#Adora is a terrible cook

[thenotebookwizard]

Seven years?

Seven years ago today, I lost my fiance to a stroke. They and I didn't meet on tumblr, but tumblr forged a lot of our relationships and mutual friends.

Tumblr was our internet home, and super important to them. They got me on Ye Olde Hellsite, and today I miss them - a lot. Seven years, and you're still helping me chart my course. Seven years, and you're still changing the way I think.

Remembering how you dealt with anxiety helped me when I suddenly got anxiety in my late 30s. (Oh, you would have been empathetic, compassionate, and teased me mercilessly.)

I think, as my first real 'new' fandom in a long time, you would have loved She-Ra even more than I do. You would have been there for the side characters. You would have been there for the characters I don't understand, and you would have helped me see them - and write them - clearer.

And oh, you would have given me such shit for having so many longfic ideas. And been poking me (literally) for writing more angst, not fluff.

I miss you today as much as I missed you then.

(And you would have loved the new kittens. Spoiled them. And laughed at me when Adora cuddles instead of letting me write.)

I know since you've gone, some of your favorites have passed on. You've met the Green Ranger. You've met Bray Wyatt. I know you're on the next great adventure, surrounded by the dogs and cats that got there first.

Though it's going to be awhile, I know I'll see you again.

Below the cut, I've shared the eulogy I wrote and gave for Kalen.

A Eulogy for Kalen Lei Perez (February 27, 1991 - June 1, 2017) Service held: June 24, 2017 at Cook Walden Capitol Parks, Austin TX

I want to talk to you about fear and I want to talk to you about courage - because I can't talk about Kalen without talking about the experiences that framed her life. Fear and courage are not two sides of the same coin; you can be afraid without being courageous, but you cannot be courageous without first being afraid.

And Kalen was always afraid.

She experienced the world through fear created by anxiety. What most people call 'mental illness' is commonly thought of as disorders of behavior - of thinking, feeling and reacting in the 'wrong' way. But Kalen and I always thought of mental illness as neurological conditions, of something physically wrong with that most important organ - the brain - causing someone to have disordered responses to common stimuli. To her and to me, 'mental illness' is an physical as a broken leg.

I'm not talking to you about mental illness to lecture about how awfully we think about and treat people with these conditions, but to give you an idea of who she was how she thought and why it matters. Because Kalen saw her illness the way she did she knew her brain was lying to her all the time. Her brain lied about what she should have been afraid of, why she should have been afraid and all the terrible ways she should have dealt with her fear. She was legally blind, had essential tremors and brain damage from concussions that caused never ending vertigo. Her brain lied to her about what the world looked like. About where the ground was under her feet.

She had to be unspeakably brave just to just stand up in the morning and take a few steps away from our bed. She had to summon immense courage to walk out our front door. And she did. She got out of bed. She went out our front door, even though going out your front door and stepping onto the road is a dangerous business - if she lost her step, she might never find her footing again.

She lived her life like a hero from stories. "Go back?" She would ask. "No good at all! Go sideways? Possible, but why? Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!" And so up she would get and trot along, cane in one hand and the other hand feeling the wall.

And she kept going forward, because 'little by little, one travels far.'

Kalen knew better than most what kind of terrible things can happen to people when they go out their front door or even when they stay at home. She didn't let that stop her; while the world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places, Kalen knew there is still much that is fair.

Of course, she believed this because of statistics and math. She knew her brain lied to her about the probability of those terrible things befalling her, of encountering those awful people. So she memorized statistics and did the math. Those statistics and that math told her she was more likely to be struck by lightning than it was that most of those awful things would happen to her.

She relied on that empirical proof to overcome the lies her brain told her- and she walked out our front door, talked to people and did all the things she could live a full and fulfilling life. Many of us were lucky enough to get to know her because she chose to believe facts instead of fears.

She would be laughing at me right now, with all my paraphrasing JRR Tolkien and all my comparing her to a hero - and she did love heroes and stories about heroes. She would argue - and she did love to argue - that she was a simple person living a simple life. Tolkien would, say that 'it is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life' - but Kalen didn't know how to do simple, no matter how often she claimed she did. If there was a more difficult path to take, she would take it, just to see if she could. What hero could resist challenging themselves?

And how could I not make the comparison?

We met in a place called Dragon's Lair after all. She was a work study student and I was assigned to train her. She stuck with me, working even when she didn't have to, because she was determined to make her temporary job into a permanent job. It didn't take long before all the geeks (which is to say 'everyone we worked with') were calling her my Padawan - which is 'Star Wars' for protege.

I didn't know it at the time, but she was determined to change my role in her life from temporary to permanent. Much like when we adopted our first dog, she had chosen the largest, fluffiest and most pathetic creature in the room and decided to keep them. I do not have the words to say how I glad I am that she did.

I didn't make it easy for her to convince me we should be together, because I'm often too stubborn for my own good. She was sneaky about it, too, always getting me to take her to dinner to discuss things. At first, work - and later my objections to dating again at all - and eventually my objections to dating someone so much younger than me.

I couldn't understand. How could she want to be with me, when my life was a quicksand quagmire of bad decisions and absurdly impossible hopes too vague to even be ideas? But she was right about us and in what felt like no time at all, Kalen became an integral, important part of my life - the first person I wanted to see in the morning and who I wanted to talk to just before I slept. The more time I spent with her, the more my life became about us - about her - instead of about me; the more time I spent with her, the firmer the ground under my feet.

Between Kalen's courageous refusal to give up on me and some sage scolding from my mother - whom she had somehow enlisted to her cause - she and I got (officially) together soon after she got a full time position at Dragon's Lair - which she held until she literally could not work.

I am forever grateful she didn't give up on me, because she brought depth and magnitude and meaning into my life that I didn't know I needed, even when I was living the geek dream of working at comic and game store. An awesome adventure to be sure, but not one most of us can make a career of.

She could have, though. She wanted to.

And as far as I know, that job was still there, waiting for her get better. If anyone could have made it back to work after everything she'd gone through, it would be Kalen. Like every hero, she achieved things the rest of us marvel at.

That job meant a lot to her - not just because she was exceptionally good at it, but because of what she got to share with people. Kalen actively sought out joy - sought out things to be happy about, things to enjoy and things to explore - and people she wanted to keep. Every person she met knew it. Could feel it - the light she carried with her and that childlike excitement she refused to give up, that she shared with us all the time.

And that was her job. To share that joy with everyone who walked into that store.

It took heroic courage for her to do her job when her anxiety told her to be afraid of people, afraid of making a mistake - any mistake, afraid of disappointing other people - or worse, herself. Every day, she overcame her fears and did her job with exuberance. But she didn't just overcome the fear once a day when she went to work. Or a few times a day at work. Every moment of every day was a heroic choice to face and overcome her fear.

That decision to be courageous didn't stop when she couldn't work anymore. Some of you know that last November, she had her first seizure and spent a few weeks in the hospital. Soon after she got home, we had to let our first dog - a Great Pyrenees named Odin - cross the rainbow bridge. We still had our dog Patch, but one dog was not enough dogs for Kalen and she was worried Patch would be lonely once she got back to work and wouldn't be at home all the time. So, we looked for a new dog and found Texas Great Pyrenees Rescue. We went to one event - less than a month after she got out of the hospital - and before we left, Kalen had decided she wanted to foster rescue dogs. So, we fostered rescue dogs. Not always an easy thing, but it is worth doing.

We never missed a rescue event after that. No matter how bad she felt, no matter how weak her legs were, how much her hands shook, how uncertain that ground under her feet was, no matter how loudly her brained screamed lies and fears at her - she went to every single event. Because she was going to be a voice for those hurt and scared dogs and make sure they found their people.

That was heroic, too. Because it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay - the small acts of kindness and love.

Kalen wasn't just courageous for herself - she had courage enough she could (and did) share it with the rest of us. She encouraged us to be writers, artists, dancers, actors, business owners - anything and everything we thought we wanted to do, Kalen was there to tell us to do it.

Because - why not?

That was her secret. She was always afraid, so there was no reason not to do things. Her brain told her nothing could ever go well, so there was no reason not to try to do the big, scary things. And she would be right there beside you the entire journey. Kalen never lost faith in her people, no matter how hard things got. She agreed with Tolkien - faithless are they who say farewell when the road darkens.

She gave me courage when it was time for me to leave Dragon's Lair and rebuild an old career. She gave me courage when it was finally time for me to seriously pursue being a professional writer. She gave me courage to keep working and fighting even when my own illnesses and conditions made me just want to lay down and sleep. She gave me hope as I considered a future where I could end up disabled and wracked with pain. She shared with me her joy, her excitement, her love and her life and gave me everything I never knew I wanted from a relationship.

Now, standing here without her, I've realized it's my turn to be afraid - because - because I am afraid to go forward in life without her. I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go next or what I'm supposed to do next, but I do know that I cannot go backwards, there is no reason to go sideways, so I will pick up my bag and I will keep going forward, even if I have to put one hand on the wall so I don't fall over.

I will keep going forward because she showed me how. And I will try to carry that depth, meaning and magnitude she gave me with me for the rest of my life. She would never have believed it, but she was the small person Tolkien envisioned who changed the course of my future, who showed me it was possible to do impossible things.

And I will say goodbye with one last thought from Tolkien: that I was glad to have gone through one lifetime with her than have faced all the ages of my life without her.

[sometipsygnostalgic]

“Love Day”, a catradora fanfic

I was apprehensive about posting this, because it is a personal gift for @phosphoricbomb​! 

But here is Love Day which is a fic that I wrote in her dms from the very random brain thoughts in my head on February 14th. 

It’s the first fic I’ve posted in many months and my silliest yet. Enjoy! 

Adora was drinking a coca cola, her favourite drink, in the Bright Moon kitchen area. She was banned from the kitchen area, after her first and final attempts at cooking dinner for everyone. But nobody was around right now, so she could drink as much coke as she needed and feel only mildly guilty about it!

Suddenly, with a loud SPARK, a wild Glimmer appeared.

"ADORA!!"

Adora yelped and dropped her coca cola glass on the floor, spraying both her and Glimmer, who would've probably been pissed off if she wasn't already so stressed.

Glimmer grabbed her arms. "Adora... I NEED your help!!! I haven't figured out what I'm going to do for Bow on Love Day!!"

"Love Day?" said Adora. "What the hell is Love Day?"

Glimmer narrowed her eyes at Adora. "The annual Etherian holiday where you show the person most special to you that you appreciate them, through exchange of cards and gifts?"

"Aaaa???" Adora was suddenly panicking too. "Oh no, what? Is that today?"

"YES!!"

"But I haven't got anything for Catra! She's going to think I'm a terrible girlfriend and leave me forever!"

Glimmer shook Adora. "You can't be having a crisis about not getting anything, I'm having a crisis about not getting anything! Just get her... like... a squeaky toy, or your old hoodie!  I need ideas for Bow!!!"

"Um. Get him, uhh.." Adora scratched her chin. "Get him a guitar pick or something."

"Musical instruments? Eh, maybe. Okay well you're shit out of luck, BYE ADORA!!!"

"WAIT NO GLIMMER YOU HAVE TO HELP ME TOO---"

And Glimmer teleported out of the room, leaving Adora alone, to figure out what to do for Catra!!! Adora rushed through her own things to see if there was anything she could give to Catra. Ahah - A SWORD!! Wait no. Was Catra interested in swords? Or was that just something Adora was interested in. But having a sword is the COOLEST thing ever. Or was it only cool to Adora? Would Catra think Adora got a gift for herself? Well it was literally one of her own swords, so was it just a handaway? AaaaaaH!!! Why is this so hard!!!

Adora also looked through her old hoodies. Sure, Catra nuzzled up against them every time she got the opportunity. But was it really fair to give it as a Love Day gift? How all out were you supposed to go for this? In the Horde, sure, being given someone's old clothes was a dream come true!!! Catra wore Adora's old uniforms ALL the time. But these hoodies were ALREADY covered in Catra's fur, and Adora suspected that Catra preferred to steal her hoodies rather than actually own them.

Adora made her way back to the kitchen area, wondering if Catra would instead want to make food, when she bumped into Frosta and Sea Hawk! Adora processed the scene in front of her. Sea Hawk was throwing coal into the oven, like he was trying to power a steam engine.

"More... MORE!!!" Frosta yelled. The oven was burning up a storm, the fire inside probably heating up way past its normal limits.

On top of it, Adora could see several chunks of large metal.  They were being heated up by the gas burner.

"Uhhh.... what... is happening here?" she asked. "Are you, are you supposed to use it like that?"

Frosta laughed maniacally. "We are making GUNS!!!!"

"That's right", Sea Hawk replied cheerfully. "Frosta is helping me make a sniper rifle for sweet Mermista! She always wanted to be a secret assassin, and what better gift than to make her dreams come true!!"

"So is that why you're filling the oven with coal?" Adora asked.

"It's so that the fire on the stove burns HOT ENOUGH to MELT the METAL," said Sea Hawk, "so we can make the gun!"

"You do realise that the temperature of the bottom part doesn't... power the stove, right?"

"Hmm? That's nonsense", said Sea Hawk. "This is CLEARLY where the fuel goes--- Oh dear---"

The oven was starting to MELT from the inside, droplets of metal and paint pouring onto the floor, while the metal chunks at the top had barely heated up at all!

"YESSSSS" cried Frosta. "MORE FIRE!!!"

Adora, not wanting to get Super Banned from the kitchen, ran away before the fire alarm went off. There was no way any advice from Sea Hawk was going to help her make a gift from Catra, especially if they weren't actually able to make any guns for her.

Adora, starting to feel hopeless, wandered into the basement area. How was she going to explain things to Catra? "Sorry Catra, I found out Love Day existed like 5 minutes ago so I got you nothing, here's a hug!"?? She couldn't even make Catra some certified Fake Ration Biscuits now! She was CERTAIN that Catra was going to open another portal as soon as she realised Adora hadn't even thought to gift her anything.

She stepped on something--- and it YELPED, and scratched her leg! Actually no, it didn't scratch her leg, it deliberately drew a taser and gave her a quick zippity zap.

"Ouch!!"

She realised that what she had stepped on was a small robot kitten, which wandered away into the newly built Bright Moon Lab of Robots and Awesome Science, aka, BRIMOLRAS, which was a stupid name, but she wasn't going to argue with  Entrapta.

Adora entered the lab, and saw Scorpia talking to Entrapta animatedly, while she focused intensely on something.

".....so she told me that I looked really pretty in the earrings, and I said 'Thanks, they belonged to my aunt!', and she said 'I hope I can meet your aunt one day', and I said 'That's too bad, because she was murdered by the Horde 30 years ago!!', and I don't know why but that really killed the mood, but anyway, that's why I wanted to give her some earrings too. They're awesome right?"

Scorpia held up the earrings, which were warped copper rings that had incredibly ameteur attempts at what appeared to be wooden scorpions attached to them. One of the scorpions appeared to have a blob on its head and was smiling happily in the way you'd see in a small child's drawing. The other had a spiky head, and was a bit larger, but unfortunately its tail appeared to have snapped off.

Entrapta raised an eyebrow, before smiling. "I think Perfuma will wear them every day :D"

Hmm. Maybe Entrapta and Scorpia could help Adora sort something out for Catra?

The robot cat meowed loudly, and the pair looked up at Adora. "Hey," Adora started, "could I have help with--" The cat meowed loudly again. "Making a gift---" MEOW!!!

"SHUSH, CHEESOID" said Entrapta. "Sorry Adora, she gets like this when she doesnt have Electrical Robo Snacks. Scorpia could you feed some to her?"

"Oh - Got it!!!" Scorpia replied, upright and happily grabbing a thing. It dispensed glowing smaller thingies which the robot cat preyed upon like it was starving to death. Scorpia cooed over it and patted its head, and the cat hissed at her. This didn't stop her gooey eyes at "Cheesoid".

Adora coughed. "Anyway---"

"Are you here because you need help making a gift for Catra for Love Day because you didn't know it existed until just now?" said Entrapta, hair hand pointing up and a smirk on her face.

Adora was stunned but only for a moment because she was used to this bullshit from Entrapta. "Okay, yes."

"That's okay," said Entrapta. "At least four other people have approached me today with the same issue! Thirteen minutes ago, I was helping Glimmer repaint her gift for Bow. Then she warned me not to help Sea Hawk make any guns! I haven't spoken to Sea Hawk yet but I'm 50/50 on whether I will help him make guns."

"I don't know what I can give her :(" said Adora. "I've known Catra for so long, but... we only got together, a couple of months ago." She sat down on a nearby table, shoving aside a couple of grenades to make room.  "I want to make Catra feel important, like she is special to me. How can I do that if I won't even do anything on LOVE day of all things? And, maybe she'll be okay with it, but.... I won't be. I'm not fine with knowing I let her down." Adora sighed, and stared at the floor.

...A tendril of hair patted her on the head gently. "There there!"

Then Adora dared to look up, teary eyed, and saw Scorpia staring straight into her soul with the most sappy, almost tearful expression! "Ahh!!" Adora yelped. "Eye contact!!!"

She fell backwards off the chair, knocking over the grenades. Fortunately Entrapta caught them all, and had room to also catch Adora, pushing her back onto the table, where Scorpia gripped her arms determinedly.

"You care so much about Catra!!" Scorpia yelled.  "I'm so... You're so sweet!!" She started bawling and hugged Adora very hard. "I'm so... I'm sorry, I just have so many feelings right now! I used to feel the same way, but you know her so much better than I do. You're made for each other Q_Q" Scorpia continued crying, and Adora tried to resume breathing. Entrapta stopped what she was doing for a moment, rotating her chair and looking at them both.

