#Unfortunately Catra was too dead at the time to tease her for it.

[ace-and-ranty]

"Did you just jump into fire for me," asks Adora, she who broke both legs jumping off a cliff after Catra.

#SPOP #She-Ra #Unfortunately Catra was too dead at the time to tease her for it.

[johannas-motivational-insults]

Demons Plot Synopsis: Arc 1

Some chapters are more plot heavy and/or emotionally intricate than others and have much longer summaries, as I’ve tried to include the most relevant information to follow the plot and character/relationship growth.

Notable flashbacks are summarized in italics after the main chapter plot, including the character’s approximate age at the time. (The Horde doesn’t do birthdays, so they all change “age” at the same time regardless of actual birth date, but it’s not like Adora or Catra know their real birth dates anyway.)

Spoilers for Demons ahead!

Arc 1: chapters 1-6 (How Catra ends up locked up in Bright Moon)

Chapter 1: Unmasked (a.k.a. My mostly accurate prediction of Catra/SW’s season 2 dynamic)

Catra is woken by nightmares the morning after the Battle of Bright Moon and decides to visit their source: Shadow Weaver. She goes to the prison seeking validation and answers about why she was treated the way she was, but Shadow Weaver simply antagonizes her. She mocks Catra’s need for validation and her attachment to Adora, predicts she will fail quickly as second-in-command, and tells her she’s weak. Catra decides to show some strength by repaying some of her childhood abuse in the form of a beating.

Chapter 2: Shreds (a.k.a. Scorpia is best bug)

When the revenge beating fails to make Catra feel any better, she goes to the gym to release some energy and emotion. Scorpia finds Catra on the verge of a breakdown and suggests they move to the boxing ring, but unfortunately her attempts at camaraderie accidentally trigger some trauma responses. She tries to assure Catra that she would never hurt her like Adora did, but this only makes Catra feel worse as she realizes she’s using Scorpia and Entrapta and that she’s not the good person Adora thinks she is.

[6 y/o] Shadow Weaver draws out the prelude to a beating, blaming Catra for bringing this upon herself but assuring her too sweetly that it’s for her own good.

[4 y/o] A terrified Catra apologizes desperately to Shadow Weaver as she drags her to the prison by her ear, promising to be good. Shadow Weaver asks if she wants to be punished for lying as well, says there’s not a shred of goodness in her.

Chapter 3: (Not) My Fault (a.k.a. Adora, honey, please stop)

Meanwhile, Adora is in a great deal of pain after the scratches Catra gave her in the battle become badly infected. When Glimmer and Bow’s arguments that she needs to rest fail to convince her, Glimmer enlists the help of Queen Angella, who orders Adora back to her room. This causes a fight between Adora and Glimmer that turns nasty when Glimmer refers to Catra as an animal and Adora rebukes her language, which to Glimmer feels like Adora defending the person who attacked her home. Adora blames herself for the attack because Shadow Weaver always made her feel like Catra’s actions were her fault, and Glimmer and Bow try to convince her otherwise and urge her to prioritize herself for a change.

[15 y/o] Adora approaches Shadow Weaver about Catra’s strange, withdrawn behavior after she was sent away to train with senior cadets for several days and came back covered in bruises. Shadow Weaver says Catra deserves what she got and chides Adora for allowing Catra to become a distraction. Adora tries to get answers out of Catra, but Catra continues to hold her at a distance. Adora concludes that this is her fault because she kissed Catra in secret earlier that week and Catra must not be interested in her.

Chapter 4: Discipline (a.k.a. Ding dong, the witch is dead)

Back in the Fright Zone, Hordak attempts to bond with Catra and urges her to use her resentment to drive herself but to be disciplined in how she expresses it. Hordak sentences Shadow Weaver to death and sends Catra to the prison to collect her, prompting one final showdown between the two.

Shadow Weaver tells Catra this won’t make her feel any better and Catra assures her it isn’t about revenge, and if it was she’d be getting tortured. Shadow Weaver laughs at that assertion and tells Catra she only did what she needed to to teach her how to behave, and that Catra as second-in-command will soon have to do the same. Catra swears she will never be like her, but Shadow Weaver manages to make her snap and scratch her across the face. Catra storms out, faced with a new realization that Shadow Weaver manipulated her into pushing Adora away so Adora would believe Catra was disgusted by the kiss.

