#glimmer is so smaller than bow and adora | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lem-cup-rev · 2 years

Text

4.12&13 | Destiny

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)

🌸🌸🌸🌸

A strong finale, but not one that has me keysmashing!

All of the plot parts worked together really well, and at its best it felt really exciting as all the storylines raced toward their looming conclusions. There were some special character moments in there that I loved seeing. Whereas at its least interesting points, I think it was just a little bit skeletal and didn’t have as much of the fun or emotional meat that makes episodes really special.

The Adora/Glimmer conflict really hit the metal! Both storylines had a thrilling sense of danger and really clear, immediate stakes. It was very tense and eerie to have each of them kind of have their best friend as the ‘big bad’ of the finale! They both really seemed afraid of what the other might do.

Entrapta was here!!! My angel!! My little 30-year-old darling! She hasn’t missed a damn beat hanging out on murder island, she’s as unique and funny and creepy and full of really fun hair-based movement choices as ever. I really liked how it initially seems like it’s her paradise to be there with the tech, but then we realize that’s really her signal despair world, because it means giving up on relationships like what she had with Hordak.

This show’s approach to navigating the presence of an autistic major character in a story of epic fantasy stakes continues to be [roboticist voice] fascinating. She interacts with the major themes of danger and caring about others in such an unusual way, and I’m often not sure if I think it’s dismissive and insulting or fresh and brilliant. I’m not really interested in declaring it bad or good, but I love how unpackable it is.

I was struck by the sheer condescension from Adora when she tempted her to check out the First Ones spaceship. I think it felt a little disappointing to me when Entrapta confirmed she was not swayed by Bow’s expression of kindness, only the wow cool robot. But then, she also confirmed it did mean something to her, which it should, since we know connection is important to her deep down. Her hurt from feeling abandoned was such a mirror to when she first joined the Horde, but much more interesting! Does it retroactively make that scene more interesting? Maybe.

I loved the little Shadow Weaver scene where she tries to mommy Glimmer more than ever. The way she squishes her cheek… Seeing the way she constantly just gravitates to young people and does this, creates an emotional dependence and manipulates them like she doesn’t even need to think about it, is so scary. She’s such an awesome character.

It’s so neat that Glimmer is helping Scorpia do something that’s really healthy and meaningful for her, yet for a bad purpose! It’s a really interesting sort of “conflict of interests” for the audience that stories don’t usually do.

I think it’s so cool that Glimmer hired Double Trouble! The way she’s crossing lines now is so tangible and exciting. I both think it’s badass that she did it and really enjoy the tension it reflects between her and Adora.

It was so compelling and heartbreaking the way Catra wanted so badly to be friends with her Horde squad again, but ended up freaking out at them exactly the way they expected because of how messed up she is now. And I really liked the little scene where Scorpia meets the squad on their way out of the Horde. Their calm certainty about deserting was so satisfying in a way, it felt like such a fulfilling and dignified resolution for their story.

When it comes to Scorpia’s little hurt/comfort arc, some of it is affecting for me. I think the smaller the detail, the more I feel it. Like when she pulled back from hugging Glimmer, but Glimmer pulled her back in? Oh, honey… 🥹 It definitely has an impact to start tossing lots of kindness her way after she’s been a kicked puppy for 37 episodes.

I LOVED seeing Double Trouble tear apart the Horde exactly like they did to Bright Moon. The way Catra’s and Hordak’s relationship was just waiting to explode because of one little secret, and Double Trouble just had to identify it. I honestly forgot that was such a looming tension between them all season, that Catra hurt Hordak in the worst way possible and then hid it, and it was so cool the way it instantly changed everything.

The Catra-Hordak fight was metal as hell. The single shot where she jumps straight onto his laser arm and punches him straight in the face is by far my favorite. Every time his laser chopped straight through buildings, it almost took me out of the moment in a way, cause I was like “Oh my God! Does he even realize how dangerous that is??” But seeing parts of the Fright Zone half reduced to ruins afterward was extremely cool. I love a visual metaphor for interpersonal devastation. It was awesome seeing Catra get so scratched up and shaky – the fight really felt messy and desperate and dangerous. And the way Hordak instigated it trying to punish her, and yet she ultimately shredded him, felt so intense and climactic and scary.

The way Double Trouble tore Catra apart was so powerful. It was almost jarring in that it felt like they ought to become the main villain after something that utterly brutal and dominant. I love what it did for Catra’s character – the ultimate climax of all the choices she’s made so far and how they’re tearing her apart inside. And that tiny moment with Glimmer was so strong – her basically doing the last thing Glimmer would ever expect from Catra by not trying to posture or defend herself, and then relating to her about being all alone…

I’d say the scene with Light Hope is one place it felt thinner for me. We’re hitting emotional beats that are powerful in themselves, but the presentation is very straightforward and doesn’t have the kind of emotional detail that would draw me in. And I guess scenes where something visually ultimate and climactic is happening, like a huge wave of rainbow energy, are never gonna be as interesting to me as scenes full of mundane, expressive details.

I really liked the moment where Hordak was trying to just club Glimmer to death in a last desperate act. That was a special kind of scary and disturbing.

Meeting Horde Prime just made me so sad. And not in the sense that I didn’t like it. But it didn’t achieve an exciting, scary villain feeling that they might have intended. It gave me such an intense feeling of despair to see him casually obliterate Hordak’s power and ego, and to think about how he’s conquered tons of planets with no sign of stopping.

He’s sexy though!

And I liked how he was about to just kill Glimmer on the spot. In what way? He had his hand on her cheek, was he going to explode her head? *shivers*

“We’re gonna save the universe” has got to be one of the least interesting lines you can end on. Sorry, no offense! But please give me something more characterful and evocative.

This season was so much fun!!

I’m so happy I decided to rewatch the show and close-read every episode, because I’m getting more from it than ever. I remembered the series being pretty, fun, romantic, and having my favorite princessy vibes, but I had no idea just how much there was for me to like.

Time for the home stretch, girls!

Next time: She-Ra… IN SPACE!

#review #no spoilers #episode #4⭐️#she-ra and the princesses of power #spop #she ra and the princesses of power

1 note · View note

tippenfunkaport · 2 years

Note

What do you mean by saying Glimmer wasn’t a good friend to Adora? As in season 4?

Anon, the timing of this ask is downright creepy because I was going write up a thing about their friendship today anyway for the @spop-palentines Fractures. Get out of my drafts folder!

Disclaimer before I start that I love Glimmer and Adora deeply, they are two of my most favorite characters, but you can like a character and still be able to acknowledge that they are flawed. (*gasps from the crowd* I know, I know. It’s very shocking. Almost like media has nuance and one can consume it intelligently instead of seeing everything through the lens of single focused stanning. Wild, huh?)

But to your question…

Princess Glimmer is not a good friend. Period. That’s a major part of her character’s arc and growth over the series. It’s understandable, given we’re told she’s sheltered as well as basically only ever had one friend growing up and Bow’s much more understanding / forgiving than the average person, but Glimmer, overall, still treats her friends like crud. At the start of the series, Glimmer is blunt, possessive, selfish, arrogant and takes her friends for granted all while being prickly and distrustful new allies.

And we see her working on this! She softens to relate to first Adora and then Sea Hawk and later Frosta and even Scorpia. It all culminates in her being able to finally let her guard down enough to make a connection with the least likely person, Catra, when they are in space which ends up saving her life.

Her being a bad friend and learning to be a better one is a key part of her character and how it develops.

But she’s a particularly bad friend to Adora. (And Bow but he’s another story.) Even before Season 4, in addition to the smaller stuff she’d doing to everyone else, she’s often dismissive of Adora’s needs / struggles and at multiple points clearly cares more about She-Ra and her powers than Adora herself. And then along comes Season 4 and, yes, Glimmer is grieving and it’s a realistic portrayal of grief so I don’t blame her for acting poorly, exactly, but there’s no denying she treats Adora awfully in many ways.

And the thing is… Adora’s not completely innocent here either. Because Adora’s particular issue is wanting to please everyone, there are less overt moments but they are still there. She’s less understanding of Glimmer’s grief in Season 4 than others, single focused on her own role over the bigger picture Glimmer is worried about, dismissive of her friend’s attempts to reconcile, manipulates her into staying in the Mer-Mysteries episode by guilt tripping her about Bow, etc etc.

And, yes, there are reasons for all of this and justifications on both sides. I’m not trying to say Adora’s bad behavior was more justified than Glimmers, but rather that they were both pretty horrible to each other despite each having their reasons. And it’s wonderful writing because it makes their relationship messy and complicated with shades of gray because they are both right and wrong in so many ways. But the sum total of it was: they were not good friends to each other and would have imploded long ago if Bow hadn’t been holding them together by sheer force of will.

Which comes to one of my problems with Season 5. Glimmer spends most of the season fixing things with Bow: showing she doesn’t just take him for granted, that she is attuned to his needs too, etc. And it’s important because it’s the last piece of her arc about learning to be a good friend… but we really kind of needed at least a moment where we see Glimmer also showing she no longer takes Adora for granted, aka actually caring for Adora as Adora and not just She-Ra, to cap it off.

And we just never got that.

