parts-of-spop

[parts-of-spop]

Wrong blog but still this is funny won’t happen again my bad

absolutely brilliant

#regardless of all else because I do not do politics #‘HE’S STILL FUCKING THERE’ is unobjectively hilarious #but yeah UK politics are a shitshow lbr

[parts-of-spop]

Can you write about catra and adora getting a baby (not finn)?

“Could we do it?”

Catra blinks slowly awake at the sound of the whisper and tilts her head upwards towards Adora. She’s currently tucked against her warm shoulder and thus very reluctant to move much further.

“Do what?” She mumbles.

Then she sleepily processes Adora’s stricken face and she’s suddenly much more awake.

“Adora?” She adds nervously and after a moment, Adora looks down at her, eyes flickering across her face like she’s searching for something.

“Sorry… thinking aloud,” She says gently, hand raising to stroke a lock of wayward hair out of Catra’s face, her touch lingering against her cheek.

“Tell me what you were thinking,” Catra presses, voice soft enough to not be demanding and Adora holds her gaze. She hesitates for a moment; uncertain and yet wanting.

She swallows hard then looks away, her brow furrowing.

“Could we…” She starts and Catra waits patiently, rubbing her cheek against her in silent encouragement and Adora sighs softly, “… Could we have kids of our own?”

Catra freezes.

Against her, she feels Adora suck in a breath and hold it.

She lifts her head up, leaning on an elbow to look down at her.

“What?” She whispers coaxingly and Adora squirms, glancing away before giving a tiny shrug.

“I just-… I was just thinking about it,” She says hesitantly and Catra blinks down at her then turns her gaze to the side as she processes the question.

Kids… Kids of their own…

“How come?” She asks after a minute.

It’s a safe question; one safe enough to buy her a bit of time to process it.

She looks back to find Adora chewing on her bottom lip and Adora’s hand idly slides up into her hair and starts stroking, drawing reflexive purrs from her chest.

There’s a moment of quiet as Adora thinks, searching for the right words because these days she’s so much more cautious.

Usually in regards to battles but she extends it to the important things and where Adora has learned patience so has Catra.

So she waits.

Eventually, Adora meets her eyes again.

Something in her slackens like she was waiting for the worst sort of response and Catra can’t feel hurt by it because this isn’t something menial like Catra’s insistence that full fat milk is better than the 2 percent that Adora prefers in her tea.

This is important and Adora was nervous because it’s talk of kids.

“I saw you yesterday… at the orphanage…” She says quietly and Catra is thrown back to it.

Nobody more than herself was as surprised as she was that the kids loved her. She’d put it down to many things. The youngest there had enjoyed snuggling in her lap and stroking her fur, the older toddlers had fun chasing her around the room- the ones like herself had a time trying to catch her tail- and the older ones had found her retelling of stories enrapturing, gathering around her once the rest had conked out for a nap just to listen to her talk.

She even did some pretty bad voice impressions of all the characters of the history that she holds close to her heart, the display full of dramatic gestures that were enough to have them laughing.

And somehow, they’d all loved it.

She’d spent the entire afternoon entertaining over a dozen kids as Adora talked to the lady in charge of the orphanage about a possible expansion to the building for those who lost their parents in the war.

At first, Catra wasn’t sure what to do. She’s never had a good parental figure to model herself off but before long she realised that the kids weren’t looking at her like some monster that could hurt them and she could see bits of herself and Adora in each of them; the lizard-like girl who reminded of her of Rogelio was quiet and shy until they got to the more exciting parts of the story and she got up and pretended to be the Big Bad Prime, proudly parading the snootiest voice that she could manage that had made Catra laugh too. There was the small but rambunctious boy who practically flung himself onto Catra’s back as she pretended to stalk an enemy of all fours, cackling loudly as they wandered the room. And a little brunette was there too, tucked into the back of the group, hugging her knees and Catra was drawn to her… to the warm earth brown of her eyes. So she’d gently untangled herself from the rest and left them to play before going to her and sitting quietly beside her, watching the rest for a little while, carefully watching the tension in the little figure bleed away by the moment.

Then she leaned over and whispered, “Don’t you think Adora’s a big dork?”

Wide eyes had whipped to her and she’d grinned.

“That’s She-ra! You can’t say that!” Came the affronted whisper and she laughed before reaching out to carefully- ever so carefully and slowly- stroke a lock of hair back behind her ear.

“She’s my girlfriend. I can call her a dork if I want,” She replied and the girl had giggled, tucking her face into her knees to hide it.

Catra learned later that the girl, named Tally, had lost her parents only a few months previous… that it was the first time she’d laughed since.

It’d taken everything in Catra not to cry at the time.

And now Adora is there, laying with her in their shared bed having revealed that she saw it and it made her think of them… Them with kids.

“Yeah?” She says as she turns her gaze back to Adora.

“I mean… there’s no rush to-… or even to ever if you don’t want but I just-… I saw you with them and I was thinking about- eugh I’m so bad at this-”

“Adora,” Catra interrupts gently and Adora looks at her with soft, uncertain eyes. She smiles back at her.

Adora may never be good at asking for what she wants but Catra’s very good at reading between the lines these days, no longer suspecting the worst from a woman she knows loves and trusts her.

“Why are you scared of asking about us having kids?” She says carefully.

She knows her own insecurities about the idea.

They all begin with Shadow Weaver and them not knowing what a good mother is like.

“I just-… You’re so great with them and I… I want that with you. I want to give somebody or… or somebodies what we never had and… and I don’t know if I’d be any good at it because I know I’m kind of over-protective and neurotic and it can be annoying but despite… despite Shadow Weaver being the worst role model I think we turned out okay and maybe we can do better. I mean, we can do better. I know we can if we wanted to so that’s… that’s what I’m asking…” Adora pauses in her ramble, looking at Catra like she’s hung the stars. “Do you want to… maybe… adopt? Maybe?” She adds quietly.

And Catra spends a moment taking in the soft hopefulness in Adora’s eyes and she thinks of the hours spent in the orphanage and realising she is so much better than Shadow Weaver ever treated them.

A smile spread across her face and purr rumbles in her chest as she leans down to tuck her face into Adora’s neck, breathing in her familiar, soothing scent.

“If you think we can do it then I’m with you… There’s a little girl I’d like to see again,” She says softly and Adora sags beneath her with a contented sigh.

“The brown-haired one?” She quips knowingly and Catra nuzzles into her.

“She’s been hurt a lot… I think we could make her happy,” She says and Adora strokes her hand through short, unruly locks and Catra feels her grin against her cheek.

“Me too,” She agrees.

And so it happens.

It doesn’t take long thanks to She-ra’s influence and pure, unbridled Queen Glimmer power but within a few months the deed is done. They’d been fostering Tally the entire time and the quiet girl had steadily become more and more open as the days passed.

She was like a steadily blooming flower.

She has her own room in the cottage that Adora and Catra share but their door and hers is always open through the night and when she wakes in a dark of night, Catra’s sharp ears pick up her tears and quiet whimpers and she goes to her. She carries her back to her and Adora’s room and finds her wife waiting with open arms and Tally never hesitates to clamber into Adora’s lap and sink into her embrace, her ear pressed over her heart to hear the strong and steady thud within.