"Maybe you can't think of anything to give Catra, because neither of you know what she likes yet?" she said. "I know that Scorpia and Hordak thought they hated kim chi stew, but the first time they tried it, they asked for it every night. Even with me cooking!"

Adora huffed, insofar as it was possible while being hug crushed. "We just... we've barely been able to do anything, I don't even know who I am anymore... I guess I'm still learning who Catra has become, what she likes."

"It's going to take a while", said Entrapta. "Fortunately, I ALREADY KNOW what Catra likes!!!"

Entrapta spinned on her chair and took out a couple of charts. Entrapta was able to maintain so many charts and make so many things in a short time that Adora was wondering if she was living in a parallel plane where time was slowed down.

"See, it says right here.... Catra likes the colours black and red, dangerous new weapons, and cuddling Adora. Underlined in three black lines. She REALLY LIKES cuddling Adora."

Adora blushed. "Wait does this mean a hug is a viable gift then?"

"After doing much research, I've concluded Love day is less about materials... and more about spending time with the people you care about!!! But a hug tends to be a free offering."  Entrapta was rotating slowly on the chair and Adora tried to turn with her so she could see the chart, and was getting dizzy. "Catra likes some material things, and some immaterial things. She loves Melog, who as a cat companion, is both cuddly AND a friend. But maybe she would like something that represents Adora directly, when Adora is not there? Or at least something to remind her of you." This talk was starting to break Adora's brain. Cuddly, a friend, and would remind her of Adora..? She watched the robot cat purring on the floor, Entrapta patting it on the head once again. Its grumpy deeanour reminded her of Catra and Melog. The difference is, the cat wasn't very fluffy, and wasn't that down for cuddles--

"AHAH!!!" A flash of inspiration went through Adora. "I got it!!!" She pried her way out of Scorpia's arms using She ra strength. Scorpia sniffed and wiped her nose. "Alright Entrapta", Adora continued, "Can I borrow... uhh.... some material, some sewing needles, and any amount of fluff you might have?"

"Oh the sewing needles are over there next to the chainsaw", said Entrapta. "But I'm all out of fluff and material, you can steal it from Glimmer's secret pillow armory."

"Great, THANKS." Adora ran out of the room, and then back in again. "By the way is that thing you're working on for Hordak?"

Entrapta looked up from where she had started welding again. "For Hordak? Oh, no. This is my own power suit. I haven't got anything for---" She snapped the mask up. "WAIT!!! I forgot to finish Hordak's gift!!! I only have two hours!" She grabbed Scorpia. "Please help. If I don't get Hordak a gift for Love Day, he'll be so sad---" Adora couldn't stay and hear Entrapta resolve her crisis, for she had work to do. She found Glimmer's secret Pillow Armory, which everyone stole pillows from regularly because they were the softest fluffiest pillows, and got to work!!!

Two hours later, everyone came together at dinner... which was a takeaway for Sea Hawk reasons... and began sharing their Love Day gifts.

Micah went first. He placed a bouquet of flowers in the middle of the table, Angella's favourite. Castaspella and Glimmer hugged him.

It was silent for a while. Then Netossa launched something at Spinerella with her net!!! Spinerella looked up and narrowed her eyes. "A code for Sea of Thieves? Really?" "Hell yes, said Netossa. "We haven't played together since your Xbox Gold expired. Season 7 is SOOO much better Spinny, we're going to sink so many people!"

Bow coughed nervously, bringing out his gift for Glimmer. "I got you... a new cloak?" 

It had a sparkly under layer like Glimmer's current cloak, but it was much warmer, with a fuzzy white collar sewed onto it. It was magnificient, the colours of the galaxy. Glimmer looked so... happy, almost tearfully, and teleported to Bow, hugging him instantly. "Oh-- I got you something too!" she said bashfully. Then Glimmer pulled out.... a SHIELD!!! It was wrapped in a bow. And it had Bow's face printed on it with a wink, in his own art. That was probably the secret work Entrapta helped with but while Adora was autistic she still knew it was a bad idea to tell the world how last minute Glimmer's gift idea was. "It's your SUPER HERO shield", said Glimmer. So... you're safe, while you're protecting people  🥺 ” And then he kissed her on the top of the head, and she hugged him. Hey Tippen, I DO write Glimbow sometimes! The gift giving continued. Swift Wind got a pair of sunglasses for Castaspella, which fit her well somehow. Adora didn't think they were dating but it wouldn't entirely surprise her.

Inexplicably, Sea Hawk gave Mermista a gun. It was a sniper rifle as promised. Mermista blushed, and looked away, muttering something before gifting Sea Hawk a small box, which he stared at with such wonder as he opened it. He didn't share what it was it with the group.

Scorpia gifted Perfuma the little earrings. Perfuma looked SO happy, but she didn't put them on. Then she gave Scorpia a medium sized box, which Scorpia opened. "Wow..." she said, "This is so..." She took something out. "This is Scorpion Sensitive Soap... I thought it didn't exist anymore! And here are a pair of fuzzy gloves and one for my tail--" She took out the gloves and put them on immediately, even though it was really warm. Scorpia looked fuzzier than ever.  "I.. You're the BEST, Perfuma!!" And then the pair cried very loudly and everyone smiled, and talked a bit more loudly as things continued. Hordak looked a bit downtrodden as Entrapta wasn't here yet, but she showed up suddenly, running around the corner. "I'M SORRY I'M LATE" she said, "I WAS STILL WORKING ON IT!!!" And then she dropped a fucking engine onto the table. Hordak's eyes went wide.

"This..." he said, "This is the engine from my designs to upgrade the starship..." "Yep!!" she grinned. "But.. we thought we couldn't stabilize the plutonium crystals necessary for the catalyst..." "All sorted!!!" He stared at her, in disbelief, then pulled something out of his pocket. Entrapta gasped. "Is that a data crystal?" "I heard it's Etherian tradition to give your partners a part of yourself. This necklace... is a response to the one that you gave me long ago." (A/N: It was less than a year ago.) Entrapta had an unreadable expression as she tried to plant the blue crystal in her chest, then remembered she didn't have a power suit on, and placed it around her neck. "Wanted..."

They hugged, it was nice. Tipsy Adora thought it was very cute that Entrapta and Hordak seemed to have found someone who understands them. Catra had been watching events unfold while seated next to Adora, and grabbed her hand, stroking softly. Adora was flustered, and nervous as hell, but now she realised it was time.

She turned around and faced Catra.  And was stunned. She stared at Catra's beautiful face for about sixteen seconds before Catra stammered. "Uh. Hi Adora!" she said, tail flicking and a smirk on her face, amused and intimidated by Adora's behaviour.

Adora blinked. "H... Hi Catra."

Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Disaster lesbians." Spinny and netossa nodded in agreement. Entrapta was counting the seconds, verbally, that it took for Adora to continue. Scorpia was holding her breath, which couldn't be healthy. Bow was just gazing with his Bow face like he was going to start crying and hugging everyone again, which is happening a lot in this fic, but that's what you get when you're gay and sappy and writing a valentines day crack fic for your girlfriend.

"Mm-hmm!" Adora coughed. "So. Catra. I... I've known you for a very long time... and we've changed a lot over the course of that time... and I guess..." Adora sighed. "I guess, I'm starting to realise, I'm still learning about you. And now we've escaped the Horde, now we have ROOM to enjoy life... I have such a hard time figuring out what it is you like, or what even I like! Which is scary... but at the sametime.... kind of exciting. "

Catra's eyes were dilated and her tail had moved around her legs. Adora continued.

"I think, I know enough about you.... to say that for whatever reason, you like me. And I like you. So I thought maybe you'd appreciate it if you had something, that made you think of me."

She blushed and revealed, from behind.... a golden retriever toy! Or at least, that is what it was supposed to be. Some parts of its fur were less fluffy than others and its eyes were mismatched, but they were blue buttons, with black and white dots pained on them. It was so very cuddly and kind of fat. "I know it's not really useful like some other people's gifts... and you haven't asked for a cuddly toy... but I thought, you should know it's made with a lot of love."

Catra took the toy, and Adora waited for her reaction. She wondered if Catra was going to divorce her for such a shoddy gift, especially compared to Mermista's gun and Hordak's radioactive engine that he and Entrapta were now taking out of the room after much begging from Bow.

Catra laughed. She fucking laughed! But after a few seconds of wishing she was dead, Adora realised that Catra was crying. It was a happy laugh. Catra gave adora a hug, kissed her on the cheek, and talked in her ear. "You dummy. Of course you don't know what I want. I never tell you!!!"

Catra drew away, while Adora was enchanted. Catra was smiling peacefully, but then realised she was surrouned by people, and was blushing and looking away a lot like Mermista, as she took out Adora's gift. It was wrapped in several pieces of newspaper and tape.

"Here", she said. "Take it before I change my mind."

Adora unwrapped the gift... it was...... A cuddly cat. No, not just any cat - A Catra! It was a small cuddly Catra, on all fours with cartoonish proportions, like a very chibi Cat. Some parts of the fur were off colour - it seemed Glimmer's Pillow Armory had seen a lot of theft as of late - and it was slightly smaller than Adora's Adoretriever. But it was so funny. Adora giggled, she couldn't help herself, and Catra smiled.

"I thought the exact same thing", said Catra. "Now I'm with you forever whether you like it or not."

She picked Adora up, then realised Adora was too heavy to pick up, so Adora picked her up instead, and they kissed and hugged.

Why did Catra always have to be so cute?

The end!

And this is the fanart I drew to accompany it :)

[playedbetter]

@the-haunted-office said: From the multimuse questions meme: 5, 9, 13, 14, 25

(Soft reminder to please include the full context, meaning the full prompt/question not just the number/symbol when sending me memes)

which of your muses needs / wants a hug the most?

Going by my current fandom divisions (which I need to put on my doc along with a lot of new muses)

Crime: Kento and his past life Dolly Harris tie for need thanks to being abducted from their families and raised without love; Haru Maeda is the runner up. Badger would like a hug the most.

Horror: Clara both needs and wants one the most on account of being sixteen, responsible for saving a town, and hated by nearly everybody.

Superhero: Incredibly tough competition due to taking this to mean love and affection there is a three way tie between Zatanna Zatara, Zachary Zatara, and Nick Necro. All of them crave love and affection and all have things that get in the way of that. Nathan McDonald wants a hug the most.

Vampires: Lucy Westenra, between all the infantileaztion she went through, dying horribly at age nineteen, and then everything afterwards, she really could use a hug.

Actual Play: Beauregard Lionett, please give this woman a sense of security with the people she loves.

Discworld: I can't recommend hugging any of them for either your safeties stake (Vimes, Vetinari, Adora) or your wallets (Moist). That said, Moist von Lipwig.

Dragon Age: Zinnia Lavellan, she has suffered more than Andraste and her story isn't even over yet.

League of Legends: A tie between Aphelios and Alune, both isolated terribly and put through questionable training and oppression that threatened their lives.

Borderlands: 100% Angel, any sort of affection or love would be amazing for her.

Overwatch: Amélie LaCroix takes the cake thanks to everything that Talon has put her through, please hug her.

Team Fortress 2: Honestly I don't think a hug would help any of them in any major way, though Heavy likes hugs so go give him one.

Misc: The Narrator and Joey Mallone tie for both having spent countless years unable to touch anybody else and watch their loved one slowly die while either going insane or watching their loved one be insane.

Danganronpa: Mukuro Ikusaba and Inuko Hachiya tie thanks to both growing up in completely child inappropriate situations and facing heavy abuse for the stake of despair.

Homestuck: Vriska Serket, another case of how much a secure relationship would actually help.

which of your muses tends to be the group “mom friend”?

Going by my current fandom divisions

Crime: Dallas, he goes mother hen over the gang and trying to get them to get along.

Horror: Artemy Brukah, he can't help but worry so much about everyone and making sure they all have what they need.

Superhero: Barbara Gordon, even when you don't know it she will have your back and keep you covered.

Vampires: Don't say it to her face but Damsel, she is shockingly nosey and absolutely will show you the ropes, there's a reason she's known as a den mother.

Actual Play: None of them, Fjord comes the closest but he's more of a dad friend.

Discworld: By the metric of being nurturing Vetinari, nobody in their right mind would say this though.

Dragon Age: Garrett Hawke, before every adventure he makes sure everybody has their gear, he will cook you soup, he will make you wear warm clothing in winter.

League of Legends: Yone. Literally canonically described as a mom friend.

Borderlands: Absolutely none of them asking for responsibility from these people is like asking water from a rock.

Overwatch: Honestly none of these guys either, none of them are really that nurturing.

Team Fortress 2: Heavy is the only one of them worth a nurturing bone in his body.

Misc: Kim Kitsuragi, his near endless patience and calming affect let him take the spot with ease, and is the blog wide answer.

Danganronpa: Hajime Hinata, exasperated but still trying.

Homestuck: Dirk Strider, which helps exactly zero people.

which of your muses would you consider to be the best cook? (Also asked by @amadaans, ty!)

Excluding Izuru Kamakura & Hajime Hinata given that he is the best at practically everything possible in his universe; it would be Zachary Zatara, he has an active interest in cooking and it's a skill he works on.

While not quite cooking the best mixologist (with the same exclusions) is Leah Kravitz thanks to spending a little over ten years working the New York club scene, Zach in his ritual and injustice verses is a runner up.

Baking wise (same exclusions) it would also be Zach, honestly not a lot of my muses are interested in cooking beyond just taking care of themselves and those that are don't have the time or resources to put into it.

which of your muses second guesses themselves the most? why?

Again by fandom cause I have too many thoughts.

Crime: Kento, he has been trained his whole life to obey orders, so when acting independently he never is quite sure he's doing the right thing.

Horror: Artemy Brukah and Clara tie as they have relived the same 12 days unable to stop many horrible events which has left them questioning what on earth else they could do to try to prevent harm and what the best path really is as none of the roles presented to them are appealing.

Superhero: Nathan McDonald, he is a nineteen year old who is deeply depressed and self depreciating, he is trying his best be he's not sure if it's enough. He hasn't gotten a chance to prove himself.

Vampires: Heather Poe, pre her ghouling she was a pretty anxious person that struggled even just going outside. Some of those doubts remain even now.

Actual Play: A tie between Caleb Widogast and Essek Thelyss, how could they ever fully trust themselves again after what they had done? Caleb grows from this faster than Essek.

Discworld: Vimes, if he fucks up someone is probably going to die. He second guesses himself to a healthy degree.

Dragon Age: Matthew Trevelyan, he spent his life getting indoctrinated by the templars and as he would put 'fell for 'it'. He's worried he's still that gullible, or that those beliefs rubbed off on ways he hasn't noticed.

League of Legends: Lukai Hwei, he was raised having to suppress his mental health issues and emotions which has left him underequiped to deal with them now, even so he has the self awareness to question himself as much as he does everybody else.

Borderlands: Angel by default as the only one without some sort of ego problem, it's certainly not her biggest problem.

Overwatch: Gabriel Reyes, he's made a lot of costly mistakes over the years and he's tired of it.

Team Fortress 2: Spy, his job is a paranoia inducing one where the slightest misstep could spell his death.

Misc: Harry Du Bois, half the time when he's said something he's thinking to himself "why the fuck would you say that"

Danganronpa: Yumeto Ariyoshi, he has actual anxiety and is pretty sure if anyone found out the truth about him he would get promptly killed or erased.

Homestuck: Dirk Strider, because he's fucked up so much before, unfortunately the second guessing does nothing to help.

which of your muses has / would have the silliest ringtone? what would it be?

Harry Du Bois, whose ringtone for literally everybody is this:

It has outed him on an undercover job.

[specialsituationsgroup]

Patrician's palace v1.1 + extras

So I made acouple of changes, hopefully improvments.

First, swapped the warm yellow and metalic gold for pearl gold. Swapped metalic silver and black for regular light gray and black. Moved Old Stoneface into a dynamic pose. Changed the stair fence to reach waist high and flow better. Lowered the "wood" arcs so they don't cover the gutter rail.

Bigger arches to make the attic cleaner and more spacious.

Main cast in minifigs.

Far back row: Angua, commander Vimes, palace guard, Detritus, Rincewind Back row: Foul Ole Ron, place cook / Emma / Glenda / Grace Speaker, Death / mime, lord Rust, Igor Mid row: Otto, Tears of the Mushroom, Sybil, Erol, Moist, Mr Pump Near row: Dwarf king, Drumknott, Vetinari, Leonard, food taster / young Sam. Front row: head for young Vetinari

Changed Igor's head to yellow and a different face (no glowing eyes), to fit with yellow hands and to differentiate from the golems. Changed Rincewinds face to a scared expression.

Removed print on Vetinari's robes, changed Errol's color to lime.

Back row: Drumknott, Death v2, Adora Dearheart, Albert Spangler Mid row: Charlie, assasin Vetinari, patrician Vetinari, stoker Blake Front row: lizard Vetinari.

Back row: Vimes under Summoning Dark, constable Vimes, commander Vimes, sargent Keel, sir Samuel Front row: young Sybil, BLT Sybil, dragonbreeder Sybil with Erol, diplomat Sybil, young Sam

The rank and file. Taller Detritus with loincloth, without different armor. Same peice for Peicemaker and Fred's bow and arrow. New Igor/zombie head. Sally Humpeding.

Far back: Queen Molly, Foul Ole Ron, young Rosie, mrs Palm, madam Back row: Groat, Moist, Stanley, Gladys Near row: Stibbons, Ridcully, Rincewind Front row: Otto, Scarissa Chrisplock, Wiliam de Worde

The terrible trio.

