Fanfic / Hegemony

Hegemony is a She-Ra and the Princesses of Power fanfic by TeaWithNyarlathotep. It is set in a Mirror Universe setting in which the Rebellion of the canon series is instead the Princess Hegemony, a slaving, despotic empire ruled by Empress Angella and her Hegemonic Council, composed primarily of Princesses. They are opposed by the Horde, led by Lord Hordak. It focuses primarily on four protagonists: Catra, Adora, Bow, and Hordak.

In the alternate universe in which the fic takes place, Adora and Catra go on a mission to find the Sword of Power, a weapon that will supposedly transform its rightful wielder, someone with pure First Ones blood, into the legendary "She-Ra." When Adora turns out to be the She-Ra and defects, Catra takes it upon herself to retrieve Adora and claim leadership of the Horde for herself to ensure her safety. Meanwhile, Bow and his beloved Glimmer begin a conspiracy among the Hegemonic Council, and Hordak puts in action a plot which he believes will eradicate the Hegemony.

Be warned, this page contains unmarked spoilers for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

On May 16, 2021, Hegemony was officially announced to be ending at Chapter 12, with a plan for how things would have gone had it not been cancelled.

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Tropes in Hegemony include:

• Adaptational Heroism: While the Horde is still plenty villainous, the entire basis of the fic is that it's A Lighter Shade of Black compared to the Hegemony, a light you'd never see presented in the series, which instead focused on it as an example of Being Evil Sucks.
• Adaptation Expansion:
  • The story delves more into the First Ones, with more of their culture exposed to the audience and the eventual revelation that they're Eternians.
  • The foundation of the Horde and the Fright Zone is given some explanation, since Hordak killed their king and took over by force. Similarly, it's actually explained what happened to Scorpia's people in this version, that being that they left the Fright Zone after Hordak's rule. Similarly, Shadow Weaver explains in her narration that the Fright Zone was initially a Wretched Hive under Hordak's domination and it took quite a bit of time to get going.
  • Etheria is populated by so many species because the First Ones used the planet as a galactic trading hub.
  • Horde Prime is given a backstory in this version, namely that he was a scientific experiment by Hordak's people, who annihilated them for his mistreatment, and he ultimately wanted to be loved... so he decided to Mind Rape as many people as he could to force them to worship him as a god. Hordak calls him on the fact this doesn't justify anything he did.
• Adaptational Villainy:
  • The basis of the entire setting is the idea that the Rebellion and Princess Alliance, forces for good in the show, are worse than the Horde of the show. This includes classism, Fantastic Racism, and Angella playing the role of a mad empress rather than The High Queen. That said, this is a Downplayed Trope for most of the Hegemonic Council, as they are primarily composed of Anti-Villain characters who share traits with their canon counterparts.
  • The entire concept of She-Ra is this— while in canon, the Sword of Protection was a good, heroic thing for the most part, the Sword of Power is a corrupting force. Notably, it also didn't serve that role in its source material either.
• Age Lift:
  • Bow, Adora, Catra, and every Princess not counting Netossa and Spinnerella (Or Frosta, who remains a child) are nineteen years old, as opposed to the original where their ages ranged from 17-18 when the show started.
  • Castaspella is Micah's elder sister, instead of his younger sister.
• Alternate Continuity: Well, duh, but it bears mention as well that there's a serious deviation the original Princesses of Power only went so far to imply: The characters in the rest of Masters of the Universe exist in this continuity too, and they themselves are entirely new interpretations of the characters.
• Ambition Is Evil: A recurring theme throughout the story is characters seeking power and finding themselves turning to villainy because of it. This includes Adora and Shadow Weaver most notably, but all of Catra's worst deeds are due to her ambition.
• Arc Words: "Cruel to Be Kind" pop up in a number of contexts, ranging from Adora talking about the Hegemony to Hordak deciding to conquer Etheria independently of Prime.
• Author Appeal:
  • Considering The Trial of Hordak, previous work of TeaWithNyarlathotep, has every chapter titled after a quote from John Milton's Paradise Lost, it's no surprise that Hegemony also features a lot of references to the epic poem and doubles down on the idea of Hordak as a Satanic Archetype.