She-ra, for whatever reason, runs hot and so Tally always cuddles close into the warmth… then Adora will sing in soft whispers and rub soothing circles into her ear between her thumb and finger and Catra will tuck close to them both and let a gentle rumble of her own join Tally stuttering chorus.

And they will sleep like that; a pair of purrs and a set of soft snores.

And four months later, Tally starts to tentatively pad her way into their room by herself, clambering in between them like there’s no safer place in the world and they both curl around her and hold her gentle but secure.

Five months after her adoption, she whispers into the darkness…

“You won’t leave me too… right?” She says, her voice shaking and Adora and Catra share a teary-eyed look over her head.

Then Catra kisses her head.

“No… You’re stuck with us,” She replies and Tally sniffles.

“… You promise?” She croaks and their arms tighten around her.

“We promise…” Adora murmurs.

“Always…” Catra adds, soft but fierce.

And the little girl falls asleep, cradled between them both.

That night, nothing haunts her and she wakes in the morning with a smile on her face.

She could wake Adora and Catra she knows… but she doesn’t.

Instead she snuggles into Adora’s chest and holds Catra’s hand a little tighter.

She’s home again.

#your tags mean a lot to me #I hope you’re doing okay #take care of yourself #and try to be happy #hmu if you need some more softness

[parts-of-spop]

Can you write about catra and adora getting a baby (not finn)?

“Could we do it?”

Catra blinks slowly awake at the sound of the whisper and tilts her head upwards towards Adora. She’s currently tucked against her warm shoulder and thus very reluctant to move much further.

“Do what?” She mumbles.

Then she sleepily processes Adora’s stricken face and she’s suddenly much more awake.

“Adora?” She adds nervously and after a moment, Adora looks down at her, eyes flickering across her face like she’s searching for something.

“Sorry… thinking aloud,” She says gently, hand raising to stroke a lock of wayward hair out of Catra’s face, her touch lingering against her cheek.

“Tell me what you were thinking,” Catra presses, voice soft enough to not be demanding and Adora holds her gaze. She hesitates for a moment; uncertain and yet wanting.

She swallows hard then looks away, her brow furrowing.

“Could we…” She starts and Catra waits patiently, rubbing her cheek against her in silent encouragement and Adora sighs softly, “… Could we have kids of our own?”

Catra freezes.

Against her, she feels Adora suck in a breath and hold it.

She lifts her head up, leaning on an elbow to look down at her.

“What?” She whispers coaxingly and Adora squirms, glancing away before giving a tiny shrug.

“I just-… I was just thinking about it,” She says hesitantly and Catra blinks down at her then turns her gaze to the side as she processes the question.

Kids… Kids of their own…

“How come?” She asks after a minute.

It’s a safe question; one safe enough to buy her a bit of time to process it.

She looks back to find Adora chewing on her bottom lip and Adora’s hand idly slides up into her hair and starts stroking, drawing reflexive purrs from her chest.

There’s a moment of quiet as Adora thinks, searching for the right words because these days she’s so much more cautious.

Usually in regards to battles but she extends it to the important things and where Adora has learned patience so has Catra.

So she waits.

Eventually, Adora meets her eyes again.

Something in her slackens like she was waiting for the worst sort of response and Catra can’t feel hurt by it because this isn’t something menial like Catra’s insistence that full fat milk is better than the 2 percent that Adora prefers in her tea.

This is important and Adora was nervous because it’s talk of kids.

“I saw you yesterday… at the orphanage…” She says quietly and Catra is thrown back to it.

Nobody more than herself was as surprised as she was that the kids loved her. She’d put it down to many things. The youngest there had enjoyed snuggling in her lap and stroking her fur, the older toddlers had fun chasing her around the room- the ones like herself had a time trying to catch her tail- and the older ones had found her retelling of stories enrapturing, gathering around her once the rest had conked out for a nap just to listen to her talk.

She even did some pretty bad voice impressions of all the characters of the history that she holds close to her heart, the display full of dramatic gestures that were enough to have them laughing.

And somehow, they’d all loved it.

She’d spent the entire afternoon entertaining over a dozen kids as Adora talked to the lady in charge of the orphanage about a possible expansion to the building for those who lost their parents in the war.

At first, Catra wasn’t sure what to do. She’s never had a good parental figure to model herself off but before long she realised that the kids weren’t looking at her like some monster that could hurt them and she could see bits of herself and Adora in each of them; the lizard-like girl who reminded of her of Rogelio was quiet and shy until they got to the more exciting parts of the story and she got up and pretended to be the Big Bad Prime, proudly parading the snootiest voice that she could manage that had made Catra laugh too. There was the small but rambunctious boy who practically flung himself onto Catra’s back as she pretended to stalk an enemy of all fours, cackling loudly as they wandered the room. And a little brunette was there too, tucked into the back of the group, hugging her knees and Catra was drawn to her… to the warm earth brown of her eyes. So she’d gently untangled herself from the rest and left them to play before going to her and sitting quietly beside her, watching the rest for a little while, carefully watching the tension in the little figure bleed away by the moment.

Then she leaned over and whispered, “Don’t you think Adora’s a big dork?”

Wide eyes had whipped to her and she’d grinned.

“That’s She-ra! You can’t say that!” Came the affronted whisper and she laughed before reaching out to carefully- ever so carefully and slowly- stroke a lock of hair back behind her ear.

“She’s my girlfriend. I can call her a dork if I want,” She replied and the girl had giggled, tucking her face into her knees to hide it.

Catra learned later that the girl, named Tally, had lost her parents only a few months previous… that it was the first time she’d laughed since.

It’d taken everything in Catra not to cry at the time.

And now Adora is there, laying with her in their shared bed having revealed that she saw it and it made her think of them… Them with kids.

“Yeah?” She says as she turns her gaze back to Adora.

“I mean… there’s no rush to-… or even to ever if you don’t want but I just-… I saw you with them and I was thinking about- eugh I’m so bad at this-”

“Adora,” Catra interrupts gently and Adora looks at her with soft, uncertain eyes. She smiles back at her.

Adora may never be good at asking for what she wants but Catra’s very good at reading between the lines these days, no longer suspecting the worst from a woman she knows loves and trusts her.

“Why are you scared of asking about us having kids?” She says carefully.

She knows her own insecurities about the idea.

They all begin with Shadow Weaver and them not knowing what a good mother is like.

“I just-… You’re so great with them and I… I want that with you. I want to give somebody or… or somebodies what we never had and… and I don’t know if I’d be any good at it because I know I’m kind of over-protective and neurotic and it can be annoying but despite… despite Shadow Weaver being the worst role model I think we turned out okay and maybe we can do better. I mean, we can do better. I know we can if we wanted to so that’s… that’s what I’m asking…” Adora pauses in her ramble, looking at Catra like she’s hung the stars. “Do you want to… maybe… adopt? Maybe?” She adds quietly.

And Catra spends a moment taking in the soft hopefulness in Adora’s eyes and she thinks of the hours spent in the orphanage and realising she is so much better than Shadow Weaver ever treated them.

