#au where adora defects less because of the swords and more because of what the first ones and the horde did

[fannishcodex]

Spacebat!Adora, or an AU where Adora wasn’t a baby Hordak found in a field but a viable clone-hybrid he made by combining a sample of his genes and preserved DNA* he scavenged from a First Ones ruin. (*Hordak stumbled on preserved samples of Mara’s DNA from the ruins of a First Ones medical facility.) Hordak got Attached while his creation was a baby and abandoned attempts to try to use this one as a new body for himself in favor of having a new little brother (Hordak has trouble articulating that he also misses his clone brothers, but he does)--until Adora says she wants to be his little sister, which he immediately accepts.

Actually, Hordak got attached to the first two viable clone-hybrids out of his attempts to make a new body--Adora and Imp. Imp proved to be a viable clone-hybrid just a few days after Adora. Imp contains a different mix of DNA--like in what’s generally been accepted as canon for Imp, Imp is an attempt to clone Hordak combined with DNA from Etherian bat-like creatures.

Imp was largely hardier than Adora, who behaved more like an average First Ones/Etherian child; but as the years progressed Adora continued to physically grow more than Imp. Later Hordak hypothesizes that this might be the extent of Imp’s growth, while Adora sometimes wonders if Imp might just age differently/age slower (a.k.a. he might age like Baby Yoda).

Hordak pushed experimentation when creating Adora, combining his and the scavenged First Ones DNA in such a way that his creation was somewhat less a clone and more a new hybrid or “offspring.”

Due to *Mara’s DNA:

-Adora’s voice is high-pitched/like her voice in canon. Again, because of the way Hordak combined samples of his DNA and Mara’s, Adora is produced more as a new individual combining the two, and ends up with a voice different from Mara’s.

-There are some differences in Adora’s facial shape and size (this may change later as she grows...)

-Mara’s DNA triggers some comparable traits in Prime’s DNA that are usually suppressed in the Horde Clones: Adora’s crest/hair can start growing long by itself without Prime’s “vessel transitioning” process as a catalyst; Adora has visible pupils like Mara but they resemble Prime’s slit-like pupils.

-Adora’s hands are like Mara’s, they don’t have talons. (And like Imp’s? Looking at screenshots, and I think Imp doesn’t have little talons on his hands.)

-Becoming She-Ra left a mark on Mara’s DNA. While transformed into She-Ra, Mara’s gray-blue eyes become a more intense, pure, saturated blue, and this combined with Hordak’s DNA (which favors intense colors for eyes and teeth) leads to Adora’s vibrant blue eyes and blue teeth.

-The First Ones sword will respond to Adora because she has Mara’s DNA, and she will be able to transform into She-Ra like Mara.

-Light Hope tries to monitor the situation on Etheria when she builds enough energy to, and senses Mara’s DNA in Adora. Light Hope then decides to not push herself and open a portal against all odds to extract a First Ones infant to use as She-Ra. She decides to change her plans and use Adora instead since she contains the DNA of a confirmed former She-Ra (Mara) and is already on Etheria.

(-Not suggesting in this AU that somewhere there’s like a canonish Adora that got to stay where she was and didn’t get dragged to Etheria. The only Adora in this AU would be Spacebat!Adora.)

While Imp got dark hair like Hordak, Adora managed to inherit the hair Hordak was supposed to have. What his defect repressed/changed came out unaltered in Adora.

At first I just wanted to explore drawing Spacebat!Adora, and then an actual AU behind it started coming to me.

Spacebat!Adora does have some echoes of Horde Prime in her appearance for Irony reasons, along with other reasons like wanting to play around with certain things.

(Also Adora does not get the canon ship in this AU. Imp and Hordak wouldn’t want a certain someone to lay even a single attacking claw on their sister.)

And this AU might be just...pretty different? Still brainstorming that. Shadow Weaver may sense the magical potential in Adora (from Mara’s side) and eventually try to kidnap her, and that leads to the Horde splitting into separate factions and Hordak escaping with Adora and Imp to protect them?

More Spacebat/Horde Clone-Hybrid!Adora concepts, much of them partly drawn over screenshots (like the picture above):

Thanks to @revasnaslan​ ‘s excellent idea from her Where One Fell verse/spop fic, members of Hordak’s species essentially resemble little Imp--they just have blue-grayish skin when they’re young, and then white facial markings/���masking” grows on their face and ears as they get older (like how mandrill monkeys aren’t really born with red and blue facial markings but get them later as they grow older). So little Spacebat/Horde Clone-Hybrid!Adora is just blue-grayish like Imp when she’s little:

And then starts getting white masking on her face as she grows older, and they can start as little shapes on the face before covering all or most of it (decided to explore growing masking as early diamond shapes for Irony Reasons):

Spot the difference! I was exploring Spacebat!Adora without pupils (like Hordak/Imp/Wrong Hordak a.k.a. Kadroh/Other Horde Clones) or with pupils (like Horde Prime), with a nasal ridge (like Hordak/Horde Prime/etc.) or a nose (like Imp, Mara) or a possible combo/just a different angle of the nasal ridge:

This one I just sketched:

Spacebat!Adora is fun to draw.

[adorakau]

You have shown Adorak's interaction with some of the main characters, but what about the others? More importantly Mara. How would the past/present (or is it present/future?) conversation between Adorak and Mara go?

That! 

Is an amazing question!

We’re gonna get into some lore for this one so buckle up.

So. Adorak was created through DNA fusion. 

Half of it was Hordaks, as he was still attempting to create a new host body for himself to escape his defect. How he thought that would work by using the same exact DNA is anyones guess but it’s not like he had many options.

Now the second half of her DNA is where things get interesting.

As we all know, only a First One can use the Sword to turn into She-Ra. So you may ask: How is this Clone able to transform into Etheria’s Protector?

It’s because she’s a Hybrid between First Ones and Clone DNA.

