revivalproject | Some people have a bad day.

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Some people have a bad day. | Calibrations

WHO: Catra, OPEN
WHERE: Catra's Calibration Room
WHAT: Catra's Calibration
WHEN: 3 June - 10 June
WARNINGS: Child abuse, violence, possible She-Ra spoilers (up to end of season 4)

The room you step into is one of utilitarian design, metal walls and bunks with perfunctory mats that serves as mattresses, along with a single pillow. By it there's a crude drawing of two girls, one of which seems to be scratched out.

A small shape sits on the end of one of the lower bunks, hidden away under a thin blanket and sniffling, though she'll hiss if you approach. She holds a letter clutched tight in her fists, and that may be what has her so upset.

Meanwhile, the longer you're here, more you might begin to notice, something seems off. Part of the room seems to be fading away, being slowly devoured by whiteness. Will you avoid the impending doom or explore it?

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"Why?" He asks further, plain curiosity tinging his voice. "Were you trying to bring something in?" Or send something out.

"And who were all these people?"

"...We were trying to send a message to Horde Prime. To- to bring his armies and help us conquer Etheria once and for all, but the portal didn't work how it was supposed to-"

She grew silent then.

"They're no one. They don't matter."

The rumbling grows louder and those echoes scream out.

"Catra!!"

"You used to be friends, didn't you." It's not a question. More an observation. "And they used you."

Catra frowns, and more echoes surface from a different time.

"Ah, you know, it all makes sense now. You've always been the one holding me back. You wanted me to think I needed you. You wanted me to feel weak. Every hero needs a sidekick, right?"

"Catra, no. That's not how it was."

"The sad thing is, I've spent all this time hoping you'd come back to the Hoarde, when really, you leaving was the best thing that ever happened to me. I am so much stronger than anyone ever thought...I wonder what I could have been if I'd gotten rid of you sooner."

Catra growls and swipes at the air as though she can silence the echoes, and part of her seems to fracture away into darkness, rimmed with that piercing light.

Heroes and sidekicks, huh? Curious.

Not quite as curious, however, than what happens when she tries to attack the air, causing Jon to take a step away, his expression alarmed. "Are you okay?" He asks, setting aside the words that have just filled the air around them only to upset Catra enough to strike at them.

"I'm fine!" She growls, and appears to lunge at him for a moment, but at the last second it becomes clear her target is behind him.

The blonde girl from before, the voice from the memories, Adora. Catra pins her, straddling her with a wild look in her eye.

"Catra, stop. You have to-" the girl plead, struggling against Catra.

"It's always the same with you, Adora. 'I have to do this. Oh we have to do that'. Let's be honest-" She stood, pulling Adora up by her ponytail, "All of this is your fault," she growls, tossing her away. "If you hadn't gotten captured, your sword wouldn't have opened the portal." She hauls her up again and hurls her back. Adora doesn't fight back as Catra kicks out her knee, knocking her back down and dragging her along. "If you hadn't gotten the sword and been the world's worst She-Ra, none of this, would have happened."

She shoves her back and Adora goes tumbling again with a shout. Soon after Catra retrieve her again, gripping her by the hair. "Admit it, Adora-" she growls, "The world would still be standing if you had never come through that portal in the first place." She pushes her away again.

"You made me this," she insists, chasing after her, kicking her down and stepping on her back, "You took everything from me." Again she hauls her up and tosses her away.

"You broke the world, and it is all. your . fault."

Adora looks briefly broken, caught up in these accusations despite the truth that Jon now knows. But then, determination sets in, brow creasing at last.

"No, it's not," she counters firmly, shoving Catra back, "I didn't make you pull the switch." Catra tries to lunge at her again, but Adora catches her by the wrist, pulling her closer. "I didn't make you do anything." She flips Catra and tosses her away, where she half rights herself and glares from the floor.

"I didn't break the world," Adora continues, "But I am going to fix it. And you? You made your choice."

Catra snarls and moves to lunge again.

"Now live with it!" Adora cries, punching her hard, and abruptly shattering the white that surrounds them.

