#if you want to know how did Hordak not kill Emily I have only one word for you-Imp

[applecidersstuff]

So, I watched She-Ra recently, took me a week, but that’s not the point.

While I was doing that I really liked Entrapta(why am I not surprised?).

So at some point, in between the end of s3 and the middle of s4, I had an idea that Hordak would find out about Entraptas whereabouts from Emily.

And let me explain my thoughts, Emily during the entirety of Entraptas ‘exile’ was always following people she saw as Entraptas friends, so those were people who she saw with her a lot. She tried to get help from Catra, and later started following Scorpia around, but what we never saw is her trying to get close to Hordak. I don’t think it was because she didn’t see him as Entraptas friend or because she was told by Scorpia to not go anywhere near him.

I love how it happened in the end, with Double Trouble and all, but have you thought how much more devastating it would’ve been if it was Emily? She has a recording of Catra electrocuting Entrapta. She knows what she would need to show Hordak to get his attention. And Hordak knows that Entrapta would not live Emily behind.

#and scene #if you want to know how did Hordak not kill Emily I have only one word for you-Imp #princess entrapta #she ra entrapta #entrapta #she ra imp #shera spop #she ra spoilers #she ra 2018 #she ra netflix #she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #she ra spop #hordak #entrapdak

[soranis-sunshadow]

Entrapta deserved better

My posts are usually either detailed analysis or memes and shitposts.

I’ve re-watched the show and this will be an angry rant…  

With every viewing of the show, Entrapta’s arc makes me progressively angrier because I empathize with her so much.

She is introduced to the show as being a reclusive scientist, known throughout the Maker’s guild for her genius. Even her staff is weary of her. She spends all her time alone with her robot friends in her lab within her isolated castle.

The alliance interacts with her with the explicit purpose of recruiting her into their war effort. They want her for her ability to build weapons for them. That’s as deep as the relationship goes this far.

Entrapta has no stakes in the war, the Horde hadn’t attacked Dryl. She joins them because she wants to be their friend; she wants to help them in the only way she knows how, using her technological prowess to their benefit. Due to her isolation (and her being autistic), Entratpa struggles to understand interpersonal dynamics. Human interaction is a skill she has had little practical experience with. She understands the concepts, the rules of the game, so to speak, but she has seen it in play only as a third party rarely ever practicing it herself.

She’s invited to the Princess prom due to her princes status but she’s an outsider there too. No “friendly” princess seeks her out to hang out with her as a friend would. The only person who does so is Catra, and she does it for her own reasons…

With Glimmer abducted, the alliance mounts a half-baked rescue operation. Everything Entrapta did in this episode had a purpose, it looked like she kept getting distracted when in actuality, she was studying horde tech, rescuing Seahawk and furthering their mission and she had no time to explain herself (it also occurs to me that Entrapta might not explain herself because no one asked and no one ever understands her reasoning anyway) The princesses try to control her because she’s being “difficult”. They don’t care why she’s being difficult, they want her to conform.

Once they rescued Glimmer, they don’t even come back to check if Entrapta’s actually dead, or to get her remains and put them to rest respectfully. They allready have the princess they came for.  

Entrapta is all alone with her new robot friend Emily in the Frightzone vents, expecting that she’d get rescued because “no princess left behind” but rescue never actually comes.

Catra uses this new abandonment to convince her to switch sides. Entrapta didn’t jump ship because of her tech hyperfixation, she switched sides because Catra used her skill at pinpointing someone’s weak-spot and poking at it. 

Catra may not have been Shadow Weaver’s favorite ward (she was her scapegoat and punching bag, the poor girl) but she did learn from her and repeatedly put those skills to “good” use.

Once they find out she’s alive, the alliance wants to rescue her but she’s made new friends in the Horde and she think that they understand her fascination with science, friends that actually interact with her directly. She actually feels included here and as such, she’s not eager to return to the alliance’s side.

Entrapta befriends Catra and Scorpia but even in this trio, she is the third wheel. Catra is focused on herself, her ascension in The Horde and on her missing Adora. Scorpia is focused on Catra and on pinning for her.

Once Entrapta and Hordak start growing closer together, Catra stops talking to her. Perhaps she was hurt because Entrapta “broke her promise” to not go in Hordak’s sanctum, perhaps she was envious of her closeness to the Horde leader, or perhaps both, either way, the friendship is broken from Catra’s side. Entrapta still sees her as a friend and fights Hordak over the decision to send her to Beast Island. Despite his grouchiness, he considers her request and grants it.

As recompense for saving her life, Catra backstabs Entrapta when she tried to stop Catra from triggering a potentially world ending event and then sends her to the fate Entrapta saved her from: exile on Beast Island.

When faced with the choice between Catra and Entrapta, Scorpia choses Catra. Hordak is lied to so he doesn’t know to look for her, he believed she used him and is heartbroken about it.

You can actually pinpoint the moment his little heart breaks in this scene:

 Even so, he spends most of season 4 wanting to face her; he’d rather see her as an enemy than not see her at all.

After Catra proves herself a bad friend, (after months) Scorpia finally decides to rescue Entrapta and goes looking for help, deserting to the alliance. She has this little realization:

Adora is the only person that actually wants to go right away and rescue her. Bow wants to rescue her because they need her tech savvy and Glimmer says that they can rescue her after the war or something… (the Island she’s on is a death trap, she might not live that long for all they know)

she said this 

then this

She knows that this is a time sensitive issue but she wants to put it off  despite the urgency, if that doesn’t sound like friendship to you, then what does?  *sarcasm intensifies*

Contrast this with how the villain of the show reacted to the news of her being sent to Beast Island:

On Beast Island Bow gives her a longwinded speech about how she’s supposed to work harder at friendship. I know he’s projecting his own issues here but it still makes me so damn angry. Entrapta’s trying; she’s trying so hard, no one ever tries back! No one makes the effort to understand her (except that one clone but we’re not talking about him), she has to conform to their expectations, the reverse is never applicable.

Anyway, stuff happens and Glimmer is abducted again, by Horde Prime this time.

Then that whole “Lauch” episode happened. Entrapta is distrusted by the alliance more than Scorpia is. She is seen and cold and interested only in tech, she has to explain and redeem herself in their eyes after they treat her like rubbish. They don’t connect the fact that helping them with tech is how she shows her friendship. 

It’s the only thing she thinks she’s worth to them. She wants to be accepted by them so badly.

 Entrapta gets emotional over rescuing Glimmer! 

The person who when faced with the same prospect, said she’d do it later…

Even Catra’s apology to Entrapta for trying to kill her is a blank “I’m sorry”. Pls say what exactly you are sorry for Catra. Entrapta deserves that much. Bow received a better apology for far less of an offense.

All she ever does in the show is work towards furthering someone else’s goals, her own are always a second thought. As @cruelfeline​ pointed out, even a small scene with her discussing what happened with Hordak, her reaction to it and the gang focusing on Entrapta’s troubles for ONCE , even if it’s just offering her emotional support, would have meant so much.

Why is the show trying to tell me that Entrapta should work on being a better friend?

That's a terrible message!

She doesn't need to work harder on her friends, she NEEDS BETTER FRIENDS.

So many of us ND people end up being third wheels at best and we blame that on ourselves, we internalize the reasoning that our friendship fail because we’re weird and we’re not doing it right. That we’re the ones that have to try harder to be understood and that our concerns should come second.  That is a terrible thing to internalize, we are blaming ourselves constantly because we try to understand others and they never try to understand us back. 

With age, I’ve grown out of trying and being different so that other people would like me. They’d end up liking the mask I project, not me anyway. I’ve found people that understand me and that like me for who I am, but only after I’ve stopped trying to be “better” for others to accept me. With being honestly “weird” with those around me, I’ve been accepted far more than for trying to fit in. And I’ve realized that people that shun my otherness are not worth the effort to try and befriend in the first pace .

 That is what young autistics need to hear, not “git gud” at friendship.  You are not wrong, you are not defective or broken, you are you and you’re beautiful just the way you are. If other people don’t see that, then the failing is theirs. Don’t change, just look for people that see you. 

#Entrapta #SPOP discourse #rant on how society expects autistics to conform to normality

[magical-girl-coral]

et any more than ten notes, but fuck it, here are the reasons why Entrapta should have been kidnapped instead of Catra :

Catra's redemption would have felt more well earned - if Catra was trying to find a way to help Glimmer and Entrapta, then her change would seem more legitimate. She already showed signs of guilt through her nightmares of what she did to Entrapta. Instead of falling to her old ways like in Prime's ship, she would most likely go through a complete 180 and almost kill herself while trying to prove her worth. Imagine Catra trying to befriend Emily and Imp so they could find a way to save Entrapta, putting aside her past grievances with them so they could signal Entrapta on Prime's ship. Maybe Imp was the one collecting robot bits, so they could give it to Entrapta once they find her. Maybe Emily showed one of Entrapta's old recordings before she was sent to Beast Island for the sake of filling the empty space she left. The possibilities are endless.

Making the princesses look more justified in their anger - The princesses' ableism was handled terribly. There is no way around this. Neurotypicals obviously wrote episode two, and it shows*. However, once you replace Entrapta with Catra, their anger, hostility, and Scorpia's timidness make way more sense. Mermista's rage especially makes the most sense since Saelinas was the kingdom was fell first thanks to Catra and Hordak. Instead of making all of our favorite characters, ableist assholes, this plotline makes them more human. The power of friendship can only run so far, after all, and every single princess is allowed to have a breaking point in trust. 

It would showcase Entrapta's real priorities - For most of the show, both fans and characters see Entrapta as someone who would never care about anything other than tech. Now, if that were true, then Entrapta would have no problem joining Prime's side. But that's not what would happen. Instead, Entrapta would unleash hell on Prime's ship without Prime even noticing. Sending signals to Etheria and new tech designs, helping Glimmer escape and sending her back to the Best Friends Squad, all while showing zero hesitation. Entrapta loves tech unconditionally until it starts to mess with her friends.

It could show ableism correctly through Prime with how he would treat Entrapta - This is my scenario of how Entrapta ends up on Prime's ship (please tell me if you have anything better): Prime, after looking into Hordak's memories, sees a young and brilliant scientist. Prime decided to show her his ship, trying to seduce Entrapta into improving his tech while convincing her that a 'defective, retarded, emotionless' Etherian like her could never truly be great, so she might as well give up now. He would touch without her consent and shame her for turning his "affection" away. Instead of falling to his manipulations, Entrapta realizes that he is afraid of her. She's biologically different then most Etherians, and Prime doesn't know how to control her. That gives her the final push of courage she needed to have to go behind Prime's back and rescue Glimmer. By making Prime ableist instead of the princesses, the show tells us how ableist is bad and disables people deserve more respect (I know that most of the show's fans are above fifteen, but with how the fandom has been acting, they deserve to be taught like children).

It would give a parallel 'be careful what you wish for' between Entrapta and Catra - At the start of the series, all Entrapta wanted was to see more advanced tech, and all Catra wanted was to see Etheria conquered. They both got exactly what they wanted, and their lives couldn't be worse. 

A chipped Entrapta breaking free from the hive mind because of her autism would be awesome - That's it. That's the pro. I'm incredibly desperate for more good autism rep, and this would be amazing.

Catra and Adora bonding while in space would be excellent for both characters - As much as I love the angst from chipped Catra, it feels more like fanservice now. At the end of the day, it felt like Catra and Adora didn't bond enough to have a solid devolvement in their relationship. This could change if they went to space together with Bow. Instead of spending just half of the last season together, they spend the next eleven episodes bonding in the insanity of their situation. It would also allow more time for Catra to understand Adora's abuse under Shadow Weaver. By forcing those two into a close space in the middle of nowhere, they would have no choice but to confront the other about their issues. And speaking of much-needed bonding time.

Glimmer would get a chance to face Catra about Angella's death - If there is one thing I will never forgive season five for, is forgetting Angella's death.  It was Glimmer's main motivation to take more action against the Horde, it was what almost drove Micah to despair, and it was the final nail in the coffin for Adora, making her stop taking the blame for everything and take Catra's threat to the world more seriously. But then season five happened and they just... forgot about her? She was never mentioned again because if she were mentioned, Catra would look bad, and Glimmer would have a reason to hate her. But if Glimmer were to meet Catra again outside of Prime's ship, with all the trauma she went through there, she would definitely take out on Catra (kind of like how Katara took out her anger on Zuko after he joined the gang).

Hordak would join the Best Friend Squad early after they save Entrapta and would get more devolvement as a result- If you think for one second that Hordak won't abandon Prime after what he did to Entrapta, then you haven't been watching the same show. I don't know how he joins the BFS. Maybe Catra tried to find him to fix her mistakes**, maybe he finds them by accident and remembers some of the past events as a result, or maybe he was one of the clones that witnessed chipped Entrapta and got a wake-up call. Either way, he wouldn't sit back and watch Prime continue to ruin his only friend's life. This would give him more screen time to show his backstory more clearly, give more sympathy for the clones along with a better redemption arc. And finally, the most crucial point.

Catra's growth would be more consensual - Most of Catra's maturity seemed to be out of her control. She helped Glimmer because she felt like no one wants her anymore. She had her hair cut because Prime wanted her to look more tamed. She was buddy-buddy with Glimmer and Bow because the plot says so. Nothing that happened this season seemed to be with Catra's consent, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Instead of watching Catra go through glorified torture porn, imagine her changing from her own free will. She cuts her because her hair reminds her of how Shadow Weaver's hair looked wild when she was angry. She changes clothes because she didn't want to wear her crown anymore. She goes to space with Bow and Adora because she wants to do good with her life, and is tired of being the mean old bully she was never meant to be. Doesn't this seem more satisfying?

*here, here, here, here and here are some metas about why Entrapta’s treatment was written terribly. I’m too tired to explain myself, and these posts tell the show’s problems better then I could

** I really like the idea of Catra finding the Luvd crystal and returning it to Hordak as a way apologize for how she has separated them. It would also be a cool parallel to all the times she took the crystal out of Hordak’s suit.

Edit: holy shit, there were so many typos here. Why didn’t any of you guys tell me?

Double edit: soooooo... I may or may have not written a fic...that you can read here...please support me, my brain is begging for more serotonin.

#She Ra and the Princesses of Power #she ra #SPoP #Adora #Catra #Catradora #Hordak #Entrapta #EntrapDak #Scorpia #Mermista #Perfuma #Glimmer #Bow

[inscribed-in-asteroids]

AN: Here’s chapter four! We get into some character interaction.

Title: The Ripple Effect

Canon Characters: Entrapta, Hordak, Scorpia, Perfuma, Mermista, Seahawk, mentions Catra and Adora

Original Characters/Fankids: Odessa, Hydrangea, Tristan, features Adam and Molly

Pairing (i.e. ones having actual moments): Entrapdak, Scorfuma

Rating: M

Read on AO3. It always has more info there.

                                                      Venture

Entrapta places her recorder in her pocket, done for the time being. There have been advancements in the settlement on Beast Island. It continues to grow in size and technology, and contains more portals than other places on Etheria. Most places only have one portal, with Bright Moon having a few. The Whispering Woods contains the second-highest amount after Beast Island, predominantly so that if anyone gets lost, they will eventually find a portal and land in one of the main kingdoms, with that particular portal having that kingdom’s crest.

She and her lab partner have been diligent in the upkeep of Beast Island. It had taken time for the island to become fertile. First One’s tech had buried its roots deep within the earth, far below what anyone but drones could see. Soil had melded with machine, somehow: dirt containing minerals that were not of Etheria, and when they attempted to dig out the First One’s tech—mostly from the other princesses’ insistence that it be done—they learned their mistake when slumbering beasts and inanimate plants had sprung to life and attempted to kill them. That had been terri-fun-fying!

But it did confirm what Hordak and she suspected: Beast Island and the First One’s tech had morphed into one gigantic organism. A problem to be sure, however, they also proposed a radical hypothesis: by changing the code of First One’s tech, they could alter the parasitic relationship to a symbiotic one. That had been a major doozy, since there was so much, but it worked! The island had released its many species from its catatonic state, and they had called She-Ra to aid the process run smoother with her magic.

The First One’s tech proved to be a valuable asset in not only repairing Beast Island, but creating a thriving metropolis that used the natural resources and ancient machinery available. Buildings, bridges, plumbing, aqueducts, everything made by Horde clones was molded around the landscape. They were determined to function alongside the proper residents of Beast Island.

 It really surprised everyone how well they behaved when not obeying the rules of a tyrannical madman.

Entrapta found life on Beast Island exciting and peaceful at the same time. Being the princess of Dryl, she would still go to her old home, but she pretty much gave it to Wrong Hordak and the other clones who desired to live a little closer to the other kingdoms, to mend relations and have a better comprehension of the way Etheria works. Hordak’s brothers were curious, inventive and engaging once they were free, and went through rehabilitation to cope with the loss of Prime.

They were all so cute!

