#I love Wrong Hordak but I didn’t really know what to do with him in this fic I’m sorry

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Don’t get me wrong, I fucking LOVE Hordak. But even I’ll admit, his redemption kinda sucked. He didn’t really help anyone. All he did was stand up to his abuser and save Entrapta. Did he help contribute to saving the world? Yes, but it wasn’t intentional. That being said, I think his Season 5 story arc was better than Catra’s, because it was much more obvious that his redemption wasn’t complete if it’s even begun. And the end of the series, Hordak is free, and with someone he cares about. He’s not alone, but he’s not forgiven by everyone. Catra however gets everything she ever wanted by doing the bare minimum. Multiple friends, a girlfriend, freedom, forgiveness from everyone. The story portrays Catra’s redemption as complete. And I know a lot of stans say ‘bUt HeR rEdEmTiOn iSn’T oVEr.’ Yes, it is. By all means, that’s what the narrative is telling us. I know it’s not over, but the story and writing doesn’t. And that’s the issue. Hordak has a lot of work ahead of him for what he did, and that much is clear. But for Catra? It would be so easy to just assume her and Adora go off and kiss immediately after the show ends. It’s all about framing.

yeah, to be honest, i wouldn't even call it a redemption arc. hordak could still have been evil, because he wasn't doing anything for the greater good. he was doing it for entrapta. i still see him as an anti-villain of sorts, rather than a redeemed villain.

and yeah, that's why catra's redemption is so much worse in comparison because it was supposed to be an actual redemption and it failed. just having you character mumble an apology and do one good thing isn't enough to redeem them.

it's even worse when you remember that catra didn't save glimmer because she cared about her, she did it for adora. which follows the idea of catra "redeeming" herself solely to get on adora's good side, so she could continue abusing her. and that's exactly what happens. it's so strange how the writers clearly tried to replicate the success with zuko's redemption (the motivation, the whole good eye-bad eye theory, etc) but didn't actually include the elements that made it so great.

[pennamesmith]

Sad Songs and Waltzes

Hordak awoke in a cold sweat, heart hammering in his chest as the nightmare faded. He lay in his bed, eyes open to the dark, and reminded himself of what was true.

Horde Prime was dead. Entrapta was safe. And he was free.

Hordak sat up and looked at the far wall. A painting of a cat hung there, staring back at him. Entrapta’s room was on the other side. He imagined her, asleep beyond the barrier, and hoped her dreams were more peaceful than his.

Their reunion had been a joyous one. Hordak accepted Entrapta’s invitation to live with her in Dryl without hesitation, and for the first time in his life, he dared to feel loved. Entrapta always listened with tender concern as he recounted his time with Prime, and helped him however she could.

When he asked her about Beast Island, however, she grew quiet and withdrawn. She avoided the subject. Her cheerful demeanor dimmed.

Now Hordak wasn’t sure how to approach her. He rose from his bed and quietly crossed the room in darkness. He eased the door open and tiptoed through.

Outside in the hallway, he cast a lingering look at Entrapta’s door before shuffling off. She’d given him a map of the labyrinth when he first arrived at the Crypto Castle. He held it close now as he wandered the endless twisting corridors, no particular destination in mind.

After sidestepping several trapdoors and swinging blades, he turned one corner to find a small, ornate library with a polished musical synthesizer as its centerpiece. He approached the instrument and, after a moment of contemplation, plucked experimentally at the keys. The notes were clear and rich. He sat at the bench, and before long he was picking out a slow melody. Few knew about his musical ability, but it came standard in every clone. Prime had enjoyed fine and beautiful entertainment.

“How do you know that song?”

Hordak jumped. Entrapta was capable of being remarkably stealthy when she wanted to be. Dressed in a simple nightgown, she leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms lightly.

“I… how do you know it?” Hordak replied, baffled.

“I asked first,” Entrapta insisted. She joined Hordak on the bench and her hair tapped out the next few notes. She raised an inquiring eyebrow.

Hordak mumbled something very quietly.

“What was that?”

“I said, I wrote it!” Hordak admitted, his ears flushing with embarrassment. “When you were… when I foolishly believed you had betrayed me.”

Entrapta stared at him for a long moment. “You wrote this because of me?” she asked, finally.

Hordak’s ears drooped. “I was upset. I didn’t know what to do. And in a moment of extreme weakness, I expressed myself artistically. I know it is irrational, but I still find the tune comforting.”

The room grew quiet.

Entrapta stared down at the keys. “I have a lot of feelings,” she said, without raising her eyes. “Most of the time it’s hard to describe them in words, even when I really try.”

She pulled a battered tape recorder from her hair and set it on top of the synthesizer. When she flipped the switch, music trickled out. The sound was scratchy and distant, but it was unmistakably the same song Hordak had just been playing.

“When I was on Beast Island, I tried a few times to make radio contact with the mainland. Usually the electromagnetic activity made any kind of transmission impossible, but one night I was able to pick up some music. It wasn’t much, but… it sounded like how I felt. And that helped.”

“I didn’t think anyone would hear it,” Hordak said, stunned.

“I didn’t think anyone would understand me,” Entrapta replied with a shrug. “But I wouldn’t be a very good scientist if I was never wrong, now would I?”

The music continued playing. Hordak looked across the room. At one end, a pair of glass double doors led to an outside balcony. He could see the stars shining in the sky beyond. He cleared his throat softly.

“You have worked very hard. A good scientist once told me that it is wise to take a…” He searched for the words. “…A ‘brain break’ after so much effort.”

He stood and offered a hand. “May I have this dance?”

Entrapta’s expression was unreadable. But she took Hordak’s hand and followed him out to the balcony and the starlit night. They held each other there, and slowly, haltingly, began to waltz.

Hordak’s attempt to lead was earnest but abysmal, and Entrapta, laughing, took control. They spun in time with the music, around and around. By the time they were done they were both smiling at each other, and their eyes were as bright as the stars.

“Thank you,” Entrapta said, hugging her partner. “I missed you. I’m glad you’re back.”

“I am glad to be here with you,” Hordak said. “I, too, often struggle to find the words for my feelings. If you wish, perhaps we could search for them together?”

“I think I would like that.” Entrapta relaxed into Hordak’s arms. She glanced back inside, and a coy expression crossed her face.

“Play it again?”

Hordak hummed happily. “Of course. It would be my pleasure.”

They went back together.

[yourfellowhuman07]

Where Do We Go Now?

A She-ra: Princess of Power 2018 fanfiction

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

___________________

Chapter four! Now the rest of the cast makes an appearance.

___________________

Chapter 4: Unmade Decisions

After the celebration died down, The Princess Alliance all sat together in a clearing in the woods. A large bonfire crackled, sending burning embers up into the air. Catra and Melog were next to Adora. Glimmer was sitting between her father and aunt. Perfuma sat with Scorpia and Emily, listening to Frosta describe battles that they were just in. Mermista and Sea Hawk sat off to the side along with Netossa and Spinerella, and Bow, Wrong Hordak, and Swiftwind sat together. The groups talked and laughed with each other as the night stretched on until Scorpia asked a question.

“Where’s Entrapta and Hordak.”

“Wait, Hordak is here!” Frosta shouted.

Adora rose to address everyone.

“Yes, Hordak is among us, but there is no need to worry. First, Hordak was the one responsible for killing the body of Horde Prime, so it is safe to assume he is no longer interested in serving him. Second, when I looked inside his mind, I saw no intention of continuing the war. So, he isn’t exactly a world threat.” Adora’s voice wavered with slight uncertainty, hoping what she says is true.

The group sat wide-eyed at the news, shocked that Hordak, of all people, would be willing to kill the man he had been obsessed with. 

“But what if he tries to take revenge for us beating him!” Frosta shouted.

“We technically didn’t beat him. The Etherian Horde dismantled before anyone could win the war,” Scorpia said, raising a claw.

“Details, details,” Mermista approached the middle, “What matter is what are we going to do with him? We can not just let him go free after all the destruction he has caused. And if he is trying to reconquer the planet, what’s stopping him from manipulating Entrapta into working for him again.” Many individuals nodded their heads in agreement.

Glimmer begrudgingly rose. While she did not want to deal with this right now, at this point there is no stopping it.

“I agree with Mermista, Hordak should get some kind of punishment; however-”

“We could send him to Beast Island.”

“No!” The Beast Friend Squad shouted in unison.

Glimmer pauses to collect herself.

“No, I am not dealing out death sentences, nor do I wish more suffering on Etheria. I have an idea of what we could do, but it is not an issue I wish to discuss right now when we are out in the open. Besides, we should all be resting from today.” As Glimmer looked around the small crowd, she caught her father’s eyes full of pride.

“Ugh, alright. I still don’t trust having Hordak walk around where ever he wants to and possibly run away.” Mermista pointed out. Many of the other Alliance members nodded and murmured in agreement.

“He’s probably glued to Entrapta’s hip right now, so you could just call her,” Catra added.

“Emily, could I have you send a message for Entrapta for me?” Emily beeped an agreement and allowed Scorpia to type a message.

“Ok, can someone tell me what is with those two? Are they, like, dating or really good friends?” Netossa inquired.

“As far as I know, Entrapta has a massive crush on Hordak, but Hordak’s feelings are up for debate,” Scorpia said.

Catra then fully sat up from her previous laying position.

“Oh please, the man was practically drooling every time she came into the room!”

“Was it that obvious?” Netossa asked, still wrapping her head around the concept of Hordak ‘crushing’ on someone.

“Oh yeah definitely. The entire Fright Zone was in on it too, we had betting pools and everything.”

“Betting pools?” Netossa exclaimed.

Mermista rolled her eyes, she was frustrated, to say the least. She is still livid that Hordak destroyed her kingdom. She wanted Hordak to go to Beast Island but it was clear that it was not a popular sentiment. Also while she has a better… understanding of Entrapta she is still frustrated with her disregard for others and found most of her antics annoying; furthermore, she is disgusted that she could love let alone like such an evil entity as Hordak. It was all so frustrating!

“Whatever, has Geek Princess responded yet?”

