel files' that gave specializations and a brief character history, including their real names (e.g. Duke was actually named Conrad S. Hauser).

Catra's figure was released in 2011 for about $65 USD. Her bio (which I've lifted from a Poe Ghostal review) is as follows:

We (I, and my friends whom I've pestered for opinions) are pretty sure D'Riluth III is the name of her planet, even though another planet in the same solar system (from the New Adventures of He-Man in the 90s) has the Arabic numeral 7, so including Roman numerals is a strange choice.

Long version: There was a fellow working for Mattel at the time named Scott "Toyguru" Neitlich, and he was (and remains to this day) exceptionally bad at things like 'writing' and 'creativity'. He was never very interested in She-Ra, though he loves to tell the story of stealing his sister's doll one year, so to him Catra is simply an agent of the Horde... which, in order to adhere to the 2002-2003 tv show, was now 5,000 years old. This bio directly contradicts the Filmation canon of Catra's mask having belonged to the Magicat queen, for instance, and introduces a number of confusing details.

One of the least popular was Adora being Hordak's "step-daughter" instead of his "adopted daughter", which was already kind of a gray area since he didn't exactly raise her. Scott digging in his heels on the matter was actually how I learned he'd written the thing in the first place:

Now you may be wondering, jeez, it's pretty confusing and the writing isn't great but aren't you being kind of harsh? Surely the push-back from the He-Fans was bad enough. Well give me a minute, dang. This is the long version!

I reached out to him about a year and half ago to ask 1. How it's pronounced, 2. If he could confirm that D'Riluth III is the planet, and 3. If he remembered how he came up with it. He told me the following:

Some backstory here--Scott runs a bit of a one-man content farm, in an effort to avoid paying hosting fees for advertisements or actually engaging in SEO. He is a marketing consultant.

He used to upload a 5-10 minute video every day, but shortly after I contacted him that dropped to only five a week, and his weekly "Director's Commentary" videos about MOTUC figures that he worked on (largely just explaining who the character even is in an unedited stream of consciousness, as his videos became slideshows of google images) moved to bi-weekly.

I was like, okay, he left Mattel in 2014 right? So surely once he's through that year he'll get to this new series.

Nope! He's doing 2015 too! So I reached out again in January, just to like. See if he was still intending to cover the 'real names', which imo should have been part of his commentary to begin with, but...

He had forgotten <3 I explained no, I was asking about these specific questions that I had outlined in my first email (I had replied to his last message in the chain for simplicity's sake), and he just said he'd be doing it soon. So I was like oh, cool, do you know if you'll be doing one a week still? since that would put a Catra video about 4 years out as he does them in release order, and he then promised he'd get to it soon and didn't answer the question.

Annoying, certainly, but whatever. Unless one of us dies horribly I can wait it out, right?

WRONG.

Scott, being an idiot, has not credited a single one of the images he lifted from google over his four years of mostly-daily slideshows. And recently, somebody fucking noticed!

So this guy--Ethan Wilson, a very talented toy photographer and reviewer--was informed that Scott (in his capacity as Spector Creative, the name of his YouTube channel/consulting business) had been using his pictures in videos. Actually, let me use Ethan's own words here:

I decided to dig a little deeper into Spector’s channel, and found 81 instances of my photos being used in 68 of the channels videos.  None of these featured credit to me for use of the photos, and 48 of the 81 instances removed or obstructed my watermarks.

-About This Spector Creative Thing

I very strongly encourage you to read through this linked post, as it gets worse! Somehow!!

Scott, not noticing these as they came in over the course of 10 days, logged in to discover his channel had been taken down. He emailed Ethan in something of a panic to ask that Ethan reverse the claims as a 'professional favor', as Scott got all his clients through his channel's "advertising".

Now you're never gonna believe this... but when he and Ethan came to an understanding, suddenly Scott didn't give a shit.

He released a libelous video claiming Ethan had no rights to the images (he does) and that Scott could use them all he wanted because of Fair Use (he can't) and emailed Ethan the following.

First of all: this is bullshit. Copyright is automatic in the US, trademark wouldn't apply regardless, and as Scott should fucking know by now Ethan doesn't have a 'channel', he has a blog.

Second, he shot himself in the foot with the Fair Use defense by outright stating that his channel is his exclusive advertisement for his business and that he depends on his content to make a living. He said in his first video that it was "educational" 🙄

So Ethan realized Scott was a Fucking Liar and decided he should just copyright claim the rest of Scott's shit, in order to protect his images and rights thereto. YouTube can't take the channel down again unless Ethan is willing to pursue legal action--which he isn't, because he has a full time job and two kids and even though he'd probably win, it's a lot of time and energy.

I and a few others were trying to convince him that it would be worth it anyway, and looking into identifying and contacting the other artists Scott's stolen from over the years, when... Scott released a book. His first-ever graphic novel [looks into the camera like i'm on the office]

drawn entirely by AI.

So we have a frankenstein's monster of copyright infringement masquerading as illustrations (with all the uncanny valley that implies), Scott's technically and practically terrible writing, and the plot is Greek mythology. There are four and a half typos just in the free sample, and that's not including the words in images like his map or logo. He claims the title is a registered trademark but it certainly isn't registered in his state, or federally, and it's already in use by several other brands, so I wouldn't believe him even if he hadn't demonstrated a lack of understanding of copyright & trademark as recently as last week.

So I'm kinda fucking done waiting for answers! I can't trust a thing out of this guy's mouth! And he's pretty stupid, so do I even care what he thinks? I have decided that no. No I do not. I'll check back in 2028 and if he's survived + actually followed through then maybe I'll give his video a watch but until then it is simply pissing me off to remember this guy exists.

Sorry this turned into a rant I'm just really starting to loathe the guy. It's been an infuriating week or two. But uh... No, it's only canon to this one action figure line that ran for a little over a decade. We're certainly not beholden to it, it's more of a fun little in-joke for the fandom these days. You see someone use C'yra and you're like haha I know her! It's fun :3 Regardless of Scott's bullshit I enjoy seeing it around, and it's not like he owns or benefits from it in any way when maybe 1% of the people using it know where it comes from (and the people who know it was him specifically may be limited to the followers that have watched me complain about it).

Thank you for asking, I really do love asks even if the answer isn't what I want it to be lol. I'm happy to verify or explain anything I can!

#answers #gluttonforgay #catra #motu #motuc #c'yra of d'riluth iii

[aprillikesthings]

s5 ep8 Shot in the dark

woohooo

Off topic but while looking for fan art of Catra from the portal (ugh I need to try different tags) I instead saw a bunch of anti-Catra and anti-Catradora and anti-spop blogs and jfc people need to get a life and touch some grass and if I'm saying that--

(I mean, I did leave the house today with Saer and their mom, we went to Powell's books where I spent too much money but I got a couple of wlw manga and a Judith Butler book among a few other things, and also we went to a vintage clothing store that seemed to have NO END but I bought one thing there, a lavender satin bathrobe, the short kind; the only thing wrong with it was that it's a bit faded in some places and it's a little small on me but it's a bathrobe, and it was like $26 AND 100% SILK)

a question many astronauts have surely asked as well!

these two squabbling but not actually fighting always sounds like flirting, it doesn't help that a split second after that screenshot, Catra actually smiles for a second

Look. I love them.

Bow: "Adora, Catra's right" Everyone's eyes: go wide Bow: "...that felt weird to say"

the startled noise they all make when he starts talking lolol

but Catra has some flashes (from when she was in the hive mind) and says Krytis is a planet, nice. There's something there Horde Prime doesn't want them to know--so they head for Krytis, roll intro theme

:O

oh man they really did start changing this up every episode. Look at poor Perfuma's face.

Anyway on Krytis they find an old Horde ship and everyone else is trying to figure out what happened but poor Catra is remembering what it was like to be chipped :(

there's a cute moment when she notices her tail is all fluffy from fear and smooths it out before joining the others

there's a "crack" video where Entrapta's little walk here is dubbed with a clip from an ancient Spiderman show's theme song

ahaha

LOOK AT HER the way Bow says this is so great

POOR CATRA

Adora laughs longer than anyone else after Catra gets the helmet off and Catra blushes and smiles and everyone stands around not wanting the ruin the moment--and then Entrapta finds something and squeals and startles the shit out of everyone and it's SO GREAT

Catra: "So, wait, the plan is to barge ahead into the structurally unsound building to find some mystery person that we know nothing about, in hopes that they somehow know how to defeat Horde Prime?"

Bow: "You know, we were just gonna recklessly blast our way through that blockade until you stopped us. So this whole thing is basically your idea."

Catra's starting to realize what DORKS they all are and that good-natured teasing is just part of the deal

the GLEE with which they are including her

I didn't mean to get a screenshot that makes it look like Adora is staring at Catra's butt, but(t) I'm not mad about it

Meanwhile, on Etheria:

yikes

"and yet we're still stuck with you?"

HAH

Back on Krytis Wrong Hordak is having an existential crisis as he realizes Horde Prime is not perfect

Catra fuckin' slices a door into the wall

Bow: dunno if that's safe Glimmer: yeah I'm not sure about this either Adora: MY GIRLFRIEND IS STRONK and has v sharp claws isn't she perfect

seriously tho Adora is BLUSHING

Catra's face

Glimmer's too, actually

oh god it's the bit where Catra keeps sneezing at the spore things in the air and Bow is just like 🥺

Adora's reaction to this conversation is also priceless

Anyway a second later, Catra leans on the wall and sinks into it, she shrieks and Adora yells "CATRA!!" and when they pull her out the wall starts sending out HUGE MURDER SPIKES

Back on Etheria:

Castaspella: "You said you had a plan. The only reason I'm following you is because if anyone would know about mind control, it's you." Shadow Weaver: "Mind control? Is that what they told you? No. My gifts were always far subtler."

I dunno, I think torturing kids is hardly "subtle." But abuse is often hard to spot while it's happening to you.

y'know, like this shit

Okay in fairness she says she was less powerful as well and now he's chipped he's under control by the enemy and they're not strong enough to fight him

On Krytis, the Squad realizes they've gotten confused/turned around in the abandoned ship--"Isn't this where we started?!" There's a growling noise. The hallway somehow gets longer while they're walking in it. Creepy as fuck.

Oh and also it turns out Horde Prime and the First Ones fought over Krytis ages ago and Prime won but then abandoned the place anyway.

Entrapta: also there's someone right behind you

yay i know who this is lol

ALSO Catra insisting on protecting everyone is v cute

also it took me three times to get this screenshot ahahaha

and when she tackles it they both disappear

the audible PANIC

OH HEY i hit the image limit okay hold on

#april rewatches spop #shot in the dark

[vivaciouscynner]

I Never Hated You

"Hey, what's bothering you?" Adora sat next to her on their couch. It didn't face a tv or fireplace, but the giant window to their garden.

Catra was silent at first. It wasn't until she looked up at Adora's worried face did she start to speak. She offered a little huff, "It's nothing. Don't worry. I'm just... reflecting, y'know?" She looked up again to see Adora nudging her with an expression to continue. "Adora-" she dragged out the name.

"Come on, you should get it off your chest."

"Fine, but don't get like... defensive."

"I'm not! I mean..., I'm- I won't."