  • Hegemony focuses on Hordak and Catra cooperating, bonding, and understanding each other, which directly opposes their relationship from canon. The Trial of Hordak features Catra standing up in Hordak's defense and its bonus chapter focuses its second half entirely on a conversation between the two. Overall, their works clearly have a lot of emphasis on Hordak and Catra getting along, and being all the more effective for it.
  • Elaborate schemes and gambits are a constant in Hegemony, which TeaWithNyarlathotep often brings up on their Tumblr account. They're clearly a fan of scheming.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Bow specifically calls out the geodites as an example of Awesome, but Impractical. As he notes, they're very much style over substance creations, being shiny and scary to look at, not to mention having mass production capability, but going down very easily.
• Batman Gambit:
  • Catra chains herself with the prisoners in the Sea Wall in Chapter 9 in hopes that it'll show the Horde cares about them and convince them to help her escape. It works.
  • Bow pre-emptively takes an antidote in the eleventh chapter because he's predicted that Double Trouble will use tranquilizers on the Hegemonic Council. He then pursues them and talks them into working with him on his plan, knowing that their obsession with acting will mean they won't say no. Notably, its end result actually benefits both parties.
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: Chapter 12 features Hordak and Horde Prime showing down in one participant's mindscape. Hordak wins with his willpower.
• Being Evil Sucks: Being a member of the Hegemonic Council comes with a lot of luxuries, but it also means you work directly under Empress Angella, who is unforgiving and unhinged. Multiple characters stress extensively over the fact they have to be on the Hegemonic Council, with one even initially refusing the offer despite its luxuries.
• Bittersweet Ending: For both the Hegemony and the Horde, thanks to the story's Cut Short nature.
  • More "sweet" on the Horde's side, as Hordak has gone through Character Development, rejected Prime, and developed into a more caring ruler, and the war is evening out. On the other hand, however, Hordak has only become more of a Well-Intentioned Extremist who hopes to conquer Etheria even more and do the dirty work from the shadows, with the only hope in the future being Catra's eventual reign. Catra in particular ends with mixed feelings on the events; she's proud of what the Horde has become, but admits that Hordak's attempt to conquer Etheria will only hurt him more and feeds into his martyr complex... which reminds her of Adora.
  • Much, much more bitter on the Hegemony side, even though later edits retconned the final chapter to favor them slightly more. Any dream of unity they had is falling apart, Bow is revealed to be extremely self-serving and even deranged by faking Light Hope's murder, deceiving Adora, the traitor hasn't yet been caught, Angella remains in power, and Adora has decided she's willing to kill in order to get revenge for Light Hope's murder. The Hegemony remains as corrupt as ever and little has changed, but there's a slight bit of hope in the knowledge that Light Hope is actually alive, the Princesses seem to be coming together, and all this somehow figures into Bow's grand plan to put Glimmer on them throne... provided he's not lying about that too.
• Bloodier and Gorier: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, being aimed at children, was never especially violent. Hegemony on the other hand, while not ultraviolent, definitely features scenes of far greater violence than the show, particularly the death of Huntara, which has a hole blown through a named character's abdomen, and Adora's vision, in which the First One crushes Hordak's head just barely out of view.
• Breather Episode: After the very heavy Chapter 9, which was mostly serious, Chapter 10's Hegemony plotline is almost entirely Played for Laughs. That isn't to say it's entirely breezy, though, as Hordak's flashback and Catra's breakdown are both quite dark, and two major events occur, those being Hordak telling Catra that she is next in line for the throne of the Horde, and The Reveal that Da'el T'ermoil is Double Trouble in disguise.
• Canon Welding: Hegemony turns out to be an Alternate Continuity not only to Princesss of Power, but Masters of the Universe on the whole.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: In-Universe, Double Trouble notes in narration that their identity was clear to anyone paying attention. They are just fine with this.
• Central Theme: Love, both of the powerful and evil sort, and how complex love can be. There are few characters in the story who are not motivated by loving or being loved, with both the worst and best deeds of the series often committed out of love. Characters such as Hordak and Shadow Weaver have love as their sole redeeming traits, whereas for characters like Angella, Adora, and later Bow the twisting of love motivates them to their worst deeds. TeaWithNyarlathotep explicitly calls it "a story of love" on Tumblr.