“No, not yet. I wonder what she is doing?”

_____________________________________

“What do they want now?” She groaned after begrudgingly ripping her lips from Hordak’s.

“Hey, Traps!

The other princesses and I were getting worried 

                     about you and Hordak being all on your own so 

                     we all thought you two could come to join us.

                                                                ~ Scorpia”

After reading the message Entrapta looked up at Hordak who averted his eyes.

“You ok to see them.”

“I will have to eventually, might as well get it over with.” Hordak paused, “Entrapta, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Should we tell the rest of the Alliance about us?”

“Why wouldn’t we?”

“I fear my association with you might cause harm to your social standing in the Princess Alliance.”

Entrapta turned on her heels to face Hordak.

“Hordak, my social standing with the princesses is already low as it is, and I did not travel halfway across the galaxy just to not be able to be public about our relationship because of how others think of you.” 

Hordak sighed. He was worried that the princess would hate Entrapta for associating with him or worse try to harm her; however, if she wants them to be public, he will allow it.

“And besides, they let Catra in, and she arguably did worse things than you.”

Catra.

That name was a bitter taste on his palate. Hordak loathed Catra, even after all she went through with Prime. She was annoying, rude, and a liar. Hordak might forgive her for what she did to him; however, he will never forgive what she has done to Entrapta. Sending her away to near-certain death without any rational thought; furthermore, keeping him in the dark through it all. Right now, there are only two things he is certain of: he loves Entrapta, and he hates Catra. If it would not get him in even more trouble, he would hunt her down and put her head on a pike, but with all of his actions stacked up against him, it is probably not the best idea to add to his staggering list of wrongdoings.

[aroacegod]

I need to rant so I’m doing it here (kinda long, She-ra spoilers)

She-ra could do so much with a season 6. There were so many things that needed to be worked out in the characters. Catra still had a lot of leftover trauma she never got to properly deal with, like her abandonment issues and the nightmares and flashes she gets because of Horde Prime’s mind control. She also never got to really apologize to Scorpia for everything that happened. It would have been nice to see them work through everything and become genuine friends. I just feel like her redemption arc was too short. Then there’s Adora’s “I have to fix this” mindset. She constantly felt like she had to sacrifice herself for the good of everyone else, and I feel like it was never properly worked through. Throughout the show, she felt like people always needed She-ra, but not Adora. And now that Etheria has been saved, she doesn’t have to be She-ra anymore. She might feel like she’s useless now that nobody “needs” her anymore. A 6th season could show us her trying to overcome her need to be useful to everyone else and realizing that she is deserving of love too.

Season 6 could also show us the Best Friend Squad bringing magic back to all the other planets, since that was mentioned in the very last episode. We could also get some lesbian fluff between Catra and Adora, which is always nice. It’d be great to see their relationship develop and help each other overcome their struggles. Maybe we could see them become friends with Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio again. Maybe some Glimmer and Bow stuff too. I’d also love to see Glimmer and her dad’s relationship grow. After thinking he was dead for so long, it would’ve be awesome to see them get to know each other and form a bond. I also think it’d be funny to watch him get used to living normally again—sleeping in a bed, not eating bugs—and just learning to be a dad. And then there’s Hordak. He defied Horde Prime and returned to Etheria with Entrapta. I’d like to see how he and Catra adjust to life in a world without a constant war against the princesses. It would take a long time for him to fully be accepted by everyone, especially the Princess Alliance. And he also wouldn’t be able to get over his prejudices against the princesses immediately. Sure, Entrapta was his friend, but he was trying for so long to crush the princesses that he might still have some kind of urge to do so. Maybe Entrapta could help him live among them and even find some hobbies to keep him busy. I also want to see more of Double Trouble and Wrong Hordak. They’re both such funny characters. And I just love DT; they’re just here to cause problems and I live for it. We could even see more of the Star siblings. They were interesting characters, and it would be cool to learn more about them.

Something that I’ve been wondering about was what the First Ones were really doing with the Heart of Etheria. Sure, they were using it as a weapon of mass destruction to destroy their enemies, but who were their enemies really? Horde Prime? Were there other enemies? And were there underlying motives for mining the planet’s magic? Who did they want to destroy? I just feel like there’s so much more to the story that we didn’t see. And according to Madame Razz, She-ra was on Etheria long before the First Ones got there. What was She-ra like before the sword was made to control her? Were there settlers of Etheria before the First Ones? If so, who were they? We also didn’t learn much (or anything) about Adora’s background. Since Adora is a First One, there must be some kind of First Ones colony on whatever planet she was from. What planet did she come from? Did Adora have a family before she was brought to Etheria? Are they still alive? Are they looking for her? And what about Queen Angella? She technically isn’t dead; she’s just trapped between dimensions, which means she’s alive and alone. I’m not saying we should bring her back; I’m just curious as to what she’s up to. Can she do anything, or is she just stuck floating between time and space? Regardless, there are so many things that could be covered in another season that would be so great to see. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’re ever getting one 😔

Thank you for coming to my tedtalk

[sweethibiscustea82]

The owl house (if you know about it) or she-ra

God thank you for asking about she-ra I just got back into it <333 (also I will answer your question on my other blog soon I swear, I’m just trying to come up with an answer <3)

spoilers under the cut for she ra and stuff, so if you haven’t finished that. Don’t go down there

favorite male character: absolutely bow, since the very first episode I decided that he was perfect. I will project hard on him he’s great.

favorite female character: Entrapta, she is my highest ranked character she plagues my brain. I want to hear her explain tech to me. I have a lot of favourite character that I’d let explain things to me.

least favorite character: horde prime. Just I hate him sm. He’s the worst.

prettiest character: okay so this is one is a tie between a few different characters. One is she-ra cause oh my goodness she Is beautiful, two is double trouble I am in love with them and as a shapeshifter enthusiast I want to be them and three. Wrong Hordak. I’m sorry everybody but he’s pretty to me.

funniest character: Probably sea hawk or scorpia.

favorite season: this is one is really difficult cause I loved them all but either 3 or 5. 

favorite episode: another hard one, because there is so many and I have a bad memory. But I think it was either the season three like finale episodes with the portal stuff. Or The episode where not only did double trouble tell hordak that catra was lying to him about entrapta, but also told catra what she needed to fucking here. That she was pushing everyone away.

favorite romantic ship: Entrapdak is my number one ship, they plague my brain at all hours of the day and I love them. I have a thing for really angry or grumpy people with issues meeting someone who is one, not even remotely afraid of them and two gets them to open up. These two are so perfect for eachother istg, he blushed when that fucking imp baby replicated him saying her name. He started crying when he found out what happened to entrapta. Entrapta didn’t want him to leave with prime, she wanted him to stay. She cares about him so much, she worries about him and Omfg I love them sm.

favorite family ship: I do not know what a family ship is but I assume it’s like, what’s your favourite like family dynamic, like oh these two are good siblings or this guys a father figure. Or this kid has a good relationship with their mother? I have no clue So anyways uh I’d have to say probably uhh I have no idea. I like glimmer and her dad, seeing her leave bright moon as soon as he got there tore out my fuckinh heart. 

favorite friendship: I love Rogelio, Lonnie and Kyle, I loved that episode where all of them got stuck with those fucking fireflies and Kyle went out there to get the ship fixed and he got so hurt and his friends came to protect him and honestly I’ve always loved those guys. As an added thing I also like scorpia and entraptas friendship with those two and eachother.

worst ship: this one is hard (I’ve said this way to much but whatever) because I really don’t hate a lot of ships, but like I don’t exactly know what to put here. The worst ship can be uh horde prime with fucking anyone.

ship that is overhyped: hmm, I mean I think a the ships get hyped to a good amount, everyone should get ducking insane with their ships but uh I guess catradora??? I have no clue dude I just chose the most popular ship.

ship that is underhyped: I haven’t been in the fandom for a while, but when I first started watching I really liked perfuma x bow &lt;3

an unpopular opinion: I have to check what exactly is considered an unpopular opinion in this fandom, but uh give me a minute. And there isn’t any actually gap In your time cause you’re seeing this all typed and stuff but yk I disappear for a minute In between writing this to go google stuff so uh brb. Anyways I’m back and couldn’t find anything I agreed with enough to talk about so I have to have an original thought about opinions now but uh, I really just love all of the show and think all the seasons and characters were really well written. I also like when they focus on redemption arcs and shipping because I kind of just like seeing that stuff happen a lot. 

Anyways it’s 4:30 am and I hope this was good 👍

[thestorybrookeclocktower]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[soranis-sunshadow]

Looking back

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Huh!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[pumpkinpie59]

why entrapdak is valid and rey//lo is not.

let’s start with the behavior of hordak and kylo and how their fans react.

hordak makes a lot of bad decisions, but i have never seen the fans try to defend him for that. they accept that hordak has done bad things and therefore has consequences.

kylo fans, however? kylo has made horrible choices (worse than hordak, i may add), and his fans insist that he did nothing wrong and that he’s the victim. and he really isn’t, let’s be honest. he chose to do those horrible things, not because of any just cause, just because he wanted to.

as for the way they treat entrapta and rey …

hordak starts to warm up to entrapta very quickly. he never harms her intentionally, and he NEVER intends to kill her or manipulate her.

kylo wanted to kill rey from the start. and when he started to call that off, it was because he wanted to manipulate her for her power. he never cared about her. honestly, and fans think they’re romantic? they know that kiss was only there because they were babies and would throw a fit if they didn’t, right?

and for how entrapta and rey react to hordak and kylo?

entrapta pretty much reacted positively from the moment she met him. she treated him like an equal and actively cared for him when she noticed his medical problem. she worried about him when he wasn’t around. she loved him.

rey first met kylo when he kidnapped her. he put her only friends in danger, so she understandably was angry about that. he also killed her only father-figure (who happened to be his father, too) and heavily injured finn, who was her closest friend. she hated his guts after all that. it was only learning of luke’s guilt when she started to slightly empathize with him, but that all led to nothing when he insulted her, calling her nothing. reminder that she’s been insecure about being alone for her whole life. by the third movie, she literally stabbed him and almost killed him. she only healed him bc she’s empathetic and because rey//los would throw a fit if she didn’t. rey doesn’t love kylo. she’s angry with him and hates him for what he’s done to her and her friends.

in conclusion, i am a proud anti-rey//lo, but also a proud pro-entrapdak.