One very specific First One, in fact. 

After all, just like Hordak, Light Hope did not have a lot of options to get DNA from, in case she ever needed a sample. They both worked with what they had.

Light Hope does have a plan in this AU:

Pull a First One through a portal and have them become the new She-Ra and use the Heart.

Only that plan fails immediately. Instead she ends up with a lonely Clone and an out of juice Portal Machine. So, with Portal Capabilities deactivated, she has to get creative:

Realize the Clone has started a planetary war to fuel his efforts of cloning himself a healthy body and open another portal.

Lure the Clone to the Crystal Castle with a fake Portal Signal.

Offer him Mara’s DNA sample to clone a First One with, for which she would reward him with the technology needed to cure his defect.

Wait for results.

Hordak, of course, doesn’t trust an old First Ones AI. He uses the DNA to hybridize it with his own, creating a- well, a Hybrid, thinking the provided DNA could counter act and nullify his condition in the new body.

The cloning process fails, as most of them do, but the Hybrid survives. He can’t put it back in the vat now that it’s out. It’s a failure but, like with most things around the Fright Zone, he keeps it anyway.

Light Hope doesnt mind as much as she probably should. There’s enough First Ones Blood flowing through that child to satisfy her needs. She’ll just have to wait a few more years to finally use it. The Clone DNA can only help in controlling its mind.

Now, to get back to the original question, using this context.

The conversation on the ship (which we assume is the one you mean) would be a lot less “You can save our world and stop the Horde” and a lot more “You can bring out people together”.

Adorak is the link between First Ones and Horde. 

Given, there’s not a lot of First Ones around anymore. But her role would stay the same. Her goal would be to destroy Prime and free her people, using technology the First Ones left behind. Beyond that, the First Ones Culture and Machinery strewn all over Etheria could be used to streamline the integration of Clones into Society. She takes both of these ancient, warring factions and just. Fixes them as much as anyone could, really.

On a less prophetic note, she would also have learned how she was related to Mara by that point, so watching the person that is technically her Biological Mother die on what amounts to a very futuristic VHS tape would be. Pretty hard.

A lot of mixed emotions, you can imagine.

Adorak did gain a brandnew Grandma tho. Razz has always been suspiciously fond of her, despite how she never much liked Hordak. 

Basically, it would hit Adorak a lot harder. If Adora felt like getting hit by a truck during that scene then Adorak is gonna feel the entire weight of the Ever Given ram into her heart and lodge itself there for several weeks at a time. She’s got friends and family to help her work through it, but it’s gonna be on her mind for a while.

[yesbpdcatra]

Adora + V please ^^

V. an empty or abandoned place ; adora

Quiet as a mouse. While on patrol, you gotta be quiet as a mouse. Those were the orders and the recommendations every cadet used to receive. She couldn’t count how many simulations of patrolling occupied territory or the Fright Zone’s borders she did during her life, but this time it was different. This time it was not fake. This time there was no space for jokes—not that usually she used to go big on those. This time it was active duty, and it required an entirely new type of cold blood. She could have actually encountered an enemy. She could have had to kill them. This promotion wasn’t only a prize, it was also a responsibility. And she knew that from the beginning. Despite this, she wished Catra was there too.

“Your area is North East, bordering the Whispering Woods. Do not go in them.” The orders of her superior in the chain of command were stark and free from deniability. “You just check nothing comes out of it with the intent of invading our perimeter.”

She militarily nodded and stood to attention, while the other members of that night’s patrolling team were getting their orders too. Then, when everything and everyone was ready and waiting, they marched towards the skiffs where each soldier was given a vehicle, with the thoughtful and careful reminder that it didn’t belong to them, just like their life didn’t and never would. You’ll suffer harsh punishments if it gets back damaged in any way, the instructions used to say. Adora wasn’t impressed or scared, it was nothing but business as usual: she would have handed herself in anyway if she really was to damage Horde’s property. There was nothing as sacred as Horde’s property, simply because in was the Horde’s and there was the power of the once-existing stars in the Horde’s actions. There was the fairness an ordered society and the right of the dominant species to use what had been given to them. Also, any small piece of tech would help them take a step closer to victory against those violent instigators, and as such it was fundamental. Wasn’t it?

It’s like there’s more insurance against property damage than against our soldiers’ death, she found herself thinking in a single moment if weakness, before she readjusted her own mind process and shut the thought out, burning it to the ground and throwing salt after its passage so that it would grow back no more. She wasn’t expected to think such a thing. It wasn’t her place. She had never doubted. It was just like Shadow Weaver had said: this is what she’d always wanted since she was old enough to want something.

She left the Fright Zone without looking back, without asking for a hint of solidarity from her fellow teammates, and started slowly monitoring the border she was assigned to, eyes darting left and right in the silent twilight full of reds and oranges and violets. The engines were humming gloomily. There were small shimmers of light coming out the woods, infested by fireflies and weird traces of flowing energy. Something she didn’t know and couldn’t understand. What she could understand instead was what seemed to be a human shadow behind tree branches. Her inner alarms flared. Her heartbeat fastened. Her brain rapidly analyzed her possibilities. There was someone. A potential rebel to be captured. Don’t go into the woods, they had said, though. How could she not go if a potential threat to Etheria’s security was out there, unrestrained? She had to breach the order. It was for a common, shared purpose. And strangely enough, she felt somehow compelled to go.

She sighed heavily and turned the engines off, taking the electric goad and the whole Horde equipment with her. She jumped out of the skiff, her shoes crashing against the grass riddled with flowers.

“Ok, Adora. Don’t screw it up. Don’t screw it up,” she told herself, in low, tense voice. “In and out. You just have to check this one out.”