• Child Soldier: Both sides utilize child soldiers, but the Horde at least attempts to claim the moral high ground by only training and indoctrinating its cadets for battle rather than directly sending them to fight until they're in their late teens.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Both the Horde and the Hegemony have this among their biggest flaws. They're both made up of people who will betray one another to seize power, which Kyle calls out with both.
• Choosing Neutrality: Dryl remains neutral in the war, as Entrapta feels that neither side fundamentally understands what she cares about and what would benefit her kingdom.
• Crapsaccharine World: On an initial glance, the Hegemony is a nice place to live, filled with culture, education, shining spires, and a well-functioning economy. However, looking even a little deeper shows that it's actual a dystopia in which magically-inclined people are forced into service, prison labor is heavily practiced for reasons nobody knows, and you might end up enslaved for just showing dissent. That said, it's still clearly appealing to some people.
• Crossover: After some hinting, Chapter 12 reveals that the First Ones are in fact Eternians, and that Hegemony is a Mirror Universe of MOTU as a whole, not just Princesses of Power.
• Cut Short: The fic concludes at Chapter 12 of an originally planned 30 chapters, with its arcs incomplete.
• Cyborg: Octavia is mentioned to have received a robotic eye after Catra ripped it out.
• Darker and Edgier: She-Ra was willing to get into some tough subjects by the standards of a children's show, but Hegemony treats the war much more seriously than its source material does, with brutal violence, prison labor, and death. Hegemony features an Evil Versus Evil main conflict, three of its four protagonists can be considered antiheroes at best, with Hordak being a flat-out Villain Protagonist, and its depictions of the show's heroes is filled with Adaptational Villainy.
• Decadent Court: The Hegemonic Council is composed of Princesses, many of whom have their own plans or motives. This gets invoked on them when Kyle defects, and a traitor shows up among them. They're all suspicious of one another to deduce who the traitor is.
• Divide and Conquer: Double Trouble's strategy to beat the Hegemony is to turn them all against one another utilizing their Chronic Backstabbing Disorder and paranoia, which will thin them out.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • The Horde is often associated with the color red and themes of equality, with "red dawn" being used as a phrase, drawing imagery comparing the Horde and Communist revolutionaries.
  • Adora suffers from visions of her harming her friends that she doesn't want and experiences sadistic impulses that she hates in herself. This is very reminiscent of intrusive thoughts or schizophrenia.
  • Shadow Weaver attempts to coax Hordak, in a particular moment of vulnerability and longing, into letting him heal her with her dark magic to get an advantage over him. While she makes some progress, she is rejected the moment she insults Entrapta. The scene is only a little subtle about the subtext of the situation, almost treating it as though she is directly attempting to seduce him.
  "Yes, come to me, Lord Hordak. Take what you want. Let your pain be eased through my power. Forget your troubles, if only for now."
  • The Hegemony is a massive empire that keeps prisoners at work in their mines, directly drawing parallels to Greco-Roman Empires, and has a massive, ancient library akin to the Library of Alexandria.
  • Angella points out how handsome Bow is before asking if he's betraying her due to his love for Glimmer, acting for all the world like a jealous woman clinging to a man she's attracted to despite their massive age and power difference.
  • Catra points out that, when it comes down to it, both Angella and Hordak are essentially engaging in religious crusades.
  • Rather than going to Glimmer's room every night, Bow often instead goes to Angella's chambers, something Adora mentally notes. While the reader knows that he's actually just Playing Both Sides in her conflict with Glimmer and serves as Angella's top advisor, the imagery, when combined with Angella's envious responses to Bow's relationship with Glimmer, resembles infidelity.
• Empire with a Dark Secret:
  • The fate of King Micah is the Hegemony's biggest dark secret, as his death is a primary motivator to keep the war with the Horde going. Early chapters build rumor that everyone thinks that Empress Angella killed him off, which would qualify on its own, but the truth is more complicated. Angella shows Adora evidence that shows that Shadow Weaver killed him with the Spell of Obtainment, but she was forced to lie about it to provoke the masses into war against the Horde. It worked, but Angella is miserable about it and it's played a role in her descent into madness.