[cruelfeline]

@traumatisedbabygay

Here, this is easier for me! So if you an understanding of how I assess the war, and Hordak's role in it, read on! If it's not in your interests, just ignore this post!

Hordak couldn't have fought the First Ones. Mara locked Etheria away in Despondos about one thousand years prior to the events of the show: long before Hordak arrives.

How do we know when Hordak arrives? We don't know exactly, but we can get some sort of idea. In Light Spinner, the Horde is show subduing the Scorpions. This appears to be people's "first view" of the Horde: the first time they're hearing of it.

Micah, at this time, looks to be about fifteen or so. If we assume he was... let's say, thirty when he had Glimmer, and Glimmer is around fifteen/sixteen at the time of the show, then Hordak has been on Etheria for roughly thirty years. Not nearly long enough to have fought the First Ones.

Another simple but of evidence regarding Hordak not fighting them is that he has no idea what First Ones tech is until Entrapta shows him. If he had fought them, he'd be familiar with their tech.

Now, in terms of the Princesses. This is... well, it's mostly headcanon, but it's headcanon made with canon logic in mind. So bear with me!

Once upon a time, back in season three, the understanding of Hordak was that he was a high-ranking general that had been demoted and sentenced to die in battle because he was found to be disabled. A tragic story, to be sure, but still one that allowed him to be the instigator of the war. If he had significant military leadership experience, then it stood to reason that he could form and lead an army upon landing in a new place.

But then seasons four and five aired, and it turned out that this... really didn't make sense.

Hordak was never a general. The Galactic Horde doesn't have generals because Prime's clones aren't even allowed names, let alone ranks in military leadership. They are all interchangeable connected to a hivemind that eliminates the need for orders to be passed down among generals and officers. Prime can just order the hivemind himself; no leadership needed.

The clones are nameless. They are not allowed to be their own people. They are not allowed to identify as anything but a cog in Prime's machine. Furthermore, they are dependent on him and on the hivemind. See how Wrong Hordak reacts when cut off from it? He panics. He cries. It's traumatic and terrifying and absolutely not something the clones are accustomed to.

So take this canon knowledge and think of Hordak when he first came to Etheria. Not as a general, because there are no generals, but as a sick, rejected clone freshly severed from the hivemind. Separated from Prime, from his brothers. Dealing with the trauma of said separation alongside the trauma of being declared worthless due to his illness.

He wouldn't have had basic independent-living experience, let alone the experience needed to create and lead an army. He'd have been enduring immense trauma, both physical and mental, while also figuring out how to live on his own for the first time; not really a state where warmongering is readily feasible without help.

Plus: at the time of the show, we see anti-princess propaganda in the Horde, used to persuade the cadets to fight. That wouldn't have been available when Hordak landed. How, then, did he convince a whole army to fight for him? Why did they agree to? The Horde is made of Etherians, after all. Why would they fight their own countrymen for Hordak? Especially when, again, he's not some high-ranking general with high charisma, capable of tricking hundreds of people with honeyed words. He's a lost clone cult-slave living on his own for the first time. Dealing with frightening amounts of trauma.

So how does one reconcile this?

Well, it's all headcanon from here, but my preferred concept is that Hordak stumbled upon a civil war occurring in the Scorpion kingdom.

Non-magic-users rising up against the magical royalty. Upper class against lower. That sort of thing. It makes a sort of sense, if you look at what sorts of people make up the Horde versus what sorts make up the Alliance. And when you consider that Etheria seems to be ruled by monarchies based upon hereditary magic.

Anti-princess rebels meet a lost clone with really advanced tech, and the two enter a sort of symbiotic agreement. Hordak gets a loyal army. The rebels get tech that can rival the royals' magic. One thing leads to another, and suddenly the Etherian Horde is trying to overthrow Princesses.

Hordak doesn't have to start the war because it's already there. He doesn't have to convince anyone to fight because they're already doing so. All he has to do is offer his weapons, and he gets and army with which to try to win back Prime's love and his own right to live.

Anyway! That's my take on it. For what it's worth c:

[ollie-oxen-free]

it’s the small things

Entrapta is literally the love of my life and she is honestly SO fun to write for. anyways here’s the stereotypical season 3 entrapdak fluff

_

She had learned to take in the little things.

Machines, as they were, struggled to talk at first, and many times while being repaired or constructed they couldn’t speak at all. Machines could be easily figured out, though. Entrapta would run the list, check joints and wires and coding, and the problem was solved. 

Organic forms were… much more complicated. Animals and such acted on instinct, and while such a thing could be predicted if enough of the variables were known, it was rare the outside world was as controlled as her lab. People were even more so. Some instinct, some higher thought, some mess of a cocktail of chemicals and neurons. People were hard to know, to predict. She loved it, of course, the messiness of it all, the seeming randomness of reactions that weren’t truly random, not like the number generators she’d been building since she could barely walk.

It could be frustrating, though, because people didn’t have a list she could go down, or a code she could read through for errors.

Hordak had flinched.

Entrapta had sharp eyes, of course, her mask she wore when focused on working improving it even more, and so when he had jerked away from her while she was making an adjustment to the shoulder of his support suit, she immediately stopped.

His right ear flicked. Annoyance, she recognized. An irritation? No nearby insects or anything brushing against it. Frustration, then.

“Why did you stop?” Hordak growled. She held down her excitement at her correct assumption.

“Did that hurt?” She asked. Such a thing could easily be fixed, of course. Pain could be remedied by a local anesthetic or an adjustment of the parameters of the suit.

Hordak became very, very still. “No,” he said, sharp, a warning to drop it.

She frowned behind her mask and looked at where her data pad was hooked to the suit, reading the recent signs of activity and the convention to the neural layers of the subj- of Hordak. Well, something was definitely off. No issue with the coding that she could see. Maybe an issue with the wiring? Connections not quite secure enough? She moved to the back of the suit, where it rested against his spine, taking off the outer panel and looking at the tech beneath.

Another flick of the ear. “What are you doing now? There was only an issue with the shoulder joint.”

She hummed, lightly running her gloves over the air just above the wires, checking where they met. “You had a physical reaction while I was re-calibrating the shoulder joint! If the suit is causing unwanted movements, even minor ones, we should really fix them sooner rather than later.”

Nothing wrong with wiring either. Maybe she’d missed something? Or the First Ones tech was starting to have a negative reaction to the rest of the suit? That thought sent a jolt of (Worry? Apprehension? Fear?) through her. She’d seen what corrupted First Ones technology could do firsthand, and imagining something like that taking over Hordak? Her lab partner? It… Scared her to think of what it could do to her friend.

Hordak sighed through his nose, catching her attention. His gaze was fixed on the opposite wall. “It… hurt,” he said, with great difficulty. “It always hurts.”

Oh. She closed the panels she had opened, taking her time, before she moved back to the shoulder, now very carefully adjusting the machinery inside to fix that little hitch she had noticed whenever he would reach for something.

“You know,” she said slowly, thinking on data and notes compiled that seemed far too incomplete for the situation at hand. “You can tell me. If it hurts.”

I don’t want to see you hurt, she did not say.

“I will consider it,” Hordak finally said, after a long pause.

She finished the rest of her adjustments quickly, taking great care to not cause him pain again. When she closed the panel he looked over at her, mouth a thin line. After a moment his features relaxed.

“Thank you, Entrapta,” he said.

“Thank you, Entrapta,” repeated Imp, perched on a table across the room. Hordak stood and stalked his way to the creature that had already flown out of his reach, repeating the phrase.

Entrapta didn’t mind. She found she kinda liked his voice when he said her name like that.

She filed it away, to think on at a later time.

[yandere-vale]

Yandere Entrapta Headcanons.

Warning: Yandere stuff and all it entails.

"Remember you’re Imperfections are beautiful!! And I want to know them all!!"

This inventive princess is 100% delusional and nothing can be done about it. You have so much to teach her and she won't stop till she gets to the bottom of what makes her see you the way she does. Entrapta wants to know both your mind and body but her attention is only on your body it seems. In the form of experiments that fell into one of three categories. Non-invasive, semi-invasive, and very very invasive. The third leaving you whimpering and in tears once she was done her 'examinations.'

Entrapta couldn't help but smile as she gazed down at all the information and test results that she gathered from her sweet little thing. The cute experiment that's been her whole world since she could finally have them. She just had one small problem that she couldn't understand.

Why were you crying so loud and for so long? It didn't make any sense to Entrapta. You have everything a human would want in order to be happy? So why were you still carrying on this way? She's had to cram her own hair into her ears to block out all those horrid sounds you keep making.

You should be fine, she always made sure that you were given food..tiny food, but always enough to keep your energy up. Sure the first room that she gave you wasn't to your liking. When she came to visit you on that first night to see how you were doing, she didn't know how to feel when she saw the bed sheets torn, books ripped apart, and that angry look on your face.

Why were you screaming at her? What wrong thing did she do to you? Maybe you didn't understand just what Entrapta had meant when she said she really wanted to get to know you. You were throwing such a big fit and saying all those hurtful things to her that she had to cover her ears to keep them from getting to her. You screamed at her to let you go, how wrong it is to just take someone. Entrapta didn't want to listen to this, you were saying such hurtful things. So it was much to her relief when Hordak stepped in between you both, snapping Entrapta out of her doubt and stopping you from going further. From then on she'll have you gagged to keep you from tearing your throat with all that yelling. If you behave she won't have to. Hordak didn't understand why Entrapta told him to bring you to her, even less so when she told him to put you into one of the experiment cells. Some part of him was confused by this, but his love for the purple haired princess subsided all worry. As long as she was happy, it didn't matter what he had to do in order to keep her smiling.