A smile spread across her face and purr rumbles in her chest as she leans down to tuck her face into Adora’s neck, breathing in her familiar, soothing scent.

“If you think we can do it then I’m with you… There’s a little girl I’d like to see again,” She says softly and Adora sags beneath her with a contented sigh.

“The brown-haired one?” She quips knowingly and Catra nuzzles into her.

“She’s been hurt a lot… I think we could make her happy,” She says and Adora strokes her hand through short, unruly locks and Catra feels her grin against her cheek.

“Me too,” She agrees.

And so it happens.

It doesn’t take long thanks to She-ra’s influence and pure, unbridled Queen Glimmer power but within a few months the deed is done. They’d been fostering Tally the entire time and the quiet girl had steadily become more and more open as the days passed.

She was like a steadily blooming flower.

She has her own room in the cottage that Adora and Catra share but their door and hers is always open through the night and when she wakes in the dark of night, Catra’s sharp ears pick up her tears and quiet whimpers and she goes to her. She carries her back to her and Adora’s room and finds her wife waiting with open arms and Tally never hesitates to clamber into Adora’s lap and sink into her embrace, her ear pressed over her heart to hear the strong and steady thud within.

She-ra, for whatever reason, runs hot and so Tally always cuddles close into the warmth… then Adora will sing in soft whispers and rub soothing circles into her ear between her thumb and finger and Catra will tuck close to them both and let a gentle rumble of her own join Tally stuttering chorus.

And they will sleep like that; a pair of purrs and a set of soft snores.

And four months later, Tally starts to tentatively pad her way into their room by herself, clambering in between them like there’s no safer place in the world and they both curl around her and hold her gentle but secure.

Five months after her adoption, she whispers into the darkness…

“You won’t leave me too… right?” She says, her voice shaking and Adora and Catra share a teary-eyed look over her head.

Then Catra kisses her head.

“No… You’re stuck with us,” She replies and Tally sniffles.

“… You promise?” She croaks and their arms tighten around her.

“We promise…” Adora murmurs.

“Always…” Catra adds, soft but fierce.

And the little girl falls asleep, cradled between them both.

That night, nothing haunts her and she wakes in the morning with a smile on her face.

She could wake Adora and Catra she knows… but she doesn’t.

Instead she snuggles into Adora’s chest and holds Catra’s hand a little tighter.

She’s home again.

#sorry this took so long i had.. life #anyway the name is just one i love a lot #catradora #also love the idea of catra being mad good with kids #apologies again op but wow did everything kick me in the ass

[parts-of-spop]

A gentle morning...

A soft morning snippet of reflection and love

“Do you ever miss her?”

Catra blinks out her sleepy doze to find Adora’s face mere inches from her own.

She gazes back at her for a moment, taking in the soft lines of pale scars that line her skin despite the power of She-ra in her bones.

“Hm?” She grunts back softly and she waits with the kind of patience she never had when she was too young to realise there was a better option… that she had time to spare and nothing would come along to punish her for it.

“… Shadow Weaver,” Adora whispers, like her name is a secret. Not like something sacred but something dangerous as if that maybe if she said it too loud it might burn her tongue.

Catra is suddenly much more awake.

“Do you?” She replies just as quiet and after a long moment Adora raises her hand between them -they often sleep face-to-face so the other is the first thing they see- and she gently brushes the back of her finger over Catra’s cheek like she’s something precious… like she’s something worth keeping.

“I asked first,” She says softly.

Sometimes questions like that can feel like an interrogation, like the asker is waiting for her to slip up and say the wrong thing but this is Adora so Catra manages to wrangle back the reflexive urge to cringe from her touch and her words.

Instead, she gives a tired sigh and leans into the gentle touch on her face.

“Sometimes,” She admits as her eyes slip shut and the quiet drags on for so long she starts to worry she said the wrong thing.

But then she opens her eyes and Adora is looking at her with the tenderest of smiles.

Her heart swells in her chest so much it almost aches.

Then Adora leans in and presses a soft kiss to her lips.

It’s brief and almost achingly sweet.

“Do you wish she were still here?” She whispers like it’s a secret.

And after a long moment, Catra reaches back and kisses her in tern just the same.

“No… because then I’d never have this,” She says gently and she feels Adora’s small smile against her skin as she tucks herself into Catra’s neck and simply breathes for a moment.

“Yeah,” She agrees, pressing even closer in the warm comfort of Brightmoon’s night. “… Is it bad that I don’t care that she’s gone?”

Catra remains quiet, taking in the words and thinking through everything that Perfuma has spent hours upon hours talking her through.

‘You deserve happiness, Catra… and the people that hurt you do not deserve your suffering’.

“No…” She murmurs as she gently strokes her hand through Adora’s hair, claws safely sheathed and touch soft, “She didn’t earn it…”

And after another long moment of quiet, Adora exhales shakily and nods into her.

“Yeah…” She says as she hugs Catra only a little tighter.

She always does that.

She holds Catra like she’s something she could break and she could if she wanted to. She’s got a goddess built into her bones and she’s always careful not to squeeze too tight, never too suffocating and always giving Catra the space to escape if she needs it.

Sometimes she needs that… A moment to find the space to breathe alone and find her footing.

But not then…

Not in this quiet moment in their shared room where nothing and no one is out to get them.

Catra can hear the birds start to rouse outside their window with their soft chirps and the distant sounds of the kitchen staff as they start to prepare breakfast.

Those are safe and muffled sounds that are steadily becoming ones of comfort.

“I love you…” She whispers and she feels Adora smile against her once more.

“I love you,” Adora replies, almost like clockwork and one day soon Catra is certain that she’ll come to expect it without a trace of fear it may not be said.

Not just yet. But every day she smiles back and it’s a little easier to believe.

“I love you…” She says again, “So much.” And when Adora tilts her head to kiss her again then the ghosts of the rancid feeling of undeserving feel a little duller.

She’s certain too that the rising sun shines a little brighter too.

#catradora #shadow weaver mention #it's soft so don't fear the SW tag I just got a specific urge #also hello yes I am back #fluff #with minor angst I guess??

[parts-of-spop]

Hey folks, I am still alive btw just going through some things but if you have any prompts or ideas etc then do send them via ask and I will do my best to get to them and write a little something. I’ve fallen out of it due to the ‘some things’ but please don’t hesitate to offer some ideas if you like.

Much love as always,

- the one who writes the parts

#catradora #spop #I will write most ships but catradora is my main so don’t be put off by the tag there #the one who writes the parts #not parts #towrtp update

[parts-of-spop]

PSA that I still am loving SPoP but my mental and physical health is shot to heck so I'm struggling. I was pretty violently ill for 3 weeks and basically could not eat or drink during that time so I went to urgent care then the hospital and I'm doing better now but I'm still in the recovery stage so I'm not writing much. I'm slowly getting better but I'm tired a lot (probably my anxiety meds) but I AM getting better... slowly. In the mean time I will try to update snippets for older fics if I can find anything worth sharing.