  • The Hegemony is secretly answering to a member of the First Ones, as is Adora after a certain amount of time.
• Evil Versus Evil:
  • The conflict between the Hegemony and the Horde is framed this way. While the Horde is a more rebellious faction and Hordak is more benevolent than Angella, it's made explicitly clear that both sides are ruthless and have their share of vile actions to account for.
  • In the past, King Hiss attempted to take revenge on the Hegemony against Hordak's orders, which included enslaving their people. Hordak killed him in response.
  • Hordak ends up facing down against Horde Prime despite being completely evil himself. That said, it's very hard not to side with him, considering he's dealing with a world-conquering, genocidal, narcissistic monster. While Hordak's goals certainly aren't good, it's made quite clear that if Hordak loses, Prime is going to destroy everyone we know and reshape Etheria to his own image.
• Eye Scream:
  • Catra scratched out Octavia's eye when she was a child. Octavia doesn't really have hard feelings over it.
  • Catra intends to scratch out Sea Hawk's eye due to her trauma over Huntara's death being triggered by Sea Hawk mentioning the rules against killing.
• Formula with a Twist: The basic premise of the story is that it's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power with its standard High Fantasy plotline, except the Princess Alliance (Typically the "good guys" in a high fantasy plotline) are just as bad as, if not worse than, their competition.
• A Lighter Shade of Gray: The Horde's still bad in the fic, but they remain mostly at the level they were at in canon, which is standard cartoon villainy; they're a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits that use child soldiers and fear tactics in their war with the Hegemony, but Hordak is A Father to His Men as opposed to Angella's top tactic being You Have Failed Me, the Horde doesn't practice slavery, (At least not directly, though Catra compares their use of indoctrination to slavery.) and the Horde rewards ambition rather than punishes it. Overall, while neither party is good, it's clear that the Horde is a much better option for Etheria.
• Gambit Pileup: By Chapter 9, the fic has whatever Hordak's plan is, Adora plotting to take the throne of the Hegemony, Bow's multiple plans, which include him scheming alongside Adora, Glimmer, and Empress Angella, the mysterious Da'el T'ermoil who's truly plotting something, and a traitor among the Hegemonic Council that they're using Kyle to sniff out. The pileup only goes further when we learn that each and every Princess has their own individual plan to work their way up in the Hegemony, and learn that Hordak is seeking a successor to the Horde.
• Golem: The Hegemony's foot soldiers are geodites, crystalline automatons that feel nothing and follow orders. They were originally flat-out called golems, until their name was altered due to being potentially insensitive, but functionally they remain golems.
• Gray-and-Grey Morality: The Hegemony is composed mostly of antivillains and antiheroes. While it's the worst, the Horde is little better, as we're repeatedly shown that Pragmatic Villainy is the sole reason Hordak isn't exactly like his canon counterpart in the razing villages and committing brutality department.
• The Great Wall: A massive wall called the Sea Wall expands around the entire ocean, encapsulating most of Etheria.
• Humongous Mecha: Dryl is guarded by the Colossi, two massive robotic behemoths that function on their own.
• In Spite of a Nail: Entrapta theorizes that their own Mirror Universe timeline is one where the First Ones beat Horde Prime instead of losing, but where Etheria still ended up in Despondos.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: It's clear that you're supposed to read this fic after watching the entirety of She-Ra, as it gives away plot points like Shadow Weaver's true appearance, the existence of Horde Prime, Hordak and Entrapta's romance, and Etheria being trapped in another dimension with absolute nonchalance.
• Merchandise-Driven: Played for Laughs in Chapter 10. Bow notes that, thanks to him making a licensing deal to get She-Ra put on Mer-Mystery products, he received a free copy of their mystery party game, which is why they're doing their team-building exercise in the first place.
• Mirror Universe: The fic's setting is a dark mirror of the Etheria presented in She-Ra itself.
• Mook Horror Show: Chapter 7 features Hordak delivering a Curb-Stomp Battle to an entire comm tower of mages, as they increasingly become more horrified.