#glimmer #adora #spop #shera #she ra #bow #meta

90 notes · View notes

wrens-wramblings · 3 years

Text

Not to be Sad on main but I'm currently thinking about how Catra and Adora's opposing mentalities (Catra being more individualistic while Adora viewing herself as part of a greater whole) that drove them apart are directly tied to their individual (horrendous) upbringings.

Adora, being groomed from childhood to lead a squad sees herself as less of an individual with her own needs and desires as part of a whole - hence her tendency towards self sacrifice "for the greater good". Herself as an individual doesn't matter, isn't at all comparable to the needs of the group.

Catra, being the bottom of the pecking order essentially, didn't see herself as part of their squad. Or rather, saw herself as more than just her place in their squad, more than a "a cog in the machine". To her mind it was her and Adora against the world. She doesn't do anything for the "greater good" of anyone but her and Adora.

And so, as many people have reiterated but still hurts me somehow... When Adora joined the rebellion she saw it as choosing good over evil and doing what was best for the collective "whole" - in this case all of Etheria. Catra, taking a smaller, individual-based mindset saw it just as Adora choosing Bow and Glimmer over her.

#spop #catradora brainrot #catra #adora x catra #adora #catra applesauce meowmeow #shera #spop catra #spop adora #spop catradora

184 notes · View notes

mercymorn-was-right · 2 years

Text

I think it’s great when crews talk about behind the scenes stuff and discuss their thoughts about what they’ve created and all that

but I loathe this culture of taking authorial intent as 100% canon

like not to mention that there are very few times there is actually one single ”true” author of a piece of media

but it also ignores the point that what is canon is what’s in the text

authorial intention can certainly inform our reading and interpretation of a text

but it isn’t law, it isn’t “canon”

and this culture I’ve noticed of attacking other fans because they interpret something in the text differently than what the/an author has stated was their intent (or even their own thought of what might’ve happened that they haven’t even decided on!) — it’s harmful to media analysis, but on a smaller level it’s harmful to fans and fandom spaces

like, one example of this would be in one of my own fandoms — She-Ra (2018)

none of the characters have outright stated sexualities in the show — something the crew has even commented on that there wouldn’t be labels on Etheria as everyone is just taken as they are

like yes, you can certainly see hints in the text to some characters attractions: Bow pretty explicitly has a crush on Sea Hawk and later gets into a relationship with Glimmer, so it’s not fa-fetched to say he is canonically bi or pan — it exists in the text of the show! Similarly, Adora shows explicit attraction towards women at numerous times while being portrayed to be pretty indifferent towards men, meaning there is good evidence she is canonically a lesbian. Scorpia is portrayed this way too, being completely unimpressed when Sea Hawks tries to charm her in season 1

but for others, it’s not as clear

Catra, Perfuma, Netossa, Spinnerella etc

they are certainly sapphic — that much is clear, but we know nothing (in the text of the show) about what their attractions look like apart form this

for Catra, it’s by virtue of her obsession with Adora — unlike Scorpia and Adora herself, Catra never shows interest in anyone but Adora, and so we really can’t speak on what other attraction or capacity for attraction she has. It’s just Adora.

for the others, it‘s by the virtue of being side characters. Spinnerella and Netossa was a couple since day 1 so really, it’s irrelevant and the text doesn’t give us any indication of attractions outside their very happy marriage. Perfuma goes to prom with Bow, but it’s unclear if it’s in a friendly way or if she’s into him, and later she has a flirt with Huntara, and eventually gets with Scorpia. Because she‘s a side character her attractions aren’t pondered on any closer

and yet I see some fans hound other fans because they headcanon Catra as bi, or any other “infraction” on what the crew has said in panels or on Twitter

and like I get the urge

because the common argument is that you are “harming/erasing X sexuality”

and like, in some contexts that’s certainly true

for example, it would be helluva lesbophobic leap to call Adora a straight woman

but while bi Adora isn’t my cup of tea, and it goes against canon (which I agree with in this instance bc I like it), as a lesbian myself I don’t really see an issue with it

because it’s not erasing queerness or Adora’s queer attractions — it just shows a different flavor of queer that that particular fan vibed with more, maybe cause they are bi themselves and see themselves in Adora. Hell, I headcanon Adora as a demiromantic lesbian because that’s what I am and I recognize myself in her character

and so it really astounds me when some fans vigorously hound others for “erasing canon lesbians” because they headcanoned Netossa as bi when she isn’t even explicitly anything but sapphic in the text, and furthermore it doesn’t even harm queer people as a group

it only furthers separation between queer groups when we are all truly better of together

and not only does this have implications on queer issues of solidarity which is a big important topic

but on the interpersonal level, it works to make fandom a less welcoming, more hostile place for (queer)people wanting to be creative and play with characters they love

and it’s a damn shame

#Rant #like entrapdak 🤮 is canon in text but I don’t like it so I refute it and that’s ok #Canon is only holy in Catholicism #Fandom is supposed to foster transformative works and how can that happen when not only do you have to keep to the canon of the text #but you have to also keep to “canon” of what the creators said in a livestream once #And that’s ignoring that there exists many different interpretations WITHIN the crews that create media

21 notes · View notes

catrasredemption-moved · 3 years

Note

Catra struggling with problems with her pregnancy due to her being a magicat and adora being a first one

"Catra won't wake up!"

Glimmer was a bit disoriented as the door of her room flew open, bouncing off the wall, and Adora bounded in. Her hair was down and all over the place, a clear sign she had just woken up.

"What?" Bow asked, recovering from the shock a bit faster than his wife. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she's been sleeping for fourteen hours!" Adora threw her hands up for emphasis. "She went to bed right after dinner, and she hasn't woken up, and I keep trying to shake her and she just - she's not waking up."

Glimmer was finally awake, grabbing Bow and Adora before Adora finished the last sentence and teleporting them back to the couple's room. Melog was nudging Catra with their snout, mewling, but their mane was still the usual neutral shade of blue... that was good, right?

Adora immediately returned to the bed, shaking her wife carefully. Glimmer knew Catra had been exhausted lately - it was hard not to know when they spent entire days together and Catra used her as a pillow to nap between meetings - but she definitely never slept fourteen hours. At her best she maybe she got seven or a broken eight.

"She seems okay," Bow reported as he checked her over. "Pulse is a bit low, but no fever, breathing's normal - did you call the healer?"

Adora blushed, shoulders hunching. Of course she hadn't, her first thought had been to get Bow and Glimmer. There was always an order to Adora's panic - first, get Catra. Then Bow and/or Glimmer depending on if they were together or had to be hunted down separately. Then someone who actually knew what they were doing.

"She'll be okay," Bow assured Adora as Glimmer teleported to grab the healer - a specialist from Mystacor who was staying in the castle for this extremely... unique pregnancy. "Probably just a little extra tired."

"I know, but she..." She wasn't moving. Catra wasn't necessarily a restless sleeper, but she'd started fussing more in her sleep as her belly had grown. "She doesn't sleep like this. You know that."

Yes, yes Bow did. He'd had to help hold her down more than once in the early days of the reconstruction.

Glimmer reappeared with Fay, who gently but firmly nudged Adora and Bow aside to get closer to Catra. She was used to dealing with panicking family, and knew how to assess when they needed coddling and when they needed a firm hand. The saviors of the universe and Bright Moon royalty usually needed the latter.

"How've the headaches been?" Fay began asking Adora questions as she gently scanned Catra over. The magical energy made Catra shiver slightly, but her eyes stayed firmly closed.

"Okay?" Adora said uncertainly. "She hides pain, it drives me insane sometimes. She said she didn't feel good last night and took some of that potion you gave us, though, and she hates that, so it was probably pretty bad."

"And we've had the discussion about hiding pain how many times now?"

"I know." Adora groaned, covering her face. Bow rested a hand on her shoulder.

"One thing at a time," he reminded her. She nodded, taking a deep breath and looking up.

"Morning sickness?" Fay prompted.

"She calls it every hour of the fucking day sickness." Adora smiled humorlessly. "Still not great, but she's been trying to eat smaller portions more often to make up for it."

"Good," Fay said with a small smile. "That sounds like a good start. Any other issues?"

"She keeps complaining about cold hands and feet. And she has dizzy spells."

Glimmer wound both her arms around one of her husband's, holding him close. They hadn't known about any of this. It unsettled her.

Fay nodded slowly, waving a hand. A small vial appeared in a shimmer of magic; she uncorked it and carefully placed it under Catra's nose. The effect was immediate - Catra immediately groaned, shifting weakly, her eyes fluttering for a moment, fighting hard before they finally opened.

"Wha - Wuzgoinon?"

Adora's tenuous control snapped; she dove at Catra, hugging her tight, a strangled sob lost in Catra's hair. "Mmmph!" Catra groaned, trying to shift to take some of Adora's weight off of her. "'Dora, what-"

"You weren't waking up," Adora whispered. Catra's glassy gaze scanned the room.

"And you... felt the need to alert the entire castle?"

"I was scared!" Adora insisted, wiping her eyes. Fay rested a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"Touch of anemia, I think. Low blood cell count," she added in explanation to the confused looks on both women's faces. "Easily treatable, but you'll want to take it easy for a few days while you recover. Bed rest, no meetings, no moving unless necessary, at least for a week. We can reassess after that."

"But-"

"No, she's right," Glimmer said at once. "That's my future niece or nephew you're carrying. You need to take care of them and you. Understood?"