Entrapta looks to her left, watching Hordak move around the room. He keeps his eyes on the clipboard, hair falling over his forehead. He taps the back of it with his fingers, humming to himself as he kneels down to inspect a piece of equipment.

Entrapta smiles, propping her cheek against her hand.

Hordak senses a gaze on him, and he looks at her, smiling, “Did you need anything?”

“No, I’m content,” she says. But none as cute as him.

                                                                -

Odessa disembarks first, greeted by several of her uncles, her parents and siblings. Imp flies toward her, landing lightly against her back. She instinctively moves to the piggyback position, kissing his cheek. Emily whirs happily, and she leans over to kiss the top of her dome.

“Find anything fascinating?” Imp plays back in Entrapta’s voice.

“Yes! There was a lot on the flagship that we had to explore,” she says.

“Ooh, what’d you get?” Entrapta herself asks, hanging upside down from a rafter.

“I’ll show you in a bit. Right now, I need these two to go,” Odessa says, annoyed.

“Your friends?” Hordak asks, confused.

“No,” she points at Adam and Molly, who are standing behind Tristan and Hydrangea.

“What are you two doing there?” Entrapta asks.

Adam, shameless, grins at her, “Oh, we snuck up on the ship! It was awesome!”

Entrapta blinks, surprised by this development. She furrows her brows, “Wait, so you two were on the ship for that long?”

“Yeah, it was great!” Adam says, jumping over to stand by Odessa. “Can’t wait to do it again!”

Odessa glares at him, the urge to grind him underfoot intense, “You could’ve jeopardized the mission!”

“Uh, but we didn’t? I don’t see the problem,” Adam replies, folding his arms.

“The problem is that we had to have two additional people on board! Our supplies were meant for three, you’re lucky we had spares!”

Entrapta moves in, looking at Adam, holding his arms out with her hair, “Ooh, so you used my suits! Tell me, did it affect your mobility? What was your heartrate? Can you grab me your suit so I can scrape your skin cells off the inside?”

“Mom, please,” Odessa begs. “I want to yell at this idiot!”

“I know, sweetie, but can’t it wait ‘til after I pluck some hairs?”

“No way, you can’t go plucking my hair!” Adam protests.

Odessa whirls on him, poking his shoulder not-too-gently, “You get involved with my mission and you think you’re in any position to object to anything!”

Hydrangea approaches her, “Des, calm down.”

“I’ll calm down when he gets out of my sight! Having to deal with you for this long was torture!”

Entrapta hovers over Adam’s head, measuring his body with her tape, lost in thought. 

“Entrapta,” Hordak says, getting her, and their, attention. “Perhaps this is the time to lay out ground rules.”

“Oooh, gotcha!” Entrapta swings over to him, sitting atop her hair in a swift motion. She nods at Hordak.

He walks forward, hands behind his back, coming up to Adam and Molly. Molly shrinks under his scrutiny, while Adam has the decency to look like he fucked up for once. “I will send the two of you home by portal immediately. I will be speaking with your mothers to inform them of your behavior, to ensure neither of you tell them anything different.”

Molly groans inwardly, knowing she’ll be the only one to care. Adam is likely forgetting everything as it’s said.

Adam’s ears flatten against his head, annoyed, “Dude, no offense, but we didn’t do anything to risk her mission.”

“It is not a matter of you managing to be competent aboard the ship,” Hordak chastises. “It is the matter that you were not privy to the information or mission itself to begin with. Your inability to think ahead has always been a problem.”

“But—”

“Do not argue with me,” Hordak whispers, deadly quiet, leaning close. At Adam’s silence, he pulls back. “The two of you will accompany me to the portal now. Come.”

Adam keeps from huffing, crossing his arms, ears pressed to his head. Molly rubs her left arm, looking over her shoulder.

Tristan meets her gaze, giving her a reassuring smile.

With that, she follows her brother and Hordak.

Odessa turns to her mother once they’re out of range, “I found some things on the ship that I know you’ll be interested in.”

Entrapta squeals, “Oooh, I can’t wait to see it!”

Hydrangea yawns, patting Entrapta’s shoulder, “I’ll have to see you all tomorrow, I need to go home and see how things have been.”

“Aaaaw, so soon?” Entrapta asks.

“Unfortunately,” Hydrangea says, hugging her tight. “I’ll be back later after I get some rest.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Gea,” Odessa says, opening her arms for a hug of her own. Hydrangea shakes her a little, the two laughing, before heading toward the portal. Odessa looks up, “What about you, Tris?”

He shrugs, “I don’t have anywhere to be.”

“You’re welcome to hang out with us!” Entrapta shouts.

Emily spins in place, beeping with excitement.

“Awesome,” Tristan says, giving Imp a high-five as he flies around his head. “I can hang out with your siblings while you and your Mom talk science.”

Odessa touches her mother’s shoulder, “So, do you think Dad is going to be gone a while?”

“He does have to talk to Adora and Catra, so probably,” she replies.

“Okay, because maaaybe I should show you one of the things I found without him.”

Tristan raises a brow, while Entrapta blinks in puzzled silence.

                                                              -

“Oh my,” Entrapta breathes, peering into the case. “That’s my girl! Not a single mark or blemish on it.”

Odessa grins, “I know! It came out perfect.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to let your dad know?” Entrapta asks a second time. “I think he might find it interesting, too.”

Odessa’s lips are pursed for a moment, folding her arms across her chest. She sighs, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell Dad. I’ll ask him some questions to hint about it, I suppose, but I don’t know how he will feel about it.”

“I think it would be best to be upfront,” Entrapta says.

Odessa bites her lip, uncertain.

Entrapta continues to study the brain in the jar. These discoveries could be important, but she understands her daughter’s concern. Hordak has been making reparations for decades now, but when it enters especially sensitive territory about his time serving Horde Prime, he becomes sullen, despondent and incapable of holding a good mood. She doesn’t blame her husband either. That’s a part of his past that continues to pain him. The years have softened his heart, and he feels shame and guilt every day for things he had done. She doesn’t want to lie to him, but she doesn’t want to hurt him either.

She imagines that’s how her daughter feels. Ethical dilemmas are her least favorite kind.

“I will see how he feels by implication,” Odessa reaffirms. “I won’t do more than that, at present.”

Entrapta nods, not liking any of this, but standing by her child’s decision. She takes the jar in her hands, “We will study it later. Why don’t you go and take this to your room?”

“Alright, I’ll put it away real quick. I’ll be back to show you and Dad the other thing I found,” Odessa says, jumping toward the ceiling and heading into the vents.

Entrapta sighs, then her smile returns when she hears Hordak’s voice from behind, conversing with Tristan.

“You’re more than welcome to spend the night,” Hordak offers, clasping his hands behind his back. “We have plenty of rooms to accommodate your needs.”

Entrapta bounds over, eager, “We’re having mini pancakes in the morning!”

Tristan smiles at them, “Thank you! I’d be happy to.”

Odessa hops down at this moment, grabbing him into a headlock, “Cool! If Gea was here, it’d be like old times!”

Chuckling, Tristan pats her forearm, signaling for release, and she obliges. He gives a yawn and stretches, “I’m gonna head to bed, then.”

“Imp, Emily, can you show him to his room?” Odessa asks.

More than happy to, the three exit the room, leaving Odessa and her parents in the sanctum. She walks to her bag, “There wasn’t much on the flagship, but I did discover this.”

Hordak and Entrapta stare at shining fragments, clattering softly on the table. Entrapta holds one in a hair strand, “Pretty! Where was this?”

“It seemed to have been located in one of Prime’s trophy rooms.”

“Look, hon,” Entrapta says, holding it up to Hordak. “The craftsmanship for this must’ve been delicate and precise.”

Hordak takes it between his fingers, inspecting it slowly, quietly. It does have an air of elegance. He somewhat recalls seeing it before in that room. Lined with trinkets from planets no longer around. Hordak frowns, placing it on the table, “Did you find anything else?”

Odessa considers her words carefully. She says, “I did find an area that had past Primes.”

“Was it intact?”

“More than we expected.”

“Did anything of consequence come about?”

“I did interact with one of the bodies,” Odessa tells him. “But it’s nothing that important.”

Hordak peers closely at her, and Entrapta glances at the ground, trying not to pull down her mask.

“An entire vicinity filled with inanimate bodies, and you didn’t do anything with them?” Hordak asks.

“Not really. I turned one on by accident, though, so I got to take a close look at it.”

“That must’ve been elucidating, on some degree, I suppose,” Hordak scowls, tilting his head. He adds, “Well, there’s no need to go to the flagship anymore.”

“I know, Dad,” Odessa says, sitting on the table. “That part’s done with.”

Hordak pats her head, an unexplainable relief coming to him.

Odessa’s stomach grumbles, and she gives a sheepish grin, “Oh, guess I’m hungry.”

Entrapta beams, “Late-night snacks! We got lots of fizzy drinks! I missed my little drinking buddy.”

Laughing, Odessa hops to her feet, “Mom, the day we get actually drunk together is gonna be nuts.”

                                                              -

Tristan wakes up to the sound of scuttling on the walls. Seeing Imp climbing around, Tristan closes his eyes, getting drowsy again.

“Morning!” Odessa yells, jumping on top of him.

Tristan throws her off him, smirking as she falls, “Des, I’m sleeping…”

Landing with ease, she stands, arms akimbo, “But don’t you want to eat?”

He debates whether to leave the warm comfort of the bed or enjoy the warm comfort of mini pancakes.

Noooooo…

“Gea’s bringing the really good syrup,” Odessa teases, poking his shoulder with her hair.

He opens one eye.

Tristan doesn’t take much convincing afterward, pouring caramelized fruit syrup onto an assortment of small pancakes, his third helping. Hydrangea pours him and her a cup of green tea with lemon, setting his cup down in front of him. He says thanks with a full mouth, and she smiles at him.

Odessa, on her third plate too, licks her lips, “This is so good! You’re turning into a pro at making syrups.”

“Thank you,” Hydrangea blushes. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

Taking a healthy sip of his tea, not minding the burn, Tristan lets out a satisfied sigh, “You keep this up, there’s no way I’ll be able to move.”

Entrapta looks up from her plate, peering closely at his face, “Have you been experiencing a slack in your metabolism? Are your joints functioning, or are you showing signs of muscle atrophy?”

Tristan smiles reassuringly, “No, no, I’m okay. The food’s just delicious.”

“It is!” Entrapta says, returning to her meal. She turns to Hordak, “Do you want to try any?”

“Hmm…” Hordak looks at the sweet cakes, drizzled with thick syrup. All of it golden in color. Pleasing to the eye, but he isn’t sure.

Entrapta grins at him, expectant.

“Very well,” Hordak says, taking her fork. He tries to not be aware of the eyes on him. Giving it a delicate sniff, he sticks it into his mouth, chewing meticulously. Thinking.

He looks at Hydrangea, giving a nod, “Excellent work.”

“T-Thank you!” she stammers, beyond shocked. She is going to remember this compliment for the rest of her life.

Entrapta, delighted he had a good experience, finishes up the rest of her food. Getting up, she announces, “Well, we’ll see you later! Hordak and I have a lot of work to do, so we won’t see you until tonight.”

“Alright, Mom,” Odessa says. “You two have a good day!”

Squealing at how adorable she is, Entrapta kisses her face multiple times as she says goodbye. Hordak pats her head before joining his lab partner.

“So,” Tristan begins, dabbing his mouth. “What are we up to today?”

Odessa turns to him, “I was thinking we might begin preparing for our next trip.”

Hydrangea sips her tea, “Our next trip will be when, do you think?”

“Preferably, sooner than later, and I am going to begin preparations in the coming days,” Odessa explains. “The next trip is going to be significantly longer, even with using portals.”

“How long do you expect?” Tristan asks.

“It might be more than a year,” Odessa answers.

“Oh!” Hydrangea says, setting down her cup. “More than a year… Where are we going?”

“I’d been thinking about it since we left the flagship,” Odessa says. “I think it would be provident to visit my uncles on Inicos. If no one on Etheria knows, maybe I have relatives that can give me better answers there.”

Tristan and Hydrangea glance at each other, both wondering what it would take to prepare it all.

“I understand it’s a lot,” Odessa tells them, aware that they’re unsure. “There’s no rush, since it will take a little time to prepare. I will inform you before we launch. Take your time to figure it out!”

Hydrangea smiles at her, “Alright, that’s good. It might take my parents a little convincing.”

“And you, Tris?”

“I’m sure I can figure something out with my folks,” Tristan replies.

“Excellent. I have a little bit to do around here for a couple hours, but I’ll meet up with you both later today.”

“That’s fine, I got stuff to do too,” Tristan stands, stretching out his arms.

Hydrangea claps her hands together, “I’ll see you guys later!”

                                                               -

Tristan doesn’t go home.

He swims through the ocean for several hours, thinking. Enveloped in the comfort of water, Tristan swims further down into the water, the light dissipating as he descends. Tristan looks to his side, shadows moving in the liquid black. He reaches out, skimming the surface of smooth skin. The aquatic behemoth lets out a sound of greeting, its voice thrumming through the water.

Swimming deeper, the pressure intensifying, darkness consuming his sight. He senses the scales of another animal, and it swims beside him for a while, enjoying his company. He loves to come down here. Communicate with all the oddities beneath the ocean, gliding along its floors, descending into greater trenches.

Despite what people think, the bottom of the ocean isn’t silent. There’s a cacophony of sound here, all varied in tone, pitch, and layered.

His mother never went beyond where dolphins ranged. Her demeanor, his father had told him, has remained exactly the same since they were young adults. But she has a penchant for cuter creatures, spending her time with more mammalian ocean-life.

His interest in creatures from dark depths was something she had no qualm telling him wasn’t to her taste. The first time he told her he would like to go out and swim into less shallow ends, she looked at him like he was bluffing. Like what he was telling her was a mere joke. At his insistence, she gave in, with much reluctance.

They swam toward the black, but never entered past where the dim sunlight ended. She told him it was an uninteresting place down there, and was rather disgusting. Made it obvious that she thought his choice was inferior to her own.

Tristan didn’t ask her to accompany him after that. He would only tell her he was going out, until it got to the day he knew it didn’t matter if he informed her of his whereabouts or not. She occupied her time and he was expected to do the same.

Being in this unfathomable space, he found a sense of peace. There was so much life here, unseen and unwanted by all above the surface.

He isn’t sure if anyone in his family had this desire for the darkness of the ocean, but he knows that he takes after his grandfather. Where once, Tristan shared the similar dolphin tail to swim, the more time he spent on his own, exploring, sensing, he found his own identity. His fin elongated, skin becoming sharp. No longer as agile or fast, but powerful all the same.

He pushes onward, tail propelling him downward still. Lost in thought and the feeling of not knowing where to go, but believing that if he keeps moving, he’ll eventually reach somewhere.

                                                               -

“I don’t like it,” Perfuma objects, arms crossed.

Hydrangea bites back a sigh, “Mom, it won’t be forever.”

“I think she’ll be able to handle herself,” Scorpia says.

“But for more than a year—”

Hydrangea sets down her teacup, “Mom, I know you’re worried about what will happen, but I would be among friends. And we would use a portal to help speed up the trip.”

Perfuma frowns, looking down at the table.

Scorpia turns to her daughter, “Hydrangea, hon, where is it you’re going again?”

“Inicos,” she explains again. “That planet where a majority of her uncles went to.”

Scorpia turns to her wife, “See, that’s good! That’s a planet where she’ll be more than okay.”

Perfuma rubs her temples. The idea of Hydrangea being gone for that long isn’t one that is sitting well with her. She would prefer if she remained in place. A child needs roots; what good would it do her to be away from home for that long? And there’s the fact it’s Odessa. There is no chance that this will be a one time thing. Hydrangea has been her friend for years; Odessa is too much like her mother—fixated on her goals.

“Mom, I don’t see any reason why you should be against this,” Hydrangea tells her.

Perfuma rises from her seat, “I’m going to bed. I will think about this.”

Hydrangea watches her mother go, knowing better than to continue her argument.

Scorpia sighs, “I’ll see if I can talk to her about it later.”

“Okay. There’s time left, but I would prefer to know sooner than later. You know how Odessa can be,” she replies, smiling.

Scorpia nods, sipping from her mug. There’s no reason for Perfuma to reject the notion, and with little base to go on. She knows Perfuma means well. She always does. 

Once she encourages Hydrangea to retire for the evening as well, Scorpia leans against her bedroom door; she stares at Perfuma, brushing long yellow hair. Approaching her, Scorpia leans down to kiss the top of her head.

“I’m not wrong to be worried,” Perfuma says.

“I know.”

“I just…” Perfuma trails off, gently setting down her brush. “Hydrangea is growing up so fast, and I would prefer that she spend her time here, with her family.”

“I know it can be difficult. But when I was her age, I was getting ready to go out into the world.”

“Not for good reasons,” Perfuma says.

