#adora being the dumb jock she is

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

no one:

absolutely no one:

spop stans: omg adora is such a dumb jock haha i can't believe she's so dense she has no braincells stupid idiot

[anti-spop]

i think we all know by now that stans often reduce adora's character to "dumb jock" and turn her into a 2d archetype whose life revolves around catra, but i've noticed that this happens to catra too (albeit to a lesser extent). for example,

Do not harass the OP of this post if you find it.

Oh yeah, definitely. People also reduce Catra to a "disaster lesbian" sometimes. I will never forget the time someone said Catra experienced "gay panic" when she scratched Adora's face when they were kids.

Catra is also infantilized, which is shitty considering the fandom headcanons her to have BPD. Like "Catra can't help being shitty to Adora, she just has BPD!", which is similar to "she's just a disaster lesbian that doesn't know how to handle her feelings!", IMO.

[spopsalt]

More miscellaneous She-Ra pins I found while sorting through Pinterest that made me want to die and my commentary on them. Pt. 3 Fanart Edition.

Something about the vice like grip Catra is using while writing on Adora’s ass is making me feel gross. Listen, if people are into that, it’s cool. It’s just that specifically Catra doing that to specifically Adora makes me sick, especially with that smile Adora is giving. Also, idk if that’s what the artist was going for, but all that combined with the writing ‘C//A Canon’, the ass smack, and Catra having that one dark spot on the dead center of her face that anime characters get when they’re being threatening… It all gives off the air of someone rubbing it in the face and being a douche about it. Like, “Look Catra is about to tear Adora’s stupid ass up because she can and out ship is canon so you can fucking suck it! Haha, you must feel so fucking stupid right now!”

Oh look, seems like someone took inspiration form that one post Nate did with Catra wearing Adora’s shirt because she tore it up so Adora couldn’t wear it anymore. Giving off some weird ‘property’ vibes. Again, I know this can be viewed as something people are into, and it’s okay if someone is. It’s just really creepy for C//A specifically.

Me too, Shadow Weaver, the fuck. I know SW is a shitty mom. No one’s gonna argue that point. But it takes a special kind of shitty parenting when you screw up so bad your children/teenage daughters are making out with eachother. That’s a joke btw, kind of. I think SW is to blame for some things, but C//A isn’t one of them. Hell, she seemed to be wholly against it. Not that I blame her for not wanting that.

Eh. Not the worst one. It’s a funny joke based on a funny gif. But I’m getting real tired of the same jokes over and over. “Adora dumb” “Dumb jock lesbian” And it’s a soccer thing, so there were probably “dumb lesbian” and “useless lesbian” jokes already. I’m not even a lesbian, but I’m getting tired of it. I’m not saying it’s on the level of those outdated “wife bad” jokes. But it’s getting old. People gotta stop treating Adora like a total moron. Also, the gif this is based if isn’t inherently romantic, but the artist just had to add the blushes to make it a C//A thing. God forbid two people exist near eachother without it being a ship thing.

Oh god this fanart...is interesting.

More sexualizing! I'm going to assume they aren't minors in the art for my own sainty and faith in humanity. But still, why are Catradora fans so sexual? I do not get it, can't they just like a ship without making it sexual every 2 seconds?

Ugh. That just feels gross. Why do they think it's cute when Catra messes with Adora's propety? Is it supposed to be some cute thing? I don't get it

Honestly I'd have the same reactions if my daughters started dating. Yes Shadow Weaver was a shitty mom, but they both got raised together and have the same mother figure, they. are. s i b l i n g s

4. Why does everyone try to make Adora seem dumb? She's really smart, Catra's the one who calls her dumb, braindead, and idiot. Which Adora interlized! How cute is that?

[candieheart]

catra: you know i was thinking, what if i unpack here?

adora: than all your stuff would be here?

catra: well, what if all my stuff was here?

adora: than you'd be going back and forth all the time, i mean- that doesn't make any sense.

catra: okay.. what if we lived together, and you understand what i'm saying?