Entrapta doesn't know why she wants you, at least not yet. She has many experiments and tests to run on you in a number of ways to help her figure that out. You never like the new tests that she conducts on you though, always wining or struggling against the metal restraints when she shows you the new needles and other tools she'll be using on you soon.

The first couple months that she kept you were the most taxing for her. Those long days and nights of hearing you scream while you raged on in your temper tantrums. Throwing any and everything you could in your cell as you cried. It wasn't your actions that wore on her nerves however, she was oblivious to your concerns. However it did mean she'd have to have the things in your cell replaced on a constant base. Entrapta doesn't see your imprisonment as what would be the main thing bothering you though. So she would start by removing the extra things in your cell, thinking that they were what was bothering you. Soon if the s/o acts up too many times then the only thing in their room will be a mattress with no sheets or pillows. No books or things to occupy their time other then waiting for one of Entrapta's robots to come and retrieve them for another experiment.

Food brought to your containment area was at first odd to you. Small sized meals and fizzy drinks would show up every few hours. 'Tiny food' Entrapta had called it before listing the selection of tiny food she'll have brought to you based on analysing the various fluids she's pulled out of you. (Such a thoughtful girl she is for you.)

Over this time you've stopped screaming in anger at her, using this time more to sit in the furthest corner of your room and curl into a ball. Something that wasn't asked of Entrapta but happens anyways is that Hordak comes and brings you your meals, staying awhile after in an attempt to get you to talk and open up. He's the type that would tell you upfront that you won't be manipulating him into doing anything that Entrapta hasn't okayed herself. He isn't all bad to talk to since it's either him or nothing. Hordak is also more willing to bring you something that you ask for as long as you cooperate with Entrapta.

Over time he'll even convince that Entrapta to be more hands on with you. It takes some time to do so, but with the low levels of melatonin and serotonin in your blood she has to do something.

It's slow at first, as Entrapta isn't one to initiate physical contact with you. Choosing to instead use her hair to simulate touch. And that takes some getting used to. This woman who's ignored your anger and tears for so long is now trying to show you comfort? In reality you should be angry, you should fight when after her experiments are done. You laying on the exam table, restrained and spread eagle for her. When her hair begins to trail over your weak body, massaging months of stress with their precise strands out of you. It's hard to lean away. Since this is the only contact you've had in so long. Even if it's from her. The woman who's oblivious joy makes you wary. It's hard not to want her to keep touching you.

Things get better if you are good and stay good. Good subjects get rewards and gifts in the forms of clothes shes chosen for you as part of some test or experiment of different types of fabric against your skin. Sometimes books and even small robotic toys that she'll make for you if you ask politely. She's delusional and can be easy to manipulate. More so when it comes to you. Her darling s/o.

[crypticpaw]

Table For Four - chapter 1

Entrapta X Hordak fic! (with Netossa and Spinerrella’s participation)

Author’s note: Guess who’s back with more puppy/kitty fics nobody asked for?! That’s right, it’s me! Really wanted to make a double date involving our beloved mad scientists, and with fanart this time! I really hope you guys enjoy this one and tell me what you think! I love hearing you guy’s criticism!

Read it on Ao3!

-Pink-ish, or purple-ish? Pink-ish... Or purple-ish...? Hummm...