“The reasons aren’t really the point,” Scorpia says, holding up flaxen locks in a claw. She tried brushing Perfuma’s hair, once; she clipped right through it, and, horrified, she refrained from touching her for a good while. With practice, she can do it now, but only because she forced herself to try again. Even now, though, she feels… out of place. Bizarre and incongruous. She doesn’t want Hydrangea to lose her connections. To feel alone, and not know who she is. “The point is to let her discover what she wants out of her life.”

Perfuma reaches behind her, trailing her fingers along Scorpia’s jaw, “I know…”

“Give it some thought, at the very least,” Scorpia tells her.

Glancing down, Perfuma meets her wife’s eyes in the mirror, “I will see how I feel.”

                                                                -

The brain floats in its case. Undisturbed.

Odessa furrows her brows, wondering what she should do. Should she inform her father of her true intentions, or should she wait until she finds something of value to offer him? To show that it’s worth the effort?

She has deliberated over it for a while. She doesn’t want to exclude her father from the potential discoveries that await within the stars. But Prime…

He’s beyond a sore subject for Hordak. Her father is confident, proud, and immovable. But when Prime is delved into, either on a shallow or intimate level, he becomes sullen and distant. Similar to how he used to be, according to her mother. It normally takes Entrapta to bring him out of whatever reverie decides to perturb his thoughts.

Is it really a good idea to bring it up?

Odessa is not the sort to believe her father is weak. To the contrary, she has the highest respect and adoration for Hordak. And that’s partly why she hesitates to confide in him her plans.

He will eventually find out, though. He might not be good at picking up lies, but he is suspicious by nature.

Folding her arms, Odessa sits back in her chair, allowing the front legs to hover in the air. If she kept it a secret, he wouldn’t like it, but he may understand her reasoning if she explained why.

Ethical dilemmas are the worst.

“Odessaaaaa!”

“Hey, Mom,” she says, looking up at the ceiling.

“So, I was wondering what to prepare for your journey, and your father suggested that we give you a mini portal,” Entrapta says, hanging upside down. “The portal to Inicos will save you some time getting there, but if you want to send us something of value ahead of your arrivals, a mini portal might help!”

“Oh, that’s a good point!” Odessa says, feeling uncomfortable. “I’ll thank Dad for the idea later…”

Entrapta brushes Odessa’s cheek with a lock of her hair, “What’s wrong? Do you feel bad?”

“A little,” Odessa admits. “I don’t like not telling Dad anything, and, perhaps, I’m being unfair to you too—for having you keep it under wraps right now.”

Entrapta sits on her hair, “It’s not too late to be honest with him. Your father can handle more than we give credit for.”

“I know he can, but he has reservations about anything involving Prime,” Odessa says, shifting the chair back and forth. “He didn’t object to going to the flagship, but everything that comes after might not be to his liking.”

Entrapta places her hands on her cheeks, leaning forward, “Maybe we can try again to hint at it?”

“Dad’s too smart,” she says, setting the chair legs back on the ground and mimicking Entrapta’s position.

Entrapta and Odessa sit in silence for a few moments, each wondering about the best course of action.

“I still feel we should tell him,” Entrapta says.

“I do too, but I don’t want to risk Dad getting upset.”

“Then… I won’t say anything until you do.”

“Thanks,” Odessa replies, staring at the brain in the jar.

She doesn’t know why she hesitates so much when it comes to this. But she has inkling he might not approve. That isn’t a potential circumstance she wants tainting this trip—that he might not give his full support if he knew that this whole thing was to find out their origins.

                                                                -

Tristan lays in his room, staring up at the ceiling. Music plays in his ears, low and smooth in its lull. He can hear the faint sound of seagulls beyond his window, which gives him a growing sense of calm.

A knock on the door disturbs that calm. Annoyed, he says, “Yes?”

Mermista enters the bedroom, walking in. She inspects the room for a moment before addressing her son, “Are you busy?”

“No,” he answers, continuing to look at the ceiling.

“Good,” she tells him, folding her arms. “Because you’re needed downstairs to discuss matters in Salineas.”

Tristan groans, “I don’t know why I need to be down there.”

Mermista raises a brow, “You’re the prince, that’s why.”

He waves a hand in the air, “Still don’t see why I should.”

“Because I say so, how’s that for a reason?” Mermista declares, turning on her heel. “Hurry up, we can’t keep members waiting.”

He doesn’t move, wanting to drown out everything.

“Tristan, I said now!” she snaps from outside the door.

At the command, he throws his arms in exasperation, getting to his feet in a huff, “Fine!”

Walking quickly through marbled walls, Mermista shakes her head at him, “It wouldn’t kill you to be more involved with your kingdom.”

Tristan rolls his eyes.

“Don’t give me an attitude,” Mermista chastises. Another shake of her head, and she pauses mid-step to reach for his hair. “You don’t look the least bit presentable!”

“You told me to get going right now, you can’t get upset about that!”

“You should’ve been getting ready a while ago,” Mermista says, continuing to—very poorly—comb through his locks.  

He steps backward, waving an arm, “I’m not a child, stop touching my hair!”

“If you didn’t look like crap, I wouldn’t need to,” Mermista says.

Tristan flushes in embarrassment and anger, “I never look like crap.”

“Right now you do,” Mermista insists. “Straighten your back.”

“It’d be a lot easier to do that if you got off my back,” Tristan snaps.

Mermista turns to narrow her eyes at him. She lets out a groan, “You know what, go back to your room. If you’re going to be immature, I’d prefer you not be there.”

With that, she continues walking without him.

Tristan stands there, miffed. Another waste of time! What does she even want? Whirling, he stomps back to his room.

This whole place is fucking stupid.

                                                               -

Hydrangea approaches Perfuma in the garden. Her mother seems to be in a good mood, “Hey, Mom.”

Perfuma turns, smiling, “Hello, dear! Would you hand me that water container please?”

Doing so, Hydrangea decides to mosey through the pathway. She lifts her hand over a row of violets, brushing their petals lightly with her fingertips. They respond to her touch, swaying gently beneath her palm.

“Is there something that you wanted, sweetheart?”

Hydrangea doesn’t look at her, listening to the flowers hum quietly, “I was wondering if we could discuss the trip.”

“Oh? I thought we dropped the matter,” Perfuma replies, tone nonchalant.

“No, Mom, you did,” Hydrangea says, voice equally collected.

Perfuma walks over to another section, pouring water into the soil, “There’s no reason to give an attitude, my young blossom.”

“Mom, no one is giving an attitude to you,” Hydrangea says, turning to her. “You’re the one who’s been avoidant about the issue since I mentioned it. Don’t you think you should hear me out?”

Perfuma sighs. Setting down the water pitcher, she places a hand on her cheek, “Alright… what is it?”

“All I’m asking is to go on an expedition for a while. I don’t think it’s that large of a request.”

“I believe you’re forgetting that you are a princess; you can’t go wandering the galaxy whenever you please—you have responsibilities here to your people!”

“I don’t understand your resistance. You’re always telling me that the best way to understand others is by putting yourself in their position.”

“You don’t have to travel around to do that,” Perfuma scoffs. “You can learn everything possible right here on Etheria.”

“Mom.”

“You aren’t ready to go out and be away from home for so long.”

“Traveling the galaxy is infinitely more safe than fighting a war, yet you did the latter around my age.”

Perfuma sighs, irritated, “You are being too argumentative.”

“I’m not being argumentative,” Hydrangea says, keeping her voice even, despite her own growing sense of frustration. “I’m trying to explain to you why this isn’t as bad as you make it out to be. This could be a really good experience for me!”

Perfuma shakes her head, “You are asking for too much at your age. You should be concentrating on your duties here on Plumeria, as well as your studies.”

“I haven’t slacked at all when it comes to my princess responsibilities. My studies are just fine, not to mention that if I travel around, I can learn about plants from other planets.”

Perfuma clasps her fingers together, taking a deep breath. Count to ten…

Hydrangea waits, knowing not to interrupt.

“I’m going to be frank with you, Hydrangea. I don’t like the idea of you traveling without proper support.”

“I’m not without support—Tristan should be coming too, and Odessa is capable. We’re going to be communicating with her parents, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“They’re not going with you?!”

Crap… “No?”

“That’s even more reason to not let you!”

Her patience wears a little thin, though Hydrangea keeps her temper levelled, “Mom, this isn’t a scary trip that is going to harm me. We’re going to a planet that has lots of Odessa’s relatives, we have a portal to go back to in case we want to arrive sooner, and we’re always well-stocked on supplies.”

Perfuma inhales through her nose, exhales through her mouth. She can’t help but be nervous about the idea of her baby girl going through the universe with absolutely no parental guidance whatsoever. She might not be a young child, but she has a lot to learn. Scorpia thinks she is being too restrictive, even though she doesn’t believe so. She didn’t have her parents during formative years, and she would’ve wanted to have direction when she was around Hydrangea’s age.

But she knows that Hydrangea is determined to help Odessa in any way possible.

Perfuma walks over to her daughter, patting her shoulder. She stares directly at her face, solemn. Hydrangea stares at her, expectant. Sighing, Perfuma gives a small smile, “Very well. I feel this is against my better judgment, but you are free to go.”

Hydrangea breaks into a beaming grin, “Really?! Thanks, Mom!”

“I want you to let me know what’s going on every day, okay?”

“Mom, I can’t do that, I’ll be busy. Once a month?”

“Weekly.”

“Biweekly.”

“I guess that will do...” Perfuma gives in. She can’t help but hug her close when Hydrangea embraces her tightly in her arms.

Hydrangea couldn’t believe her luck—she was actually given permission to go! This is going to be awesome!

                                                                -

“You want to do what now?” Mermista asks.

“I want to go with Odessa and Hydrangea on a space trip.”

“No.”

“Why?” Tristan asks.

“I say so.”

Leaning his cheek against his palm, Tristan scowls, glaring at the fruit spread along the table.

Mermista doesn’t look up from her food, “If you continue to frown like that, you’re going to get wrinkles faster.”

Tristan bites back a retort, knowing there’s no point arguing.

“I don’t understand why you even want to go space travel. There’s nothing out there that’s important to us Salineans.”

Tristan rises from his chair, “Fine. I get it.”

Mermista watches him go. He’s been more insistent on being away from home the last several years; he didn’t spend much time here for about a decade or so, choosing to go frolic with his friends nearly every day, and it was more so when Odessa would return from her trips. Mermista is not quite sure if this is something that all teenagers go through, or just her son in particular.

She spent much of her time in Salineas, occasionally visiting her friends from other parts of Etheria. But Tristan is the opposite of that.

Sighing, she doesn’t bother to call him back, listening to the faint echo of his footfalls past the doors. If he wants to be a brat someplace else, that’s his issue.

Tristan strides through the hallway in a huff, discontent written across his face. Never breaking his pace, Tristan heads outside, where the once calm surface churned and frothed as a raging sea. Diving straight into the waves, his tail morphs the moment his skin makes contact with cold water. The weather was unexpected, but that’s fine—he loved storms.

Racing through the darkening ocean, Tristan swims northwest. He doesn’t think of anything—simply revels in the sensation of darting through water. Eventually, the seas revert to a quiet demeanor. Approaching nearby docks, Tristan catches the sounds of roughhousing and glass breaking. Changing from tail to legs, Tristan moves his arms in a simple motion, wrapping water around the lower half of his body, he lifts himself onto the pier.

Walking toward the tavern, Tristan enters the establishment. Without another thought, he slides to the right, avoiding a body that got flung in his direction. Not looking down at the unfortunate patron, Tristan heads to the center of the room, glancing around.

“Alright, men! What do you say we go set a couple boats on fire!”

Tristan turns in the direction of the voice, accompanied shortly after by exasperated groans and complaints.

“Well, don’t everybody jump up at once,” Seahawk complains.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll come around when they’re not hungover,” Tristan says.

Seahawk looks up, grinning from ear to ear, “Tristan, my boy!”

“Hey, Dad,” he replies.

“Pull up a seat, son! Barkeep, a drink for the young man!”

Tristan watches one of his father’s friends fall onto the floor, passed out. Taking the chair for himself, he says, “You seem to be in a good mood.”

Seahawk twirls his moustache, “Ho ho ho, my boy, you’ll be pleased to know that I have an expedition coming up! A crew and I are supposed to go south and find a coveted treasure that hasn’t been seen for hundreds of years!”

“Oh yeah? What’s it called?”

Seahawk hums to himself, then waves his hand, “I can’t remember right now. But it’s bound to be a glorious trek across the grand blue that is the sea!”

The bartender places a drink in front of Tristan, who nods his thanks before taking a generous gulp. Tristan sets the mug down, “That’s great! It’s been awhile since you’ve done anything like that.”

“Indeed, my boy. And what about you? Have you been answering the wild call?”

Tristan traces the side of his mug, “Odessa does have an expedition coming up that would be fun.”

“Ah, sweet Odessa! That girl is always ready to explore. Hydrangea is going too, I presume?”

“Yeah, I don’t doubt that.”

“From the sound of it, you’re unsure about your place in this. Why don’t you go too?”

Tristan rolls his eyes, “You know how Mom can get.”

“My dear Mermista does tend to be unyielding,” Seahawk says, then shrugs. “Your mother doesn’t have to get upset about what she doesn’t know.”

Tristan smirks, “Dad, are you giving me permission to go?”

“No, but I’m not denying you the call to adventure, either!”

Shaking his head, Tristan takes another swig of beer. He slams it down on the table, much to his father’s delight. Seahawk shouts, “Barkeep, more of your finest alcohol, please!”

Tristan smiles to himself, relaxing in the midst of chaos. He might even sing a shanty with his dad for the shits and giggles of it.

                                                               -

Hordak has noticed a change in Odessa’s demeanor, however slight.

He didn’t think much of it, at first. She has been preoccupied with her upcoming mission, but she’s been working near non-stop since she returned from Prime’s flagship. Not wanting to pry into her affairs, Hordak believed it would be best to let her do as she pleases.

And it’s not that she’s pulling away from him. On the contrary, she’s always been an affectionate child with him and Entrapta. She’s, in essence, a good kid. But that’s the thing about good kids—they’re not total experts at covering up what they don’t want you to see.

Hordak comes up to Odessa, tinkering away with one of her personal tech projects. He leans slightly forward, “If you turn that bolt to the left, you should be able to get the polarity to work.”

Odessa, mutely, does so. At the sound of it working, she smiles at him, “Thanks, Dad!”

Smiling in turn, he pulls up a chair and sits beside her. He reaches for a wrench, and tightens a loose bolt, “You’ve been deep in thought as of late, Odessa. Are you excited for the expedition?”

“Yes! It’s going to be exciting,” she replies. She takes the wrench from her father with a lock of hair. “I haven’t heard from Tristan yet on whether he can come, but Hydrangea informed me her mothers are allowing her to go.”

Hordak gives a quiet nod. They enter the state of routine: Odessa works, and he watches. She asks for tools and he hands them to her. Their roles reversed from when she was a child. In addition, he gives her suggestions about what to do next and she’ll do it, or make notes for future projects. Hordak glances at Odessa. Not wanting to disturb the silence, but she breaks it first.

“What is it?” Odessa asks.

“Traveling to Inicos will take a fair amount of time,” Hordak begins. “Even with a portal taking you a part of the way, you will be absent for a while.”

Odessa giggles, looking up at him, “Aw, are you going to miss me, Dad?”

“Of course,” Hordak says, sincere. He turns to her, eyeing her movements. “You are my daughter. I want you to be safe on this mission. You’ve been gone before, but this is different…”

“It’s not too different,” Odessa replies, eyes centralized on her work. “I’ve been on trips before.”

Hordak inhales deeply, then exhales. “I know.” But there’s an aspect to this venture that is niggling the back of his mind. “You have a… passion for this journey that is dissimilar to the ones prior.”

Odessa’s hair moves around the table, skimming over the tools, “I guess I do.”

“Odessa.”

She looks up, meeting her father’s eyes.

“You would tell me about your goals, wouldn’t you?”

Odessa’s eyes flit over Hordak’s face, his expression earnest, open. “Yeah, Dad. I would.”

At his smile, Odessa stands up, “I’m going to get a snack. Do you want anything?”

“No, thank you. I’ll wait for you to return.”

“Okay,” Odessa tells him, walking out of the room.

Hordak’s smile fades, unable to shake that niggling sensation.

                                                              -

“Launch day!” Entrapta yells. “Are you excited, my little cupcake?”

“I’m born to be excited!” Odessa shouts.

The two look at each other, shaking their hands and screaming in anticipation. Emily spins in a circle, letting out a long beep, as Imp yells in his natural voice.

Hordak stands with his arms folded, chuckling.

Entrapta kicks her legs in the air, cackling at the top of her lungs, “This is an absolute thrill, and I’m not even going! Ooooh, my baby is going away for a while! Ah, I’ll miss seeing that cute widdle face every day!” For added emphasis, she squishes Odessa’s cheeks together, kissing her nose.