Catra groaned, snuggling back under her warm blankets. "Fine," she mumbled. "Can I go back to sleep?"

"After you eat something." Another groan. "I know, I'm terrible." Fay patted Catra's shoulder, standing. "Get some food in you, I'll be back in an hour to see how you're doing."

She left, and Glimmer turned to follow, but not before seeing Catra slump against Adora, letting out a ragged breath.

Four months to go.

#catra pregnancy #catradora #askbox fic #pregnancy complications but mild #Sam Writes #Shoulda seen this coming lol

119 notes · View notes

adoras-last-braincell · 4 years

Note

How do you like the new she ra? I like it cause it’s more like Adora, than the original she ra and the original sword (og being Mara, the pictures, and her old design in general.) Didn’t feel like Adora, now it does.

Love it! I love how it incorporates her love of her friends along with looking more like her, and even Mara and some of the original She-Ra.

We’ve got Glimmer’s wings, Bow’s heart, and Catra’s mask, along with Adora’s own hair poof and ponytail:

The whole form looks so much more like Adora with the hair and the pants (FINALLY), but it also looks a lot like Mara’s She-Ra form--and even Mara’s normal clothes, interestingly, with the skirt-cape thing, belt, and smaller shoulder pads.

The sword and tiara also look more similar to the original 80s She-Ra:

So yeah, I love the design! They packed a ton into it while still making her look awesome.

Bonus:

Everybody got a back window this season. XD

#makes her previous transformation look like a 12 year old lol #i love the new one #new she ra #she ra #spop #spop s5 #asks #Anonymous

1K notes · View notes

sometipsygnostalgic · 2 years

Text

I like that in spop im really fond of so many main characters.

Yeah I have my favourites. Something like Entrapta>Catra>Glimmer>Scorpia>Adora>Bow. With Hordak somewhere in there, maybe even before Glimmer but I can't commit him yet.

However, the gaps between these characters are way smaller than in most media I've enjoyed.

Like sometimes I think Glimmer is the most interesting character, sometimes I think it's Adora, sometimes I'm impressed by Bow, sometimes Scorpia makes me question if she should be in first or second place because she's so good!

I dont think I got that with Homestuck. For me it was always Terezi>Roxy>Dave>>>>>>>everyone else.

14 notes · View notes

pennamesmith · 3 years

Text

For Want of a Skeletor

Entrapta hosts a Princess Alliance meeting at the Crypto Castle and absolutely nothing goes wrong. More Skeletor stories!

The lights were on late in Dryl.

Stars shone outside the windows. Entrapta sat hunched over her desk, studying datapads and readouts. A polite cough from the laboratory door caused her to look up from her work.

“Oh! I’m sorry Hordak, did I wake you?”

Her partner stepped softly into the room and shook his head. “Imp did. You know how he gets when either of us take too long to come to bed.”

Hordak crossed the cluttered floor and joined Entrapta at the desk. He was holding Imp in his arms, and the smaller, winged clone whined plaintively when he saw her. Entrapta kept her screens on, but leaned gratefully into Hordak’s side and curled a tendril of hair around his waist. She yawned, despite herself.

“I know. I just want to make sure I get everything right before the other princesses come over tomorrow.” She glanced back at the data, nervously tapping her fingertips together. “I’ve never hosted an Alliance meeting before! And this rescue will be our biggest mission since… well, you know. I don’t want to mess anything up.”

Hordak smiled. “Your diligence is admirable. But I also seem to recall someone telling me that imperfections are beautiful.”

Entrapta stuck out her tongue. “No fair.”

“I’m afraid the science is sound. Come to bed, my dear.”

The scientist scoffed, but she did not protest when Hordak gathered her up in his arms. She wrapped more of her hair around him, and Imp settled sleepily in the resulting nest. Entrapta could already feel herself drifting.

“You will be a shining star tomorrow,” Hordak promised, as he carried his family back to rest.

“Tomorrow,” echoed Imp.

The next day saw the Crypto Castle’s largest meeting room filled with princesses, dignitaries, and other honorary Alliance members. While Scorpia and Perfuma admired the tiny refreshments laid out for everyone, Mermista split her time between groaning at Sea Hawk’s boasts and trying every available chair to find the most comfortable one. Glimmer and Bow stepped uneasily around the edges of the room, watching carefully for anything that might be a trap, and Frosta followed their lead. Netossa and Spinnerella tried their best to find a chair Swift Wind could sit in.

Adora and Catra, wearing increasingly baffled expressions, were conversing with two domestic-looking robots who sat at the head of the table next to Entrapta. One was tall and skinny, and the other wore a welded-on handlebar mustache.

“Entrapta has parents?” Catra was asking, her face a galaxy of disbelief.

“Adopted, technically. Or adapted,” the skinnier bot explained. “We’re Entrapta’s parental units. She built us when she was six. You must have seen the painting in the foyer.”

“Yeah, we’ve been here pretty much the whole time,” the mustachioed model added. “You kids sure made a racket during your last few visits. What was that all about?”

“Uh,” Adora faltered.

To her immense relief, Hordak swept into the room at that very moment, flanked by Imp, Emily, and the reprogrammed Horde drone Entrapta had dubbed ‘Skeletor.’

“Welcome, everyone,” Hordak boomed, bringing the gathering to a respectful hush.

“Witless fools! I’m in charge now! And if you know what’s good for you you’ll do as I say!” Skeletor shouted.

Hordak scowled and shooed the fussing robot away from the table. “Pay no mind to that one,” he grumbled once he’d regained the floor. “Now then. Please allow me the honor of introducing the unparalleled mind who has made this operation possible, Princess Entrapta.”

“Thank you all for coming!” Entrapta started, while everyone took their seats. “I know you’re all excited about what we’re planning, but there’s still a lot of preparation to do before we can take off. As the chief science officers for this mission, it’s vital that Hordak and I gather as much data on your abilities as possible! Interdimensional travel is severely unpredictable and —”

“Hold on,” Mermista interrupted. “Exactly how high are the chances of us getting mutated by cosmic space energy or whatever? Because I only want cool mutations, not gross ones.”

“Maybe thirty, thirty-five percent?” Entrapta guessed. She shrugged. “A lot of this is theoretical. You guys will be like my guinea pigs! By which I mean the small robotic animals in the castle I protect and care for. And experiment on, sometimes.”

She laughed heartily. Glimmer and Bow shared a nervous glance. Perfuma turned slightly green.

Entrapta regained her composure and pointed back to the display board. “Ahem. Anyway, the good news is we already know some things about where we’re going! Probably.” She shuffled her notes, gaining confidence as she spoke.

“Before Adora found the Sword of Protection, historians debated ancient records of She-Ra. Some claimed she was called ‘Her-Ra’ and fought for the ‘Power of Grayskull.’ But I theorize that what those archaeologists actually uncovered was evidence of —”

“I have a question!” Frosta yelled. “Will there be hunky guys in the other dimension? I’m asking for a friend.”

“It’s funny you mention that, actually,” Entrapta replied. “Listen, just let me finish and…”

Unfortunately, anxious impatience had already gripped the assembled Alliance members. They clamored with questions, all talking at the same time. Entrapta shrank back in her seat and pulled her welding mask down, seeming to reach for something under the table.

Hordak stood up. Just as it looked like he was about to do something violent, a loud alarm sounded and the lights in the room flashed red.

“Uh-oh.” Entrapta glanced around at the assembled company. “Um, get ready to tuck and roll everybody!”

“Get ready to what?” Mermista cried out, but it was already too late. Multiple trap doors swung open across the meeting room floor, and with flailing limbs and startled shouts the guests were sent tumbling down chutes in every direction. In moments they had all vanished.

“I always feel so much better after doing something bad!” Skeletor cackled. “Now we begin phase two!”

Adora and Catra, who had clung to each other as they fell, landed with a bump in a darkened, underground space. As soon as they arrived, bright lights flickered to life and a huge screen lit up against the wall.

Entrapta’s face appeared on the monitor, larger than life. “Oh good! You’re alive,” she chirped when she saw the other two.

Adora clambered to her feet. “Entrapta! What’s going on?”

The scientist glanced away. “Well, I guess Skeletor didn’t like that we were ignoring him. So he stole my map of the castle and activated the security systems! Which means we’re all lost in the labyrinth until I can catch him. Isn’t that great?”

“It’s something,” Catra groaned, rubbing her head.

“Exactly! Now, without my map I can’t come find you. But if you can make it through the traps, the hallway you’re in should take you back to the meeting room. Then you’ll be safe until I can fix things!”

The screen dimmed again before Catra or Adora could protest. Left with few other options, they turned to get a good look at whatever dangers lay ahead.

They were standing at one end of a long corridor. Square blocks floated along its length, suspended in midair with anti-gravitational tech. An interrogative punctuation mark flashed on one, while a squat robot with painted-on angry eyebrows shambled slowly back and forth beneath it.

Catra took it all in. “You have got to be kidding.”

Adora had already drawn her sword and begun to venture forward. Catra was about to follow her, when something made her ears flick. A suspicious frown crossed her face.

“Hey, Adora!” Catra called. “Listen!”

“What?”

Catra pressed her ear to the wall. “There! Do you hear that?”

“Obviously not,” Adora huffed. “Now stop dawdling, the first puzzle looks pretty easy.”