Entrapta compared both bow ties, one in each paw, trying to decide which one best matched with her new tuxedo. In other cases, she would ask Double Trouble, who by far had a better knowledge of clothes and "style" than her. But they were busy today. And in other, other cases, she would ask Hordak, who was also busy at the moment, putting on his own dress. -Entrapta? Is something wrong? -Hordak asked from behind the fitting room's door. -No, nothing's wrong, I just don't know which bow tie would look good with my tux! -She said, frustrated. -Could you help me? -In a moment, dear! Entrapta growled. She didn't have a moment! Emily, noticing her frustration, looked up at her from beneath the large bed and beeped worryingly. -Oh! Emily! -The princess jumped down from her comber. -Which one? The dog raised the bow ties for the robot to see. She looked between both for a moment before settling on the one at her left paw. -Purple-ish it is! -Entrapta declared, tossing the pink-ish bow tie over her shoulder. She hummed a tune while going back to her comber's mirror to tie it to her tuxedo. Her ears raised as she heard rustling behind her and steps. Probably just Hordak getting out of the dressing room. -Did you need something? -He asked. -Uh, no, I solved that problem, but now I have another one! -She said. -Can help me tie my- Uuuhhh...! He was absolutely dashing. His dress wrapped perfectly around his hips and loosened around his legs, leaving them in clear sight. A long cape on his back dragging on the ground with his tail. He had black lipstick and nailpolish on, and a rogue lock of fur fell on his eyes in a curl. What a lucky dog she was! She whistled at him in a teasing tone as he walked up to her. -Oh, stop it! You've seen me in this dress a thousand times before! -I've seen the sunset a thousand times before, doesn't make it less beautiful! -She said, her tail wagging. A low purr escaped him as he helped her with her bow tie and adjusted the plastic flower on her pocket. The last time she tried with a real flower, she wouldn't stop sneezing. Emily beeped at them sadly as she handed Entrapta her very small top hat. Hordak pat her in a gesture of comfort. -Oh, I'm sorry, Emily. I know you wanted to come. But this is a date! Meaning "only couples allowed"! -The Princess said. -But Kadroh will stay with you! And you can watch movies with Imp! Emily beeped excitedly again, rolling around the room, knocking things off shelves and tables. Entrapta laughed at her companion, and Hordak raised a paw for Emily to stop when she approached them again. -If Double Trouble shows up unnannounced again -He told her. -Shoot at will! The robot beeped an understanding sound, ready to follow his orders. She ran out off the room when Entrapta opened the door into the corredor. -Are you ready for our first "fancy date", lab partner? -I am. -He said, his tail held high. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- -I'll show you a thing or two about romance! -Netossa said in an awfully confident voice. Spinnerella rooled her eyes and chuckled. She loved her wife's overconfidence on herself, and this date had been her idea after all. She rested her tail on Netossa's hip and they kissed. Her wife's gaze changing from confident to love-struck, and she couldn't help but smile. -Good afternoon, my ladies! -The receptionist exclaimed. He, just as the rest of the staff, wore a tux and had his fur straightened with gel. -Good afternoon! We have a booking under the name "Netossa"! -Hmmm... I'm sorry, my lady, but I don't believe we have a booking under that name. -What?! Oh, no, did I call the wrong restaurant?! -Real smooth, "Juliet"! -Spinnerella laughed. -D-do you have any tables for two available? The receptionist checked on a list in his table. -Not at the moment, I'm afraid, but the waiting time is 20 minutes, if my ladies don't mind waiting. -He said, apologetic. -Of course it is... -She sighed, her ears dropped in defeat. -I'm sorry, Nella. Do you wanna go somewhere else? Spinnerella smiled wide, her tail wagging, as she hugged her wife in comfort. -I don't mind waiting! We did want to try a new place! Netossa smiled a little, her tail wagging as well. -We'll wait! -I'm glad! Just wait in the reception, please! I will call you when the table is available! They sat on a little red bench with large cushions, others sat with them, waiting for their tables as well, talking. A large window on the opposite wall gave a beautiful view of the outside, a large garden and the sun setting behind it, giving place for the stars. -I have a good feeling about this! -Spinnerella held her wife's paw on her own. Netossa raised their paws and kissed Spinnerella's. -I have too! They stare into each other's eyes, stuck in their own little world, until they hear a very familiar shrill laugh. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- -So fancy! -Entrapta exclaimed. She raised her paws to look at the large red carpet underneath them. Her tail wagged madly with excitement, making her whole backside wiggle, and while Hordak found it most endearing, it earned some strange stares. Either that, or his own presence. He couldn't tell. Hordak knew better then to judge others for their appearance, but he couldn't help but make assumptions. Some in the line behind them whispered and pointed, some in the front tried looking at them without being noticed. Entrapta was distracted, touching everything she could. It was all very velvety and she enjoyed the feel of it. Hordak had to nudge her gently to get her attention back when their turn came. -Hello! -She approached the receptionist. -Oh! Princess Entrapta! What an honour! What brings you here toda-AAaayyy... -The receptionist's expression fell from welcoming to absolutely terrified for his life when he saw Hordak. -Do you have a table for two? -Entrapta asked. -Oh! W-well... We have a waiting list of about 20 minutes, if you don't have any bookings, my lady... -He said, trying to recompose himself. -Which, of course, I completely understand if you don't want to wait that long! Hehe... M-maybe choose another restaurant... -No, we can wait! Right, Hordikins? -She turned to Hordak. -You don't mind waiting? -I don't mind at all. In fact, waiting may be better. It'll help my appetite. Hordak tried to keep his voice calm, but he couldn't help but pin his ears back. He had his eyes fixated on the receptionist, and opened his mouth to lick his lips, purposefully showing as much of his sharp fangs as he could. The receptionist's ears dropped and his face was turning pale. -R-right... Just wait at the reception, I'll call you when there's a table available... Entrapta smiled as she walked past him, Hordak followed after her, but shot the receptionist the nastiest side-eye he could manage. The princess chose a nice little red bench to sit on, right underneath a large window. The sun had just set and the night sky was filled with stars. Entrapta rested her paws on the window stop to admire them, her tail still going. Hordak smiled and sat beside her, her ear wrapping around his tail. -I'm still not used to them! They're so beautiful...! -They are. A moment of silence, and Hordaks smile fell. His worries starting to aggravate him, and feeling other's stare wasn't helping at all. Entrapta noticed his anxiety and took his paw in hers for him to look at her. -Hordikins? Is something wrong? -I'm not sure... -He sighed. -I suppose... I'm just not very confident. We are incredibly out of our element, and I don't know what to do with myself... -I understand. It wasn't easy for me when I first starting hanging out with the other princesses too. -She wrapped her ear around him and pulled them closer together. -But you don't gotta do anything! We're here for us! We'll have a nice dinner and it'll be super fun! You'll see! -Correct, as always, my dear. -He smiled at her and nuzzled her cheek, purring. He wrapped his tail around her as they held each other and Hordak felt his anxiety start to calm. -Entrapta?! Their ears raised and they turned to look at the awfully familiar voice calling the princesses' name. -Hi! -Entrapta wagged her tail. Hordak recognized the dogs sitting behind them, though they were wearing much more expensive clothing. They were princesses, married to each other. He had seen them before in previous Princess Meetings, but he couldn't remember their names. But Entrapta seemed to recognize them, and they seemed to recognize Entrapta. -What are you guys doing here? -What are YOU guys doing here?! -The taller dog asked. -We're out on a fancy date! -Entrapta said, proudly, pulling Hordak closer as to show him off. -Really? -The smaller said. -We didn't know you liked this kind of place! I mean... We know you have trouble with food sometimes... -Yeah, I do! But I really, really wanted to try a fancy date! And Double Trouble said this place was good! -Entrapta turned to the cat. -You guys remember Hordak? -How could we ever forget...? -Netossa! -What?! -Hordikins, do you remember Netossa and Spinnerella? -I do. -Ah. So that was their names. -Pfft! "Hordikins"? -The one they called Netossa laughed. -Only Entrapta calls me that! -He growled. They stared at each other aggressively. -Netossa! Quit it! -Spinnerella barked at her wife. -S-so, you came here on a date, right? What a coincidence! We're here on a date, too! -Are you?! That's awesome! -Entrapta gasped, an idea forming on her head. -You know what we should do?! We should do a DOUBLE fancy date! -Oh, yes! -What?! -Hordak and Netossa asked at the same time. -It's been so long since we've had a double date, Net! -Spinnerella said. -And we for sure never spent enough time with Entrapta! Or Hordak! -Uhhh... You sure about this, honey...? -I have to agree with... Netossa, beloved. I don't believe this to be a wise idea. -Hordak hesitated, the princess' name unfamiliar to him. In a strange place, with strangers, in such an intimate occasion. Hordak knew it wasn't as serious as he was making it, but the fear of something going completely wrong clawed at him. Entrapta raised herself to his eye level and put a paw on his shoulder. -Don't worry, it's gonna be fun! I promise! -Entrapta reassured him. Spinnerella left Netossa's side only to approach the receptionist once again. -Excuse me, could we maybe move to wait for a table for four? We found our friends here, and we would like to sit together! -She asked him politely. -Oh, of course, my lady! -He looked over her shoulder at Hordak, and the cat glared at him again. The receptionist gulped. -W-well, if you choose to move to a table for four, we have one available right now. If you still wish to dine here, o-of course! But I'm sure you don't- -Oh, yes, please! That would be wonderful! -Ah. Follow me... Defeated, the receptionist guided them through the tables to a nice sofa at the end of one of the corners. He tried to ignore Hordak for the most part, though he could feel the cat's gaze burning on the back of his neck. Though it was somewhat far from the other tables, Netossa couldn't help but feel others' gaze on them. It wasn't unusual. They always earned a few stares when they went out, after all, they were princesses, everyone knew who they were, but she noticed an awful lot more of stares than usual. -Here are your menus. -The receptionist said hastly. -I'll have a waiter come and take your orders in a moment! Before Spinnerella had the chance to thank him, he ran to the kitchens followed by two other waiters. Confused, she turned to the others. -So, what are we eating tonight? -There's no pictures on this menu! And all the names sound weird! -Entrapta said. -But I'll eat anything if it's tiny! How about you, Hordak? -Red meat. -He answered, still looking at the menu. -I really want some pasta! -Spinerrella said, sharing her menu with Netossa. -Darling, do you mind sharing it with me? -As long as it got a bunch of cheese, I'm good with it! -Netossa licked her lips. -Are we ready to order, then? Before anyone would answer, Netossa had already called a waitress who was passing nearby. She approached them with a smile, but her expression fell when she noticed the large red-eyed cat. She gulped. -Good afternoon, my ladies! What would you like to eat today? -she asked with a notepad on her paws. -Do you have any pasta? -With cheese? -Yes, we do have our "Gnocchi Alla Bava", it's our special for today! -the waitress pointed at the name on the menu. -Then one of those for us both, please! -Netossa held Spinnerella's paw. -How about you guys? -Do you have anything tiny? -Entrapta asked the waitress. -Well... We have the "Mozzarelline Fritte"... But tha- -Great! I want one of those! -Entrapta interrupted. -Alright... And what for the main course, my lady? Entrapta didn't respond until Hordak whispered in her ear the waitress was still talking to her. -Huh? What main course? -"Mozzarelline Fritte" are appetizers, my lady. You are suppose to order an actual dish for dinner after the appetizers... -Oh. Uhhh... What else is tiny other than that? -Entrapta read the menu again. -Nothing, my lady... -Then I'm just gonna want that! -You sure, Traps? -Netossa asked. -What if you're still hungry afterwards? -Then I can order more! Netossa and Spinerrella exchanged looks. -Well, alright... -the waitress said, turning away from the table. -I'll take your orders to the chef, if that is all- -That is not all! -Hordak growled. -You haven't taken my order! The waitress gulped and turned back. Instead of asking she just gestured for Hordak to speak and refused to look him in the eyes. -Do you have red meat? -he asked. -"Brasato al Barolo". -the waitress answered coldly. -I'll have that. Well done. She turned to the kitchens without another word. Which they all found quite rude. Entrapta on the other hand, had her tail wagging madly and clung to Hordak's paw like her life depended on it. -This is so exciting! I've never been to a fancy restaurant before! -Never before? Never, ever? -Netossa asked. -You don't know what you're missing, Traps! We love coming to "fancy restaurants"! -Oh, yes! The food is good, the waiters are very polite- -To you, maybe. -Hordak growled. Netossa shot him a side-eye and wrapped her tail around Spinerrella's hips, bringing her wife closer to her. Spinerrella, noticing her wife's worries, rested a paw on her shoulder as to calm her down. -Maybe she was just in a rush! -Entrapta told him. -Maybe she didn't want to look at your fa- OW! Netossa had whispered to herself, but Spinerrella had over-heard her and given her a pinch to stay quiet. Hordak pretended he didn't her the dog's almost offense and turned to Entrapta, who fidgeted with her paws while looking around. She noticed a table full of older dogs, also wearing expensive dresses and jewelry. They looked over their shoulder, pointed and whispered. Entrapta smiled and waved at them, thinking they were trying to start a conversation, but they turned back around when they realized they were noticed. Hordak pinned his ears back. Intimidating the waitress had taken his attention from the rest of his surroundings, full of whispering and strange looks. He told himself it was because of him, but a voice inside his head made him question if it wasn't because of Entrapta. For all they knew, she was secluded, had an unstable political relationship with the other Princesses, and worked for the Horde. For him. With him. And she made it very known and clear to all that she enjoyed every second of it. The thought disgusted him, but as he looked at her again, she noticed his eyes on her and gave him a smile. The cat couldn't help but smile back. In a small moment of relief, he bent down and kissed her cheek. So let them stare. -So... you both! -Spinerrella said awkwardly. -How are things for the two of you? Back in Dryl, I mean? -It's great! - Entrapta exclaimed. -The Brothers are having an easier time adjusting and I finally got Hordak to take an actual bath! -Entrapta! -he hissed. -That is personal information! -I understand it completely! -Spinerrella pointed at Netossa. -This one still has a fit over eating her veggies! -Veggies are disgusting! How very dare you! -Netossa barked. Entrapta cackled at the other couple's squabble. Hordak was still suspicious. Of what or who, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't as at ease as his lab partner. -You both are Princesses, are you not? -he implied to them. -But I do not seem to remember your kingdom from any map. I heard it's quite small... -And what if it is?! -Netossa growled. -Netossa! Shut! Your! Mouth! -Spinerrella turned to Hordak. -Yes, it is! It actually wasn't recognized as a kingdom of it's own until very recently, with Netossa's grandmother! -Really? How come? -Entrapta tilted her head, confused. -It basically works like a fief! -Netossa puffed out her chest. -There are rulers who the subjects give their services to, and in return, the rulers let the subjects stay and live on their land! Nana was pissed at Bright Moon at the time because they refused to count us as a kingdom or part of the Princess Alliance, even if our fief was enormous and we were the main source of sugar, cattle and wheat! They wanted us to keep paying taxes! -Fuck taxes! -Entrapta interrupted in an unfamiliar angry tone. -That's right, Traps! Fuck taxes! -Netossa cheered, her tail waging, while Spinerrella shook her head. -Nana stopped exporting resources and Bright Moon had to swallow their pride and let her in the Princess Alliance, or else they would have starved! -That's clever! I'm just glad Glimmer gave up on trying to make me pay my taxes! -Entrapta said. -I hated doing them! -I am glad too! -Hordak said, wrapping his tail around her. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -So we're not going to do nothing about it?! -the waitress whispered, indignant. -What are we supposed to do? -the receptionist whispered back. -It's Hordak! Those claws cut through flesh like a hot knife cuts through butter! We can't just tell him to leave! -You're both right! -the chef said through the kitchen window. -Nobody wants him here, but if we tell him to go home, he'll rip our tails off and shove them down our throats! -He's bothering the other customers! I've had multiple complaints about him! -He's just sitting there! As long as he doesn't do anything, let's not turn his attention to us! -Hi! They all jumped. Expecting a claw to his face, the receptionist raised his paws to shield himself, only to realize it was not Hordak, just Princess Entrapta. -O-oh! My lady! Apologies, are you in need of something? -he recomposed himself quickly. -Yeah, where's the bathroom? I really gotta go! -she said. The receptionist pointed at a small corridor next to a bookshelf, near the kitchen. Entrapta turned from them. -Thanks! By the way, when is our food coming? We're really hungry! -In a few more minutes, my lady! -the chef said. -Apologies for the wait, but we have a full house tonight! -Oh, okay! Thanks anyways! -and she ran off. They all sighed in relief after the Princess was gone. -She doesn't look hurt, does she? -the chef asked, worried. -Even if she doesn't, I wouldn't be surprised if he hits her! -the waitress said. -We're getting too ahead of ourselves here! -the receptionist barked! -Just act normally and DON'T do anything stupid! The waitress huffed. -Watch me!