Odessa doesn’t pull away, a light blush on her cheeks, “I know, Mom. I’m gonna miss you too.”

Withdrawing, Entrapta goes into scientist-mode, “Now, remember: your uncles will be there to greet you and answer any questions you may have. By the time you arrive in Inicos, they should have a portal functioning again, so they can send you back to Etheria directly. Make sure to contact them when you are nearby.”

Odessa nods, shaking in place. Her heart always beats faster when she’s about to head out into space. She hasn’t been to Inicos in a long time, that it’ll practically be new. She has so much to look forward to! She hopes this won’t be a dead end before her true exploration begins.

She looks to her left, waving, “Gea! You’re here!”

Hydrangea walks up, Scorpia at her side, “Hey!”

Entrapta scuttles over to Scorpia, the two going for a large hug. Scorpia picks up Hordak, and he shakes his head in resignation, despite the smirk on his face.

“Must you?” he asks.

“Every time, Lord Hordak!” Scorpia teases.

“Scorpia,” he threatens.

“Whoa, haven’t heard that tone for years!” Scorpia says, setting him down. “Brings back memories.”

“I know,” Entrapta says in a softer tone, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

Hordak blushes, clearing his throat.

Hydrangea glances around the hanger, “Where’s Tristan?”

Odessa shrugs, “I’m not sure. I haven’t heard from him in a while.”

“He’ll be here soon, I think,” Hydrangea replies.

Odessa isn’t sure. She’s been holding out on his reply for weeks. Well, it’s not that she isn’t sure about his intentions; it’s his parents she isn’t certain of, and even then it’s just the one.

Hydrangea touches her shoulder, “I’m going to get my things inside the ship. Relay the plan to me when I get back.”

“Alright,” Odessa says. Arms folded, she taps her fingers quickly against her skin.

The hours pass and Odessa sets the final cargo in Celeste’s compartments. Sighing, growing frustrated and upset, she continues moving about the ship.

Hydrangea stares out at the front, equally worried.

Entrapta walks up to Odessa, “Has he arrived yet?”

“No.”

“I have everything set up for you in the cockpit,” Entrapta says, sitting on her hair.

“Thanks, Mom.”

Entrapta pats her back, “You still have an hour before you head out.”

“I know.”

Hydrangea suddenly yells, “Tristan! There you are!”

Odessa looks up, screaming at him, “You son of a bitch, where’ve you been?!”

Tristan runs up to them, an apologetic grin on his face, “Packing!”

Hydrangea holds a hand to her chest, “Thank goodness, we were beginning to worry.”

“If you missed out on this trip, I was going to be pissed at you forever,” Odessa tells him.

Tristan laughs, placing his luggage in the ship, “Well, you can love me more now.”

Odessa rolls her eyes, despite the smirk on her face.

Soon enough, they’re heading inside the spaceship. Entrapta is squealing in joy, kissing Odessa’s face. Scorpia hugs Hydrangea tightly, and pulls Tristan in for good measure.

“Have fun! Keep me updated on all the cool stuff you find!” Entrapta says.

“You got it, Mom!” Odessa replies, giving a salute.

Hordak comes up to her, patting the top of her hair, “Take care, Odessa.”

She pushes the top of her head into his palm, “I will. You know me, I can handle anything.”

He smiles down at her, “I know you can. But…”

“But?” she repeats, eyes bright and alert.

“Nothing,” he replies. He draws his arms behind his back, “I wish you safe travels.”

Odessa beams at her parents, kissing both of them on the cheek. She runs into Celeste, and waves at her family as the ramp closes, “I’ll see you all soon!”

Hydrangea and Tristan are already in the cockpit, awaiting her instructions.

“You guys ready?”

“Ready!” they crow together.

“Let’s go!”

Celeste rises into the air, and once it breaks the atmosphere, it gives a jolt of energy and light.

Scorpia wipes her eyes, “Ah, I forget they’re not little anymore.”

Entrapta pats her shoulder, “We made food, do you want to join us?”

“That’d be nice,” Scorpia says.

Entrapta turns to Hordak, “You coming?”

“In a moment,” Hordak replies, staring up at the sky.

Smiling, she pushes up from the ground on her pigtails, placing a soft kiss on his lips, “She’ll be okay.”

Hordak’s gaze scans the stars. Wondering if he should’ve been more forthright with his thoughts. He supposes he can talk to her at a later point…

Observing the sky, he waits until it darkens before heading inside.

#entrapdak #entrapta #hordak #odessa #entrapdak fankid #shera #spop

[fujosh1dreamer]

Alright it's time for more of my controversial opinions on the she Ra finally, as some might know I didn't like it too much. To clarify I thought it started out really well at first and I was really excited to see where it would go, but by like episode 5 or whatever I just knew. It was sort of anticlimatic if I'm honest, and I have a few honest criticisms. Now I'm not gonna go through all these now, I'm actually just gonna focus on what I considered to be the biggest problem of season 5 and honestly the whole show.

Before I get into it this is just my honest opinions and if I hated the show I wouldn't have kept up with all the season and been a fan. I love she Ra and I really wanted to love season 5 I just couldn't. That's not to say it was bad, there was a lot of good stuff.

Also, also I am going to be talking about Catra and adora and their relationship. I'm not an anti or anything it's just a few comments about the execution. This is about Catra as a whole not just this one ship.

Let's begin: Catra has always been a well liked but controversial character back in seasons 1 and 2 her actions were fine, while harsh she was at least understandable to an extent. Most people who liked her wanted to she her growth and redemption. Me on the other hand I've never been a fan personally but I didn't mind her too much early on. Later, however is where the problems come into play.

In order for season 5 to have worked Catra needed to be properly redeemed because she's done some awful crap. And to make my case I'll list off a few things she's done: actively attacked adora and her friends on multiple occasions, took enjoyment out of hurting others and seeing the horde take over, stabbed entrapta in the back literally, threatened scorpia, and opened the portal.

Now I know what you're thinking, yes we know this, so what she's better now in season 5 she's redeemed herself. Yes at the end of season 5 Catra is redeemed but the question is how? And why?

Catra and her redemption story has been compared to zuko and his story. Which I think is a little unfair because it's just not on the same level. Don't get me wrong compared to other redemption attempts it's definitely a win. I don't wanna compare these two it's not necessary people learn and grow in different ways.

I didn't like Catra's redemption because it felt too easy. It didn't hurt and because it wasn't painful it didn't feel earned. However people who talked about Catra and season 5 talked about it making them cry and honesty it only made me tear up one and it wasn't ever in a scene about Catra or adora, or even glimmer. It was when entrapta was talking to mermista and she realized that everyone was mad at her. So maybe my emotions are just shot, or something.

Despite not like season 5 all that much I did however like Catra this season. I've never liked Catra, I liked her momentarily in season 3 before she started making horrible decision, but other than that I didn't like her. So in season 5 Catra was well written. And it's because of character interaction.

Something spop has always done well is showing us how characters interact and what their dynamic is which makes scenes more interesting and how Catra talked with everyone was great it felt natural, almost too natural. I get that our heroes are supposed to be forgiving they're heroes but it's one thing to forgive and another thing to forget completely. There are only two times Catra really gets called out for her previous actions. The first is when frosta bless her heart, punches Catra right on the face and this scene is played off for laughs because Catra brushes off the punch and also frosta apologizes because she didn't realize Catra is on their side now. They all just too adora's word about Catra being good now. Then she's confronted again by perfuma who's just upset about how she treated scorpia. Which was bad we'll talk about that later but she's done so many other things to get mad over. Like anyone remember when mermista's home got taken over Catra pratically led that siege, mermista was heartbroken she lost her home.

So that's issue one how she integrates easily into being friends with everyone else.

Next is...

Oof, let's talk about Glimmer and Catra. Them being stuck together was interesting because their situation helped them both grow and tested their resolve which is great. Their relationship is really well written. We just have one small, tiny problem... Catra killed glimmers mom!!!

Are we just never gonna talk about that I mean the opening of the portal in season 3 and the death of Angella are two really big issue because they're the point of no return for Catra and Glimmer.

Catra actively opening the portal to spite adora and potentially destroy the planet turned Catra from a simple kid making mistakes because of her circumstances to someone who genuinely doesn't care about the suffering and potential death of others as long as she can prove a point. It made her a real threat and a potential villain.

Angellas death made glimmer queen and it also made her cold and willing to seek vengeance despite them being the good guys. She was willing to take matters into her own hands even if it meant going a little too far. Both of these characters changed in season 3 and those continued into season 4.

So if these events had such a great impact why aren't they brought up??? Simple because we need a happy ending and that can't happen if we're talking about dead parents.

Out of all the people that Catra apologised to shouldn't glimmer be first on that list. Doesn't she deserve at least that much.

My next point and the one I'm probably most bitter about is Catra and scorpia.

It's safe to say their relationship has always been a little weird. In the very beginning of seems very one sided with Scorpia hanging onto catra's every word. Then with time we see that Catra does actually care about scorpia she just doesn't like to show it. Which is fine until you guessed it season 3 where Catra's character really falls down to the point of no return.

So let's recap throughout season 3 while Catra and scorpia were together you could see the beginning of something and honesty it was pretty cute. Then the ending happened and Catra attacks entrapta and threatened to do the same to scorpia and suddenly everything was broken. All throughout season 4 we see nothing but hurtful words from Catra towards everyone but especially scorpia who's just being loyal. Finally scorpia gets tired and she basically puts Catra through one more test involving Emily before deciding to leave.

This relationship was the one I was really looking forward to seeing in season 5, but all we get is one small apology in the last episode and that's it.

Throughout this season they pratically had scorpia and Catra forget about each other completely.

When scorpia left the horde she did it because she felt she had to in order to both save entrapta and Emily. She wasn't fully okay with her decision until she met the other princesses and realized they're nothing like the horde. Still she never forgot about Catra because scorpia's whole thing is loyalty so how did she just get over her feelings for Catra especially when doesn't know where she is and hasn't heard anything about her. I know the situation was dangerous but still.

It was all pretty upsetting. Moving on...

In my final moments I wanna talk about catradora and also a little about shadoweaver.

Shadoweaver died and well... I expected that you really can't redeem her. It's not impossible but no one would ever accept it because people can't really change and nothing can ever make up for the mistakes she made in the past and the way she manipulated people. It's weird how I can't tell of I'm talking about shadoweaver or Catra anymore. They did a lot of the same things and yet... Catra is never really blamed for anything. Same with Hordak the fandom blames him for crap all the time but when Catra hurts people it's okay. Shadoweaver and Hordak are different cases they're older than her, well let's compare glimmer in season 4 grieving over her mother and making mistakes and everyone getting mad and expecting her to be held accountable, why is there such a double standard for Catra???

Anywho Catra and Adora's relationship is apparently the only thing everyone cared about will they be together??? After season 3 the chances were very small, but guess what they ended up together. Honestly when I say I get a little annoyed around episode 5 it's because they made it really obvious they're gonna end up together happily ever after style. Honestly I don't have the energy after this long post to criticize it. I just wish it was a little more tactful in the beginning and less blatantly obvious. But whatever!!!

#she ra #spop #she ra netflix #she ra catra #she ra bow #she ra glimmer #spop adora #spop catra #she ra frosta #spop glimmer #she ra shadow weaver #she ra s5 #spop 5 #spop 4 #netflix she ra #spop scorpia #spop season 5 #she ra pop #she ra review #she ra rant #noelle stevenson #spop entrapta #entrapta #adora #catra #catra redemption #long post #im tired #angella #queen angella

[i-just-love-spop]

About what happened...

“I had another nightmare. You died again.” For Scorpia and Entrapta? Scorpia feels guilty for leaving Entrapta on the island for as long as she did and is plagued with nightmares where she didn't leave in time to get her back?

Request by @haro-ra

I was not expecting to get a request for Entrapta and Scorpia, but I love this idea so much and immediately knew what I wanted to write. I love both characters, and they have such a fun dynamic, too. This was SO fun to write!

Thank you so much for the request, I hope you like how it turned out!

Summary: Takes place in between “Horde Prime” and “Launch”. Scorpia goes to Entrapta’s tent to talk about what happened back at the Horde and tell her she’s sorry she didn’t come look for her earlier.

—

“Hey. Sorry, I know it’s late, but...”

Scorpia stuck her head through the tent entrance. Her pincers clicked open and close on repeat nervously.

“Oh, hi Scorpia.” Entrapta looked up from the drone she had been dismembering for the last hour and waved at her friend. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping? My statistics indicate most princesses tend to be sleeping at this hour. The exception to the rule is Adora, but recent events seem to indicate that lack of sleep isn’t good for her health, either.”

“Yeah, I... that’s true. I think... most people need sleep?” Scorpia shrugged. “Anyway, I... wanted to talk to you. Can I- can I come in?”

“Sure. I mean, about...” Entrapta paused to calculate for a moment, “seventeen percent of you are already in here anyway. The remaining eighty-three percent can enter.”

She smiled at her.

Scorpia was nice, and one of the few people that had ever actually considered Entrapta her friend.

People were... weird, and complicated, and everyone was different. That wasn’t exactly easy for her. It had never been.

But Scorpia was just nice, and friendly, and supportive. She made Entrapta feel less left out. Entrapta liked that.

“Yeah, I- sorry, that was kinda rude, I didn’t want to disturb you or anything. I was actually going to knock, but this is a tent, so that was kind of ineffective.”

Scorpia rubbed the back of her head and grinned sheepishly.

“It’s fine, really. Come sit with me!”

“I... thanks.”

The white-haired woman did as she was told.

Entrapta pointed at disassembled pieces of drone in front of her. “This tech is fascinating! It’s so different from the one the First One’s left on Etheria. If you would look at this-”

“I-” Scorpia took a deep breath. This was hard. Stars, this was really, really hard. Especially since she was afraid changing the topic might make her friend think she wasn’t interested and hurt her feelings. Which absolutely wasn’t the case. It was really interesting to Scorpia when Entrapta talked about tech, even if she understood next to nothing. But that wasn’t what she needed to talk to her about right now. “Entrapta, listen, I- this tech thing is super interesting, really, but there’s actually something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Entrapta looked up at her. “What is it?”

“Uhm... I... About what happened... Back at the Horde, I mean... Entrapta listen, I- I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I shouldn’t have let Catra hurt you, I shouldn’t have let them take you away like that, I... I should have left the Horde and go look for you sooner. You- you could’ve gotten hurt, or... or worse-”

Scorpia couldn’t say it out loud. She couldn’t bear saying ‘you could’ve been dead by now, and it would be partially my fault if you were’, no matter how much the thought wouldn’t leave her head when she looked at her friend and no matter how much it haunted her in her sleep.

Entrapta raised an eyebrow.

“Waaait. Are you... apologizing? To me?”

She looked genuinely confused.

The white-haired woman nodded vigorously.

“I...” Scorpia swallowed hard. Tears were running down her face. “I’m sorry I was such a bad friend.”

“Hey... don’t cry. I don’t like seeing you upset.” Entrapta smiled at Scorpia encouragingly. “I’m not mad at you. But... I forgive you, if that makes you feel better.”

“It does, actually. A lot. I-I’m so sorry. I keep dreaming about something happening to you on Beast Island and when I wake up I keep wanting to check on you to make sure you’re actually here and okay, but I kept chickening out because I wasn’t sure if you were ready to forgive me or talk to me and I thought maybe you still needed some space – which would be totally cool by the way. Do you need space?”

Entrapta tilted her head to one side.

“I just said I’m not mad. Was my answer not clear enough?“

“I- no- I just...” Scorpia sighed. “I’m sorry. I... guess I was expecting you to stay mad at me longer.”

Entrapta gave her friend a pat on the head with her hair.

“It’s okay. And Scorpia... you’re not a bad friend.”

“I... I’m not?”

The tech genius shook her head.

“I mean, I’m still not an expert on friendship because the data on that topic is really confusing, but... I think you were just trying to be a good friend for Catra too hard.” She shrugged. “I get it. You find a friend, or a lab partner, and being with them is fun and makes you happy, so you do everything you can to help them, so they’re also happy. I mean, I did it for myself, too. Building the robots was an incredible experience, and working on the portal with Hordak was sooo fun!” The excitement in her voice died down quickly as she lowered her head. “But... people got hurt, and now nobody likes me anymore.”

Scorpia patted her friend‘s head with one of her pincers.

“Hey, that’s not true. I like you. And I’m sure the other will, too, eventually. It’s just a weird situation for all of us, with the war and Prime and-” Scorpia hung her head. “I still can’t believe how nice everyone here is. I hurt them, too. I feel so bad about it now.”

Entrapta shrugged.

“We can’t change the past, scientifically speaking. Not yet, at least. And even if I were to invent time machines, I still have tons of different theories about if and how it could change the past and there’s no real way of knowing which one of them is accurate until we test it! Isn’t that exciting?!”