[freedfromthegalactichivemind]

The Gray Kind

She-Ra fanfiction  Mild shipping.  Catradora, Entrapdak, others hinted at / mentioned.  Characters: Adora, Catra, Bow, Glimmer, Scorpia, Entrapta, Hordak, Horde Clones  Genres: Slice of Life, Comedy. Post-canon.   Rating: PG / Teen, just because Catra uses a few naughty no-no words as a treat.  Inspired by: A trip to see my family across the country and a visit to get some takeout from a hole in the wall that I grew up with.   Summary: Adora is nostalgic for a few things - small things - from the Horde.  She finds herself missing ration bars, of all things, and seeks out the secret to their lost recipe.   Also on Ao3:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/46812565

The Gray Kind Adora picked at her plate of food at the royal table.  It was laid out with a fancy gelatin, beautiful fruits cut into fancy heart and star shapes, delicate cured meats and cheeses and delightful, fluffy biscuits. This was not normal for her, to pick rather than scarf and her friends noticed.   “What’s wrong with you?” Catra asked through a mouthful of ham and biscuit.  Glimmer gave her a glare from across the table.  Catra had never had the best table-manners and, then again, neither had Adora.  People who’d been raised in the Horde encountering good food for the first time tended to be none too delicate in their devouring.  Catra got, perhaps, a special pass just because everyone was glad that she was navigating basic morals and learning how to live a life not based on conquest.  She was also fairly new to eating at the royal table after spending the last year and a half in encampments working on rebuilding projects as per her reformation guidelines and being used to soldier’s mess-tents, where eating food quickly took priority to eating it delicately.   Adora knew better and had learned to be dainty enough for the Queen’s guards and dignitaries, but she’d never been this dainty before.   “Oh, nothing,” Adora tried to deflect.   “We haven’t seen you pick at a plate like this since we fighting the Galactic Horde!” Bow pointed out.  “Please tell us what’s wrong. We’re your friends.”   “I promise I wasn’t in the kitchen this time!” Glimmer joked, holding up her hands.   Adora took a little bite of a star-shaped white fruit and looked wistful.  “It’s wonderful, really, but I’ve just gotten to thinking how much I miss ration bars.” Everyone’s eyes went wide.   “Huh?” Glimmer half-yelped.  “Are you insulting Chef’s cooking?  If so, I’ve got to know, I mean… she’s not going to be happy if she’s off her game.”   “Are you sick?” Catra asked.  “Seriously, Adora, do you have a fever?”   “No, the food’s great!” Adora assured, “As always!  It’s better than I could ask for!  It’s just… I guess I’m feeling nostalgic…or something.”   “For the Horde?” said Bow, incredulous.   “A little,” Adora admitted.  She gave Catra a demure glance.  “I mean, the best part of being in the Horde is right here, but…” “It was terrible.” Catra huffed.   “Not always!”   “All we did was train.  Or sneak off somewhere and had to worry about getting caught doing ‘unauthorized activities.’  Things could fly under Hordak’s lack-of-nose but not a lot got past Shadow Weaver.  It was dismal and stinky…”   “Says the person who wanted to rule it,” Glimmer noted, snarkily.   “We’re all allowed to be young and stupid, right?”  Catra held her upper arms uncomfortably.  “Let’s… not bring this up.”   “Besides,” Glimmer added, “It’s not like you can’t go back, it’s just different now, better!  New Scorpioni is lush and green because of the She-Ra magic and the safe release of the Heart of Etheria!  I bet we can find all of your old make-out spots and revisit them and they’ll look a lot better now!”   Adora looked at her boots, her face going absolutely red at the joke about “make-out spots.”  Catra’s fur was puffed up.   “It’s not really that,” Adora said after a pause.  “It’s just… have you ever gotten a taste for something and you haven’t had it in a long time?  I haven’t had a ration bar in forever!  They were hearty and filling…” “And bland.  And weird,”  Catra added. “Good riddance!” “I thought you liked actual food!” Bow questioned.   “I do! I do!  I love it!” Adora said, holding her hands up.  “You know me!  I deplete the ice cream stocks almost as bad as Mermista!  It’s just… you know… I guess I’m a little tired of… fancy.”   “This isn’t fancy!” Glimmer retorted. “This is a pretty basic dinner. You were right beside me at my coronation, and at the Primefall ceremony and…” “I know, this is everyday, but it’s still ‘fancy’ to me.  It always has been.”   “I know!” Bow gasped, “It’s the party-thing all over again!  You had to get used to parties!  You didn’t even know what they were!”   “Pheh, Adora’s such a square,” Catra teased. “Always by the book, we could barely get her into anything contraband because she believed in the Horde’s mission to save the people of the planet from the eeeeevil princesses.  But… yeah… we didn’t do a lot of fun stuff in the Horde except beating each other up.  I still can’t believe you’re nostalgic for the food, though!  How can that even…be a thing?”   Catra stuffed another meat-laden biscuit into her mouth.  She munched and swallowed it down dramatically.   “The stuff was objectively garbage.” “I know, right?”  Adora said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.  “But they had just the right amount of salt on them… and that red sauce that Commander Cobalt made sometimes – I don’t know it was made from, where he got it or what it even was, but it was perfect with the gray ones! It even made the brown ones taste better!”   “They were nutrition, not pleasure,” Catra reminded.   “Yeah… but… I kind of miss some things from… what used to be home.”   ____________________________ Later that night, Catra was hanging up her daytime clothes while Adora was washing her face in the bathroom sink of their private chambers.   “Do you really miss the Horde?”  Catra asked, “I don’t miss anything about it. Everything about it was miserable – except maybe when I took over and got to push ol’ Hordak around.  I have to admit, that was kind of fun.  But… you know… it’s hard for me to be nostalgic when the only reason I was there was because I got dumped off there in a box and Shadow Weaver only let you ‘keep’ me because you thought I was a kitten.”   “You are a kitten,”  Adora said, turning around with a cheeky grin.  

“But I grew up. Surprised the hell out of everyone that I wasn’t the species they thought I was.  We’re free now. We aren’t following anyone’s orders, living in fear anymore and we get to eat what we like.  Why would you want anything else?”  

“Just a flavor I miss,” Adora said, shirking on a sheer white nightgown over her underclothes.  Whether it, or they, would stay on the entire night was up to them. Catra was giving Adora a frisky smile while Adora was giving Catra a tired one.  Maybe it was going to be just one of those “cuddle and talk” nights.  

Catra sighed as she sat down on their bed. The tip of her tail lashed with a tremor of agitation.  “To tell the truth,” she admitted.  “I kind of miss them, too.”  

“Heh, really?” Adora asked.  

“Maybe not the brown ones.  The green ones were a little better.  The gray ones… were actually kind of good – especially with that weird sauce.  The stuff was just a little bit spicy, not too much.  I don’t know if it would go with anything else!  It was just perfect with the bars – they somehow, SOMEHOW worked! I swear, Adora!  The people here in Bright Moon just put cream sauce and their fancy berry jams on everything… If I never see a béchamel again, It’ll be too soon!”  

Adora softly laughed.  “I know they’ll never understand it!  Horde-food is, as you said, just ‘objectively bad.’  The most cost-effective ingredients…reconstituted whatsit!  We could have been eating a bunch of bugs for all we know!”  

“I have to keep up appearances, you know,” Catra said, her ears drooping.  “Sparkles and Arrow Boy and the staff and the citizens all accept you and whatever quirks you have because you’re She-Ra.  I screwed up in a way I can never come back from, so I can’t talk about missing anything about the Horde.  I have to be polite and eat their food and just get used to being all…civilized, I guess.”  She turned away when Adora sat down next to her.  “I’m still only here because I’m your pet.”  

“I wouldn’t say that.  You did a lot…in the end, I mean… fighting Prime.  You were the key to his downfall – you and I and all of our friends. Don’t ever forget that. I would not be here without you.”  

“It doesn’t really make up for the damage I caused up until then.  And… if Entrapta is to be believed, even fuckin’ Hordak helped to take down Prime and you don’t see anyone inviting him over for tea.”    

“He wouldn’t come,” Adora offered.  “I actually invited him once.  Entrapta said he wasn’t feeling well.”  

They sat in silence until Catra turned back to Adora.  “I feel like I have to try so hard… so they don’t feel like I’m a threat anymore, I mean.”

“You don’t have to try as hard as you think you do,” Adora offered.  She cupped Catra’s cheek and ran a thumb over it.  She ran the tips of her fingers up to touch the back of her ear in just the way that Catra liked.  

“Maybe we can take a trip to visit Scorpia and see if she knows anything about our old crappy food,”  Catra said.  “It would be just like her to keep making the junk.”  

“It’s been a long day,”  Adora replied with a frisky smile.  “I think we should both go to bed.”  

____________________________________

 “I’m afraid we don’t have the technology anymore,” Scorpia said as she, Catra and Adora walked in the shade.  “Those machines all broke down when the vines got up in them and no one’s bothered to fix them.”  

Various people milled about. Many carried or carted construction-supplies as even over one year after Primefall, there was quite a lot of repair to be done, as well as new building of infrastructure and housing as people moved into the former Fright Zone.  Gardeners in big floppy sun-hats trimmed vines and bushes – and not all of them had metal shears. Some had claws. Scoriponi people who’d been scattered throughout Etheria were returning to their ancient homeland under the rule of their ex-soldier-Princess (although Scorpia would be the last to say that she really ruled the land, the Princess-stuff being new to her.  She billed herself more like a loose organizer with something of a Force Captain’s ways, still).  Ex Horde-soldiers that both Catra and Adora recognized seemed to be making a good life for themselves here.  There were even a few clones.  

“Do you know the old recipes, at least?” Adora implored.

“Nope! Can’t say that I do!  Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have some of my special tea?  Or crumpets? Perfuma taught me how to make great crumpets.  Oh! And Entrapta’s kitchen staff taught me a recipe for these miniature scones! They’re just wonderful!”  

“Nah,” Catra said, pointing a teasing finger at Adora.  “Blondie here is really hankering for some old school straight-up garbage-food.”  

“Do you know where Commander Cobalt got off to, at least?” Adora asked.  “We need something from him, too.”  

“The last I saw him, he and Captain Grizzlor were going to make a new life for themselves in the Crimson Waste – they were going to try to open up a bar or something.”  

“We like what you’ve done with the place,” Adora offered.  

“I’m not sure it’s what my family had when I was too little to remember…before the Horde.”  Scorpia was sheepish.  She rubbed the back of her neck with her right claw.  “I’m trying, though… and making it our own.  We’re keeping most of the growth here, trying to make it into gardens.  Perfuma and I kind of…have extended visits with each other?  I don’t really like living out of a tent or in a tree-hollow in Plumeria, I’m more of an indoor-gal, so it’s kind of a compromise.”  

Catra held an arm and lashed her tail. “I can’t say that I’m not still getting used to the Bright Moon lifestyle, either.”  

“Yeah… it can be a little much,” Adora admitted.  “It’s why we’re getting a bit nostalgic.”

“For crap,” Catra asserted.

“Yeah…for crap…I guess,” Adora conceded.

“You could try asking Hordak,” Scorpia suggested.  “He invented the ration bars, so he’d know all about them!”  

Catra turned on her heel and put herself into a position to walk straight back to the skiff that she and Adora had come in on. “Nope!”  

________________________________________

 Adora found herself alone on the dark mountain trail leading up to the Crypto Castle in Dryl.  She was bound and determined to find answers, even as Catra was content to forget about it and go back to cream sauces and berry jams over smoked river-fish and delicate cured meats.  

Being greeted by robots did feel unnatural and being greeted by clones almost as much so – each face essentially the same, save for how many new eye colors and hair colors they were now displaying. As uncanny as they were by their left-of-standard-humanoid nature, the clones in settlement in Dryl made Adora smile. They were very warm to her, welcoming. They were experimenting with a wide variety of clothing – trousers, dresses, big weird hats with feathers…sandals with socks.  They’d developed a variety of little quirks, somewhat exaggerated in each individual expressly to stand out – as individuals.  They certainly were developing their own culture apart from their collective past quite rapidly and Adora had never before seen people so full of what seemed to be a collective joy.  

They were free now and they reveled in it.

A lovely spacebat with eyes that had gone a warm light brown named Acorn escorted Adora inside.  “Oh, and you might want to duck now,” he casually said after several minutes as they walked along.    

At that moment, Adora sensed a disturbance in the air and heard a “Whoosh!”  Acorn grabbed her shoulder and they ducked down just as a blade swept past their heads, parting a hair at the very top of Adora’s head.  Her eyes were wide and her teeth were clenched.  

“Entrapta has disabled most of the castle traps,” Acorn tried to assure her, “but a few parts of the security system are still armed.  We’ve all gotten to know which ones and where by now, but guests need a little help.”  

“Um… thank you… Mr. Acorn,” Adora squeaked out.

“ADORA!”  

That loud, nasal voice could only belong to one person.  Entrapta slipped down out of the ceiling and ambulated on her hair to greet her in the front hall. “I’m so glad you’re here!  Will you do a She-Ra transformation for me up in my lab?  I wanted to run some more tests…”  

“Um…” Adora said awkwardly, penting her index fingers together.  “Believe it or not, I’m actually here to see Hordak.”  

“Oh, I’ll tell him right away!”  

________________________________

 “If this is about the prosthetics-project, tell the Queen that we are still working out some critical errors in the cybernetics.”  

Hordak stood with his back to her.  His armored arms were crossed.  He stood over a table upon which was what appeared to be an artificial arm composed of a kind of material somewhat resembling First Ones’ crystalline.  It had a gap in the middle, composed of an independently-swiveling radius and ulna.

“And the Salineas water-purification machines should be ready in a month’s time if Mermista’s engineers decide to actually follow our blueprints instead of insisting upon their stubborn continuance to be suspicious of us.  Let it be known that Entrapta’s brilliance more than makes up for my… war criminal inclinations.  I will go back to that kingdom in chains once again if it would assure the populace of my contrition…”  

“I’m not here for any of that,” Adora said with an anxious, insincere laugh.  “I am here asking after a recipe.”  

“A recipe?”  Hordak turned around, his ears perking up with utter incredulousness. “You may wish to speak with Baker regarding your request.  I have barely begun to understand…food.”  

“He loves mangoes!”  Entrapta chimed.  She stuck her face in her tablet and let her fingers slide over it. “We’ve got some more heavy-ore to trade if Plumeria is interested in sending us more fruit and seeds and tree-saplings!  The bats are just wild about fruit! And Dryl has many new subjects to keep fed now that they’re weaning off the amniotic fluid! Any kind! It doesn’t matter!  Did you know that they can even eat berries that are poisonous to us?  I had a panic when Wrongie got into some nightshade, but he was just fine!”  

“Ration bars,” Adora asked, ignoring Entrapta’s tangent and looking Hordak straight in his deep red eyes.  “I want to learn how to make the old Horde ration bars.”  

“Ration bars?”  Hordak asked, “Whatever for?  Does not Bright Moon already have a nutrition program for their army?  Are you planning another interstellar journey and require something easy to store?”  

“Okay, this is going to sound weird, but here goes…”  Adora caught her breath.  “I kind of miss the taste of them?”  

Hordak snorted.  His ears went sideways.  

“Do you also wish to know the makings of Galactic Horde amniotic fluid?” he sarcastically inquired.  

“No, no,” Adora said, holding her hands up, “That’s fine.  It’s just… I got so used to eating the bars as a kid that I sort of miss them now that I haven’t had them in a long time?”  

“And I thought that once one discovered flavor that one was never supposed to go back,” Hordak said, turning around again, tinkering with the arm on the table.  “As you wish.  I will share the components of the bars.  No doubt you will find yourself disappointed in them all over again.”  

“Thank you, sir.”  

“I am no longer a sir or a lord,” Hordak reminded her.  “I am merely a failed conqueror, a defective clone, a war criminal making pitiful attempts at atonement and… Entrapta’s.”  

Hordak grabbed a tablet off a shelf and pressed several places on the screen with casual clawed fingers.  “Ah, yes, here it is.  Brown, green and gray.  Each had a base of common grains – generally wheat and barley, whatever we took from annexed farmlands.  Vegetal components consisted of sea grasses harvested by the Horde navy and freshwater algal blooms, spirulina and the like… Ah, yes… a protein component of various insects that infested the Fright Zone – pest control and nutrition all in one. Imp couldn’t control all of the pests on his own as much as he liked to try…”  

“Insects?”  Adora made a face.  

“Four-footed livestock animals were thrown into the mix when we were able, but yes,” Hordak said with a nod, not looking away from the pad, “Insects were the most reliable resource.  I assure you that they were thoroughly cleansed and cooked so that the ones found in the sewers would not infect the soldiers with any of the diseases that the planetary natives are so prone to in regards to contact with waste and the creatures that happen to live in it.”  

Adora made another, more wrinkled up face.

“Tell me that sewer-bugs weren’t in the gray ones…” she pleaded with a wince.  

“We tended to source the higher quality gray mix from annexed farmland.  Most of it was made of what you would call…what is it again?  The curled-furred especially stupid animals?  Mutton? And the eggs of the common domestic birds?”

“Yep!” Entrapta chimed.  

Adora breathed a sigh of relief.  King Micah had been trying to impress upon her the joys of insects as cuisine, but she had yet to take to it – and even he eschewed the idea of the spindly-legged crawly brown sewer-scuttlers.  

At least one thing she’d liked to eat in the past – her favorite kind of bar – was made of something decent.  

“Oh, and myself,” Hordak added.  

“Huh?”  Adora asked.  

Hordak set the pad down on the worktable and regarded her with a straight face.  He gestured to his chest.  “Myself,” he repeated.  