• The Multiverse: Entrapta eventually manages to deduce the existence of the multiverse, and even her own timeline's status as a Mirror Universe, theorizing that the divergence point was the First Ones somehow beating Horde Prime, but with Etheria still arriving in Despondos despite that.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The Sword of Power is directly named after the weapon from Masters of the Universe. However, unlike there, it is a corrupting force, and also turns its wielder into She-Ra rather than He-Man.
  • The First One, upon arrival, makes two declarations that are directly quoting the character of Skeletor from other entries in the franchise, the former being from the film and the latter from the comics. The latter is paraphrased from one of Skeletor's Multiversal Conqueror versions, which lines up very well with the First One's goal to cross dimensions and conquer Etheria.
  "Yes, you will! You will, or I shall wreak unforgettable harm upon you!"
  "The end is coming, and there is no going back. If I cannot rule Etheria, I will slay it."
• Off with His Head!: Hordak eventually decapitates Horde Prime. It doesn't kill him since they're in Hordak's mind, but it incapacitates him.
• Non-Lethal Warfare: There's a strict rule against killing, so each side uses non-lethal means of combat.
• Out-Gambitted: Pulled on Double Trouble of all people. They successfully manage to Divide and Conquer the Hegemonic Council, only revealing themself once the situation has resolved and they've already placed a sleeping poison in their food. While it initially seems they've won and will get away scot-free, Bow turns out to have preemptively taken an antidote, knowing their game. From there they're coerced into surrender.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Perfuma has Tung Lashor put on a sundew (A plant that slowly melts anything caught in it) but this happens due to him murdering Huntara in cold blood so it's hard to feel bad.
• Protagonist Journey to Villain: The early chapters serve as this for Adora, depicting how she starts as a good person who wants the best and becomes a Well-Intentioned Extremist who, while still possessing some morality, wants to take over Etheria for herself and will go through anyone to get it.
• Red Herring: The fic initially drops several hints that Empress Angella probably killed King Micah, between it being rumored, the fact Bow mentions she could very well atomize him without a trace, and multiple characters commenting on the improbability of such a powerful mage being killed by non-lethal artillery. Eventually, Adora straightforwardly asks Angella what happened, to which the Empress provides visual proof that Micah was killed by the Spell of Obtainment.
• Religious Horror:
  • Angella and the Hegemony on the whole have significant aspects of religion melded into their evil ways.
  • Hordak very much plays the opposite direction, being a Satanic Archetype. That said, there's much less horror, as Hordak is A Lighter Shade of Black.
  • Hordak's clash with Horde Prime has this in spades. Prime's godlike nature, Hordak's extreme religious trauma, and the sheer evil of not only knowing your divine figure, but discovering they're completely vile, is the most played-up part of the encounter. Ultimately, it becomes a Satanic Archetype against an evil God.
• Retcon:
  • In the first chapter, Ergokineas originally went unnamed, supposedly known to nobody; this was referenced in a later chapter. After revisions, Ergokineas is named and all comment on its name went away.
  • In the last chapter, Bow originally killed Light Hope. The author admitted that this was always intended to be altered on Tumblr, and that he'd secretly downloaded her, but after some revision this is stated outright in the chapter.
  • The last chapter also adds in The Reveal that Double Trouble not only returned to the palace, but disguised themself as Glimmer.
• The Reveal:
  • The Micah subplot comes to a close with the revelation that Shadow Weaver killed him and her superiors forced Angella to lie about it, which played a role in her current maddened state.
  • The reason this is a Mirror Universe is, according to Entrapta, because this timeline is one in which Horde Prime and the Galactic Horde lost to the First Ones.
  • The Hegemony is actually ruled by a First One, and Angella is merely a Puppet Queen.
  • On a smaller-scale end of things, the unassuming yet eccentric chef Da'el T'ermoil is actually Double Trouble, working for the Horde and playing the Hegemony against each other. Chapter 12. [[Retcon, post-revision]], also expresses that Double Trouble is now disguised as Glimmer, with the real Glimmer's fate unknown.
  • Not only is the Hegemony actually ruled by a First One, the First Ones are Eternians, and the one who rules is Prince Keldor.