Her eyes gleamed. Scorpia chuckled.

“I mean, yeah. Totally!”

She had no idea what her friend was talking about, but Entrapta sounded excited and happy and that was pretty contagious.

“We can start getting hung up on past mistakes when I finish it! But for now, let’s just... try to not hurt our friends anymore. Maybe I can use my technical knowledge to help them. Maybe then they’ll... like me again.”

Scorpia hugged her.

Stars, she loved hugs. They always made her feel better. And it worked for most other people, too.

“I’m sure they will. You’re great. And when your robots aren’t trying to kill people, they’re actually really friendly! I mean, look at Emily.”

The robot was integrating into the group very well, all things considered.

“Thanks!” Entrapta grinned. “Oh, speaking of, thanks for taking care of Emily when I was gone. She really likes you!”

“Of course. Anytime. Emily is great. And I... figured the least I could do was protect her from Catra after I didn’t protect you.”

Entrapta’s look turned puzzled again.

“Catra... I’ve never had as much trouble understanding anyone as I have understanding her – which is saying a lot, because I’m just... not great with people in general. I don’t know why she’s so difficult to figure out. I... thought she was my friend, but then she hurt me, and now I don’t know what to think anymore.” She looked kind of hurt, but shrugged it off a moment later. “It’s almost like Catra never says what she really means, and no matter what she does, nothing ever makes her actually happy. The only constant I can find with her is Adora.”

Scorpia threw her pincers in the air.

“Tell me about it! Catra is, like, really big on talking about her all day. ‘Adora here, She-Ra there, I can’t believe she’s doing this, how dare she do that, we used to be best friends‘ – the whole shebang. And even when she’s not talking about her, you sometimes feel like she’s still implying something Adora-related.“

“Yeah, she definitely has some kind of fixation on her,” Entrapta concluded. She still seemed kind of lost in thought for a moment. “And my analysis from Princess Prom indicates that it at least used to be mutual. I haven’t collected enough data yet to find out what the current situation on this is.“

Scorpia shook her head.

“Oh, don’t get me started on the weird passive-aggressive slow dancing they had going on at Princess Prom. Seriously, what is it with these two?“

The Scorpioni chuckled, but the feeling of happiness soon vanished, replaced by the same bittersweet thought that had kept crossing her mind a lot recently.

“In all seriousness, though... I hope Catra’s alright, wherever she might be now. She hurt me, but... I still kind of miss her. I still kind of hope she could, you know, be better. I don’t think I would be ready to just let her back into my life if she showed up outside the tent right now, but... She’s just making herself miserable the way she’s acting. I don’t want her to be miserable. Even after everything, I kind of just want her to be happy. Is that stupid? It’s probably stupid.“

“It’s not stupid.” Entrapta put one of her pigtails on Scorpia’s shoulder. “One thing that is statistically very frequent in friendships is that most people don’t want their loved ones to be unhappy or get hurt.“

“Huh. Yeah. Guess you’re right.” Scorpia exhaled loudly. “Glad I got that outta my system. I feel so much better now.” Despite Entrapta being someone who struggled with friendship a lot, she actually understood more about it than most people. “I’m just... happy you’re okay.”

“More than okay, actually. Beast Island was really interesting and I made so much progress with my research and my theories, and now I get to take all of this new technology apart!”

Entrapta was beaming.

“You were going to tell me something about this tech-stuff earlier?“

“Eeeeek, I was hoping you would ask!”

Scorpia still didn’t understand much of what Entrapta was saying, but it sounded exciting, and she didn’t care too much about understanding it.

She was just glad to have her back.

#scorpia #entrapta #spop #spop fic #spop writing prompts #spop requests #my works #my writing #spop season five spoilers #spop season five #reblogs are appreciated #but please don’t repost

[crazysnakey]

She-Ra season 5 thoughts and reactions [Spoilers]

Adora’s Dreams???? Is she trying to reconnect her connection to She-ra or smth???

Of course everyone argues about the Heart of Etheria. How can they not

Okay so there was that awkward af dinner scene, but Horde Prime confronting Catra on her feelings for Adora is 👌👌👌

Catra going to meet Glimmer several times. I think we all expected that.

Everyone telling Adora she’s not She-Ra anymore and her feeling needing to be useful... AAAAAAA

When they tied up a clone and he just started blabbering about how Prime is great and all and they’re like “was hordak like this” and Scorpia straight up being like “nah he just said get out a lot” like even Scorpia anknowledges that Hordak was like an angsty emo teen boy

Everyone being like “WTF DO WE DO NOW ADORA ALWAYS MAKES THE PLANS UGH”

Entrapta... good old entrapta going apeshit over the tech

Horde Prime really does that huh? Not only does he destroy planets and take their food he keeps their treasures and stuff as his trophies

GLIMMER GO OFF YEAH DON’T LET HIM USE YOU

Horde Prime calling Catra little sister... 😟 hell no you bleached octopus

Scorpia’s impression of Entrapta is so funny like... “Yay! Science! Tech! *crazy hysterical laughing*

ENTRAPTA CAN YOU PLEASE NOT WALK INTO THE WAY OF GIANT DRONES AND BOTS PLEASE ITS A STEALTH MISSION

Mermista taking charge with Adora gone, go for it girl

Scorpia, i love you

“hooray! Oh I take back my hooray. Never mind I reinstate my hooray! Hooray!”

ENTRAPTA SAYING THAT SHE WORKS WITH TECH BETTER THAN PEOPLE AND SHE WANTED TO HELP THEM THRU TECH 😢😢

Those clones really pop out of nowhere huh? They’re just stationed everywhere huh? Like stormtroopers.

Shadow Weaver, you tsundere. You still have an attachment to Micah as your student

That one clone who’s neck just snapped and twisted (with all the great sound effects, yay!) 😨

Okay so Prime can see and talk thru all his clones... shoulda seen that coming

Hordak??? Hordak is that you

Catra straight up telling Hordak that it’s reassuring to see a familiar face even if they weren’t on the best of terms... 🥺

Is Hordak starting to remember?? Is he gonna remember Entrapta aaaaaaaaaaa come on pls

Adora taking them all to the place in her dream... wow somethings up y’all

UH WHERE IS MADAME RAZZ IN ALL THIS?????????

Going to save Glimmer... good luck y’all are seriously gonna need it

Micah pretending to be She-Ra was so funny I don’t know why

Oh so Prime can’t track First Ones tech... thank god

Wow remember when I said Hordak might be remembering?? Haha we just got the rug pulled out from under us

The Horde clones are a literal fucking cult and their chanting is seriously unnerving like wow Noelle props to making it unsettling

Aaaaaaaaand Hordak was reset again (in a weirder way too with that bathtub of whatever the fuck is in there) think he’ll somehow remember again? Entrapta my girl I’m counting on you

Entrapta naming the ship Darla... I’m getting Emily vibes

CATRA GETTING FLASHBACKS OF HER AND ADORA AS KIDS JUST RIP MY HEART OUT WHY DON’T YOU 🥺😭

Okay but does Prime have no cameras or anything??? He’s got clones and advanced tech but no cameras or scanners in his own ship?? Probably bc his clones are his cameras or smth

CATRA APOLOGIZING AND SAYING SHE WANTS TO DO SOMETHING GOOD WHEN SHE SAVES GLIMMER... WOAH 😭

They really gave us Swift Wind feels huh? They really did that to us

Scorpia saying that Kyle told her he has a crush on Rogelio... awww

The Star siblings are so sweet. Also Adora stop eating all their food

Bow just helping and protecting Glimmer even tho he’s still mad at her... 😊🥰

SHE-RA?!?!?????? She-ra is that you

Adora saying she wants to go back for Catra and that she needs her... 😭😭😭

One of the episodes is literally named “Save the Cat” like 😂😂😂

BRAINWASHED CATRA AAAAAA NO TF

Somehow I knew that Prime was probably gonna brainwash Catra but actually seeing it is something else

Okay but Wrong Hordak..., crying, no idea what to do, really innocent just trying his best don’t hurt him

So the clones and Prime use a hive mind... cool coolcoolcool

Horde Prime uses vessels??? He just jumps in from one body to the other??? He can do that??? Literally if he does that to any of the rebellion people I’ll drag him out of there with my bare hands

Excuse me??? Horde Prime knew the First Ones???? He destroyed them????? HORDE PRIME DESTROYED THE FIRST ONES WHAT

Adora fighting Catra,,,, AGAIN

Catra slowly remembering ONLY FOR PRIME TO SCREW IT UP AND INTERFERE THAT DIRTY PIECE OF-

New She-Ra form

NEW SHE-RA FORM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA NEW CLOTHES NEW POWERS NEW SWORD

WHERE TF DID IT COME FROM THO???????

They better have a good explanation of this and not just some asspull don’t do us dirty that way

Then screwing over Horde Prime and wrecking his shit. NICE 👍👏👏👏

OH MY GOD HORDAK FINDING ENTRAPTA’S PINK “LUVD” CRYSTAL AND GOING “Entrapta?” OHHHHH BOY WE GON GET SOME NOW

Everyone on the ship just dealing with stuff. Wrong Hordak continues to be the nicest person yet.

Micah is so funny he’s just like I want some cake and Frosta’s like UGH and he’s just like “Do kids not like cake anymore???”

Elberon. Hoooo boy that was weird and fucked up. Goosebumps. Honestly they should’ve seen it from a mile away that something was up

AAAAAAAAAH SPINNERELLA NOOOOOOOO

Catra’s new hair without the helmet is really nice. Kinda like her past being cut away and moving towards the future. I see she’s back with draping herself all over Adora and annoying her

Secret Underwater Party Adventure literally what

Scorpia’s song ❤️💖❤️... hot DAMN girl you are AMAZING and VALID and I STAN YOU

Glad to see the underwater people are doing great in these trying times

That montage of people with a grudge against Sea Hawk and Mermista beating them up is so fucking funny like “ANYONE ELSE WHO’S BOAT YOU’VE SET ON FIRE??!?”

DOUBLE TROUBLE?!!??!1?!1!??!???

Ironically DT was lying when they said Adora’s in space with a sword fighting but they didn’t know that’s what’s actually happening asdfjdn

Oh my god Mermista have you been chipped too

Literally everyone has been chipped so I guess no one’s safe idk what I was think. ing. 🤷‍♀️

How do those chips even work?? Does someone just slap it on the back of someone’s neck and that’s it?

EVEN MICAH’S BEEN TAKEN CONTROL OF?!?

That’s one heck of an anniversary....

Okay, Krytis gives me Krypton vibes. Anyone else??? It’s a planet, some superbeing’s weakness, and the name. Also it’s like, destroyed/abandoned has no life on it

Catra and the gang with their antics... she’s clearly not used to their carefree improvising ... laughing ... awww 😊 ~

Castaspella where have YOU been the whole time??

“How is it we’ve lost so many fine members of the rebellion yet we’re still stuck with you?” WOW Not holding back anything huH

Castaspella why are you even still wearing those longass robes and that cape

MAGIC??!? THAT’S THE SECRET??? THAT- actually makes sense. Prime uses science and tech so magic is something that’s probably out of his depth

Someone get me a shapeshifting cat please Melog is so cool

Wrong Hordak you’ve found your own truth go for it you spunky little boi

“Brother, I hope you too are full of love for Horde Prime and have no crippling doubt eating at your soul” GOLD. COMEDY GOLD I TELL YOU

HORDAK REMEMBERING THE ENTRAPTA RAINBOW SCENE AAAAAAAA

That montage where Netossa lists everyone’s weaknesses is so funny, Catra’s just like “I’m different. I’m a real threat.” Then Netossa just. Sprays her with water. Like. Wow.

Even in this troubling time, dad jokes persist. This is awesome. George and Lance have their priorities sorted well. Bow is so done with it 😆

HORDE PRIME WAS THERE IN PERSON THE WHOLE TIME?!

Literally what?????????? The heart can be taken WITHOUT SHE-RA???? Horde Prime ain’t screwing around babeyyyyy

Scorpia.... don’t lose to it AAA 🥺🥺🥺 and Perfuma is so positive and does the Fairy Tail thing where she believe in her friends no matter what

Shadow Weaver, the only one using actual logical deduction in the team while everyone else panics and makes puns

Okay Shadow Weaver’s speech to Adora might sound cruel but it’s actually logical and truthful. She’s being honest.

ENTRAPDAK REUNION. YES. YESYES AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA MY SPOP OTP HAS RETURNED HORDAK STILL BEING ANGSTY

“YOUR IMPERFECTIONS ARE BEAUTIFUL” Entrapta you’re killin me

Glimmer’s first meeting with Micah and THIS is how it goes?!? Wow

“Adora it doesn’t always have to be you!!” That gives me so many feels bc it’s kinda true

CATRA STOP RUNNING AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS DON’T DO THAT THIS TIME YOU’VE COME SO FAR NOW NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“Adora doesn’t want me! Not like I want her” number one that’s so sad, number two NO, number three GURL ADORA DOES WANT YOU BACK LIKE THAT SHE LOVES YOU

Entrapta girl, you can do it you spunky little gremlin

The memories,,, AaAAAaaaaaAAaAAAAA

Glimbowww!!!! Glimbow Glimbow Glimbow!

“You’re worth more that what you can give to other people. You deserve love too.” OH MY GOD THAT IS SUCH A GOOD AND POSITIVE MESSAGE TO GIVE NOT JUST TO ADORA BUT TO PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE

GLIMMER comin in to SAVE THE DAYAY and Seahawk ,, 🤣🤣🤣😂🤣😂😂😂 you’re the highlight of these moments I swear 😂🤣😂

“My oldest enemy”?? Does he mean She-Ra or the First Ones? also WHAT is that giant green tentacle monster

THE LITTLE ENTRAPTA LOGO ON HER SCANNERS AND TECH THAT IS SO CUTE

KYLE AND ROGELIO AND LONNIE ARE STILL TOGETHER AND THEY’VE ADOPTED IMP AWWWWW AAAAAA

George and Lance are so proud of their son ~

Shadow Weaver !!!!!!! AAAAA AND TAKING OFF THE MASK and then just. FUCKIN G DYING??!!!??? SHADOW WEAVER YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE ME THESE FEELS AT THE END

Double Trouble you little shit

Holee shit, THAT is the heart??? It looks like empty cubes or shapes or something...

GO HORDAK GO OFF

DID HE JUST KILL PRIME???? YES!!!

Oh shit, nevermind, they are a hive mind after all,,, ........ FUCK

CATRA GOING “I LOVE YOU I ALWAYS HAVE”

CATRADORA KISS

CATRADORA KISS

CATRADORA KISS

THEY GLOWED AND TURNED RAINBOW GAY RIGHTS

THEY PLAYED CATRA AND ADORA’S SOUNDTRACK IN THEIR BIG MOMENT

Hordak’s memory with baby Adora??? Like adorable????

ENTRAPDAK REUNION AAAAAAA THE HUG

“HI I’M DAD” WOW

ALL THE REUNIONS

Mermista’s just like slightly unsettled by Entrapdak. Begone Antis.

Literally Madame Razz have you been just walking around and dusting stuff

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ENDING WHAT A GOOD WAY TO END THE SHOW HOLY SHIT WOW

All of my ships have become canon this season Catradora Glimbow Entrapdak Seamista thank you Noelle MY CROPS ARE WATERED MY SKIN CLEARED MY DEPRESSION CURED MY HOPE RESTORED THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO WORKED ON SPOP I AM BLESSED

#spop #she ra #my thoughts #she ra and the princesses of power #she ra season 5 #liveblog #wOW #text post #yeah #still im so happy for my ships #all the love confessions were so good like #I love you #WOW BEAUTIFUL #got nothing to lose so just spilling all the feelings out there huh

[dragbunart]

Observations In Emotion

Entrapta keeps receiving flowers from her new Lab Partner. But she doesn’t know how to feel about it

      “Horde Social Observation 68: Flowers have once again appeared in my personal lab.” Entrapta examined the bundle. There were multiple flowers that could be found on the egde of the whispering woods bordering the Fright Zone, as well as ones that could e found in Drill. She found a neatly typed note ‘To Entrapta, From Lord Hordak’. “This is the…” She trailed off and did a mental count. “7th bouquet of flowers I have received from my Lab Partner. I do not know why he keeps sending them. I will update upon discovery.”

      She hopped over to her computer and searched ‘Lab Partner sending flower bouquet’. The sources that entered her screen were romance novels.

      “Update to log: I have reason to believe my Lab Partner may have feelings for me. I require assistance and advice.” Entrapta motioned Emily closer. “Find Scorpia or Catra, let them know it is urgent!”

      It was only a matter of minutes before Scorpia ran in panicking.

      “What’s wrong? Is Catra in danger? Do you need a new Super Pal Trio Picture?” Entrapta sat in her chair.

      “I think Hordak may have feelings for me.”