In the throne room, the Force Captains attend the execution and Hordak is disappointed by the fresh scratches on Shadow Weaver’s face. Catra is conflicted, torn between sympathy for Shadow Weaver and a thirst for revenge, but in the end Shadow Weaver’s death gives her no satisfaction, just as predicted.

[15 y/o] After finding out about the kiss, Shadow Weaver assaults Catra and threatens to send her away if she allows any more advances from Adora. It turns out Catra wasn’t training with senior cadets, as Adora was told, but locked up in the prison.

Chapter 5: Dislikeable (a.k.a. Superpal Trio fluff for the soul)

Days later, Catra continues to suffer from nightmares and seeks solace in the Superpal Trio. A careless remark by Scorpia and lack of tact from Entrapta cause her to lash out, but she apologizes to keep them on her side and appease her own guilt. They attempt to comfort Catra, which she pretends not to like, but end up overwhelming her with too much touch.

Scorpia interrogates Catra in private until she admits she’s restless because she knows now that there was a huge misunderstanding between her and Adora and thinks maybe if Adora had known how she’d felt she wouldn’t have left. Scorpia suggests Catra go to Bright Moon to tell Adora, clear the air and throw her off her game at the same time. Catra says that’s a dumb idea and teases Scorpia for her budding affections for Entrapta.

[9 y/o] Shadow Weaver grudgingly patches Catra up after a fight and berates her for causing trouble even though she didn’t start it. Shadow Weaver tells Catra she brings this upon herself by being so dislikeable and that even Adora doesn’t want to be friends with her, she just feels sorry for her.

Chapter 6: Vulnerability (a.k.a. Shit hits the fan)

Catra returns to Bright Moon the next night, a mere week after the battle. She attempts to sneak into the castle but is apprehended by Glimmer, who takes her to Adora because she thinks Adora needs closure. Adora convinces a reluctant Glimmer to leave her and Catra alone so they can talk. Catra reveals that Shadow Weaver is dead and Entrapta is alive, shocking Adora and sparking a fight about Adora’s betrayal in Thaymor and her failure to protect innocent people in the past, Catra in particular.

Catra is angered when Adora seems saddened by Shadow Weaver’s death, claiming Adora has no idea what Shadow Weaver did to her, and Adora agrees but says that’s Catra’s fault for never telling her. So Catra tells Adora what Shadow Weaver did to her after she kissed her and also admits she would have kissed Adora back if she could have. Adora is surprised Catra wanted her and Catra tells her what Shadow Weaver said before her death, that that was by design.

Adora tries to rightfully deflect blame for what happened to Catra back to Shadow Weaver, which pisses Catra off. She also reveals that she knew things were unfair but she felt powerless to stop it other than by overcompensating and sucking up to Shadow Weaver. Catra explains that that made her feel like Adora thought she deserved the abuse, which horrifies Adora. Catra accuses Adora of giving up on her after she defected and Adora realizes she might be right.

Catra realizes she’s reduced Adora to a puddle of guilt but doesn’t actually like it, so she attempts to comfort her. They share a mournful, desperate kiss that spirals out of control. They both lose their shirts, Catra quietly apologizing for the wounds on Adora’s back. To accommodate said wounds, Adora puts Catra on her back and starts lavishing her with kisses, but allowing such intimate touch from and ceding control to this person who hurt her sends Catra into a panic attack and she has to stop.

Glimmer teleports into the room just as they share another tender kiss, blinding them with a sparkle bomb so guards can rush in and arrest Catra. Glimmer defends her decision to Adora, saying she has to protect her kingdom. Adora tells Glimmer she’s selfish and a bad friend and threatens to never forgive her if any more harm comes to Catra. Glimmer says Catra probably deserved her past torture and Adora punches her in the face. Glimmer teleports away and Adora breaks down, realizing she’s hurt and alienated both her best friends.

#demons plot synopsis #spop #catradora #fanfic #demons #child abuse #writing #catra and shadow weaver #adora and shadow weaver #anti shadow weaver #some people shouldn't need an anti tag but here we are

[marvelsassbutts]

Silences

   Link on AO3!