• Secret Test of Character: Hordak tests Catra by removing the power crystal from his own chest, giving Catra a perfect opportunity to betray him, all the while he has robots at the ready to protect him. Catra passes, although not without considering betraying him, and Hordak makes her his successor to the Horde's leadership.
• Shout-Out:
  • The first chapter's title, "Mirror, Mirror" is a reference to the Star Trek episode of the same name, which the fic is a Whole-Plot Reference to.
  • While attempting to be in disguise, Catra states she is Princess Journalia, a Princess with a journal that she kills people with.
  • Chapter 4 is titled "Be Arisen," which refers to a quote from Paradise Lost.
  • When discussing a Xanatos Gambit, Bow states that "we've still got the edge," referencing a particularly memorable quote from the trope namer David Xanatos.
  • Hordak calls his robot army "technological terrors," which is no doubt a reference to A New Hope.
  • Entrapta's robotic butler is named Lurch after the one from The Addams Family.
  • When talking about The Multiverse and the various alternate timelines, Entrapta makes a reference to a simulated timeline where Catra becomes She-Ra.
  • Chapter 10 repeatedly mentions a book called Remains of Paradise, the contents of which focus on Hordak as a fallen angel with a split personality, riffing on both Paradise Lost and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
  • In a particularly over-the-top moment in Chapter 10, Bow exclaims "You're not dealing with the average arbalest anymore!"
  • In Chapter 10, the revelation that Bow is the "murderer" in the murder mystery plays out very similarly to the reveal that Light Yagami is Kira from Death Note, complete with the participants going Laughing Mad while delivering the reveal.
  • Hordak's flashback in Chapter 10 features a reference to Hordak turning into a snake as punishment for his crimes, a reference to Satan's fate in Paradise Lost.
  • Chapter 11 has Shadow Weaver note that the Horde's Wretched Hive days had a zydrate dealer in their midst.
  • Twice in Chapter 12 does Hordak reference "the benevolence of my/our iron will."
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: A decidedly ineffective example. Lonnie gives Hordak a lengthy speech about how she hates his Visionary Villain tendencies, culminating in a trade of barbs in which she tells him to go to hell. Hordak isn't bothered by this whatsoever.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: In Chapter 11, Lonnie gives Hordak a brutal speech noting that she understands him and sees him as a villain who's endangering Etheria. Hordak is barely even fazed by this, leading to a trade of barbs between the two.
  Lonnie: All due respect, I wasn't afraid of you until I thought we might actually win. Now I kind of dread the thought.
  Hordak: Interesting. I repeat my query.
  Lonnie: Thank you for the promotion. Go to hell, Lord Hordak.
• Take Over the World:
  • Hordak and Angella are open about how their goal is complete domination of Etheria.
  • Adora decides that she has to do this to keep Etheria safe. Unlike the others, Adora tends to keep quiet about it.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: The war's biggest rule is that neither side can kill the other. However, the Hegemony is more than willing to apply some Loophole Abuse to this one, as seen when the technically unaligned Tung Lashor kills Huntara. Hordak suggested the rule to minimize casualties, and it's frequently discussed among characters as the only reason the war isn't as bad as it could be.
• Villain Protagonist:
  • Hordak frequently takes center stage in the story, with it having his point of view at times, despite him having no pretensions of heroism.
  • Bow actively serves the Hegemonic Council, and unlike Adora doesn't have many heroic traits to balance it out. That said, he's Affably Evil.
  • Adora slowly develops into a Villain Protagonist as the story goes on, going from a generally good person who happens to join the Hegemony to a Well-Intentioned Extremist. She completes her transformation after meeting the First One and realizing that she needs to present Etheria to him as a gift or he'll kill Catra.
• Wham Episode: Chapter 12, which is easily the longest chapter in the fic, with over 37,000 words to itself. The chapter focuses on Hordak's visit with Horde Prime, culminating in a Battle Of The Center Of The Mind that leads Hordak to claiming his own dream. The sequences with the Hegemony feature other major game-changers: Bow has a Villainous Breakdown that causes him to commit arson and murder Light Hope in the process, Adora decides to seek revenge against Light Hope's killer, unknowing that it's Bow (Who's faked it), and Double Trouble has returned to the palace. Meanwhile, the sequences in the Fright Zone reveal that the First Ones are Eternians, their leader is Prince Keldor, and he killed Adam. The story is more chaotic than ever by this point. And then it ended.