Catra rolled her eyes, but after another moment, she looked outside and stared to the garden like she was afraid how Adora would look if she held her gaze. "Look, it's in the past, it doesn't matter any more I just wanted to know is all. You said you never hated me..."

"Yeah, that's true. I said it and I meant it."

Catra continued to look out. "How- how is that even possible? Because I saw it once." She glanced at Adora who seemed perplexed by the idea that she even have the capability. "After the- when we-," she sighed hard. And she took the moment that she knew Adora was giving her. She could still see Adora was getting more tense the longer she waited. "When you made everything right after the portal." She hugged her knees and curled her tail. "That look you gave me when I got Hordak out. Then."

Air expelled from Adora's chest slow and steady realizing what she meant. She stayed silent for a moment, not to think about it, but to provide safety. "I can talk about it if you want, but only if you know that I love you and that will never change."

She turned her head towards Adora and said, "Okay."

"It wasn't hate. I didn't hate you then. I was furious. I was hurt. And I know I hurt you, too. I know this. But I didn't hate you."

"Adora, I wanted everything to burn. I wanted to end-"

"Am I wrong to say that you were not well?"

"Oh come on, don't act like I didn't know what I was I doing. I didn't care."

"Did you know I gave up?" Catra narrowed her eyes at this. "After I hit you, I thought I had time to reach the sword. I didn't. The world collapsed beneath me and I knew I failed. But you know what else I felt? Relief." She paused to let it sink in. "You know how hard I tried to be the spitting image of what everyone wanted me to be. And then, when I had no other options but to be consumed by the portal, I just said, 'Okay' and I was, for the briefest of moments, relieved I didn't have the responsibility to be chosen anymore. And then Angella scooped me up and all that fear all that pressure came right back. I was angry. And she-" Her throat slowly tightened and she closed her eyes to settle herself. "She didn't even let me be the one to pull out the sword. She didn't give me the option to end it." She raked and tousled her hair with her hand. "In hindsight, obviously this is better, being with you, it's better, but when I got through, when I got back, I was angry with her and I was angry with you."

"W-Why her?" Catra sniffed a tear away.

She swallowed, "Because the giant list of problems I was set to fix, that giant list that fizzled away when I thought it was all over, it all came back and then she added on to it. Not only did I fail to get the sword out myself, but I failed Glimmer. And don't get me wrong, I know what she did was noble and brave, but I was envious. Because that was supposed to be me." She tilt her head back as if that would stop the tears from leaking out. She sniffed into a saddened laugh. "I didn't know what I was doing back then - I kept fucking up. I was supposed to be the ultimate power and Bow and Glimmer and the other Princesses still had to save my ass. And this one thing I could have done was taken away from me. And I was angry with you," she sighed out, "Not even for pulling the switch."

Through teary eyes, "Then?"

"I was envious. I didn't know what you were going through back then. I really didn't, so what I say next, please don't-"

"I'm not, Adora, obviously."

"I thought how," she looked at her and then away, "wonderful it must have been to not care. Because I wanted so much to stay with you. I didn't want to fix anything, I didn't want to say yes to every problem. I didn't even know what She-Ra was capable of then, but I had her and surely she was able. And I thought how easy it would have been if you fixed everything, because you're more capable. Why couldn't you be She-Ra? I didn't know what I was thinking-"

This earned Adora a teary laugh that came with spare change. Adora reached behind her to get her a tissue. After Catra wiped her nose, she mocked, "For the honor of grAYsKulL!" They laughed a little together.

Their eyes met. "I really never hated you."

#catradora #a little angsty #spop #catra #adora #Pacing is bad but eh

[call-me-double-trouble]

Double Trouble Sexual Orientation Headcanons

I don’t know what inspired me to make this post, I just wanted to share my thoughts and the general vibes of various sexuality headcanons about our favorite enby lizard. Keep in mind, these are just my opinions, and they’re not backed up by evidence. This is all in good fun.

Under a cut because this might get long

Yes, I know that Jacob Tobia referred to them as gay in a tweet, and the SPOP Wiki lists them as Achillean based on this, but I’d argue this doesn’t technically count as canon, since it was never established in the show itself (the only possible mention being them calling Sea Hawk “Hot Stuff”), so I think people’s headcanons and non-achillean ships are perfectly valid. That said, I’m not against the idea of them being gay, and I can definitely see it.

Gay/Achillean: This definitely holds up. DT is a theatre kid, after all, and we all know theatre kids are gay (joking). They have big twink energy, and of course, the classic “That’s your cue, Hot Stuff.” Some of my favorite DT ships are with men (Bow, Wrong Hordak, Peekablue, and Sea Hawk). However, I still think they have good chemistry with Catra, and I personally like the headcanon that they had a crush on her and may have felt bitter at being second-best to Adora, thus fueling a bit of the meaner parts of their betrayal. I still imagine them with a preference for men, but I don’t think women are out of the running.

Lesbian/Sapphic: This one’s a lot less common. I’ve actually only seen one person headcanon this, though there may be a few more. They don’t quite give me lesbian vibes, but they do seem to have chemistry with Catra, and I like several ships involving DT with a woman (such as Catra, Adora, and Scorpia).

Bi/Pan/Omni/Poly: This is my personal headcanon and has been ever since I got to know the character. They just seem like the kind of person who has lots of affection to go around (whether this is romantic or sexual is up to you). I lean more towards bi or omni for them because, as I said, I feel like they have a preference for men, but I feel like they get crushes on women, too. Though, let’s be real, it’s more likely for people to crush on DT than the other way around. They KNOW they’re the hottest bitch on Etheria!

Aspec/Arospec: Another one of my personal favorites. Yes, I’m biased, since I’m ace, but COME ON, it’d be such a glorious defiance of expectations and stereotypes, and DT would live for the chaos they’d cause by oozing sexual energy and not being interested in doing a thing about it. They’d be this untouchable, irresistible them fatale and OWN IT. But I feel like they’d also be fun as an aroace because of their ability to read people. They’ve got it down to a science, and logically analyzing romance/sexual attraction in an attempt to understand it is SUCH an aroace mood. They also seem like the type who just wouldn’t be interested in dating, and as I said, it’d be great if this gorgeous, smooth-talking, flirtatious lizard in a skin-tight outfit wasn’t interested in sex. What a power move! Of course, you could also see them as ace and alloromantic, gray ace, demi, allosexual aro, etc. I like the idea of aroace DT as much as ace DT who DOES date. As for their intimate life, maybe they do, maybe they don’t, maybe they do and just don’t care much about it one way or the other, maybe they do only under specific circumstances—there’s a whole variety of ways an aspec and/or arospec DT can be written, and I think it’s one of the most interesting interpretations of this character!

Polyamorous: I mean. Obviously. DT is so easy to ship, so you might as well make them date everyone XD. But seriously, I love this headcanon and think it fits them very well, and it’s one that I include in daydreams and the few fanfic things I’ve written.

#double trouble #spop double trouble #she ra double trouble #double trouble headcanons #spop #my thoughts #mine

[spacebatisluvd]

I don't usually post headcanons here. In part because I a) don't really have the kind of encyclopedic knowledge much of the fandom has in regards to the canon and b) because many of my headcanons don't fit with commonly accepted fanon.

But. I like this one. And I don't think I'll get to use it for anything anyway, so here. Have a headcanon.

I have always really liked to think that there's more truth to the story Hordak tells Entrapta and the story he tells himself than we give him credit for. Granted, there's something gratifying about him being completely unremarkable to Prime, only to find love and life and a name when he comes to Etheria.

But the story he tells has always bothered me. It seems like a plothole or a red herring the writers threw us, just to keep us from figuring out the ending. Character-wise, though, having Hordak be that wrong about his own origins bothers me. It means he's either delusional to a distressing degree or he's lying.

We know he doesn't lie. It isn't in his character and seems to be something he finds offensive to an extreme degree.

Personally, I'm not fond of the delusional angle. (And, listen, I'm not really interested in started a debate here. I'm sharing a headcanon and, as a part of that, sharing why the common fanon isn't for me. I'm not trying to disprove anyone else's headcanon or trying to say mine is better. I'm simply sharing a headcanon I personally enjoy, because I suspect there are others out there who might enjoy it too. Please don't try to debate me about this.)

So, here are my thoughts--

We know Prime's vessels are mortal. We see an old Prime clone in a tank. We also know Prime can possess any of his clones, at any time. He seems to prefer the Prime vessel, probably for the sake of visibly standing above his clones.

However, we're never really shown how those vessels are made. Maybe they're simply a variant of a clone, but...I think something a little more sinister might be going on.

I think Prime alters pre-existing clones to create his vessels. I think each of his vessels was once as capable of free will and free thought as any of Prime's other clones. I think they used to be individuals, but after altering their bodies to suit him, I think he takes them over so completely that their minds are essentially burned out of their brains. But I also think the procedure itself is slow, and he doesn't occupy them before their transformation is finished.

Now, you can imagine how he chooses to be as impersonal or as personal and traumatic as you like it to be. Same with the procedure itself.

For me, I think to think the procedure is a form of very extensive gene therapy. And I think that sometimes, it goes wrong. I don't think Hordak is the first clone to be selected, to be disabled by the process, and to be sent to die before he can become an "embarrassment".

This headcanon fixes Hordak's origin story for me--I can see how he might come up with that by blending his own perception (that he was important to Prime) and his attempts to explain to Entrapta using language Entrapta would be familiar with.

It also fits with what we know of Prime and how he regards his clones. It ups the horror factor--not that it needs to be upped; that's just something I enjoy--and also explains why Prime would keep Hordak after he's found on Etheria. I can see Prime wanting to study how he's been affected by the alterations, how the degeneration has progressed, etc. (Maybe because he keeps losing vessels and he doesn't know why. Maybe because he's just curious and Hordak's a fun science experiment for him.)

So, yeah. Free headcanon, if you want it. It's a bit too extensive for me to use in Intimacy Log, so I probably won't ever touch on it. But that's definitely the background headcanon I'm using.

#headcanons #hordak #horde prime

[yourfellowhuman07]

Where Do We Go Now?

A She-ra: Princess of Power 2018 fanfiction

The war is finally over. Prime is dead, the hive mind is broken, and everyone is reunited with their loved ones. However, there are some questions left unanswered. What will be the fate of Catra and Hordak? What are these new memories Wrong Hordak has? What is Etheria's place in the wider universe? Where do we go now?

___________________

Chapter Six! Where two Hordaks turn into one Hordak.

___________________

Chapter 6: Realization

The two clones got about 100 paces from the rest of the Alliance before Hordak stopped to face Wrong Hordak, still gripping him by the bicep.

“< How old are you? >”

“< What? >”

“< How old are you? >” He repeated, stressing every syllable.

Wrong Hordak felt like he was staring into his soul; his stare was hard yet familiar. Wrong Hordak cleared his throat. 

“< 109 years old. >”

“< What was your job for the first 84 years of your life? >”

“< I served as a guard for the former top general of Horde Prime, s-sir. >”

A tsunami of relief crashed on Hordak. His facial expression turned soft, and his heart began to beat fast.

It is him. After all this time, he is still alive.

The realization finally occurred to Wrong Hordak, who was equally surprised and relieved. He decided to express this with a hug that pick up Hordak off the ground.