“I…am afraid that I do not understand?”  

“The gray bars provided an extra nutrient-boost to the troops.  A part of their component was a cloned matrix of my own cells.”  

Adora’s jaw dropped in horror.  

Hordak smiled wickedly as he tugged at one of the thigh-slits of his tabard-dress.  Entrapta grinned ear to ear.  “Remember, Entrapta, how I showed you the harvest-point? Right here, from a small sample of my right thigh-muscle.”

“Well, those thighs are your best feature other than your brain!”  

Hordak smacked his thigh playfully (for Entrapta) and put down his dress.  His ears were perked and he had an undeniable sharp-toothed grin at Adora’s discomfort.

“Oh, dear moons, I know what you taste like…”

“He’s quite a snack, isn’t he?”  Entrapta said, sidling up to the spacebat and wrapping a tail of hair around his waist.  

“I…know…what…you…taste…like…”  

“Not truly,” Hordak said.  “The treatment necessary to foster vat-growth rendered out any flavor you might find in conventional meat.  It should come as no surprise to you.  Clone-components made up a significant portion of our amniotic fluid.”  Hordak’s ears tipped back and he looked ceilingward, thoughtful.  “What used to be ‘waste-management’ and ‘humanoid-resources’ in space is something we have since rejected in regards to a newfound respect for personhood, but I cannot say that I had these qualms back when I ran the Etherian Horde.”  

“I’ve…eaten you…or some of you…”  

“I am afraid so, Adora.”  

“Adora?” Entrapta asked in concern, “You look a little green…”  

_____________________________________

In the end, Adora somehow tracked down the recipe for Commander Cobalt’s special sauce – a mix of tomato and peppers with a few stray seasonings thrown in (all vegetation-based).  

She found out that it was quite good with fried potatoes and with crispy fried fish.  

Adora was content to never eat a gray ration bar again.  

__________________________

END.

[jellystarsdrops]

kybow headcanons because i miss them

LOTS of forehead kisses

both of them are pretty touch-starved, especially kyle

they both have pet names for each other

what bow calls kyle: sweetheart, my love, koala

what kyle calls bow: bowbear, my prince

bow writes love letters to kyle and would send them by attaching them to his arrows and shooting them at a tree near the horde

they would secretly meet up in the whispering woods to see each other and be gay

bow would love and compliment kyle so much to the point kyle starts sobbing

not because he's sad; kyle never got this much love and attention when he was living at the horde

bow would panic, thinking he did something wrong

bow felt terrible when he left kyle at the horde, so he went on a solo mission to bring him to the rebellion

kyle appreciated and felt touched when he came back for him

bonus: orrr kyle was still salty and hurt that he thought bow cared for him when he didn't so bow had to earn his trust back

bow cooks for both of them

kyle tries to cook but fails miserably, but bow would still eat what he cooks despite it tasting bad

kyle has a lot of interests (reptiles, book series, etc.) so bow is always happy to listen to kyle infodump on him

cuddles!!!!!!!

bow does all the loving but kyle would dedicate whole entire days or weeks to smothering bow in the love and affection he deserves

kyle was very nervous to meet bow's dads but in reality, he had nothing to worry about because they both immediately love kyle

lance definitely showed kyle bow's baby pictures

they can be pretty cheesy but it's okay <3

bow and kyle were in a secret relationship till glimmer and adora found out about them after the both of them were searching for bow when he had sneaked out from a mission they were on

adora was extremely happy and supportive of the both of them while glimmer didn't trust kyle

she believed that kyle was getting information from bow + he was from the horde

adora defended kyle because she has known him her whole entire life and he wouldn't harm a fly

add the fact that adora was from the horde as well and they accepted her

glimmer does eventually warms up to kyle and approves of him

lonnie has known about them for a good while because it's pretty obvious and she's seen kyle sneak out a couple of times

she doesn't really care but she is glad that kyle is happy and promises not to tell anyone else in the horde, especially catra

bow and kyle have matching necklaces, bracelets, or just something!!!!

[safinsunx]

catradora headcanons (after season 5)

- catra has nightmares about horda, all the bad things that happened to her, war etc. she wakes up while everybody is asleep, but not adora. she always comforts catra and just sit with her. they cuddle till they're both safe ans asleep

- glimmer is so done with them. catra and adora are like kids, they're loud, always laughing. they always do mess and glimmer is the one that need to cleen after them

- adora often buys flowers for her girlfriend

- catra is the one who can cook, and she does. adora is terrible in kitchen, ofc she can make simple food, but it's better for everyone to keep her away from that

- adora is always warm at night, but catra is always cold. adora sleeps in her underwear or/w t-shirt and without any blanket etc, but catra sleeps in fcking kigurimi, with duvet and many pillows but she's still freezing

- they love movie nights

- adora can sing very well. catra often asks her to do that, and she loveeee when her gf says yes

[tippenfunkaport]

SPOP Friendship Shorts

Did you know that I have a a bunch of short fics and drabbles all collected into a single fic called SPOP Friendship Shorts? They are cute and fluffy and funny and you can find them on AO3 here.

Here's what's in the collection so far (but I update it whenever I have something new to post):

Meetings and Beginnings: Not-yet-General Juliet’s first day on the job.

Mom Friends and Bad Influences: Little Bow tries to talk Glimmer out of a terrible idea.

Relatives: Angella and Castaspella have an awkward tea and the sister-in-laws find common ground in the fact that their love for “that boy” only extends so far

FREE DAY: Jokes and Pranks: Catra gets her own transformation sequence.

Enemies and Rivals: Years after the fall of Prime, Adora gets a note that fills her with panic.

Chaotic Dynamic: Entrapta helps Sea Hawk in the kitchen with explosive results.

Unlikely Buddies: Mermista and Scorpia practice because a good detective knows a MURDER could happen at any time.

Fractured Friendships: Hard Feelings (Catra and Double Trouble reunite)

Sidekicks & Supportive Buddies: Swift Wind and Melog bond. Maybe.

Post Canon Potential: Catra harasses Bow about his lack of PDA with Glimmer.

Quads & Squads:A princess alliance meeting gets derailed as they try to establish who, exactly, is in the Best Friend Squad.

Work Friends: A few months after Queen Angella disappeared into the portal, General Juliet reflects on her years at Bright Moon.

What if?: Horde Prime vs Shadow Weaver (Canon Divergence AU)

Teams and Alliances: Mermista and Spinnerella combine forces to make a SHARKNADO!

Crack (Friend)ships: It’s Swift Wind’s turn to host the monthly meeting of the Society of Comic Sidekicks That Some People Think Are Annoying But Are Just Doing Their Best and that goes about as well as you might expect.

My Other SPOP Palentines fics: A masterpost of SPOP Palentines fics I wrote that are not in this collection.

Alone: Juliet delivers Angella the news of Micah's final battle.

Murder!: Winning tonight's murder mystery game won't be as easy as Mermista thinks it will be

The Bot and The Winter's Bane: Frosta and Emily have a chat while everyone else is busy being boring and mushy at a ball.

Marinate: Glimmer and Wrong Hordak (Kadroh) are supposed to be cooking dinner for Micah's welcome back dinner cruise when a sea monster attacks.

An Embarrassing Display of Affection: Double Trouble disguises themselves to sneak into a princess event to check up on their kitten and all those other do-gooders they absolutely don't care about at all, obviously!

Wrong Hordaks: Catra is surprised that Entrapta convinced Hordak to come to her Halloween party.

The Queen: Micah has momentarily forgets who "the queen" is now.

Enough: The Best Friend Squad arrives too late to save a village from the Horde and Glimmer feels like it's all her fault for not being powerful enough.

(This fic was formerly titled SPOP Palentines bc it was created for the @spop-palentines event but apparently that title was confusing to the youths so I renamed it something more obvious.)

[adorasgayass]

Super Pal Trio Headcanons

As much as I love the best friend squad, I must say, the super pal trio (Scorpia, Entrapta and Catra) are underrated. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and made a list of dumb headcanons about my babies.

this post (which made me wanna do this in the first place)

The three of them get together every other week

Scorpia said they should have Sunday brunches and Catra said that they weren’t old ladies

So yeah, Sunday brunches are definitely a thing

Entrapta insists it consists of only tiny foods

On Entraptas bday, Scorpia and Catra throw a surprise party

They do that thing where they all pretend to forget and entrapta gets sad and then... SURPRISE

The party has tiny foods and tiny hats and tiny beverages

Catra tells everyone that it was Scorpia’s idea but it was rlly hers

 I mentioned this in another post, but I feel like, at first, Perfuma will be slightly jealous of entrapta and Scopia’s relationship

but then she realizes that they’re purely platonic and her and entrapta become close friends

During they’re biweekly get togethers, they discuss their SOs

Entrapta and Catra both love Perfuma and 100% approve of her as their Scorpia’s gf

Scorpia forgives Hordak pretty quickly but Catra takes a while

And she only does it cuz she wants Entrapta to be happy

When Adora wants to propose, she gets Entrapta and Scorpia’s blessing

Perfuma does the same

Whenever Catra learns to make a dish (I headcanon that she likes to cook), she learns how to make it miniature for Entrapta

They get into all sorts of shenanigans

Melog LOVES Entrapta and Scorpia

And I mean LOVE

Like, they are constantly purring around the two of them and sitting on them

Melog does not like Emily tho

Emily and Melog have some weird pet rivalry where they both want all the attention of the Super Pal Trio

Also, you know how Frosta isnt a huge fan of Catra’s? Well....

Catra: Ugh, your kid is so annoying

Scorpia: My kid? 

Catra: You know. Frosta.

Scorpia: Frosta isn’t my kid.

Entrapta: Wait, she isn’t?

Frosta calls Catra “That Cat Bitch” and Scorpia has never been so scandalized

But it made Catra laugh and led to a lifelong friendship that caused so much chaos that all of Etheria wished they weren’t friends

Frosta calls Catra “Aunt Catra” (cuz im a sucker for found family) and Catra is a terrible influence

Scorpia: Perfuma says you can’t swear in front of Frosta

Catra: What? I’m her aunt! 

Perfuma *in the distance*: You are not her aunt!

Catra does not know what an aunt is

Scorpia, Entrapta and Catra decided that they were all going to be eachother’s maids of honor so,

Scorpia is Entrapta’s maid of honor

Catra is Scorpia’s maid of honor

Entrapta is Catra’s maid of honor

They made a diagram and everything to figure out who would be whom's

When they watch movies, they take turns choosing

Scorpia always chooses romcoms

Entrapta chooses Sci-fi

Catra chooses horror 

Scorpia hates horror movies and Catra makes fun of her when she gets scared

but she eventually turns it off midway and they just spend the rest of the time talking and eating over-buttered popcorn

Catra rlly likes Scorpia’s singing voice but will never admit that

Scorpia can pick both Entrapta and Catra up and loves to hug them both at once

Catra squirms at first but eventually just stops resisting

[emperorsfoot]

Before the new MotU series is released in July, I wanna try and make the fandom nice for all the new fans its gonna bring in looking for content.

I wanna have nice soft couches and pillows stuffed with fluff.

The rickety library ladder for anyone who craves a lit of adventure!

A blanket fort for anyone who just needs to sit and have emotions.

In the corner there's a hookah filled with something other than tobacco.

A dimly lit isle with shelves of obscure lore.

And a curtained-off section in the back with a clerk checking IDs.

Couches and Pillows:

"Carrots" - mlm, Trap Jaw/Tri-Klops, domestic fluff, grocery shopping, fake married?, Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops are shopping at the farmers' market together. [COMPLETE]

"Grilled Cheese" - family, mlm, Trap Jaw/Tri-Klops, domestic, fan kid, parenting, parenting a disabled child, cooking. Trap Jaw doesn't like his blind daughter using the stove. Tri-Klops disagrees. [COMPLETE]

Rickety Ladder:

"Gleam of Destiny" - AU, Evil-Lyn is never rescued from King Hiss, Zalesia is never destroyed, Keldor never becomes Skeletor, and yet, Eternia still does not have peace... [IN-PROGRESS]

"Two Brothers" - prequel, quest fic, family, Keldor is young and naive and just wants to save his father, Randor is learning what it means to be King, Marzo is there to make things difficult. [IN-PROGRESS, hiatus]

"Two Heirs" - next gen fic, Skeleteen might be Skeletor's heir but that doesn't mean he plans to carry on where Skeletor left off. He just wants a nice chill reign with no wars or meddling heroes interfering with his real plans. ...but the Unnamed One has plans of his own... [IN-PROGRESS]

Blanket Fort of Emotion:

"Dream Weavers' Retreat" - taking place at some point during Adam's tenure as He-Man. Adam wakes up one day and everything is perfect. The Evil Warriors are friends with the Masters, Skeletor doesn't exist, Eternia has peace, everything is wonderful! ...which means that something must be terribly, terribly wrong. [COMPLETE]

"Inexplicable Disappearance of Prince Malkyn of the House of Keldor" - title is longer than the fic (jk, its not), prequel, once upon a time Skeletor wasn't Skeletor. Once upon a time Skeletor was Prince Keldor. Once upon a time Prince Keldor had a son. ...He doesn't anymore, though. [COMPLETE]

"Possessive" - dark fic, toxic relationships, toxic ex, Evil-Lyn sneaks out to meet a boyfriend. Skeletor is not pleased. [COMPLETE]

Hookah Filled w/ Something Other Than Tobacco:

"Who's Your Daddy?" - AU, crack, crack treated seriously?, Skeletor is Prince Adam's father. [DISCONTINUED]

"Family Dinner on Eternia" - crossover with SPOP, Adora is reunited with her family and Marlena wants to know what kind of person raised her daughter, so she invites Hordak to dinner! Hordak brings Entrapta. Catra wasn't invited, but she barges in anyway. That was bad enough, but it turns out King Miro is still alive and he would like to have a nice family dinner with both his sons and insisted that Randor invite his estranged brother. ...So Skeletor's coming to dinner! And he's bringing Evil-Lyn and Skeleteen with him! [IN-PROGRESS, hiatus]

Dimly Lit Shelves of Obscure Lore:

"untitled" - a fanon AU of a canon AU, everyone lives/nobody dies, based off the "Masters of the Multiverse" comic and taking place in the Anti-Eternia universe. Adam didn't die in the final battle, and his Uncle Keldor takes him out to do a little street art to cope with the trauma. One the way back there is a minor incident and Adam over-reacts. [COMPLETE]

"Aftermath" - Anti-Eternia universe, taking place after the "Masters of the Multiverse" comic. King Randor doesn't understand why his son never came home after the final battle. Everyone else who was corrupted by Anti-Truth did. [COMPLETE]

"Sorceress" - sequel to "Aftermath". Teela no longer has a place in the guard and his struggling with her own guilt and trauma. Keldor is still trying to figure out how to be the new He-Man and thinks this traumatized girl would make a good Sorceress of Grayskull. [COMPLETE]

Curtained-Off Section (MUST BE 18 OR OLDER TO ENTER!):

"Inconvenient Arrangements" - crossover with SPOP, Entrapdak, past-Hordak/Keldor, Hordak and Entrapta are forced to marry. Overall, things could have been worse. [IN-PROGRESS, hiatus]

"Negotiations Between Fangs and Hornes" - mlm, King Hiss/Faceless One, PWP, King Nikolas is tasked with bringing the terms of the treaty to King Hiss. ...Negotiations go differently than expected.

[shera-dnd]

It’s here! The ultimate crossover poly ship we’ve all been waiting for!

But wait, there is more! This is a buy one get two deal, so there is a bonus crossover poly ship added there for free!

Also if you’d like your fic ideas to be written by me or just want to help me keep the lights on, consider donating to my ko-fi (rules over here)

alright with that out of the way. It’s time to enjoy some gay shit

“Sato, tell me again why we’re doing this,” Catra asked with a loud groan, shielding her face as best as she could.

It was a beautiful and sunny summer day at the park, and that meant Catra and Asami were suffering like the sad goths they were as they were dragged along by the ever cheerful Korra and Adora.

“Because we love them dearly,” Asami huffed, exhausted from the heat, “and we can’t just keep them inside all summer.”

“Ugh, are we going on a picnic with our girlfriends here, or walking our dogs?” Catra complained.

As if on cue Adora and Korra turned to look at them, energetically waving at them as they finally found a nice place to set up. Their smiles were so bright that Catra was happy she had put on sunscreen earlier.

“Both,” Asami said, adjusting her sunglasses.

Slowly they walked up to the over excited duo. Thankfully the two of them managed to find a nice patch of shade they could set up under, and not have to melt under the sun like a couple of angsty popsicles.

“Blanket?” Adora asked, promptly taking the leading and organizing position she was born for.

“Check!” Catra replied, getting a cheap picnic blanket from her bag.

“Water?”

“Check,” Korra answered, taking several bottles of water from her backpack.

“Sandwiches?”

“Check,” Asami said, before adding, “I made them.”

“And sodas?”

Korra shoved her arm back into her backpack and began yanking all the soda cans out with far too much enthusiasm. The three of them stopped and glared, getting her to stop before she could slam the cans down...again. As hilarious as it would have been to watch Korra accidentally spray herself again, they actually wanted to drink their sodas this time.

Adora gave them all a satisfied nod, before proudly declaring, “and with that, our picnic date is ready to start!”

“Wow, so romantic, Adora,” Catra rolled her eyes, “nothing makes a girl feel more special than a bunch of checklists.”

“Well I appreciate it when a girl comes prepared,” Asami countered, giving Adora a kiss on the cheek for support.

“Of course you do, Sato,” Catra shook her head and rolled her eyes.

The two of them stuck their tongues at each other for a bit, in what their girlfriends could only assume was their more...unique approach to flirting.