Catra stayed where she was. “Hold on a second. This part of the castle feels familiar. I remember walking through here back when, uh, back when it was still Horde territory.” She coughed awkwardly, and then reached up to tilt the frame of a big-eyed kitten painting. “Look!”

Something clicked and the wall slid open, revealing a new passageway. Distinctive laughter could be heard coming from the other end of it. A purple neon sign reading “Secret Entrance!!!” buzzed to life.

Adora sighed and rolled her eyes.

“One time Entrapta had me and Scorpia over for a life-size Snakemen and Ladders game that got a little out of hand,” Catra explained as they entered the tunnel. At the far end there was a brightly lit office; inside, it was filled with laboratory equipment, video monitors, and a humble but dignified desk.

Hordak was sitting at the desk, in what appeared to be a smaller version of his old Fright Zone throne. It swiveled. Entrapta was sitting on the desk, and she waved as the other couple entered.

“Myaah! Sleep gas and stun-rays only, my evil minions!” muttered Skeletor, who was busy working the video monitors. On closer inspection, Adora realized that each of them showed some of the other princesses as they traversed the castle labyrinth.

“Welcome to mission control!” Entrapta sang, spreading her arms wide. “Hordak didn’t think you’d find us, but I had a hypothesis you might.”

“It was a ruse!” Adora gasped, scandalized. “You’re not lost at all!”

“You really need to hang out with Entrapta more if that still surprises you,” Catra observed. She looked at the monitors. “Ah, are they gonna be okay?”

“Better than!” Entrapta sprang off the desk, hanging by her hair as she showed off multiple datapads. “Everyone was getting a little… distracted upstairs, so I just decided to speed things up a teensy bit! The princesses using their powers to escape the maze will let me get all the readings we need, and then we can have a nice little party! I had the baker make tiny cakes.”

“I made sure Hordak’s doomberry pie was especially tasty!” Skeletor piped up.

“And it’s all perfectly safe!” Entrapta promised. Discreetly, a ribbon of hair reached out to push a blinking button. On the monitors, Mermista and Sea Hawk were rescued from a robot shark attack by a convenient change of the currents.

“This is hilarious,” Catra laughed, looking more closely. On one of the screens, Swift Wind was gleefully running loop-de-loops along a curving racetrack. “I think they’re actually having fun in there. Can we stay and watch?”

“I’m afraid not,” Hordak said. She-Ra’s — and your — assessment is the most important of all. But we’d love to have you over to the castle for dinner soon. Shall we say eight o’clock next week?”

“That sounds nice!” Adora chimed, before Catra could stop her.

“Splendid. I’ll cook,” Hordak concluded. Then he pressed a button on his desk, and a trapdoor sent the younger women plummeting through the floor.

Catra and Adora yelped in surprise, only for their fall to be cut short by an enormous pile of pillows on the level below. They struggled to their feet. Another corridor stretched away in front of them, filled with further challenges. Floating gold coins, each about four feet tall, indicated a pathway.

“Try not to have too much fun,” Hordak called good-naturedly as the trapdoor slid shut.

“Use the warp zone! It’s faster!” Entrapta added.

“Have a nice trip down!” said Skeletor.

Hordak settled back in his chair (it had soft armrests, and a cushion for lumbar support) and watched his partner at work. Entrapta flitted from screen to screen, taking notes and making adjustments. On one display, Bow and Glimmer had met up with Netossa and Spinnerella while navigating a cage minefield. On another, Frosta was making an ice bridge to help Perfuma and Scorpia cross a slow-moving spike trap.

“I’m sorry you had to use your backup plan. They really are utter fools if they ever doubted your genius,” Hordak mused.

“Different people have different strengths and weaknesses,” Entrapta replied, without looking up from her work. “And a good scientist collaborates whenever they can! Even if that requires a little creativity sometimes.”

Hordak nodded. “Fair enough. Nevertheless, I would not blame you if you wished to have nothing more to do with the Princess Alliance. Even their attempts to help you can seem… insensitive. You’re not obligated to forgive that.”

Skeletor looked up from his control panel and shook a fist. “Don’t you get awfully tired of being a hero all the time? Don’t you ever feel like doing something evil?”

“They’re trying to be good friends,” Entrapta defended. “And so am I. And if I really did need their help, maybe things would be different. But I’ve got it all under control!”

She vaulted across the room, flipping switches and turning dials along the way. On the monitors, Perfuma’s fall from a tall platform was gently broken by a sudden anti-gravitational field.

“Besides, forgiveness isn’t always about the person being forgiven. It’s also about taking back potential energy that was lost.”

“Did you learn that in my brother’s therapy group?” Hordak asked.

Entrapta smirked. “Actually, he got it from me.”

A pleasant ding sounded and Entrapta clapped her hair. “Hooray, everyone made it back! I’ll calculate the high scores and then we can continue the social experiment!”

“You astonish me every day,” Hordak purred as he rose to follow her. Entrapta put out her hand, and he took it.

“Wait for me!” Skeletor cried out. “You might get lost by yourself!”

One week later, a much smaller gathering of royals met in Dryl.

Catra and Adora sat together in one of the Crypto Castle’s least intimidating dining rooms, listening with barely-contained delight as Entrapta’s parental units thoroughly embarrassed their former boss.

“...And so I said to him, ‘I have charging ports Hordak, can you download raw data offa me?’ Ha! Oh, you shoulda seen his face!”

Hordak slouched in his chair. “I do not think we need to bore our guests with the details of this particular story,” he protested, feebly.

“Oh, I’m not bored at all! I want to hear everything,” Catra said. She leaned forward, grinning. “So, was this before or after you hooked him up to the lie detector?”

Entrapta giggled, and gave Hordak a gentle pat on the shoulder as she reached for another helping of his tiny quiche. All things considered, the night was going surprisingly well.

It was exactly what Entrapta wanted.

After dinner, wheeled bots carted away the leftovers and dirty dishes. Hordak poured coffee for himself and Adora, and the parental units retired to wherever it was they lived in the cavernous castle. Entrapta, lost in thought as usual, felt a familiar feline presence approach her.

“Thank you,” Catra said, sincerely. “Not just for this. For everything. For being so nice all the time. For making this mission happen. It means a lot to me.”

Entrapta smiled softly. “To me, too. Everyone makes mistakes. It would be a shame not to learn from them when we can.”

“Did you say something?” Skeletor squawked, suddenly materializing in the doorway.

Entrapta, unbothered, immediately produced a datapad. “Oh we’re just talking about the big rescue mission! Actually, you should probably take a look at my data, Skeletor. I haven’t told you much yet, and we might need you!” She held the blinking screen out happily.

Skeletor looked at the datapad. At first he seemed confused; then he boggled as he registered the information in front of him. “Eternia?” he gasped in disbelief. “Grayskull?”

His voice rose to a fevered pitch. “He-Man!”

For once, Skeletor had no words. He shrieked incomprehensibly instead, fists shaking.

Hordak chuckled. “It’ll be just like the old days!”

Skeletor screamed.

#spop #skeletor #entrapdak #entrapta #hordak #Catra #Adora #the princess alliance #smith stuff #fan fiction #thank you for reading

33 notes · View notes

johannas-motivational-insults · 3 years

Text

Oh man I just noticed another parallel between spop and btvs, specifically between their fourth seasons and the characters of Spike and Double Trouble.

Okay, so late in season 4 of Buffy the big bad of that season enlists the help of Spike in defeating the Scoobies (Buffy and her friends), and he does so by sowing discord among them. He’s been around them enough to notice where the tensions lie, and he makes comments that cause them to doubt and resent each other because he knows they are stronger together and thus weaker apart. He calls this the Yoko Factor, a reference to the break up of the Beatles and how Yoko was not the cause of it but rather exposed existing rifts among the group.

Who else is perceptive and manipulative in this way? None other than Double Trouble. They are primarily hired as a spy but they are a shit disturber by nature, and much of their work in Bright Moon is in aggravating existing grievances among the Best Friend Squad. They realize that Glimmer resents Adora’s tendency to take charge and treat Glimmer like a sidekick when she is a powerful mage (not to mention the queen!) capable of plenty on her own, similar to Buffy and Willow’s conflict. Their work digging at that insecurity is crucial to the growing conflict among the Squad that spirals out of control even after they are captured, leading to its ultimate fracture with Adora and Bow going to Beast Island against Glimmer’s orders and Glimmer activating the Heart.

I could write way more about this and the smaller parallels within it but in general I just really like this parallel. I don’t think it was intentional but it goes to show how a couple of great shows with strong themes about the power of friendship illustrated just how harmful unresolved grudges can be.

#spop #btvs #parallels #double trouble #spike #4x20 the yoko factor #4x04 pulse #(among others)

21 notes · View notes

mudda-budda · 3 years

Text

Sweet Dreams And Eggnog

Wrong Hordak x Reader

Platonic!Catra x Reader

Platonic being friendship sorta stuff, for those who don’t understand.

The mission was supposed to be simple, they said.

We’d find Catra and get out safely, they said.

Well not really ‘they said’ and more like you said.

It didn’t help that watching Catra come on board caused a sick feeling to churn in your stomach, you were still upset over Catra trying to end the entire planet and such, but Glimmer did the same thing and everyone onboard was still trying to forgive her or already did, so you didn’t make a peep. You could’ve been biased, but ending the planet is still ending the planet even it’s your friend; you already knew Bow was hurting from the way Glimmer was acting and how destructive it could’ve been.. Glimmer could be forgiven more easily, sure, she’s a friend.

