omg he's called spacebat now

@dragonsbreathring requested Entrapta helping Hordak dyeing his hair

Not a fan of the first pic, but I love the second one

<3

So much work for a 7-seconds-not-so-good-animation :)

There are many problems in this short animation, but it’s a WIP (Work In Progress), and I’m too lazy to keep working on this part for now, so I’ll work on another part instead.

I need everyone to realize that Hordak actually told a successful lie.

Hordak, who was manipulated and deceived by numerous characters over the course of this show, whose mind can be read at any moment by his Brother, was able to keep the truth hidden from Prime due to his desire to continue remembering Entrapta.

The enormity of this. The emotional poignancy.

Hordak lies, knowing how dangerous it is, knowing what could happen to him if he is discovered, and he does so successfully solely out of hope for one day seeing his beloved companion again.

It’s such a small moment, just a couple of lines, but knowing what we know about Hordak, knowing his history, knowing how difficult this must be for him… it’s a subtle thing that highlights the strength of his will and the intensity of his feelings.

Do you think Etheria has any existing infrastructure for like, peer reviewed scientific papers?

Because honestly? I think about how he was raised, how he put himself through that godsforsaken purification ritual to try to eliminate his “imperfections,” and I worry about the clear connection that suffering and purity and atonement have in his mind.

Now, @tautorocker, everyone enjoys the characters they enjoy for various reasons, and I have no intention of altering your feelings towards Hordak in any way via this post; I’m really just having my fun. If you’re bored of it, there’s no need to read it, and certainly no need to respond. 

It’s more for me and the followers who like listening to me babble!

That said, what I’m going to endeavor to do is express my feelings on the stances you provide, perhaps attempt to explain why a good number of us do find Hordak remarkably sympathetic in the context of said stances. So!

First and foremost: the idea that Catra is a child, while Hordak is an adult. Very true! Completely valid! Demonstrably canon, and something that’s been mentioned many times, often in similar context: why Catra is sympathetic, while Hordak is less so. Also often used to illustrate why Catra might be understandably poor at handling her emotions, while Hordak “should know better.” And while it is, again, very true on the surface, I find it far more complicated than it initially seems. Now, I don’t think emotional maturity differences are being addressed here (though I have a post on that!); what I see addressed, rather, is the notion that Catra’s abuse is somehow worse, more sympathetic, because she was a child when it started, while Hordak was an adult.

The idea that Catra’s abuse is more severe, or more meaningful, because it happened when she was a child is… not really applicable, in my opinion. For a few reasons. 

First, while Hordak was never an actual child (because, y’know, he was manufactured in a vat to be a soldier-slave and was essentially robbed of a childhood), he lived under Prime’s command his entire life. Prime’s threat was a constant, from the moment he drew breath - biological child or not, it was from the beginning, just like Catra’s. 

Furthermore, being abused as an adult doesn’t become less traumatic, less painful, simply because of age. Now, I can see how one can, perhaps, argue that being abused as a child is somehow worse because of the vulnerability inherent to being a child: the lack of ability to fight back, to escape one’s situation, so to speak. And that may be true in some fashion… but in terms of Hordak? Despite his having an adult body, these things ring true for him, as well.

Hordak (or any of the clones, really) cannot escape Horde Prime. He cannot fight back. He can have his mind read and be completely, bodily controlled at any time. He cannot use adult independence and adult agency to… I don’t know… leave the situation (not that abused adults can just leave, but if we’re speaking specifically to “why it’s, in theory, worse for a child”). He can’t run away - Prime can bodily control him, track him, and besides, where would he go? He can’t stand up to Prime, who is functionally omnipotent. Hordak is legitimately powerless in this situation - as evidenced by what happens at the end of season four and what happens even after he asserts his name and his will in the season five finale. The other clones, as well, are at Prime’s mercy: remember that particularly rude clone being choked off mid-tirade because Prime felt like chatting with Catra himself. Add to all of that the connection to the hivemind and the indoctrination and, well… Hordak’s adult body matters less and less.

The things that might make abuse as a child seem “worse” than abuse as an adult end up applying to Hordak just as much as they apply to Catra: both are trapped in a situation from which there is no escape, abused by the person they rely on for love and security and care. Hordak having an adult body is meaningless when he remains painfully vulnerable while under Prime’s command. 