     It’s strange having to get used to peace. To a quiet hallway, a filling dinner. A hand resting in your own. More than anything though, it’s strange having to get used to a bed; specifically the comfort of one.

    Sleep was never a comforting experience for Catra though. If anything, sleep was a moment between rage and chaos, plagued by its own grueling nightmares. Sleep, in her experience, did not guarantee peace. Sleep was another thing to get used to.

    Catra stretches out over the bed for the tenth time in the past few minutes, back on a downward slope, knees tucked beneath her, and her claws tearing up a different section of the comforter. She curls her body in on itself and shuts her eyes, afraid that if she keeps them open she will actually see herself sinking into the mattress which would only further her aggravation and, by default, her inability to go to sleep.

    “This is ridiculous,” she grumbles as she sits up for the eleventh time that night. “Stupid bed in stupid Bright Moon.” Catra picks up a pillow and slams it down on the mattress. As she goes about “fluffing” it each word is punctuated with a punch. “Stupid! Princess! Comfort!” Catra throws her body down, landing face down on the pillow, and screams. “What’s the point?”

    When Catra sits up again it comes with a purpose. A purpose to find comfort and if that cannot be achieved then to at least go somewhere to complain about it. So, naturally, her purpose forms into leaving her bedroom to make the short trip across the hall to Adora’s.

    When she steps out of her room she’s hit immediately by the silence of the corridors. No distant sounds of dripping water from loose pipes, no slamming steel doors as soldiers make their nightly patrol. No shadows hissing just inches from her ears and consuming her into the darkness of an unfortunate night.

    There’s only the peaceful kind of silence.

    And Catra’s not used to it.

    She scampers across the small distance between her door and Adora’s and opens it carefully, thankful for Bright Moon’s interior upkeep that prevents any sort of creaking that would have been customary in the Fright Zone, and shuts it behind her once inside, her full body against it as she cranes her neck to see Adora sleeping in her bed, her body almost entirely consumed by the mattress.

    “Adora,” Catra whispers and takes a step forward when she doesn't move. “Hey, Adora,” she whispers again, this time letting her voice sound a little stronger. Again, Adora doesn’t move and Catra walks more fully into the room, her eyes ignoring the leftover battle plans and breakdowns tacked to the walls as they remain trained only on Adora.

    Catra stands over Adora and leans forward. “Adora…. Adora, wake up.” Adora continues to sleep or continues to be dead seeing as both would make sense for how much she was moving. “Adora, get up,” Catra demands, no longer interested in waking her up with a kind voice. Catra leans forward more and shakes Adora’s body once…twice…seventeen times. “Adora, come on!” Catra moves to place her knee on Adora’s bed and lifts the rest of her body with it. As soon as Adora sinks (more than she already has) her body shoots up and her hand swipes a strike across Catra’s face.

    Catra shrieks and jumps back to the foot of Adora’s bed, her hand cradling the side of her face.

    “Catra? Catra! Ooo! Ooo! I’m sorry!”

    “What was that for?!”

    “I’m still a little jumpy from everything! I couldn’t tell if it was you or a clone or-”

    “And slapping is the best defense you can think of?!” Catra snarls as she rubs against the side of her face. “You can say six words and become basically invincible but you chose to slap me?”

    “It got you to back off didn’t it?”

    Catra groans to herself and tucks her legs up against her body, her tail wrapping itself around them as the end of it flicks back and forth. Sitting in her brooding state, Catra notices the unmistakable feeling of her body sinking into the plush around her. She grumbles unintelligibly and crosses her arms.

    This bed is just as bad as the last one.

    The bed dips again, not from Catra’s weight, but from the movement of someone else’s as Adora crawls her way over to Catra and places a hand on the side of her face that had recently been slapped.

    Alright, maybe not just as bad.

    Adora squints, using the lone glow of the moonlight to inspect the slightly rumpled fur on Catra’s left cheek. Adora brushes a thumb over it and sweeps her view from the reddened spot to Catra’s eyes and back again. “I’m sorry, Catra,” she leans forward and kisses the spot and Catra’s nerves come to life with the sensation. Oh right, she thinks as her tail ceases its flicking and instead wraps itself lightly around Adora’s lowered wrist, we can do that now.

    Catra smiles and leans forward enough to rest her forehead against Adora’s. “It’s fine. I’ve gotten worse from you before, right?”