Catra on the other hand.

She tried to hurt you once before, what enemy hasn’t of course, but it was some unfiltered rage so raw and pure you could’ve burned in the rays of it. Now she seemed sad, remorseful and.. Scared? Scared to be on a ship with all the people she’s ever hurt?

No.

That’s not it.

Ah, but there’s a new addition to the team?

Some Hordak look-a-like you almost punched back into space, thankfully Entrapta stopped you because otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten so close to this gentle life form; how- despite the exterior of the tyrant you hated most- he was so sweet and naive. It almost made you pity him to figure out all the thinhs wrong with the world, but like a parent letting their child take flight you knew that he had to learn. He was someone- is someone- you have been kindred with and hoped that maybe after this war..

“Beloved!” Wrong!Hordak exclaimed, you still didn’t like calling him that but it wasn’t like he had chosen a name yet, you sat up from the floor that you previously laid on when drinking your hot cocoa sip by sip, it seems he was holding a tray of assorted cookies all in various christmas-y shapes, a smile came to your lips instantly as he bent down to offer a sugar cookie, frosted and shaped to perceive itself like a christmas tree; “Look, look! It’s like a smaller version of those organic lifeforms that you call; ‘trees’!” He practically bounced up and down.

“Mhm.” You hum in response, taking the sugar cookie to bite into with a smile; it was warm still! You looked to him suspiciously, though it was playful, Wrong!Hordak’s ears perked up as a smile pounced onto his lips; “Entrapta gave some to me! She told me that Brother Hordak was helping to give out some cookies for the holidays!”

So that’s why they were smaller than usual!

“Entrapta really enjoys this sort of stuff,” You smile fondly, “Let’s get her something special in return.” Wrong!Hordak clasped his large hands together, winking, “It sounds splendid, brother!”

“I- Wrong!Hordak-“

A knock came at the door, causing him to jump up with a smile, “Perhaps some ‘caroles’ at our door?” He queried giddily while you could only groan and persist he doesn’t answer it, he still did and with open arms!

“Sister Adora! And Sister Catra, what brings you both here today?”

Your hands fasten around the cup with a shaky inhale, you still hadn’t gotten used to Catra despite how she seemed to change. It was still difficult to even welcome her in your own home, but she meant no harm now; you kept telling yourself she wasn’t going to hurt you or your beloved clone.

Adora took notice in how Catra remained silent, glancing to the ground and pushing the soles of her shoes into the ground farther and farther with each second passing by; the blonde placed a hand on her lover’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze as a silent assurance it was ok, Catra’s mismatched eyes would turn back to Wrong!Hordak; it felt weird looking at the clone but it wasn’t the actual thing so.. “We uh.. We got you some cake that was...” She trailed off, shifting around in place with words piling in her throat; Catra looked to Adora for help only to hear her wife speaking up; “We baked it! Is what she’s trying to say, sorry.”

Wrong!Hordak’s green eyes lit up, “Really? My, thank you!” He took the cake into his arms, “Why not make yourselves at home to warm up? It’s not ideal to stay out in the winter air!”

The clone would suddenly turn to you, apologetic, it was moments like these where it reminded you of his growth over the years- well sort of- Wrong!Hordak was still crud at reading a situation but he could understand what was acceptable and what wasn’t, so he felt guilty for the words that caused you to curl up into a ball; you cleared your throat and nodded, “Company’s nice. Let me make you some hot cocoa with marshmallows.”

“Can I get eggnog?” Adora piped up with a raised hand, grinning happily, “Oh, if it’s not too much trouble of cours-“ “No, no! I know how to whip some up!”

Reassuring the blonde and the brunette couple as they walked in to sit on the couch and cozzy up while making some idle chatter with the clone whom began to show off some recipes happily, it didn’t take long before more and more people were coming over to spend Christmas.. Though it was only some of the Princesses, former horde soldiers, and even a robot; it was so sweet and whatnot but it led you to feeling cramped. You breathed in and out to ease your tensions as you escaped to outside on your porch, pulling your wooly jacket closer to you, a presence would drop to sit right beside you, “It’s so stuffy in there.”

You recognized that voice.

“Catr-“

“I’m sorry..”

You thought you misheard her, blinking a few times at the feline-like girl before nodding and turning your head away; “I- I know you won’t forgive me as fast as everyone else, and I totally respect that!” You would’ve chuckled at the attempt of an apology, but you couldn’t find the urge too, “It’s just.. I want to be friends and right my wrongs. I know I hurt people, and I’m sorry.. I just- wish I could find a better way to express it.”

You turned to her, seeing the pitiful expression she tried to cover up in her arms, slowly you rested a hand on her arm and smiled; “You’re doing a great job right now.. I may not forgive you right away, but I can try.” Catra didn’t voice it, but you knew she appreciated your honesty and patience. She grabbed your hand, chuckling softly, “Now let’s go head back inside before your darling boy tries to hotwire a grill with Momma Entrapta.”

“And before your wife can judge down an entire vase of eggnog.”

“Hey! Adora would though!”

“Pftt!”

The party was over, to say the least, it was certainly hectic with Mermista and Perfuma fighting over who could conjure up better decor and Entrapta’s intellectual comments riling them up more; it took everything you and Adora had to keep fights from breaking out. Hordak and Wrong!Hordak trying to figure out how the hell to work the kitchen with each other and Wrong!Hordak getting a lecture to pick his own name because well-

It’s still worrisome how he still responds to ‘Wrong’!Hordak.

“That was fun!” He hummed, cuddling up to your fatigued body in the shared bed- you had been fine with sharing for so long- you only hummed in response while burying your head into his chest; the way his chest thrummed with soft laughter almost brought light to your tired eyes but it was more effective in lolling you to sleep, his hand brushed through your hair with sharp finger tips as he smiled brightly, “I hope to do this again.”

You shot up suddenly, “No!”

The response shocked him, “You felt overwhelmed, beloved?” He would grab your shoulders, hands sliding down to hold your hands, “I’m sorry, I thought it would be fun to have over our friends.”

You sigh, “I.. I know, but next time less people ok?” You mumbled, closing the space to bury your head in his chest again to listen to the beats of his heart; “I did make a friend today.” You confess as he could only smile and nod, “That’s good to hear, beloved.” His hands would just roam your hair as a soft kiss was pressed to your head gently.

“Sweet dreams.”

#spop s5 #wrong hordak x reader #wrong hordak #she ra #spop catra #spop adora #spop entrapta #spop ships #spop holiday shot

82 notes · View notes

kittyprincessofcats · 4 years

Text

She-Ra S5 E03 - Corridors

Sorry this one took me so long to write up. But even though it’s now been a while since season 5 was released, I still really want to finish writing up my thoughts on all the episodes, so here we go.

This episode. THIS EPISODE. GOD. I love it so much! I predict this post is going to be full of me gushing about how amazing it is. Also, there might be spoilers for the rest of the season in this post.

- First of all, I love how this episode begins with so many “oh shit” moments for you as a viewer. First you realize there’s no scene before the opening and you’re like “oh shit”. Then you realize it opens with a Catra flashback and you’re like “oh shit”. Then you see present!Catra looking down on her planet getting destroyed and then standing undecided between two corridors - one light and one dark - and you’re like “oh shit, guess we’re finally answering the ‘redemption or not’ question.” I love how it’s set up in a way that everyone knows within the first few minutes what this is going to be about and that shit’s about to get real.

- I also love that this season didn’t beat around the bush and did the redemption so early on. I was worried that we’d have to wait until the very end and wouldn’t get to actually see Catra work and bond with the good guys. And like I said before, all the groundwork for the redemption was already there after season 4, so I’m glad they didn’t make us wait.

- I like that Catra runs on all fours when she’s trying to be fast.

- I really like that first scene between Hordak and Catra. I generally think their relationship is super interesting, since they’re not as different as they think and they’re narrative foils to each other in many of the same ways that Catra and Glimmer are. And they’re in a very similar situation as Catra and Glimmer, too: They don’t particularly like each other and were fighting/trying to kill each other before getting abducted. But now they’re stuck on Prime’s ship with no way out, and are one of each other’s only reminders of their previous lives, so they still end up reaching out for each other (albeit in a smaller way than Catra and Glimmer do). I like how Hordak calls her "Catra", clearly showing that he does remember, and how Catra immediately recognizes him because of that and calls him by his real name as well (though she doesn’t realize what consequences that’ll have for him). I also like that despite their history, Catra tries to bring his memories back and tries to bond with him. I also find the line “It’s good to see a familiar face” interesting, since the clones all technically have the same face. (Basically, I need more fanfics about Hordak and Catra talking things out and becoming friends post season 5.)

- Bow being an exhaused parent who’s trying to keep Adora and Entrapta from destroying the ship is hilarious, but I also feel really bad for him.

- I also just realized that Bow, Adora and Entrapta are the rescue party, while the respective people they’ll end up with (Glimmer, Catra and Hordak) are trapped on Horde Prime’s ship... there’s fanfic potential in this.