Much love as always, - the one who writes the parts

#the one who writes the parts #towrtp update #not writing

[parts-of-spop]

In which the Portal changes things a bit...

Part 10/? AU in which Catra switched with another version of herself when she pulled the lever and it has some unexpected consequences… The main one being that Adora isn’t so nice… until she is. But the fight isn’t over... and Adora is struggling... A lot...

Adora holds Glimmer's wary gaze for a long moment in which Catra can feel herself start to sweat with her building anxiety, her fur sticking to her skin. Gross. She scratches at the damp and itchy fur on the back of her neck. Then Adora is striding forward, shoulders squared and head held high and she doesn't blink as the princess squad tense around her warily, eyes on Glimmer the entire time. She plants herself in front of her... then sinks to a knee, bowing her head and pressing the knuckles of her right fist to the ground, her other hand resting on her knee. "I humbly offer my complete and unconditional surrender to you, Queen Glimmer... I will willingly concede to any punishment you see fit," She says, voice steady and calm and acceptant. Catra grimaces, eyes flicking to Glimmer, panicked and pleading. Don't hurt her. She's hurting enough. Glimmer, for her part, looks bewildered. "I... I'm not going to punish you, Adora," She says haltingly, glancing to Catra with a small reassuring smile. Adora tenses, her head lifting slowly to look up at the Queen. "I... I don't understand, your highness. I have... I have committed atrocities to your people. You are well within your right to... to have me locked away for the rest of my life, to have me tortured until death or even immediately executed!" She rambles frantically and Catra inches nearer slowly, pained at the broken plea in her voice. Punish me for this, it says, I deserve to be punished. Glimmer looks a mix of disturbed and completely horrified. A quick glance around the room shows the sentiment is shared even with the tougher eggs to crack. "We... We don't do that here, Adora... We're not going to hurt you," Glimmer says with a gentle shake of her head and Adora is shaking. She doesn't understand. She can't understand this kindness. "I... I haven't earned your mercy!" She protests, her voice cracking and then Catra is sinking down beside her and she flinches a tad on reflex only to relax immediately when she realises who it is. "Adora... you don't have to earn it," Catra murmurs gently and she raises a hand to stroke the back of her finger down Adora's cheek, tracing the scar there. "Nobody's gonna hurt you..." "I-... I did terrible things. Things I can't take back. It's not right for me to just-" "Adora," Glimmer interjects and she looks up hastily; fearful but so accepting of an impending hurt. Glimmer bobs down in front of her on the balls of her feet, leaning on her staff. Then she smiles sadly. "I am the Queen... and when I say we aren't going to punish you, I mean it. Nobody in this room wants to see you suffering, Adora..." She says, voice firm but warm and Catra finds herself internally reeling at how messed up it was for her to hate her. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. "You've been hurting a long time... haven't you?" She adds, softly questioning as her head tilts slightly with her inquiry and Adora swallows hard. "I... I was punished... for my failures. It was just-" "Adora..." Glimmer interrupt again, not unkind but pleading and Adora falters, lips moving soundlessly for a moment. "Shadow Weaver, she-... I disappointed her. I wasn't strong enough and... and I kept making stupid mistakes..." She trails off and then her head is hanging in shame, her eyes clenching shut, fingers so tight around her own knee that her knuckles turn white. Catra stares at her, mute with horror as she realises just what made Adora turn out so broken. She suffered the same abuse I did... She took it all... Maybe worse judging by the scars. "Adora you... you never said," Catra whispers shakily and Adora's jaw clenches. "I had to protect you. It kept you safe… that was all I cared about," She replies firmly and Catra has the sudden urge to throw up. No wonder she has a complex... Shit. "Adora, that's..." She trails off before she can say it but Adora hears it anyway. Crazy. She goes rigid with tension and Catra immediately wishes she could take it back as Adora growls at her, blue eyes flashing to look at her. "Crazy?" She grumbles

through her teeth and Catra winces. "That's because I am fucking crazy! Do you know how many times over the years I've snapped and someone has called me that?! Do you have any idea for how long the only thing keeping me somewhat sane was you?!" Catra hastily waves Glimmer back from intervening when Adora abruptly grabs her by the front of her shirt, pulling her closer roughly to sneer into her face. But Catra isn't worried; she knows Adora is just frustrated and scared and that she feels cornered when surrounded by all these people she was fighting just a few days ago. Besides that, Adora's words are tearing her heart to pieces. Man, she could smack her other self across the face for being so blind to everything... for letting Adora hurt so much and doing nothing. "Hey... Hey easy, I don't think you're crazy..." Catra breathes gently, resting her hand over the one fisted in her shirt as Adora heaves with ragged breaths, eyes wild and a little unhinged to be sure but Catra would never call her crazy. She meant the situation was crazy, never Adora... She's just hurt. She's just damaged. Adora looks down at their hands then slowly slackens the grip, her face softening. "I... I didn't mean to- I grabbed you, I'm sorry. I know you hate that," She says, voice shaky with guilt and grief and before Catra can say anything to soothe her, she's already fussing over her, smoothing out the creases and mumbling apologies. "I'd never hurt you. Never never never. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." She rambles frantically and Catra takes her trembling hands, stilling them against her and wide, frightened eyes dart up to her face. Catra smiles as soothingly as possible. "It's okay... I wasn't worried..." She says calmly and Adora stares at her mutely. "Do I look scared to you?" Catra adds urgently and after a long, long moment, Adora shakes her head minutely then carefully lifts Catra's hands up to her face, holding them to her cheeks. She shudders and her eyes close as a shaky sigh escapes her. "Sorry..." She mumbles barely audibly, unable to help herself and Catra leans in to rest her forehead to that of the blonde, purring softly to soothe her. She could really do with this not happening as a giant display but Adora needs her so pride be damned, she's gonna expose herself as a massive sap. Fuck it, right? Might as well commit. "It's alright, sweetheart... You're okay," She says softly and Adora immediately sags in relief. That's about when Catra notices the room has gone bizarrely quiet and she realises with no small trace of relief that there only appears to be one person lingering in the room with them, possibly just as a precaution. "Did... Did I just fuck it all up?" Adora asks hesitantly. "No, honey, you're fine. They left to give us space." "All of them?" Adora quips tentatively and Catra glances around without pulling away from the touch and eyes Glimmer by the doorway holding some sort of silent vigil, her focus locked on the door. "Just Glimmer left," Catra replies quietly and Adora winces. "Is she mad?" She presses warily. "Nobody's mad, Adora," Catra says, a sad sigh in her voice. Clearly Adora's issues won't be eased any time soon. "Sorry..." "Stop apologising, you're killing me here, you dummy," Catra murmurs and after a beat, Adora squeezes the hands she's still holding. "Okay." It sounds weak but it's the best Catra is gonna get from her right now and it'll have to be enough.

#cw suicide ideation #i guess? #catradora #lord adora #it's been so long I forgot my own tags and am too lazy to find them #adora is messed up af in this au #so is catra but in a different way #hmu if i need to add more trigger warnings #spop

[parts-of-spop]

In which the portal changes things a bit...

Part 9/?