Moving on, let us touch upon the extent of Hordak’s abuse. A fair warning: this may be less coherent and more… emotionally charged. Because it really does distress me, what Hordak has lived through.

So. Hordak was manufactured in a vat to be a soldier-slave. He has absolutely no say in this matter; none. He has machinery installed in his body, against his will, that serves specifically to provide Prime with a way to delete his mind should he become too much of an individual. Hordak is indoctrinated, from “birth,” to look to Prime as an all-powerful, all-knowing god-Brother-leader. For all intents and purposes, given the sort of abilities Prime has, this status as all-powerful and all-knowing is functionally true, in terms of affecting Hordak’s safety. Hordak can have his mind forcibly read, against his will, at any moment. Hordak can have his body controlled, agency completely taken from him, at any moment. 

Hordak is only maintained in good health as long as he serves a purpose. If he takes up too many resources, gets too sick to be “worthwhile,” he is sent off to fight until battle or illness kill him. 

Hordak cannot escape any of this. He cannot run. He cannot hide. He cannot squirrel away enough money from a part time job to rent a crappy apartment in another city and move away from his abusive family. There is no way out for him. There is no way out, and even if there was, let’s say by accidental portal to a shadow dimension, he is so utterly entrenched in devotion to and worship of Prime, so dependent on him for emotional security and validation, that he makes it his mission to return to his abuser despite a real opportunity for freedom. It is not just a matter of “seeking approval.” It is a matter of his entire worldview, his entire sense of what is good and safe and right, revolving around Prime to the point that he actively hurts himself because of it.

This is the state of things for Hordak’s entire life. This does not start once his defect manifests. This lack of agency, this absolute control over every aspect of his existence is present from the moment he first opens his eyes.

Also eternally present is the enforced shame, the fear of imperfections, of impurities, of inadequacies that need to be dealt with via electrocution and memory suppression in the purification pool.

I know and understand that Catra’s abuse was terrible, that her mother physically and emotionally terrorized her. But Catra had a name. Catra could play. Catra had enough of a sense of agency to hate Shadow Weaver, to snap back at her, even if it earned her some pain.

Hordak never had that. Never, ever, did he speak out against Prime, did he show any hate, any resentment, until the very end. That is the level of control he was under. That was how deep the abuse ran, how sick he was with it. So no: we don’t see Hordak abused as a small child. What we see instead is a grown man who is so absolutely ruined by the abusive cult he “grew up” in that it takes him actual decades to fully lay claim to his own name. And even then, he only escapes with his life because someone on the outside was able to reach in, grab his proverbial hand, and pull him out of the nightmare he’d been born into.

Now. The last bit of this. The “tyrant” bit. There is no denying that Hordak tried to conquer Etheria. Obviously. But I will offer the viewpoint that, without Prime’s influence, without the moral framework Prime put in place, without seeing conquering and the only way to please his Brother, it is unlikely that Hordak would resort to tyranny. Why? Honestly, I just don’t think he enjoys ruling people all that much. I’ll leave it at that, because that’s a whole post in and of itself, but I would put it this way:

Catra is not particularly into ending the world via portal malfunction. It’s not a fun thing for her to do. It’s an action taken due to multiple terrible circumstances and emotions. It’s not necessarily her “default state.”

In the same vein, Hordak practices tyranny not because it’s a pleasant game for him, but because he has been conditioned for little else and is bound by terrible love for his Brother to take actions that he thinks would best please Prime. It is likewise not necessarily his “default state.” 

Well! Anyway! That got quite long, didn’t it. My word, there was only a paragraph to address, and here we are. Many paragraphs later. My apologies to all.

I completely respect your fondness for Catra; as we know, different characters hit us in different ways, and you are completely valid in feeling as you do. I am, however, happy to hear that we were able to provide you with some insight regarding why we feel as we do for Hordak, and I hope you enjoy the viewpoints we put forth.

“Hordak! It’s ok to kill your brother.”

Last one for tonight because I can and I was bored. Absolutely not perfect but I’m new to this :/