Unfortunately, Catra was far cleverer than Adora, something that was easy to forget. Bitter, spiteful, and not even close to as naive as the princess. It was no matter. Shadow Weaver knew how to deal with her now. She was erratic, but she was predictable to Shadow Weaver. Adora was Catra's achilles heel, and without her, Shadow Weaver would never be able to use her like a pawn this way. Maybe Adora defecting was a blessing in disguise after all.
At the beginning, her plan centered around using She-ra's power for her own gains when Adora was old enough to discover her true identity, as well as using She-ra herself to gain access to the Heart of Etheria. With Adora out of the way, she would simply be able to cut out the middleman. The Heart was unstable, but it was nothing Shadow Weaver couldn't handle. And even if she couldn't...well. Shadow Weaver would rather die than give up the chance to possess it.
"You're far cleverer than Hordak gives you credit for." A chuckle. "Of course I have my own interests in the matter. But they will not interfere with any of your plans. I have an interest in the war ending. There is something I want that I cannot obtain with the conflict at hand. So this arrangement benefits the both of us. And of course I want Hordak and Adora out of the way as much as you do. A partnership of mutual gain suits me just fine. Adora is weak. She was never destined to be anything more than a pawn to me because she lacked the strength to do what was necessary. She lacks the will to be anything other than someone to be used by others until she outlives her usefulness. Her weakness meant she could never be anything close to my equal but you..." Shadow Weaver gestured to the crystal in Catra's hand. "I've told you before you remind me of myself. You are not afraid to take what you want for yourself, and that strength makes you the only one capable of accepting my guidance."
"Watch your mouth." The words left her mouth before she even knew what was happening, and she quickly covered it and took a step back. Shadow Weaver was going to kill her for that.
Catra's first instinct was to snap back at the woman. The way she talked about Adora brought forth an inexplicable rage in her. Yes, she wanted that lying piece of shit dead, and yes she was planning on using this weird crystal thing to take her down and use the advantage it would give her to snuff her lights out, but Shadow Weaver couldn't talk about her like that.
Well, that was unexpected. Shadow Weaver raised an eyebrow. The irritation that rose at Catra's backtalk was quickly buried before she could show any indication of it.
If she was going to be able to get what she needed form Catra, she would lose credibility if she treated her like a stubborn child and punished her. No, she couldn't get through to Catra by lavishing her with praise and keeping her under her thumb in that way like she did with Adora, and she couldn't control her with threats or physical pain as she had when she was a child. Catra was still naive in her own way, but sensitive to the way Adora had been used as a tool, and she would catch on if Shadow Weaver were to do the same to her. No, she had to hold up her end and treat this as a legitimate partnership, as grudging as she was to do so.
"Angry? This attachment to Adora won't bode well for you. You know as well as I do that your obsession with her will only bring you more pain. Adora doesn't care for you. She made that clear when she left you behind for the princesses. What has she ever done for you? And here you are, standing up for her...angry on her behalf."
Shadow Weaver turned to lean down and look into her basin, conjuring an image of Adora as she was in this moment, her face screwed up with laughter as that boy who didn't know how to wear a shirt properly was saying something brightly and patting her on the back and Princess Glimmer was elbowing her in the ribs. "Will your tenderness for her be an obstacle? Or will you be able to reach your full potential? Adora is the one thing holding you back."
Untensing her muscles as Shadow Weaver didn't display any of the telltale signs that she was about to punish her, Catra lowered her hand and crossed her arms uneasily across her chest. She was still wary of the sorceress, even if she didn't seem to be enraged by her comment.
The words uttered by the woman made her heart hurt. She knew they were true. She meant nothing to Adora now, and she never had. She'd been wrong about her. Why the hell did it matter to her if Shadow Weaver said those things about Adora? Adora had never been quick to get angry on Catra's behalf. No, she just let Shadow Weaver treat her however she wanted. Adora thought Catra deserved it. She thought it was all her fault. She'd never once stood up for Catra when their "caretaker" had torn her down, and she wasn't going to do it for Adora, either. Never again. That had been a moment of weakness that she'd never allow to happen again.
Pushing some of her wild hair from her face, she cautiously followed Shadow Weaver to the basin, peering in as well from a few feet away. Adora. There she was, having the time of her life with the people she'd decided that she'd rather protect than Catra. The people who were worthy to her, like Catra never had been. Seeing her smiling and laughing like that stirred a deep rage in her, and she dug her claws into her upper arms as they remained crossed over her chest. Adora. She was everything wrong with Catra. She made her weak, so she could feel stronger; made her the bad one so she could be the good one. But not anymore. Catra could never be better while Adora was still around. And even though she was gone, she was still around.