That’s it for this chapter! I’m nit sure how long this will be, but I will try my best to update it soon! Reblog if you liked it and I wish you the happiest pride month!

[kittyprincessofcats]

She-Ra S5 E09 - An Ill Wind

In which the Best Friend Squad’s back on Etheria and I’m back to writing up my thoughts about it. (The real question is whether I’ll manage to finish these posts before season 5’s one-year-anniversary.) I probably really don’t need to say this anymore, but there might be spoilers for the rest of the season in this post.

- I think it’s funny how Catra can’t stand teleporting, but what’s even more important is how visibly concerned for her Adora is each time. Have you seen how she touches Catra’s shoulders and looks at her with such a worried expression? D’awww.

- “Wow, you don’t trust the princesses? I am shocked.” No Glimmer, Catra’s 100% right. This has nothing to do with trusting the princesses; you really don’t know who’s chipped and which places are occupied by clones. Perfuma literally told you the rebellion was compromised.

- “Catra’s right.” THANK YOU, ADORA! (Also, I love Catra’s satisfied little smirk in the background when Adora says this.)

- I just paused the episode when they arrive in Erelandia and counted the Horde flags you can see hanging all over the town: 14, plus one giant Horde sign in the sky and a spire not too far away. Prime, are you compensating for something? (Also, Adora has an arm on Catra’s back again. Cute.)

- Is it a little disappointing that all the rebellions against Horde Prime on other planets got reduced to one brief exposition scene where a clone mentions they’re happening and a few quick images? Yeah. But I also get why the show just didn’t have the time for more and wanted to focus on Etheria.

- Speaking of, are those the magicats we see in the second image? Interesting… I’m not sure how I feel about the idea of Catra potentially being an alien as well. But then again, the show never clearly answers it one way or another, and there’s no reason magicats couldn’t have existed on multiple planets.

- Also, am I understanding this right: The Star Siblings started the intergalactic rebellion after meeting the Best Friend Squad? And now there are already rebels on several planets? Nice job, Star Siblings!

- “My heart aches for these misguided children.” I’m not sure if I’ve ever properly addressed the heavily religious symbolism around Horde Prime and his cult, but… that right there is *such* a Christian-extremist-coded line, holy hell…

- So Prime says he wants to use the Heart of Etheria “to bring peace to all the universe” and at this point I’m not entirely sure what his exact goal is. Does he just want to destroy all the planets with the Heart? Because I’ll be honest, I tend to find “I just want to destroy everything” a bit boring as a motivation in villains. What’s the point of him ruling the universe if there’s no one left to rule over? I mean, I know Prime had his whole “If there’s no one left, there are no wars, etc.” speech in an earlier episode, but that’s also just so dumb.

- Where did the Best Friend Squad even get those cloaks? Either way, Catra looks adorable with the outline of her ears showing under the hood. 🥺

- “I hope you, too, are full only of love for Horde Prime… and have no crippling doubt eating at your soul.” / “Brothers, there is nothing to see here!” Like I said in an earlier post, all of Wrong Hordak’s lines are absolute winners. Also, I love how the other clones just keep falling for his very obvious bluffs.

- Wrong Hordak learning to wink so quickly makes me jealous because I can’t wink. (No, I really can’t; I’ve tried. Whenever I try to only close one eye, I always end up closing both. If anyone has good advice on learning to wink, let me know.)

- I love the character designs of the mushroom people.

- Catra wasn’t wrong about the locals selling them out and not telling them anything useful. The others should listen to her more.

- Bow posing as the “average traveler passing though” is especially funny because I’m pretty sure there are no “travelers passing through” in times of Horde Prime.

Catra: “A town that hates princesses? Should I buy property here?”

Everyone else: *glares*

Catra: “Is what I would have said before I joined you. Go, team.”

😂😂😂 Catra’s quiet little “Go, team” in the end is what gets me most about this moment 😂. She’s adorable and trying her best, okay?

- I love how Wrong Hordak just calls everyone “brother” regardless of gender. Also, Adora’s little “Did you just wink at me?” / “That’s not how winking works!” moments are hilarious and adorable.

- “You’re wearing hooded cloaks, it’s highly suspicious.” Okay, mushroom lady’s not wrong, though. And I love how someone finally points this out, since hooded cloaks are so often used as “undercover” disguises in shows like this.

- That said, both she and mushroom guy earlier did try to sell the Best Friend Squad out super quickly. Like, I get that the locals are scared, but still… They could have tried to stay safe without running towards the clones to tell them everything right away.

- I’m just noticing that Erelandia has mushrooms everywhere. Obviously the people are mushrooms, but there are also mushrooms growing outside in the streets everywhere, and the shop they’re in is selling mushrooms and clothes with mushrooms on them as well.

- Both Bow and Glimmer blowing their covers almost immediately and Adora just quietly shaking her head at both of them in the background is amazing.

- Love Catra (and Melog) just casually stealing a mushroom from a mushroom lady.

- So Catra’s just chilling in a tree and eating stolen mushrooms and Entrapta wants to analyze samples that’ll be ready in 4-6 weeks – neither of them’s really helping right now. But then again, Catra wanted to leave in the first place because she thought the locals would sell them out (and she was right about that), so she probably thinks it’s not worth the effort.

- Also, you know who this scene with Entrapta and Catra is missing? Scorpia. If there is one problem I have with season 5, it’s that we didn’t get any Super Pal Trio reunion / moments with all of them on the same side now. (Or just in general, that we didn’t get to see Scorpia and Catra properly talking things out.)

- “That’s the windy one, right?” Okay, am I the only one who finds this line weird? Spinnerella literally has Adora, Bow and Glimmer trapped in a tornado as Entrapta says this. Obviously she’s “the windy one”? Entrapta can literally see that??

- “Lord Prime has given me peace.” Oh, I’m just realizing that’s just what Catra said when she was chipped. That’s got to be awful for Adora to hear again.

- Glimmer grabbing Bow and Adora’s hands and teleporting them out of the tornado was badass.

Adora: “How are we supposed to fight our own friends?”

Catra: “It never stopped you before.”

OMG. I love that Catra still considers their time as enemies as “being friends”.

- I really love Netossa’s entrance. What makes it really cool to me is that at that point the Best Friend Squad didn’t even know if there were any unchipped princesses left, so Netossa jumping in there with a casual “Welcome back, guys” was just an amazing moment.

- Also, I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but I really like that this season finally made Spinnerella and Netossa more important characters. (And I wonder how much network censorship of LGBT+ storylines had to do with them not being that important earlier on.)

- Hordak getting flashbacks of Entrapta again (while Prime looks at his older body’s memories) is just 🥺. I like how Prime talks about Etheria while Hordak slowly remembers more and more about his own life on Etheria.

- “So, the only person I’m fighting here is… my own wife.” I love the on-screen confirmation that they’re married! But also, Netossa wanting to attack Catra and Wrong Hordak at first was pretty funny.

- Catra and Glimmer’s respective expressions when they hear about Scorpia and Micah being chipped are a gut punch. Also, Netossa talking about how she has to get Spinnerella back is making me tear up.

- “Where are the rebels?” “Right beside you!” 😂😂😂 Amazing, just amazing.

- Love to see Catra taking out those bots. She’s so badass ❤️.

- “Be careful.” “Always am.” I wonder at what point Netossa started to realize what’s going on between Catra and Adora.

- Love Netossa whistling at She-Ra’s new look. Your wife’s right there, darling. But then again, who wouldn’t whistle at She-Ra’s new look?

- Honestly, why did anyone ever say Spinnerella and/or Netossa were weak? Their fight here really shows how powerful both of them are when they don’t hold back.

- “Stop holding back. She won’t.” Looking past how hard this must be for Netossa, this line really sums up why so many characters in shows like this seemingly become more powerful when they turn evil (or less powerful when they turn good): Because the bad guys have no reason to hold back.

- Adora firing a rainbow beam from her sword was amazing. I wish we’d gotten to see a bit more of She-Ra’s new powers this season.

- “Please. I love you. Come back to me.” I’m crying 😢. That’s a nice first taste of all the “I love you”s to come in the finale. And I love that it works (even if just for a bit). The whole “power of love helps you break free from mind control” thing might be a cliché, but it’s a cliché I love, so…yay, awesome!

- But also, and I’ll probably talk about this more when I get to the next episode (that I had a few problems with), I like how Netossa doesn’t only rely on the power of love, but still realizes she has to first fight Spinnerella without holding back to get her into a position where they can even have this talk.

- Yay, mushroom town is saved!

- Catra reassuring Netossa that Spinnerella will be okay was so sweet. She’s really trying to be nice and I think she’s doing great 🥺. (Also, Adora looks at her so proudly.)

- I just noticed that when She-Ra replaces the Horde symbol in the sky with her sword symbol, all the Horde flags around town are already gone, too. Did Catra, Glimmer and the others just like… take all of those flags down in between fighting the bots? Or did Wrong Hordak maybe walk around taking off the flags while the others were fighting?

- That said, the rainbow sword in the sky looks amazing.

- “I think Horde Prime is going to know She-Ra’s back.” “Good.” Love Adora’s determined expression here.

- Geez Horde Prime, no need to punch the screen. The screen didn’t do anything to you.

- Okay, so Horde Prime finally decides to go to Etheria himself, and when he announces that, Hordak looks at the crystal in his hand – it’s all coming together.

- “This is where the rebellion is hiding out?” “Yup. Why, have you been here?” The looks on Glimmer and Catra’s faces here are amazing. People have of course already written all kinds of amazing metas analyzing their expressions, but the short version is that Glimmer seems to remember their fight fondly, while Catra seems embarrassed.

- Perfuma trapping them all in vines and demanding to see their necks is not only hilarious, but also shows that the rebellion has learned from their past mistakes. 👍

- All of their reunions (Bow and Perfuma, Glimmer and Frosta, Adora and Swift Wind, Entrapta and Emily) were super sweet – I like big reunion scenes 🥺. Wrong Hordak meeting Emily was adorable. Perfuma clinging to Bow and crying about how she doesn’t want to be in charge anymore had me laughing so hard 😂.