She moved slowly, quiet as a mouse, quiet as a mouse, and she wished she was like Catra, able to sneak everywhere without making a single sound with her cat-like feet. Actually, she wanted her to be here not just for utilitarian reasons: it had always been their dream to finally see active duty together, as a squad, looking out for each other. It wasn’t up to her to decide, though. Her desires had never really mattered to anyone, there were more important, collective values.

She walked across a shrub, she bent to avoid a branch, she crawled in the mud when she heard some weird noise, but there was no trace of the shadow she had seen before. I just wasted time for nothing. And yet the calling was still there, stronger every step forward, until she realized she was walking on an ancient mosaic. It was chiseled and adorned with abstract symbolism that didn’t mean anything anymore, a language so old and forgotten that only dust and sand could speak it by that time. Adora looked around, astonished. It seemed a sacred space, an old temple or something. She didn’t even know what a temple was but the word just came to her mind as if it’s always been there.

She wandered around, oblivious to her patrolling duties, and rubbed her hand against the surface of the nearest ruin, pyramidal shape that stood out against the sky now dark. She couldn’t say what she did, what she touched, but somehow she unlocked something. Next thing she knew was her widening her eyes and repressing a scream, when the temple opened like a seashell, inviting her to enter.

Go back to the skiff and stop. You are letting Shadow Weaver down. You are letting Lord Hordak down. They have placed great trust on you, you gotta be perfect. Go back.

She moved a step forward. Go back. Another one. Go back. And another one again, until she was in, surrounded by darkness. She stood there, aghast, then stumbled into the unknown, trying to figure out the area’s perimeter. Finally, she reached what seemed to be a control pad, and she just tapped blindly, until a sudden light appeared right in front of her, glaring on her face and on the walls. It was a screen, not so different from those found in the Fright Zone or on trackpads. It looked like a regular video recording, probably done by some fixed security cameras like the ones the Horde had placed everywhere they could in order to try and spot rebels. It was a small town near the sea. War bots she knew too well were attacking everyone on sight. The Horde symbol was fluttering in the wind and being sprayed on people’s homes. There was a voice coming from the film, a voice screaming continuously “Take down those animals! Take down them all!”

Adora jerked back. It was impossible. The video must have been a fraud, fabricated by the Rebellion in order to discredit them. She couldn’t believe what she just saw. The Horde was not that. The Horde was good. The Horde wanted nothing but a better world. Yes, killing was part of the plan, but only if necessary, only against hostile militias. She couldn’t believe it, and yet the video was still going, showing soldiers with the Horde symbol torturing innocent civilians live. Something broke inside of her. She didn’t want to believe but she couldn’t help but feel that punch in the guts, that know in her bowels that told her ‘you know it’s the truth.’

Her legs shivered and she fell to the ground, tears in her eyes. How long since the last time she cried? She couldn’t remember, but it felt so scary and so relieving. Her heart threatened to explode, her breath threatened to choke her. She started sobbing and for once she didn’t force herself to stop.

By the time she had finished her last remaining tear, the video had ended. She was about to leave to a future of uncertainty, when another recording started, much older, much more different in quality and type. It was… less palpable, as if it was an hologram. There were elegant men sit around a sleek, dark table, folders opened in front of them and classy jackets hanging on the coat hanger. They had a weird vibe around them, as if they came from a civilization totally unknown to Adora.

There was audio this time, too, but it was extremely clunky and full of static, as if the recording had been compromised. Adora was panting, unable to breathe normally, but she obliged herself not to run away. She needed to know what else there was.

“The research is clear. Our sector should end right now if we were to stop climate change from happening,” one man said.

“Exxon is not going to thwart its own profit for some fear-mongering material,” another snapped, annoyed.

“We are slowly modifying and killing life on this Planet and all you want to do is go ahead with it? Just bury everything and pretend it’s not happening? This is gonna end badly.”

She didn’t know what they were talking about. She couldn’t inquire. But a voice in her head couldn’t stop muttering. It’s the same old story, dearie. Wicked people destroy what they can’t control.

Not so long afterwards, as a member of the newly formed Princesses’ Alliance and as an enemy of the Horde, she would have wondered. If she was a former Horde soldier and a First One in blood, was that bound to make a destroyer of world out of her? Or was her heritage the exact reason why she could make up and build a better world?

AO3 Link

Ask me something for the Minific Meme!

[2ndturtlederpoutta4]

So..uh.. I made an au days before the final season comes out... Yeah.. it.. was a spur of the moment thing... more under cut it gets long...

Anyways! I have no idea if some one made an AU like this already but I continue to plow ahead! If the name isn't taken I think I'd like to call this the Defect AU.. cuz, well, you'll see.

So essentially Catra has had a enough a wee bit sooner than the show. Like four to five years or so... But instead of staying with the horde so she can be more powerful, ergo protected against stupid bitches other people, she runs off. Because at this moment the best thing to be is to be as far away from Shadowbitch that Catra can get. And why would she do that?

Well I'm basing this off a hypothetical situation. Let's say in canon Adora was there for the majority of the abuses, directing them away, not stopping them, but making them less.. painful. And of course there are instances where Catra is caught alone, and she has to deal with the brunt of these abuses. But Adora is there as a somewhat constant comfort, even if she is unaware of that fact. Now in this universe same idea applies. Except.. less so...

Adora is still an oblivious comfort, but she is around less. In this universe there is a young leaders project started up by Shadowbitch which is meant to weed out the more potential leaders and shape them up. It doesn't mean much, just more regulated training and classes about how to lead and such. And unfortunately Adora became part of that. She is around less, unable to help Catra when she gets in trouble. So and Catra is like 'this is fine, it's fine. As long as Adora is by my side in the end, I'll be fine.'

Until it isn't.

One day Catra is getting the shit kicked out of her. Nothing new she can take it. Shadowbitch is bitching at her, nothing new there either. Catra is daydreaming about how fantastic it would be to claw out the bitches eyes when Shadowbitch brings up Adora. She begins to talk about how dead she'll be when Adora is gone and how useless she is without her handler. And Catra is, 'what are you talking about?'