AU in which Catra switched with another version of herself when she pulled the lever and it has some unexpected consequences… The main one being that Adora isn’t so nice… until she is. But the fight isn’t over... and Adora is struggling...

Adora jolts violently awake in the early morning with a sharp gasp, throwing herself upright and reflexively raising her fists to defend herself.

"Hey, Adora..." Catra coaxes and Adora almost immediately slackens, looking over to her with wide, confused eyes.

"Catra? What...?" She trails off, looking around herself. Her face falls in moments; dejected and resigned. "Bright Moon... Of course..." She whispers, hand sinking back to her lap. She runs a hand through her hair then sighs wearily. "So, what's my sentence? Life imprisonment? Execution?"

She sounds like she doesn't care whichever it is and Catra's heart twists in her chest. Then she's easing up to sit on the bed beside her before ducking her head to meet Adora’s dull, lifeless eyes.

"Neither. You're not... going to jail... or dying. You're with us now, right? With me?" She coaxes, tail twitching nervously as she holds a hand to her own chest.

Please just say yes.

"I can't be... Not after everything I did. Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not... I want you with me. Together, remember? You and me to the end of the world..." Catra presses imploringly and Adora blinks back at her tearfully.

Then she sighs again.

"I'm so tired, Catra..." She rasps. voice soft and terribly broken and Catra leans in and curls her arms around her, hugging her close and Adora shudders, fingers curling in the back of her shirt as she sinks into the embrace.

She feels very small all of a sudden.

"I know... but I'm here now... You can rest," Catra breathes and Adora sits trembling for a while but eventually exhaustion wins over her fears and anxieties and pain... and she falls asleep in Catra's arms, sinking fully into her. "I've got you..." Catra promises in a whisper.

And Catra strokes her fingers through familiar blonde locks and breathes her in and holds her steady against her and it's a start.

It's a step in the right direction.

#another short one folks my bad #I've been pretty ill for the past few months but I'm doing my best to get back into the swing of things #catradora #magicatra au #lord adora #honestly not sure if I'll finish this but I will do my damndest #spop-in-parts

[parts-of-spop]

Small update:

I’m currently dealing with a very persistent (and possibly chronic) case of GERD aka acid reflux disease that won’t go away so I have constant chest pain, coughing and nausea and I’m not doing well.

I can’t swallow very easily most of the time and when I do my gag reflex kicks my ass. I can’t sleep for more than half an hour at a time so I’m exhausted.

I am a depressed and anxious individual that is struggling a lot with not only physical and mental health.

TLDR: I am having a rough time but I want to come back.

Much love,

The one who writes the parts

#not-parts

[parts-of-spop]

Quick question: why am I getting so much anti-Catradora in the Catradora tag like... I get it... that’s each to their own but I just really feel like that should Not Be There and tbh I don’t understand the logic of posting ship-hate with the ship name in the tags At All.

It’s okay not to like it or even hate or find problems with it. That’s valid and I understand that different people have different perspectives but at the same time can y’all not be respectful and just put that somewhere else? It’s not hard. I don’t need that in my life. Be nice.

#catradora #this has just gotten to me lately #antis please it’s fine to not like it #but put it somewhere else #as Perfuma would say ‘your negativity is not appreciated’ #I just want to enjoy my ship fam #not writing

[parts-of-spop]

#i tolerate OCs but only when they're cryptic wild vagabonds that challenge our protagonist into running around shirtless on a foreign planet#if i thought this was weird in catra's pov i cant imagine what the bfs must be thinking#while catra seems to be telepathically arguing the sensibility of wearing shirts with the mysterious alien cat person#i forgot how hooked i am on your little snippets#everytime i think i can start to lead a normal life BAM. catra is a princess and contemplates becoming a nudist#perect mix of plot and comedy#catra#she-ra#spop

Knight, fam, your tags literally give me life every time I see them. I was straight up cackling at these and I've been having a rough time lately so I really appreciate you for that. 'Catra is a princess and contemplates becoming a nudist' killed me so again thank you. I'm so glad you enjoy my weird snippets.

Post S5 the Best Friend Squad land on a planet occupied by Magicats...

Part 2.5:  Catra slows her marching to a complete halt in the middle of the clearing. Her nose itches and a sneeze escapes just as her companions move to join her.

She blanches.

Magic. Too much always makes her sneeze.

“Wait! Don’t come any closer!”

She yelps as the grass abruptly erupts in orange light around her in a large ring.

 A sigil. 

Not one she recognises and the language in it isn’t familiar either.

“Catra!” Adora cries in a panic.

“I’m okay! Just stay back a minute!” She calls back firmly, waving them off.

This… This feels familiar.

Keep reading

#fun fact: as a kid I wanted to be a comedian so some laughs are always good in my book

[parts-of-spop]

Post S5 the Best Friend Squad land on a planet occupied by Magicats...

Part 2.5:  Catra slows her marching to a complete halt in the middle of the clearing. Her nose itches and a sneeze escapes just as her companions move to join her.

She blanches.

Magic. Too much always makes her sneeze.

“Wait! Don’t come any closer!”

She yelps as the grass abruptly erupts in orange light around her in a large ring.

 A sigil. 

Not one she recognises and the language in it isn’t familiar either.

“Catra!” Adora cries in a panic.

“I’m okay! Just stay back a minute!” She calls back firmly, waving them off.

This... This feels familiar.

It’s them.

They’re stood just beyond the barrier’s limits, fluffy grey ears perked towards Catra in obvious curiosity, tail swishing back and forth.

They’re wearing a pair of loose dark grey pants and a belt holding an array of leather pouches. They aren’t wearing a shirt, proudly displaying dark ringed spots and four pale scars spread deep across their chest.

They’re lean and built like Catra if a little bulkier but she’s pretty convinced she could take them in a fight if she had to.

The stare off continues and she fidgets, glancing to her companions before shrugging helplessly and returning her gaze to her possible foe who is now eyeing her shirt suspiciously.

What do they have against shirts?

“Er… hey?” She says uncertainly and that makes them hiss faintly, ears pinning back before they relax, giving another soft ‘prrt’ of intrigue. Catra has no idea what to do.

“Don’t you talk? Do you speak Etherian?” She presses and glowing orbs blink at her.

Then they give a lazy ‘rawr’.

“I speak but I don’t ‘talk’.”

Catra jumps at the words suddenly slotting into her head and man, she loves Melog but she is not interested in other magical cats clambering into her head… even if she herself is one.

“But you understand me?” Catra says, putting her hand to her own chest and again, the other feline eyes her shirt with clear disdain.

They rawr and grumble again.

”I understand you just fine… but not why you’d wear that.”

“What’s wrong with my shirt?!” Catra demands indignantly. A confused look follows with flicking ears.

“You do this often? Are you ill? Does it not press your fur down and aggravate you when damp? How do you bear such discomfort?”

“Because I’m not walking around shirtless! That’s weird!” She retorts, face burning as she remembers her friends and one hopefully soon-to-be wife are listening in on the one-sided conversation.

“Well, why not? Everyone here does save for binds. It’s quite the tropical climate.”