• Whole-Plot Reference:
  • The fic's premise is clearly inspired by Star Trek's mirror universe episodes, particularly "Mirror, Mirror" and Deep Space Nine's "Crossover".
  • Chapter 10, Murmurs of a Murder Mer-Mystery, is very clearly paying homage to the She-Ra episode "Mer-Mysteries", right from the title alone. That said, while the mystery is real in the episode, the mystery is a fake team-building exercise in Hegemony, although both involve the Mer-Mystery novels and heavily feature Double Trouble playing people against one another.
• Wretched Hive: As Shadow Weaver notes, the initial state of the Horde was horrid; it naturally attracted criminals with no dedication to the cause and Hordak could barely manage it. Eventually, she and Hordak managed to fix the place up and, by the time of the present story, it's the militaristic hellscape we know from canon.
• Xanatos Gambit: Bow and Hordak both prove to use this sort of plan.
  • Bow uses the meeting with Entrapta as an opportunity to plant a kill switch in her technology, which will make Dryl easier to take when the time comes. If she sides with them, he has no need to use the switch; if not, he's got a weapon to use against her. He explicitly paints the result as this.
  "The trick is to never leave failure as a possibility. Ensure that for every loss, you gain something in turn. We came away from today with new information, an ability which could disable Dryl's entire network, and we have tested She-Ra's skill. I'd say we've still got the edge."
  • Hordak raids a Hegemony communications tower in Snows, hams up announcing his new goal of sacking the Kingdom of Snows, tests his soldiers' loyalty, averts the enemy's gaze to Snows, and tests his own newfound battle prowess thanks to his Powered Armor all in one mission.
  • Bow makes use of another one in Chapter 10. While the murder mystery game doesn't turn up evidence of who the traitor is, he analyzes the fact that Light Hope's footage went out, which allows him to substantially narrow the list of suspects.
  • In the tenth chapter, Hordak displays another of these, mixed with a Secret Test of Character. Hordak deliberately fakes a spasm and removes the power crystal from his chest to test Catra. If she doesn't betray him, he appoints her heir to the Horde. If she does, he has robots to defend him, meaning he'll take the crystal back one way or another. Fortunately, she doesn't betray him.
  • The entire idea behind Hordak choosing Catra, a hero to the Horde, as his successor, has elements of this. The Horde doesn't like him, which means he not only has an heir but an heir they do like. This leaves him with the Horde in good hands even if he should perish or be incapacitated. In addition, he makes it clear that he's got contingencies for even if he succeeds entirely, planning to enforce Catra's regime after he conquers the world, doing the things she won't.
• Written by the Winners: Invoked heavily by Prince Keldor. Much of Etherian culture is formed around the spoiler character's aspirations and views on things. Among the most notable cases is Adam & Teela, an opera which depicts the eponymous characters in a tragically negative light, with Teela betraying Adam. The reality is that Keldor tortured information out of Teela, then killed Adam before having Teela executed.
• Xanatos Speed Chess:
  • It's made quite clear that Bow is playing a constant game of this, but the most impressive example he displays is when, after Hordak's comm tower Xanatos Gambit, he deduces not only that the Horde isn't going to sack Snows like they claim, he deduces their actual exact targets as well. By looking at an unrelated Galactic Horde painting.
  • It takes only a chapter for Hordak to restructure his entire vision from the ground up, going from eliminating the Hegemony, conquering Etheria, and delivering it to Horde Prime to conquering the entirety of Etheria and making a new, democratic regime.
• You Have Failed Me: Empress Angella has to be dissuaded from exiling Princess Frosta to Beast Island over a screwup she could have done nothing about. While she's talked down, she then goes on a rampage, threatening to exile various people. Bow ends up worried that she may have executed her barber.
• Zero-Approval Gambit: The endgame of Hordak's plan. He fully intends to, lose or win, have Catra take charge of his new order and use his already known evil to let his successor raise morale.

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