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tippenfunkaport · 1 year

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Bow's Character Arc

There was a discussion on Twitter from people who were confused about Bow’s character arc and whether he had one (he very much does, and it’s actually one of the clearest / most spelled out in the entire show!). To help anyone experiencing that confusion and because it’s never a bad idea to understand how character arcs work if you want to be a writer/storyteller, I might as well break Bow’s character arc down for anyone who might find it helpful.

Buckle in, it's nerd time!

At the most basic, a character arc is a change (usually growth) a character goes through over the course of a story. Usually good (positive change arc) but sometimes bad (negative change arc). It’s very often a reversal aka the character is often in the exact opposite state by the end of the story than how they start it out. It can be trickier to follow in an ensemble story like SPOP because there are a lot of characters with parallel story lines going on and multiple arcs colliding in different ways, but She-Ra does a really good job of giving each of the four leads arcs (with Catradora as the main leads, Glimbow as the secondary) near equal time.

Yes, including Bow.

What I think throws people about Bow’s arc is it’s based on hypocrisy.

Meaning…

He encourages his friends to talk it out and share their feelings… while hiding his own feelings from his dads and repressing his frustrations with having to be the middle man between Adora and Glimmer (Season 4)

He declares that average people (such as the kitchen staff at Dryl) don’t need the princesses and are just as capable of fighting the Horde themselves… while he believes himself and his abilities inferior to Princess Entrapta’s

He reminds the others (esp Adora) about the need to accept help… while refusing any help for himself (think about “Don't worry about me. I'm the one who worries about you. Can we go back to that? Please?” in Pulse through to that moment when he agrees to let Glimmer take him to check on his dads in Return to the Fright Zone and literally leans on her)

I think a funny way to sum up his character issue is: Not me, though.

This arc progresses across all five season as he gradually changes. He starts the series out repressing his feelings from both his family and friends while doubting his abilities and refusing to ask for help (he IS Adora’s mirror, after all!). Over the course of the series he learns to express his feelings instead of bottling them up (The Beacon > Reunion > really all of Season 4 but it comes to head starting with Boys Night Out through Beast Island > Stranded), gains more confidence in his tech skills (The Frozen Forest > Signals > Flutterina > Mer-Mysteries > Corridors), and starts to learn to ask for help (The Beacon > Pulse > Return to the Fright Zone).

Which of course all culminates in The Heart Parts 1 and 2 where he finally wraps up all threads at once by

a) asking Scorpia to trust him (putting faith in someone else to help)

b) completing Entrapta’s program to unchip everyone (proving he IS as good a scientist as she is)

c) giving the speech to everyone on Etheria rousing the common people to fight Prime (average people can make a difference… which he now fully believes that includes him).

And while you can make the argument that confessing to Glimmer is part of his arc to share his feelings, the fact is that he completes a full character arc without ever behind reduced to just someone’s love interest because none of his character growth is tied to his romantic relationship at all (which was what the original tweet claimed). It's all his inner journey to have faith in himself and his abilities and how they relate to his friends and loved ones.

And thus the guy who starts the series as “only one around here who’s not a princess” with doubt in his tech abilities ends the series as confident Tech Master and future King of the regular people he sought to inspire, which is about as textbook a reversal as you can get.

Does it come out of nowhere?

His character arc progresses and takes significant focus in the following episodes….

S1:E6 System Failure

S1:E10 The Beacon

S2:E1 The Frozen Forest

S2:E3 Signals

S2:E7 Reunion

S4:E3 Flutterina

S4:E4 Pulse

S4:E7 Mer-Mysteries

S4:E8 Boys Night Out

S4:E10 Fractures

S4:E11 Beast Island

S5:E3 Corridors

S5:E4 Stranded

S5:E9 An Ill Wind

S5:E10 Return to the Fright Zone

S5:E12 Heart Part 1

S5:E13 Heart Part 2

That’s 17 episodes out of 52 which means his character development gets approximately 32% of the focus of the entire show… which for an ensemble cast like this where he’s one of four leads is just about dead on as it's over a quarter of the episodes.

That's a significant chunk of screentime with multiple episodes devoted specifically to his character journey.

Is his journey as flashy and action sequence-y as what Adora, Catra and Glimmer get? No, but it's a) a show marketed to girls so it makes sense they get the more cinematic scenes and b) his arc is more emotional and thus didn't need to hinge on big action like theirs did. Though considering the culmination of his arc is him as a 100 foot tall hologram speaking to the entire planet, I personally feel like that was pretty hard to miss.

If you look at all of this and still want to say that Bow did nothing or had no character arc, I think the thing to ask yourself is: why is it so important to you to discount the accomplishments and character growth of this character specifically?

In conclusion, this is the face Bow makes when he spent five season growing, changing and kicking butt as Tech Master and Voice of Reason and you say he did "literally nothing"...

#spop #shera #she ra #bow #meta #literary analysis #if I had more free time I would do a whole series analyzing the writing in this show #because it's so well done #spop bow #glimmer #adora #entrapta #tippen's posts #you all forget I'm a writing nerd until I bust out the craft talk don't cha?#i would like the record to show that I put the picture sets side by side #to show the start and end of each part of his arc #but tumblr ignored that layout

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cirusthecitrus · 3 months

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Can I ask Entrapta and Hordak for the character ask meme?

First impression: with Entrapta, she caught my eye even before the show premiered, when I saw the promo art. I fell in love with her design right away, though i didn't care much for her character at first, just didn't get the hype. It is only after she showed her vulnerable side, when she thought her friends abandoned her (but we knew it was not true!), thats when I got invested. Tuned in for the drama, stayed for the purble mad scientist

Same with Hordak. Didn't care for the character, loved the design. And I loved it specifically because he looked similar to the demon characters from my original story I was working on with a friend at the time. The long pointy ears, the nose, the glowing eyes, the clawed hands and sharp teeth, they also have wings just like Imp!

Oh and I always loved his relationship with Imp, it was so fun to watch these two interact :3

Impression now: to me personally Entrapta and Hordak are the real heart of the show. They are both integral to the story, they're interesting and fun in their own ways and their relationship is simply the best thing the show has to offer. Plus their personal journeys are so exquisitly tragic, love me some good angst

They're both my lil scrunklies, my beloved chew toys, one of my fave evil power couples. Though I gravitate more towards Hordak, he got that melancholic sad doe eyes rizz. And older brother issues (hes just like me fr🤝)

Favorite moment: oof but there are so many. 'Imperfection is beautiful' and 'I am Hordak' are obviously in my top 5, but I also want to mention some other ones

From entrapdak scenes - the one where they chat while sitting on Hordak's throne, the one where Hordak protects Entrapta from the portal explosion and the iconic "What have you done to me?" scene

As for their personal moments, I still giggle at Entrapta's "Do I need to explain math to you?🤨", also I can't get over her soft hum and lil smile when she remembers her lab partner in the portal reality

And with Hordak, again, love all the scenes where he's so casually adorable with Imp, also s4 moments when he's being obsessed with Entrapta (can't deside between the blushing scene and the 'crying over her' scene)

Idea for a story: For Entrapta I've been thinking about an au where she gets consumed by the Island before her friends find her, turning into this scary powerful monster who still has some of her free will. And she either escapes the island herself, becoming a threat to both the Horde and the rebellion (but eventually she and Hordak save each other with the power of love~), or she stays on BI and has this emotional fight with Adora and Bow where she gets to voice all her fears and grievances, but in the end gets defeated and comforted

For Hordak I have this idea about him meeting another clone with the same defect as him. Maybe he was just fresh out of a pod, and his condition only took a toll on him after the fall of Prime. I imagine Hordak being so gentle and protective of him, giving him all the love and understanding + recourses he was deprived of. I also imagine him finally not feeling so alinated when he's around his own kind, like a black sheep among his "perfect" able bodied brothers, because now he knows he's not the only one

Unpopular opinion: Entrapta's trauma should've been treated more seriously and not forgotten right after the Beast Island episode. S5 felt like s4 events were erased from everyone's memory. Also, it should've affected Entrapta more. Again, where are the conflicted feelings towards Hordak? It was never established that she found out the truth about her exile, that Hordak was lied to and had no idea about it. And where are the conflicted feelings towards Catra? The more I think about it, the more I hate that dumb apology and the fact that it was enough for Entrapta to forgive her, after everything Catra did to her and her loved ones

With Hordak... those are not quite common, but it is still tiring to see some fandom opinions where ppl critique this version of Hordak by calling him a loser and a lame villain/character, because he's not "badass" and "threatening" enough and is bad at his job as the leader of the Horde. Cause like... that's the point. Hordak was bad at this because he was not suited for this role, he is not a leader and thats not bad/contradicting writing, thats just his character trait. He was only trying to mimic the only role model he ever had in his life, trying to fit into Prime's shoes and obviously failing at it, because he's not Prime. He was also programmed to be an obedient slave with no wants or ambitions, not a dominant power hungry ruler, and I can only imagine what it took him to become as powerful and threatening as he is in the show. He did not belong on that throne, not because he's incompetent/useless or stupid or a bad warlord, but because choosing to become Lord Hordak, choosing to go all this way to try and prove himself worthy to his uncaring god was,on itself, his biggest mistake, not the right path for him. The Etherian Horde is like that because it's existence was a mistake

Favorite relationship: romantic? with each other. Platonic? Also with each other, but also -

For Entrapta - her friendship with Adora and Wrongie (also Scorpia, but only pre s5 Scorpia, like girl what happened...)

