lizzie was in her element. a gala ? she was completely prepared to own it. she was currently wandering around, just taking in everything. as weird and messed up as this town was, it certainly had it’s perks. she smirked as she lifted a glass of champagne. ❛ i am totally enjoying this. ❜
hardly the first event adora had attended like this, but it would never cease to put her out of her element. she was a warrior, a fighter. not someone that knew proper etiquette and all the different dance moves there were. there was always going to be a part of her that was uncomfortable at these sorts of things. “seems most people are. it’s nice to see, really.”
catra couldn’t help but let out a short and cold laugh. “i couldn’t have left with you,” she retorted. catra? in the princess alliance? no. it just wouldn’t work. she wasn’t like adora. there was no good in her. even scorpia had come to see that. “the horde is where i belong, adora. you think i’m good? you think i’d fit in with princesses? no. even if i wanted to leave with you –” and she did. “i wouldn’t have stayed.” she stood taller as she began to rant, ever so slightly. “but you – oh so high and mighty adora – you thrive there. you love being the saviour. the hero. you enjoy being better than me. you always have.” none of the words were true, catra knew that. but all catra did lately was sabotage things for herself. why would this world be any different? “always shadow weaver’s favourite and deep down you loved that. i know you did.” that last sentence, bringing up shadow weaver, it was sure to sting.
no matter what, it seemed adora would always hold onto that false hope. she had tried so desperately to be free of it. when catra had opened that portal and nearly destroyed their entire world, that had crossed a line she never wanted to forgive. and adora had held onto that resolve, had done everything she could to see her former best friend as the enemy. but it never seemed to last. there was too much history, still hope lingering deep down inside that maybe things could finally change. “i never cared if you joined the princess alliance, catra !! i just wanted you free of the horde, free of everything they’ve done to us our entire lives.” the words silence adora, a numbness slowly setting in. shadow weaver. the one who had raised her, the one who had broken her so utterly only to make it seem like she was helping. what was adora if she wasn’t useful to someone?? nothing. “i was never better than you. i never thought that. you’re the one that put yourself there.” her voice faltered as she spoke, the hurt only spreading just as it always did. “you have no idea how i feel.”
Steve took a sip of his beer he had gotten from the bar and let out a sigh. ‘’It’s been a while since I’ve had a reason to dress up like this.’’ He spoke to the person closest to him. He motioned to the suit he was wearing. He liked it but it still felt odd to him. ‘’Usually I’m in my uniform or just at home by myself. Do I look ridiculous in this?’’ He asked with a slight chuckle. ‘’I just can’t believe it’ll be a new year already..’’
though she had more experience with these sorts of things now, adora still couldn’t help but feel completely out of place. going your entire life without dressing up or fancy events like these, or the ones the princesses threw, could easily make one a bit uncomfortable. “trust me, i know the feeling. the first time i had to wear a dress and go to princess prom was a doozy. i don’t even know how i managed.” even if things hadn’t quite turned out the best. “i think you look fine. pretty normal attire for these things. besides, it’s to celebrate, right?? it’s supposed to be fun.”
there was a sharp pain in catra’s chest as adora relayed the memory. she used to sleep at the bottom of adora’s bed most nights. it was comforting to her. adora was the only thing that brought catra comfort while in the horde. that understood her. brought her happiness. it was supposed to be them against the world. that’s why she’d pulled the lever to open the portal. the whole other reality revolved around them. catra wasn’t even a force captain, adora was. because all catra really craved was adora to stay with her and for shadow weaver’s affection. but the harsh reality had come crashing back down. “i just wanted you to stay…” catra said, defeated. “but you left. even in another reality you wouldn’t stay with me.”
those words were enough to send that ache through her. she had never wanted to leave catra. no, that had never been the goal when all of this had initially began. adora had desperately clung onto hope that maybe, just maybe, the other would see just how horrid and cruel the horde was and join the princess alliance as she had. it had quickly become apparent that that was never going to happen no matter how much adora wanted it. and no matter how much she had yearned to stay in that false reality, blissfully unaware of all the horrors, she had a duty to uphold. “catra -- i never wanted to leave you. but i couldn’t stand by while the horde destroyed people’s lives. and that world?? it wasn’t real. it was never going to be real. you never had to stay. you could have left with me. i wanted you to.”