Shadowbitch goes off in her manipulative bitchy way and tells Catra how these extra practices are prepping Adora to join the high ranks, a place Catra won't be able to reach because she is nothing better than a lap dog. And that hits. Home run on spiral thoughts. Touch down on abandonment issues. 

Adora is going to leave her? No, no not- but it makes sense. Adora hasn't been able to spend a lot of time with her. She is in the leadership for kids thing. Shadowbitch is well, a bitch, but she is honest when it comes to Adora. Not to Adora, but about Adora. 'Adora, what we are doing is for the good of the world' lie. 'Adora you are so talented and gifted. You will do great things for hordak.' truth.

And though Shadowbitch is wrapping all this with insults and threats, Catra can see the truth in it. Because Adora can become a leader. And if Shadowbitch wanted it, she would leave Catra behind(not really but that is what Catra believed).

So Catra makes a decision, and decides she would have better luck outside the horde. She runs off, because there is nothing here for her anymore. Once upon a time she had a sliver of hope of that she could become big enough, strong enough, high enough rank wise that she could be out of Shadowbitchs reach. But Shadowbitch squashed that dream into smithereens, leaving Catra with a harsh possible reality that she would never be anything more than a foot soldier set up to die in the front lines. 

Adora, her one savior, her one anchor, is going to leave her. So why not leave before someone else gets a chance to hurt her to? Its not like Adora needed her anyways.

And thus Catra beginning her journey outside of horde. She tries her best to avoid the forest, because she does not need a princess army on her tail. She stays to the edge and just altogether avoids both parties and anyone of the in-between. But things usually don’t work out like that for Catra.

She gets caught up in a few things and is like this weird legend on the battlefield. Soldiers reports are like 'we were cornered and for sure gonna die when this fuckin blur came out of nowhere and just took out a whole squad. It was this demon thing that let out a howl of rage as it bit off the heads of these horde people. Definitely a mad spirit or something or another.' because she would so be against the horde just trying to fuck up Shadowbitch a bit. Like she won't join the rebellion side, but she definitely would take out a squad or two in spite of Shadowbitch. Which of course may lead her to a few misadventures with some young rebels, making some friends with a few maybe.

I don't see her finding the crimson waste till later, maybe after a year or two of being out on her own? She hears a small tiny rumor about there being people there but it was mostly a fable set up by some villagers. So she thinks. At one point when she is getting chased by some horde soliders because she managed to piss enough off, she finds herself heading to the crimson waste and is just like fuck it let's do this. She finds it and. She is in heaven.

Unlike canon she doesn't go for top power because Huntress is still in power at that point, and well she isn't really looking for anything other than a safe spot away from both the horde and the rebellion.

She stays for a bit, occasionally heading out back to the main action if she really feels like fucking around, maybe visiting some rebel/neutral friends, but her main base is at the Crimson waste. 

Anyways Adora finishes growing up with out her best friend and actually gets a bit distrusting of Shadowbitch because of Catras sudden disappearance. Why would Catra want to leave? Outside the horde there were princesses and dangers beyond compare and Catra is protected and safe here. She would have absolutely no reason to leave, the horde is her home. But Adora stays faithful. Until on the day before she goes to force captain orientation. Adora finds a file casing and at first she is like, I should return this, but then she sees a picture of Catra. It was a picture from around a year ago, a stray footage of her when she got caught between a horde and rebel battle. And Adora is just like what the fuck oh no I got to check this out. So she does the responsible thing and takes out the skiff out to inspect a battle sight that happened over a year ago. Yeah bear with me I will fix the plot later.

But in a turn of events she finds the sword yionks it and thus the start of the series. She distrust the rebels but sticks with them because, one she wants to figure out why the sword talked to her, two they might have an idea of where Catra might be at. And later because she figured out that she was on the wrong side of the battle.

that is all I got for now, I want to make more doodles and maybe comics and fics later, but feel free to ask any questions!

[glitradora]

Here's an AU idea! AU where Castaspella defected instead of Shadow Weaver; and Catra grew up in Brightmoon and Glimmer grew up a Horde Soldier with Adora

send me an AU and i’ll tell you my headcanons for it (2/15)

au masterlist

((I’m so sorry this took so long to do))

((AGES: Castaspella - 15; Micah - 24; Angella - 25; Glimmer - 8 months))

The problem is not that Castaspella has always been in her brother’s shadow.

Micah the promised wizard

Micah who would end the war

Micah who married Princess Angella - immortal daughter of Brightmoon

(whose immortality didn’t even impress Cas that much honestly- she was only a year older than Micah. Apparently, you get called immortal from the get-go. Cas really thought they should at least wait so see if she would live past a normal human.)

((Then again maybe the immortal daughter of Brightmoon was just a fancy title - she looked the type. A special princess and a special wizard. What a perfect couple. It made her want to puke.))

The problem wasn’t even that she was said to be to young to partake in the actual fighting - with all her 15 years of age she was more than ready to show some Horde scum what she was made off

The real problem was that there was no actual way for her to ever beat Micah or for her to learn fighting

All of Mystacor was involved in the fighting by now - all but the students.

Students with no teacher - sounded like bullshit.

She was a glorified babysitter to a bunch of snotty kids who could barely levitate a feather in a windy day.

Even Light Spinner, the best wizard in history, her brother’s teacher and Cas personal idol hadn’t been to Mystacor in months. So much so Cas had managed to break into her room and grab her books with no one even noticing.

It was like being invisible.

And since she was going to live with that whether she wanted to or not she was gonna make the most of it.

So she studied alone

Practiced the spells in the books Light Spinner kept

Read and reread her notes until they made sense

Until she could repeat them in her sleep

Until she was better than Micah.