“Are you telling me that nobody here knows what a shirt is?! Please tell me you at least sell them,” Catra pleads, borderline begging and whilst yes, there’s a point about the climate -her fur is already clinging to her and she can only be glad they left in the cooler part of the day- she just really doesn’t want to expose herself like that. The only person allowed to see her even semi-naked is Adora and that is it. And she needs shirts because she keeps ripping them.

By accident of course, the soft material isn’t as tough as her old Horde uniform and she isn’t about to wear that ever again.

A baffled mewl and Catra can feel Bow restraining himself from commenting.

“Why would we sell something we don’t use?”

“Eugh, man, this planet sucks.”

“But it’s your planet. Why would you not like it, Catra?”

She’s about to rant her frustrations when she realises that she absolutely has not given this shirtless weirdo her name.

“How do you know my name?” She says, voice low and wary and the other Magicat cocks their head at her then purrs, tail lashing behind them.

“Everybody knows your name… Princess.”

Then they’re reeling away and darting off on all fours, leaving Catra behind spluttering and gaping before she blinks hard out her daze.

“Hey! Hey, get back here!” She demands a beat before the sigil disappears from around her, allowing her escape, and she hears a low roar from the trees.

“Are you still as fast as our people?”

The challenge burns and her teeth bare in a snarl.

“Catra, what’s wrong? What did they say?” Adora asks worriedly and she shakes her head at her.

“No time. We have to catch them,” She rushes out before darting on ahead, mind still reeling as she darts after the bizarre sorcerer.

#catradora #an interlude I cut out previously #my headcanon is a magicat planet is warm so they just wear pants to keep cool #princess!Catra #this is the bit I skipped in my earlier segments #because I know OC's are like... annoying af sometimes #but I'm attached to this on #they are a non-binary advisor to the queen who is also dope at medicine #NB: catra's people /can/ speak Etherian but mostly just make noises that translate telepathically #not sure when I decided that but that's the jist of it #also catra is trans in this and later takes to running around shirtless like a wild vagabond and she loves it #if that bothers you then dni i am also a trans vagabond

[parts-of-spop]

Where Catra lets Adora fall in the First Ones Temple... and she doesn’t come out

Part 6: In which Adora realises that letting go just isn’t that easy and Glimmer, despite it all, supports her.

CW: suicide mention. Please don’t read if this will trigger or upset you.

“I couldn’t do it…” Adora murmurs, head hanging in shame.

“Adora?” Glimmer coaxes gently.

“I thought I’d let her go… but I hadn’t… I saw her dying and I couldn’t let it happen… I can’t ever let her go,” Adora says quietly and her hands curl into fists.

“What do you mean?” Glimmer implores and Adora reels towards her, tears staining her face.

“I’m in love with her! I always was! I always will be! And no matter what I do…” She deflates, curling into herself and looking so painfully small for the first time since she returned to Brightmoon. “… I can’t let her go… I need her, Glimmer.”

“… You love her?” Glimmer presses gently and Adora winces.

“She… She scouted the Temple. I left it open for her so I could tell her that we were… were done but it just…” She hesitates, tears spilling down her face and her eyes are dim. “… She looked so helpless and hopeful, even after everything. She told me she didn’t think the Temple would kill me, that she figured I’d get out of that fall just fine… and it’d broken her, Glimmer. To hear I’d… I’d died…” She stops again, staring at nothing. “She’d tried to kill herself after… thinking she’d killed me… and when she came to the Temple I was just… just going to tell her it was over but she looked so sad and lost and I didn’t know what to do…”

“Adora?”

“She told me she loved me…” Adora rasps and she drags her hands down her face. “And I kissed her and it was so stupid but I couldn’t say no. She needed me to and so I gave her everything I had to offer and she still didn’t want to leave and I was so stupid because I can’t get it out of my head… How she looked at me like I’d gifted her the stars… and I felt just the same.”

Glimmer stares at her, silent and pained for her friend… because Adora is still her friend no matter how hard she tries to deny it.

“I spent four years getting over her and in one night… it all got swept away,” Adora adds, voice shaking.

Catra has hurt people, Glimmer knows this. But she’s also seen her step down from Force Captain, fighting robotically against Rebellion soldiers and never leaving them with much more than a concussion. She hasn’t hurt anybody badly in months.

And she leapt in to save her life. Likely for Adora but still, Glimmer is in one piece because of her.

She’s had constant bags under her eyes for ages, never smiled during her attacks or did more than was asked of her. She’d not been interested in fighting since that moment Glimmer told her Adora was dead.

She can still remember the look on her face.

She looked like somebody who was dying. The life draining from her eyes every time and her smirk long gone.

She’d given up.

With a few short words, Catra had given up on life.

She looked like Glimmer had just ripped her heart out of her chest and honestly, it had confused and even frightened her that Catra could look like that. That just a few words could do that to a person.

A person who she was so sure hated Adora but was suddenly looking at her like she’d just… destroyed her. It hadn’t felt good. She’d wanted to stay angry, spit insults, snarl words of malice and hurt her but… there was no point. Catra was already done.

She really had just… given up.

And Glimmer remembers her lifeless eyes, her actually stumbling a step back as if she’d been shot. Her eyes had flickered, darkening by the moment, distant and lost like she just… couldn’t comprehend it. Like she couldn’t believe something like Adora being gone.

That she didn’t exist anymore.

Then she’d turned away and the fight was over in mere minutes.

It doesn’t really surprise Glimmer after seeing that that she’d turned to suicide to free herself. She was little more than a walking corpse after a month of hearing the news.

And suddenly it clicks to Glimmer just what a horrible situation this has become.

Her best friend is desperately, irrevocably in love and she isn’t allowed to love her.

“Oh Adora…” She rasps shakily and the blonde chokes on a sob, her head clutched between her hands.

“I don’t understand! I tried so hard! But one night! One look and it ruined four years of trying to accept that it’d never work! I can’t have Catra and be She-ra! It won’t happen and now I can do neither!” She cries frantically and then she’s falling, sinking to her knees and curling into herself. “I can’t do anything right! I’m the worst She-ra in existence because I can’t choose!”

Glimmer feels her heart break for her, her eyes stinging with tears as she approaches her, crouching beside her and resting a hand against her back.

“It’s okay… We’re holding up just fine. We’ll manage,” She tries to soothe and Adora shakes her head, sniffling through her sobs.

“No, you don’t understand. There’s something worse out there that’s waiting and once the Horde get the Sword, it’ll find us and we’ll be done for because I’m lost and confused and…” She chokes off into more tears and Glimmer curls around her, hugging her tightly. A warm hand rests over her own.

“We’ll survive… We’re the Best Friend Squad… We can do anything…” She says, shaky but vehement.

“Horde Prime is coming, Glimmer… and he’s so much worse than Hordak… I can’t protect you like this,” Adora wheezes, leaning into her.

“You don’t have to do everything. We’re a team, Adora… and I don’t know what Light Hope told you but never in my life has having friends made me weaker… We can do this…” She says firmly, leaning further into her friend; her stupid, brilliant, loving friend who has fought so hard and so long for them all and she closes her eyes, “… together.”

Adora swallows hard and chokes back four years of training.