Deciding now was a good time to change the topic away from those two dorks, Korra approached the trio with her arms behind her back.

“Hey, Adora,” she called, earning a glare from Catra, who had nearly patented that line, “you sure we aren’t missing something?”

Adora checked her list a second time, even rereading the things she brought there herself, “I don’t think so?”

Korra smiled as she brought her hands forward, revealing the football she had been hiding behind her. Adora’s hands flew to her mouth to contain a gasp, and looked up at Korra as if she had just whipped out a wedding ring. Catra and Asami were extremely unimpressed.

They barely got to finish setting up before those two darted off to go run around and throw that ball like the pair of adorable goofballs they were.

“Looks like it’s just the two of us again, Applesauce,” Asami commented, sitting comfortably in the shade.

“Yup,” Catra nodded, sitting next to her. She allowed a long pause to pass by before adding, “wanna makeout?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” Asami replied, scooting closer and hooking her arms around Catra’s neck.

Catra leaned in, lips slightly parting as they came closer to Asami’s… before being so rudely interrupted by Korra clearing her throat. The two edgy idiots looked up at her, seeing her and Adora standing over them with crossed arms.

“Don’t we do this every day at school?” Korra asked, brow raised in annoyance.

“Yeah,” Catra replied, refusing to move away from Asami, “your point?”

“This is a date,” Adora added, hitting them with her most powerful puppy dog eyes, “can’t you guys please play with us for a bit?”

Both of them groaned and looked at each other. Asami looked ready to give in at the slightest hint of that adorable face, but Catra had years of experience with saying no to it.

“Yeah, I’m not doing that,” Catra answered.

“Oh well,” Adora sighed, “you asked for it.”

They were barely given a moment to process what that meant, before Korra and Adora hoisted them up, and tossed them over their shoulders like sacks of potatoes. Asami yelped loudly, but accepted her fate. Catra, on the other hand, kicked and screamed the entire way, nearly punching Adora in the face more than once.

“I’ll fucking kill you!” She shouted, “put me down, or I fucking swear!”

Adora simply laughed as she carried her girlfriend along to the nice open space where they were playing just a moment ago.

“Only if you promise to play with us,” she replied.

“Fine!” Catra yelled, “just put me down!”

Adora gently put her down and shot her a beaming smile. Oh she was lucky she was so cute, or Catra would have kicked her ass right now. Instead she just adjusted her clothes, fixed her hair so it would be the correct kind of messy, and huffed.

“So what exactly are you making us play?”

“We don’t need to play an actual game,” Korra answered, “we just wanted to have fun with you guys.”

Catra seemed unconvinced. They should have known she wouldn’t participate if she couldn’t make a competition out of it.

“Okay, how about this,” Adora offered, “we split into teams of two, and we try to just toss the ball between team members without letting the other two catch it. Whoever keeps the ball with their team the longest wins. Sounds fun for you?”

Catra pondered for a moment, seeming satisfied with these terms of engagement she declared, “I’m on team Korra!”

“What!?” Adora exclaimed, her expression one of utter and absolute betrayal, “why?”

“She’s the tallest one here,” Catra explained, casually, “it’s an obvious tactical advantage.”

“By an inch!” Adora countered, still stunned that Catra would ever abandon her like this...again.

“Don’t worry, Adora,” Asami said, putting a hand on her shoulder for reassurance, “we’ll make sure she regrets that”.

Oh no. Korra and Adora looked at each other as they both realized that they may have made a terrible mistake.

What followed was easily the most intense game of keepaway any of them had ever played. Though intensity was just about the only thing Catra and Asami were providing for this match up. Not that the other two minded much - they were genuinely just happy to play with their girlfriends for once - but they were starting to worry one of them was gonna end up doing something stupid.

It wasn’t long until they were proven right. Catra caught a ball meant for Adora and instead of throwing it to Korra, she decided the best strategy was to just run for it. The three of them watched stunned as she bolted off into the park like she was being chased by the hounds of hell. Asami gave chase soon after, so the assumption wasn’t all wrong.

Korra and Adora just stood there, watching as their girlfriends ran after each other, shouting insults at one another.

“We should have known that was gonna happen,” Adora commented with a defeated sigh.

“Well, at least we got them to exercise for once,” Korra offered.

“Yeah,” she nodded, watching those two for just a bit longer before adding, “wanna make out?”

“Sure,” Korra shrugged, “not like they’re gonna be back any time soon.”

~~~

Korra leaned back and closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy the cool breeze that blew past their little spot. She took a nice, long sip of her soda and let out a satisfied sigh. Yeah, this picnic was just what she needed.

“Water,” groaned the mostly dead girl to her side.

Catra laid there, sprawled face down on the picnic blanket, barely able to do anything but groan, and complain after completely draining herself like that. She couldn’t help but laugh a little, playing with her girlfriend’s hair before handing her the much needed cold water.

The poor girl groaned something sounding almost similar to a thank you, before chugging the whole bottle down in record time and then flopping back to her sprawled position.

“So what did we learn?” Adora asked, with that particular tone she had at times that made Korra wonder if she ever considered becoming a teacher one day.

“Never to exercise again,” Catra answered.

“No,” she corrected, “don’t over exert yourself

“Also don’t wear all black to a picnic,” Korra added, “I’m surprised you two didn’t cook alive.”

“We did,” Asami replied.

“And that’s why we brought all this water,” Adora said proudly as she handed Asami her own water bottle.

“What would we do without you?” Asami praised.

“We wouldn’t have gone out in this fucking heat that’s for sure,” Catra complained.

“Can you do something other than complain?” Asami asked.

“No,” she replied without a second of hesitation, “also scoot over, you’re hogging all the shade.”

“Sorry, Applesauce, but I won. I hold all the shade privileges now,” she proudly declared, earning a weak little kick from a completely burned out Catra.

“Don’t be like that,” Adora sighed and crawled closer to her girlfriend. She ran her fingers through Catra’s hair, scratching her in this very particular way that only Adora knew how to do, and soon it was like angry asshole Catra had never been there, now replaced with just soft asshole Catra.

“Asami is right,” Catra said, sounding so content with everything, “what would we do without you?”

“Oh, are we showing her some love now?” Korra asked, scooting closer and hugging Adora from behind, “mind if I join in? ‘Cause I got plenty.”

Following her example the other two joined in the PDA, Asami leaning against her shoulder, and Catra resting her head on her lap. Adora looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“Y-You guys,” she whined, trying not to crumble into an emotional mess, “I love you so much.”

“We love you too,” Korra answered, kissing her cheek. The others hummed in agreement.

“This means a lot,” she replied, sniffing loudly, “but you’re all really sweaty and it’s way, way too hot for PDA right now.”

Korra and Asami muttered some agreements and promptly moved away, fanning themselves a little to help cool down. Catra, on the other hand, refused to move and in fact even pressed a little closer.

“Are you gonna move?” Adora asked, amused.

“Nope,” Catra replied, “you’re too comfortable.”

Not wanting to disturb this rare moment of peace, Adora accepted her fate, and returned to her duty as Catra’s primary source of scratches.

After that initial burst of energy the rest of the day was surprisingly peaceful. Well, besides a small argument over who had the worst taste in music, and who should or shouldn’t be allowed to have the aux cord. But other than that it was a calm and peaceful day.

Slowly but surely, the shade grew a bit longer and the day grew a bit colder. Night was about to fall, and it was time to move to part two of their wonderful summer date. Milkshakes at the diner. Korra’s kinda sorta aunt Kya ran the place with her wives, so she let Korra and all her friends - and girlfriends - hangout for as long as they wanted.

The four of them greeted Kya before taking their usual table. Catra did not waste a single second trying to sit like a normal person, she promptly tossed her legs over Adora’s lap, and leaned back against the wall, phone already in hand.

“Hey, look at that,” she commented, “Blight dyed her hair purple.”

“Maybe she decided green hair was too straight for her,” Korra joked, “I’m surprised she didn’t go with blue.”

“Well, I think purple works really well for her,” Adora commented, “I mean, all her clothes are already black and purple.”

“All of your clothes are white or red, but I don’t see you dying your hair,” Catra commented, archiving the mental image of redhead Adora for later.

Adora opened her mouth to argue, but was interrupted by Asami, “babe, your hair is wonderful, don’t let her bully you into doing something stupid with it.”

Catra looked ready to throw her phone, “hey, I aint bullying anyone!”

“I see you kids are as cheerful as ever,” Castaspella greeted as she reached them, putting their food on the table, “here are your milkshakes, and the fries are on the house.”

“We really don’t mind paying for it, aunt Casta,” Korra assured her.

“Nonsense, let us spoil you kids a little,” Casta replied, with a wave, “besides, consider this a little thank you for helping our niece get a date.”

“Wait!” Catra interrupted, very confused for a moment, “Amity is your niece?”

“No, silly, I meant Luz,” she chuckled, “she was so in love with that Blight girl that she wouldn’t stop talking to Lilith about how amazing she was. It was adorable.”

Adora blinked a couple of times as she realized that meant that Luz and Glimmer were technically related now. She then vowed to herself to neverr let them find out, their power and chaos combined would be far too much for the world.

“Uh, glad we could help I guess?” Korra offered with a weak smile, completely unaware of the small crisis going on in Adora’s head. Aunt Casta laughed a little at the awkwardness, before leaving to tend to the other tables.

And now that they were left alone it was time to dig in. As usual Adora practically inhaled her food, and had to be stopped by Catra before she choked on something. Also as usual they were all dipping their fries in their milkshakes, with the sole exception of Asami.

“I still don’t know how you guys manage to eat that,” she commented.

Adora loudly swallowed a whole portion of milkshake covered fries in one go - earning an exasperated sigh from Catra - and answered, “it’s good!”

“Is it though?”

“What? Is this unsuitable for your refined palate, princess?” Catra teased.

“It’s…weird,” she replied.

“Hey, I’m weird, and you still love me,” Korra commented, leaning a little closer to her.

“You know what I meant,” she complained even as she leaned back against Korra.

“Don’t you wanna at least give it a try?” Korra asked, offering one of her own fries, “for me?”

That was a cheap trick, and Korra knew it, but it worked. Asami leaned in and took a bite of those fries without even taking them from Korra’s hand. There was a certain romance to eating food from your lover’s hands, or at least there would be if her two other lovers weren’t being little shits and snickering the entire time.

Asami glared at the two of them as she slowly ate her fries, trying to properly savor them, to fully grasp their flavor profile. Adora did a little heart with her hands and blew her a kiss in an attempt to mitigate her annoyance.

It worked better than she would like to admit.

“So how is it?” Korra asked.

Asami swallowed and paused, seeming to ponder her answer for a moment. “It was...better than I expected.”

Korra laughed and shot her a beaming smile, “told you it was good.”

Asami couldn’t respond for a moment as she was too busy being reminded that Korra was a blessing to humanity, and that she was so lucky to be able to call her her girlfriend.

“Well uh...thanks for making me try it,” she mumbled. Trying her best to save herself before Catra and Adora - especially Catra - could make any comments on her loss of composure, Asami dipped one of her fries on her milkshake and offered it to Korra, “here.”

Korra eagerly and happily took a bite off of it.

“That’s so fucking gay,” Catra commented.

“Catra, we’ve all been dating for months,” Adora countered.

“Yeah, your point?” She asked, sticking her tongue out at her.

“You’re the worst, you know that?” Asami replied.

“Complain all you want, princess. You all love me, and you know it.”

The table collectively groaned - Asami burying her head in her hand - all fully aware that she was completely right.

~~~

Eventually the conversation died down. It was late and they had spent all day with each other, but they all knew they’d have to part ways eventually. They all knew they’d probably see each other tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, and every day for as long as they could. But that didn’t mean they enjoyed bringing the date to a close.

Adora especially seemed extra clingy today as she gave all three of her girlfriends tight, rib-crushing hugs. The others were far more subtle about it, but it was still there. In the lingering touches after a hug, the yearning looks after a kiss. It was that unspoken want to stay just a little longer, to never let go.

Maybe one day they’d all walk together to their own home, and cuddle together in their own bed, but today they all had different places to return to and they had to go their separate ways. In the end only Korra was left standing in front of the diner.

“Hey, kid,” aunt Kya called, “you want a ride back to your parent’s place?”

“You really don’t--”

“What did Casta say about letting us spoil you?” She interrupted. There was no arguing with her.

Next thing Korra knew she was in Kya’s car, watching the lamp posts pass by them as she took her home.

“You should bring them over more often,” Kya commented.

“I’ll try,” Korra replied.

“I’m serious,” she insisted, “you know we all love when you bring the girls over. It reminds us of the good old days.”

“The good old days?” Korra asked, somewhat amused.

“Back when we were your age,” she explained, “back then it wasn’t exactly okay for a girl to want to be with another girl, let alone two. But even then we knew we wanted nothing more than to be together, just the three of us, for as long as life would let us.”

Korra thought back to that idea of sharing a place with them, living every day with them, making days like this the norm. It all sounded so wonderful.

“Yeah,” she replied, “I think I get it.”

[mcatra]

AU where Catra works at burger king

Catra works minimum wage at burger king, Adora comes in every day as the world’s worst customer.

AO3 

‘I am being HARASSED.’ Catra groans, sprawling on her side of the register. ‘I’m begging you, just kill me.’ 

It was another slow afternoon at Burger King, or as she likes to call it the absolute shithole she only got minimum wage for. Catra could be out there living her life as a youthful teenager, instead she was serving chicken nuggets to her worst enemy- Adora. It didn’t help that said blonde was currently sitting in the corner, laughing obnoxiously with her friends she had replaced her with. 

‘Aw I’m sure Adora isn’t here to harass you, she probably just likes our food! I do cook these to perfection you know.’ Scorpia says conversationally from her spot in the kitchen as she flame broils another patty.

Catra scoffs, her eyes trained on her most hated customer. 

‘There has to be some sort of law against coming to one’s workplace every day! No one likes Burger King that much! NOBODY!’ 

Suddenly she sees Adora sit up from her chair, that makes a horrific screeching noise on their unmopped floor. 

‘Oh god she’s coming.’ Catra whispers, trying to duck into the kitchen. ‘Scorpia! Hide me!’ 

Her friend shoves her back to the counter, as Adora approaches. ‘You’re the only one on this shift who is allowed to use the register-’

‘Do not make me serve her I swear to god-’

‘Hi Catra.’ Adora smiles, and Catra’s eyes narrow. 

‘Whatchu want, princess?’ She sneers, avoiding her piercing blue eyes that reminded her of still lakes. Or swirling oceans. Or the fluffy white cloud bath bombs from Lush. Wait, no.

‘Mmm, can I get a strawberry sundae?’ Adora chirps, looking above her at the menu. 

‘Can’t.’ Catra drawls, looking at her black painted nails. ‘The machine’s broken.’

Adora’s face falls in disappointment, and Catra cheers inwardly at her small victory until Scorpia’s voice cuts through their conversation.

‘That’s not true, the soft serve machine is fine.’ Her traitor friend says, pulling down on the lever and swirling a perfect sundae into the cup. She adds the syrup before handing it to Adora.

‘That’ll be $1.50.’

‘Thanks Scorpia.’ Adora smiles, rummaging through her purse to collect her coins.

Catra rolls her eyes. 

‘What a cheap ass. Little rich girl can only afford a dollar-fifty ice cream? No wonder we’re running out of business.’ 

Adora frowns at this. ‘Did you want a tip or something?’ 

‘What? FUCK no. I don’t take charity.’ Catra scoffs, snatching the coins from her old childhood-friend-to-enemies palm. She swiftly jabs in the total and throws the coins into the drawer. They’re forced into silence as the receipt slowly prints, and she tries to ignore the way Adora is staring at her. 

Suddenly Adora leans in close, and she can hear her murmur close to her ear.

‘I’ll see you at student council.’

Catra flushes at the proximity, every hair standing on end. Before she can stutter out an insult, Adora rips the receipt from the machine and is sauntering back to Bow and Glimmer. 

The brown haired girl deflates, her nails scratching on the old countertop. All that mental damage, for $1.50? Life was not fair. 

Adora always had the perfect grades, the perfect family and friends, the most cushy and royal upbringing. After their falling out involving a scholarship to a private school, they hadn’t spoken until the merger. 

It filled Catra with sick pleasure that the private school had lost their prestige to embezzled money, and now had to be government funded. However in consequence of this, they had decided to merge the public and private school so they could sell off the land to build skyrises or something. 

This meant Catra lost her position of School Captain to Adora after a fierce election, and had been demoted to Vice Captain. Not to mention no matter how hard Catra tried, she could never beat her in the school rankings. She couldn’t work to support herself and study 6 hours a day, like rich privileged Adora. 

So now here she was, forced to interact with the one person she could’ve gone her whole life without seeing on a daily basis. 

Ever since Adora had discovered Catra had been working at Burger King during a late night drive-thru run, her ex best friend had made it her life’s mission to make her life hell. 

Of course she had done her best to make the experience awful to drive her away. Catra knew Adora hated pickles, so she would threaten Kyle to slice up an entire pickle’s worth in the blonde’s Whopper before giving it to her with a sweet smile. She is filled with glee watching Adora picking them out one by one in disgust. 

This doesn’t stop Adora from coming though. Not even when they had made it into some sort of competition to see how many pickles could physically be crammed into a bun. Or even when she had put every single condiment including the salt and pepper into an unholy liquid concoction and served it in a cola cup. Not even when she gave Adora food poisoning when they got too carried away trying to stack as many patties as they could to recreate Sky Burger. 