There were few people he wanted to see while he was here, his dad’s, adora, and glimmer. Sure, seeing the other princesses would be good too. So, when he saw Adora, his eyes lit up. “Adora!” he exclaimed, running forward and hugged her, “oh my god it’s good to see you! How are you? Are you hurt? Is Glimmer here? Why… Why are you looking at me like that?”
so far, the only person adora had seen in this place that she knew was catra. and given that history, there were a few complicated feelings that came alone with it. so when she saw a familiar figure running towards her, adora immediately lit up, arms sliding around bow. “i’ve missed you so much !! sorry, sorry i just -- i’m really glad to see you. i’m alright, but i haven’t seen glimmer around yet. are you okay??”
“i carry them… i am a HEMA instructor.” that isn’t exactly the case – he knows that his life is fake, but of course, one needs evidence to support the lie to begin with. “i have extra back in my room…”
“not a term i’m real familiar with myself.” though adora had her own false memories, they tended to be more overwhelmed by the real ones. “yeah?? are they any different than the ones we have now?? i really haven’t seen anything like them before.”
“you need to place your thumb on the center of the crossguard. that’ll help you control the trajectory of the blade. don’t press down too hard…we’ll run through the fundamentals again, but that’s all for today. it’s beginning to rain.” oswald pushes his hood down and gets into position, holding his newly-reacquired belderiver towards his right hip in a guard.
it felt... odd in her hand. nothing like her old sword, but that wasn’t anything adora wanted to think about right now. or ever. “oh, no worries here. i’m a very fast learner.” that much was true. adora had quickly risen through the horde rankings because of her skills. ignoring the start of the downpour, thumb found the center of the cross guard as she carefully eyed him. “where do these weapons come from anyways??”
catra stiffened at the voice. she instantly stood, facing her. the last time she had seen her face was when double trouble had been tormenting her. they were ruthless. using adora and scorpia’s face against her. “what more do you want, double trouble? you already broke me.” catra looked down, heart aching. all confidence and facade she had finally withered away. the possibility that it was actually adora stood in front of her didn’t even pass her mind. because adora was done with her. she wouldn’t speak to her like this. not now. not after everything that had happened. the portal had been the final straw. catra could see it in adora’s eyes. “just – leave me alone.” she turned back to stare out of the tower. maybe she was wanting it to be double trouble. they would be easier to face than adora. everything she had done, was because of her. catra loathed her, but loved her at the same time. she had been the only one who truly cared about her. until scorpia came along. but catra had ruined that too. ruined everything she touched.
“what??” confusion crossed her features at the words. why in the world would catra even think that she was double trouble?? last she was aware, they had still been imprisoned back home within the castle. before everything had fallen apart -- before even more horrors had come. “catra, it’s me.” as much as it pained adora to even look at her ( old ) friend after everything they had been through, there was always going to be that part of her that worried. a part of her that would always wish that catra would finally see what she saw. even after the portal, as desperate as adora was to finally just be done, how could she ever give up?? catra was everything her best friend. even with glimmer and bow, she couldn’t let go. not truly. slowly approaching, adora made sure to keep her guard up just in case. “i have no idea what they did to you, but i’m not them. you -- you sometimes slept at the bottom of my bunk. i don’t know what else to say to prove it’s me. there’s still a part of me that’s so angry about what you did, but we’re not in etheria right now.”
she had made herself as small as possible, arms clutching herself and tail around her feet. the wind blew through her hair as catra stared out beyond the tower, across the grounds and to the mountains. she was sat as close to the edge of the astronomy tower as she could get. climbing up high to be alone had always been her thing since the fright zone. this new place – it was intriguing. there was magic here and catra had even attempted and succeeded once or twice. but no amount of exciting and strange shops in the snow covered town, talking portraits or secret passage ways could make her forget. or make her not feel. she felt alone even while surrounded with people in the hall at dinner. so she had decided to be alone. but, she wasn’t alone. ears perked up at the sound of footsteps. catra growled to herself as she turned her head to look over her shoulder, searching for the other. “come out. i know you’re there.”