For Hordak - his bond with Imp and his relationship with Horde Prime (i just love how tragic and messed up it is okay?)

Favorite headcanon: idk if a have a favorite, there are all sorts of hcs, so i'll just focus on a random one I like

I do find the idea of Hordak being creeped out and lowkey haunted by Entrapta's cat painting hilarious, but I also like to think that the cat was her real pet, maybe a childhood pet even, and by keeping the painting she honors the memory of her old friend

#thank you for the ask!#ask memes #hordak #entrapta #entrapdak #spop #shera #ramblings #spop meta

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kristalkitsunedesigns · 10 months

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Here's the results of my Color Wheel Challenge from Twitter. Had such a blast with this one!

#color wheel challenge #magma leader maxie #pokemon oras #garfield #curious george #shego #kim possible #hatsune miku #vocaloid #meta knight #kirby #entrapta #she ra #sofdti #terrain of magical expertise

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edge-lorde · 1 year

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Entrapta and Hordak are in a b4b (barbie 4 barbie) relationship, sold separately as the Lab Partners Horde Sanctum Playset™. Each of them come with half of the portal as well as a workbench with a few tools and a special plastic companion creature (Entrapta comes with Emily and Hordak with Imp).

when both sets are together they can be fitted to form the whole portal but it cant light up without the Sword™ (sold separately either by itself or with a special bonus Catra line.)

Entrapta's hair is brushable and you can clip her tools to it like barrettes. She doesnt have multiple outfits but part of her overalls can be flipped up, and separate figures of her are sold with different removable masks. The whole set is marketed as inspiring future women in STEM despite the only actual sciency thing about it being the general aesthetic and maybe some numbers and fake blueprints on a sticker computer screen. its never explained why hordak is a part of this. (David S. Pumpkins voice: "He's Part of it!")

Entrapta also gets her own Crypto Castle Playset™ that is more polly pocket sized and has lots of trap doors and hiding places and comes with a few robot figures. her hair is hard and you can clip tools to both her pigtails and hands.

Hordak never gets his own set, he's always either a part of an Entrapta or Catra line, but he is sometimes sold separately with different armor. maybe a polly pocket sized figure has removable armor, but the barbie versions are just sold separately with only either a removable cape or arm cannon.

@hasbro @mattel @staff @god

#In the Entrapta sets the LUVD crystal is not removable but in a special Catra Throne Room line it is.#hordak #entrapta #catra #lol #rambling #thoughts #spop meta

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mega-dac · 6 months

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Here's the story: an inventor who is very skilled and talented, but who has a history of inventions either going wrong or going haywire, is deceived into working for an evil intergalatic warlord, who is one of the few to genuinely appreciates the inventor's skill and talent.

Hmm.

Hmmmm...

#megatron #isaac sumdac #meta #megadac #transformers animated #entrapta #entrapdak #hordak

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autismswagtournament · 1 year

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Behold, curated by @nostalgic-soda and @sirtoybox , an autism swag tournament!

Our contestants are:

Fluttershy

Asa

Ghoulia Yelps

Shigeo Kageyama

Luigi

Jin bushi

Sam

Marie

Scout

Big Man

Papyrus

Max

Dib Membrane

The Entire Pines Family

Akira Fudo

Twyla

Futaba

Hunter

Meta Knight

Boyfriend

Shadow The Hedgehog

Marina

Kris

Twilight Sparkle

Spongebob

Dendy

Kirby

Peridot

Hank J Wimbleton

Entrapta

Tails

Brackets are still yet to be decided! Stay tuned!

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syaamethyst213 · 1 year

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hmmm. what about entrapta and scorpia

Hi @coolmiddlename! Thanks for the ask!

This post talks about Scorpia and sums it up super well. I think she was so used to following others, she forgot how to make her own choices and define herself.

Entrapta’s arc with choice is… whew. She is a very opinionated character and knows exactly what she wants. Unlike characters like Adora who had expectations forced on her since childhood, Entrapta is already an adult by the time she joins the princesses, and she is capable and already has herself figured out. But that doesn’t stop the princesses from forcing their opinions and expectations on her. Another facet of choice is bodily autonomy which Perfuma frequently violates by “leashing” Entrapta with vines.

When she joins the Horde she has choice again, and I do believe that she knew what the Horde was doing and that’s on her. (A topic for another time). But when she got sent to beast island, that place is, like horde prime, the epitome of no choice. Everyone had told her that she only cares about tech, so now she seemed to feel like it was the only thing she could care about, despite how she actually did want friendship.

After that, in “Launch”, the princesses once again try to shove her into an “only cares about tech” box and restrict her choice and again Perfuma attempts to leash her. But now Entrapta is more secure about her identity and wants, and is able to communicate to the princesses that she cares about her friends. (Something that should have been obvious but ableism I guess)

She ends her arc by helping Hordak to make his choice. Compared to others, I think she’s the character that has consciously thought the most about choice and what she wants, and she’s able to help Hordak do the same and not be defined by his history/programming the same we she wasn’t defined by stereotypes.

TL;DR Entrapta started out as someone with a lot of choice and agency, but when she left her lab others tried to take it away and force her to conform to stereotypes. In the end she understands herself and the concept of choice very deeply and is able to help Hordak make his choice. (And she’s a badass the whole time).

#i hope this makes sense #my writing always seems incoherent but people seem to get the point so idk #beast island got autocorrected to breast island help #she ra and the princesses of power #she ra #spop #entrapta #spop meta #ableism tw

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nny11writes · 2 years

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those tags are a really good way of reading it but just so you know i nearly started crying.

i dunno, sometimes friends get so close to each other that they end up really hurting each other, and then you make up and become friends again but that time of being really close has passed and things are a lot healthier but not nearly as intense as they used to be, and you wonder, if you were a better friend, would you still be close? but at the same time it's not as simple as that. sometimes it's a huge number of factors on both sides. sometimes people just grow apart and you can't control it.

anyway im going to draw spt cuddle piles to ease the pain

akldujfhglakjshdf, not my intention to make you cry!!!!

But also, yeah. Exactly. It can be heartbreaking in it's own unique way to spend a fun afternoon with some friends and afterwards realize that if you were closer (the way you used to be) that you would've kept hanging out. Maybe there's things you used to do together that you wouldn't anymore. You can trust them and love them, but still be afraid of them breaking your trust or hurting you (or afraid of yourself doing the same to them).

I think the Super Pal Trio falling into that would've been such a wonderful way to talk about that with a broad audience, but especially kids. Losing friends is hard. It hurts and it sucks and it's sensitive, and because so many societies don't place enough importance in platonic friendships they aren't given the sort of space that a romantic breakup is. There's this feeling that you're supposed to suck it up and not be so hurt about losing a friend. You can cry about a romantic breakup in public, but as an adult (at least for me) there's a lot of perceived pressure to get over it. Like, no, I will not!

Super Pal Trio being a friend group that does get to reconnect but never getting to be the way they were before would really be nice to see handled as a serious topic instead of as a gag. Catra regrets that when she had the chance to really be their close friend, she was too hurt to be able to. Entrapta regrets not verbalizing her love for them more, regrets that she didn't show more of her care. Scorpia regrets the way she forced things to happen, or ignored their wants. All three of them are in a "If I'd been a better friend, would we still be closer? I miss the way I used to feel with you and for you."

I see Entrapta and Catra as being closer post canon than Scorpia is with either of them. Things might feel easiest when the three are together, but Scorpia has never gotten the same sort of sit and talk it out situation with either of them. She had the chance with Entrapta but was too scared of being outcast and shunned for liking someone no one else did at the time, so she didn't stand up for her friend or their friendship. But she never had that chance with Catra, and when it finally came up the first time Scorpia did her usual thing. She was trying to be a good friend and let Catra know she forgives her, but accidentally instead cuts her off/talks over her and invalidates Catra during it too. I can see Catra eventually being hurt about the way it went and Scorpia feeling more and more guilty once it's pointed out but not knowing how to fix it.