No matter what she did, the girl never went away. Even though she had so easily disappeared from her life when she had needed her the most. But she didn’t need Adora, she had gotten this job herself, she had gotten a roof over her head with her own power. She had worked so hard to become independent from Shadow Weaver, and no matter what, Adora will not jeopardize it. 

--

‘I’m doing, what exactly?’ 

Catra stares dumbly at her manager, a sinking feeling dawning on her.  

‘Adora ordered a birthday party at Burger King.’ Lonnie drawls, ignoring the look of complete horror on Catra’s face.

‘No, you can’t do this to me! Roster me for any other day. I cannot psychologically take this.’ She begs. 

‘Sorry dude, the deposit has already been paid for. We’re short staffed, and it seems like Kyle has gotten fryer oil burns from your last burger experiment with Adora.’ Lonnie whaps Catra with the birthday catering pamphlet. 

‘Stupid Kyle.’ Catra hisses, clenching it in her fist. Curse this damn place that can only afford to hire teenagers. 

‘Anyway, just set up the tables and decorations after school on Thursday. Should be a good day for business, with Adora and her posse being rich kids and all.’

‘Can I at least get time and a half?’ 

‘Are you gonna be paying Kyle’s medical bill?’

Catra pouts. ‘Not my fault you guys don’t provide gloves. This place is an OSHA violation haven.’ 

WE do the PLANNING, YOU have the FUN! The bold font emblazoned over the small child’s smiling face mocks her from the pamphlet. Catra clenches it in her fist. 

‘Also why the fuck did she book a kid’s birthday party package when she is like 17, and not 6 years old?!’ 

Lonnie rolls her eyes. ‘Do you still want a job or not? Just read the rest of the form, counting on you to organize it.’ 

Catra squints at the crumpled paper in her hand. 

GOLD PARTY PACKAGE

-Themed birthday cards!

-Party bags!

-Birthday gift for the celebrant!

-Jumbo birthday cake!

-Pinata!

-Special birthday songs!

-Dedicated hostess!

Catra can feel her soul physically leave her body. This was gonna be a long week.

-

It was terrible.

Adora had handed these obnoxious Burger King birthday invitations to all her friends, so now she had all these RSVP’s to the worst birthday of all of human history. In between working shifts until midnight, dealing with Adora at student council and not eating, Catra was on edge. 

‘No, you can not write ‘Die Adora Die’ on her cake.’ Scorpia chides, slapping Catra’s hands away to pipe the icing. 

‘It’s what she deserves.’ Catra seethes. If she couldn’t eat it, she could at least ruin it, right? 

‘They’ll be here soon, so try to take that dying grimace off your face.’ Scorpia replies, and Catra rolls her eyes before adding the finishing touches to the cake. 

Suddenly the door opens, interrupting her decorating. The once quiet establishment was now full of loud chatter as their classmates piled in one by one. All of Adora’s old private school friends were here, all unironically celebrating their school captain’s children’s birthday party at the worst fast food restaurant in their state. 

She plasters her fakest customer service smile she can muster. Dignity at the door. 

‘Hi, you must be here for the Birthday Girl’s party.’ Catra says, approaching the group. Just treat it like you don’t know them.

‘Aw you don’t have to be so formal with us, Vice Captain.’ Glimmer teases, and Catra almost snaps from her facade. Almost.

‘Let me show you to your table.’ Catra grits out. 

She had chosen the ugliest poop brown balloons she could find, and had deliberately made the HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner lopsided on the wall.

‘Thanks Catra!’ Adora grins, bouncing past her to admire the decorations. 

Catra imagines Adora’s face on the pinata and smashing it into a million pieces. She forces herself to take a deep breath. It was just the one shift, and she really needed this job. Plus after the party was over, she could probably nab some leftovers for her trouble. 

All of the girls (plus Bow and Seahawk) sit around the table, and Catra marches over with the laminated menus. 

‘Ooh, we all get hats!’ Perfuma says, placing her Burger King cardboard crown on top of her head.

Frosta squints at the menu. ‘I’ve never eaten fast food before. Looks disgusting.’

‘I think it’s fine! Adora wanted to eat here.’ Glimmer says in a sugarly sweet tone that just came off as passive aggressive. ‘Even though I had suggested my penthouse by the ocean and we go here nearly every day.’

‘I much rather would be at the ocean beach house thank you very much.’ Mermista retorts, swatting Sea Hawk off her shoulder.

Yeah me too, Catra thinks bitterly. She stomps off with their orders, cursing them inwardly the entire way to the kitchen.

Adora’s friends start playing with the so-called ‘entertainment’ they had haphazardly set up. 

It was ridiculous, seeing grown teenagers lining up to try to smack the shit out of a glittery pinata. They squabble over who gets to hit it first, Catra feeling very much like a glorified babysitter to her most hated enemies. 

After a while, she sees Scorpia emerge from the kitchen. ‘Happy Birthday to you,’ Scorpia sings with Adora’s birthday cake in her arms. ‘Happy Birthday to you~’ 

The others join in on the song, Catra only mouthing the words in silent rebellion. The cake is emblazoned with a crude doodle of Adora’s face with HAPPY BIRTHDAY written on her enormous forehead. 

‘Oh my gosh, I love it!’ Adora’s sky blue eyes light up, and she’s practically sparkling. Catra huffs, she wasn’t supposed to like it. Didn’t she see the drawing was supposed to make fun of her five-head? 

Adora catches Catra’s eye, beaming. ‘Did you draw this for me?’ 

‘She did!’ Scorpia tattles, and her enemy’s smile increased tenfold. Catra can feel her cheeks grow warm. Dammit. 

‘Whatever.’ Catra bites out, unable to meet her gaze.  

Luckily no one else seemed to be paying attention to the weird atmosphere between them, as they were split between eyeing the cake and pinata wrestling. 

‘Get over here Sea Hawk, we can do the pinata later!’ Mermista chastises, watching Bow spin her blindfolded boyfriend. 

‘Let me just get one good hit in, and I’ll join you!’ He crows, swinging the bat in random directions as Bow ducks the blows, laughing. 

Just for anything to do, Catra takes it upon herself as hostess to snatch up the knife and start cutting. She cuts into the cake to start portioning out the slices, but as the knife touches the bottom Glimmer lets out a shriek. 

‘What?’ Catra deadpans.

‘If you cut to the bottom of the cake, you have to kiss the person closest to you!’ Glimmer says, a demonic look in her eye. Adora elbows her, embarrassed. 

‘Excuse me?’ Catra’s never heard of this tradition. Though to be fair, she had not been to many parties in her lifetime. 

‘Oh, that’s right!’ Perfuma claps her hands together. ‘Adora’s closest right? Go ahead Catra!’

To her horror, Glimmer starts pushing Catra towards the blonde. She digs her heels into the linoleum, only to find that she was sliding from the newly mopped floors. 

‘Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!’ The girls start chanting, like they were her friends and that she wasn’t their damn server.

‘What the hell- fuck no, let go of me!’ Catra finally snaps, wrenching herself from Glimmer’s grip. 

The momentum sends her stumbling into Sea Hawk, who was still attempting to hit the pinata. 

‘Ack!’ He squawks. 

The bat goes flying straight out his hand and into their double doors. There’s a huge crash, and everybody winces at the noise. 

The glass pane shatters, and so does Catra’s sanity. She was so fired.��

Sea Hawk lifts the blindfold. 

‘Did I get it?’ 

---

It was nearly closing time, and Catra was still sweeping up bits of glass from the floor. This had been one of the worst days of her life, and she had been beaten and homeless before. To make it worse, Adora was still grovelling when she should’ve gone hours ago like the rest of them. 

‘I am so sorry Catra, I’ll pay for everything, I’ll take full responsibility so you don’t get fired-’ 

‘Stop it.’ She was too tired to even argue with Adora like she usually did, wishing Adora would just go away already so she could grovel over the phone to her regional manager without an audience. Catra always pretended to hate her job, but she couldn’t afford to lose it. She could barely make rent with her Burger King wage. 

‘Please, let me help clean. It was my fault anyway.’

There was hardly any money left over to feed herself most days, that’s why she was skinny as a rake as opposed to the toned, buff, well fed Adora. She had only been functioning on a few nuggets that Scorpia snuck her yesterday. Did Catra still have those food coupons? How long until the bank charged overdraft fees? 

‘Catra are you listening-’ 

‘I said stop it!’ Catra snaps. 

Adora has the audacity to look stunned. 

‘Why do you insist on harassing me at work everyday? Is it fun? Forcing me to play servant to you rich girls, to sing and dance for you? You already beat me in everything at school, you’re already School Captain, you have all the money and a loving family you need, so can you stop rubbing your privilege in my face just for one second so I can THINK?’ 

‘I...I just…I’m sorry.’ Adora starts and aborts a few sentences. Catra can’t even stand to look at her face. 

‘This party at your work. It was the only way to get you to celebrate my birthday with me.’ 

‘.....’

‘Um, I-’

‘Whatever.’ Catra retorts, trying and failing to pick up the last shards with her too long fingernails. She hisses when the glass nicks her finger, cutting into skin. Drops of blood fall to the floor.

‘Are you okay?!’ Adora gasps, rushing to her side. Catra slaps her hand away, she needed to go find the cleaning supplies. Blood was a biohazard, there was some protocol for it but she was having trouble remembering. 

She goes to stand up, but the fatigue rushes to her head and her legs give in underneath her. Instead of smacking her head against the floor, she feels herself land on something soft instead. 

Adora hooks her around the waist, gently placing her into the booth. She grabs a napkin from the dispenser and wraps it around Catra’s hand. She can feel Adora’s warm hand squeezing her own. 

‘I’m just applying pressure to the cut.’ Adora says quietly. 

Catra just closes her eyes. It’s well past midnight and she should be locking up the store, but she can’t bring herself to move. 

[i-just-love-spop]

The Coffee Paradox

My first piece for the Glimbow Week Countdown! I’m running a Glimbow Week over at @glimbow-week-2020 in a couple of weeks, check out the account for more information!

Written for the Glimbow Week Countdown Prompt “cooking”, based off of a prompt request from @amozon28 that I got a while ago. She requested the prompt “The tea tastes weird.” “Might be because that's coffee.” for Glimbow. Sorry this took so long, hope you enjoy!

Summary: Bow and Glimmer have breakfast together on a calm morning after the war.

[Takes place a bit after the show.]

Heads up, there’s one or two very minor sex references, but nothing explicit, in general the fic is completely sfw.

Also, the fact that Glimmer gets eggs for breakfast is purely coincidental and has nothing in the slightest to do with @tippenfunkaport and the fact that her fic for this prompt made me sad and I had to cope with it somehow (seriously though go read her fic it’s really good)!

—

It was a calm morning in Bright Moon. The soft morning light shone through the curtains of the private kitchen that was attached to Glimmer’s bedroom but that she’d rarely ever used for a very long time.

Glimmer stood there, in the middle of the kitchen, taking in both the breath of fresh air from the window that Bow had apparently opened before he’d left the room to do – she wasn’t sure what he was doing, exactly, but at least he wasn’t in here anymore at the moment –, and the wonderful odor of the breakfast he’d made... warm pancakes, scrambled eggs and her favorite fruit juice were all waiting on the dining table for her. The smell alone was enough to made her mouth water.

‘Moons, how did I get so lucky?’

For a bit, Glimmer just stood at the window and took in the view of the world outside the castle that was slowly waking up. People were laughing, kids were playing in the fields and at the water, some even going for a morning swim. When looking at the world from up here, you could barely tell that there had been a war going on until very recently.

Sometimes Glimmer couldn’t help but think that an entire lifetime had passed between the end of the war and this morning, when I’m reality, it had barely been a few weeks.

There had been more peaceful mornings since the war was over. It felt weird... but the good kind of weird.

Sure, there was still work to do, but almost everyone seemed to sleep easier these days, and everyone deserved a couple of lazy mornings every now and again after everything they’d went through.

Heck, even Adora managed to sleep most nights now that Catra was with her. She even managed to sleep in, which was possibly the weirdest thing about this situation. ‘Adora’ and ‘sleeping in’ were about the last two words any of them would have ever put in the same sentence up until a couple of weeks ago.

...but she did now. And it made Bow and Glimmer incredibly happy to see that their friend was doing so much better after seeing her inability to relax in action for years prior.

As for the Queen of Bright Moon and her future King... they maybe didn’t get as much sleep as they used to since their first official date, but for good reasons only.

Bow had wanted their first kiss to be special, so he’d taken his girlfriend – she was his girlfriend now, the thought still made Glimmer feel all mushy inside – out on a starlight picnic as soon as they had the time.

That evening, everything had fallen into place.

Glimmer smiled at the memory.

‘We kissed, alright.’

And they’d done much more that night, and since then, and she couldn’t remember if she’d ever felt quite as happy in her life as she was feeling right now. Things were still far from perfect, of course... her mother’s absence had left a burning hole in her heart that she didn’t think anything would ever be able to make whole again, and there was also the looming guilt of the mistake she’d made that she would never be entirely able to forget... and trying to form a normal father-daughter-relationship with Micah after loosing him at such a young age and after she’d long come to terms with his supposed death wasn’t the easiest thing either – but as long as Bow was with her, she felt like she could take on the world, or maybe even the entire galaxy.

When she’d been younger, before discovering her powers and learning to control them, she’d envied her mother’s wings, her ability to fly. She’d long worked past these feelings... but now, when she was around Bow, she felt like she finally understood what it felt like to fly. She didn’t think she’d ever grow tired of the way his hand felt in hers or the way her heart skipped a beat every time he looked at her.

Sometimes she still had nightmares... but she was slowly starting to get them under control. Talking about it got easier as time went by – even though she knew it was never going to be easy –, and even when she wasn’t alright, Bow was there to hold her and kiss her and tell her she was safe with him.

Speaking of Bow...

“Morning, Love.” He hugged her from behind and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she turned around. “I hope I didn’t wake you when I got up earlier, but I felt like doing something special for you today.”

“Don’t worry.” She grinned. “I slept pretty well after our... exercise yesterday.“

Glimmer winked and kissed her boyfriend as his cheeks heated up.

For a moment, they just stood there, happily making out in the middle of the kitchen.

“We really can’t keep our hands off each other, huh?” He asked softly with the usual sweet smile in his face when they broke apart, and all she wanted to do was immediately pull him into another kiss because nope she definitely did not want to keep her hands off him, but he’d made breakfast and it was getting cold, so making out further would have to wait, because if they continued on like that, they’d be in the bedroom rather than the kitchen in what Glimmer guessed was approximately five minutes from now.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to, or the food you put so much effort into will end up being cold.” She chuckled and winked at him. “We‘ll continue this later.”

“As you wish.” He gave her another quick peck on the cheek, then pulled back a chair and gestured for her to sit down on it. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you alone with all the food, I thought you were still asleep and wanted to take the opportunity to go outside and collect some of these before I woke you up.”

He sat down next to her and held a small bowl of strawberries in her direction. Her face lit up even more.

“Oh stars, I love you so much. You’re amazing. How did I get so lucky?”

Bow felt his heart flutter in his chest at the way her eyes lit up when she looked at him. Every morning that he woke up next to her, he wondered how exactly he’d taken so long to realize what Glimmer really meant to him when it was so blatantly obvious now that nobody in the galaxy could ever compare to her.

He’d missed her every second they’d been apart, and now that he’d found her again, he was planning on holding onto her for the rest of his life – if she’d let him.

“I love you, too,” He whispered softly, still every bit as mesmerized by how she looked as he had been the first time. Her hair sparkled brightly in the soft morning light, and Bow couldn’t help but think that his girlfriend was visibly as much of an angel as her mother had been. “We’re both incredibly lucky, Glim.”

She smiled softly at him, and her heart melted from the way he smiled back at her.

“Guess we are.“

Gosh, how much she’d longed for him to look at her like this over the last couple of years, despite refusing to admit it. And now they were a couple, and she couldn’t be happier.

—

The food tasted heavenly, and they had a really nice breakfast... for the most part.

Everything was really good – except for the coffee Glimmer had made while Bow had been outside gathering strawberries.

Bow winced a bit as he took the first sip, despite his best efforts to hide it out of politeness.

“Huh. This tea tastes a bit weird.”

He put the mug down. All his politeness wasn’t enough to get him to have another sip.

“Might be because that's coffee,” Glimmer replied and chuckled a bit.

Bow raised an eyebrow.

“That’s coffee?” He stared at her blankly for a moment when she nodded. “Glimmer, honey, I love you, but we really need to work on your cooking skills.”

He gave her a polite smile, already feeling bad because he didn’t like criticizing her when it came to stuff like that. She was trying, and he found it very sweet that she was, and a lot of the time, what she made came out fine – sometimes great, even – but this wasn’t one of those times.

It was weird, actually. She’d made coffee before. It wasn’t the greatest, but it wasn’t that terrible usually...

“Come on, it can’t be that ba-” Glimmer took a sip herself and oh by Etheria’s moons did she stand corrected. She had a hard time not spitting the ‘coffee’ – honestly whatever this really was had no right to be called that – across the table. She decided to just spit it back into the mug instead, and then spent several seconds wiping her tongue with a napkin. Anything to get the taste out of her mouth. “You swallowed that? I’m so sorry.” Glimmer winced and gave her boyfriend an apologetic look. “What did I do to that? Moons, this tastes...” She grimaced. “Okay, note to self, no more making coffee when I’m too tired to function.”

Bow chuckled and smiled at his girlfriend.

“So... before you’ve had coffee?”

He really should have known it was that. Glimmer had never been a morning person, after all.

‘Her sleepiness explains it, alright.’

She shrugged and then joined in on the laughing.