“< I’m so glad to see you! I was so confused about what happened to everyone. One day we were all together, and the next day everything went black. >”

“< I am happy to see you too. I did not expect to see you again. I thought Prime would have killed you. >”

“< Can’t get rid of me that easily. >”

“< Do you know if any of the others are alive? >”

“< No, I do not. I’ve only just got my memories back, and they’re still slightly fuzzy. >”

“< That is alright, >” Hordak paused, “< I might have a solution to our problem. >”

Hordak took off his hood and knelt on the ground followed by Wrong Hordak. Hordak unzipped the hidden bag feature and pulled out the Horde equivalent of a datapad.

“< Now let us see if the man changed the password… oh good, he did not. >”

“< What is this? >”

“< It is the clone database and has all the information regarding all clones throughout the history of the Horde. >”

“< So, you can see if the others are alive! >”

“< Exactly. >” Just as he said four files pop up, confirming they are all alive and all on Etheria.

“< My stars. We-well we need to find them, right now. >” Wrong Hordak shot up like a firework, but before he could run Hordak caught him.

“< No, not yet. The princesses could get suspicious if we are gone for too long. I do not want them to think I am harming you. My track record is already as bad as it is, and I do not want to get you in trouble. I promise once the time arrives we will look for them but now is not the time. Besides, they will be safe for now while they are on Etheria. >”

“< Ok, fair point, but you promise that we will look for them the minute we 

can? >”

“< I promise, TD. >”

“< Thank you, HK. Now speaking of Princesses, we should probably head back, they’re probably worried about us right now. >”

___________________________________

When the two men were out of sight, Scorpia tapped Entrapta on the shoulder.

“Sooooooo, what happened?”

“What do you mean?” Entrapta tilted her head.

“You and Hordak silly, what’s up with you too?” Entrapta still looked clueless. “I mean what did you talk about? Anything sappy or romantic?” 

“He did tell me that nothing in the galaxy could compare to me.”

Scorpia then let out a noise that closely emulated a boiling teapot, causing the rest of the alliance to turn their heads toward the girls.

“Oh, my moons! I knew it! What did he say? Are you two dating now? Can I be the godmother of your children?”

“Many sweet things, I believe so, and most likely.”

“Speaking of the monster,” Mermista cut in, “can we go ahead and talk about what we’re doing with him.” Mermista rose from her seat, looking at Glimmer for a response.

“Mermista, that is a decision we will make later.”

“Why wait? We’re all here, and Hordak and the other Hordak left.”

“Why can’t you just drop it!”

“Because I want that monster to get what’s coming to him!”

“And what exactly should be coming to him, Mermista?” Entrapta stood pulling down her mask.

“Beast Island.”

Entrapta gasped, how could she even consider that hellhole? 

“Entrapta, have you not seen all he has destroyed and how many people have died?”

“Those were casualties of war, something the Alliance is responsible for too with how recklessly you all use your powers!”

“Reckless?”

At that point, any traces of reason was lost as the argument devolved into pure nonsense until it was stopped by a sharp whistle.

Hordak and TD had made their way back to the Alliance where they were met with immediate silence. Entrapta immediately went to Hordak’s side, mask down. 

“Alright, everyone, let’s just go to bed, it’s late.” She walked off in a huff to the right followed by everyone except Mermista, Perfuma, Frosta, and Sea Hawk who went to the left, also in a huff.

Hordak knelt to meet Entrapta’s eyes filled with tears.

“Entrapta, what happened?”

“I don’t know, they started getting in my face asking all these questions about you. Which then turned into them yelling about what they were going to do to you, and Mermista was talking about sending you to Beast Island. Then I got scared about what would happen to you, an- and.”

“Entrapta, breath, please.”

Entrapta took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. She did not expect to be bombarded with all they had to throw at her, and the thought of Hordak dying on Beast Island made her want to vomit. Does Mermista not know how awful that place is, or how much she and Micah suffered there?

“Would you like to return to your tent, Entrapta?”

“That-that would be nice.”

“May I pick you up?”

“You may.”

Hordak gathered her into his arms, she nuzzled into his chest with a sigh.

“I will see you in the morning, TD. Get some rest.”

“Goodnight. See you two tomorrow.”

Hordak then dropped her off at her tent on the outskirts of the camp.

“Good night, Princess.”

“Good night, Hordak.”

#entrapdak #entrapta #hordak #spop #spop fanfic #scorpia #mermista #adora #catra #perfuma #frosta #hyperfixation #fanfic #wrong hordak #horde clones #she ra #glimmer #bow

[tallysgreatestfan]

I’m curious..why do you find Hordak to be more likable in comparison to Catra? Not that I disagree, but the reasons I hear are varying, and I’m wondering on yours. Intrigued as to what the possible(though unlikely) reply will be.

Sorry that I took so long to answer, lots of stuff going on. Anyway, I will censor her name here because this totally is stuff one gets harassed for in this fandom. Also please note that I do not mean this as "you are not allowed to like her because there are things that do not work well in her arc/because she did bad things". It is just stuff I personally can't like her anymore for, if it still works out for you, I'm glad, and nobody is a bad person for liking characters that did shit wrong.

It can be summarized with that I share more similarities with how Hordak deals with his trauma and his issues than how C*tra does, and also that for me the writing of his arc, while being fairly in the background and just not much, feels solid in a way the writing of her arc does not.

I am disabled, like Hordak (though not physically disabled), and like him, I feel that I kind of have to “make up” for being disabled or else I am worthless. I am not a conquering dictator, even if certain antis did claim that for no reason and with no proof, obviously. When something fails Hordak mostly directs his anger at himself, even if he does have aggressive outbursts at his environment, but they come from not being able to process his anger. C*tra blames others when something goes wrong. For her, she herself did everything right, and she behaves like this even far into season 5 where she still claims Adora is to blame for C*tras fate, and others get attacked and abused if she is unhappy with something. As someone who always blames myself first, this is very unrelateable, hard to understand, and frankly, not particularly likeable.

Also – and I don’t mean that as you are not allowed to like her, liking characters with flaws does not mean you are a bad person – Hordak does punish people for failing or threatening his safety far too extreme, but he does not enjoy it. He thinks, in a twisted way because that is all he learned, that being a monster is the morally right thing to do. C*tra, on the other hand, enjoys hurting people – her expressions when she again hurt Adora in some way are a very good indicator of that – and she knows that her behavior is morally wrong, and she still does it because of her psychological issues and because she needs to hurt Adora so badly.

I also find the way Hordak treats Entrapta far more likeable than the way C*tra treats Adora. Yes, they are enemies at war, but C*tra insults, manipulates, attacks and belittles Adora even in situations where she could do without that, or when she could reach her goals with far lesser abuse. Contrast Hordak who is the only person in the entire cast who both respects Entrapta at every moment and stands up for her. He is a horrible person, but not to her. The one time he lashes out at her is not because he wants to hurt her, but because he is not good at dealing with his emotions and under immense stress, and it is visible that he feels sorry for it.

Now, I do love femslash enemies to lovers, and I indeed even shipped them until mid season three, thinking that there would be a well-executed redemption arc where C*tra admits that what she did was fucked up and apologizes and the fallout of her abuse of Adora and all the others is dealt with in detail, and slowly. I even think that with a well-written redemption arc, her and Adora could work out (even if I don’t prefer it). But season 5 just did not really do that.

This is the second part of why I find Hordak more likeable. His narration parts are short, but the narration always admits that what he did is wrong and his trauma is not an excuse, and that he needs to do better. It is not actually a redemption arc, but him finding his freedom and with that loosing his motivation to be a dictator, so it is not that easy to compare, but it feels nuanced. His victims also do not directly forgive him.

For C*tra, the narrative bends over backwards to justify that what she did was not that bad and that her victims should sympathize for her and that her abusing Adora is romantic and love. Everybody forgive her and her favorite victim smooches her for barely changing at all. She still treats everybody around her badly, and while this could have been read as her change being gradual, the writing is just not good enough for it to feel that way, because there is no visible gradual change, just everybody praising her. Its frustrating, because she was such an interesting character up to season four, and there could have been such a good arc. But the narrative claiming that she is so innocent and perfect but never really showing it just, paradoxically, made me feel distant and even angry.

What also factors in is that there are many C*tra fans – not all of them, but enough to make it suck – who love to harass people like me, often even weaponizing our minority status against us and being biphobic and ableist, and then turning around and claiming we are the bigots for disliking a badly written character, or liking a character they personally dislike. So this also put a negative association to her.

#Hordak #anti c//a

[testudoaubrei-blog]

Well, it’s not quite a master’s thesis, but this is (the first of) a series of posts on why Catra and Adora are the best love story in the history of kids TV animation and maybe the greatest love story in the history of TV. This may in some ways be faint praise - romance on TV is generally not very good compared with books or movies. Often it’s just some will they/won’t they sexual tension that is defused by getting characters together and re-heightened by breaking them up. TV is full of nearly shark jumping pointless dramas like Sam and Diane (Cheers, holy fuck am I dating myself, though that was technically before my time), Ross and Rachel (Friends, which was no Cheers) etc, but also some less annoying couples like Ben and Leslie (Parks and Rec) or Amy and Jake (Bk99) who are mostly just kind of cute and fun. Other shows, like the X-Files, teased viewers for years with unresolved sexual tension. In kids shows most romances are, appropriate for their target viewers, mild, sweet relationships based more on self-conscious flirting and blushing than on complex and conflicted feelings or deep passions - which is pretty realistic when the characters are young teens or even mid-teens. Some of these relationships are really well done - Finn and Flame Princess, Dipper and Pacifica (yeah I ship them), the early stages of Katara and Aang (before the showrunners imbued this childhood crush with cosmic significance), Steven and Connie, etc. Catra and Adora, though, are different. Their love story is not a side plot or a sub plot, it’s the heart of the show. It isn’t a childhood crush, it’s a very messy and passionate relationship between two young adults. She-Ra is an emotionally complex lesbian romance just as much as it is a thrilling action/adventure show. Everything about their relationship is baked into the show’s plot, its themes, hell even its musical score. The dramatic tension between Catra and Adora is not the result of stretching out a flirtation for ratings, but a coherent dramatic arc that runs through the entire show. As Noelle said, he made Catradora so central that execs couldn’t take it out without ruining the show. And the show is better for it. In this series of posts I’m going to try to show why, as well as showing why She-Ra is such a fantastic love story.

First off, let’s talk about how Catra and Adora’s character arcs are foils for each other, and how they come together and apart through the series. This is actually a post that I’ve been working on for a while but I keep summarizing the show rather than cutting to the chase, so I’m not going to recite many plot points so much as sketch out what’s going on with the dramatic structure at the time. But also, let’s talk about what each character’s arc is saying, and how they are commenting on each other. Spoiler alert: Catra’s arc is a subversion and critique of stories of empowerment through ruthless self-assertion and revenge, while Adora’s arc is a subversion and critique of chosen one narratives and stories of self-denial and self-transcendence.

