Tiny Food Or Bust

No. No, he didn’t. But Catra did!

There’s a fair number of people around here who seem to have trouble identifying what manipulation actually looks like, so I’mma go a step further: I’m going to juxtapose his initial interactions with the time she actually was manipulated: when Catra recruited her. Ready? Here we go!

The moment Catra realizes that Entrapta is waiting for the Princesses to come get her, she sees her opening. She sees a potential weakness: Entrapta’s social awkwardness and concern over being left behind. She sees the opening, and she takes it.

She manipulates Entrapta both with words and a weirdly creepy intimate touch. She strokes her hair, feigning comfort. She speaks against the Princesses, trying to convince Entrapta that they left her behind on purpose, that Entrapta’s too different from them, that they don’t like her. All lies meant to isolate Entrapta from her friends, all accompanied by Catra attempting to insert herself as a sympathetic, compassionate figure, again evidenced by the use of intimate contact to sway her victim.

Look at Entrapta’s body language during this scene. She holds her arms to her chest, leans away from Catra, closes herself off. She’s uncomfortable, off-kilter. Vulnerable. Look at Catra: loose and easy, casual yet calm, trying to soothe. Leaning in, slightly invading personal space. In control. 

Eventually, she pulls her hair away from Catra and adopts an even more closed-off posture as she tries to make sense of what she’s being told. 

Once she cries, and once Catra forces further intimacy by wiping the tear away with her tail, the manipulation is complete. Entrapta has been brought face to face with her insecurities, and Catra has used them in crafting her lies. She’s presented herself as the understanding, accepting alternative to the cruel princesses, and Entrapta has accepted this version of events because of her own personal insecurities.

The power dynamic in this entire interaction is clear: Entrapta is vulnerable, uncertain, while Catra cunningly uses doubts and insecurities to exert power over her. To bring her into the fold. To control her.

Compare this to how Hordak handles Entrapta’s intrusion into his sanctum. 

First, he doesn’t want her there. He doesn’t initiate this interaction. He doesn’t invite her in with the intent of convincing her to help him with portal work. Rather, he’s a private person, wants no one else in his space, and immediately does what he can to get rid of her. He yells at her. Really loudly. With his fangs bared. 

And she doesn’t care. There’s nothing in her body language, in her voice, that indicates that she’s frightened in any way. Rather, she just sounds sort of annoyed, interrupted as she’s been by his outburst, and his attempt to cow her fails. 

In fact, once she returns to further question him about his work, he’s the one who looks taken aback. Note how he’s startled by her reappearance. See how his eyes widen, how he steps back, relinquishing space to her rather than the other way around? He’s not the dominant force here. Rather, he doesn’t seem to have any clear idea what to do. it’s actually really cute but I digress

As Entrapta rushes around the lab, he’s not even able to speak, reduced to bemused grunts as he follows her around, waiting for her to still so that he can get a word in. Hordak is entirely out of his element here. He’s not able to force her out of the sanctum. He’s unable to really gain control of the situation. She’s able to do as she pleases, and he’s reduced to just kind of… riding it out. He doesn’t display any of the behaviors Catra does: there are no lies, no attempts at inserting himself into Entrapta’s life as a sympathetic force, no twisting things about to convince her of anything. He’s just frank with her. Confused and displaying his own closed-off body language (as he often does), but answers her questions about portals and planets.

On her end, Entrapta isn’t the vulnerable woman we see when Catra is working on her. She’s animated, excited, throwing caution to the wind. She doesn’t shrink back or close in on herself. She rushes about the lab, speaks excitedly, asks what she wishes. When Hordak explains what he’s doing, she asks to help him without any prompting because she’s just interested in the work. There’s no coercion via lies, no deception, nothing: she just thinks portals are incredible and wants in. 

She is the one who initiates the relationship; Hordak is just taking advantage of an apparent stroke of luck, just as Entrapta is taking advantage of an alien with tech and knowledge she’s only ever dreamed of. Both of them are essentially entering into an agreement to work together, but this time, there are no lies or manipulations at hand. Each stands to gain, and no one has to be coerced to tears to make it happen.

At a later point in their relationship, when they start to show some level of intimacy, it has none of Entrapta’s vulnerability or Hordak’s bafflement. They sit close to one another, leaning in, invading personal space. Both are at ease, relaxed, open. Hordak listens to her talk, genuinely interested in what she has to say. Entrapta appears comfortable talking to someone who fully understands her, rather than someone (like Catra) who rushes her through her explanations, only interested in “the results.” It is, in short, flippin’ wholesome. 

Bonus:

I so enjoy this entire scene, chiefly for the Hordak angst, of course, but also because of how the two characters’ movements are choreographed in this specific part. 

Note how Double Trouble circles him languidly, casually, and forces him to turn to keep up; despite being the supposedly dominant individual in the room, Hordak has to follow DT while they lead, teasing him with coveted Entrapta info. Exerting power over Hordak’s emotions and over the situation in general.

I saw a chat like this in Entrapdak tag but unfortunately I can’t remember the source. I’ll edit it here as soon as I find it!

I like to embarrass the tsundere.