- The entire talk where Catra and Glimmer bond over Adora - Do I even need to get into how perfect that scene is? “You’re lonely, aren’t you?”, both of them admitting it helps to talk to each other, them sitting back to back, Glimmer talking about her perfect day and Catra looking visibly sad when she mentions Adora, but Catra NOT lashing out and acting jealous this time but talking about her own memories of Adora, them bonding over memories of Adora - JUST YES. GOOD STUFF.

- “We’d play tricks on Kyle, stay up all night whispering about... you know, whatever.” And that was another one of those really strong Catradora hints. I didn’t pick up on Horde Prime’s “elevated heartrate” line in S5Ep1, but this line I did notice and it was my first “omg, this is actually happening, isn’t it?” moment. (Because I kind of just assumed that Noelle wouldn’t queerbait us and wouldn’t put in so many Catradora hints if it wasn’t going to happen.)

- Glimmer: “I’d do anything to go back and make it right.” *camera focuses on Catra’s sad face* Enough said.

- “There’s nothing for me on Etheria.” The fact that Catra was so surprised to even be asked what she’d be doing on Etheria speaks volumes, imo. She never considered the possibility of getting to go back there and never really thought about what she even wants.

- I love that Entratpa named the ship “Darla” and the other characters (and Darla herself) just go with it without even questioning it.

- “If I could tell you where Adora is, I would. She’s my enemy, I want her gone!” This whole exchange is so brilliant. Prime is such a good villain. I love how he sees through Catra’s lies right away. Also love how he refers to Adora as “your Adora” (he definitely low-key ships them). I also love how Catra is still trying to protect Adora, even when Prime sees through her bluffs. And that shocked expression on her face when Prime asks if she wants to be “free” of her feelings for Adora - poetic cinema.

- Hordak’s purification: God, this scene is so incredibly messed up and creepy - I love it! Starting with Catra’s worried expression when she looks at Hordak and how she angrily glares at Prime, how Horde Prime does the creepy face-touch thing, how Hordak looks back at Catra with this sad, resigned expression, the creepy clone cult with their glowing eyes and their chants, Horde Prime’s whole cult language (“suffer to become pure”, I mean, wtf?), how Catra’s so horrified by the whole thing and Prime tells her "Do what I ask of you” (the threat very clearly being “or I’ll do this to you, too”). 10/10

- Catra blushing as she brings Glimmer the cake... she is baby.

- “Adora’s on that ship, isn’t she?” This line gets to me every time. I already love how before this, Catra was talking to Glimmer quietly, trying to make sure the clone in front of the door doesn’t hear them as she tells her about the ship - but this line kills me every time. How Catra whispers it so quietly, how she looks so concerned for Adora, how you can tell in just that one line how much she still loves Adora - seriously, shout-out to AJ Michalka for how she spoke that line.

- I feel like everyone has already spoken at length about the rest of Glimmer and Catra’s talk, but seriously, it’s amazing. I love how Glimmer reasons with Catra and points out the flaws in her thinking, and I also think she really got through to Catra here. It might be the memories of Adora that finally get Catra to make the right choice in the end, but I think Glimmer’s words really got through to her as well. “Do one good thing in your life” - I mean, damn!

- I also just noticed that Glimmer and Horde Prime act as foils to each other in this episode as well, with how they’re both trying to convince Catra to make a different choice. Glimmer bonds with her over their memories of Adora, while Prime offers to “free” her of those memories. Glimmer begs her to not to sell Adora out and tells her Prime will just get rid of her, while Prime assures her she’ll be “raised above the other creatures of her homeworld.” Both of them at one point ask Catra what she really wants. (Glimmer: “If Prime captures Adora, he can use the Heart of Etheria to wipe out the whole universe. Is that what you want?” / Horde Prime: “ You will be exalted, raised up above the other wretched creatures of your home world. Is that not what you wanted?”)

- Adora hanging from a mess of wires and saying “I have everything under control” needs to become a meme, please. It reminds me of that comic where the dog’s surrounded by fire and says “This is fine”.

- That whole scene where Bow’s ranting at Adora and then Entrapta just shows up in the background floating around outside the spaceship this absoltuely hilarious.

- “I made spacesuits for us and then I fixed the ship from space. Where I am! Aahahahaha....” Oh, I love her. Poor Bow, though.

- How can Entrapta use a blowtorch in space, though? Like... there’s no oxygen, how can she... you know what, I’ll just stop questioning the science here.

- I love the whole suspense of Catra selling Adora out at first, then remembering their childhood and changing her mind - good stuff.

- Also, I’m not crying over that childhood memory, you’re crying over that childhood memory! Did you see how little!Catra blushed when Adora said she was always going to be her friend? And the music is their childhood theme from “Promise”. I also love the callback to “Promise” in general - back then, the memories were projected by Light Hope and pushed Catra away from Adora by only showing her the worst ones. This time, Catra is remembering herself, remembers Adora being there for her and decides to protect her.

- “I’ll never say sorry to anybody, ever.” Yeah, we’ll see about that.

- And here’s one of my favourite moments of the entire season: Catra visibly feeling guilty, remembering herself and Adora playing in the hallway, then that beat of music where she changes her mind and turns around. When I first watched this episode, this was the moment where I started so cheer and said “Well, finally!” Here we go on the redemption road!

- “I wanna do that one good thing in my life. Like you said. So... come with me.” That’s another amazing moment. And the music when Glimmer takes her hand... The entire episode from here on is basically just amazing moments with amazing music.

- “Are you saving me?” “Not you... Adora.” She did it for Adora... hold me. (I do think she also did it for Glimmer, though.)

- “Even if I sent her a message to stay away, she’d still come for you, that’s just how she is.” The heartbreaking part about this is that Catra genuinely didn’t realize that Adora would also come for her.

- “There’s no one left in the entire universe who cares about me.” *cut to Adora*

- The whole scene where Catra saves Glimmer and sacrifices herself just gets to me every time. Starting with the music - it’s Promise, which played during the cliff scene in “Promise” (and will later play during Catra’s love confession in Heart Part 2).

- “Adora... I’m sorry! For everything!” 😭😭 What makes this scene work so well for me as a starting point of Catra’s redemption is that she was being completely selfless here. She wasn’t trying to gain anything out of sacrificing herself. She wasn’t asking for forgiveness, pity, or gratitude. She didn’t expect Adora to come back for her. She just wanted to keep Adora safe and let her know that she’s sorry. There were no expectations behind this apology or sacrifice. (And that’s not even getting into how she knew exactly what Horde Prime would do to her - because she saw it on Hordak earlier - and still decided it was worth it to save Adora.)

- “No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Catra! Come back!” 😭😭😭😭

- The spacesuit designs are so ridiculous, but I kind of respect the show for saying “Yeah, we know this will never look realisitic anyway, so let’s just make it completely ridiculous. Ab-window for Bow? Hole for Adora’s ponytail? Let’s just do it all.”

- While I love that scene of them catching Glimmer in space, I’ve got to say it kind of makes me anxious to think about how lucky they were here. I mean, Catra’s plan was a little dumb here, sorry. Imagine if Entrapta hadn’t fixed Darla in time and they wouldn’t have been able to get to Glimmer? Imagine if Darla had been too slow? If the teleporter had been faster? Or if Bow and Adora hadn’t had spacesuits? If Glimmer hadn’t been able to survive in space for a few ‘I’m still glowing green from the teleport thingy’ seconds before Bow caught her? This ‘I’m just going to teleport her into space’ plan could have gone so wrong, just saying. (Also, why didn’t she just teleport Glimmer to Etheria? Wouldn’t that have been easier? And safer? Though granted, it wouldn’t have made as good of a story.)

- “I think Catra saved me. I think she saved us all.” 😭😭 Yes, she did! That’s my wildcat and I’m so proud of her!!!

- Can we talk about Horde Prime tilting Catra’s chin up with his foot? Everything about him is so creepy and evil, I love it.

- Catra just laughing in Horde Prime’s face... honestly, what an icon. (I also love the “What did you expect?” line. I mean seriously - what did we as viewers expect? I’m pretty sure most people expected Catra to redeem herself eventually.)

- “It doesn’t matter what you do to me. Glimmer is gone, and you will never get your hands on Adora!” She loves Adora so much I 😭

Amazing episode. Definitely one of my favourites. There’s probably way more stuff to talk about here and I only scratched the surface - but this post is getting way too long as it is.

[Previous episode] [Next episode]

#spop #spop s5 #Catra #Catradora #Glimmer #spop spoilers #spop s5 spoilers #Corridors #Hordak #Bow #Adora #Entrapta #long post #Horde Prime #spop meta

144 notes · View notes

heart-waves · 3 years

Text

royal duties

Word Count: 880

Genre: Fluff, so much fluff

Pairings: Kitsen/Glimmer/Catra/Adora, mentions of Glimmer/Bow

A/N: i was tired and soft, so here is a tired and soft fic. rbs appreciated <3

Glimmer (Queen Glimmer, as her still-new servants and still-newer subjects insisted on calling her) had responsibilities. Of course she did, as she was a ruler - fortunately or not, depending on who you asked. Many - most, actually, most of her friends and family was proud of her. Happy for her. Hopeful of how she would rule her little part of the world.

But to do that she needed to address her numerous responsibilities. Big or small, though she admitted to herself that she quite preferred the smaller tasks over the larger ones.