When the show starts, Adora and Catra are shown as rivals and friends - their first scene starts the recurring motif of them reaching out for each other as one of them dangles above an abyss, as well as establishing their flirtatious banter and easy camaraderie. We quickly learn that these two young women plan to conquer the world together. These scenes and later flashbacks show Catra and Adora as deeply enmeshed in each others lives, to the point where neither of them (but especially Catra) have clear identities outside of one another. There is so much genuine love on both sides before Adora leaves, but also resentment, envy and fear, especially on Catra’s side, as well as a protectiveness on Adora’s side that deprives Catra of her autonomy. They are both being abused by Shadow Weaver - Catra physically  and emotionally, Adora emotionally. It wouldn’t be too much to say that Shadow Weaver holds Catra hostage to control Adora (this is why critiques that Adora abandoned Catra to be abused are actually kind of messed up, since they accept Shadow Weaver’s premise that Adora is responsible for what Shadow Weaver does to Catra). In addition, Catra and Adora actually see the world incredibly differently. Adora already sees the world in terms of right, wrong and her destiny to right wrongs - this is why it’s important for her  to accept the Horde’s obvious lies - she couldn’t keep living if she didn’t. Catra, on the other hand, sees the world solely in terms of survival and personal loyalty - everything for her is about preserving herself and the person she cares about - Adora.

Then, when Adora finds the sword, she leaves because it’s the right thing to do. Catra doesn’t even have a concept of ‘the right thing to do’ being something she should care about, or perhaps, something she can care about as an irredeemably evil, awful fuck-up. So at Thaymor neither one understands where the other is coming from, and Catra and Adora begin to part. This is the first turning point in their relationship. Adora chooses duty over what she desires, Catra chooses to protect herself (such as she sees it) and nurse her sense of betrayal and abandonment.

Their relationship until Promise is a kind of weird Frenemy thing that is fascinating to watch and sold me on the show. Neither one wants to fully admit to themselves that the other is now their enemy, neither one has given up on changing the other’s mind. Each is furious at the other, and desperate to see her again at the same time. There’s a lot of heartache and just as much sexual tension, especially at Princess Prom. Both of them come alive when they fight each other (more about that in a later post). But they’re already growing apart - Adora embracing her destiny as She-Ra, Catra rising in the ranks for the Horde. Adora now has the purpose she always wanted, plus other friends and a sense of being chosen to do something great, while Catra now has power - the means to protect herself from people like Shadow Weaver as well as the vindication she had always been denied, and even the opportunity to beat Shadow Weaver at her own game.

The next turning point is Promise. Holy fuck, this episode. It’s an episode that is even more heartbreaking after you’ve watched the show because you know just how much worse things are going to get, and yet, it’s a necessary part of both of their character arcs. Even through season 1 Catra and Adora had remained very much enmeshed in each others lives in an increasingly fucked up way as they grew apart but refused to turn away from each other. Even though they aren’t -exactly- a romantic couple (Adora doesn’t recognize and acknowledge her feelings until the last episode of Season 5), Season 1 of She-Ra is one of the worst breakups I have seen on TV. As I said in a couple of previous posts, this is the kind of shit that the Mountain Goats write songs about. Everything that was poisoning their love for each other even before episode 1 bubbles to the surface and combines with them fighting on opposite sides of the war to make a truly fucked up situation. In the end, it’s Catra that makes the choice to turn away from Adora. This isn’t a -good- decision. It’s spiteful, and destructive, and based on an outright deluded understanding of their relationship (inspired by Light Hope’s manipulations and her own issues), but it’s in some ways a necessary decision. Catra has been so wrapped up in Adora for so long that she isn’t going to be able to figure out who -she- is without cutting Adora out of her life. And the same is true of Adora.

But each of them do this in about the worst way possible. Catra embraces destruction, ambition, manipulation and outright cruelty, turning the tactics of her abusers against them and against everyone around her. She first triumphs over Shadow Weaver and manipulates Entrapta into trying to corrupt Etheria itself. Meanwhile Adora ‘lets go’ and commits herself to the self-denying mantle of She-Ra. Over the next several seasons, their respective paths will nearly lead both Catra and Adora to their deaths (in the Season 4 finale).

For the next season (counting season 2 and 3 as one) Catra and Adora are still closely linked, but as enemies. Still, there’s more than enough flirtation between them (that ‘Hey Catra’ in the first episode of Season 2 is something else), and especially on Adora’s side we see her hold back with Catra, and often take responsibility for the harm Catra inflicts, just like she had when they were kids. Yet they still drift apart - after facing off every other episode in Season 1, they spend less and less time on screen together through season 2 and 3. Catra continues her ascent to power and descent into villainy while Adora becomes more of a stressed out mess as she takes the fate of the world and the wellbeing of everyone she cares about on her admittedly broad shoulders. Catra’s one moment of vulnerability is rewarded by Shadow Weaver’s betrayal and her exile, then Catra triumphs in ruthless badass fashion through sheer desperation and aggression. In the Crimson Wastes, we see Catra at her most independent, and she almost seems happy. But once Adora shows up and Catra hears about Shadow Weaver, she’s sucked back into the worst of her resentments, and she makes very clear that being happy is less important to her than making sure Adora is miserable.

This changes everything. Catra completely breaks with reality and tries to kill Adora, herself and the world rather than lose to Adora and Shadow Weaver (I do think it’s important to remember that she does that after Shadow Weaver nearly kills her). Catra betrays everyone around her when she exiles Entrapta, threatens Scopria and lies to Hordak. Then she flips the switch. When Adora tries to fix things, Catra fights to her own death to make sure that the world disintegrates with her. For her part, Adora fights first to understand what is wrong with the world and then to fix it. Finally she tells Catra that destroying the world is her choice and she has to live with it, decks her, and then sees her off with a death glare once the portal is closed. With this, Adora writes Catra off even if, as she says later, she never never hated her. By doing that, Adora casts off the guilt that had dogged her and takes responsibility for her own life rather than someone else’s - this is actually a huge step for her, and one that will become more important in Season 4.

Season 4 is in many ways the nadir of their relationship. They only see each other once during the entire season, in Fluterrina, when Adora tries to blast Catra, much to the latter’s shock. There’s a sense in that scene that Catra is trying to have the same flirtatious enmity she used to have with Adora, and Adora is having none of it. Catra almost seems hurt by this, which is an early hint at how isolated Catra is beginning to feel. Catra spends the rest of the season at her highest and lowest. On the one hand she spends most of 12 episodes winning by every standard she has ever claimed to care about, besting Hordak himself in single combat and making herself co-ruler of the Horde and coming within a day’s march of ending the Rebellion. In many ways it is the ultimate empowerment fantasy - the abused young woman has defeated her abusers, showed up everyone who doubted her and forced everyone to respect her. But I think it’s striking that the show starts with her and Adora dreaming of conquering the world together and in Season 4 Catra nearly succeeds in conquering it alone, almost like she was trying to live out her old shared fantasy while proving she didn’t need her former best friend. 

At the same time, Catra is clearly miserable. She’s always been unhappy, but in Season 4 we see her completely isolated and lying to herself and everyone who will listen in a desperate attempt to justify her actions. Turning the tactics of Hordak and Shadow Weaver against them to gain power and then against Scorpia and Entrapta to maintain it haven’t vindicated Catra, they’ve made her more and more alone as Entrapta is exiled and Scorpia drifts away. Meanwhile Catra reaches out to Double Trouble, and her interactions with them reek of a kind of desperate desire to have someone in her life (the feeling of their interaction is of an unhealthy casual relationship where one partner becomes emotionally invested and the other takes advantage of that while denying the other the closeness they desire). As people leave her, one after the other, it becomes clearer and clearer that Catra doesn’t want power at all - she wants connection, friendship, love, and power is a very poor replacement. As I said in my long Catra rant, Season 4 is both her ‘Walter White as a Catgirl’ season and the beginning of her redemption. Everything comes to head when Sparkles destroys everything Catra has tried to achieve, Double Trouble delivers those harsh truths and Horde Prime shows up and makes it all irrelevant, just highlighting how futile all her struggles and sacrifices and crimes have been.

Meanwhile Adora spends Season 4 becoming her own her and her own woman. After telling off Catra, she grows more and more disillusioned with Light Hope and critical of Glimmer (though the latter has more than a shade of her old habit of taking responsibility for others - Adora’s development is not linear). She’s gained the courage and confidence to strike out her own path, not just follow a destiny. At the season’s end she once again breaks with her best friend to do what is right, and discards the destiny that she was being prepared for. But in this case she isn’t chasing one packaged destiny for another, instead she’s making her own choice and literally shattering the thing that she thought gave her life purpose. It’s badass, and heartbreaking, and along with decking Catra and jumping after Catra into the abyss (see below) it’s the perfect Adora moment.

In many ways Season 5 starts with Catra and Adora farther apart than they have ever been. They aren’t even enemies anymore, they’re completely out of each other’s lives. And both Catra and Adora are lost at the beginning of Season 5 - Catra is useless and alone on Prime’s ship, completely defeated despite ostensibly being on the winning side, and she goes through the motions of her normal plotting without any particular conviction and none of her normal flair. Meanwhile Adora is even more miserable and self-destructive than usual, throwing herself at Horde Bots and working herself until she drops of exhaustion. In a very real way they both stay lost until they have a chance to help the other. Catra takes responsibility for what she’s done and what she can do, saves Glimmer (at least partly for Adora’s sake), apologizes to Adora, and sacrifices herself. Adora only seems to come alive when she decides to turn around, face Prime, and save the cat. And when she does, Catra and Adora’s arcs, which had separated so completely in season 4, come crashing back together to end the series.

Adora during Save the Cat is such a contrast with the uncertain, hesitant and self-destructive wreck we’ve seen so far in Season 5. This is possibly her craziest plan in 3 years of mostly cazy plans, but she never wavers or questions herself. Even when Chipped Catra appears and we see Adora’s heart break while we watch, Adora doesn’t back down or relent. She keeps at it even as the tears stream down her face. She fights better trying to save Catra without She-Ra’s powers than she fought at the Battle of Bright Moon with them. Catra’s just about as desperate - we see her cry and plead, and now is probably as good a time to any to point out how amazing a job both VAs did throughout the show, but especially in this episode, and how good a job the board artists did. 

Seeing each other for the first time in a year, and only the second time since Catra blew everything up, Catra and Adora are probably the rawest and least restrained we’ve ever seen them. There’s barely any banter, no bravado, and no pretense that they are anything other than two women who desperately need each other (Prime doesn’t help with ‘You broke my heart’.) Then Catra is flung to her death, Adora jumps after her, breaks both her legs in the fall (we see her crawl to Catra, as though she couldn’t walk) and becomes the real She-Ra. It’s such a triumphant and deeply queer moment seeing a woman transformed into a warrior goddess to protect the woman she loves, and it’s the reason that, as dark as it is, Save the Cat is my Comfort Food episode.

Let’s not sleep on Taking Control, though. This episode is like a microcosm of what this show does best, especially the A plot with Catra and Adora. Catra’s reversion to lashing out at everyone and her refusal to be open to Adora shows just how much of a struggle this whole ‘being good and trying to connect to people’ thing is. Catra’s outburst gives Adora a chance to stand up for herself and refuse to be Catra’s punching bag, while also not trying to control her. Adora’s ultimatum gives Catra a chance to reach out to Adora (quite literally), and allow herself to be vulnerable. In this episode, we see just how far Catra and Adora have come since the messed up stew of their relationship in Season 1. Adora lets Catra be responsible for her own actions; Catra lets herself be vulnerable to Adora and takes responsibility for her actions. They’re both better people and better friends and better partners than they were, and the show has shown this in a strikingly nuanced and realistic way. 