      “… Entrapta I don’t think Hordak has feelings other than anger, and slightly pleased with his underlings.”

      “I have received no less than 7 bouquets from him.”

      “… Ok he may have a crush on you… Why is this an emergency?”

      “I don’t know whether or not I have feelings for him.”

      “Ok.”

      “And If I reject him I’d lose my lab partner, and the greatest access to technology I have… Plus he may try to kill me or something, but I almost do that to myself on a daily basis.”

      “Fair points… What do you want to do about it?”

      “I don’t know. It’s not like I can avoid him, we’re lab partners, and it’s not like I can be alone with him, he might ask me my feelings and I don’t even know that yet. I mean, I barley know him!”

      “When’s the last time you’ve had a crush on someone.”

      “Oh, I haven’t had one… Well not one recently. I did like someone when I was a kid, but it didn’t work out, they didn’t like me like that.”

      “Ok… When you think about Hordak what comes to your mind.”

      “Science!”

      “And you like science. So maybe you like him and just need time to get to know him.”

      “That is what lab partners do… But what if he wants to know my feelings for him?”

      “Ask to talk about it later. Then you’ll have time to figure them out.”

      “Thanks Scorpia… Now, do you want these flowers, I have no use for them.”

         Entrapta happily worked on the Horde Technology, Hordak looking over her solder. She had almost forgotten about her discovery on his feelings.

      Until They were sitting on the throne discussing ways to increase the Black Garnets output.

      “Based off my studies, the runestones are usually linked to a princess’s emotions. Or in this case, who even is controlling the crystal. If they feel the need to get more powerful or show a strong passionate emotion like Anger, Determination, or love the rune grows stronger, but if they feel sadness their power weakens. So. if we can figure out whose emotions the runestone is acting on we can very well control it.”

      “The Stone is under my control.” Hordak announced.

      “So we just need you to be able to experience different emotions and observe the Black Garnet’s reaction to them!”  Entrapta brought up a list of emotions. “This list holds all the emotions that I theorize should affect the runestone!”

      They went down the list, with varying results, either from Hordak’s apathy toward most things, or the Runestone not reaction.

      “Ok, next up is Love… Now how will we make you feel-“ She cut herself off with blush.

      “That one should be simple.”

      “LET’S DO THIS ONE LATER!” She shouted. Hordak raised a brow but let the experiment continue.

      The came back to Love as the final emotion. And Entrapta was looking for any excuse to move this till tomorrow.

      “You are avoiding the experiment.”

      “What? Of course I’m not. Why would I ever impede…” Hordak raised his brow and Entrapta sighed. “Alright your right. The thing is… I have been receiving hints that you may have feelings for me… And I don’t know how to react. SO I’m avoiding it till I do.” Hordak nodded and patted her head.

      “Honesty is something of Value here. We know many more emotions that can affect the Black Garnet and increase our power. We can save the final test for another day.” Entrapta smiled at him. Hordak hummed and nodded in response.

      “Oh before I forget, it is customary to thank one for Flowers. They were vary lovely!” As they went back to their regular work Entrapta noticed that the Black Garnet glowed and the energy radiating off it felt warm not as if it were burning but like a blanket fresh from the dryer. What she didn’t notice the was pink blush making its way onto her cheeks.

#Entrapdak #Hordtrapta #Entrapta #Hordak #Spop

[etherian-affairs]

After her unauthorised excursion, Praxa brings back a dead meteor creature with a smoking laser hole in its head. (just as well she was packing heat - the other teens weren't) Hordak is SO FREAKING PROUD but has to try and hide that because Entrapta is still furious with their daughter for sneaking out - that thing could have killed her! Two hundred years grounded!

The trip had not gone as great as it could have.

Praxa and her friends actually did have a lot of fun for awhile! They explored the mountains and hiked around and ate lunch and such. Eventually they came across a strange crater. At least Praxa assumed it was a crater. Though how old it was was anyone's guess. The mountains of Dryl aren't exactly small so it's completely possible it's been there for a thousand years.

The crater had a thing in it. A something. It looked like a big rock at first. Almost like a huge stone egg. When one of Praxa's friends approached it became clear that it was not in fact a rock. The thing suddenly awoke, shifting and breaking apart and forming into a large animal. Like a stone lion almost.

It roared and her friends ran and Praxa was terrified. Then all those afternoons spent with Papa talking about Horde weapons and learning how to use them came back to her. All those talks with Mama about how Papa used to be quite the warrior and how she has warrior blood in her too.

Praxa reached into her back and pulled the small personal blastgun out. As the creature turned to charge at her she raised it and fired without hesitation. The beast was dropped.

The screams echoed through the mountains though, and with horrifying quickness Emily was upon the scene. Praxa could barely react before the large form of Emily's current body was looming over her. Staring down at her like the unamused big sister she is.

Praxa got dragged back to Dryl, along with the meteor lion.

At least her friends got away.

Mama was furious. Praxa could barely listen to her she was talking so fast. Papa was rather quiet. He kept looking at the beast. Praxa only really got heated when Entrapta declared she was grounded for two hundred years which is REALLY unfair!

So now Praxa lays on her bed. Curled up and staring at the wall angrily. She wasn't going to cry though. Just because this is unfair and she's really upset doesn't mean she has to cry!

She's about to cry when there's a knock on the door. She doesn't reply to it.

"Praxa?" It's Papa. He'll figure out she's awake using strategic deduction or something ridiculous so she replies.

"Go away."

"Praxa, I only wish to talk."

"Go away Papa."

There's silence for a moment now. Then "very well. I suppose this honey jerky can go to imp than..."

That's unfair. Papa knows she loves honey jerky. The savory toughness of jerky with the sweetness of Honey...

She doesn't reply at first. Then let's put an indignant. "Come in."

The door opens and Lord Hordak of Dryl steps inside, glancing over the dark room for a moment before moving to the bedside to sit down.

Praxa sits up, glaring at him suspiciously. Papa offers a small paper bag that smells or honey and meats. She snatches it, reaching in to nom.

"Sneaking food to a prisoner isn't procedure." She mutters.

"Entrapta discovered years ago that making prisoners believe you are their friend can yield good results in interrogations if you have the time." He replies with a serious nod.

Praxa actually lets out a little snort.

Hordak smiles at Praxa. "I did not get to say so when you were brought back, because Mama was quite upset, but that was an excellent shot."

Praxa blinks now. She stares up at her Papa, trying to figure out if he's serious. "W-what?"

"The shot. Right between the eyes. Extraordinary." He nods.

Praxa is conflicted. She's supposed to be angry but compliments from Papa over martial things is a big deal! "Thanks... It was... I just remembered what you'd taught me and it was like my brain did it automatically."

"That is good. No truly formal training and you can shoot automatically." He nods.

Praxa smiles a little. "Thank you Papa."

He nods, then steals some of her jerky.

"Hey!"

"Ah. You are under arrest. That is my jerky I am only sharing." Hordak replies.

She hrmmfs. Then shifts to flop against Hordak.

"It's not fair Papa... I'm not a sick little kid anymore. I should be allowed to go places. Without Emily!"

Hordak nods quietly. "perhaps, but you also should have tried to discuss this before sneaking away. You scared Emily quite a bit. Also Mama."

"Mama is always scared."

"Not true. It was opposite when you were younger. She was happy to let you roam while I was always on guard." He chuckles. "As you've gotten older I've begun to worry less while she starts thinking about all of the dangerous things she got up to during your stage of development."

Praxa takes a moment to ponder that revelation. Then speaks! "That's why it's unfair! Mama's gotten to do crazy things her whole life."

"And Mama has the scars to show for it." Hordak counters.

That gives Praxa pause.

"She worries. She loves you more than anything." He continues. "Two hundred years is perhaps a tad long however. I'm planning to talk to her."

Praxa nods a little.

"and, after everyone is settled down, we will discuss your movement privileges. Okay?"

"Okay... Thank you Papa."

Hordak suddenly leans over and kisses Praxa gently on the head. "I also want to add proper combat training to your schooling." He says softly.

Praxa grins at that. "You think I'd be good?"

Now Lord Hordak stands back up. "The best." Then he nods and heads out of the room.

Praxa just smiles a little and munches on her jerky. She doesn't cry.

#young madame praxa #entrapdak fankid

[lumikinetic]

Mega Spoilers She Ra S4

Under the cut!! Last chance!!

.

.

.

.

.

1. Double Trouble

God I love them I love them I love them. As I said on twitter I speculated that Double Trouble was what Catra needed. A friend. Sure, Scorpia was there but she was never gonna recognise Scorpia for who she was and what she meant to Scorpia and true to form, it was only after she realised Scorpia was truly never coming back that she honestly started to miss her. But she was never going to appreciate Scorpia I think because she was too much like Adora. She shows kindness. She shows empathy and love and joy, all the things the Rebellion stands for, all the things Adora left her for and when Scorpia told her she was a bad friend and left her, like Adora did, she became a second Adora in her eyes. Another person who left. Now Double Trouble (who I've been calling Dub, first to save space on my tweets and then it just stuck), they're nothing like Adora. They're treacherous and sneaky and dirty, just like she believes herself to be, like she has to believe herself to be, because otherwise she would have to admit she's worthy of love, friendship, happiness and worthy of Adora, and so Catra feels like she can really be friends with them. She doesn't want to show it because she's still hurting from being burned before but Dub's not having that shit they pick up on it real fast and tease her about having fun. Not even beginning to delve into the genius of using Dub as a narrative device of calling everybody on their bullshit, Dub then finds Catra after her fight with Hordak and gives her the straight facts but what I really liked was they didn't say "I know there's still good in you", they said "you were never cut out to be the bad guy" like that was so smart of them. Dub's thing is that they know everyone, they know how they think and act so they know if they tell Catra she's still good (like Adora keeps saying) her abandonment issues are gonna kick in and she's gonna lose it and lash out. By telling her she wasn't cut out to be a villain, oh man where do I even start?

It's harsh, yes but maybe Catra believes she deserves harsh. If she is told she's still good, that gives hope and she's had too much false hope to ever accept that again

Because Dub can see people for who they really are, they can see Catra has been left too many times. Adora left, Scorpia left, she thought Dub left and they accurately predicted that would break her, Glimmer will return to Bright Moon at some point and I think there might be some reluctant bonding while they're in space, so Dub gave Catra an out. "Everyone else left. You can too." That's what they're really saying, I think.

Putting her down provides a new option for Catra yes, but it's still putting her down. It was mean, true but again, I think it's what Catra believes she deserves right now. And so she resigns. She collapses, defeated and when Glimmer shows up, she says she'd rather die because it's better than leaving, even if it's by her own free will. She's had enough of leaving.

Of course, Catra turns herself right around and trades Hordak in for Horde Prime, pledging her allegiance to a newer, superior, stronger Hordak but she can't unhear what Double said to her. She can't unfeel her feelings, no matter how hard she tries. And that seed will grow and grow in her mind until eventually the time will come where she's gotta make a decision - does she finally leave for herself and shed herself of the Horde or does she continue to play at being the villain, because she knows she doesn't have what it takes to be the hero?

2. Catra

Catra is a princess! Of course she's a princess! The biggest evidence, the cat that can be seen in the corner when Light Hope shows all the princesses to Adora, telling her about the purpose of She-Ra. I have no idea why but the fact Catra's head gear make a metallic sound when it hits the floor when she takes it off somehow made me think it was an heirloom or something, maybe a token of royalty. And if Entrapta doesn't need a Runestone to qualify as a princess, then why can't Catra?! But anyway I think Catra knows she's a princess. She's never going to admit it of course, but she knows. And I think that's where her abandonment issues stem from. The Horde obviously lied to her, like they did to Scorpia and how her family let the Horde have the Black Garnet but Catra is smart, smarter than she gives herself credit for. She figures it out and realises she's been lied to. She doesn't leave, maybe because she's too caught up in her emotions to decide what to do, because she's found someone she can trust in Adora and she doesn't want to leave her, or simply because the easiest thing to do is stay. Whatever the reason, she stays, knowing that her family never actually rejected her but the self-doubt remains and grows. What if they did? What if my family never wanted me? What if they cast me out for something I did? What if they turned me over to the Horde in exchange for keeping their lands safe? And when Adora leaves her, everything she questioned becomes true except the focus shifts from her kingdom and a possibility to her best friend and a certainty.

Along comes Double Trouble. They see she's not a villain. They see she just wants to belong to something. And they put it together too so they plant the seed. What if my family wanted me all along? What if I could leave? Everyone else did. What if I went ahead and did what I want to do instead of what I have to do? And when the time comes for her to decide if she's going to leave and forge her own path, she can decide to head to Adora or seek out her kingdom. If you wanna get really into it, you could say Catra is a representation of her kingdom, like the other princesses are and it gives an insight into what her kingdom might look like and be, culturally. Perfuma controls nature, so she's a very spiritual hippie type person. Frosta is cold and distant (even though she opens up, that's how we meet her). Mermista is uncaring, like the ocean when it kills you and no one will ever know because it is a vast void both above and below the surface I have a fear of the ocean, in case you could not tell. Catra is cunning, proud and vicious. Caring when she wants to be but hostile because she feels she needs to be. Catra's kingdom is probably an outland tribe, not too far off from what the Crimson Waste is like, but with laws and guards and stuff like any other kingdom, shunned from the princess alliance for their unpredictable nature (you might even say the princess alliance left them?) and so have trust issues with princesses. This is why Scorpia was obviously a Princess, because she was so happy and positive all the time like the other princesses but Catra hides it so well because she's naturally mean and calloused. It'd be so dope if Catra was an Anti-Princess, like the Dark Jedi in Star Wars.

Alternatively, she was nice and her kingdom is nice but the Horde rubbed off on her. Either way, Catra's arc ends when she starts to attempt to be good and finding her kingdom might be the first step in doing that. My ideal ending for Catra's character arc, regardless of whether she is a princess or not, is she finds someone or something to help her overcome her PTSD, abandonment issues and anger management problems (I REALLY HOPE IT'S RAZZ) and she joins the Rebellion as a black ops agent, doing infiltration and sabotage missions but she keeps her S4 outfit and everyone just lets her cause they all agree it fucks. (Noelle please give me vigilante black ops Catra but give her therapy first.)

Quick thing I wanted to add before posting after reading back over this - the scene where she removes her head gear and sobs on the floor of the control room. I think she's wondering why she didn't just leave with Adora. Why she didn't just leave to find her real family. Why she didn't just leave to find herself. Why she didn't just leave. And it eats away at her soul every goddamn day she spends in the Fright Zone, but she can't stop now, she's come too far.

3. Glimmer

Oh man. Oh man. This Micah/Glimmer reunion is gonna be HEAVY. Truly, the She-Ra fandom is Atlas. Honestly, I wanna say it was Shadow Weaver that started to turn her into Dark Glimmer but I don't think that was it. This whole season, Shadow Weaver has just been like "bro I am just s. I am just sitting here". She's very literally done nothing wrong. She's just been gardening and giving Glimmer magic lessons. Dub is to blame with that. Their twisting of Glimmer's mind set her on that path and all it took was Adora to disagree with her on one thing and she exploded and thought "if no one will fix it, then I'll do it". Her regret at what she'd done on Horde Prime's ship probably means she'll profusely apologise but that's really all there is to say on that issue. Other that, everything I can say about Glimmer will come to me when she meets Micah.

4. Scorpia

Hell yes my baby. Episode 6 was so good. When I think about Scorpia and Catra's relationship, I think about this line by Alex Hunter AKA HiTop Films on YouTube in one of his Spider-Man essays I forget which one (but you should go watch all of them anyway cause they're all really good and go watch his other stuff and support him on Patreon, if you can) about the relationship between MJ and Harry in the Raimi Spider-Man trilogy:

Maybe Harry (Scorpia) loves her (Catra) the best Harry Osborn COULD love someone, but it's not the love she needs.

It doesn't fit Scorpia and Catra exactly so I'll explain. Obviously Scorpia loves Catra a lot but Catra's not the right person she needs to love, nor does Catra need love herself. She will need it, eventually, but right now Catra needs therapy. She needs help before she needs love and she needs to work out her own issues. That leaves Scorpia with a big heart and no one to fill it with. Ironically it's a robot that helps her realise Catra isn't good for her. It's hard for Scorpia to hear but Emily has to show her that Entrapta was her real friend and they had fun together and what Catra and her have is not fun. Then the next step in moving out of Catra's abusive relationship is the Royal Hall. It's here that Scorpia has to admit to herself that the Horde weren't pleasant, if tough, diplomats who simply negotiated ownership of the Runestone. She doesn't even know any of the members of her family except her grandfather and even then she was too young to remember him and she realises that the Horde eradicated her culture when the colonised the place and she's hurt. She's really and truly broken and to make matters worse, Emily is still trying to tell her that her friend isn't really her friend. It's difficult to face these two massive truths but Scorpia hides her pain. Not to run from it, like Catra, but because she's Scorpia, and Scorpia doesn't give up. So she seeks out the princesses. She knows she's a princess so she hopes she'll find some belonging there and she's right. After some understandable hostility, she's greeted. Not very warmly but still greeted. Her first friend is Perfuma, which I think is so fitting because Perfuma is the princess most like Scorpia, she's all about love and positivity and acceptance so of course she's gonna be the first to treat her with an equal amount of kindness that Scorpia would readily give anyone and everyone else. Frosta is next, the princess who knows what it's like to be an outsider, having shut off her kingdom from the outside world for so long and it's at Bright Moon Scorpia finally gets to give a real hug, not one where people squirm out of her grasp. One where she gets hugged back.

