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One in a Million
A bright white tears across her vision, her world—her self—fracturing and splitting even as she fights tooth and claw to pull herself back out of the void. She can feel her mind unravelling like a thread torn by the viscous forces of the damaged portal, and at once there are countless Catras in her mind and they are many and they are one.
In this moment, a million Catras live a million lifetimes. Six thousand, three hundred and forty-seven leave the Horde and follow Adora to the Rebellion; two thousand, one hundred and twenty-nine persuade her to stay; three hundred and twelve find the sword themselves, and lead the Horde or the Rebellion to victory. There are hundreds of thousands of fights, dances, grabs, glances. Some of the Catras live in whole other worlds, where stars shine in the inky blackness of the sky, where she has no tail, where Adora has a tail; there are worlds with robots and spaceships, and there are worlds with high schools and coffee shops. And one Catra…
“Adora, I’m boooored.”
Across the lounge, the gentle tapping of the laptop keyboard stops. Catra stretches across the sofa, her back arching as the warm light of the sun, streaming in from the windows, casts a red glow over her eyelids.
“Is there anything you wanna do?” Adora asks, barely a hint of exasperation sneaking into her voice. Not that Catra can blame her: it must be the thirteenth time she’s said that in as many days.
“I wanna go outside and do something, Adora.” Catra lowers her back, sinking into the cushions with a melancholy sigh. “No offense, but when I said I wanted us to be together forever, I didn’t mean literally stuck inside the apartment all the time.” She snorts, muttering quietly to herself. “Stupid quarantine.”
Footsteps pat across the carpet, and soon fingers are running softly through her hair, brushing softly against her head. She purrs softly, rolling onto her side and pressing her head into Adora’s hand, a smile dancing on her lips.
“None taken,” Adora says. “As soon as we can go out, I’m spending, like, a whole day with Glimmer and Bow. I love being around you, don’t get me wrong, but I miss everyone else.”
Catra hums, frowning. “Less talking, more ear scritches,” she mutters, and Adora laughs, fingers gently rubbing the soft fur behind her ears. Catra buries her face against Adora’s leg to hide her smile.
“You wanna watch a movie this morning?” Adora asks, after what feels like a lifetime. Her fingers have roamed, and one hand is gently brushing knuckles along Catra’s neck. “I’ve gotta finish these applications, but we can put something on TV and curl up while I work?”
Catra twists her head up, her eyes fluttering open to see Adora and her dumb smile gazing down at her. She smirks. “I dunno, Adora. If you’ve got to get stuff done, I’m not sure Netflix and chill is our best option…”
A blush spreads across Adora’s face like wildfire, and Catra bursts into laughter. “I’m kidding! C’mon, I’ll get blankets and snacks if you pick a movie?” With that, she pulls herself up, striding to the door and looking back over her shoulder at Adora, who is still perched, speechless, on the old sofa’s armrest. The bright light of the sun shines through the flimsy curtain behind her, outlining her in radiant glow, and for a moment Catra can’t help but stare at her, watching as the shock and the embarrassment fade from her features, leaving behind gentle contentment. With a soft smile and a warm glow in her chest, Catra turns, and fades into the hallway.
In this moment, a million Catras live a million lifetimes. Six thousand, three hundred and forty-seven leave the Horde and follow Adora to the Rebellion; two thousand, one hundred and twenty-nine persuade her to stay; three hundred and twelve find the sword themselves, and lead the Horde or the Rebellion to victory. There are hundreds of thousands of fights, dances, grabs, glances. Some of the Catras live in whole other worlds, where stars shine in the inky blackness of the sky, where she has no tail, where Adora has a tail; there are worlds with robots and spaceships, and there are worlds with high schools and coffee shops. And one Catra…
“Adora, I’m boooored.”
Across the lounge, the gentle tapping of the laptop keyboard stops. Catra stretches across the sofa, her back arching as the warm light of the sun, streaming in from the windows, casts a red glow over her eyelids.
“Is there anything you wanna do?” Adora asks, barely a hint of exasperation sneaking into her voice. Not that Catra can blame her: it must be the thirteenth time she’s said that in as many days.