The important thing to note in the next few episodes of Season 5 isn’t just how much closer Catra and Adora get to each other and how much they flirt (So much. So much, y’all) but just how -happy- they are. We see both of them transformed in the other’s presence. Basically, since they’ve parted, both Catra and Adora have been defined in no small part by how miserable they often are. They have both had their triumphs and their lighter moments, but there’s been a sense of melancholy dogging both Catra and Adora since episode 1. And now that they’re together again, that lifts, somewhat. Catra’s verbal barbs have lost their venom, and she can openly show how much she cares for Adora and even Bow and Glimmer. She’s still herself - snarky, cynical, somewhat devious - but she’s not engaged in a self-destructive zero-sum struggle with everyone around her. Meanwhile Adora has spent 4 seasons being a neurotic and sometimes nearly joyless mess who takes responsibility for everything and often doesn’t let herself enjoy anything other than the odd BFS group hug (exceptions include trying to uh...impress Huntara and reveling with the butterfly ladies of Elberron in Flutterina).  Around Catra, though, she’s a cocky, swaggering jock who gives as good as she gets. It’s a side of Adora we’ve only seen hints of before, and one that’s so much more confident and joyful even as the world is ending around her. Apart, Catra had tried to protect and vindicate herself with power and conquest, while Adora had tried to forget herself in duty and sacrifice. Together, they can be themselves again. This dynamic is crucial to the show’s portrayal of Catra and Adora’s romance because it doesn’t just show how much they love each other, but how they’re -good- for each other now that they’ve grown as people, and that they are so much better than they were when they were apart.

Until Shadow Weaver shows up. Their old abuser reintroduces tensions but even then things are different than they were. Now Catra isn’t just resentful of how Shadow Weaver prefers Adora - she’s  protective of Adora, which is clearest in Failsafe when she calls Shadow Weaver out for being willing to sacrifice Adora. And while Adora takes the Failsafe, it isn’t to follow her destiny or because she has a death wish - it’s because she loves her friends, and she is the only one who has any hope of doing this and living (though Catra’s suggestion that Shadow Weaver take it is a good one). And finally, when Catra leaves Adora, it isn’t because she hates Adora, nor, despite what she says, is it because she really thinks that Adora chose Shadow Weaver. At least, not exactly. It’s because Catra loves Adora, and can admit that to herself, and can’t stay around and watch the woman she loves sacrifice herself rather than choosing Catra. Before Catra leaves, she asks Adora ‘What do you want?” It’s a question that echoes Shadow Weaver’s speech in Episode 1: ‘isn’t this what you always wanted since you could want anything?’ As much as Adora has grown as a person, and defined herself and stood up for what she thinks is right, she still has never answered that question - it’s never been ‘what do I want’ but ‘what do I have to do?’ and that’s how Adora answers Catra’s question. This is Adora’s last gasp as a self-transcending hero, letting go of what she wants (not that she ever dared articulate what that was) in order to do what must be done. And it nearly kills her and dooms the universe, because Adora can’t be the hero that she needs to be by being anyone less than herself.

But it’s losing Catra that inspires Adora to tell off Shadow Weaver for good (not that she’d ever really warmed to her after season 1). And it’s love for Adora that inspires Catra to stand up to Shadow Weaver and demand that she do the right thing. In both cases, Catra and Adora aren’t just standing up to their abuser, but holding her to account for the harm she’s caused, and it’s the love that they have for each other that inspires them to do this. In Catra’s case in particular her refusal to let Shadow Weaver weasel out of finding Adora is a much greater triumph over Shadow Weaver than beating her up and breaking her mask in Season 1 - it’s proof not so much to Shadow Weaver but to Catra herself that Catra really is better than this and that she deserves better than this. It’s not turning her abuser’s tactics against her, but truly holding her to a moral standard and demanding that she do the right thing.

And then there’s Catra and Adora together at the heart. Catra has already come back for Adora and stayed to the end, choosing to die with her even if she can’t share a life together (not out of some death wish, but because Adora needs her). And Adora, who’s been avoiding answering the question for three fucking years, finally let’s herself want Catra when Catra finally confesses her love (breaking the last of her self-protective shields) and asks Adora to stay -for her-. And by admitting what she wants, Adora can truly be at peace with herself and be the hero she needs to be, lesbianism saves the universe, The End.

So anyway, that’s how Catra and Adora’s stories are woven together and how they compliment and comment on each other. Narrativiely, Adora and Catra start together, come apart, find something of themselves, and truly find themselves and each other when they are reunited. Thematically, they are critiquing seemingly opposing narrative tropes - empowerment narratives and narratives of self sacrifice. But by showing the flaws in both types of story and showing how neither self-seeking empowerment nor self-negating self sacrifice can actually make us happy, She-Ra asks and answers more profound questions than most prestige dramas for adults do. I’ll get into how the show sells the idea that the power of love can bring us happiness (and save the world) in a future post. But next up, I’m going to celebrate just how much Catra and Adora’s relationship revels in ambiguity, complexity and contradiction and so tells a grown up love story in a kid’s show.

#she ra #she ra spoilers #she ra adora #spop #catradora #she ra netflix #she ra and the princesses of power #goat ship #long #meta

[noperopesaredope]

Fics That I Really Like A Lot

So, I just wanted to make a post uplifting some really great fics I’ve read/am subscribed to or still keeping up with. I like to let people know about other creators, and I just wanted to mention some works I think people should check out.

(Note, this post was made on Sep 2, 2021, so when I say something is recent, I mean compared to when I made this post)

Tangled the Series Fics (Mostly Varian Fics):

Walls of Stone (Finished)

Varian and Whumptober 2020 (Series) (Finished) (Sidenote; I really like this author in general, but there is just so much great whump and extreme angst in this series! Says they are but a humble freshman, but I say they are a very skilled freshman!)

How Pneumonia Stopped a Stubborn Alchemist from Descending into Villainy (Finished)

Screw Treasure, I got Trauma (Finished)

Tangled One-shots (Series) (Finished? I Think?)

Voluntary Manslaughter (Finished)

I’ll Always Lend an Ear (Finished)

Drown Your Past, Burn your Future (Series) (Unfinished, but still going strong)

Scars of a Child (Series) (Unfinished)

Unrelenting Silence (Finished)

Where was the happily ever after? (Finished? Unsure)

All our Dreams (Down the Drain) (Unfinished)

Not All Falling Stars Grant Wishes (Finished)

Alchemy Lullaby (Series) (Finished)

Insignificant (Finished)

Second Chances (Almost finished)

The Pawn Decides Its Fate (Finished)

Unsaid Emily (Finished)

Today, Today (Finished)

The Pride in Your Eyes (Unfinished, but still somewhat new)

Monster (Finished)

You Are Enough (Finished)

An Alchemist’s World (Unfinished, but the first four chapters could definitely work as a standalone fic, so, in my eyes it’s finished)

Too Smart for Your Own Good (Unfinished, going strong)

To find the Sundrop (Unfinished)

There’s More in You (Unfinished)

The Science of Love (Unfinished, going very strong)

Season 2 But Gayer (Unfinished, going strong-ish)

On My Honor (Series) (Unfinished, going extremely strong with consistant updates)

A Prince and His Bodyguard (Series) (Unfinished, going strong)

Rocks, Wolves, and the Moon (Series) (Unfinished, going strong)

Return to Me (Unfinished, going strong)

Perilous Night (Unfinished, possibly discontinued, but worth a bit of the read)

Nomad (Unfinished, author is working on multiple projects, so IDK)

No Reward for Second Place (Unfinished, but fairly new and somewhat well updated)

Oath of the Lawbreaker (Unfinished, possibly discontinued)

New Quest for Varian (Unfinished, fairly new)

My Dear Son (Unfinished)

Insignificant (Finished)

Indentured (Unfinished, same author as Nomad)

Enter the mind, remove the sins (Unfinished, going pretty strong)

Darkness exists to make the light truely count (Unfinished, going strong. Updated about every month or two, with consistency)

Creeping Crystals (Unfinished, but going somewhat strong)

Blood of My Brother (Unfinished, going as one of the strongest in its fast updates)

Cyclorama (Finished) (Companion to Blood of My Brother)

Chemistry in Motion (Unfinished)

Away from Home (Unfinished)

Alone? (Unfinished-ish)

It’s just a mild inconvenience (Unfinished, possibly discontinued)

Gauze in the Wound (Unfinished, pretty consistent last I checked)

Blood Makes the Knife Holy (Series) (Unfinished, but each part could work as their own fics, and it’s still going)

A Progression of Events (Unfinished)

He Needs Me (Unfinished, going strong)

Or So They Though (Unfinished, going pretty strong)

The Long Road Back to Home (Unfinished, hasn’t been updated in a bit, but is pretty long and each chapter could take about a couple months to finish, and even longer if the creator is stuck/has other fics. Still worth the read)

The Road Home (Different) (Unfinished)

Reunion at Sea (Unfinished, going strong)

Elements of Angst (Unfinished, probably updated soon)

Arson (Unfinished, every time it think that maybe it’s been discontinued, it comes back)

Unconventional Family (Unfinished, possibly discontinued)

To find the Sundrop (Unfinished)

Wayward AU (Comic) (Unfinished, pretty consistent)

RWBY (Mainly Oscar Fics):

It’s Venomous (Finished)

Will you stand and be brave or be broken? (Finished)

Oscar Gets Himself a Coat (Finished)

Who You Belong To (Finished)

Imperfect Light (Finished)

Shell (Finished)

Blood on Both Hands (Finished)

Tell Me that I am a Fool (Finished)

If i believed in destiny i'd have to hunt it down and punch it in the face (Series) (Unfinished, can have the occasionally long hiatus, but the creator comes back)

Is Oscar okay? no but the answer is b (Finished)

Running From Memories (Finished)

Rescue Me (Unfinished)

Souls of Love and Bravery (Unfinished, relatively consistent updates)

Revert To Last Save File (but it's the wrong file) (Unfinished, but still going)

Broken Body and Souls (Finished)

Camp Camp:

David’s Family (Unfinished, possibly discontinued)

Horror Camp (A little too much child whump for me, but it’s very whumpy) (Unfinished)

Inconvenience (Unfinished)

Still Here (One of my favs) (Finished)

Hetalia (Mainly America and Canada Centric):

Recovering the Broken Pieces (Unfinished, possibly discontinued)

Hetalia 2020 - WWIII and more (Unfinished)

(More fics in the crossover section)

She-ra (Quite a few Kyle ones):

The Chronicles of Kyle (Unfinished)

Sunflowers (Finished)

She-Ra: In the Wake (Unfinished)

Princesses and co. work through their issues (Unfinished)

What is Heard (Cannot be Unheard) (Finished)

Long Way Home (Unfinished)

The Hollowed of Etheria (Discontinued. For now at least. Author might revamp it)

Hordak and the Orphans of the Horde (Unfinished)

Big Sis (Finished)

Ex-Horde (Finished? Pretty good on its own though)

Prisoner of Conscience (Unfinished, still going strong)

Tales of Arcadia (Mostly Douxie Fics):

The Immortal Bonds (Unfinished, going strong)

I Can Make RotT So Much Worse (Unfinished, going strong)