I love her, but Scorpia is pretty conflict avoidant even at the end of the series, and it's something she needs to work on to be a better friend. Not just to stick up for herself more, but to also have uncomfortable conversations that are serious and heavy. She has to learn to sit with feeling bad about something and let her friends feel bad when they need to. I keep threatening to write Scorpia meta about what she did wrong and not doing it, but I feel pretty strongly that, realistically? The Super Pal Trio can't be what it was, and they can't even move forward until Scorpia has done some more work. Catra and Entrapta are shown in show learning more, and while Scorpia does learn to value herself more and lie less to herself about bad things we don't get to see her practice that with others.

#long post #super pal trio #she ra #spop #catra #scorpia #entrapta #their relationship is complex post canon for sure #I like to write more of them being zany and just having fun together because I wish they could just click back together #the best friend squad (mostly) clicks back into what they were before and there's no question post canon they stay close #I wish SPT could have that too #and I think if canon were ever to be continued in a movie (or something else) we'd see them being closer than I talk about here #power of friendship my dudes!#but #from a more grounded sort of take? it would be bittersweet #meta #I guess?????

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etheriadearie · 2 years

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Read your big Entrapta post. It was very interesting, and over 6000 words long, LMAO. You should use plain text more though, the heavily reformatted bold/italicised/etc text made it difficult to read.

So, a few things:

1. I absolutely agree that the characters are continuing the historical trauma of the first ones. Entrapta is a truth seeker trying to get to the heart of the issue and basically discovers the Heart of Etheria with the minimal amount of investigation in season 1, with nobody else questioning what the First Ones did because it would mean they have to question their entire power structure.

2. However, Entrapta is still a villain that the Princesses need to stop. Especially as the Black Garnet Experiment was hurting so many people, and she didn't even know what sort of dangerous weapon was lurking under the surface yet! Unfortunately I think the lack of communication with her in s1 is attributed to time - she only got a single episode to deal with them and just when they were warming up to each other they were separated. I like to think if this separation never happened, the other characters would've started to understand Entrapta better and let her do her thing. On the other hand, they probably wouldn't have let her mess with a runestone. A full Rebellion! Entrapta would face prejudice against tampering with tech, as you said. Only the Horde would be willing to fully embrace it, which is why Bow's tech is nowhere close to Entrapta's - hell, people tease him for it rather than ask him about it!

(This presumably changes after s5 where suddenly tech is a vital part of society and Entrapta carried the Rebellion through the transition.)

3. I do think you're right when you say, all the other characters are caught up in their anger and hurt, but Entrapta lets it pass through, and she can see most clearly the value in other people, and treats them better than she gets treated. She does carry and push down some hurt especially around getting rejected so many times no matter how hard she tries, and sometimes she questions her own philosophies of "imperfections are beautiful" because how can she believe that when her own imperfections keep leading to her pushing people away? But she has a strong heart, and pushes through that doubt and becomes a powerful force for individuality across the show. She is unabashedly herself, and transfers that positive energy onto other characters when de-chipping them, breaking up tension for other characters on the space ship, and helping Hordak figure out who he is.

Hi! Sounds like we agree on a lot, let me see if I can respond to a few things...

Thanks! My Promise discussion is over 17,000 hah 💜😜💜✌️. And I think you're right about the text, thx for saying. I've been thinking about switching to all bold, an example of that here.

Okay to this, I think we need to deal with the outdated and blasé boring 80s villain concept..

::metadiscuss She-ra and ND Stevenson's take on villains 🦹‍♀️

To be clear, my writing is never done to condone anyone's actions. What's happening is that they're all bad (until s5). SPOP is a waking disaster for pretty much every character, good guys and bad, they are all being hurtful and those decisions are bouncing off each other in a disastrous chaotic echo chamber. And Entrapta’s story, while messy, shows the truest line of good intentions towards others and to finding the truth.

Which is why I think judging Entrapta (or Catra and Hordak) as 'villains who need to be stopped’ isn't what ND wants us to do.

Catra and Hordak are absolutely being total assholes, but, there's only a couple really evil people in SPOP, who cause so much hurt and destruction in the story, and to which we can trace back all the other characters' actions to. What makes Catra and Hordak different from these evil people is that they aren't sociopaths. For example, one such sociopath villain- Shadow Weaver- gets away with the most terrible bullshit for the longest time. She abused Catra and Adora from an early age- and Adora and Catra only manage to stop her at the very end. This is a much more realistic storyline, as irl abusers fly under the radar, some never even face consequences for their actions.

But, this complexity is how ND Stevenson set out to give us a better story than the old 80s boring blasé “villains are evil and only exist to be stopped by the heroes”. Those stories lack any creativity, making 1 dimensional badguys to be knocked over by the heroes shooting gallery style.

The biggest clue that SPOP rejects such a blasé villain take is the plot itself- do the Princesses EVER even really stop them? Anything they try to do backfires- they didn't stop the portal from opening, they never regained control of the Black Garnet- and yet did the Horde ever use it again?

They could have, right? So, the Princesses struggle to even do the most basic thing of stopping the Horde. Stopping the villains isn't something we see them do until the end. The Princesses don't work together, before Adora showed up they all hid in their kingdoms and abandoned Etheria’s populace (and often their own people) to war. (see Bow’s dad George in s2ep7). But, by making unbalanced emotional decisions that are out of control they do make things worse for themselves, and for everyone on Etheria. This is because while the Horde is wrong, their own decisions add to the trauma of the other side, particularly Catra, perpetuating and increasing the violence.

For example, about one of the most villainous moments- Catra pulling the switch- we can see how Glimmer’s own actions of empowering Shadow Weaver in s3ep4 sends things out of control.

That's the moment Catra's actions are solidified, before then she's not angry enough to do what she does. And from then on Glimmer continues to give Shadow Weaver even more power in s4, she falls for her deceptions, which contributes to Glimmer’s mistake of linking Scorpia to the Heart, looking to win by any option. The world almost ends; it's chaos.

To elaborate about the portal incident: I say confidently that what we're suppose to understand within the plot that the portal wouldn't have happened without Glimmer bringing Shadow Weaver to the Fight Zone.

Entrapta actually had that under control, she had convinced Hordak to wait to try the portal, so they could perfect it (more really, for romance). And Adora did a good job warning Entrapta about the dangers, changing her mind. So, even though Catra wanted to do it, it wouldn't have happened. She wasn't the uncontrollably enraged person we see when she shocks Entrapta and then lies to Hordak.

That all comes down to Catra being brought within an inch of her life by her abuser yet again. Catra has been powerless to stop her abuser all of her life. Seeing the Princesses enable her abuser is a bridge too far. She has to win, even if there's a chance the world will end.

Imho what Catra did to Entrapta is what she hates herself for the most. It wasn't supposed to happen, we see that on her face afterwards. Catra is (predictably) driven by fear, that no matter what she does her abuser will be enabled by others.

Even at that point in the story, Adora is an enabler of their abuser in Catra's eyes. She's wrong, Adora has no control- and feels as unsafe as she does.

This is the kind of evidence that's there if you look for it, and Glimmer's decision to enable their abuser leaves both Adora and Catra unnerved and they begin to spiral during s4. What's also true is that Glimmer is partially responsible for her own pain in s4 and the loss of her mother. (I can talk in more detail about this cascade of events, lmk.)

In fact, Shadow Weaver switching sides is nothing- she's not trying to help the Princesses win, there's nothing left for her at the Horde and she uses it as a new opportunity to manipulate for power. In s4 she drives Glimmer towards releasing the power, for her own gain. It doesn't end like she intends when the Heart is set off instead.

But, as usual Shadow Weaver is getting away with it. She only faces consequences in s5 when Catra (‘a villain who needs to be stopped') helps Adora past all the manipulations with her love confession. Why is it Catra that has to bring the knowledge of love, why is she the wise one? It's literally the story of the series, her saving Adora with The Kiss.

So the story of the series isn't that Catra is a redeeming villain- it's why she has this special knowledge. Nor is Adora some miraculous hero- she can't be a real hero until she learns to accept that love.

So Catra can't really be called a villain, she does act the part but it's more complicated than that. Hordak isn't one either- he is a trauma machine, but he helps them win in the end, too. And Entrapta is one of the least villainous people in her intentions- lead than the Princesses who try to use a horrific super weapon to win (obvious similarities to choosing the nuclear option). Instead, we should focus on the real villains- sociopathic manipulators who like to hurt others- Shadow Weaver, Horde Prime, and somewhat Light Hope.