“Together,” She echoes, desperately wanting to believe it.

#catradora #adora #glimmer #guess who is dead folks? it's me! #so anyway basically catra nearly dies and adora can't make herself bring the sword down on her and instead heals her #anyway sorry i've been gone so long #i've been dealing with... a lot

[parts-of-spop]

#this was unexpected but absolutely right #glimmer went from punching adora's abuser in s1 to laughing with her abuser about the trauma response adora developed from her childhood #and it kinda got lost in all the other Bigger Bad Decisions glimmer made in s5 but it was still fucked up #this is one of those things that i didnt even realize needed to be addressed until i read this wonderful fic of adora letting herself be mad #its a masterpiece op. thank you for writing this i love it so much #adora #glimmer #and the way shadow weaver's abuse and manipulation fucks up another pair of girls

@knight171913 I just had to reblog with the tags you put on this little thing of mine (and I hope that's okay) because despite it's lack of notes, it's actually really important to me and one of my favourites. I've been in something of Adora's situation before and writing it felt like therapy so whilst I love Glimmer to my dying breath, imagining Adora acknowledging her own hurt from her made me feel better and I'm really pleased by your thoughts on it. Thank you a lot and I'm so SO glad you enjoyed it. Also fuck Shadow Weaver yet again even if she's dead.

Adora has one last thing to settle with Glimmer that she had brushed under the rug and it’s not going to be painless for either of them… Set post- S5

Keep reading

#not fic #thank you for real #i needed some validation today

[parts-of-spop]

Can you please make a fanfic of catra before she was left by cyra

Is this in regards to one of my AUs or just a general idea (presuming Cyra is Catra’s mother) of what it may be like? Because the first may be easier and the second will be harder and thus more vague. I am willing to try either way but no guarantees. In one of my AUs I can have a storyline to work from but otherwise it’ll be rather more vague. I am willing to try but I’m just not sure where to work from, friend.

- the one who writes the parts

[parts-of-spop]

Street racer AU in which Catra is rivals with Adora when they were once partners and then she messes up bad... real bad... and Catra fully realises it... Part 2/?

Adora rolls her Mustang to a halt beside her friends and Bow is immediately opening the door and leaning in to the cab. Catra can’t stop watching, craning her neck in an attempt to see what the hell is happening when he pulls back out, Adora’s arm draped around his neck.

Fuck. She looks even worse.

Glimmer is on her other side in an instant, steadying her and looking at her with a kind of frustrated concern on her face.

Adora’s eyes are bloodshot and she’s bathed in sweat.

Catra slides her window down, stretching her hearing to catch what they’re saying.

“I told you it was too soon, Adora…” Glimmer chides gently as her and Bow lead Adora to the front of the car and help her sit on the hood.

“It’s not debilitating. I can handle it. It’s fine,” Adora says through rough pants.

“Adora, you look terrible. I knew you were under-playing it,” Glimmer returns and Adora stays quiet. “Did you take your painkillers before the race like I told you to?”

“… They make me sluggish. I need my reflexes.”

Glimmer looks like she’s a second from throttling Adora in that moment but Bow steps in.

“Be that as it may, Adora, your health is more important than any race,” He says with a caring smile, his hand coming to rest on Adora’s shoulder and squeeze.

“I know…” Adora replies, voice quieter. So quiet that Catra almost misses it. She doesn’t like the tone of that voice… because it sounds suspiciously that Adora doesn’t believe it.

“Now where are you hurting?” Bow coaxes and Adora drags a hand down her own face.

The silence drags on and still Adora won’t speak, body tensing by the moment.

“Adora… please…” Glimmer pleads, gripping Adora’s other hand and then Adora looks to her, weary reluctance painted across her face.

“I’m fine…” She says and she says it so quietly that Catra has to read it on her lips.

Her hands clench around the steering wheel, claws threatening to tear into the worn leather.

“But you’re not. You’re not fine. You haven’t been fine this entire time and you keep shutting us out. Why won’t you let us help you?” Glimmer implores, voice turning frantic and Adora gives the tiniest most wretchedly sad smile that Catra has ever seen.

She looks so sad… defeated even though she’s just won the race.

“Because it doesn’t matter,” She says simply and Catra’s chest tightens.

What?

The thought is shared.

“What? No! Adora, that’s not true at all!” Bow cries suddenly as Glimmer gapes in wide-eyed disbelief.

Then Adora shrugs and slides off her Mustang and back onto her feet. She winces faintly, favouring her left leg for a moment before steeling herself and planting both against the tarmac.

“I have to get going. I have a meeting in town,” Adora says calmly, stepping past her floundering friends and climbing back into the car but not before pausing, her eyes drifting up and catching Catra’s for a moment. “I can look out for myself now,” She adds, voice hardening and those tired eyes narrow at her.

Catra swallows hard, eyes burning.

Then Adora ducks into her car and disappears from sight.

Which is probably for the best before Catra starts crying almost immediately and is only dimly aware of Bow and Glimmer calling protests after their friend, desperately trying to keep her from driving away.

It’s futile.

Catra could have told them that.

I can look out for myself now…

I look out for me and I look out for you. Nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other.

Catra didn’t realise she had enough of a heart left to break… but she feels it then.

“… Adora hates me,” She whispers in quiet realisation.

And she doesn’t want me.

And that’s something she’s never fully comprehended as a possibility in all of this because Adora was always trying to reach out to her. No matter how vicious and biting she was in return, she let it run off her shoulders like water.

But a line has been crossed… a very big one and now it’s over.

Catra has hurt her too badly to ever be worthy of forgiveness.

She’s fucked up. Colossally and monumentally fucked up.

And there’s no way to fix it.

The damage is done and she can’t take it back.

“Adora hates me…” She repeats just to help it settle in. “She hates me…”

She starts the engine and pulls out, driving towards an unknown destination, shifting gears on instinct rather than conscious thought and she repeats it over and over again.

“Adora hates me…”

She hates me and I deserve it.

#street racer au #catradora #catra #adora #my head is a mess rn and I'm not sure this is worth sharing #but I'm doing it anyway #because I don't have much else to put out #it's a been a while hello folks #remember these are parts and so only semi-cohesive #cw swearing #i really need to remember that tag

[parts-of-spop]

Street racer AU in which Catra is rivals with Adora when they were once partners and then she messes up bad... real bad Part 1/?

“Hey, Wildcat?”

She fights the instinctive urge to hiss at the nickname.

Let it slide. She’s your friend. Don’t be a dick. Be better.

“Yeah, Scorp?” She replies, tugging on her leather, fingerless driving gloves and flexing her hands. It’s comfortable, the sensation as familiar as wearing a second skin.

“Er… Adora’s here.”

That gets her attention but she tries not to let it show; tail lashing only once before she tells it to still and she feigns a casual air.

“And?” She drawls lazily and Scorpia clears her throat.

“She er… well gosh er… not to like… be rude here but erm… she looks downright awful.”

What?

Slowly, retaining her mask of indifference, she turns her head to her friend then follows her worried face towards where the princess herself is stood between tweedled dumb and tweedled dumber.

Holy fuck she looks like shit.