Not After 900 Years (Finished)

A Different Path (Finished)

Half-Remembered (Finished)

Shattered Timelines (Unfinished, going strong)

In the Fullness of Time (Unfinished, updated recently)

One Last Time (Unfinished, updated recently)

Tales of Arcadia Watch Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (Unfinished)

Crossover Fics:

Sold (TTS/HtTYD) (Finished) (Author is really good at angsty oneshots that should be made into full fics)

Varian’s Mysterious Transport (TTS/Infinity Train) (Unfinished, unexpected updates)

Of Rocks and Robots (TTS/Big Hero Six) (Series) (Unfinished, very consistent)

(Like the moon) I'll sway the tide and lead you astray (TTS/HtTYD) (Unfinished, haven’t read in a while)

Heathers and other fandoms react to stuff (Multifandom Crossover Fanfiction) (Unfinished, confusing update schedule, not every fandom gets much spotlight, still incredibly fun)

Chemistry in Motion (TTS/Big Hero Six) (Unfinished)

The Weight of Both Worlds (Hetalia/RWBY) (Series) (Finished) (My favorite fic ever)

Infinity (Hetalia/BNHA) (Unfinished, possibly discontinued)

G8 china in UA, 1-S class! (Hetalia/BNHA) (Unifinished, possibly dicontinued)

That Which Makes Up This Land (Hetalia/ATLA) (Unfinished, author is editing and reposting all their series, which could take about a year, but it will be back)

A Waterbending Quirk (ATLA/BNHA) (Unfinished, going strong)

Other Fics:

Earth is Odd Enough (Sanders Sides) (Unfinished)

UA Faculty Tiktok OCs (BNHA) (Webtoon) (Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63lWYueDsek&t=208s, she’s amazing) (Unfinished. The Tiktoks, on the otherhand, are very much still going)

Harry Potter and the Lack of Lambsauce (Harry Potter) (Finished)

Grinch x Tony the Tiger (You know) (Unfinished)

Flowey is Not a Good Life Coach (Undertale) (Finished)

It Wears a Mask (MCU Spiderman) (Finished)

A Different Fate (Harry Potter) (Finished)

A crack in the glass (eye) (ATLA) (Finished)

Identity Saga (MCU Spiderman) (Series) (Unfinished, author is very dedicated to fic and is incredibly determined to finish it, so highly unlikely to be discontinued)

Bakery Enemies AU (Miraculous Ladybug) (Comic) (Unfinished, going strong)

Authors I Like:

AquaQuadrant aka @aquaquadrant (probably know them if you’re in the Varian fandom. Ridiculously talented)

bethhigdon (in the TTS fandom and the Big Hero Six fandom, but also other stuff)

Cate_9xBlue aka @cate-9xblue (known best for their TTS fics)

Royalsciencenerd (Writes amazing TTS Varian fics)

HoneyxMonkey aka @honeyxmonkey (Writes TTS fics and talks a lot about Tales of Arcadia on their blog. Has some great ideas)

Sand_wolf579 (Has a large and varied catalogue)

ExploretheEcccentricities aka @exploretheeccentricities (Lots of TTS fics)

ShadowSnowdapple aka @shadowsnowdapple (RWBY Oscar fics that are amazing)

Widowfics (Great TTS writer)

AMax76 (Wrote the amazing Blood of My Brother)

violetsaren_tblue (has some great TTS fics I like)

Time Traverser (Excellent Hetalia America and Canada Fics)

Aloneintherain aka @captainkirkk (Just started reading their stuff, SO many excellent Spider-Man fics)

So yeah, just giving some appreciation for all the fic creators out there and their creations!

#fanfiction #fanfic #fanfic recommendation #writer appreciation #tts #tts fandom #tts fanfic #tts varian #rta varian #rta fanfic #rta #varian #tangled varian #tangled the series #rapunzles tangled adventure #tangled fandom #rta fandom #rwby #oscar rwby #oscar pine #hetalia #she ra #she ra netflix #she ra and the princesses of power #tales of arcadia #toa #toa wizards #toa douxie #hiserdoux casperan #trollhunters

[thestorybrookeclocktower]

So I started to rewatch the show and I'm noticing things I didn't see the first time, of course. This one I think that is really important.

In this scene, Catra is being quite aggressive to Entrapta, she grabs her and scowls at her very intensely. Now, the first time I watched it I thought "well of course, it's Catra we're talking about". But I watched closer this time.

Catra knows one thing here: to stop people from doing something you don't want them to do, you must frighten them. And she learned that from mommy Shadow Weaver.

Also, she likes Entrapta. Entrapta is an outsider, like her. She's smart and she can help her to defeat the Rebellion, and she's been left behind by Adora, like her the Rebellion. Entrapta is one of the few people Catra likes to touch, she does that pretty often (the only other one is Adora, just saying). They're both smoll but deadly also.

Let's go back to that scene. Catra is violent and aggressive, and she tries to scare Entrapta off. One might think that it's because she doesn't want her to be Hordak's lab partner. And they'd be right. She doesn't want her around Hordak, not even for a second, because...

...that's what she's just experienced with him! He almost asphyxiated her (that's torture guys). He threatened her life, and all she wants is to protect her friend and make sure that he doesn't do it to her too.

Of course she does it the wrong way, but it's the only way she knows. And this leads me to another persone she mistreats all along...

It made me think. Catra is kind of mean to Scorpia, but she wants her around, as friend. In fact, Scorpia leaving was the last straw for her...

So I started thinking: what if she kept pushing her away to protect her? Let me explain.

Scorpia's feeling for Catra become obvious quite soon. And that's exactly when Catra starts snapping at her. I might be wrong, but I do believe that she pushed Scorpia away because she knew...

She always knew. And so she knew that she couldn't give Scorpia what she needed, she couldn't love her the way Scorpia loved her. So she protected her, the only way she knew.

That's only my opinion (I even wrote it in my fanfic), but Catra can be so empathetic and protective, we see it in season 5 of course, so, that's what crossed my mind.

#catra #spop #she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #entrapta #scorpia #catradora #catra shera #spop catra #catradora stole my soul and i don't even want it back #she ra catra

[aprillikesthings]

I think I finally have the energy for more rewatch

We're on the home stretch now folks

*cries*

s5 ep9 An Ill Wind

Me when I started doing this nearly two months ago: oh my god I can't do this for every episode it'll take me MONTHS to watch them all I want is to refresh my memory of the show enough to write my damn fic

Me now, having done this for Yes, Every Fucking Episode: I'm not ready for the show to be over ;_; Also I am devastatingly obsessed with Catra and learned I have a specific kink I didn't know the name of before and I keep practicing eyeliner like every night so I can cosplay Catra :D

ahahahah oh god

also from here on out I am going to not read the synopses

(I didn't do that for most of the episodes anyway tbh)

Glimmer can teleport relatively far distances with multiple people again but Catra is NOT a fan

also they're toUCHING

Adora, looking into the woods: hey come look at this

Catra: *still suppressing puking from some form of motion sickness caused by teleportation*

oh they find the empty torn up camp

Glimmer: maybe they went to Bright Moon or Mystacor? Catra: dude you know they could all be chipped so maybe we should be careful Glimmer: oh you don't trust princesses? Adora: Catra's right Catra: *grins in satisfaction*

just look at her

the fuckin. lack of subtlety here. as always. *chef's kiss*

("ugh they didn't HAVE to be so obvious don't you think it's Too Much" listen I've literally seen people who've watched Arcane be surprised to find out that people are shipping Vi and Caitlyn. "Really? I didn't think that was romantic." You didn't? Did we watch the same fucking show??? The one where those two have romantic tension so thick you could carve it with a KNIFE? The one where they had an overdramatic breakup scene in the rain even tho they hadn't kissed or anything? The one where they lay on Caitlyn's bed and talked about Vi's past while making significant eye contact and holding hands and Caitlyn pet Vi's face? That scene where they hug on the bridge and Vi does that like, face pet thing before walking off and they're clearly both in AGONY at being separated?! Are you really that fucking oblivious??? Jesus H Christ. Yes She-Ra made it SUPER OBVIOUS because some people are BAD AT PICKING UP THIS SHIT also She-Ra is aimed at kids and they haven't learned subtlety. Arcane was aimed at adults.)

no really I've seen people express surprise that people think they're going to be a couple. when that ^ was after they'd known each other like two hours

(seriously tho, if you can handle violence (there's a LOT ngl, it is not a show for kids) then you should watch Arcane, the people who make it have made it pretty clear that it's gonna be canon, and the next season is out in November; but also leaving shipping aside it's just REALLY, REALLY GOOD)

ANYWAY back to other animated lesbians

lol Glimmer teleports them all again without warning and Catra really does look like she's gonna hurl

And Erelandia ain't looking so good, oops

(but also yes Adora helped Catra up again)

intro is the same as the last episode

AHAHAH a dozen planets are rebelling against Horde Prime he's so pissed. And they apparently all mention She-Ra

yeah I am again surprised at how much of the actual plot I forgot lol (but I remembered that Glimmer liked to sneak into the kitchen to eat cake with her hands. Y'know. Important things.)

given his tiny facial reactions I think that's Hordak-Hordak. Our Hordak. Not the Wrong Hordak. I think.

once again I ask myself: where did y'all get those outfits

Entrapta teaches Wrong Hordak how to wink and it's so cute. I also love that she explains what it means--because I'm sure she had to consciously learn it, too: "It signals unspoken intent behind my words. In this case, our mutual deception of the Horde. Now you try."

awww

but yeah everyone in town is terrified and won't talk to them, and especially doesn't want to talk about any princesses

"should I buy property here?"

"...go team."

C'MON THAT WAS FUNNY, GUYS

Also, note to self, Melog definitely understands human speech--they split up, Catra is told to stick with Entrapta and Melog (and Catra frowns at this, just barely) and Adora tells Melog to keep them safe and it does a little noise of affirmation. (wait is Melog a he or a she or a they?)(fan wiki says it's an it but dang I feel weird using "it")

Okay so the scene where Glimmer, Adora, and Bow hide in a shop and then end up arguing with the shopkeeper is like, fascinating on multiple levels

Because on the one hand: I can't blame the townspeople for just keeping their head down and trying to get out alive. On the other hand, reporting them to the Horde isn't cool; they could just pretend not to be suspicious of these guys; there are in fact lots of places on the spectrum between "actively collaborating with one's oppressors" and "mounting a full-scale armed rebellion."

But on the other other hand I also think it's interesting that Adora's the only one of the three who's like "nah dude just let these people live their lives omg," something about Adora having lived in an oppressive environment for her whole childhood maybe

poor Adora someone get her an ibuprofen

Anyway Spinerella found them ack

Also Melog steals an apple for Catra, just magically takes it from someone's basket and into Catra's hand, which implies they're communicating non-verbally more than just moods, though I suppose "hungry, that apple looks good" is a mood

speaking of things that would make ANYone motion sick--

(Adora is saying it) Catra's right there, dude. You spent the last four seasons fighting her. lol.

Oh I paused it too soon lol Catra says this line:

LOLOL

Back on Horde Prime's ship, Hordak keeps looking at the chip thing Entrapta gave him and gets caught by Prime, whoopsie

oh hey, lore: Horde Prime can't access ALL the memories in his previous bodies without going into them, and he keeps his old bodies around in that green goo, that's fucking weird and gross, anyway he plugs a connection into his old body

Horde Prime: "The First Ones sought a new source of power of ancient worlds. Why? Why bend themselves to the whims of magic and myth?"