- Okay so, I know Frosta’s punch breaks the mood a moment later, but I really think Adora wanting to officially introduce Catra to everyone after seeing her standing there alone while everyone else was having big reunions was super sweet. The way her face falls when she sees Catra standing there sadly, the way she asks her to come here so gently… it’s just so sweet. 🥺

- Also, unpopular opinion, but am I the only one who didn’t really find Frosta punching Catra funny? (And the same goes for Scorpia electrocuting her in the next episode, by the way.) I know these moments are meant to be cathartic “drag the former villain because some people are still mad at them” moments, but Catra’s whole story is largely about being a victim of physical abuse. Wasn’t there some way for the story to make fun of her without having other characters physically assault her? I like how Catra’s redemption was handled overall, but moments like those kind of rub me the wrong way. (Netossa trapping her in a net was fine though, because that didn’t actually harm her.)

- That said, Adora’s “Catra’s with us now. Okay? Hmm.” was hilarious. I love how she just gives the briefest explanation and then turns away from Frosta with a smile and little “hmm”, just completely expecting Frosta to be fine with this now.

- That ending shot of all of them together is epic.

So, what changed this episode is that Erelandia was freed, the space group has reunited with the remaining princesses, and Horde Prime is heading for Etheria. Good episode!

[Previous episode]   [Next episode]

[lightlavenders]

Time for my Entrapdak rant (a.k.a. why Hordak was better for her than literally anyone else, a.k.a. I’m not bias I swear)

as I read through Entrapta/Hordak/princess gang discourse on this site I started to realise the reason why I loved Entrapdak so much in the first place, and I will now talk about that here (some of these points are stolen from better posts). ALSO no matter how much I shit on other characters just know this isn’t an attack of any of them. This is gonna be VERY ENTRAPTA FOCUSED.

OK SO we get introduced to Entrapta pretty early in season 1 and we get to learn a lot about her. It also quickly becomes clear that she’s neurodivergent - something confirmed to be intentional by many of the creators. Entrapta has a passion for technology, science and inventing, and (same as the previous princesses) the best friend squad decide they need her in the alliance so she can build them weapons (whICH SHE NEVER ACTUALLY DOES i think BUT THATS NOT THE POINT). 

Throughout the episode though, the squad (mostly Glimmer bc she’s the one who gets to closely interact with Entrapta the most... Adora being completely out of it and Bow with the kitchen staff) seems to slowly run out of patience for her - Glimmer very obviously puts up a front of tolerance despite her frustration. This is unlike the other episodes, where all the princesses get along in the end and become best friends oh boy! So... we have our only neurodivergent character so far who isn’t really welcomed into the group the same way as the others... and her autistic behaviour is only tolerated because they need her... okay, maybe that’ll change later.

Or not? When Entrapta joins the others on the quest to save Glimmer, she is constantly infantilised by the others and not taken seriously. She runs off to study Horde tech and actually helps rescue Sea Hawk, two very helpful things, but Perfuma talks down to her like a child and PUTS HER ON A LEASH? SHE’S 30!!! SHE WAS TRYING TO HELP! And no one tells Sea Hawk off for getting lost and alerting Scorpia to their presence, which wasn’t helpful at all. Then later, Mermista says she’ll keep an eye on her “in case she decides to befriend any more robots” like okay... she isn’t a child, and she didn’t run off because she wanted to play with robots or something?

Okay, so, Entrapta is left behind, which I won’t blame them for because it definitely looked like she died (they get over it pretty quickly but I digress), and she comes across Catra. Okay! Here’s a chance for Entrapta to make a true friend, right? Or not, because Entrapta and Catra’s friendship is built entirely on manipulation. At least Scorpia was sincere. 

Here Entrapta is again, in a position where she’s being used for her skills and in a we’re-sort-of-friends-but-I-only-tolerate-you-because-you’re-useful situation, with Scorpia probably being her only true friend at the moment. She starts helping out the horde, because they actually let her do what she wants and at the very least don’t treat her like a child. Then, she stumbles into Hordak’s lab.

I’m gonna say this now because I’ll get murdered if I don’t - Hordak is a bad guy. He does bad guy stuff. But so does Entrapta sometimes (I’ll talk about that later) so good morals don’t need to play into their relationship I think. It’s about how they treat each other.

At first, Hordak is very defensive and angry towards Entrapta, as he would be to anyone coming in to his lab without permission and discovering his secret portal project. But then she fixes said portal and he immediately sees her as an intellectual equal. Again, Entrapta has had to prove herself to someone by making herself useful, but it actually goes further. ALSO can I say how Hordak is the ONLY person who interacts directly with Entrapta who doesn’t treat her like a child or emotionally manipulate her, with the exception of Wrong Hordak, Emily, and Imp of all characters... Even Scorpia is guilty of this later.

So, Entrapta and Hordak start working together, and Entrapta is obviously very excited to have someone treat her as an equal (they’re lab partners!!). On top of that, Hordak is also happy to have someone he can actually trust. Catra and Scorpia at separate times both remark on how Entrapta spends all of her time with him now, and who can fucking blame her when he’s the only one that has literally spent all this time growing close to her and understanding her as a person, not just using her, not just tolerating her, not talking down to her constantly. Hordak opens up his trauma to Entrapta and she responds by opening up a bit in return, literally saying that she doesn’t fit in and that Catra doesn’t even talk to her anymore. They are obviously comfortable around each other, and if Hordak was manipulating her, then why was he so distraught when she was taken away? Why did he CRY??? Why did he consider giving up on his life’s purpose and abandoning what is essentially his god for her???

Anyway, stuff happens, and Entrapta shows that she isn’t the irresponsible child everyone thinks she is by agreeing to shut off the portal. But of course, Catra betrays her and sends her away. To die. How nice. Catra tells Hordak that Entrapta betrayed him, and instead of flipping out and turning all Hal Stewart incel “if I can’t have you no one can” he just gets sad... and then later all he really wants is to see her again, even if it is on the battlefield. I’m not sure what he would’ve done so we can’t say for sure, but I seriously doubt he wanted to hurt her.

sidenote - I’m not gonna blame Scorpia for letting Catra doing this, Scorpia had her own shit going on and was essentially trapped in an abusive relationship and she also later makes up for letting Entrapta down by getting her rescued

SO then the best friend squad go to save her from Beast Island, and she’s literally completely given up. Gee, I wonder why. Could it be because it seems like every friend she’s ever had has abandoned her, scolded her, or outright zapped her unconscious and sent her to die in a monster filled island? But the squad save her and affirm to her that they didn’t give up on her and that they’re still her friends. Actions speak louder than words, guys, but okay, cool! To Bow and Adora’s credit, they were the least patronising and mean out of anyone... so, that’s something. Anyway! Affirmations! Some respect from her friends! I hope this lasts... 

It didn’t! Season 5, Entrapta goes along with the others to help find out where Glimmer is. Here is where I quickly have to say something - Entrapta does indeed make some ‘evil’ and stupid decisions sometimes - hacking the black garnet, building robots that attack her old friends, walking out absentmindedly in front of a robot and compromising her team. Some of these things can be explained by her neurodivergence, but do not always justify it. That being said. Entrapta is not evil, she is not stupid, and her “weirdness” does not give her friends the excuse to treat her like a child. 

Here’s where it gets bad!! Perfuma puts Entrapta on a leash AGAIN!!!!!! WHAT? Writers? Wyd?? Not only this, but the others talk about her behind her back, and then scold her without any consideration for how she, as a neurodivergent person, was interpreting the situation. They could’ve explained their feelings to her in a calm way, instead of shunning her and expecting her to pick up on their cues, then exploding at her when they didn’t. THEN THEY CALL HER A BAD FRIEND.... and I feel hypocrisy in this chili’s tonight... and then Scorpia... doesn’t say anything? Girl help. Ik we can’t totally blame her since she was new to the squad and probably didn’t wanna get kicked out or yelled at like with Catra, but please... that is your friend...say something. also why did mermista need to pull her hair and then later say “you’re still a weirdo” like what. why do people ship them? because mermista cried when entrapta ‘died’? Okay??

I think Entrapta actually goes through some character development after this which is pretty cool - she outwardly expresses her concern for Glimmer, which is affirming to her friends the squad, and later at the end of the series, intentionally keeps herself focused during the most high stakes moment instead of running off. I’m not qualified to talk about if these traits, which could be considered traits of autistic people, deserve to be treated as flaws to be fixed, that’s a whole other bag of worms, but yay character development.

Finally, at the end, Hordak properly reunites with Entrapta and he decides to rebel against his creator and his purpose to save her life, showing that Entrapta, and their connection, is his priority now. And once Adora saves Hordak from Prime (thanks Adora), the two finally reunite in a spinning hug - that is literally the most physical contact either of them have had with anyone, how could anyone not believe in their connection and mutual trust???

Mermista gives us one last jab, an understandable one considering Hordak was conquering their planet for years on end, but still - “so, are we all just like, okay with this?” yes girl, we are. He’s literally the only one who ever treated her with real respect and love, the only one who ever prioritised her.

I know some people are gonna be like “just ship her with wrong Hordak” and if you really like that... go ahead I guess? But do we need to force a clone who just got control of his own mind into a relationship, or a girl who is very much in love with someone else into a relationship with one of her friends? You can do what you want though, it’s literally fine, I’m the one who just spent over 1500 words talking about why a 30 year old science woman should go out with an alien warlord.

In conclusion - Hordak and Entrapta deserve each other, because Entrapta deserves someone who treats her right, and I love her.

[spacebatisluvd]

Nanomachines

-

Hordak gingerly took a seat at the council table in Bright Moon. He was still somewhat uneasy in Bright Moon’s halls, but he was glad to be here—with Entrapta—to consult on a matter of scientific interest, rather than something political. He had had enough of politics.