They lack the ability to feel love or empathy, they want to hurt others, like many of the worst abusers in our societies (looking at you, capitalism). That emotional difference is where the root of evil actually lies, because it lets them hurt people indefinitely. And just like Shadow Weaver, Horde Prime got away with it for the longest time, he hurt Hordak and murdered many innocent worlds before being stopped. And what did it take to stop him? An act of love. Gay love. 🏳️‍🌈 That's a pretty great rejection of the blasé troupes if you ask me.

So, I don't agree with the 80s villain view of Entrapta and most other characters. Is Scorpia a villain? How about Kyle, Rogelio, and Lonnie? They're treated as such. It's so much better that we're shown both sides, to understand how their choices are affected by the Princesses own actions. So that way we can think about why they make the decisions that they do. It's chaos until they all agree to stop and understand each other. Meanwhile the sociopaths were getting away with manipulating them all.

Oh an Entrapta? She doesn't stop to placate anyone's fragile feelings, such as with the Princesses, because ignorance is worse than not knowing what's really going on and the deeper plot that threatens the entire universe.

Anyways... I am not worthy to speak for ND but I suspect that he'd say calling Entrapta a villain wasn't what he wanted us to see. Or with many of the other characters. Entrapta is always doing her best, she's also kind to others. Calling her villain is so surface, it's meh.

Hope that makes sense.

p.s I know my posts are long, but its because I'm trying to answer all of the questions and misconstrued comebacks I've seen all at once, every question all at once. I do wish my writings could be shorter, but then I'd leave too many things open to confusion. Also, many questions are answered in my hyperlinks- more good meta to read with a hot cuppa somethin'☕️☺️ (all hyperlinks are on tumblr)

In a show where Catra and Adora struggle so much with becoming their true selves, Entrapta is always in touch with her most authentic self. She gives me all of the happy feelings 🥰

I know, it hurts to see her suffer. 😥 She shouldn't be made to doubt. Then again, what's being alive more than doubting? Each major character in SPOP does it. Her story has so much humanity 😌

Well said!! This is what I'm really saying when I talk about how the Princesses are privileged. Like, many privileged people accept the current economic order and that's wrong- it's destroying our environment and makes 3rd world counties impoverished. I see a real similarity in how the Princesses just accept their world order. Like irl, just because they don't know it's wrong doesn't make it any less wrong.

Thanks to anybody who hung out through this long post. If you like it, let me know. But reblogg if you can, because reblogs make the tumblr world go round ☺️💫🌍✨. Thanks for writing in op, I'm glad we agree on many things (some which I didn't have time to cover).

Happy Pride everybody!! ✨✨🏳️‍🌈✨✨!!!!

p.s if you have an ama pending I have received it and will respond just as soon as it's ready. Feel free to keep sending me asks my peoples!!

-Etheriadearie

#entrapta #she ra meta #spop meta #she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #spop #villain #80s villain #nd stevenson #she ra spoilers #catradora

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darklight572 · 4 months

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"Are we just gonna ignore that?"

Mermista is, of course, referring to Hordak and Entrapta together at the end of the Finale. I think its an interesting question, and represents far more than a meta look at the ship of Entrapta and Hordak.

Fundamentally, She-Ra Princess of Powers (2018) has a drastically different view of what it means to be "moral" and what "punishing villains" mean. It does not necessarily hold every individual who does something evil responsible for their actions, instead, investigating the system that prompts this evil. I want to explore that concept primarily through the characters of Entrapta and Hordak.

Hordak (The Derivative of Pure Evil) Starting with Hordak because he's frankly a bit less nuanced than Entrapta, not unnunaced, just less. He's introduced as the leader of the Horde, passive himself, but frustrated with Shadow Weaver's lack of progress. As the leader of the Horde, all-commanding, responsible for the (at least) decades of devastation and death.

However, despite that, he is- at least later on -given sympathy by proxy of standing next to Prime. Sure, Hordak has tried to dominate a world for decades, Prime has ruled the Universe for hundreds of years-maybe even a milenia. Further, while Hordak rules from afar, delegating his violence to Shadow Weaver and Catra, Prime manipulates directly- robbing will and mocking any form of attempted dignity in his presence.

Note that when Hordak does attempt to be charismatic he mimics Prime, most likely intentionally. It is clear that the evil Hordak has shown is fundamentally deritive, and that creates some amount of distance between Hordak and his actions. Further, there is the-slight as it is- possibility that Hordak had-fundamentally- no choice but to do as Prime programmed him. I find this interpretation doubtful due to the existence of Wrong Hordak, but, in fairness- he was severely physically damaged immediately.

Regardless of your take on that, Hordak is shown sympathy by Entrapta. This is interesting, not because Entrapta "doesn't care about her friends" as some people try to argue, but because it clearly displays how Entrapta cares about her friends. Sidelining that for a moment, Hordak is a great example of systemic oppression at work- not just as a leader, but as a victim of it. He was created "flawed" and was cast out, having only known one thing- Prime and his conquest- he attempts to emulate it but can't, not totally.

In his mission he recruits people like Shadow Weaver, and encourages her when she creates people like Catra and Adora- no doubt- even ordering the creation of the program which creates child soldiers. Stripping them of their indviduality through uniform and loyalty, twisting collectivism to benefit one individual through the gathering and hording of resources. When we see Hordak interact with his empire its strictly toward his end or delegated to another party. He expects his soldiers to be an extension of himself in totality, obviously, as a result of him being a clone of Prime.

The fact that most of the antagonism for at least the earlier seasons is a result of Shadow Weaver should not be ignored. Despite explicitly ordering Shadow Weaver to stop focusing on Adora she continues to do so, she has the capability to summon Force Captains and order them against his wishes- even one he promoted himself! By his own creation, Shadow Weaver is able to push a system where she wants to go, thats because at this point SW is who controls it, not Hordak. Once Catra defeats and imprisons Shadow Weaver, she attempts to take her place- and then the focus switches from SW to Catra as the primary antagonist.

Hordak is, never really the "true" narrative antagonist of She-Ra, not really, instead he represents the impersonal ambitious and destructive system of oppression.

So why the hell does he let a short, genius, probably neurodivergent woman invade his sanctum and aid him with something he hasn't confided in his closest generals with?

Entrapta (Schrodinger's Scientist) Lets talk about Entrapta.

Entrapta begins fairly simply, as the typical "mad genius" archetype, even introduced in a stereotypically villainous way cinnematically- a silhouette on a canvas of forboding colors. Then, revealed to be, fairly short, and asymetrical design wise- with top heavy hair that supports her. Immediately cutting most of the threat from the introduction. Entrapta seems to embody that contradiction as we move forward. Simultanously focused on doing whatever she can to learn and experiment and still being so anchored to others.

Over and over, we see Entrapta convinced not necessarily by helping friends or stopping enemies, but by studying more and more technology. Ot at least, thats what seems to happen, I want to posit another explanation. Mostly, I want to focus on her decision to stay in the Horde, and I do think its a decision. While Catra does indeed manipulate Entrapta at least to an extent, is isn't using false information or to lure her to some forboding place. Catra feels- imo -empathetic toward Entrapta. Her friends who had claimed to care for her had left her, used her as a tool to accomplish their goals, thats something Catra can relate to.

While this perception isn't true, Entrapta seems to believe it, and is visibly disturbed by the relation. Quickly, Scorpia befriends Entrapta, and even Catra seems somewhat fond of Entrapta's company. Entrapta explores all sorts of situations, helps the Horde quite a bit, and even begins to befriend(?) Hordak? Why? Is it because she feels betrayed and whats vengeance? Is it because she doesn't care about whats right and whats wrong? I don't think so- I think Entrapta fails to see the system behind an individual, or maybe doesn't care for it. She's almost a mirror to Catra in that way.

However, where Catra thinks herself immune to the propaganda of the system just by knowing it, Entrapta seems unaware or unconcerned by the logical ends of her actions. In a way that seems to both contradict her focus on scientific rigidity and completely fit with how she was introduced: in the throws of experiment, and completely unprepared when the logical end of it backfired. It is both a strength and a weakness of the character- something I have to agree with user Gythyanki (https://www.tumblr.com/gythyanki) that She-Ra 2018 does quite well.

Humanizing Hordak (And Destroying the System) It is precisely due to Entrapta's unique perception of systems that she is able to befriend Hordak. Keep in mind, for his entire life, Hordak has only known conquest and using people as a means to their ends. Thats how Prime sees him, thats how Shadow Weaver sees him, thats even how Catra sees him. So- when this woman- who should be an enemy, who should be a prisoner- not provides aid to him when he thought no one else could, but doesn't just use him it makes perfect sense that he becomes fond of her.