At some point - after a particularly bad attack on Brightmoon Micah left his newborn daughter with her in Mystacor.

“The safest place on Etheria - and the best apprentice on Mystacor”

Cas thought he was full of shit. But Glimmer, her niece, was perhaps the sweetest baby that ever existed. So she agreed.

From then on everything she did she did with Glimmer - on her lap, hanging from her back or when she got the hang of it, levitating by her side giggling.

She was the greatest company Cas could ask for.

Soon she realized just how powerful Glimmer was. The teleportations started with Glimmer being distraught and crying. Cas had probably taken to long to wake up and go check on her because just as she was getting up from bed an armful of baby was in her lap clinging to her.

It was - an experience to get around

Soon Cas started trying to predict Glimmer’s teleportations. Then trying to make her power stronger.

That is until Micah and Angella found out.

It was a whole thing - from she’s to young to Cas didn’t know what she was doing.

they took all the books.

And worst of all they took Glimmer with them.

And she was alone again

She had to get busy so she started studying the war and horde. If she learned enough maybe Micah would let her at least attend meetings in a year.

So she could get away from these walls.

But it seemed no matter what she did Micah and Angella were still to mad. Just saw a stupid little girl who they didn’t have time for.

The anger and solitude grew inside her, rotting and festering.

By no she no longer remember what was the breaking point - only that one night after a particularly nasty fight with her brother she read about the Horde’s possession of the Black Garnet again. And her mind was made

She quickly packed her things - she would slip out before anyone noticed and make her way there. There was no one on this side she would miss.

Or at least that’s what she told herself - but as she found herself in the woods she knew that wasn’t true.

Glimmer’s face kept haunting her dreams. She had to take her with her.

Breaking into Brightmoon was hard but she was a good enough sorcerer by then

In the room slept two girl - her niece with the fluffy pink her like cotton candy and who would grow up to be her biggest ally. Catra. The youngest heir to the Magicats.

Once she was far away from the castle Cas let her self rest for a second. She could make it to the Frightzone by morning. And then it was a fresh start for her and Glimmer.

19 years later  -  Fright Zone

Glimmer and Adora did everything together as far back as they could both remember.

Adora’s first steps are recorded in a photograph with glimmer’s teleportation shimmers just starting to show up behind her - the next photo has both girls flat on the floor giggling.

In whatever class they would train until they were both equally good at it - spending sometimes twice as long as their teammates perfecting every move.

With Castaspella - glimmer’s aunt - as the keeper of the black garnet they were all the only two students allowed to have a try at magic.

Glimmer was a natural

Adora once burned half of her hair off and has been trying to grow out her bangs since.

Cas still always has a smile for both girls - her girls.

She would never want either of them to feel as she did in childhood - second best. So Adora isn’t great at spells - but her emotional magic is amazing and it’s hard for people not to fall immediately in love with the blonde.

And Glimmer is perhaps as powerful as her father was.

She’s sure Angella still blames her for his death- she tried to stop him but Micah never seemed to listen to his little sister. Much less after the change of side.

But Glimmer grew a happy child despite this - knowing full well her place in Etheria. And wishing to one day take Brightmoon and it’s throne for herself.

19 years later  -  Brightmoon

Catra grew up with a missing piece in her life.

From the moment she could understand anything she knew what had been stolen from her and from her adoptive Brightmoon - and she was determined to have it back.

A princess in blood in her own right she was supposed to form a bond with the Princess Heir of Brightmoon, protect her and advise her. Be her second shadow.

But Princess Glimmer had been stolen from her crib as an infant by the wicked Horde.

And so Catra grew up alone. Wandering the cold walls of the castle. Studying and learning how to fight so she could someday defend Brightmoon and - were she lucky - Glimmer.

The only moments she had contact with other people were at dinner - Queen Angella, her godmother, and Light Spinner, her teacher.

They ate in silence for the most part - a few questions here and there between courses.

Other than that she spoke to Light Spinner in classes and once a month had an afternoon with Queen Angella learning about the war.

Which is a very long way to explain why she was currently climbing down a rope out of her window.

You see the past couple of years Catra had been sneaking out to go the village. Laugh and talk with the kids her age- play a few games in the fair nights or have a drink in the pub.

It’s where she met her best friend - Bow. The best archer in town. The two couldn’t be more different from each other. But they both refused to talk about their past - so they got along. Learned to respect the parts of each other the other kept hidden and cherish the ones they brought to the light.

All was great really - until one-day Catra wanted to explore more of the woods.

She had always look out to them from her room. The room that would have been Glimmers.

Plus Bow had grown up in those woods- knew them better than the back of his hand. What problem could they fun into?

The answer to that? Horde Soldiers.

Two of them too - because her night couldn’t get better.

One of them seemed really focused on this cool sword on the floor and the other was looking around and complaining they should go back. But it was dark and Catra couldn’t quite see either of them.

That is until the sword started to glow - illuminating the blonde girl first and them making Glimmer’s hair shimmer. Pink and purple with glittering like ground up diamonds.

“It’s her” She whispered to Bow who was currently passing through the five stages of grief and mumbling how he should have never have agreed to come here.

“Bow it’s her” she repeated her eyes and smile widening. “Wh-” before he could finish Catra was moving into the clearing

“Princess Glimmer I’ve found you - I’m here to bring you home”

“Who the fuck-”

“Glimmer move”

Before Catra could respond the other- about her hight but instead of skinny she was lean but all muscle - was swinging the sword at her. She jumped back just in time and Bow seemed to get the memo and jumped from the trees.

And at that Catra was focused “Horde Soldier - that’s first one’s tec. Release it. And let the princess go.”

“Who are you calling a princess freak?” Glimmer started to pull out a green electric thing but just as she made to move she was tied up with one of Bow’s rope arrows

Catra gasped “Bow!”

“She was going to kill us!”

“STILL CAN!”

“She’s your princess!”