Poor Hordak has flashbacks to Entrapta and the Fright Zone. Mostly Entrapta. Including a moment of her looking at him fondly--I think it's the moment when she says "Imperfection is beautiful."

Horde Prime: "The fools took their secrets with them when they died. But I will find another way."

(I've seen a fan discussion suggest that there aren't actually any First Ones left--that when Light Hope made it so Adora came through the portal, the portal itself went back in time. I like that explanation in part because it means in my fic I don't have to figure out why Adora doesn't go looking for her birth family. Which tbh most fic-writers don't worry about anyway lol.)

Back with the rebellion, poor Catra is once again trying not to lose her lunch because they've all teleported.

And Netossa is like WTF IS THAT BITCH DOING HERE

Melog doesn't like that

Adora: "It's a long story, but she's with us now" Netossa: "...really??" (Catra in the background: hisses)

BAHAHA and then Netossa spots Wrong Hordak and they have to explain, no that one's with us, too 😬

But yeah p much the entire rebellion has been chipped except like Netossa and Perfuma

Adora and Bow have a guilt trip about having been gone for so long (...to rescue the queen! and also Catra)

and Catra's remembering what it's like to be chipped :(

Glimmer gives them all a ra-ra little speech

Adora just makes the sword appear in her hand without transforming lol that's cool

but they're doing the "I'm in" "yeah me too!" thing and

like, on dates?

(lol)

yayyy

Anyway the team heads back to Erelandia and starts kicking some ass

there's a great moment when Catra's like "you go deal with Spinnerella we'll take care of the bots" and Adora says "be careful" and Catra grins and says "always am!" like ma'am that is a LIE

Spinnerella is torturing some poor villager, and Netossa is worried her wife isn't still "in there"

Adora would know. From literal, personal experience. ;_;

She transforms into She-Ra and Netossa literally does a whistle of appreciation and says, "New look?" and She-Ra grins back. And somehow that is, like. Super queer. Like literally just one lesbian to another, in a flirty-but-not kinda way. Like I have *had* those interactions, where the underlying meaning is "I know we're each in a relationship, so I'm not actually hitting on you; but as one queer woman to another I want you to know that I see what you're putting out there and I like it." It's one of the best things??????

Netossa gives a little speech to Spinnerella about how she loves her and Spinnerella actually comes back for a few seconds ;_; but then she's gone again, but She-Ra and Netossa convince her to disappear for a while at least? And the locals rejoice.

And Catra would know. ;_; (She rubs the back of her neck after saying this.)

Anyway word gets back to Horde Prime that She-Ra is back on Etheria :D and he's so fucking pissed he's going to go there

...and Hordak spends a long moment looking at that chip from Entrapta again

They go to where the rebellion is actually hiding out, Glimmer and Catra recognize it

and I'M BLANKING ON WHY THEY'RE REACTING THIS WAY HELP seriously I have spent like ten minutes trying to figure it out, I don't think they talked about it while on Horde Prime's ship? Fuck!! IF YOU KNOW PLZ TELL ME

Any Perfuma ties them up and makes sure they're not chipped and then it's Happy Reunion Time with everyone :D

Adora to Catra: it's time for you to meet everyone Catra: are you sure??

I got that one without trying I didn't know it was coming lololol I was trying to get a shot of Catra looking hopeful

poor thing

Adora: long story but she's with us now!!!

Adora (well, as She-Ra) gives them all a little pep talk

ANNND EPISODE OVER

and I don't have time to do another one tonight and I won't have time tomorrow until like after 6:30pm aaaaaaugh

ON THE UPSIDE I only work two days this upcoming week.

Because it's Holy Week. I'm going to be in church like every day starting Wednesday and twice a couple of days ahahaha including an hour in the middle of the night on Thursday.

It is DEEPLY HILARIOUS to me that I'm going to end up watching the last episodes of She-Ra mere days before Easter. Like I literally have four left. Assuming I watch one tomorrow, I could end up watching the next one Tuesday night and watching the last two BEFORE GOING TO CHURCH ON WEDNESDAY how tf am I gonna focus for SHIT lolol

#april rewatches spop #an ill wind

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Launch/Corridors revisit

We rewatched the first 3 eps of she ra s5 on stream!

I cannot stress how important the sound design of this show is. It is some top tier stuff, at least for cartoons - Season 5′s sound reminds me of Mass Effect. which I actually went back and played after finishing She-Ra because of how nostalgic the show made me feel for it. (Still havent done the ending, maybe this weekend, I wanted my friends to watch.)  

I missed the first ep, but I was there for “Launch” and “Corridors”.

  I feel kinda bad for Perfuma in “Launch”. Like, she’s trying. I mean, fuck the rope gag anyway, but Perfuma is a great ball of Stress. She was trying to be polite to Entrapta and eventualy snapped alongside the rest of the group.   

I’m also VERY interested in Scorpia’s feelings because she spent the entire ep looking like she wanted to say something but was too worried about getting involved in conflict. That’s a Bow moment for her.  The lack of statement from Scorpia perhaps made the fight at the end inevitable. .

Of course, Entrapta’s side of things is very.... yeah, it brought someone working on the show to tears and I can understand why. The way she isnt responding to things like they do, doesnt show the same doubt or remorse, so they get angrier and angrier and treat her like she has no feelings and she feels so terrible because she didn’t notice until it was too late as she’s so bad at reading people, and this keeps on happening and she feels it always will because of who she is, that is an autistic story. The fact Entrapta has to go through the monumentally difficult task of explaining how she feels, and everyone realises they fucked up. And Mermista running after her, it has always invoked some distant memory for me. More than anything else in the show could hope to do, besides maybe those early Adora episodes - it reminds me of when I was struggling to make friends with the cadets that I respected, and used to break down and run off, and the other kids would try to help even though they didn’t get it. They were good kids, but I was kinda not good at working with them.     

(Young Catradora also have vibes of that but I get so unreasonably angry every time I see/hear 8 year old Adora. I’m not sure if it’s the really bad child acting, or if it’s because Adora’s COMPLETE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING for how Catra feels reminds me way too much of my younger self.)  

I do feel like this scene could’ve done with more reinforcement later on - have a small scene where she genuinely bonds with one of the good guys, other than Wrong Hordak. Also maybe less wacky hijinks and ropes in this ep. But alas. I’m really glad, regardless of everything else, they got Entrapta’s POV across.   

(lol @ Bow seeing someone tear up and immediately starting to BAWL. he is so soft)

The scenes with Adora in this ep, the silent She-Ra form she just spoke to about her feelings on destiny, they were also great to watch and listen to again. I love that it was complete silence when she woke up, until Bow walked in, then Chaos started happening again, with Mermista SHRIEKING on the voice call for them to deck it to Darla, while Entrapta geeks out about finding glimmer and Bow is Stressed. I love it. 

Catra and Glimmer, for the first 3 eps (the scenes blur together in my head), ugh. These are the BEST INTERACTIONS IN THE SHOW, hands down. I don’t know. There is something so nuanced about how when they’re all stuck on the space ship together, they thirst so hard for a bit of familiarity that they are willing to turn to their gratest enemy for companionship.  

Catra and Glimmer have so much in common.  They have both nearly destroyed the world at this stage, they are both responsible for Prime being here today. And you can really tell  that the isolation is getting to them both, because they start bonding over Adora..  

I love the interactions between Catra and Hordak in this ep too. It’s... the last time they ever speak in the show. But the way Hordak is still so angry at Catra for what happened, he presumably thinks Entrapta’s dead or something, and he is more than willing to erase his memories, but is still... terrified. Like, Hordak has so many feelings about Catra, because of her betrayal and how they had been working together and he thought for a moment they could relate with each other but it turned out to be built on a lie, and if only he had figured it out sooner, figured out Catra’s deception rather than sulk about it like a teenage boy, he’d still have his friend.  

Catra feels... terrible about this. She has every right to hate Hordak, and yet still feels awful about what shes done to him and what Prime’s doing to him, and still nearly found comfort in him being present, until he hard rejected her and got traumatically mindwiped.  

The music that plays during these scenes, when Prime is onscreen, it is so terrifying. This continues to be the case through to the finale, but it’s especially effective here, before he has shown any vulnerabilities.   

And... Catra deciding to do her villain u-turn to rescue Glimmer, after bonding with her, feels really significant to me. I know she did it “for Adora”, but I find more meaning, personally, in recognising her ability to connect with someone other than Adora, even if she refuses to admit it.  

(The space ship scenes in this ep are SO FUNNY. I often cite the SPACE moment as the funniest scene in the show, and it’s largely because the surrounding scenes are so... tense that having Entrapta’s space fever finally get payoff after 4 seasons, with her having the happiest reaction ever, was so fucking funny. Bow losing it, and Adora being a total himbo, also have series-wide buildup for added comic relief. All we’re missing is Glimmer stabbing things... which we do get in this ep, so it’s fine.)

#she ra #spop #launch #corridors #catra #glimmer #adora #entrapta #hordak

[crypticpatterns]

I wanted to get more of your insights into Season 5. My issue with the season has nothing to do with Catra not immediately being a good person - that’s expected, obviously, and takes time to heal from.

My issue is that she and Adora never really *talked* about what she did. I also don’t like how Adora is framed as the one in the wrong for leaving the Horde when it was necessary due to her convictions and the objective fact that the Horde is evil and she’s being abused. I get that Catra is traumatized and it’s a complicated situation but that doesn’t justify 5 seasons of treating Adora like utter crap.

I don’t know if it’s worth discussing the Failsafe because I think we have major disagreements over that entire episode, but I did want to know what your thoughts are, and if any of your prior criticisms of Catra’s arc still stand. Because I wouldn’t care about “I love you, I always have” if it wasn’t in the context of ignoring things Catra did that were extremely uncalled-for even in episodes where she’s clearly supposed to be redeemed. (Plus I’ve probably murdered you by now with my ranting over the Failsafe episode anyway.)

I mean, yeah. Catra and Adora never have a long, drawn-out conversation unpacking everything that happened. But I don't think they really needed to. The important things are addressed. Catra apologizes for everything. Adora tells Catra she's always cared about her and comes back to save her even when Catra thinks she won't. Adora forgives Catra for what she's done, so there's not really anything to address after Catra's begun to make amends. The entirety of Save the Cat is their reconcilation, and their actions in that episode speak louder than words.

They probably had a long conversation--or several--at some point off screen. But we don't need to see that in the show. It'd probably screw with the pacing too much, and we see the relevant bits for their arcs.

I disagree about Adora being framed as the one in the wrong. Adora has never been framed as wrong and she doesn't apologize for leaving, she stands by it being the correct choice until the very end. But it's also very understandable why Catra would be hurt by Adora leaving. Adora abandoned her to endure Shadow Weaver's abuse alone. Is there really anything Adora could do to help her at that point? No. Is it Adora's job to keep Catra safe? Also no. But I understand why Catra feels like it was, and that Adora's leaving felt like the ultimate betrayal.