And while Entrapta's decision to help a tyrannical dictator build a portal that could have ended the world was.... not good, in the end, if Hordak hadn't been turned at least to Entrapta's side, there's a chance Prime could have won. And really, thats sorta the point right? Its not that Hordak didn't do horrible things. Its not that Entrapta was right to build robots for Catra or help Hordak build a portal, but that, it was not wrong for Entrapta to extend compassion toward him. That the evil being done is not ultimately caused by the individual, not really, but by the larger system at play.

Once you elminate Hordak from his context as ruler of the Horde, what do you have? You have a "defective" clone who'll do anything to return to his "brother's" good graces, but has fundamentally failed him by becoming an individual. Hordak learns to have his own values and chooses the one that showed him kindness over the one that used him. So "Are we just gonna ignore that?" has an answer, no, we aren't. Because we've already dealt with the problem. Hordak's means of doing harm has been taken from him, and his motivation to do it similarly.

Fundamentally, what would killing Hordak accomplish here? I might even ask, what would punishig him accomplish? She-Ra Princess of Powers seems to refuse the traditional concept of punitive punishment, and instead focus on how people are actually effected. How was Catra and Adora affected by Shadow Weaver? How was Shadow Weaver affected by Hordak? How was Hordak affected by Prime? What sort of system perpetuated the harm these individuals did? And how do we stop it?

I can't claim to know what the objectively best moral framework is, but I do know, that I can agree with the idea that maybe people matter a bit more than vague notions of "justice" which harm more people than they actually help.

End Note I: I am NOT saying Entrapta and Hordak are justified in their actions, and I am also not saying that Hordak shouldn't probably have to do a lot of rebuilding. One more note: individualism isn't inherently a "bad" thing, but it can be weaponized to attack geniune collectivism used to aid people in securing resources, be wary of that sort of thinking.

End Note II: Just in case you were busy reading and didn't wanna open a new tab GO READ GYTHYANKI'S STUFF, I WILL FIND AND RANT ABOUT HOW GOOD IT IS IF YOU DON'T

#she ra spop #entrapta #hordak #entrapdak #ethics

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cirusthecitrus · 2 years

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An interesting Hordak/Entrapta parallel i can't stop thinking about

At a certain point in their lives both of them 1) were exiled and basically sent to die by someone who was important to them and whom they fully trusted (a friend/family/god) 2) got stuck in a strange place, isolated from the rest of the world/universe, all alone (lol speaking of trauma bonds...)

Two very similar and yet very different situations. And here’s the fun part: the main difference between Entrapta and Hordak’s stories is the opposite ways in which they react to their opposite circumstances, cope with and adapt to new changes

Etheria, for all its problems, is a real place to live, while Beast Island is literally a deadly patch of deadly land where everyone dies a deadly death. And yet it’s Hordak who keeps trying to leave the place he got stuck in and return home, while Entrapta just… accepts her fate and stays to explore all the ancient tech lying around

No need to explain why Hordak spends 30+ years building a portal and dreams of his reunion with Prime. He has his moments of doubt tho, even before Entrapta became his reason to stay on Etheria “perhaps Prime was right... I am a failure” *. But after that he still keeps going, he’s not giving up. So, why isn’t Entrapta trying to escape from BI then? Why did she give up?

She could try to build a boat and escape “Cast Away” style, with all the tech, materials and her abilities she could! And it’s not like the signal was affecting her as much to make her stay (i think, maybe the signal did play it’s part but it’s more interesting to discuss Entrapta’s actions within a scenario where it didn’t mess with her head much) Maybe she tried to save herself at first, maybe she was waiting, hoping for someone to come for her. But at some point, it seems, she stopped trying, stopped hoping. But why? Don't tell me it's all because of the tech >:(

Because what really was there for her back home? Were there people waiting for her, missing her, anyone who wished to have her around again? The princesses? No, she’s their enemy now (plus they treated her terribly even when they were on the same side so-). Her friends in the Horde? Not only did they send her on BI in the first place, none of them came back for her afterwards (in over a year), meaning it was not just a mistake. Their friendship was. She was a mistake. All what would be left for her is to return to Dryl and continue her work all alone, but how different would that be from her current situation?

Hordak too, was believed to be a “mistake”. A useless defect in his God’s eyes. And Horde Prime knows all, he’s always right, thus Hordak, despite trying to prove him wrong, somewhere deep down too believed that he was the problem and that he deserved to be treated like this. And yet he still wanted to return to Prime, still believed that he'd accept him, welcome him back if Hordak proved himself worthy. Hordak is fueled by this irrational, naive, almost childish hope. It gave him a goal in life, a path to follow, a reason to keep going. All while his blind faith and love for Horde Prime was so strong that it outshined and outweighed most if not all of the horrible memories he had from his time serving Prime (like, life in the Galactic Horde is a fucking nightmare and yet-). To Hordak, his whole life and meaning - his everything was somewhere out there outside despondos and he had to escape Etheria no matter what. And never did Hordak think that there might be life for him outside the Horde, a better life without his God (before he met Entrapta of course)

But with Entrapta, it seems, this hope was lost. Not right away, of course. Like I said, at first she might’ve tried to escape all by herself, then she prolonged her stay because of all the tech to explore and focused solely on her research. But perhaps the signal was getting louder and stronger and depressing thoughts would occupy her mind more often. That’s when the “the world outside Beast Island ceased to exist” theory might’ve come up in her head. To help her cope with the fact that it probably has been months and no one still came for her. Such an easy explanation, isn’t it? Of course no one has come for her - the outside world no longer exists! It's not like everyone has given up on her and no one even wonders where she's been all those months!

Okay this part is solely my speculations, u can call them headcanons even, but This theory could've been somewhat comforting even. It leaves the room to some nice warming thoughts - that her friends do want her back despite everything, just physically unable to reach her and get her home anymore. Just like it might've been comforting for Hordak to think that Prime could've already changed his mind. And if only he wasn't cut out from the rest of the universe, HP would search for him and come for him

But then Adora, Bow and Swift Wind show up to save her, proving that the outside world does in fact exist and so are other people, her friends she “had failed”. And if they’re all alive, that means they only never came for her because they didn’t want her back. And that’s when she could no longer resist the signal She gave up, got tired of giving chance after chance - mainly to herself. What’s the point of keep trying to befirend someone if the result is always going to be the same? In a way, Entrapta stopped living in "denial" (unlike Hordak*) and accepted “the harsh truth”

*Even those brief moments where Hordak questions his whole mission are never about Hordak realizing that Prime is Bad Actually, it's always Hordak thinking he is not worthy to return to Prime afterall. And it was the same with Entrapta. She didn't refuse to leave BI because she now hates the princesses or her allies in the Horde for how they treated her, but rather because "people who have given up on me were right" and she's not worthy to return to them and join their side (be it the Horde or the Alliance)

She made a decision to stay on BI because she was afraid of what eventually did happen to Hordak once he returned to the Galactic Horde - she feared that if she came back, all her doubts, fears and self-loathing thoughts would prove to be true. That she’s a failure and a weirdo, that she’s unwanted and despised by those she loves, that she’s a bad friend, that life outside literal murder island would be even more miserable for her

[i swear these parralels are going to kill me one day]

The most tragic thing about Hordak’s story is that he was actively trying to leave this relatively safe place in wish to return to his cold uncaring abusive god and willingly continue living in literal hell. Because he desperately wanted to be accepted by the most important person in his life. (And was literally programmed to see this hell as the only acceptable way to live exist)

And the most tragic thing about Entrapta’s situation is that we know that there were people who were missing her, who loved her and cared for her enough to come to her rescue. Who would not allow her exile to happen in the first place had they found out sooner. But Entrapta didn't know that for sure and still wanted to stay on this deadly island. Because how was she to know that if she escaped BI and returned home, she would not be rejected or even... sent back to that island again?

#entrapta #hordak #entrapdak #spop #shera #spop meta #ramblings #screaming crying thinking about the purble gurl again..#hope this makes sense

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tippenfunkaport · 1 year

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Quickstart Guide to getting into the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power fandom on Tumblr

(Maybe someone has made one of these already but i am behind because of NaNoWriMo so I am making my own because I do what I want.)

Welcome to Tumblr, new or returning user! It's lovely here and the SPOP fandom is still quite active. Here's a quickie guide on how to become a part of it!

Finding content

Confusingly, this fandom uses three main tags: SPOP, She Ra, SheRa (Tumblr ignores case as well as the - in She-Ra so using She-Ra is effectively exactly the same as using just She Ra or she ra). Then there are tags for individual ships (some of the most popular ones are Catradora, Entrapdak, Glimbow, Seamista, Scorfuma etc).