Normally she had little trouble with gritting her teeth and dealing with what she needed to deal with.

Today, though...

"Glimmerrr..." A pale pink tail curled around her wrist. Small whines came from one of her companions, a low purr hidden just under their breath. "Don't go."

Today - well, last night, technically - Glimmer had found time to spend with her more-than-friends (minus Bow, but he promised with a quick kiss to her cheek that he'd be back later, and Bow always kept his promises). It was a very nice evening, even if they were only cuddling and chatting, and Glimmer felt very strongly that it would be a memory she'd carry with her always.

But it was morning now, even if the sun hadn't yet peaked over the trees she could see from the window, and she had things to do. "Kitsen..."

"Please? It's not even," they paused, yawning in a way that perked their whiskers up and their ears down, and oh dear that was very cute, "S'not even sunrise yet."

Glimmer allowed herself a moment of weakness despite her knowledge that her catfriend (both, in fact) had a talent for getting what they wanted, and gently reached a hand to their ears. "I've got things I need to do, kitten." She never quite got over the way their ears perked at such a light touch, the way they'd always lean into her hand even without thinking, so open and wanting of touch even after their time in the Horde.

"Yeah," Kitsen said, and never one to back down so quickly continued, "And staying with us can be one of them."

Glimmer opened her mouth to placate her ever-affectionate partner, before another's hum sounded just behind her. She started, but didn't give the apparently-awake Catra her usual startled squeak. It was too early and any inch she gave would be enough for her partners to convince Glimmer of the joys of sleeping in.

"Gonna have to side with Kit here, Sparkles."

"If you're trying to woo me, I don't think using that - stupid nickname is gonna do you any favors."

"Oh please, you love me."

"Yeah. Doesn't mean I love your genius naming abilities."

"They are genius, thank you very much." Nearby, a vaguely blonde and muscular shape started to stirr under one of the blankets. "Hey, Adora. Need you to wake up for me, princess."

"Oh, don't drag her into this too," Glimmer growled, annoyance and affection equal parts in her voice. She was somewhat aware of Kitsen reaching behind and around her to grab Catra's hand. Their tail was still around her wrist, and Glimmer pretended to not think of tugging it off.

"Wha's happen'n?" Adora mumbled, always so eloquent in the early hours. Catra reached the paw not being held to brush a stray golden hair out of her eyes.

"Need ya to convince Sparkles here that we're more important than all that monarchy nonsense. She can stay a little longer, right Adora?"

"Nonsense? It's literally-" Adora cut Glimmer's oncoming whisper-rant by strategically falling over onto her. Glimmer might've thought she'd fallen back asleep if it wasn't for the quiet night air. Adora was definitely the snorer of their little group.

"Glimmer's got- you have.. royal duties, 'nd all that.." Adora grumbled - a spark of relief and slight disappointment barely reached Glimmer before she continued. "But it can wait for a few minutes.. please, Glim'?"

Glimmer's resolve was not melting away, in her very correct and professional opinion. But... She could feel the twitch of Kitsen's whiskers on her back, Adora's soft gaze now looking up at her (she had easily mastered the ancient art of puppy-eyes and Glimmer continued to face the consequences), and she could feel Catra now nuzzling into her shoulder and her tail reaching to join Kitsen's and oh, she felt so very sleepy.

"I don't- I have..." Glimmer trailed, suddenly losing her words. Her hand was still on Kitsen, and absentmindedly she noticed their purring.

"Bow'll miss you," Catra said, quiet yet persuasive next to her. "He'll be back soon, and you'll be off on work, and he'll miss you." She moved her face from her shoulder in favor of placing her head atop it, and Glimmer very much hoped the sly cat couldn't feel the warmth in her cheeks. "So will I. So will we."

Catra can probably see her blush even in the dark, Glimmer realized in the back of her mind. She felt warm and even more cozy, and she really did savor her time with them, and...

"Just until sunrise?" Kitsen asked. And... a queen couldn't disappoint her most loyal subjects, could she?

"Maybe even a few minutes after."

#writing.txt #self ship #self shipping #self ship community #f/o #fictional other #selfship #🐱🔥 (catra)#🗡👑 (adora)#👑✨ (glimmer)#🐾🍰 (kitsen)#🏹💘 (bow)

42 notes · View notes

tippenfunkaport · 4 years

Text

Glimmer / Bow Headcanons about Weddings and Engagement

The last @glimbow-week-2020 prompt is Wedding and Engagement so here are my headcanons on how Glimmer and Bow would get engaged and/or married. (And I have I fic I will post very soon where they get engaged and exchange tokens so if you dig my take on that, check out my AO3 linked from my bio).

I don't see them having an elaborate proposal, more like a quiet discussion where they decide to get married. So much of their relationship has progressed naturally without any big fanfare that I don't see why the decision to get married would be any different. I also think Bow would probably want to do something big and romantic but would feel like it's not his place because she's queen.

As for tokens, besides the earrings we all know about, I see them as having another set of more private tokens that they keep hidden but have special meaning to them. They‘d be something from when they were kids in a nod to their long shared history.

In my fics, Etheria has the equivalent of tabloids and they'd be obsessed with the royal wedding to the point where Bow and Glimmer would have gotten married sooner but they were a little bit dreading the absolute circus of attention.

But, in general, I think they would get married fairly soon after becoming a couple since they were so close to begin with it really wouldn't be that much of a shift.

Because Glimmer is Queen, their engagement and wedding both have a lot of pomp and formality to it. Huge lavish events along the line of Princess Prom with a lot of traditions and old customs (I hope no one has to fight a giant worm?).

I don't see them having a double wedding with Catra and Adora for that reason, because there's so much traditional stuff they have to cover during their wedding, it's more for the public than for them. That would leave Catra and Adora free to do their own thing without having to get dragged into all the boring Bright Moon royalty stuff.

I do see them having a kind of small private wedding before the actual event for just friends and family (which is maybe a double wedding with Catadora). While the big official wedding is the one that is legal, they consider this smaller wedding to be when they really got married.

As soon as they are married, Glimmer figures everyone will finally give them a break after all the royal wedding obsession and then both Casta and the tabloids immediately switch over to royal baby watch and she's like grrrr.

This isn't a prompt about babies but I do think they wait a little to have kids because, come ON, let them LIVE, they just fought a WAR and they need SLEEP and FUN and they can have kids later. Babies are fine but they are LOUD and a lot of WORK and the enemy of SLEEP. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

107 notes · View notes

legal-graffiti · 4 years

Text

Hey you know this art by Molly?