    Catra can feel Adora’s eyebrows furrow against her forehead.

    When Adora pulls back Catra frowns at the loss of contact. Her tail loses its grip on Adora’s wrist and she’s left feeling horribly alone. Isolated once again from the one person that holds her happiness and responsible for depriving that same person of her own happiness. Catra can’t ignore the way Adora’s shoulders have slumped forward and how her eyes have moved slowly down from looking into Catra’s, to staring at her cheek, to going over each inch of her body that suffered injury from her, to finally resting on her own hands which were open and limp in her lap.

    Catra’s ears flatten at the sight of Adora’s upset.

    “I’m sorry-”

    “It’s okay, Catra,” Adora interjects and Catra wants to believe it’s true but the sad, almost forced smile that Adora tries to push onto her face makes Catra understand that it’s not. That her words sliced a lot deeper than she intended them to and she was at a loss for what to do next.

    The silence between them stretches on for a millenia, maybe two, and the whole time Catra’s eyes stay fixed on her tail and the lack of its encircling around anything.

    “What are you doing up so late?” Catra looks up and sees Adora’s sadness has been replaced with concern and she uses it as an opportunity. Catra crawls across the mattress, across the distance between them and buries her head in Adora’s chest. Adora adjusts her body as the rest of Catra makes its way over. She opens her legs and moves her arms out of the way to allow for the rest of Catra’s body to be compact and comfortable between her thighs. Catra sits in that position for a moment, a beat long enough to give the rest of her apology, to let Adora know that she knows that she’s safe with her. That her body, her essence, her aura, her everything is a home now. A haven.

    Adora raises her hands to Catra’s head and scratches behind her ears.

    “My bed’s too soft,” Catra mumbles into Adora’s chest and is rewarded with the sound and feeling of Adora’s laughter.

    “Yeah, it’s the worst,” she says and lets a hand slip down to Catra’s neck. “I had that same problem when I got here.”

    Catra pulls back to look Adora in the eyes. She’ll later tell herself it was to make sure Adora wasn’t lying for her sake; anything to avoid admitting she just missed Adora’s eyes. She’s not used to being allowed to miss things like that. Not yet. “Really?”

    “Mmhm. Bed too soft, no one at the foot of it to keep my feet warm.”

    Catra’s ears perk up at the confession and her lips tug themselves into a small, embarrassed smile.

    “You’re blushing.”

    “I am not!” Catra defends but still lowers her head to Adora’s shoulder to avoid having her face looked at anymore.

    Adora laughs again, this one sounding more childlike and teasing. She knows she has the upperhand and with one quiet snort the laugh starts bordering on a giggle. She sits up again and looks Adora in her eyes.

    “You missed that, huh?”

    Adora grins. “Just on the especially cold nights.” The admission of only sometimes missing Catra causes her to frown and pull back from Adora. “Every other night I wanted you up here.”

    Adora lays down, pulling Catra with her so that her body ends up on top of hers, her head tucked under her chin.

    Catra blushes again but allows for it because she knows Adora can’t see it.

    “You can sleep here. I’m not as soft as the bed.”

    “No kidding,” Catra responds as her tail skirts itself over one of Adora’s biceps before wrapping itself around it. She laughs when Adora flexes and moves her tail under her nose until she giggles and swats it away to let it return to its position around her arm.

    “Get some sleep, Catra,” Adora whispers and presses another kiss to the top of her head. “You have years to make up for.”

    “Try not to trash around too much, Princess, I don’t wanna go flying.”

    Adora snorts,“You’d better hang on.”

    Catra smiles and does the best she can to wrap her arms around Adora’s body.

    Adora wraps her own around Catra and mumbles an, “I got you,” into her hair. Only a minute later her words are replaced by soft snores and Catra is left alone with the room and its silence.

    The kind of silence that is underscored by the sound of a heartbeat and the steady vibrato of a purr. The kind that comes from being body to body, skin to skin, heart to heart with someone you love. Someone you’ve waited for. Someone you’ll have forever with.

    The peaceful kind of silence.

#the way in which catradora got me to start writing again #ugh lesbians #catra x adora #she-ra #she-ra and the princesses of power #catradora #catradora fic #fluff woohoo!