To find content, search for either one of the main fandom tags (spop, shera, she ra) or the tag for your favorite character or ship. They'll be a big blue follow button under the tag you can press so that Tumblr will automatically pepper new posts from your followed tags into your dash.

Then, while you're looking at the search results, take note of who's posting stuff you like and start to follow the people whose posts you dig so they'll appear on your dash. (Understand that some blogs are side blogs so the blog that you followed and the one that follows you back or likes your stuff may have completely different names because one is the side blog and one is the main.)

Looking for something niche? Try a combo of terms! (Tumblr recently changed things so you can search within post content AND tags. So if you're getting, say, Hunger Games and My Little Pony results while trying to search for Glimmer, try searching for Glimmer SPOP instead to narrow the results down.)

Just remember that search results and tag results are different things! Search results show all posts with those terms anywhere in the post while tag results are literally only posts tagged with that exact phrase.

Sharing your content

When posting, make sure you tag your content in the tag field at the bottom of the posting form, each tag separately. As you start to type, the site will helpfully suggest popular tags to get your started. Unlike on other sites, you CAN have spaces in your tags (so it's Best Friend Squad not BestFriendSquad). No need to add the hashtag, Tumblr will do that for you after you hit submit.

At the least, you'll want to include the base fandom tags (spop, shera, she ra) and then any ships or characters in your post (Catra, Adora, Entrapta, etc). Other tags it might be helpful to add are any triggers, descriptors like fanart, fanfic, meta, incorrect quotes, etc or something for your own blog organization (like "my art" or "fics by me"). In yee olden days of Tumblr, you had to do things like make "Catradora fanart" or "shera catra" a tag (and some people still do this out of habit) but the way Tumblr has changed search, if you just make Catradora and fanart separate tags, it will show for anyone who searches for both.

Making Friends and Followers: Reblog and interact!

Tumblr lets you be as social (or not!) as you want. The reason the site is called Tumblr is posts get tossed around and around with other users adding tags and notes that (in theory anyway) make it better and get you more engagement: like a rock tumbler making dirty rocks all shiny. There are a million posts already on here that say this but I'm going to say it again: Likes do nothing. They are basically bookmarks. The way to connect with people on here and to keep the fandom alive is to reblog content and, if you want, add comments or tags.

See a cool headcanon? Reblog and add your thoughts! Someone posts a fanfic idea? Reblog and let them know how excited you'd be to read that! Every post on Tumblr is a collaboration and reblogs are how you pass posts around and support the content creators.

If people don't want you to interact with their posts, they will turn reblogging off so you never have to worry that your commentary isn't welcome. Reblogging your own stuff with commentary is a great way to get more engagement on it (say reblogging your fanart a few days after you posted it with some behind the scenes trivia about what gave you the idea for it or what brushes you used or reblogging to add some of your favorite reader comments from your fanfic).

Reblog the stuff you like and if you really like it? Reblog it now and queue it up to post again later. Reblog your own stuff multiple times. Don't worry about being annoying, that is 100% the culture on here so you'll fit right in. There's no algorithm so your blog is less like a book people will read in order and more like a TV channel: not everyone is watching at the same time so reruns let people catch the stuff they missed.

The more often you post about something, the more likely you are to find others who are into the same thing you are and that will help you find your happy little corner of Tumblr where you can thrive.

Discourse and drama

There is, blissfully, far less discourse and drama on here than other platforms but blocking on Tumblr is secret so feel free to block with wild abandon and no one will ever know. Want to be a little hater yourself? Know that it's a major faux pas to put ship or character hate in the tags. So if you really hate Melog, and you tag your anti-space kitty screed "anti Melog"... just know that everyone who searches for Melog will see that post unless they have specifically blocked the tag "anti melog" because Tumblr search includes tags. If you want to drink your haterade in peace, don't use the main fandom tags on anti posts and tag it as "discourse" or "drama," two commonly blocked tags. If you are a messy bitch who loves drama and WANT the people who love the character or ship to see your Big Angry Fandom Feels... just don't be surprised when the people who do love the characters or ship you are hating on interact with your posts or block you. And, on the other side, blocking the haters is as easy as blocking the users themselves or the hater tags (examples: "anti spinnerella" or "anti swift wind").

Which is all to say, be a little hater if you want but Tumblr is very much an f around and find out kind of platform so choose your experience wisely. And don't be surprised if people choose to block.

Which brings up a very important thing we're already seeing play out with new users: if you are used to a site with an algorithm such as TikTok or Twitter, you probably didn't realize how much it was coddling your fandom experience by specifically showing you posts it knows you'll agree with. Now that you're on a site with no algorithm, you're free from the insular feedback loop that you were in before and many of you are realizing that what you took to be popular takes are actually fringe opinions. It's jarring to realize you've been duped but you should be directing your anger at the platform that manipulated you, not your fellow fans who haven't been brainwashed into believing whatever you swallowed.

Other cool stuff

Download the xkit desktop browser extension for some extra features that make Tumblr even easier to use

Your blog has a queue which lets you stock up posts that Tumblr will release for you on a schedule of your choosing. VERY useful for when you go on a spree and want to reblog a billion things in a row but don't want to completely take over your followers dash. Throw all those posts in your queue and your blog will look active for days to months without you having to do anything. (This is actually the only way I blog, almost everything you see on my blog was queue up in advance)

Open up asks for art or fic prompts, questions or other conversation starters (You can block any annoying askers, even if they are anonymous!)

Schedule posts in advance such as for your favorite character's birthday or holiday / date specific stuff

tags are for visibility... but they are also for chatting and commentary? it's weird but you'll get used to it

there's no visible follower count so we're all pretty much on equal footing no matter how many followers you have

dates are hard to find on posts by design! posts never expire and old post make the rounds again all the time. It's NEVER "creepy" to go through someone's blog and like or reblog a billion old posts but every much encouraged. In fact, going through old posts to fill your queue is a great way to not only give yourself content but also give a blog you love new life!

Welcome to the SPOP fandom on Tumblr, we're happy to have you!

And that's all I can think of at the moment! Questions? Feel free to ask em and I'll do my best!

#spop #shera #she ra #catradora #tumblr #fandom #If you are an active SPOP tumblr blog you fully have my permission to promote yourself on this post #might as well make it easier for people to find each other #catra #she ra and the princesses of power #netflix

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swearyshera · 1 year

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Its just how shocked she is that gets me. There’s no funny quip or meta joke, she’s legitimately caught off guard.

A rare moment where Entrapta managed to be caught out by me!

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sometipsygnostalgic · 2 years

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Most Shera posters: *frame by frame analysis of catra and adora's reactions in Remember, Save the Cat, Failsafe* omg look how much they love and care for each other but also are so hurt by each other 😭😭😭 (/affectionate)

Me rapid fire DMING my friends: so do you think Entrapta would discover QPU backwards long jumping on purpose or completely by accident on a normal playthrough? can she even have normal playthroughs? I feel like shed discover a shitton of meta destroying glitches by accident and post brand new, completely unoptimized world record runs because she glitched into a room and skipped 5 hours of gameplay. I think the other characters would also be pretty exasperated by this and Catra and Adora would take the glitches Entrapta discovers and optimise them as hard as possible so they can beat each other's times. I think Glimmer would stay out of the way and beat people up in Devil May Cry while Bow and Scorpia play Animal Crossing nearby. Entrapta also has an unbroken speedrun record for Animal Crossing of about seven seconds. She doesn't know how it happened so it's in the "skip/glitch" category and to this day it hasn't been recreated.

#she ra #spop #entrapta #adora #catra #glimmer #bow

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n7punk · 1 year

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Let Me Ride Fic Notes

These notes are going to be shorter/looser than usual, this was an utter lie and I don't know why I thought I could abide by it when I wrote it a month ago. Anyway, Let Me Ride is done and as always I have meta.

Epilogue Life:

It's all set up in the fic, but they start working on spending time together more, talking things out, and generally fixing their relationship. They still have more growing to do, and integrating their lives and new friendships is kind of a struggle, but they get there.

Catra focuses on street racing a while, which is honestly good for their relationship at first because Catra feels like her skill is finally respected, but it's also really dangerous. As she slowly gets brought on as additional help ("as needed") around the track, she also gets access to the track itself during downtime through favoritism, and though she finds street racing a lot more fun, she can also acknowledge it's a lot safer for both herself and others to race on the track. She never fully quits being a nuisance on the roads - and neither does Adora, even if she stops participating in organized races - but she does slow down ("You've made me boring," she accuses Adora. That kind of stuff), it just takes a while.

Entrapta and Scorpia keep living together for a while until Scorpia ends up meeting Perfuma through the track (context further in the notes) and they spark up a relationship.