“Hey, Kitty Kat” The other one was back - seemingly angrier with he developments swinging the sword wildly at Catra.

“Bow protect the princess!”

“Who’s protecting me from her?!” Bow asked his voice cracking slightly as he tried to take Glimmer’s taser from her.

Catra’s not sure how it happens. But after a while Glimmer and the Horde Soldier (who they learned is called Adora) are tied up.

Catra and Bow are just both kinda lying on the floor catching up on their breath for now.

But then Catra sits up exited “Bow can you believe - Queen Angella is going to be so happy. I can’t believe I’m going to be the one to bring Princess Glimmer back”

“How do you even know it’s her?” He asked not moving from her possession.

“Oh- uhm” Right Catra never told him. “I-”

“She’s the Magicat Dimwit” Glimmer replied from her place leaning again a tree - Catra had made sure she was comfortable.

“Wait- really?” Bow asked now his own eyes wide “No way!”

“She has cat ears what do you mean you didn’t know?!” She seemed annoyed. This was not how Catra had hoped to meet her oldest friend.

Bla Bla gigantic bug

Bla Bla Glimmer teleports them to safety from the First One’s ruins.

Bla Bla Adora and Glimmer trust Catra and Bow then - (plus they need to find out what’s up with this She ra business anyways.)

So they find themselves in Brightmoon - just for a little while, they tell themselves. Just until Adora can control her powers, and in the meantime, Glimmer can learn everything about it so she can take it over when they return.

But days become weeks, and weeks become months. And her aunt is great but having a mom is quite nice too.

And Catra grows on her - with her blushing cheeks and honest smile whenever Glimmer pays her attention. 

And the food is much better - which is a plus.

[fannishcodex]

Interesting meta from cruelfeline and others inspired my idea for a role swap AU where the main swap is between Hordak and Adora! There are other character swaps in the AU too, or swap variations.

Hordak is the latest Prim-Al, a living weapon that a First Ones faction clones over and over again each time one perishes in battle. FO created Prim-Al in response to their magitech AI Light Hope going rogue and constructing her own army of androids she calls the She-Ra. 

More under the cut, including Queen Adora, leader of the Etherian Alliance and stranded android still loyal to her creator, and her discovery of a baby Hordak (Content Warnings: ableism; child abuse; Catra is a villain and completes her transformation into a Shadow Weaver-like figure, and the implications of that):

But first, a little more summed up detail on Prim-Al’s deal, because there’s more to it:

-Hordak’s genetic template is a mysterious Subject A. The FO took preserved samples of Subject A to continually make clones of him for Prim-Al. 

-FO also made a digital copy of Subject A’s mind, a magitech AI named Prime. As a digital clone of an organic mind, much of him acts like an organic mind. Though FO has added some heavy programming and other alterations, they’ve tried to leave much of the organic-based behavior intact for multiple reasons--as an ongoing experiment in digital clones of minds, as an attempt to deter another rogue AI by trying to make this AI more aligned with organics (in contrast, RS!Light Hope was generally not based on an individual’s organic mind, she is not a digital clone like RS!Prime).

(Magitech is what it sounds like--a typically powerful fusion of magic and technology.)

-AI Prime is contained in the RS!Sword of Protection, and is actually the key to its power.

-The clones are actually vessels that channel magitech AI Prime through the sword. When a clone holds the sword, they sync with AI Prime inside, and together they essentially fuse and transform into Prim-Al.

-Prim-Al occurs in two stages. The first stage has some boost in power, some physical changes in body and clothes. The last stage has a greater boost in power and more physical changes--aged up (to a certain point), more muscular, longer hair, clothes, etc.

-AI Prime will only grant power to the clones/can only sync with the clones because they share a blood connection to the organic mind he was based on. This reaction is largely rooted in AI Prime’s magitech nature.

-Despite the death of Subject A, FO was able to preserve his mind and DNA to continue weaponizing him via biological and digital cloning. (The reasons for the FO’s focus on Subject A are also classified, though one can infer that Subject A possessed a power FO wanted to preserve and control....)

-AI Prime/the Sword of Protection is passed down through multiple iterations of Prim-Al.

-One of AI Prime’s functions is to also serve as a living archive of information, and so AI Prime remembers every Prim-Al. He is supposed to have this information available for new clone vessels to access.

-The clones do get names, but as they mature FO generally uses them less and refers to them as Prim-Al more. FO generally mistreat Prim-Al/clone vessels/AI Prime, seeing them as just weapons to keep under control.

FO doesn’t create a clone army because they’re honestly paranoid about creating another powerful enemy; they think that just one Prim-Al under selective limitations will grant them better control and avoid another Light Hope debacle. There are other classified reasons for this too. Also a FO faction created Prim-Al; the entirety of FO are embroiled in a civil war among each other as well as the war with Light Hope and other enemies.

The FO also put limitations on AI Prime for similar reasons, and all the more so because he’s an AI--they don’t want AI Prime to be another rogue AI like Light Hope.

Feel like sharing some design/tone notes:

Besides playing around with fusing traits from both Hordak and Horde Prime, I was also influenced by Link and the Master Sword in Breath of the Wild, as well as the Drifter in Hyper Light Drifter.

(Above: Base Form!RS!Adora is partly a drawover of a show image.)

The She-Ra units are magitech androids with a base form and a more powerful form they can transform into. This transformation is rooted in their magitech nature.

Gonna try to keep these notes on the art as more of a summary for now, and may reveal more specific details about the role swap AU later in separate text posts or even just keep it to later fic--also, still brainstorming, so material in the sketches and the text may change later; and also just felt like this art needed more context/clarification/background info:

(Baby!RS!Hordak is supposed to resemble canon!Imp, thanks to fic from/talking with @revasnaslan​. More info on that is below. Also yes, RS!Adora wrapped baby!RS!Hordak in her cape. :3)

FO preferred raising/training/indoctrinating the Prim-Al clone vessels from infancy, thinking this would give them greater control. They also thought it would make Prim-Al feel even more connected to organics and avoid sympathizing with any rogue AI like Light Hope.