I think Adora's real fault in their arc is assuming Catra is power hungry and just another part of the evil Horde. She treats her like Hordak or Shadow Weaver, not like her former best friend. I think this is a coping mechanism because Adora can't understand why Catra would stay unless she really is just as evil as Hordak and Shadow Weaver and wants to see Adora suffer. And of course that assumption pushes Catra to act worse and worse as the seasons go on.

My point is just that Adora isn't completely innocent here. She's handled things poorly too and hurt Catra as much as Catra hurt her. I don't think it's right to frame Adora as a helpless victim in their relationship, basically. It's mutually toxic, with Adora assuming Catra can't take care of herself and Catra assuming Adora doesn't love her because she's not good enough. They both have problems they have to work on throughout season 5.

I never really had an issue with Catra's arc. I speculated a year after initially watching the final season on why some people might have an issue with it but I didn't remember enough for myself to know if I actually had those problems for myself. After rewatching season 5 for myself, I like Catra's arc. I think it's really well written and continues her arc from the previous seasons near perfectly. Catra makes mistakes in season 5, but she works towards self-improvement and in the end makes the right decision to stand by Adora and put her past betrayals behind her.

Catra leaving Adora after she takes the Failsafe is wrong, and it's framed as wrong. It hurts Adora and Melog--representarive of Catra's moral compass and true feelings--tries to stop her. Catra is dealing with her old abandonment issues and thinks Adora is choosing the universe over her yet again. She think it's proof Adora doesn't love her. Catra is wrong, but I understand why she feels that way because of her trauma. She's always felt inferior, unlovable, and she also knows better than anyone that Adora feels she has to save everyone even at the cost of herself. She's not only feeling personally betrayed by Adora, but is angry at Adora for falling for Shadow Weaver's manipulations. Adora does not exist for the sake of everyone else. It shouldn't always be her job to sacrifice everything for everyone else. Catra is the only person who seems to know this. Even Adora doesn't know it. And when Adora won't listen to her, Catra doesn't want to watch the love of her life destroy herself.

But Catra overcomes all that. She goes back for Adora anyway. She learns to respect Adora's choice, even if she doesn't agree with it, and stands by her to the very end because she refuses to abandon Adora ever again. I think the line of hers when she says something along the lines of, "I have a promise to keep," in The Heart Pt 2 is what shows her growth more than anything. She recognizes for the first time that she broke her promise too. It's time to forgive Adora for abandoning her and do the right thing. Catra has finally moved on and recognized that she has as much a duty to Adora as she does to her. I think it's a beautiful line and I wish I could find the specific phrasing of it.

And yeah. We probably couldn't disagree more when it comes to Failsafe. I dunno if you want me to get into that specifically, but that's probably a whole separate post from this one. I don't want this to get insanely long so I'll end it here for now.

#spop #catradora #she ra #adora #catra #she ra s5 #spop s5 #she ra meta #spop meta #catradora meta #ask #answer #the heart #my posts

[soranis-sunshadow]

Looking back

@cruelfeline wanted a snippet between Hordak and Glimmer where they contemplated on how much of a fuckup either of them is.

I took it as a prompt and I hope this little oneshot scratches that itch.

It was always better to go to a banquet than to host it, Glimmer thought to herself while making her way down the long hallway of the reclusive palace wing. If she felt at odds or tired or just not in the mood, all she had to do was signal Bow and he’d take her home. But as a host, she WAS home, there was nowhere else to go to. Besides, since she was the esteemed host, she couldn’t leave early. It would be in poor taste.

This year, the anniversary of the end of the war was hosted in Bright Moon and she had to find a secluded place in her own home to take a breather from all the commotion before she had to return to the party and smile and nod and… try not to feel like such an imposter.

She finally found her favorite overlook, the one where she came to sulk whenever her mother gave her a stern -and justified- talking to, the best view and the music of the party down in the main hall was muted. No sooner did she lay her hands upon the balustrade that she spotted movement to the periphery of her vision. It was another person she really didn’t want to interact with due to the sheer awkwardness: Hordak. He was sitting by himself in contemplation, looking on into the distance in the last light of the day.

She and he stood meters apart on the balcony in silence for a while. He seemed to look at peace while staring off into the sunset. She tried to do the same. Her maelstrom of thoughts made it difficult.

During the war, she had never met him face to face, all she knew was what other people said of him – both her own and other hordesmen that were captured and interrogated.

Their first meeting in the flesh had been memorable… for very terrible, nightmare inducing reasons. Even now, she couldn’t look at Hordak without seeing Prime discard his errant tool then threaten to destroy her world in a dulcet voice as if it were the most trite of things. It probably had been to that monster…

Hordak hadn’t been what she – an everyone else thought he was. What made it even more jarring, and unexpected, had been his eagerness to repent and atone following the war.

Glimmer had decreed that Prime’s little brothers were not at fault for what they had been made to do for their creator, all of them, Hordak included. She couldn’t in good conscience persecute any of them whilst knowing, intimately – unlike the other monarchs- where they came from and what had been done to them.

Hordak however, decided to be difficult, because of course he did.

He insisted that even had his actions been in the hopes of serving Prime, they had been his actions, his mistakes. He owned them, and he owed Etheria. He had decided- by himself - to rebuild the things he had a hand in destroying not out of a desperate bid for forgiveness but because it was what he had been convinced that it was the right, and the just thing to do.

It made it very awkward for her to interact with him… whenever she invited Entrapta to these events, he was always her plus one. Entrapta was a sore spot for Glimmer. She had decided that the Dryll princess would be the first one to be invited whenever Glimmer hosted any event. It was the least she owed her.

She had learned that Entrapta endangered herself to save her back when she had been abducted on Prime’s ship… a few weeks before that, Glimmer had argued with Adora and Bow to leave her on Beast Island for the time being. It was a shame that stung deeply. Entrapta had been a far better friend to her than she had been to Entrapta. To make matters worse, Entrapta seemed either oblivious or not to hold it against her. It made Glimmer’s guilt even worse. At times, she wished Entrapta HAD been angry, she wished the other princess would give her a piece of her mind, at least then, she’d be able to make it up to her.

Huh!

No wonder Hordak “punished” himself with reparations and reconstructions…She couldn't stop a heavy sigh from escaping her. It wasn't an invitation to talk but he seemed to take it as one since the noise startled him out of his contemplation and he slowly turned towards her.

“Good evening, your grace.” It was always a bit comical when one of Prime’s clones bowed to her, they would have to bend over comically low to match her height. Hordak didn’t. He merely bowed his head smoothly and lowered his ears to convey submission.

“Uh, hey.” How dignified of her. She wished she had half as much grace as her mother had. “Uuuh,-“ he looked at her with that blank face that had been conditioned into him. ‘Ugh, say something Glimmer, this doesn’t have to be this awkward. Make an effort, for Entrapta’s sake at least!’. “- lovely sunset, right?”

He blinked slowly then turned back to the vista. “Indeed.”

‘C’mon! Give me SOMETHING to work with here!’ She thought to herself. “What do you think of the party?” That had been a host thing to ask, it was appropriate and neutral right?

It wasn’t... The answer came in that calm, low, dignified and slightly husky voice of his, a voice that had cracked from screaming and had never recovered. His posture betrayed his unease. Hordak further stiffened at the question.

“It is,-“ he paused considering his words carefully “quite sumptuous, your grace.” He bowed again. It was clearly at least as uncomfortable for him as it was for her.

This wasn’t helping… ‘Good job Glimmer!’ If it hadn’t been weird and both of them had enjoyed the companionable silence before, now she had made things awkward.

While considering what to say next, he saved her the effort by saying. “Your guests are enjoying themselves.” Was that a compliment? Was he trying to compliment her? She knew from former interactions with him that he had a very stiff and formal way of talking, very unlike his progenitor. Words fit poorly in his mouth. It was so curious how, despite having the same voice and the same face, almost… they sounded worlds apart. He held himself differently too, Prime had filled every space he was in, he owned every room he walked into. Hordak on the other hand seemed perpetually on eggshells. Was that why he was here by himself?

“You are my guest too.” She said to him, trying to sound warm and welcoming but it came out a bit defensive.

The unasked question hung between them in the dying light of the day.

He saved her from asking it once more. “My presence… makes some of your other guests uneasy, your grace. I did not wish to impose.”

“Impose? Nonsense!” She waved it off with a chuckle. “You and Entrapta are welcome here, I’ve expressly invited the both of you myself. There is no way you could ‘impose’ in any way!” Then it hit her… “Did anyone tell either of you that you were imposing? If they did, tell me who it was and I’ll have a chat with them.”

He huffed out a chuckle then turned towards her once more. A small, tentative smile made its way on his face. “No such thing your grace, the initiative was all mine.” The shared gaze was broken as he looked at his feet then back into the distance. “ I wished to prevent it from becoming an issue. Many of your kinsmen are weary of me, and for good reason. My actions on your world did not endear me to most of your kind.” It seems that guilt had brought them both on this overlook.

“I should name this ‘the shitty overlook!’ Hah!” She laughed. “Because everyone comes on this balcony to feel shitty.” He looked at her, one browridge raised in inquiry. “You’re here because of the whole conquest thing and I’m here because I’ a terrible friend.”

Glimmer continued. “We both did regrettable things during the war.” She too looked on into the distance, the line of bleeding orange light got thinner and thinner as night overtook it, a thin line of fiery hues reflected off the surface of the turbulent lake. Silence hung between them for a few minutes.

“You did what you thought was necessary, your grace.” Despite the curt tone, it was a reassurance. It was uncanny for Hordak of all people to be the one trying to comfort her.

“We both did. It still doesn’t make it feel right.” Both of their closets had skeletons cramped in them.

“It may not but, at the time, you saw no other way to do your duty.” He sighed deeply. “Hindsight is indeed, not a charitable beast your majesty, but it is unfair.” He clicked his claws on the balustrade. The motion was somewhat distracting. ” You know things now that you couldn’t have possibly known back then. Within the constraints of the time and the data available, you did the best that you could, the best that could be expected. You were a formidable opponent.” As sound as his logic was, it did little to assuage the anger she aimed at herself.

“And I had my friends take the fall for me because I thought it was necessary.” She sighed and hugged herself. “I was wrong, even back then but I didn’t want to admit it, I thought the ends justify the means. They don’t. They never do.”

“It’s easy to overthink the choices made when one is aware that there were other options, other paths that could have been taken.” He sounded, small and sad, his own demons haunting him.” The reality of it is that, in the moment, you may not have been aware of other possibilities and time had not been on your side. You decided to move forward down the only path you saw before you. The alternative would have been admitting defeat. Had you done so, you wouldn’t be here to second guess yourself. It was, in general, the right thing to do even if you are left with the consequences of your perceived momentary oversights. You have the privilege now, to make up for your mistakes – a privilege you wouldn’t have had should you have not done the things you did. “

“Thank you. I needed to hear that.” She hadn’t known she needed it nor would she had ever asked for it and that’s exactly why the point had hit home. “She was right, you’re a good listener.”

He chuckled again, an animate chuckle that rippled through him as he shook his head and turned back to look at the lake. She made her way closer and took in the familiar view. Neither of them said anything after that.

They watched the stars appear on the night sky, reflecting off the surface of the lake, somewhat distorted. The ripples of the lake made their twinkling even brighter. The night was peaceful.

#glimmer #hordak #entrapdak #spop fanfic