Playlist:

Dressed To Kill by The Wombats, Disco Heart by Gia Woods, Lesbionic by Gia Woods, Pineapple Slice by Tove Lo, WET by Lauren Sanderson, uh oh by Tate McRae (again), Whiplash by Alex Cappelli, 20 Questions by Zolita (yeah, I know it's a cheating song and the hook-ups aren't actually a problem in here, but it's more the energy of "Oh, did you get everything you wanted? Was it worth it?" applied to Adora leaving), and finally: Kiss Goodnight by I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME. (All of this capitalization is correct).

Chapter 1:

"Let me ride" is... well we all know what it is, but it's also Adora quite literally going "Angella please let me ride", being told no, and then going sulking - accidentally - right into Catra's arms.

I don't think I ever mentioned this, actually, but there's been a steady amount of motorcycle catradora art over the years that of course acts as the big inspiration/motivation for doing a motorcycle AU.

Adora says she "shouldn't" look at the magicat because she's expecting one of two outcomes: 1) it's some random magicat and she might be in for another painful experience like she talks about in Chapter 4, or 2) it actually is Catra and everything ends up hurting more. She wasn't expecting a third choice.

As implied later and unsurprisingly, Adora is autistic in this, hence her strong attraction to certain sensations and need for them or else she gets deeply unsettled. She's just the rare case of an autistic not bothered by sound.

I decided to go with naming the bikes Swift Wind and Melog partially because Swift Wind just made sense for Adora's bike but also because Melog's role in the show as, essentially, a therapy animal for Catra underscores how much of her mental well-being is coming from racing at that point in her life.

Chapter 2:

Neighorhoods like Glimmer's are far from standard where I live right now, but I have seen them here and there when traveling in both fancy and Very Average (or less) neighborhoods. There's no driveway in the front, so the front yards have ~aesthetic~ paths to the front door, and then there's a normal backyard and behind the back fence is a hidden driveway with a back street between the street rows to reach it. It kind of doubles the amount of street needed for a "single street" of houses since they have the "real" (for show) wide streets out front and then narrower backstreets between backyards.

Mentioning them using the strap facedown the first time was supposed to lowkey be a reference to toht, which was the first time I wrote strapping, only I just realized I'm actually thinking of the first strap scene in SLAS so... listen all the smut blends together.

This whole fic was supposed to be 20k and then chapter 2 alone ended up 9k because I couldn't control them and I realized I was a lost cause.

Chapter 3:

Adora speculates on it, but Catra cut her hair both because it was getting in the wound on her neck and making it hard to care for and because it changes her appearance pretty dramatically and makes her feel better about avoiding the Horde and the cops.

Of course Adora blames herself for Entrapta leaving. She's Adora. It's not like she's the newbie and no one who knew Entrapta better could do it either - no, she's the reason Catra found out about Entrapta, so it's her fault.

Adora genders her bike because she has pack-bonded with it, but Catra (though Extremely attached to her own bike) finds it weird to gender cars and the like.

Catra and Scorpia are staying at Entrapta's apartment because Catra ended up moving in with Scorpia after the breakup, and then they were worried about the Horde seeking retribution on them (rightfully) so they moved in with Entrapta since the Horde hadn't actually had reason to learn her address yet, and that way they could all be together to fight back if someone came after them.

Shadow Weaver betraying Catra and the Horde is a mirror of that arc from season two/three, but in this case Catra ended up fully banished because she was never given a path of redemption (even one that was intended to be a suicide mission so Hordak could keep Entrapta happy) and she's lowkey a shoot on sight order for the Horde, only the Horde doesn't really kill people, it's just that if they did she would be the first. She knows way too much and supposedly is already willing to work with the cops, making her a bigger risk than Adora was when she walked. She isn't actually in danger of being killed, but it's best she steers clear from the Horde in every way that she can.

Hordak "seducing" Entrapta wasn't like, real seducing for multiple reasons. In this AU, Hordak is focused on getting in with the Prime organized crime group to work towards expansion, so he hasn't worked with Entrapta but he is around the shop enough to know how useful she is and thus tried to convince her to stay. Part of that "seduction" was stuff like offering her better builds, which is better than sex in motivation for Entrapta lol. In the end, though, he was threatening to kill her friend for something Entapta couldn't see being Catra's fault. Entrapta was also pretty close with Catra and Melog was enough motivation on their own.

She was kind of missing the racers back at the track, too, and sticking with the Horde through this meant she had little chance of going back. While she was free to build without legal restrictions, monetary ones were a much bigger confining factor than they had been at the track, and she wasn't really allowed to do whatever she wanted on most customer cars since they asked for one thing and that was all Shadow Weaver and Hordak wanted to give them. Giving out upgrades for free is bad business, as is doing expensive upgrades that weren't asked for and holding the car hostage until they're paid for. The shop had downsides along with its benefit.

Catra was out in the garage for several minutes because she was 1) composing herself but also 2) looking over "Swift Wind" and inspecting what changes Adora had made (basically everything but the frame) and especially how careful she was when she removed things, looking to see if she left dents or scuffs on Catra's bike (for the most part she didn't because she was careful). It was her trying to determine how respectful Adora was when she took the parts (an act Catra considers disrespectful in itself, but she's aware at this point that Adora doesn't see it that way, so she wants to see how well she did treat it in the process).

Adora just happened to throw her jacket really well so it stayed hanging up on it all night. It seemed like the kind of stupid, jocky thing that Catra thought Adora would practice so she looked smooth when she took off her jacket and acted all effortless - probably flexing her muscles in the process, which would be impressive if they weren't already making out at that point.

When Adora says Entrapta "cuffed" Swift Wind it's not supposed to be racing terminology, but rather personal slang they use do to their origins in this fic, referencing being arrested and handcuffed.

Adora calls Swift Wind "one of the few things Catra has taken proud in", which is partially true, but mostly that's because she's never had the opportunity to do a lot of things she's proud of. Her mechanical skill is about all she has gotten and Swift Wind, being a long time project of her with lots of funds poured into it, and being the only vehicle she has worked on other than Melog that she "keeps", is in another league. It's also missing the context that Catra wasn't only upset about Swift Wind being taken apart because she was proud of her own work, but also because it was the only damn thing she has ever been able to do for Adora with how Shadow cornered them.

Chapter 4:

I was really hoping this would be the last chapter. So hopeful, in fact, that my chapter headings looked like this:

(Obviously I did not end up needing a Chapter 6, but whenever I make a doc I always include a few more chapters than I think I need because I know myself at this point. Also I wrote this bulletpoint before I was halfway through Chapter 4, so hubris really could have gotten me there.)

Obviously Adora isn't really a pillow princess but Catra likes to rile her up.

Catra is so boneless after taking care of Adora because she has been soothed right down to her soul by Adora giving everything over to her like that, trusting her in a way she now knows Adora has only ever trusted her. And then it's her turn 🥰

Adora's speculation was right. Part of Catra's planning was just general scheming behavior and she absolutely wasn't sore after breakfast - and wasn't even really that sore in Chapter 3 either - but letting Adora think that gave her an excuse for slow sex without admitting that's what she actually wanted.

I had so many ideas for when they were laying in bed (pre- and post-sex) in both this chapter and chapter 3, it was ridiculous. Like there's no way I could have used all of them and some of them contradicted each other anyway. That's part of why the smut in this surprised me: 90% of what I had outlined was cuddling and conversation, and then that did Not end up being 90% of the fic.

The "dark edge" to Catra's voice when Adora said her time with the other magicat was gross was her being 100% ready to kill the other woman if she had mistreated Adora.

Honestly my first A/N in the fic was more about the emotional growth these girls still need to go through than the... questionable decisions they have made. Adora is still in her "don't be a burden" mode, and Catra needs to grow into vulnerability more, although she makes good progress in the fic. The rest of that growth is set up by them finally getting back together. They have more to learn and they are going to fight, but after going through the breakup, they can handle it now.

Catra isn't trying to be mean about the plushie - honestly, it makes her affectionate - but it's extremely Adora and that makes her laugh.

When I say the unicorn's mane is "plastic" I mean like really shitty synthetic threads that straight up feel like plastic and tangle easily. That shit is all over "little girls'" toys and it's a nightmare both to touch and maintain.

Adora mentions buying the lingerie for herself because she's never actually worn it in front of anybody else and she didn't want Catra to think she'd done it for some hookup. She had a lot of issues post-breakup, including esteem issues, and it was Glimmer's suggestion. She has put it on once or twice but mostly relegated it to a corner. Post-making-up, however, it finally gets some fun use.

My outline for the end of the chapter was: ["let me drive you home?" "no you cant" BECAUSE SHES ALREADY HOME].