Backtracking a little, when Scorpia said to Emily that Catra has been under a lot of pressure and that's why she's acting this way, I don't think she was making excuses for her behaviour, I think she really notices how close Catra is to snapping completely. Since the moment she realised Adora wasn't coming back to the Horde, Catra has just been completely shit on, episode after episode. Nothing goes right for her and it piles on and on and on and Scorpia's been right beside her this whole time watching it happen. Except Catra doesn't have her optimism, she's got spite and rage so she can't handle it as well as Scorpia and Scorpia knows this so even when she admits Catra was abusive and cruel, she still wants to help, because she is a good person. And good people help others, help those in pain, no matter what.

#she ra #she ra season 4 spoilers #she ra s4 #spop spoilers #catra #double trouble #glimmer #king micah #scorpia #she ra spoilers

[kathyprior4200]

Entrapta’s Nightmare

 Entrapta happily slurped on a small fruit smoothie, complete with a tiny umbrella and straw. She used her other hand to pop a small cupcake shaped like a kitten into her mouth.

 “Log 175,” she spoke into her recorder. “It appears that after several simulated scenarios of the portal’s potential, there’s a 99.8% chance that reality as we know it will collapse and get sucked in by the gateway. Best to collect as much as I can. Oh how I envy one who can collect data when getting stuck in a loophole!”

 Had Entrapta been in the modern world, she would’ve happily sung along to the band Muse’s song “Unsustainable,” and compared herself with Fu, the mischievous purple time traveling ki from the Dragon Ball Super show. He would bend reality and bring people together to fight in the name of science and entertainment. Oh, and getting to meet and debate with Bill Nye the Science Guy would’ve been interesting as well.

 Entrapta shook her head and laughed. “Back to the task, shall we?”

 Entrapta was lost in the working moment, fixing up another bot and trying to come up with an alternate safer portal machine to make. She heard footsteps from behind her and turned around. Hordak stood in the shadows, glaring down at her with angry red eyes.

 Entrapta, however, was unfazed. “Oh, hi, there Hordak!” she said. “I remember trying to tell you that opening the portal would be very dangerous and cause everything to be sucked in and blown up. So now here I am, coming up with an alternative interdimensional gateway that could be opened with other types of First’s Ones…”

 She was interrupted with a growl from the Horde leader, his sharp teeth bared.

 “You would dare let the princesses in, behind my back?”

 Entrapta stared back in confusion.

 “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Hordak.”

 “Don’t play the fool. I should’ve realized that trusting a princess could only spell trouble for the Horde.”

“I’m sure they probably let themselves in. It’s not my fault that I left Adora alone for a bit…I was just typing in potential scenarios on the screen to see what would happen if the portal were opened.”

 “What’s done is done,” he sneered. He turned away from her. “And here I thought, we would be compatible…associates.”

 “Well, we are still lab partners, right?” Entrapta pressed. “There’s no need to get upset over some minor setbacks.”

 “This setback was not minor! I heard what Catra said, ‘did you really think she was on our side? Oh, you can’t trust anyone, especially a princess. They’ll just use you to get what they want.’”

 Entrapta gasped. “She… said that to you? But that’s not true. I’d never…”

 “I have no time to deal with your lies,” Hordak spat, cutting her off. “You have betrayed me and you betrayed the Horde. Your actions will have grave consequences.”

 “But…but…surely you’d understand the dangers of the portal…and our love of technological advancement.”

 “Maybe I should’ve killed you myself,” Hordak muttered, almost to himself. “Or banished you to Beast Island, along with the others who foolishly questioned my authority.”

 “I’m telling the truth, I swear,” Entrapta protested. “I never let them in.”

 Tears erupted from Entrapta’s eyes, even though she didn’t consider herself emotional that often. “Who will help modify your suits of armor and keep you company? Who will encourage you to keep going and pursue your goals? When will you realize…that being different is never a bad thing…”

  “I don’t need your help nor your guidance!” Hordak bellowed. “I will get my revenge on Horde Prime and conquer Etheria on my own. And no more princesses will get in my way!”

 Hordak yelled in rage and smacked her hard across the face. She fell down to the floor, quickly picking herself up with her lavender pensile hair.

 “GET OUT, TRAITOR!”

 Entrapta sprinted out of the room, as fast as her legs could carry her. Not too far behind, Emily, the round bot, hurried after her on four metal legs. She ran down the metal walled corridor, wiping tears from her eyes. From up above, she could hear Hordak’s voice.

 “We are not friends, anymore…never were to begin with…”

 In the back of her mind, she knew it was Hordak’s imp, using his voice to intimidate her. But she was too heartbroken to care.

 “You wouldn’t, and yet you did let them out. You’re useless to me now. Useless…”

 The word “useless” echoed off the walls as the blue imp flew around her, cackling as he went.

Entrapta swiped at the pest with her hair, but the imp dodged her extra limbs. She ran and came across the same screens she had typed in earlier. The screens glared red and a skull with crossbones stared back at her. A low rumbling sound came from the other room, and the hairs stood up on Entrapta’s arms and neck.

 She could sense the portal opening up. Sprinting into the other room, she saw a figure pull down a lever. The figure turned around, revealing Catra, staring at Entrapta with an evil smirk.

 Entrapta had been too late.

 “What have you done?!” she cried. “Reality will collapse as we know it.”

 “I only did what I had to do,” Catra replied.

 Entrapta looked around at the collapsing room and the expanding cracks spreading through the floor and the ceiling.

 “I have to get out of here,” she thought.

 In the blink of an eye, Catra rushed behind her and stabbed her hard in the back with the stun weapon. Painful shocks of electricity flooded her body. She yelped in pain until her world went dark.

  Entrapta slowly opened her eyes, panting for breath. Looking around, she appeared to be in a plain metal cell, nothing much save for a hard bunk bed and a hole that served as a toilet. A loud roar from outside jolted her completely awake.

 “What…what was that?”

 She lifted herself up to the window and peered through the bars. Vast palm trees and flora were spread as far as the eye could see. Ocean waves crashed roughly on the rocks and against a nearby cliff wall. Entrapta noticed a huge footprint in the dirt, which appeared to belong to a dinosaur. In various spots were animal skeletons of those unlucky enough to come into contact with predators.

 Entrapta headed over to the door, and swept her hair underneath the small crack. She searched for a key or anything to escape, but there was none.

“Good luck getting out,” said a voice.

 Entrapta looked at an adjacent cell and saw another Horde soldier inside.

 “Or better, yet,” said another prisoner to her right, a gator man who had briefly defected to the Rebellion, “Don’t go out there at all…unless you want to get eaten alive by monsters.”

 “Or get skewered by the savage tribes,” added the first soldier.

Fascination with the strange land plowed into her thoughts. Yet the sense of curiosity was quickly replaced by concern. She could still feel the burn marks on her back and skin.

 ‘Catra knocked me out…and sent me here. Will Hordak ever trust me again? Will I be stuck forever, abandoned by…everyone?’

 “What is this place?” asked Entrapta. “I need to get back to the Fright Zone.”

 The soldier sighed. “The place where “worthless” Horde cadets are sent to. Welcome to Beast Island.”

  Hours later, Entrapta paced around her small cramped cell, lost in thought. Her mind briefly wandered back to one of her earliest memories, back at Castle Dryl.

 She had only known her parents for a very short time when she was little. Both of them supported her in her pursuit of science. Even as an infant, Entrapta was endlessly curious, rather than scared of the world around her. She began using the short purple tendrils from her hair around the time she learned to walk. In her early years of schooling, she messed up on a science project, the contents blowing up in her face as her classmates laughed. While she broke down in tears back at the palace, her father said that failure is a vital part of all experiments. Adding to the conversation, her mother encouraged her to always try again…whether it meant following the steps, or taking an alternative direction. She had called it “divergent thinking,” a term Entrapta still endeared to this day.

 Entrapta’s father was an esteemed inventor and engineer. He had been part of a team providing blueprints for the architecture of several Fright Zone buildings. He was an easy going fellow but also possessed a stricter side, (he was the ruler of Dryl after all).  One of his better known projects was programming the training fight simulations for the Horde cadets. However, he had also helped design the holographic map which Queen Angella used for the Rebellion. So in a sense, Entrapta and her family had been neutral from the start. His eyebrows were dark and his mustache black and bushy.

 On the other hand, her mother was a scientist by day, artist by night. Her hair was short and lavender purple like Entrapta’s and could even stretch out like hers to a lesser extent. She taught Entrapta how to paint, and frequently, they would spend quiet time together in their room, using paintbrushes of various sizes and thicknesses to create unique strokes of color. (The colors were mostly deep purple, white, and black, Entrapta’s favorite colors). Though her mother, Entrapta also developed her love of tiny food and cute animals. Soon, painting cute kittens, pugs, dinosaurs, and outer space became a regular past time until she got older.

 Times changed. Entrapta’s interests changed as well…from artistic to technical. She began using her recorder to keep track of her projects as a way to stay organized (and mostly to keep herself entertained). When her parents suffered a serious accident, Entrapta was left alone with her servers, both human and robotic. It wasn’t long before Entrapta became totally engrossed in her research and work, isolating herself from the outside world, and then from inside the castle walls.

 Perhaps it was a new dedication to create something grand. Maybe it was to make up for the aching loneliness she felt, whenever her mind drifted to her parents. Entrapta still remembered posing in between the two robots she had invented, one resembling her mother, and the other, her father. She made a peace sign with her left hand and held a wrench in her right, clad in blue overalls, her thick purple hair in two buff ponytails.

 “What were their names again?” Entrapta asked out loud to herself, briefly back in the present. “I think Dad’s name was…King Pliar! That’s it. Mom’s name was Queen Rachet! Now I remember!”

 Whatever the cause of her closure was, she would’ve been stuck with only her robotic servants and friends, had Adora and the Rebellion not entered her life.

  But then again…would that have been for the better? Adora and the others did abandon her after Adora had been rescued. Although things were fantastic for a while, with her having the freedom to work on anything she wanted, things then took a turn for the worse just before the portal’s activation.

 “Catra’s my friend,” Entrapta repeated to herself. “My data said she is based on compatibility, proximity, and mutual interests. How could it be wrong? My data’s never wrong.”

 Yet her mind flashed back to that searing pain she had received from behind her back. Did Catra literally betray her behind her back? Or was her mind overthinking things again?

  Entrapta took a deep breath and tried to focus. She had to find a way to escape.

#entrapta

[emperorsfoot]

Scorpia moves that plot along.

While Hordak does basically nothing but continue to exist. 

...

Emily always had one leg that got stuck sometimes. Ever since being dug out of the destroyed Sanctum, that one leg was perpetually stuck. Emily hobbled around on two working legs with a third stuck in the same position and no more than a ‘peg leg’. With every step she took, she made a very loud and unmistakable ‘ta-THUNK, ta-THUNK, ta-THUNK’ sound.

They received suspicious glances –or even openly hostile glares- as Scorpia walked through Seaworthy with Emily limping beside her.

Ever since the Princess Alliance invaded and destroyed Horde Command, the way the people of Etheria viewed the Horde had shifted. Less absolute fear and submission, and more unveiled and outright hatred. The Horde was an evil militaristic machine that had been wreaking havoc on their world for at least two generations. Everyone who wasn’t Horde had good reason to hate the Horde. And the Princess Alliance very recently showed the world that the Horde were not invincible. That people didn’t need to fear or grovel to the Horde.

When Scorpia walked through the streets of Seaworthy, the people there didn’t see a terrifying Force Captain working directly under their overlord. They saw a single soldier, alone, without backup, with only a single broken bot at her side. Scorpia met all these hostile glares with a friendly smile, or even a wave if they made eye-contact.

She walked into the first tavern she saw that looked close enough to the harbor to be appealing to sailors coming fresh off their ships.

It was like one of those holo-drama, when Scorpia passed through the door. Or, at least, Scorpia thought it was like one of those holo-dramas. The kind where there’s a rowdy saloon and patrols are drinking, and gambling, music’s playing from somewhere and a couple pairs might be dancing. Then the stranger walks in and everybody looks up. The floor that people had been dancing on with no sound apart from the music suddenly creaks with every step the stranger takes as everybody stares at them.

Except, everybody wasn’t staring at Scorpia, it was just a handful of people that barley even looked up from their drinks at her. The music did not pause. The couple continued dancing. And the ominous creaking of the floor boards was actually Emily’s stuck leg going ta-THUNK, ta-THUNK, ta-THUNK as they walked. Still, when Scorpia would retell this story later in her life, she would describe it more like the holo-dramas. (She had a bit of a gift for storytelling. One time, she and Catra were on a boat! But thoughts of Catra were rather bitter sweet now. Scorpia pushed the feline from her mind.)

Scorpia walked right up to the bartender whom was drying freshly washed tankards with a not-so-freshly-clean dishcloth. Emily was right behind her, trying to look menacing with her one stuck leg.

“Hi.” Scorpia smiled. One of her big, friendly, ‘you wouldn’t know I’m a Force Captain by meeting me’ smiles. “I’m looking for a ship and a captain. Preferably someone who’s not afraid of danger. I’m going to the Growling Sea. Well, there’s an island in the Growling Sea, I’m going to the island. I’m not just gonna sail to the middle of the sea then hang out in the water. Obviously.” She gave an awkward chuckle and widened her smile.

The bartender was unmoved by her friendly display. She just pointed across the tavern den. Silently indicating that Scorpia should inquire at a table near the back.

“Thank you.” Scorpia smiled at the bartender’s stoic silence and gave a bit of a wave of her claw as she pushed away from the bar and crossed the crowded space to the table.

Who she saw there was someone she did not expect.

“No way!”

Standing, one foot still resting on his seat in the booth, the other up on the table, one arm thrust up into the air as if striking a heroic pose, the other thrown out to the side dramatically. Wearing thigh-high boots of brown leather, over dark charcoal pants, a white shirt under a blue jacket, a red bandana around his neck. With a mustache that curled only slightly in the corners and wind-tossed hair. Scorpia recognized him the moment she saw him. He was the Inspector! Inspector Pirate. Also, the Rebel sea captain that went to Princess Prom with the mermaid princess. What was his name again?

“I’m Sea Hawk, I am, I am!” He was just finishing up what sounded like a sea shanty he wrote himself.

Yeah. That was definitely him.

They shared an awkward moment of connection in the Northern Reach. Bonding over how their significant partners didn’t appreciate them. Scorpia had concluded that she was strong, gave great hugs, and was loyal. She was so sure that one day Catra would see that while Adora might have left her, she never would! But that was before Catra betrayed one of their friends, then turned the stun baton her and threatened that Scorpia would be next. Scorpia didn’t think she would ever go back on her vow to ‘always be there for Catra’, but –somehow- Catra had found her line and crossed it. Scorpia was not so enamored with the her now.

She hoped Inspector Pirate Sea Hawk had been doing better with his mermaid princess.

“Hi.” Scorpia lifted a pincer in a friendly wave as she approached the table. “Remember me?”

Inspector Pirate Sea Hawk did recognize her. At least, his song came to a grinding halt as he froze on the table, mid-dramatic pose, and cringed down at her. “Force Captain Scorpia of the Evil Horde.”

Those surrounding her table turned to shoot her outright hateful looks.

Emily pivoted on her immobile leg to push herself between Scorpia and the openly hostile locals of Seaworthy. The triangle of her blaster canon glowing dangerously.

Scorpia placed a pincer-claw on the convex shell of the bot’s body and gave an awkward chuckle. “Uh, haha, yeah… But it’s just Scorpia now. The Horde I was a part of doesn’t seem to exist anymore and the new Horde that’s replaced it doesn’t seem to want anything to do with me. So, I’m just me now.”

Sea Hawk completely skipped over the part where she mentioned a ‘New Horde’, instead drawing a completely different conclusion. “And so, you wish to join my crew! Find fortune and fame as a daring nar-do-well on the high seas! Adventure!”

With another awkward chuckle, Scorpia scratched the back of her head. “Uh, no… I was just hoping to hire a ship for a one-time voyage. There’s someplace I gotta get to and something I gotta do…”

“Ah.” Sea Hawk settled down into the booth. No longer jumping up on tables and singing, the small crowd around his table wandered off and disappeared. Leaving the boisterous captain alone to talk. He pulled a slip of paper out of the sleeve of his jacket and slid it across the table to Scorpia. “My standard fee.”

