Some people have a bad day. | Calibrations

[heeeyadora]

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?

Comments

[in_extremis]

A moment later, Tony was peeking over the edge of the bunk hands on the mattress and eyebrows raised curiously. Eventually, he asked, "Did you ever apologize?" Even if Catra really didn't think she was in the wrong in any of that, when she clearly was and Tony didn't know how she justified it anymore, especially after the way that woman treated her--if Tony knew he was anything like his dad to his friends or especially any of the kids, he'd be curled up in his bed resenting himself, too, he supposed. But even if Catra was committed to that denial, she had to see how it was prudent to apologize to the Amazon lady with the big sword.

[heeeyadora]

"..." Catra lowered her ears and tried to look anywhere but at Tony.

"I won't say sorry. Ever," she muttered. It sounded like a phrase she'd repeated a lot. Long enough that going back on it now was difficult. However sorry she might feel, it was reflex now to lash out. To deny and to fight rather than accept her own fault in any of this, however much it was eating away at her.

[in_extremis]

"You don't have to mean it," Tony suggested, what could be seen of his head tilting slightly as he watched Catra carefully, not sure how she would take his meaning. There were some cases where he meant that eventually she would mean it if she said it enough, and some cases where it was just the fastest way out of a tight situation that wasn't worth conserving one's pride over. Pride had gotten him into enough trouble, he could at least pass on that hard earned wisdom.

[heeeyadora]

She gave him a look, not sure how she felt about that suggestion. "...It's too late. And she's not here anyway. There's no point."

[in_extremis]

There must have been plenty of times in Catra's life that her friend wasn't around, this one shouldn't have felt that much different. Being in the bunker was certainly demoralizing, but they shouldn't have been resigned to spending the rest of their lives down there yet. "I'm going to get us home," Tony promised with a shrug. "You'll tell her then. Tell her how you went to another planet and realized how big the universe was." He finally slipped away from the bunk then, heading for the open door with his shoulders stretching back, more than ready to move on from this abusive mess.