It's just Catra and Jon again, no longer a child, and no longer that strange broken thing. The door is open, and Catra nods towards it before climbing up onto the one of upper bunks to try and hide.

Watching Catra and the other girl, Adora, fight... it’s an odd thing to witness. But it’s a memory, Jon knows as much. There is little point in interfering with it. There’s a lot of anger in it. Pain, accusations and hurt feelings.

And it’s obvious that Catra won’t want to talk about any of it willingly, given her dismissive reaction followed by that attempt to hide.

But Jon simply looks up towards her hiding place, not making any move to leave just yet.

“What’s the Hoarde?” He asks instead. No way he is making her feel even more abandoned.

Her tail twitches, the only real sign she's heard him at first. She sighs, and an image displays itself on one of the walls of the bunk room. Soldiers dressed in Horde armor, tanks and weaponry, along with a few scattered robots, all stationed in a smoking battlefield, Horde flags waving in symbol of their victory. Above them all stand Catra and Hordak.

"That's the Horde," she mutters, "We're an army. An army that's going to conquer all of Etheria."

"I see." Jon mutters as he inspects the image. None of that looks pleasant.

"Have you always been part of them?" She still strikes him as rather young.

"Since I was a kid." She shifts slightly, turning to give him a small but more attention since he hasn't run off. "They raised me."

The Archivist gives a surprised look at that response "Oh? What- What about your parents? Are they part of it as well?"

He sees an odd parallel here to Cal being raised by his Order.

Her head tilts, like she was surprised he hasn't piked up on the fact that whatever parents she might have had once were long out of the picture. "Shadow Weaver raised me," she elaborates pointedly, "Since I was a kid. I don't remember anything before that." Whatever parents she had died or abandoned her, or were otherwise...not there for her, she doesn't know.

"I... see." Jon simply nods in understanding. Shadow Weaver again, huh? That's why the younger Catra didn't want to be found by her.

For a moment he considers his response. "I have no memories of my own parents either. They died. When I was very young. For me it was my grandmother that raised me." Which is still far removed from being raised as part of an army.

"..." Catra tail twitches silently.

"...Why are you still here?!" she lashes out, tossing a pillow in his direction, though there does seem to be a genuine question in there. "Just go. You don't have to be here. Stop pretending you care."

Jon may be lucky that Catra hasn’t aimed properly, because there is no way he’d be able to dodge a pillow tossed at him. He watches the item pass by before returning his attention to her.

“What if I want to be here?” He asks, crossing his arms in a somewhat stubborn way. “What if I want to get to know you?”

She scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Because I don't know you yet, Catra." Jon replies with a little tilt of his head, "And I want to change that. That's what you do with new friends: You get to know them."

"We aren't friends," she spits pointedly, though given all the memories he's seen that defensive lashing out may not work as well as it does with others. "You're just some sad little man looking to play the hero. I don't need you. So go."

For a moment, Jon simply looks at her, then he answers soberly. “Not everyone the Agrii bring to this planet is a hero.” He doesn’t argue the other parts she has thrown at him, not too riled up by her attitude. An attitude that reminds him a lot of Melanie...

“I can promise you that I won’t be saving anyone. But... We all need company. Especially here.”

That throws Catra a little, not sure how to combat that, and she gives an irritated sort of frown. "...You sound like Kyle," she mutters, and given her tone that's not exactly a compliment.

"...So what...you're lonely, is that it?"

“What if I am.” Jon states rather than asks, shifting his eyes away from Catra to look at the far wall. “I- I mean.... I try not to. But... No one from my world is here aside from me and... Most of my time I spend in the library by myself.” If he hasn’t encountered the Lonely before, Jon sure feels he is getting to know it quite well during those quiet nights in the library.

She rolls her eyes, crossing her arms, but her posture does seem to soften a little. "...I'm not the person to be going after if you're looking for a friend."

"Maybe not." Jon concedes "Yet I still would like to get to know you better. You might say I... I'm rather fond of cats."

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Some people have a bad day. | Calibrations

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wall of text. sorry <3

No worries~

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