RS!Adora finds the alien baby stranded on Etheria due to a wayward portal (like her situation), and she names him “Hordak” based on the little data she gets from the wrecked escape pod she finds him in. The data had only been text that read “Predecessor: Kadroh,” and she just reversed that name for the boy. RS!Adora names him as part of his paperwork, intending to have him sent to the infirmary with the other orphans, she can’t spend anymore time on him.

RS!Adora fought the Prim-Al before Hordak, but never knew his name was Kadroh. She doesn’t immediately see a resemblance between Hordak and Prim-Al because Hordak is a baby and she’s never really thought about Prim-Al being an organic infant before. Another significant thing is that like in @revasnaslan ‘s Where One Fell-verse fic, infants/children of Hordak’s species start completely blue, and then their faces turn white as they mature; also as @revasnaslan pointed out to me, there’s Imp, baby/child-like clone of Hordak without a white face. So RS!Adora slowly starts seeing the resemblance between Hordak and Prim-Al as Hordak’s growing up and his face starts turning white, and she honestly starts internally freaking out because by this point, between having to provide him medical assistance for his defect and having to spend more time with him than intended and watching him grow up more closely than she planned, RS!Adora is attached enough that the implications of Hordak somehow being the latest Prim-Al is distressing for her and provides a serious conflict with her loyalty to RS!Light Hope...

(Also just feel like saying that while I’m brainstorming that RS!Adora is kind of an android that’s been around for a while/like 1000+ years, I’m more in the camp that thinks that canon Hordak is actually quite young/not centuries old, even though he might have the potential for that/he can get that old later.)

There are more details on how baby RS!Hordak ends up on Etheria and the unique situation behind his birth, but that’s for another text post or fic.

RS!Adora passes herself off as an organic (even a native) while on Etheria. One metal arm is left exposed due to a minor glitch there that messes up the regen protocol for her synthetic skin; she pretends it’s just armor mainly for aesthetic/ceremonial purposes. But this is equivalent to a superficial scar, and it does not hinder or cause RS!Adora any great pain. Before Etheria she was considered one of RS!Light Hope’s perfect androids, and a random portal just plucked her from routine combat duty. (Light Hope didn’t really notice; any missing She-Ra units were assumed to be casualties of battle, and she had plenty more She-Ra units to replace any losses.) 

RS!Catra is a commander in RS!Adora’s Etherian Alliance. RS!Adora and RS!Catra have grown estranged while nominally on the same side. (I’ve been brainstorming RS!Adora/RS!Scorpia down the line after quite a few things go down.)

RS!Catra learned magic in Mystacor and RS!Light Spinner was her most influential mentor. RS!Catra’s specialty was transforming into a large predatory feline and other spells to strengthen her body. (I just keep getting more intrigued by original ‘80s Catra.)

When RS!Light Spinner roped RS!Catra into helping her with the Spell of Obtainment, things turned disastrous. The spell backfire warped RS!Catra, scarring her with a shadowy substance and granting her new shadow-like powers that made her vastly stronger, but the abrupt and traumatic change wrought by magic led to an initial period of insatiability and loss of control that resulted in RS!Catra transforming into an even larger, shadow-constructed feline that killed/devoured Light Spinner and other sorcerers investigating the commotion. RS!Catra flees Mystacor after this and eventually gains control over her new power, but grows more corrupt with it too, and is also left with a new hunger. Years later RS!Catra throws her lot in with the Alliance of monarchs and RS!Adora to solidify/take control of Etheria. (At the moment there’s tentatively another complicating factor with the Spell of Obtainment in this AU, but gonna leave that for another post or fic while I spend more time privately brainstorming it first.)

(Also RS!Catra’s design is very much based on her S3 finale corrupted form because I thought that was neat and that it could work in this AU. I also liked the idea of just using shadow magic to wrap around her and transform her into a large predatory shadow feline as a callback of her original ‘80s incarnation.)

Though RS!Adora is at the head of the Etherian Alliance with RS!Catra as her commander and essentially right hand, most of its high command is made of princesses and other monarchs/nobles who wished to tighten their control over Etheria. However, the Scorpion kingdom, Bright Moon, and Dryl resisted this agenda, and the Alliance considered them enemies and part of the rebels.

RS!Catra actually does just drop RS!Hordak off at the infirmary with the other orphans, complying with RS!Adora’s orders. Despite sensing some strong magic from RS!Hordak, RS!Catra’s content to leave him with the other orphans and just keep an eye on him for now.

(The magic RS!Catra’s sensing from RS!Hordak is something that can only be really triggered once he has the Sword of Protection.)

But when Hordak’s around four years old, his body starts breaking down/his defect becomes apparent. Many in the Alliance give up on the boy’s use as a soldier-in-training (or even use as a servant) and consider casting him out, despite RS!Adora’s insistence that they have enough resources to spare on providing the boy with ongoing medical assistance. (RS!Adora is motivated by a variety of things, including honoring Light Hope’s precept that all creatures have a place under her reign (until she orders otherwise); and at this point RS!Adora still feels some connection to her fellow portal traveler stranded on Etheria and feels compelled to try to help in this situation.) It’s then that RS!Catra steps in and takes in RS!Hordak as her ward. She still thinks he has use (she can still sense great magic from him) and sees this as an opportunity to position herself as the boy’s “savior” and really secure his loyalty.

Though the relationship between RS!Adora and RS!Catra is gradually deteriorating, the nature of RS!Catra’s true motives for taking in RS!Hordak is essentially lost on RS!Adora. While largely everyone in the Alliance had spurned the idea of keeping RS!Hordak around any longer now that he was defective--something RS!Adora found rather discouraging--RS!Catra’s the only one other than RS!Adora to express some interest in the boy. In the face of that much rejection, RS!Adora thinks that if RS!Catra wants to take RS!Hordak as her ward, she should have him.