And she cut her hair?

It’s short now. Butch. A messy pixie cut around her ears. It kind of suits her.

What does not suit her is the dark circles around her eyes and the pink risen scar marring her left eyebrow down to her cheekbone.

She looks almost like a different person.

Catra feels herself squirm as she squints harder at the wound.

It appears Arrow and Glitter are somewhat chewing her out; lots of hand waving and Adora is fidgeting with the cuffs of her gloves, tired eyes flickering from one person to the other.

Then she mumbles something, shrugs dismissively and walks away without a backwards glance.

Glitter’s ensuing stomping and flailing in frustrated rage would be funny if Catra could take the time to appreciate it but it’s a bit hard to tear her eyes from Adora’s slumped form.

Thus, she isn’t looking when the sparkly ball of indignation comes stomping across the tarmac towards her, Arrow boy trailing after her helplessly.

“Hey, you!”

Her ear flickers towards the shout and she finally tears her eyes from her ex-best friend to raise a brow at the fuming girl in front of her.

She looks downright murderous.

Or about as murderous as someone who is 5’2 can look.

Her hands are clenched in trembling fists and Arrow boy looks like he desperately wants to grab her and pull her away but is far too scared to.

“What’s got your panties in a twist, Sparkles?” Catra asks dryly and if possible, the girl gets redder.

“Look… I don’t know what your problem is with Adora… but if you ever land her in hospital again then I’m going to personally throttle you to death.”

… Wait… What?

“What the hell are you talking about?” Catra questions, confused and Sparkles huffs back at her.

“How stupid do you think we are? You don’t really think we didn’t know you’d been tailing Adora for weeks? Did you think you were really that slick and clever? I’d bet you knew her schedule better than even we did,” She spits venomously.

Catra’s tail flicks behind her.

“Gotta know the enemy, don’t you?” She says smoothly and Sparkles abruptly loses the heat of her anger and her hands go slack at her sides.

She exhales slowly.

Instead, her face twists into pure and total disgusted hatred.

“Y’know… Adora kept saying to us that you were her best friend… but that can’t be right. She has to have been mistaken,” She says coolly and Catra almost flinches, stomach twisting.

“Glimmer…” Arrow boy whispers pleadingly.

But she’s not stopping and she’s pinning Catra with a look so icy that it freezes her in place.

“Because you told Prime what Adora was doing every second of the day and because of you he knew exactly when she’d be alone and defenceless…” … Oh no. “He knew exactly where to send his goons…” No. “And let me tell you, Catra… hearing one of my best friends being beaten and stabbed to death over a phone line isn’t very fun.”

Catra’s never felt this sick in her entire life.

And she can do nothing as Glimmer steps close to her, eyes seething with pure loathing and she presses a finger into the centre of Catra’s chest.

“You almost got her killed… If not for that phone call… Adora would be dead because of you,” She spits venomously. She jabs the finger into Catra hard and she stumbles back a pace. “So stay the fuck away from her, Catra. We know what you did. Adora knows what you did… So stay behind the wheel and out our way because if you dare hurt Adora again, it’ll be the last mistake you’ll ever make…”

Then she steps backwards and narrows her eyes in a glare.

“… So… you’ve finally got nothing to say now? No snarky remark... Aren’t you happy?” She says grimly and Catra is mute, ears pinned flat against her head and heart thundering in her chest. “You finally did it, Catra… You’ve actually fucked up Adora… and she knows it…” Her face twists into a cold sneer. “I really really hope you’re proud of yourself…” She adds in a spite-filled hiss before turning and walking away, gently brushing past Bow and he stands, fumbling for a moment like he wants to apologise or say something.

But then he looks at Catra and his eyes turn steely, his brow knitting in a hard line.

He closes his mouth.

His jaw clenches.

And he leaves without a word.

The silence that follows is deafening.

Catra can’t hear it through the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears.

Fuck…

Adora nearly-…

Adora almost-…

Holy fuck… What’ve I done?

“Wildcat?” Scorpia murmurs tentatively.

It snaps her back to reality and in moments, she’s scrambling to the nearest bush and heaving into it, throwing up breakfast and bile through tears that aren’t all from the vomiting.

I nearly got Adora killed.

Another heave.

Adora could’ve died… scared and bleeding on the phone to her friend.

Fuck.

“Easy there. I gotcha,” Scorpia says soothingly, her claw against her back, rubbing in circles.

It takes a long time for the retching to stop and Catra suspects it’s more due to there being nothing left to throw up.

She spits out the lingering vile taste and quietly accepts the tissue Scorpia is offering her so she can at least make an attempt to clean herself up.

Her tears have painted her fur flat against her cheeks but she’s so miserable and sickened with herself that she doesn’t care like she usually would.

This is the single greatest fuck up of her entire fuck up of a life.

She tosses the tissue to the floor and Scorpia doesn’t comment on her littering like she ordinarily might.

Then she buries her face in her hands and the comforting smell of leather pulls her back to the ground steadily. Breathe deep. Nice and steady like Perfuma taught you.

Several minutes later, she lifts her head and exhales shakily.

“You okay, Wildcat?” Scorpia asks gently and she wants to cry again.

“I didn’t… I didn’t mean for Adora to… to get hurt. I wouldn’t…” She trails off helplessly, closing her eyes with an unsteady sigh. “Never mind… Let’s just go race.”

“We could leave? Are you up to it?” Scorpia suggests and Catra huffs.

“No but we can’t leave. Weaver would have our asses if we did… Let’s get it over with.”

That’s easier said than done.

Because safe to say, Catra is well off her game.

And it starts before the race even begins…

Because by sheer god awful luck, her suped-up Camaro is directed to slide in beside Adora’s familiar white and gold Mustang and that allows Catra to get really up close and assess the damage.

Which really doesn’t help the guilt and shame she’s feeling because she looks even worse up close.

She looks like a corpse.

And their windows are wound down so they can have any last minute check-ins with their teammates and Catra’s ears are sharp enough that she can hear Adora’s breaths come uneven.

She’s in pain.

The clammy sweat on her face confirms it.

“Not so pretty these days, am I?”

Catra jumps at the sudden words and realises Adora is talking to her, her voice flat and empty.

She’s never sounded so blank.

She doesn’t turn her head from the road ahead, hands flexing around her steering wheel.

“I…” Catra chokes uselessly and then eyes that should be a warm blue flicker sideways to glance at her.

There’s nothing in that look… just cool lifelessness.

“... You’ve finally won, Catra. That’s all there is to it,” Adora states, in that same unfamiliar tone.

Then her hand lowers to her door and the window slides up between them.

Catra gapes helplessly at the side of her face but Adora ignores her, staring ahead and setting her jaw.

Catra slumps back into her own seat, eyes stinging with tears.

… This doesn’t feel like winning. This feels like losing the biggest game of all time.

#street racing au #catradora #adora #catra #it gets better #because i cannot do angst without a happy ending #also i am currently recovering from several days in hospital after a seizure #so this is all stuff I wrote eons ago #but I have a little more to post #AU count is uncountable at this point #cw/ vomit #I'm not sure if I need more content warnings so let me know if I do