“Huh, yeah, I guess. Can’t make coffee if I’m tired, and can’t stop being tired without having coffee. Eternal coffee paradox,” She joked, making her boyfriend chuckle.

Sometimes she wondered if laughing at even your friend’s dumbest jokes should have been a dead giveaway that they were in love with each other.

“How about we stick to me making coffee in the morning in that case, then? Paradox solved,” Bow added, kissing her cheek.

“That... might be a good idea.”

Glimmer had gone back to her delicious pancakes

He didn’t mind. At all. To be quite honest, he actually loved spoiling his girlfriend. The way her face lit up over little things (like him bringing her coffee in the morning) was adorable, and if it made her happy, he would gladly keep doing it for the rest of their lives.

“In all seriousness, though... if you want to, I can show you a couple tricks when it comes to cooking? Just an idea, of course. Your usual cooking when you’re not sleep deprived is fine. I just thought cooking together might be nice.“

“I mean, it does sound nice...“ She took another bite of the scrambled egg, which was the only thing left on her plate. It had been a while since they’d done stuff as normal as cooking together. “But we don’t have time for that right now. There’s more important-” Glimmer started, then stopped herself mid-sentence.

Actually... there wasn’t. Sure, there was still towns in need of rebuilding, but most Etherians were doing a pretty good job taking care of their homes themselves, and while that of course didn’t mean the princesses didn’t still help wherever they could... it did mean that occasionally, they were able to take some time to themselves and do stuff like cooking together, or going on dates, or going for a swim in Mystacor, without half of Etheria falling back apart or getting attacked while they were gone.

“Huh... actually, I guess we could do that.” She put her hand on his, fingers intertwining in the middle of the table as she sighed softly. “I’m... still not used to not going to battle constantly.”

He ran his thumb over the palm of her hand gently and smiled at her softly.

“Takes some time getting used to, doesn’t it?” Bow sighed. “I think all of our heads are still in the war half the time, despite the fact that it ended. But it will get better, eventually. I just know it will. And until then, we’ll go every step of the way together, yeah?”

She squeezed his hand a little tighter and smiled at him.

“Yeah. Every step of the way.”

—

She’d come to figure out that she loved cooking with her boyfriend very soon.

[spoplight]

standing on the edge of tonight

Would you look at that, here I am! I’ve never written a She-Ra fic before, but I wanted to give it a try, so I wrote this short pre-canon fic! I hope it’s somewhat in-character. I’m open to prompts, fic recs, and generally anyone who would like to say hi as I explore the fandom! Also, if you’d like to be added to a taglist, I can make one!

(Title is from The Edge Of Tonight by All Time Low. This fic is on Ao3 here!)

Words: 2742

Pairings: Catradora (pre-canon and pre-romantic)

Warnings: self-deprecation and self-hatred, implied abuse

“I‘m never going to be Force Captain.”

Catra raises her eyebrows as Adora practically tosses herself at the railing. She sinks low onto it and grumbles in protest. Of what, Adora’s not really sure. Of something.

“You’re kidding, right?” Catra teases. “Of course you’re gonna be Force Captain. You’re all law-abiding and boring, it’s bound to happen.”

“Boring?”

Catra smirks.

Adora sticks her tongue out, and usually this would lead to a play-fight, where Adora can grab Catra in a headlock or Catra can shove her to the side. Or they’ll just and catch each other. It’s a great night for a race, the sky warm and dark, and nobody expects them inside for a little while longer.

But Adora can’t find the heart.

She sighs, sinking further down on the railing and running a hand along the edge. Her hand catches on the rust. The wind ruffles her hair and she sighs again, tracing shapes in the clouds, feeling a loose and wavy kind of tired. She should be in bed. It’d be easier if she was in bed, getting sleep for tomorrow, but she’d come out here with Catra anyway. Of course she had. She couldn’t imagine just leaving Catra here alone, no matter how tired Adora felt.

No matter how terrible she feels right now, wind whipping her ponytail, staring into the clouds.

“Adora?” Catra asks in her special I’m-totally-not-worried tone. “Did something happen? Did--did Shadow Weaver--”

“No!” Adora interrupts. “No, nothing like that. I just--”

The words won’t come. She feels awful, she knows that much. So awful she can’t begin to imagine putting up a front like usual. Maybe she should try anyway. It’s not becoming of a Horde soldier to sulk.

Adora tries for a smile. It barely makes it onto her face before sinking away. So much for that.

“It’s fine,” Adora says anyway, convincing no one and only said for the sake of filling the silence.

“Doesn’t sound fine.”

Catra’s perched on the railing, tail around her legs, and Adora would be scared if she didn’t know Catra well. She swears Catra has never fallen in her life. It’s a long, dark drop below, and Catra swings her legs out over it, like she knows exactly what’s at the bottom and is positive she’d survive it.

“Adora?” Catra asks again.

“How was your day?” Adora blurts out, her voice too sharp. She can’t think of what else to do. “Pull any good pranks on Kyle?”

Maybe Catra wants the change of pace as much as Adora does, because her face splits in a smile and she begins rambling about some prank involving ration bars and an old helmet. Adora tries to listen, she really does. But everything’s so heavy tonight, and Catra’s words fall far below them before Adora can catch them.

“And then--Adora? Adora!”

“Here!” Adora jerks her head up. “I--”

“Adora,” Catra says, eyes unreadable if you were anyone but Adora, who knows those yellow eyes better than her own. “You weren’t listening.”

“Sorry.” Adora gives Catra a sheepish grin. “What were you saying?”

Catra tilts her head, tail lashing behind her. “Something’s definitely wrong. What is it? Who do I need to scratch? I will, don’t test me--”

“No one!” Adora looks pleadingly at Catra, who glares back, and Adora has a sinking feeling that Catra might just attack everyone if she doesn’t get a specific name.

Adora sighs.

“Nothing,” she says. “I--I just had training earlier, and Shadow Weaver--”

“I knew it!” Catra exclaims. “What’d she do?”

“Nothing!” Adora insists. “Catra, she’s not--”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” Catra rolls her eyes. “Fine. What did Shadow Weaver, in her infinite wisdom and out of the goodness of her heart, say to you?”

Adora hesitates. “I didn’t do well in training.”

“No duh, you were sick last week.” Catra shrugs. “I still stay you should have taken a day off. It’s a good excuse to slack.”

“The Horde never rests,” Adora reminds her. “And it was just a cold.”

“Whatever.” Catra waves a hand. “So you were tired and didn’t get a perfect score on whatever weird simulation they cooked up today. Big deal. You’re still everyone’s favorite.”

Adora flinches despite herself. Catra’s eyes narrow, and Adora feels uncomfortably like they’re sparring, like Catra’s sizing her up and deciding whether to fight back.

“And Shadow Weaver,” Adora continues when Catra doesn’t say a word, “said that--that I couldn’t slack off like this. I’d be embarrassing both of us, and just because--” Adora cuts herself off. Catra doesn’t need to hear that part.

“What?” Catra asks anyway. Always so smart. Adora loves it, and tonight she wishes Catra would back off. For both their sakes.

“Nothing,” says Adora again, like that’ll make it true. “You don’t want to hear it.”

“Try me.” Catra’s hands are stiff on the railing. “Haven’t got all night, Adora.”

“She--” Adora bites her lip. “She said I couldn’t expect to succeed just because I wasn’t as--lazy--as you.”

There’s a long, bottomless silence.

“What?” Catra laughs. “Hey, you aren’t seriously worried that’ll bother me, right? Nothing I haven’t heard before! I work hard to do nothing, Adora, relax. It’s a compliment!”

“You should try harder,” Adora says, gladly jumping at the familiar argument. “It’s important for you to do your best.”

“Important for who, Shadow Weaver? Or Hordak in his stupid sanctum?” Catra swings around the railing, leaning back and tossing an arm over the side. “Why bother? Too much work. All the rest of you can take care of it--I don’t care.”

“You won’t become a Force Captain if you act like that.”

“Who said I wanted to be a Captain?” Catra snorts. “I don’t need any of those stupid little badges. I don’t care what they think of me.” She stills. “But you do.”

“Of course I do,” Adora says. “I’m going to be a Horde Captain. I’ll make myself useful--I’m a good fighter, they could use me. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Catra gives her a long look, and Adora gets the feeling she’s being judged, though she’s not sure what for.

“I get that,” Catra says, “but maybe keep that between us?”

“Why?”

“You’re putting it all out there,” Catra explains. “Why don’t you ever hold back? Choose how they see you, instead of letting yourself out in the open like that.”

“They see me for who I am,” Adora argues. “There’s no point in hiding it--I am a Horde soldier.”

“You are a Horde soldier,” Catra repeats. “And what happens when you aren’t enough? Like today?”

Catra doesn’t mean to hurt her. Adora knows that. But it stings, and Adora stares into the shifting sky to hide the prickling of her eyes.

“Today was an off day,” she says, keeping her voice steady. “I was tired. I’ll be better tomorrow.”

“And one day you’ll be tired again.” Catra watches Adora out of the corner of her eye. “One day they’ll stop giving you a tomorrow, Adora, it’d be so much harder to fall if you tried a little less!”

“What else am I supposed to?” Adora snaps.

“I don’t know!” Catra’s tail twitches, and her hands jerk, and she’s frustrated and so is Adora, and they’re pulled tight and ready to snap. “Lie low? Stop making a spectacle of your weaknesses? You’re so earnest all the time, can’t you set your standards a little lower?”

“I’m not going to fail to make you look better!”

Adora hates the words the moment they leave her mouth. Catra flinches back, eyes wide, and before Adora can do anything--what? What would she do?--Catra is turning away.

“Wait!” Adora yells, reaching out a hand. Catra runs down past the railing and jumps to a nearby pipe, and soon she’ll be out of reach, somewhere in the maze of metal that makes up their home.

“Wait! Catra! Please!”

Catra’s leaving. Catra’s leaving, because Adora messed up. It’s all her fault, she should have gone straight to bed and not bothered her best friend, how is she supposed to ever be Force Captain if she’s such a failure--

“I’m sorry!” Adora bursts out. “Catra, I’m sorry, and I’ll find you if I have to, but if you can, please stay!”

Catra is quiet, frozen, her tail twitching and her ears flat, balanced on the edge of a pipe and one jump from disappearing.

“I’m sorry,” Adora pleads, hearing her voice crack. “I didn’t mean that. I’m tired, I’m--I’m frustrated--please, Catra!”

There’s another long silence that sinks past them slowly. Adora feels vaguely like she’s falling, like the platform beneath her feet is tilting and giving way.

“Don’t leave,” Adora whispers. “Please.”

Catra glances back at her, and she can try to hide it all she wants, but Adora sees the tightness around her eyes.

“This isn’t about me,” Catra says slowly.

“I know,” Adora says, relief flooding her. “I know, I know, and we can talk about it if you stay.”

Slowly, so slowly, Catra inches her way back to the railing. She sits on it, hands around her knees, the wind blowing her hair. She’s not looking at Adora.

Adora’s apologized, but her words still hang in the air, and she doesn’t know what to do next.

“I was just trying to help,” Catra says quietly, her voice hard. “I just wanted to--you’re gonna get hurt, and I was trying to keep you safe.”

Adora laughs a bit, because it’s so strange to hear that. “No, that’s me, that’s what I do for you.”

“Yeah, and it’s not--” Catra huffs and starts again. “It isn’t--I’m not the only one in danger here, right?”

“Danger?” Adora repeats, and laughs again, because what else can she do? “Danger--Catra, this is our home!”

“And?” Catra gives Adora a challenging look, and Adora doesn’t know what to say. She doesn’t get it. What is Catra saying--that Adora’s not safe? Of course Adora’s safe. There’s nowhere safer than here, in the heart of the Horde, under Shadow Weaver’s wing. If Adora trains hard, like she has her whole life, she’ll be the best. She’ll be worthy of everyone who gave her a chance. That’s how it is. It’s always been safe--it’s been everything Adora’s ever known.

And the only way to keep Catra safe is to be strong.

“Who am I kidding?” Catra mutters. “Of course you’re not. And of course hiding won’t work for you. You’re you and I’m me and--you could never pull it off.”

That makes sense. Catra is the one who hides, because Catra is the one who’s in trouble, because Catra is the one who gets herself into trouble. Catra is the one everyone hates. Adora isn’t like that.

Adora has never needed to hide.

But also, that doesnt make sense. Because Catra’s tone is tight and angry and sad and pointed in all the wrong places. Catra is upset, and Adora doesn’t know why.

“What do you mean?” Adora asks, hoping to coax Catra further.

Catra’s silent for a long, long time. “I worry about you, Adora.”

Adora’s breath catches in her throat.

“I get that it’s different. I get that everyone likes you. I get that you’re not the one who makes mistakes.” Catra turns to her, eyes wide. “But you’re setting yourself up for--Adora, can’t you keep yourself safe? Don’t you want to?”

“I am safe,” Adora says, feeling weirdly close to tears.

“You’re not going to be!” Catra waves a hand at her. “You’re always just so--so--insufferable! And you try too had, and--and if you’re so obvious about what you want, someone’s going to try and take it away!”

There’s a long, thick silence once again, and Adora’s chest is cold.

“Catra?” she asks softly.

Catra turns away. “Forget it.”

“Catra--”

“I said, forget it!”

Adora lets her voice grow quiet. “Is that why you don’t care about the Horde?”

“I don’t care about it,” Catra snaps. “You’ll do all the work and I can take half the credit, like always.”

Adora lets out a long breath. “Maybe--maybe if you let yourself have what you want, you could get it?”

Catra laughs. It’s an empty, harsh sound, and Adora hates it. “The world doesn’t work that way.”

“It could.”

“It doesn’t.”

Adora stares at her hands.

“Do you think,” she says slowly, “I could ever be a Force Captain?”

Because if Catra needs it, she will be. If Catra needs safety, she’ll give it. If Catra says Adora can do it, she can.

“Yeah, obviously,” Catra says, like it’s a fact. Something they learn in training. Princesses are the enemy, you don’t disrespect Shadow Weaver, and Adora is going to be the best one day. “Glad you’re done being stupid about that. You’ll be Force Captain and I’ll use that to get extra rations.”

“You’ll be Force Captain too,” Adora corrects. “Or--or higher, even. We could be more than that.”

“Could we?”

“Of course!”

“We could,” Catra says, as if Adora’s saying facts too, as if Adora is somehow convincing her by virtue of existing. Catra smiles. “I think we’d do a good job running the Horde.”

“We’d crush the princesses,” Adora says, beginning to smile back. “We’d both get new rations without needing to steal extra, we’d prank Kyle--”

“We’d see active duty,” Catra adds. “We’d see the world.”

“We’ll see the world.” Adora stares into the sky. “And we’ll--we’ll make it however we want. We’ll make it ours, just you and me.”

“Me and you,” Catra says, and in the light of the night sky, balanced against the wind, she looks like she really could conquer the world.

If she can do it, so can Adora.

If Catra needs it--if they both need it--Adora can try hard enough for both of them.

And they’ll make a world where they’re together, for as many nights as they need.

“Sounds like a plan,” Adora says, grinning.

“Sounds like the best plan.” Catra shrugs. “And, I mean, I guess you’ll have to train harder, if you want to rule the world and everything.”

“Yeah,” Adora admits. “So--”

“So I heard the training room is still open,” Catra finishes, looking at Adora hesitantly. “And I wouldn’t be caught dead doing extra credit, and this is not because I like you, but if you really need it--”

“You’d practice with me?” Adora’s eyes widen. “Really?”

Catra hisses and blushes. “Maybe--shut up! This doesn’t mean anything!”

But it does, and they both know it.

“Okay,” Adora says. “Let’s practice.”

“Great!” Catra jumps off the railing with a grin. “And I’m not gonna go easy on you.”

“I’ll still win!”

“You wish!”

Adora bumps Catra’s shoulder, and Catra bumps back, and now they’re chasing each other down the hallway, laughing, smiling so wide that Adora’s heart is going to burst from her chest. Catra’s laughing. Catra’s laughing and teasing Adora and it’s just the two of them, and nothing bad can happen as long as they’re together.

This is why Adora tries.

This is what Adora will fight for, and this is what she’ll do anything to protect. This is the world she will create, piece by piece, and this is the world she will train to deserve.

Her hand slips into Catra’s. Catra squeezes it. Adora squeezes back.

In the end, all Adora wants is this--for Catra to be happy.

And if Adora has to succeed, she will. If she has to lead, she will. If she has to be the best and the strongest and the fastest, if that keeps Catra safe and happy and under control and by her side, she will be.

Adora and Catra will rule the world together, and Adora can’t wait to see it.

But for now, it’s late, and they’re breaking into the training room. For now, Adora needs to prepare for a sparring session. For now, she has a long way yet to go.

And she won’t fail. She won’t stumble. She won’t fall.

Catra can land on her feet, Catra can hide and run and survive in the way only Catra can, but Adora gets one chance to make everyone proud.

Adora will rise, because she doesn’t have a choice.

And she’ll carve out a piece of the world for them. They deserve it, because the world has refused to give it willingly, and Catra needs a place to stay.

Adora will make that for her. It’s the least she can do.

Come anything, Adora will stay by her side.

[meg-noel-art]

What do you think are Glimmadora's fav things to do together

Thank you Kae 👀👀

1.) Sparring - I think they'd so this *long* after the need to always be ready for a fight has passed. It's fun and they definitely get competitive and try to out do the other to *impress* the other. Always obviously ends well regardless of who wins. Maybe a healthy way for them to let out minor couple frustrations to 😂

2.) Cooking - I think Adora is terrible at it but wants to learn, and Glimmer is good at is but hates doing it alone. So she gets to teach Adora and it's a fun bonding experience as well as an opportunity to start a food fight.