RS!Adora constructs RS!Hordak’s first set of assistive armor. This eventually includes surgery and giving him ports for a closer/better connection to the armor. RS!Adora continues to treat RS!Hordak and maintain his armor, and helps educate him on how it works when he expresses interest in it and science/technology in general.

RS!Catra is not a good adoptive mother to RS!Hordak. She trains him brutally, pushes him as far as his defect will allow, telling him he needs to work harder to make up for his defect and keep up with everyone else. Her harsh words encourage his self-loathing, and she does aim to break him down to keep him compliant. She’s basically partly swapped with Shadow Weaver in this AU (partly since RS!Light Spinner isn’t really swapped, she’s partially in a “what if she was really on the wrong end of the Spell of Obtainment and was killed by its backfire like those Mystacor sorcerers were,” and also “what if Catra was her student at Mystacor instead of Micah.”)

For a long time RS!Hordak believes he deserves RS!Catra’s harsh treatment, and is afraid that she’ll cast him out if he’s not good enough. He’s aware that there’s no one else in the Alliance that would really take him in. He worries that RS!Adora would just withdraw her mercy and assistance if she realized how weak he really was, so he often tries to hide as much of that as he can from her, including signs of RS!Catra’s abusive treatment. RS!Catra sometimes softens with RS!Hordak--for example, she taught him how to drive a skiff and those were calm lessons, with RS!Catra less demanding and less harsh than when she trains him in combat--but she does not provide him with consistent care and continues to emotionally/verbally/mentally/physically abuse him.   

(Above: Definitely referenced a screenshot from the show. Not pictured: Probably RS!Prime losing his shit immediately after this and cursing RS!Catra out and maybe breaking out a recording of one of RS!Adora’s tongue-lashings to unsettle her.)

RS!Catra is furious when RS!Hordak finally runs away in his teens. Her relationship with him has become somewhat less business and more dangerously personal; she has developed a twisted affection for him as her adopted son, and that makes her reactions even more volatile and harsh when he runs away. RS!Catra does not react well to RS!Hordak’s attempts to escape her.

(When RS!Hordak leaves the Etherian Alliance, he’s a little younger than canon!Adora when she leaves the Etherian Horde due to some reasons that’ll be saved for another text post or fic.)

RS!Hordak isn’t used to getting encouragement from an authority figure/older adult, it always startles him whenever it happens.

(Playing around with role swap AU--also felt like having RS!AI Prime be softer than both canon!Light Hope and canon!Horde Prime, and that’s included him being more supportive/encouraging and even more snarky/playful as another sketch comic indicated above [though part of his humor is just like a result of--he’s pretty old, some inhibitions have just dropped over time and he’s seen quite a few things just repeat over and over, and part of his response to that is to sometimes act more flippant].)

While previous Prim-Al have had some slight variations in appearance depending on the individual clone vessel’s clothing/scars/etc., Hordak’s Prim-Al transformation is the most drastically different. All of his older clone-brothers have had white hair and yellow eyes, and so their Prim-Al transformations have had long white hair and one yellow eye, while the rest turned green and gained visible pupils. Hordak has blue hair and red eyes, and so his Prim-Al transformation reflects that more--the red eye stays, and Prim-Al now has blue hair with a few streaks of white. He has clothes with a primary color scheme of black-and-red instead of black-and-white. Hordak’s Prim-Al is slightly shorter than previous Prim-Al. Hordak’s Prim-Al has more armor, since they shield his defect--which Prim-Al now has since Hordak has it. Due to this, Hordak’s Prim-Al, while gaining a significant boost in power/etc., is typically not as strong as his brothers’ Prim-Al transformations. (However, Hordak’s determination and tolerance for pain is regularly equal to his older brothers’ own determination and tolerance for pain.)

Though the defect remains, the use of AI Prime to trigger the Prim-Al transformation again provides greater power. It also does have some effect on appearance and structure. A closer examination of Prim-Al should show this: Prim-Al looks more like someone recently scarred/mutilated/afflicted with a defect, rather than someone who’s grown up with it. And so, though defective, Prim-Al’s arms look less withered and retain more muscle, and generally look better than Hordak’s usual arms. (And again, they still have a magitech boost going on.)

While FO did program AI Prime to have some regard for the clone vessels, he started caring more than they had planned. AI Prime grew to genuinely care for every clone vessel for Prim-Al, and saw them more as brothers. This now includes Hordak. And though he values his brothers and means well, AI Prime’s cynicism and (remnant) programming can sometimes get in the way of his attempts to help. His own deep-seated trauma can be a factor too. 

With every new clone, AI Prime initially tries to distance himself to avoid further pain, because he grieves the loss of every clone--but he ultimately always admits to seeing them as brothers. (With his long life and the FO and Light Hope and other external factors trapping him in this cycle, AI Prime somewhat copes by comparing the whole thing to the passing of seasons. He’ll be passed down to a new clone-brother, he’ll try to resist caring about the clone-brother, he’ll grow to care about the clone-brother anyway, clone-brother dies, he’s alone until the next clone-brother comes, and then the whole thing starts again.) 

Though AI Prime is a digital clone of Subject A’s mind, he doesn’t have complete access to his mental template’s memories due to FO intervention. The FO also did not tell AI Prime everything.

Yep the LUVD crystal is there, RS!Entrapta should be another sketch post or fic. She’s gone from like the oldest princess to the youngest princess in this AU, and is around the same age as RS!Hordak.

Thanks for checking this out, hope you enjoyed this AU! Hope to have more about this up later.

Forgot to add: Yep RS!Kadroh is that Kadroh, he’s RS!Wrong Hordak in this AU.