When Catra mentions going back to check on Entrapta, that's partially because Entrapta is getting increasingly more unhinged the longer she goes without work, and because she wants to go talk to her about coming back to the track so they can move onto the next phase of the plan now she knows she wants to go through with it.

Obviously the chapter title is in reference to how I was supposed to have everything wrapped up in the fourth chapter, but it's also kind of the thread throughout the entire fic, expecting every kiss and interaction to be the last.

Chapter 5:

I like the bookending of music being in the first and last chapter, the mentions of sound distortion being in both, and each one ending with them racing off together. I find that kind of thing fun.

Entrapta "isn't a threat" in that everyone at the track knows she would never do anything to hurt them. Girl can absolutely be a threat if she wants to be.

Entrapta hadn't come back to the track immediately because, after becoming friends with Catra and hearing all her rants about Adora, she realized she might not be welcome and they could be mad at her for abandoning them, something that had never occurred to her. It's an aspect of relationships that wasn't immediately obvious to her, but she's been misunderstood and outcast before, mostly in school when she was the subject of a misunderstanding, so it was just easier to not go back and tell herself she liked the freedom of doing whatever personal project she wanted. It was really starting to wear on her though and she wasn't going to be able to hold out for much longer. Catra knew that and getting Entrapta settled back at the track was also part of her agenda when it came to going home with Adora. Catra promised her she could come back that night, after Adora had texted, and she wasn't at all surprised when Entrapta wanted to go immediately, though she convinced her to wait until morning. It moved up the time table on her though and made it harder for her to plan past that in time, something she couldn't do before without seeing how Adora would react to her first.

Entrapta used a simplified ("for younger audiences") dictionary to fall asleep (if she had it her way, it would have been the full thing, but 1, her parents were the ones who had final say and 2, kiiiiind of hard to find audiobooks of the dictionary), one that was designed to introduce new words to kids/teens without going into a million variations of them. I decided this because when I tried to use a real dictionary, I couldn't find my physical one and online dictionary databases are like, a word and then 20 variants of it before moving onto the next one, which didn't really work well for the joke. I ended up searching "words that start with 'au'" on wordhippo and filtering it to common words and then using a couple of the unique words.

Catra went the club a few times without Adora showing throughout the year they were broken up, but like half the times she went without Adora showing were very recent, once she put this plan together and just needed to run into Adora to enact it. As Adora made partying more infrequent, it was harder to find her, but since Adora was also pretty consistent on which days she went, it wasn't all that hard.

I got an ask about what "The Scene™️" is for LMR, and I couldn't answer it 100% honestly then, but I can elaborate now. If you're new, The Scene is the scene (or scenes) that I consider the "big scenes" for the fic, things that really motivated me to write it in the first place or that a lot was building up to/riding on, or that are just a part of the fic I'm super excited for, whether that means to write or share it. For this fic, I had so much outlined that I was excited to write that it's hard to pick one, but if I have to narrow it down to Just One, the conversation in the kitchen where Catra reveals she's hooking up with Entrapta and they finally start to talk things out is probably the answer, with runner-up the scene in the observation deck where Catra reveals the events of the entire fic were planned. When I wrote chapter one at the very beginning, I didn't really do it with that context, but by the time I was doing the final edit I think I knew that was going to be the big reveal, so it has been a secret throughline from chapter 2 at the latest, depending when it happened and how you want to count it. The fic was both building to it, and could exist outside of it, because while it contextualized Catra's actions, before that it was just a hookup and growing fic, and that worked too, but I do think this is a pretty solid moment. I was really excited for all the cuddling and morning after conversation, though, so it's really hard to pick one and say that's it.

I just realized I never said it, but Scorpia got Catra the leather jacket (along with matching ones for her and Entrapta, though Scorpia's is actually a vest because finding one that fit her arms and worked with her spikes wasn't happening. Entrapta doesn't really wear hers because it's a Restrictive Sensation to her) after the stabbing as a bonding, here's-the-symbol-of-our-new-group thing, even though they didn't really have a new group, she was just trying to make Catra feel better about being kicked out of the Horde.

I also never said it in the fic because the scene mentioning it got cut, but the Horde isn't actually based out of Bright Moon, they're like an hour away over the city line to the next town, where Glimmer drove when she wanted to see street racing hoping to avoid people recognizing her (and Bow went with her to make sure she was okay). Catra came to Bright Moon downtown to dance the first time she ran into Adora because they just have a better scene there and then after that she kept coming back for her. It means it isn't too hard for them to avoid the Horde and their old life once they decide to move on.

Sea Hawk is a racer and Mermista is his girlfriend who he has been trying to convince to be his umbrella girl for ages just because he wants to show her off (in a "that's my girl!" way not in like, an objectifying way) but she's refused because that means publicly acknowledging she likes him, something she'll still deny to their friends when they catch them in the middle of making out.

Ok, so umbrella girls (or, apparently, just "the umbrellas" which is. insanely objectifying). I'm not going to pretend to know a lot about them, but I did google some stuff. I was introduced to them when I watched a MotoGP race to see what I was dealing with back when I was first planning this and there were tall supermodel ladies holding umbrellas over the racers before the race started to... protect them from the elements, I guess? Anyway, I don't know if they have to meet all these Requirements like cheerleaders, but it's my AU so I say that in Etheria they're Some Hot Lady who also does promo work for their racer/team and helps deal with sponsors. If you want to be more diverse (and/or get some publicity) you can pick a more unconventional choice like a dude or something. Perfuma is Adora's usual umbrella lady, and she's also a model with this basically being a sidegig she does because she finds the racing and racers hot. Also racing isn't a segregated sport on Etheria, which I'm Pretty Confident it is IRL.

Original Outline:

Surprising Nobody, Probably, this AU is actually two AUs combined. I had the backstory for Let Me Ride (MotoGP/street racing AU) with a few failed attempts at a story for it that never seemed that interesting to me (interesting to read, but not to write, at least not enough for me to actually do it) and I had what I called the "fuckboi drummer" AU, which is what half of the plot for this fic is, but that fic had no backstory or justification for why they were fighting and I just couldn't come up with one that matched the animosity between them, so the two ideas ended up fitting together well.

There were several original stabs at plot for LMR, but the most recent state of it before it became This was that Adora and Catra were both street racers, but they only had the one bike (Adora's bike) so Catra was mostly shoe-horned into the mechanic role, and when Adora got basically sponsored by Glimmer to become a real racer she was like "this is great, we'll move to Bright Moon and I'll pay for you to go to college and do whatever you want", not realizing what Catra wanted was to race and that had been totally discarded. Which like, still is kind of the backstory of the AU, just with some details changed.

The only plot I had after that was that Catra went solo in illegal races once Adora was gone and had her own fancy bike (thus not needing the one Catra built anymorer) and so Catra started tricking it out and eventually got sponsors. She was able to buy her way into low-level professional races and worked her way up through the circuit the traditional way instead of getting scouted and jumping straight to the big leagues. Aaaaaand that was mostly it. I took a couple stabs at coming up with a plot beyond "Oh Catra went up a rank and is getting one step closer to racing Adora" but nothing ever really materialized. At one point they were orphans who stole the bike and Adora was the only racer because they only owned one helmet lol.

For the fuckboi drummer AU, I'd been thinking for a while that Adora would like drums because it feels like hitting shit, and well, there's that TikTok, so I was bored waiting in the parking lot and basically started outlining the hook-up and morning after scenes with the vague idea that the backstory was they ran into each other again at a club and Catra is aware Adora has been hooking up ever since they broke up because she's a little broken inside. Catra comes home with her, they have one night together, and Catra Does Actually Leave in the morning.

The part that existed in the parking lot but that I was never planning on actually writing was that then a few days later Catra does a splice with one of Adora's TikToks - because Adora's drumming was vaguely plot relevant and she sometimes posts short drumming covers on her TikTok just for fun and the compliments she gets on her arms - where Catra sings the words that would go with that part of the song. The song in question was the one I was listening to in the car at the time, the chorus of "Good For Her" by Mothica. Adora comments back "this is so fucked up, Catra", leading to some mild internet drama since they both had a few thousand followers and people in the comments were like oo what 👀 Yeah I wasn't ever planning to write that TikTok part but I was bored XD After that Catra comes around for a second time and this time she stays and there's all that morning after stuff.

When I went to actually write the fuckboi drummer AU, it got condensed down to meeting at the club and going home together with Catra staying permanently after that and all the morning after type stuff. Of course, as I went to write it I found I needed a legitimate backstory, and that's when the "all backstory" AU combined with the "I'm bored in the parking lot" AU and we got the final version of Let Me Ride with at least a bit of an overarching plot in Catra secretly planning it all.

#lmr #ficmeta #fic notes

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