Pulling up a chair and sitting at the table opposite him, Scorpia took the offered paper and unfolded it, reading the number that was sloppily written across it. She gave a snort of amusement, folded the paper again, and slid it back across the table to him. “Yeah, um, I was a Princess before I was a Force Captain and I can tell you: no single person on Etheria has that much liquid capital at the ready.”

Sea Hawk rested his elbows at the table. “Of course, I’m always open to haggle.”

Flashing another smile, Scorpia placed her claw back on Emily’s done, stroking gently as if petting a beloved hound. “You do recall I used to be a Horde Force Captain, right?” She began, trying to access and channel her inner-Catra. The other woman might have turned out to be a manipulative user, but she knew how to get things done. “I could just kill you and take your ship.”

She regretted the suggestion the moment it was out of her mouth. Scorpia never really enjoyed the strong-arm intimidation parts of her old job. She became a Force Captain because her family believed it was important to maintain strong ties with the leadership of the organization they had sworn their loyalty to. That did not mean she had to like or rely on the more ethically questionable parts of the job.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Sea Hawk threw up his hands in a ‘peace’ gesture. Waving them slightly with agitation. “I thought we were cool with each other. I mean, we had a moment up in the Northern Reach. I thought we really connected there. You and I. Talking about my relationship with Mermista and your relationship with… the angry cat.”

Scorpia looked down, forlorn. She suddenly wished she’s ordered a drink from the bar before coming over here. If for no other reason than to have something to stare forlornly into while her own reflection gazed back at her.

Instead, she said, “It’s because of Catra that I need to get to Beast Island.”

“Beast Island!” Sea Hawk almost fell out of his booth. “Why are you trying to get to Beast Island?”

Nobody chose to go to Beast Island.

“I have to rescue a friend.” She informed him. Then before he could assume it was Catra, she added, “Entrapta. I have to rescue Entrapta. She used to be a member of your Alliance. Wasn’t she your friend too?”

In all honesty, Sea Hawk had only ever met Princess Entrapta of Dryl three times. The first at Princess Prom wherein she spent the whole time climbing columns and leaning over balconies, and he was with Mermista at the time and so wasn’t really paying much attention to the antics of other –less aquatic- princesses. The second time was at the strategy meeting for rescuing Princess Glimmer from the Fright Zone, but the focus that time had also been on something else and so they did not interact much then either. The third and final time Sea Hawk met Entrapta was after the Princess had already started working for the Horde, up in the Northern Reach. But the majority of that adventure was spent either running from corrupted First Ones monsters, or commiserating with Scorpia. In short, Sea Hawk did not know Princess Entrapta all that well, he would not consider her a friend.

It was odd, but he actually considered Scorpia, a Horde Force Captain –former Horde Force Captain- more of a friend than Princess Entrapta formerly of the Princess Alliance. But Entrapta was Scorpia’s friend, that made her the friend of a friend.

Sea Hawk stood up on the table again. “Sounds like you’re on an… Adventure!”

Scorpia smiled, he whole face lighting up. “So, you’ll take us to Beast Island?”

Sea Hawk immediately sat down again. “Gosh, no! Nobody chooses to go to Beast Island!”

Scorpia’s happy mood deflated. Next to her, Emily pivoted on her bad leg and bumped the table.

“What if I paid you?” Scorpia asked. She pulled the Force Captain badge off her chest and showed it to him. “This is gold. If you take me and Emily to Beast Island to rescue Entrapta, you can have it. Sell it, melt it down, wear it, I don’t care.”

Sea Hawk stared at the gold shield with green trim. The badge of a Force Captain of the Evil Horde. And Scorpia was just giving hers away. “The Horde’s really gone, then.”

He was there at the party in Bright Moon when Octavia attacked. One final ditch attempt to catch the Princesses off guard. So, then, that really was the last of them. There was no Horde anymore. Just scattered remnants here and there.

“Yeah.” Scorpia nodded. “Lonnie’s taken over the Fright Zone and is trying to rebuild the infrastructure, so there’s still a Horde. But the Horde that has been trying to conquer Etheria for almost as long as I can remember is gone.”

So her badge didn’t carry any authority anymore. It was just gold and green enamel. Gold would always have a value.

Sea Hawk reached for it.

Scorpia pulled away. “Ah, ah, ah. I’m nice. I’m not dumb. I like you, Inspector Pirate, but we’ve never actually been allies before. You get only half now, the other half when Entrapta is safely off of Beast Island.”

“Half?” Sea Hawk raised a skeptical eyebrow. “There’s only one badge.”

In answer to this, Scorpia just tightened her pincer on the badge, and the soft metal snapped in half. She smiled at him.

Sea Hawk blinked. Whether Scorpia intended it or not, there was also a silent warning in that. ‘Double cross me, or I can snap you in half just as easily as this precious metal.’ She slid one half of the badge across the table to him. Sea Hawk swallowed with apprehension, but he took it anyway.

Standing back up, but smiled. One of his debonair hero smiles, with teeth sparkle. “Well, it looks like Captain Sea hawk and crew are off on another adventure!” He thrust a fist dramatically into the air. “Ohhhh! I’m Sea Hawk, I am I am! If you’re looking for adventure, then I’m your man!”

Scorpia clapped her pincers happily as he began to sing. No one from the Horde ever sang while on missions. Everyone in the Horde was always so grim and serious. (Everyone except Kyle and Entrapta.) Working with someone from the Alliance looked like it might actually be fun, as well as necessary.

“If you want to ride on the waves of deepest blue, through perilous winds than I got you!”

…

“…but what she didn’t realize was that they were just trying to warn her…” New-Kyle was just finishing the end of what was supposed to be a spooky story. “…The monster was in the backseat!”

“A predictable conclusion.” Hordak melted out of the shadows, startling the majority of Catra’s minions from the Crimson Wastes.

They all gasped, or yelped, or fell off the rocks they were seated on.

Hordak ignored them. He had not come to socialize, he only wanted the meat they were cooking over their fire. Sand-snake. Long strips of the beast’s flesh had been wrapped around sticks and suspended over the fire. Hordak helped himself to three of them, before melting back into the shadows. Disappearing as silently as he had come.

Catra’s gang continued to stare into the darkness long after he left. Concerned he might return for more. He was so utterly creepy. Moving silently. Always staying inside the darkened spaceship until the Glow Moon sank over the horizon and the sky blackened. The only part of him anyone could ever see in the dark, his glowing red eyes. He was like a monster out of a scary story! How did Catra stand that guy!

Hordak returned to the First Ones ship. He had no desire to sit and listen to the Etherian’s absurd and predictable tall tales. It seemed like all worlds were all telling the same five or six stories with only slight nuances changed here and there. Hordak had no patience for it. He bit into the fire-roasted snake meat.

Too much flavor. The animal’s flesh by itself had more flavor than what the Horde clone was used to, but the Etherians had also added some sort of herb or spice on top of it. Hordak gaged on the first bite, but forced it down anyway. Nutrients were nutrients and he needed to eat. He much preferred the bland and flavorless ration bars from the Fright Zone. He tried to get them as close to the ration bars he was raised on in the Empire. Negative flavor, just like the Horde commissary used to make.

He glided back onto the command bridge, or at least, the part of the First Ones ship he had designated as the ‘command bridge’ in his mind. It was a large chamber lined in a semi-circle of consoles with a captain’s chair in the center. It looked like a command bridge to him. It was also the chamber Catra insisted the late She-Ra’s message was in. It was the chamber he’d spent the past week working in trying to retrieve said message.

After a week’s worth of working with the First Ones computers, all he managed to do was add a second holo-projection in addition to the first one Catra showed him. A monochrome blue-on-blue and glitching projection of She-Ra’s sword sheathed in the console and sunk deep in the computer.

Clearly, the legendary sword was the key to this too.

Everything came back to that Host-cursed sword.

Hordak was really starting to hate it. That damn sword was competing with sand for the spot of Most Repugnant Thing in the Universe According to Lord Hordak.

Right above his own personal failures, and traitors like Entrapta.

“I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria, and I am gone.”

The hologram greeted him on the otherwise empty command bridge.

Hordak turned right back around and walked out of the command bridge. He had been listening to that Host-cursed recording on a semi-constant loop and was sick of it. If he had to hear her say that one more time, he was going to bite the head off the next creature that disturbed him –and that was not an overly dramatized exaggeration. His teeth were sharp, and his nerves were razor thin.

He bit into the snake meat instead. Swallowing quickly without the formality of chewing in the hopes that he would taste less flavor that way. What was this obsession natural beings had with seasoning?

Standing in the doorway of the command bridge, Hordak looked around. The First Ones ship was so big. Easily as big as a Horde ship. Perhaps not a capital ship. But a light freighter, or dynamic-class freighter, maybe. Whatever the First One equivalent of a YT-1300F, or a Firefly was. It had to have more rooms than just the main entrance and the command bridge.

It had to have a bulk storage bay for one. All interstellar vehicles had to have bulk storage bays, for supplies. It took time to traverse between planets, even more time between star systems. The crew would need to eat. Drink clean water. Wash themselves.

It had to have crew quarters. Crews needed to rest. Even Horde. First One’s couldn’t be an exception to this rule either. Nobody slept on a command bridge. If you were on the command bridge, then you were on duty. If you were off duty, then you were not on the command bridge.

It had to have a medical bay. Injuries happened. It was an inevitability of space travel. Even non-militaristic, non-aggressive, non-colonizer cultures got injured. Where did the First Ones treat their wounded? Hordak absolutely refused to believe that She-Ra simply healed her whole crew with her sword every time one of them scraped one of their outer extremities while preforming routine maintenance on the ship. That was just absurd.

He traced one talon over the lines on the wall. The interlocking geometric shapes that were part artistic reliefs and part written language. Radiating out from the door to the command bridge. Art and language. That obnoxious artistic wordplay that other species and cultures sometimes made. What had Hode called it? ‘Poetry’? Hode had a strange fascination with the stuff. Not just ‘poetry’ but all of it. All the unnecessary cultural clutter that came from a ‘diverse’ species. Poetry, music, dance, sculpture, fiction, illustration… ‘Art’ he called it. Hode was obsessed.

‘Learn about art, Zero-Zero-Three. When you understand a species' art, you understand that species.’

Understanding a species made conquering that species –and keeping them conquered- much easier. Another of Hode’s lessons that Hordak, apparently, failed to learn.

He traced the interlocking sigils with his talon, trying to decide which this was. Trying to imagine what it might say. Art or language? Poetry, or practical signage.

‘In the black wind stars shall die, ‘Rest still on gold here let them lie. ‘Where gates stand ever shut, ‘Till the worlds are mended.’

Hn. Absurd.

It probably just said ‘Alpha Deck, Forward Bridge: Command – Clearance Necessary’.

Not that Hordak could read any of it. Entrapta was the one who grasped a basic understanding of the unnecessarily complicated interlocking sigils that made up the First Ones language. He had no mind for it. They all just looked like triangles and lines to him.

He followed the line until it intersected with another, then followed the new one.

They lead him back to the bare and sand-covered entrance.

Hordak doubled back to the command bridge and followed a different line on the opposite side of the door. This line did not intersect with any others, it just continued on into the shadowed bowels of the ship. He paused for a moment, giving his eyes time to adjust to the deeper dark, the red glow burning brighter. Horde clones had excellent night vision. Hode used to theorize that the Horde were a nocturnal species before their race moved from the surface of a planet into the eternal twilight of space.

Keeping one hand on the wall, his talon still following the one consistent line of First Ones writing-art, Hordak made his way deeper into the cavernous bowls of the ship.

Then his talon got stuck in a deep groove.

Hordak dropped the last of the snake-meat sticks he was still holding and snarled an expletive so vulgar. If one of his subordinates had said it, he would have had to have a disciplinary meeting with them after which they might not have been allowed to keep their tongue. The clones of Horde Prime were not supposed to shout like dirty gutter vermin.

He pressed his other hand against the wall and tried to push away, but all he succeeded in doing was threatening to rip the talon off the end of the digit. Hordak growled at the wall. How dare this piece of luh’suh hold him prisoner!

Taking a deep breath to force himself to calm back down, Hordak leaned in closer to the wall to get a better look at the new line he’d gotten himself stuck in. It was completely vertical, not interspersed with unnecessary triangles or other geometric shapes, and deeper than the rest of the scratches in the walls that looked like First Ones writing. Hordak leaned so close to the wall, the red glow from his eyes was reflected off the polished steel.

Then the First Ones crystal on his collar glowed.

“Guest-Administrator detected.” Announced a voice from nowhere and the wall that was holding his talon hostage slit to the side. He held his now freed hand in the other and stared at the gap in the wall.

It wasn’t a new line of First Ones text intersection the first one, it was a door. Only this absurd race would make a door completely indistinguishable from their writing. (And their writing completely indistinguishable from their art.)

Not knowing what he was going to find, Hordak stepped through the now open door.

There were no lights in here either. But that was fine. He could see in the dark.

The first thing he saw was a metal table, only seconds before he walked into it. The corner catching him in the thigh. Hordak uttered another profane Horde clone curse. He had been doing a lot of cursing and swearing since leaving the Fright Zone. (He’d also been getting beat up by a space ship a lot since leaving the Fright Zone.)

Looking around, Hordak realized that the table that caught him in the thigh was part of an island counter. Like a work table of sorts. Turning his attention to the walls, they were lined with cupboards and cabinets, counters, and square metal grills that might have been stoves. High intensity ovens, and microwave chambers.

A galley.

Hordak had found the ship’s galley.

He immediately forgot the snake-meat he dropped in the corridor and started opening cabinets, and cupboards, and lockers. If this was a spaceship galley, then it had to have processed protein and vitamin supplements. All packaged for shelf-lives so long it bordered on infinite. In short, ration bars. Bland, flavorless, slightly brittle, bricks of nutrients. Just like the Horde commissary used to make.

The packets he found were not brittle like the ration bars he was used to. Hordak pulled out several foil packages, each one about the size of his palm. They were suspiciously squishy. He tore the corner off of one and sniffed it experimentally. He detected hints of pureed vegetables with an animal protein, all mixed together with rice as a bonding agent, and the artificial scent of preservatives. Not exactly the kind of rations he was used to, but it didn’t smell like it had gone bad.

Hordak squeezed the packet and a brown gel oozed out. Definitely not the type of rations he was used to.

With just the tiniest bit on his thumb, Hordak raised it to his nasal cavity and sniffed again, just to make sure. It did not smell rotten, and he didn’t detect anything that was poisonous to Horde such as cacao or garlic. He licked it off his thumb, pausing to really analyze it on his tongue. No rotten flavor, the preservatives kept it safe. No itching or oral irritation to indicate an anaphylaxis reaction, he wasn’t allergic to anything in it. Hordak swallowed. It went down easy too. Much easier than the brittle and usually dry ration bars of the Horde Empire.

But, best of all, it had almost no flavor! Not, no flavor. There was still the metallic tang of preserved meat, and a mild bitterness of green vegetables. But it was worlds blander than the seasoned snake-meat he swiped from Catra’s gang.

Bringing the rest of the open packet to his lips, Hordak bit through the foil with his fangs and sucked the whole thing empty. It filled him up and left him satisfied better than the fresh meat did.

First Ones tech –even their food technologies- were just better.

He grabbed a handful of the packets and made his way out of the galley. Maybe with a full stomach he would find the irritating recording of the late She-Ra more bearable and be able to get some meaningful progress accomplished on decoding said late She-Ra’s message about a weapon.

Hordak would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little curious.

Large scale super-weapons weren’t really something the Horde as a whole went in for. Horde Prime preferred large, overpowering armies, with swarms of space fighters and planetary atmosphere jets. Droves of infantry and vehicle cavalry. Armies comprised of millions of soldiers, with hundreds of officers, overseen by a trusted cabinet of Lords. So many moving pieces. And a system in place to replace any part that was destroyed. It was a long more difficult for a rebel to defeat than a single super-weapon or doomsday device. Fleets of starships, or formations of infantry were not destroyed when someone got one lucky shot in one unlucky exhaust port.

If Etheria, or perhaps these ‘First Ones’ did construct a super-weapon, he wanted to know what it was. He wanted to know if he could use it, and if he could turn it on Entrapta somehow.

Destroy the one who had betrayed him with the very technology she devoted her life to studying.

There was a kind of ‘art’ in that idea. Ending her life using her life’s pursuits. It was almost like ‘poetry’. Perhaps it was. It was Horde poetry.

It was Horde art.

‘Learn about art, Zero-Zero-Three. When you understand a species' art, you understand that species.’

#genetic composite #hordak #scorpia #crimson wastes #sea hawk #first ones #mara's ship #more Star Wars references #Hrodak's mentor was basically Grand Admiral Thrawn