That made me sad, which means it's my turn to make YOU sad. (SHOUTOUT to the ONLY GOOD BETA i've ever had, @catrxdora ✨)

~~~

“You know what Glimmer told me today?” Catra says to the mural. “She told me that I was her best friend. Bow and Adora weren’t there. She just said it.”

Angella stays unmoving where she is depicted, watching over Bright Moon always. Catra’s hands still tremble as if she were really here. She used to avoid this hallway.

With Adora, Entrapta, and Scorpia, she had the chance to look them in the eyes, and apologize, and make things right. Not so with Angella. Even now, she stares at the line where the wall meets the ground. She can’t look up.

“But I took you away from her.” Catra feels so small. And with every second she spends under the width of Angella’s wings, she grows smaller. “All I ever had… All Adora had, before she knew you, was Shadow Weaver. I wish I had you then, too.” It sounds selfish when she hears herself. Idiotic. Hypocritical.

Perfuma said that talking things through aloud would make her feel lighter. All she feels instead is the growing weight in her chest. It wasn’t as if Catra hadn’t been aware that she was the catalyst of destruction. She didn’t have a right to this grief.

“I’ll never know who you really were. Even though they tell me about you all the time.” As if I wasn’t the one who made you disappear. “Adora and Bow and Glimmer- they miss you everyday. I don’t even know what I’ve taken from them,” she murmurs in a soft rasp. It's easy to imagine how much happier everyone would be if Angella was still here. How much happier they would be if Catra never existed. It aches like the world is ending all over again.

“The Rebellion kept going because of you,” Catra mumbles. “Glimmer is a brave and wise queen because of you. Adora is alive because of you. This world wouldn’t be right without her.” She lets out a shuddering breath. “I know this world isn’t right without you.”

Catra finally looks up. “I’m the reason you’re gone. And I don’t think… I don’t think I’ll leave anything like that behind. Not like you did.” When Catra thinks of what she’s done, all she remembers is hurling insults at Scorpia or betraying Entrapta. When she pushed Adora away at Thaymor, she had come to Bright Moon instead. It was inevitable that she would end up alone, but Catra doesn’t know if that’s changed.

Angella is all radiance in her mural. There’s a shimmer to her wings, a glint in her hair. But as much as Catra wants to beg for forgiveness, Angella isn’t here.

“This was supposed to be your happy ending, too.” She forces her eyes shut as if that’ll keep her from crying. “You were always meant to be here.” She wraps her arms around herself and her nails dig into her skin there. “I took them away from you too, didn’t I?”

Angella looks sad in Catra’s mind. She is never angry when Catra pictures her, only sad. As if Angella wonders why Catra separated her family forever, when she should know that pain better than anyone else.

“I’m sorry,” she cries, suddenly breathless. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Nobody answers.

#catra #shera #angella #spop #she ra #she ra season five #angst #this is angst without comfort I am so sorry

192 notes · View notes

spacebatisluvd · 4 years

Link

Summary: Bow puts the pieces together while the women hash things out.

Content Warning: Speciesism referenced. Mermista is being kind of a dick, but she brings up valid points from the canon. References to the war and everybody’s past actions, allusions to Prime and his slave army (and we are calling it just that—a slave army). Generally just lancing old wounds so everyone can begin to heal.

@cruelfeline Have some tea at hand. ^_^

Bow stood outside the yurt’s closed tent flap, distressed by Entrapta’s words.

They’d been better to her than Hordak had been, right? He was, well, Hordak. How could he have possibly been a better friend to her than them...? Sure, maybe they could have handled things a little better—he still winced, remembering his ‘inspiring’ speech to her on Beast Island—but Hordak couldn’t have possibly done better than they had. Right?

Behind him, he could hear the others arguing.

“Geeze, Mermista. ‘He’s not even Etherian’? What’s that supposed to mean?” Adora said.

“He’s not, is he? Why would he care about rebuilding if this isn’t even his planet?”

“I’m not Etherian either—I came through a portal, and Hordak picked me up. Do you think I have less of a stake in rebuilding than you guys do?”

“That’s different.”

“How is it different?”

“You didn’t try to conquer the world once you got here!”

Bow frowned. They had left her to the mercies of the Horde—accidentally, of course, but…couldn’t they have at least double checked to make sure she was really gone? And, when they learned that she’d switched sides, shouldn’t they have tried a little harder to get her back? They’d never really considered why she’d switched sides had they? They’d never stopped to wonder what the Horde had to offer that they didn’t—they’d just assumed that she was swayed by their tech and Hordak’s research, but now…. Sure, she’d seemed impressed that he called his lab a ‘sanctum’, but Bow was beginning to think there was more to it than that.

“Okay, yeah, maybe Adora didn’t—but I did. You don’t seem to have a problem with me,” Catra said.

“It’s not the same. You were high up in the Horde for—what? A couple years? Besides, you, like, did it because you were mad at Adora or whatever.”

“Why does that make it better?”

“Love makes you crazy. Everyone knows that. Why do you think I put up with Sea Hawk?”

Bow studied the ground in front of him. They’d visited her during the portal incident. Hadn’t she said something about Hordak then? She’d definitely said something about him on Beast Island. She’d called him her lab partner. And the way she’d said his name....

Bow’s eyes widened.

“But my love, my dearest, my darling—” Mermista groaned at the litany of nicknames. “—he is trying! He’s been nothing but dedicated since he came to Salineas. Even the construction crew likes him!”

“So? What’s that got to do with anything? Maybe he’s just good at manipulating people.”

Catra laughed. “Hordak? He’s good at standing in the shadows and looking creepy, but other than that? He’s just a tech nerd. I don’t even think he knows how to lie—" Catra fell suddenly silent. “Oh. The hivemind. He…he really can’t….“

The rest of the pieces were rapidly clicking into place now. When they freed Kadroh, she’d been looking for Hordak, hadn’t she? The name ‘Wrong Hordak’ suddenly made a lot more sense. And the way she’d flung herself at him after Adora exorcised Prime from his body? Bow had always thought that was strange, but had dismissed it as Entrapta being, well, Entrapta. And what had she said just now? She’d called him a friend, but she’d said her ‘feelings‘ weren’t clouding her judgment.

“Don’t even. I don’t care if he was part of Prime’s creepy slave army. He wasn’t a slave when he was here on his own! Am I really the only one that remembers what he did? He burned Salineas to the ground. He’s the reason Glimmer grew up without a dad. He’s the reason Shadow Weaver was there to hook her claws into you two. He’s the reason Scorpia’s kingdom is a wasteland. He’s the one that brought Prime here! He’s the reason Glimmer was taken. He’s the reason we were chipped! Don’t any of you remember that? Scorpia, he chipped you too; why am I the only one that cares about that!?”

She cut herself off, and Bow turned just in time to see her use the heel of her hand to wipe her eyes. The others stayed silent, but Scorpia raised a hesitant claw. “I lost friends and family in the war too, but I don’t blame you guys for that. Or your parents. It’s not as if Hordak brought war to Etheria—we had plenty of that before he got here. Heck, Grandad’s the one that started it, not him. We needed his tech, and he needed soldiers. It was ugly, yeah, and…probably shouldn’t have gone on as long as it did, but it’s not like it’s all his fault. As for the chips, that was Prime. Hordak didn’t do that. Even when he was leading the Horde, he never did anything like that.”

“Yeah,” Catra said, “Even at his worst, Hordak was nothing like Prime. Not even close.”

Adora stepped close and held a hand out to Mermista. “When he first landed here, he wasn’t really free. He was still trying to go back to Prime.”

“And no one in their right mind would want go back to that,” Catra muttered, the fur along her tail puffing up.

“Right. The war was bad, but we all did things that we regret. He deserves a second chance, now that he’s actually free. If I thought he was going to abuse that chance, I’d agree with you, but I really think he wants to put the past behind him. He can finally be his own person, not the person Prime forced him to be. It wouldn’t be right to keep him from that. Especially when we’ve offered a second chance to others.”

“Or a third,” Catra muttered, arms crossed and eyes averted.

Mermista looked at Adora’s extended hand, but didn’t take it. She didn’t offer any further argument, though, and her eyes seemed wide and over-bright. Hesitantly, Bow raised a hand. “There’s something else.” His cheeks puffed out as he exhaled hard and said, in a rush, “I think Entrapta loves him.” He waited for their reaction, but only Glimmer and Perfuma looked at all surprised. Mermista didn’t react at all, and Sea Hawk looked almost giddy, but the others.... Maybe they hadn’t heard him? “I said—“

“We know,” Catra said, “Did you only figure that out just now?”

“Uh. Well....”

Catra sighed. “That’s not news. They’ve been dancing around each other forever.“

Scorpia nodded sagely. “Oh, yeah. Entrapta is head over heels. ‘Hordak’ is one of her special interests. Right up there with tech. And space. Actually...I think maybe she was interested in space because of Hordak...? It’s hard to tell.”

“Oh. Well. Alright then.” Bow tried not to be personally offended that he was, apparently, the last to know. “That still leaves us with something else to think about—if Entrapta loves him, we’ll push her away if we don’t at least give him a chance.”

Scorpia nodded, smiling, and Sea Hawk was nearly vibrating with some pent-up emotion. Mermista, still caught up in her thoughts, didn’t react, but Perfuma frowned. “Should we be concerned about their relationship? We know he has a temper. Is it possible he might hurt her? Perhaps it might be better to separate them...?”

Catra snorted. “He’s not gonna hurt her. He might break stuff when he’s mad, but he only ever really went after me once, and I’ve done plenty to piss him off.”

Glimmer jolted at that. “Uh, that’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”

Catra sighed and crossed her arms, looking at the ground as she admitted, “He went after me because he found out I sent Entrapta to Beast Island.” Her ears folded down and she drew in on herself, as if trying to make herself smaller. “He was a complete wreck after I....” She exhaled hard. “After I lied to him and convinced him she’d betrayed us, and he completely lost it when he thought she was....” Scorpia put a comforting claw on her shoulder, and Catra looked up at her, laying a hand over her claw. She nodded and straightened her spine. “He’s not gonna hurt her. I’d bet my life on it.”

“Yeah, well, you’re betting hers,” Mermista said, coming back to the conversation. Despite her words, she was more hesitant now, and though Perfuma tried to catch her eye, Mermista wouldn’t look at her.

As if sensing her uncertainty, Sea Hawk sidled up to her. “Buttercup, he truly does love her. I told you about the gift he sent to her—"

“That doesn’t mean he’s not using her.”

“—and have I mentioned that he calls her—"

“Ugh! Yes, you’ve told me what he calls her.” Mermista glanced at the purple yurt, mouth pursed. “But it’s just a nickname. It doesn’t prove anything.”

Before Sea Hawk could speak again, Bow raised his voice and said, “In any case, it’s obvious Entrapta cares about him. A lot. If we don’t try to get along with him, we’ll just end up pushing her away. Whatever personal issues we have with him...I think we should give him a chance. Not just politically, but personally too. We already left her behind once. We can’t do that to her again.”

All of them grew quiet at that. Catra‘s gaze was fixed on the ground, and Mermista refused to look at anyone. Her crossed arms had loosened, though, and when Sea Hawk took her hand, she didn’t shake him off.

“Alright,” she finally said, “For Geek Princess. He can stay—at least until he shows his true colors.”

Sea Hawk’s smile was big and broad. “So I can invite him to the palace for dinner?”

She huffed and shoved him away. “Don’t push it.”

Perfuma raised a hand, index finger extended. “So that’s a ‘no’ on the guest prison?”

“A definite ‘no’,” Adora said, putting an arm around Catra’s shoulders. “Who’s gonna tell Entrapta and Hordak?”

Bow frowned, rubbing his chin. “She was pretty upset. I think we need to do more than just tell her he can stay. I think we need to make it up to her. Anyone have any ideas?”

Sea Hawk and Scorpia raised their hands and immediately began talking over one another in their excitement.

#intimacy log #entrapdak #entrapta #hordak #bow #mermista #adora #catra #scorpia #perfuma #glimmer

99 notes · View notes