"Adora is nothing to me." She stared into the basin, overcome by more and more rage and sorrow as she watched her being better off without her. "I'll kill her. And then I'll be in control of everything, and you can have whatever she's holding you back from."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
At the beginning, her plan centered around using She-ra's power for her own gains when Adora was old enough to discover her true identity, as well as using She-ra herself to gain access to the Heart of Etheria. With Adora out of the way, she would simply be able to cut out the middleman. The Heart was unstable, but it was nothing Shadow Weaver couldn't handle. And even if she couldn't...well. Shadow Weaver would rather die than give up the chance to possess it.
"You're far cleverer than Hordak gives you credit for." A chuckle. "Of course I have my own interests in the matter. But they will not interfere with any of your plans. I have an interest in the war ending. There is something I want that I cannot obtain with the conflict at hand. So this arrangement benefits the both of us. And of course I want Hordak and Adora out of the way as much as you do. A partnership of mutual gain suits me just fine. Adora is weak. She was never destined to be anything more than a pawn to me because she lacked the strength to do what was necessary. She lacks the will to be anything other than someone to be used by others until she outlives her usefulness. Her weakness meant she could never be anything close to my equal but you..." Shadow Weaver gestured to the crystal in Catra's hand. "I've told you before you remind me of myself. You are not afraid to take what you want for yourself, and that strength makes you the only one capable of accepting my guidance."
no subject
Catra's first instinct was to snap back at the woman. The way she talked about Adora brought forth an inexplicable rage in her. Yes, she wanted that lying piece of shit dead, and yes she was planning on using this weird crystal thing to take her down and use the advantage it would give her to snuff her lights out, but Shadow Weaver couldn't talk about her like that.
no subject
If she was going to be able to get what she needed form Catra, she would lose credibility if she treated her like a stubborn child and punished her. No, she couldn't get through to Catra by lavishing her with praise and keeping her under her thumb in that way like she did with Adora, and she couldn't control her with threats or physical pain as she had when she was a child. Catra was still naive in her own way, but sensitive to the way Adora had been used as a tool, and she would catch on if Shadow Weaver were to do the same to her. No, she had to hold up her end and treat this as a legitimate partnership, as grudging as she was to do so.
"Angry? This attachment to Adora won't bode well for you. You know as well as I do that your obsession with her will only bring you more pain. Adora doesn't care for you. She made that clear when she left you behind for the princesses. What has she ever done for you? And here you are, standing up for her...angry on her behalf."
Shadow Weaver turned to lean down and look into her basin, conjuring an image of Adora as she was in this moment, her face screwed up with laughter as that boy who didn't know how to wear a shirt properly was saying something brightly and patting her on the back and Princess Glimmer was elbowing her in the ribs. "Will your tenderness for her be an obstacle? Or will you be able to reach your full potential? Adora is the one thing holding you back."
no subject
The words uttered by the woman made her heart hurt. She knew they were true. She meant nothing to Adora now, and she never had. She'd been wrong about her. Why the hell did it matter to her if Shadow Weaver said those things about Adora? Adora had never been quick to get angry on Catra's behalf. No, she just let Shadow Weaver treat her however she wanted. Adora thought Catra deserved it. She thought it was all her fault. She'd never once stood up for Catra when their "caretaker" had torn her down, and she wasn't going to do it for Adora, either. Never again. That had been a moment of weakness that she'd never allow to happen again.
Pushing some of her wild hair from her face, she cautiously followed Shadow Weaver to the basin, peering in as well from a few feet away. Adora. There she was, having the time of her life with the people she'd decided that she'd rather protect than Catra. The people who were worthy to her, like Catra never had been. Seeing her smiling and laughing like that stirred a deep rage in her, and she dug her claws into her upper arms as they remained crossed over her chest. Adora. She was everything wrong with Catra. She made her weak, so she could feel stronger; made her the bad one so she could be the good one. But not anymore. Catra could never be better while Adora was still around. And even though she was gone, she was still around.
"Adora is nothing to me." She stared into the basin, overcome by more and more rage and sorrow as she watched her being better off without her. "I'll kill her. And then I'll be in control of everything, and you can have whatever she's holding you back from."