“I wanna go outside and do something, Adora.” Catra lowers her back, sinking into the cushions with a melancholy sigh. “No offense, but when I said I wanted us to be together forever, I didn’t mean literally stuck inside the apartment all the time.” She snorts, muttering quietly to herself. “Stupid quarantine.”
Footsteps pat across the carpet, and soon fingers are running softly through her hair, brushing softly against her head. She purrs softly, rolling onto her side and pressing her head into Adora’s hand, a smile dancing on her lips.
“None taken,” Adora says. “As soon as we can go out, I’m spending, like, a whole day with Glimmer and Bow. I love being around you, don’t get me wrong, but I miss everyone else.”
Catra hums, frowning. “Less talking, more ear scritches,” she mutters, and Adora laughs, fingers gently rubbing the soft fur behind her ears. Catra buries her face against Adora’s leg to hide her smile.
“You wanna watch a movie this morning?” Adora asks, after what feels like a lifetime. Her fingers have roamed, and one hand is gently brushing knuckles along Catra’s neck. “I’ve gotta finish these applications, but we can put something on TV and curl up while I work?”
Catra twists her head up, her eyes fluttering open to see Adora and her dumb smile gazing down at her. She smirks. “I dunno, Adora. If you’ve got to get stuff done, I’m not sure Netflix and chill is our best option…”
A blush spreads across Adora’s face like wildfire, and Catra bursts into laughter. “I’m kidding! C’mon, I’ll get blankets and snacks if you pick a movie?” With that, she pulls herself up, striding to the door and looking back over her shoulder at Adora, who is still perched, speechless, on the old sofa’s armrest. The bright light of the sun shines through the flimsy curtain behind her, outlining her in radiant glow, and for a moment Catra can’t help but stare at her, watching as the shock and the embarrassment fade from her features, leaving behind gentle contentment. With a soft smile and a warm glow in her chest, Catra turns, and fades into the hallway.
Pics
I like the separate parts of this, but I don't know how well they merge into a whole. The explanation of the multiverse-style possibilities was well done, but I don't think it was necessary, other than to tie into the prompt. If you'd just started into the AU SoL story, then I would have picked up on its AU-ness quickly, but then you might get accused of ignoring the prompt. Then there's a nice, comfy moment between the two. It's more scene than story, as nothing of consequence happens. I'm left wondering about that last line, though. It kind of makes it sound like Catra is disappearing, leaving me with a nagging feeling that she isn't coming back, or that Adora was only imagining her. Effective scene, and I like the chemistry your version of these characters have.
Hmmm... well written, but takes some liberties with the characters and setting that are maybe too far given the limited word count, and the attempt to explain a "multiverse" in the opening is also kinda kludged... ESPECIALLY given the limited word count. TV and Netflix (and chill) are too precisely _our_ universe (out of a million, so what are the odds), and while there's certainly a million shippers for Catra+Adora, a random scene in "quarantine" (actually minus points for that all-too-real bit) where she's rubbing her head against Adora's leg is a bit of a stretch without context or backstory. Still, a cute scene that mostly/kinda captures the characters in general though. I _could_ see this being something they could evolve into given enough time (and access to earth) so points for that.
I feel kinda cheated here. The first scene implies a kind of multiverse where we see many different versions of Catra and how her relationship with Adora plays out differently in each one. While we are presented with one of those many possibilities in the next scene, it feels way too down-to-earth, to the point where it stops feeling like She-Ra. There have been AU stories for this group where we see She-Ra characters in a world that's basically our own, although in this case I'd say it goes too far. First the whole "Netflix and chill" thing seems fine enough, even though it feels like that moment whenever someone posts a dead meme. The thing that pushes the story too far is referencing what is presumably the coronavirus outbreak. It's too timely, and also too meta, which gives the impression that this entry is supposed to be very tongue-in-cheek, except it's more of a cozy mood piece. Not necessarily a bad mood piece, mind you, because I do buy into the coziness of this particular relationship between Adora and Catra, but it still feels not She-Ra enough.
Does that make sense?
Does that make sense?