ever since she had first arrived, before all of this craziness, memories had come flooding back. the horde, catra, the princess alliance, glimmer, bow, catra, all of her friends, she-ra and the sword, catra. everything had come back and in the end, it had felt worse than any blow she had ever taken. her friends were somewhere around here, that much she knew. they had been promised to her upon coming to that place. and yet, everything seemed to be getting in the way of her goal. it was frustrating to adora, knowing that she was unable to succeed. that was what she was supposed to do -- how she had been raised. what worth did adora have if she wasn’t helping. fixing problems, solving things. and then she had heard whispers. little bits and pieces of someone that was far too familiar to her, someone who adora could never be certain how to feel about. catra was supposed to be her enemy. after what had happened with the portal, adora was tired of giving her friend chance after chance to see that things could be different. that the horde was wrong. but it seemed she was the one who had been wrong in the end. she had been hesitant to approach, uncertain, and yet it seemed to be the only thing to do in this strange place. “hey, catra.” voice was soft as she revealed herself, gaze roaming over her ( old ) friend. “kind of got ourselves into a weird situation, didn’t we??”
it was lethologica at its finest. bill felt frustrated. unsure. there were flashes of faces, feelings of a pull towards logic, but nothing seemed to fit. moving his fingers slightly, as though mimicking the swish of his wand, he spoke. “it’s there, isn’t it? right there. all of the answers.” bill was home. he knew that much was for sure, even if the details were fuzzy around the edges.
“uh -- are you okay??” seemed like he was mimicking what she had seen other people doing with the wands. similar to how adora kept reaching for a sword that just wasn’t there. not here, at least. “i get the whole wanting answers things. trust me, it’s so annoying when you don’t get them even when someone’s there to give them to you but won’t.” and now she was rambling, wasn’t she?? “sorry. what are you trying to figure out??”
Willow is trying to practice magic by saying a spell. “center is dark. Centrum est obscurus. The darkness breathes. Tenebrae respiratis.” but was happening what is going on here. “I did the spell right is no magic aloud without the dumb wand now what do i do?” She asked the person next to her.
this place didn’t make any sense to her. sure, adora was completely used to magic. she was surrounded by it constantly whenever it came to her friends. but this was.. different. really different. wands and magical spells. none of it made any sense to her. “no idea,” she remarked with a small, nervous smile. “this really isn’t my specialty. none of my friends ever have to wave around a wand and say things to do magic.”
( sword of protection, self-worth based off of being useful, boastful heroics ) –– && it looks like adora has finally arrived in woodshore ( though she originates from she-ra and the princess of power ). although known as a HERO back home, here they are a twenty year old renaissance knight, known to be BRAVE, but SELF-DOUBTING. they were coaxed here with the promise of REUNITING WITH THEIR FRIENDS. they remember TURNING THE PORTAL OFF. – hayley kiyoko.
from what point in your characters canon are they taken from?
right now adora is based after s3. since the 4th season just came out, i’m going to wait a while until i update her until then.
gender/pronouns
female, she/her
anything else you’d like to add!
adora lived in etheria which was ruled by hordak. the great rebellion, the princesses,fought back, though the battles often resulted in losses
adora didn’t know where she came from. she was an orphan that was taken in by the horde. all her life she was trained to fight against the rebellion
she worked hard, was one of the toughest fighters, and was incredibly smart. adora is often more logical than anything else and rarely makes rash decisions
eventually she became a captain and her and catra went out to the woods they were supposed to stay away from and that was when she first came across the sword. that night adora went back out to the sword and had a run in with glimmer, a princess, and bow
though she was taken captive by the two, they visited a small village that was attacked by the horde and adora saw the horrors that they did. it was then where she chose to join the rebellion
the sword was found to transform adora into a warrior known as she-ra and grants her certain abilities
joining the rebellion, she left behind her best friend catra, and the two of them became enemies.
a lot of other shit happened that i won’t go into full detail. but basically catra opened a portal that created a new reality but was also destroying etheria. glimmer’s mother had to sacrifice herself to save their home, and once the portal was turned off, she was determined to stop the horde once and for all
without her memories adora grew up with someone that took her in. she has no memories of her actual family
the woman was mentally and emotionally abusive, making adora believe she had to be a certain way to get love
friends managed to get her to see the truth of what was happening and at 18 she moved out for good and left that behind her. she went to school and was studying to be a veterinarian until she received the letter