3.) Quality Time (?) - I think the importance of just *existing* together, and not necessarily engaging in the same activity, cannot be understated. They're both so busy as Queen and She-Ra, I can't help but imagine one of their favorite things to do is just cuddle up and relax. Adora probably reads, maybe she just listens as Glimmer rambles herself into a nap, or vice versa. Snuggling is a grade A activity.

4.) If Etheria has movies, these two do movie night. I'm gonna say Etheria has movies, yes. Movie night is good for snacks, and snuggles, and further explaining the world to Adora.

5.) Outdoors - Really not Glimmer’s favorite thing. But definitely Adora's. And a good couple compromises for their partner. Hikes and camping! Just means Glimmer can whine a little extra about it all and get consolidation kisses. 😙🤗

6.) Oh also something like Etherian Chess. They're both smart and strategists. Another way to get politely competitive. >:)

[angelbain]

The Picnic

(aka a little fluff / crack before I dodge on angst again)

The “extra episode of where are they now” as I picture it. 

Oneshot. Small reference to my fic “O Brave New World” chapter 3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24252301/chapters/58501732#workskin  in which Catra and Adora visit Entrapta who feeds them experimental cookies. 

A Picnic at the end of the universe

Perfuma’s kingdom, a clear patch in the forest. PERFUMA and a few Plumerians helps stretch a big table cloth over the grass. SCORPIA is standing by her, holding huge baskets full of fruits and vegetables.

PERFUMA: Look, Scorpia, some people are coming! Oooh, I am so happy we are all seeing each other today!

She jumps and bats hands with joy. Scorpia looks at her with a loving eye. SPINERELLA and NETOSSA arrive from the air thanks to the former being able to cast winds.

PERFUMA waves at them with a smile: Here! Here! Come around!

SPINERELLA: Hello!

NETOSSA: We brought some drinks! Is that okay?

PERFUMA: Great! Amazing! Put them here!

She shows a small table. The four of them chat joyfully until a sound of magic glitter interrupts them. Appears GLIMMER and BOW who carries a cake bigger than himself, covered with icing and decorations, multiple-stairs type.

GLIMMER (raising her arms in the sky) Ta-daaa! We’re here!

BOW moans, and almost let the cake fall. It is caught on time by all the characters present, and slowly put in the middle of the tablecloth.

PERFUMA (with an inquisitive tone): Glimmer, what’s this?

GLIMMER: It’s a cake! Bright Moon’s cooks spend the whole morning preparing it! The icing has three different flavours, and the decorative pearls are coated with real gold!

As she talks, the cake seems to shine behind her. PERFUMA gives a concerned look at SCORPIA, who answers with an awkward smile.

PERFUMA: Well, err, thank you Glimmer! I’m sure it will be perfect for a light pic-nic in the middle of nature… But where are Adora and Catra? Weren’t they supposed to come with you?

GLIMMER: Oh, they said they would come by their own means… They should be there soo…

She is interrupted by the loud noise of an engine roaring closer. To all the characters’ horrified sight, a huge motorbike comes at them at full speed. Both riders wear a helmet that makes them unrecognised. They brake at last minute in a loud hiss, and do a spin that throws earth at the face of the protagonists. The back rider get their helmet off: it is ADORA, with a brand-fresh undercut and the biggest beam.

ADORA: GUYS! You will never figure out what I gave Catra for her birthday!

GLIMMER: Let me guess, this motorbike?

ADORA;: Yeah! It is a-ma-zing, right? 

There is no answer. CATRA appears by her side, looking embarrassed, with a box that looks like it has been stepped on multiple times.

CATRA: So err Adora… About the pizza…

ADORA: What’s with the pizza?

CATRA: It has… err… suffered a little in the journey… It should taste fine but…

She opens the box to the saddest pizza ever seen.

GLIMMER: Wait! You disappeared all this morning to do ONE PIZZA? Arrrr!(She holds her head in her hands)

CATRA: No! I made cookies as well! Look!

She opens a box, and get a cookie out that has very vaguely the shape of a cat, that she holds proudly in front of an unconvinced GLIMMER.

PERFUMA (trying to stay calm and speaking as if to a very small child): That’s cool! Put it next to Glimmer’s cake and join us!

CATRA (asides, with her hand at the side of her mouth, pointing at the cake): Wait, did Sparkles do that?

ADORA: Apparently.

CATRA (same attitude): And we’re standing here with our stupid pizza…

ADORA (dry voice): It’s a great pizza. Now stop being competitive and enjoy the party.

They are interrupted (again) by the rush of the river close by which becomes a sudden torrent, to let stage for a wonderful boat… on fire. MERMISTA jumps from it and waves her arms to throw water at the arson, and floods PERFUMA who came closer to say hello.

MERMISTA: Sea-Hawk? SEA-HAWK? Come out now, and don’t forget the food!

SEA-HAWK (from inside the ship): I’m co-o-o-oming darling!

MERMISTA (with a bored voice): Oh, hi guys. Sorry for the inconvenience. He insisted for the fire.

PERFUMA (drying herself with a towel handed by SCORPIA, fake-smiling): It’s no worries! What did you bring?

MERMISTA (proud): We got the best fish and sea-food you guys have ever tried! Bring it on, Sea-Hawk!

SEA-HAWK gets out with a pile of wooden boxes. He opens one to shiny lines of fish. In the background, we have a quick glimpse at CATRA’s face, licking her lips with eager eyes. PERFUMA winces.

PERFUMA: Well… err… that’s great?

SCORPIA: Wait, what do you mean that’s great? Didn’t you say you were vegetarian? Do vegetarians eat fi…

As she speaks, SEA-HAWK and MERMISTA’s faces drops. PERFUMA puts a hand on SCORPIA’s mouth.

PERFUMA: No, no, it’s great! Put these around… (she hesitates and points at a random direction) around here! Great! Now who’s missing?

ADORA: Well, Frosta, and Entrapta, and I think that’s all…

CATRA: About Entrapta, do you guys think she will bring Hord…

She is interrupted by FROSTA, who just jumps from nowhere in her ice armor and punches her. After the first surprise, CATRA gets up, smiles competitively, and punches her back. They start a playful fight that pauses quickly. FROSTA salutes the others.

FROSTA (with her warrior voice): Hello, guys! I hope you waited for me to begin the party! Yea-hay!

PERFUMA: Well, we were just greeting everyone and…

FROSTA: Amazing! I brought ice-cream! Yay!

She draws a whole bunch of ice-cream flavours. GLIMMER yaps in the background and Bow’s eyes are huge from excitement.

GLIMMER: Frosta, you’re just the best! Now everyone’s here we’ll be able to start…

She tends to the buffet but is quickly caught back by BOW. Vexed, she pouts and sulks when the calm hum of an engine disturbs them. A sort of spaceship arrives from the sky, and parks between the boat and the motorbike, dumping the later down to the horrified sight of ADORA and CATRA who puts their hands on their mouth. Without a clue, a giddy ENTRAPTA comes out of the ship, followed by candid WRONG HORDAK.

ENTRAPTA: (talking to her log) Social experiment number #132, I am about to share a pic-nic with my friends. (to everyone) Now hi, everyone! I am very happy to see you all!

PERFUMA: We are happy to see you too, Entrapta, and whoever, I really say whoever you brought with you will be as welcomed as…

CATRA (with a concerned voice): Did you bring Hordak?

At this very moment, HORDAK gets out of the vehicule. He looks around. There is a collective moment of awkwardness where everybody looks around to avoid anyone’s gaze, to the exception of CATRA who jumps on their feet and points angrily at him.

CATRA: WHAT? YOU BROUGHT THIS…

ADORA (hands on CATRA’s shoulders): Calm down please…

GLIMMER (pushing them aside): HEY! What is he doing here?

MERMISTA: Yeah, like didn’t he try to destroy the planet or something? Just sayin’…

FROSTA: YEAH! BAD HORDAK!

HORDAK: I can see that I am not welcome here. (He looks at ENTRAPTA who is puzzled). Let’s leave.

Before they do, PERFUMA steps out and catch them by the arm.

PERFUMA (pulling her best smile and stepping before the others who still look pissed): Please, don’t leave! You are most welcome here, and surely the other guests will be able to (she looks at the pissed group with a side angry eye and especially at CATRA for she holds them responsible for the start of the mess) put aside your differences. So, err, did you bring anything?

ENTRAPTA (joyful): Yes, as it is a custom to bring food to a party like this, I tried to find the perfect flavour! I experimented lots of them – Catra and Adora even tried one – but I need more subjects to try it so I brought you a sample! Here it is!

WRONGIE opens a metallic box. It is full of small grey cubes.

CATRA (aside): My, not again…

ENTRAPTA ignores the remark and piles up the box over all the stuff that is already there: the sea food, the fruit baskets, the cake, the pizza, the drinks, the cookies, the ice cream totter dangerously and start to fall down. Every member of the group jumps to retrieve something, but it is not enough, and eventually the cake ends up falling over PERFUMA who jumped to catch it.

There is a small instant of silence, followed by a cry of rage from PERFUMA, who drops her arms on the floor and yells.

PERFUMA: Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!

SCORPIA puts down whatever she caught and approaches carefully.

SCORPIA: Hey… erm… are you all right?

PERFUMA: No! My party is ruined! People are fighting, and Glimmer’s cake is wrecked! I’m such a bad host!

PERFUMA begins to cry. SCORPIA holds PERFUMA in her arms and glance at the rest of the group, clueless, when ADORA steps forward.

ADORA: We are sorry, Perfuma. It took you time and energy to prepare this, and we are ruining it by being bitter.

NETOSSA: Yeah, and it’s not like it took us a long time to bring the drinks.

MERMISTA: Nor the sea-food. FROSTA: The ice-cream took me one minute…

CATRA: The pizza took us much longer but I’m sure it’s no great loss. And… I’m sorry I started this.

There is another silence. CATRA nudges HORDAK, who looks terribly ill-at-ease.

HORDAK (after a terrible effort): I’ll do my best to prove the princesses I’m an honourable guest.

CATRA: Hmm, good enough.

PERFUMA looks up, eyes still tearful.

PERFUMA: So you still enjoy the party?

ADORA: What? Of course we do! (looks at GLIMMER)

GLIMMER: And I’m just we can still save pieces of the cake!

SEA-HAWK: And the sea-food! (looks at MERMISTA)

SPINERELLA: And I love mashed fruit! (looks at NETOSSA)

FROSTA: We can mix it with the ice cream!

MERMISTA: Add the cake in it, it would be so cool!

ENTRAPTA: What if we make it in tiny scoops? (looks at HORDAK)

SCORPIA: And a little cookie at the top of it? (looks at CATRA)

BOW: Yay, cookies!

He jumps and high-fives SCORPIA. Perfuma cracks a smile, and they all laugh.

Ellipse to the end of lunch. GLIMMER is asleep on Bow’s knees, a small chunk of cake still at the corner of her lips. Meanwhile, BOW is showing WRONGIE how to use a bow. PERFUMA is chatting happily with NETOSSA and SPINERELLA.

PERFUMA: … So I sent an invite to this Double Trouble person, they seem to be so interesting, but sadly they declined. They said they got a key role in a play and don’t want to drop that out… I wonder what that is. Something about crime and investigation… I think Mermista would know more about this sort of thing…  

Her words are lost in the general conversation. In another corner, CATRA is leaning on ADORA’s knees. The others are in the background. ADORA is handing one of ENTRAPTA’s cubes to CATRA.

ADORA: You should definitely try this.

CATRA: I’m not sure about it…

ADORA: Come on! It’s completely different than last time!

Switch for a second on Sea-Hawk, who tries to sing a shanty but is interrupted by a flow of water, a pile of flowers and some snow.

CATRA: All right, if it pleases our majesty…

CATRA eats the cube, chokes from it and reach for the closest drink.

CATRA (after drinking a whole bottle of fizz) You idiot! It’s even worse than last time!

ADORA laughs heartily when CATRA jumps on her. They fight like two kittens.

Zoom on the rest of the groom.

They are gathered at a board game that is probably of BOW’s design, because it featues small figurines. ENTRAPTA is examining them all at once, one in each lock of her hair. SCORPIA is trying to read the manual and scratches her head, but tries to explain the rules. FROSTA is sleeping on her shoulder. MERMISTA just looks bored. HORDAK looks miserable.

ENTRAPTA: Bow, did you made these? They’re amaziiiiinnng…

HORDAK: I must admit it is quite a good craft.

BOW blushes. An arrow brushes by his nose.

WRONGIE: Oops! BOW: Wow!

The arrow ends up in a tree very close to PERFUMA, who is pouring warm water in a tea-pot. She jumps, but the pot is caught by a net that allows it to land peacefully in her arms.

PERFUMA (smiles): thank you, Netossa. (turns to ADORA, who raises her head from the cuddle fight that led her and CATRA to be covered with grass). Adora, I wanted to ask, do you have any news from Swift Wind?

ADORA: Oh, haha, hem… He is on a quest to find other talking animals like him. He said he feels a little lonely in his… hem… condition.

CATRA: Yay, and so far he found a frog and they are the greatest complainer in history.

PERFUMA smiles. ADORA looks away, a little guilty. CATRA uses the moment to grasp a chunk of grass and punch it at her face. They resume the fighting. Zoom on BOW, who stands up, with at his feet a yawning GLIMMER.

BOW: Guys, please, can I have your attention for a minute!

MERMISTA: Eeeeerr, seriously, you’re going to make a speech? This is sooooo cheesy!

SCORPIA: Shhhh, he is going to make an announcement. We are all ears, Bow, go on…

FROSTA (who woke up): Are you and Glimmer getting married? (Glimmer blushes)

CATRA (with a smirk): You’ve got to get a proper shirt for that though.

BOW: Wait, we’re not…

SEA-HAWK: I could do the singing!

SCORPIA: Can I be your best man? Please! I’m never been anyone’s best man!

BOW: We’re not…

ADORA: Wait, who’s getting married?

ENTRAPTA: Bow and Glimmer, apparently. It will be a great social experiment, I’m waiting for it. By the way, aren’t you and Catra going to do it with them? (ADORA blushes violently.)

BOW: WE’RE NOT GETTING MARRIED!

A big silence follows. Everyone looks shocked, Scorpia is even almost tear-eyed.

SCORPIA: You’re breaking up? But you’re such a good couple! Please don’t break up! (She kneels down, grabs Bow’s trouser’s leg and begs) Please-please-please…

BOW (sighs): We’re not breaking up, we’re not getting married, and I just wanted to tell you guys that tea is ready and that I made each of you a personal cup to bring back home!

SCORPIA stops crying, and PERFUMA just laughs from the whole situation. SCORPIA looks at her and smiles from seeing her lover be happy. On the back, ENTRAPTA strokes HORDAK’s cheek with her hair, and he lifts his head to look at her. Behind them, WRONGIE looks at the scene with loving eyes.

BOW: So, here is yours, Adora – He gives her a cup full of tea. It is white, with a sword drawn on it.

ADORA: Nice!

BOW (continues the distribution of tea): Catra’s… - A red cup, with cat ears that poke at the edge, and a >.< cat face.

CATRA (doing exacly the same face): Why is mine making a face?

BOW: Glimmer’s… - A pink cup, with a complicated shape and small pearls that decorate it. She just smiles and grabs it – Perfuma’s… A round cup made of natural wood, with a small twig twisted around it.

PERFUMA: Thank you. (She closes her eyes and smells the tea with pleasure).

BOW: Scorpia’s…- It’s a deep red cup, huge, and with a special shape for her to hold: it is thinner in the middle and larger at the top and bottom, and without a handle.

SCORPIA (still tear-eyed): This is so nice from you Bow!

BOW: Frosta’s… - A light-blue cup, all transparent and with angular shape, like a diamond. It has a top cover to prevent spilling because she is impulsive.

FROSTA: Yay! (She jumps with the cup, but it just shakes the content and only spills a little bit out).

BOW: Mermista’s… - A blue-green cup with the handle in the shape of a fish, and a unicorn whale painted on it.

MERMISTA: Ok, it’s a little bit cool, I admit.

BOW: Sea-Hawk’s… - A dark-blue cup with a boat drawn on it – At least you won’t set this boat on fire!

SEA-HAWK: Oh, thank you!

BOW: Entrapta’s… - It’s a set of three black small cups. On each of them are stylised purple faces with hands: one with the hands on the ears, one on the eyes, and one on the mouth.

ENTRAPTA: Oh, it’s tiny! Amazing! (She gives mouth to WRONGIE, ears to HORDAK, and keep the eyes one. WRONGIE looks happy, but HORDAK looks puzzled). Thank you!

WRONGIE: Thank you! HORDAK: Yeah, hem… thank you. (He looks away)

BOW: and finally, Netossa’s and Spinerella! - He gives NETOSSA a cup all squared in black and white, and SPINERELLA a light purple cup with the handle in the shape of a wind spiral. They smile and cheer with the cups. - So, would you join me for a toast?

ADORA: Sure.

BOW (a little more solemn): So… To Etheria (he looks at ADORA and CATRA, who both blushes). To victory (he looks at SCORPIA, PERFUMA and FROSTA who all cheer). To love (he looks at NETOSSA and SPINERELLA who kisses, and then at GLIMMER who just smiles). To adventure (he looks at MERMISTA and SEA-HAWK who look fiercely ready for another). To forgiveness (he looks at ENTRAPTA, who smiles, WRONGIE, who blinks, and HORDAK, who simply nods.). But mostly to say: It’s the best thing so far to be friends with friends.

They all cheer and yay, and the last image is of a collection of cups all clasped together.

THE END.