Then again, he should have known that even a scientific inquiry would begin to devolve. It was inevitable with this group. Entrapta had lost interest in the conversation long ago—it was a matter of biology, not robotics, and she could only feign interest for so long—and he was currently trying very hard to maintain a neutral expression while she kept passing him her data pad to share her ‘notes’ on the meeting—a series of increasingly absurd doodles.

Then he heard his name, and he pushed the data pad back at Entrapta. “I beg your pardon—Entrapta and I were...”

“Flirting?” Catra said, though she looked just as bored as Entrapta.

“I was sharing my drawings!” Entrapta said brightly, turning her data pad around so the other princesses could see. They leaned close, and Catra started laughing. Scorpia just cocked her head and traded a look with Perfuma, who shrugged, while Bow and Adora sighed.

Mermista groaned. “Ugh. Why are you two even here?”

“The She-Ra asked us to come.”

“Um. ‘Adora’ is fine, Hordak. And I thought you two might be able to help? You are both—“ She gestured vaguely. “—science people.” She looked at them expectantly. “You must have something to say...?”

He and Entrapta shared a look, and she went back to her doodles. He turned to Adora. “I’m not sure what you expect us to do. Entrapta’s interest is in robotics—“

“And xenobiology!”

He took a breath, thankful that he did not blush at that. “—and though I am not as highly specialized, I’m afraid my research into cybernetics, cloning, and related fields is as useful in this situation. That is to say not at all. We don’t know anything about environmental restoration. We will be happy to help revive the Fright Zone, but I’m afraid Princess Perfuma is better equipped to aid Princess Scorpia than we are.”

“Oh, come on! You built robots that made more robots if I cut them in half! You seriously can’t do something like that with plants?”

His ears folded back. “That technology was extremely ill advised. It was a...grievous mistake to deploy it in the first place. If I had gotten it wrong....” He cleared his throat, crossing his arms as he looked away. “Well. The nanobots use the elements in their environment to rebuild the larger structure they’re part of. Theoretically, they could have endlessly replicated themselves until Etheria itself was nothing but robots. It’s why I limited their functionality to the degree that I did. I wanted to conquer Etheria, not destroy it.”

Everyone was staring at him in horror. Even Catra’s eyes had gone wide. “For fuck’s sake, Hordak—you didn’t tell me that!”

“It was a mistake.”

“Why would you—?” Bow asked, looking lost. “We could have—? I need to sit down.” He was already sitting, but seemed to feel sitting on the floor was a better option.

“I am—I’m sorry,” Hordak said, wincing. “I thought that Entrapta had betrayed me and was currently deploying her own tech against us. I felt I had something to prove.”

“Oh for—“ Catra leaned forward. “Are you kidding me? You deployed tech that could have destroyed the entire world because you wanted to get back at your girlfriend?”

He glared at her. “Firstly, I don’t believe you get to criticize me for reckless acts that risk the world out of a misplaced need for revenge against a loved one. Second, the nanobots worked as intended. Nothing was destroyed—more than the anticipated destruction, that is. And finally, you misunderstand my motives entirely.”

Catra blinked. Then she groaned. “Don’t tell me you were showing off. That’s even worse! You two are so weird—!”

He had not noticed the hair coiling around his chair, until Entrapta jerked it around so that he was facing her. Her face was hidden behind her welding mask, the insect-like goggles glowing red. “You. Made. Nanobots. And you didn’t tell me?!” Additional strands of hair whipped around her head, twisting and coiling. With the support of her hair, she loomed over him, fierce and magnificent.

“I—“

Mermista, suddenly interested, took her feet off the table and leaned forward. “This oughta be good.”

“—I did not tell you because, at the time, I thought you’d been in the field to see. And later, it seemed...unimportant.”

“You. Forgot. You created self-regenerating nanobots, and you forgot to tell me about it?! But we’re lab partners!”

He swallowed. “I...still have the data?” It seemed like such a paltry offering in the face of what seemed like god-like fury. Or enthusiasm. It was difficult to tell.

She leaned close, and when she lifted her mask, she held his face in her hands. “Did you really make them for me?”

His ears flexed, and he could feel the heat in his cheeks as he flushed. “I.” He swallowed. “I wanted you to see them and know that I could match you. I wanted to be a worthy foe, if I could not have you at my side.”

She kissed him—hard. The crest of hair on his head rose all at once, and he was dizzy with joy when she pulled away and leveled her gaze on him. Her thumb and forefinger held his chin in place. “Hordak. Show me the tiny robots.”

“Anything you ask.”

He stood, half carried from the room by enthusiastic ropes of her hair.

-

“What did—? That just happened, right?” Adora asked.

Mermista groaned. “Ugh! What was that? I thought she was mad at him?!”

“Is he...okay” Bow asked, standing up. “She’s not gonna hurt him, right?”

Catra snorted. “Please. He’s exactly where he wants to be.”

“They’re so cute!” Scorpia said, clasping Perfuma’s hands in her claws. “Do you they’ll let us plan the wedding?”

“Gross!” Mermista interjected.

It was Glimmer who finally silenced the group. “Am I the only one concerned that those two could destroy the world because Entrapta asked to see the tiny robots?”

There was a pause.

“Oh.”

“Oh. Shit.”

There was a mad dash for the door, and a chorus of voices calling for the departing scientists.

-

-

A/N:...so was I the only one wondering wtf was up with the self-replicating robots?

[tinygrneyedshadow]

Answers

This is Entrapta X Hordak fanfic and it’s wholesome

A continuation of “Questions”

 Adora wasn’t snooping, honestly, she wasn’t! She had wanted to check on Entrapta, that was absolutely all it was, not snooping.

 It wasn’t hard to find Entrapta. Emily was pacing back and forth outside the door to the room they’d given to Hordak. She stood there thinking about it for long enough to draw confused looks from a passing patrol guard, on their second pass.

Hordak was, well Hordak. Ruler of the Etherian Horde. He had been her superior, her commander for her entire childhood. But She-Ra had been in his head, She-Ra had reached in and pulled out the infectious monster that was Horde Prime and while she was in there she’d seen so much more.

He had been a confused, scared, lonely creature, separated from everything he knew. Just like she was when he found her. They were both helpless children. They were the same. Two lost souls, alone in a world that wasn’t theirs.

He had just wanted to feel safe again. He had been trying for so long to be someone Prime would be proud of, so he could feel safe. It’s what he had tried to give all of his soldiers. A home where they were accepted through regiment and order and rules.

But in his Horde he had never rejected the broken ones.

He had still been a bad guy, because Horde Prime was a bad guy and he was trying so hard to be just like Prime.

But for a bad guy he hadn’t been truly terrible, to his side anyway.

The Fright Zone wasn’t all bad. She had played. She had friends. She had, a mother, sort of. Hordak had made a place were all the broken imperfect creatures had felt at safe, so long as they followed the rules. From his perspective even the ration bars were a big step up from clone nutrient fluid. rations came in 2 flavors. 

He was still a bad guy, still killing the planet, people still died fighting in the battels for all those years.

But he had suffered too. She knew he had suffered. She had seen the things they did to recondition him when she was in his head. No one deserved that.

Maybe call it time served? He could do something else. Community service to fix his wrongs, maybe?

It didn’t matter, she was here to check on Entrapta, just Entrapta, right?

She pushed the door open quietly and stepped in.

Emily pushed past her once the door was opened and clinked her way over to the edge of the bed in a huff, plopping down loudly.

Entrapta was curled into a little ball laying on Hordak’s chest. It looked like they were sleeping. He wasn’t even fully on the bed, his feet were hanging off the end, still in boots. She was pretty sure he couldn’t have gotten up if he wanted to, Entrapta’s hair had him half cocooned.

Adora bit her lip. If only Bow could see this!

“Was there something you needed, Adora?” His voice was still smooth and dignified and she almost instinctually stood at attention when he spoke. His eyes had opened to a narrow slit of green.

“I uh, was just, uh, I was coming to check on Entrapta.” Adora said awkwardly.

He blinked and seemed to consider her words. “She fell asleep, again.” His brow furrowed and his gaze shifted down. “I can’t remember if it is normal for humans to need this much sleep.”

Adora could barely breath. He looked so worried. It was so cute. “After a hard day, yeah, it’s totally normal.”

He nodded and the lines on his forehead smoothed away. “Ah, then she is otherwise in acceptable health.”

Adora stared at him for a moment longer than was polite, but like, when would she ever get the chance again. “Do, do you need anything Hordak?”

His face was impassive.

“I mean, you had a hard day too. Are you okay?” Adora pressed nervously. She had only come to check on Entrapta.

His gaze flickered down to Entrapta again. “When the time comes, take her to the remains of one of the ships, or to some other piece of tech. Something she will find interesting. She will need a distraction.”

Adora had no idea what he was talking about. “What?”

“I do not have all my memories back, but they are returning, enough to know that will likely be disposed of.” He frowned. “Do not leave her alone. She will need someone to listen to her. Don’t let her hide away with her creations.” He looked so sad about it. He was talking about getting executed and he was more worried about Entrapta.

“Hordak, that’s not going to happen.” Adora said a little too loud. “Yeah, you have some things to make up for, but we aren’t going to kill you.”

He blinked at her, not comprehending.

“You’re going to live and your going to fix things. Entrapta, doesn’t need somebody, she needs you. I was in your head Hordak, I saw all of it, I know what she means to you.” Adora needed to lower her voice before she woke Entrapta.

“What is it called?” He said quietly, but urgently.

“What?” She was lost again.

He looked away. “What does she mean to me, Adora?

“Oh!” She almost laughed but the look on his face stopped her. “You really don’t know.”

He sighed. “I am unfamiliar with this, sensation. I have never felt this before, before her. It broke through Prime’s conditioning. It made me lie to Horde Prime. I tried to kill him, for her.”

She nodded smiling softly. “Yeah, love is like that.”

“Oh.” He stared at her, his ears dipped and his cheeks turned a little bit pink. Then his gaze shifted down to the still sleeping Entrapta and he stared at her with absolute wonder.

Adora quietly stepped out of the room with one last glance at Hordak’s bewilderment, cause really, it was probably the only time she’d ever see it. She had checked on Entrapta.

Entrapta was in good hands.