[words-writ-in-starlight]

oh I've been enjoying she-ra too! who's your favorite character :D

SHE RA IS ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL, I LOVE IT SO MUCH

For favorite characters...I mean, I’m going to have to be boring and say Adora, honestly.  I love a headstrong hero with a martyr complex.  You’ll see a theme going through my best beloveds from Rachel Berenson all the way up to Toby Daye and Jame.

I also love Catra because she makes a lot of bad decisions very wholeheartedly, and we have already talked about how that is my kind of character.  And because somehow, despite the many bad decisions she makes, she is still the one with the brain cell because her dumb jock girlfriend is just “Full hearts, big sword, can’t lose!!!!” at all times.

Honorable mention to Entrapta, because she’s just such a force of chaos.  She’s absolutely brilliant and she cannot be trusted with anything and that’s the energy I like to see in my characters.  I hope she’s thriving with her two boyfriends, she probably does experiments on them.

[korr-a-sami]

Bow: Adora! Omg I love your top!

Adora: Aww Bow, you should tell Catra yourself when she’s back from her trip!

[greyskulle]

𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚊'𝚜  𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎;   i  think  the  best  way  to  describe  adora’s  mind  is  that  she  𝑰𝑺𝑵'𝑻  𝑺𝑻𝑼𝑷𝑰𝑫 ,  but  she  can  still  be  dumb.  adora’s  clearly  intelligent,  at  least  as  far  as  more  concrete  concepts  are  concerned  ---  she’s  a  master  strategist,  learned  a  lot  about  survival  and  tracking  from  the  horde,  is  𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗖𝗞  𝗧𝗢  𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗣𝗧  𝗧𝗢  𝗡𝗘𝗪  𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦   and  knows  more  about  people  than  she  lets  on  at  first.  however,  what  most  people  often  perceive  as  her  𝘉𝘌𝘐𝘕𝘎  𝘈  𝘉𝘐𝘛  𝘖𝘍  𝘈  𝘋𝘜𝘔𝘉  𝘑𝘖𝘊𝘒  ( in  fandom  anyway )  is  heavily  tied  to  her  abusive  upbringing  with  shadow  weaver,  something  later  re - enforced  by  light  hope  when  she  discovered  she  was  she - ra.

adora  was  raised  in  an  environment  that  𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐃  𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄  𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋  𝐀𝐒   𝐀  𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 .  she  was  taught  to  believe  that  the  most  she  could  ever  want  from  her  life  was  to  be  a  tool  to  enact  someone  else’s  will,  and  as  such,  her  interpersonal  skills  suffered  greatly.  by  contrast,  adora  was  always  physically  gifted;  she’d  always  been  stronger  than  the  other  cadets,  more  inclined  to  combat,  and  over  time  that  became  a  source  of  comfort.  the  𝙾𝙽𝙻𝚈  𝚁𝙴𝚂𝙿𝙸𝚃𝙴  𝙵𝚁𝙾𝙼  𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚂𝙴  𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂  𝚆𝙰𝚂  𝙲𝙰𝚃𝚁𝙰 ,  the  only  person  in  the  horde  who  was  capable  of  convincing  her  that  her  own  personal  desires  were  valuable,  or  worth  pursuing.

most  of  adora’s  goofy  /  dumb  traits  can  be  tracked  back  to  her  childhood  ---  difficulty  reading  social  cues,  feeling  out  of  place  in  a  𝚂𝙾𝙲𝙸𝙴𝚃𝚈  𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃  𝙳𝙾𝙴𝚂𝙽'𝚃  𝚁𝙴𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙸𝙲𝚃  𝙷𝙴𝚁  𝙵𝚁𝙴𝙴𝙳𝙾𝙼,  making  more  rash  judgement  in  the  face  of  danger  and  her  excessive  risk  taking  all  underline  her  difficulties  being  her  own  person.  there’s  a  reason  why  she  often  resorts  to  what  she  knows  best;  her  physical  strength  and  military  knowledge.  they’re  the  things  she  was  raised  to  know  best,  the  things  she  was  always  comfortable  with.

her  attitudes  have  begun  to  change  for  the  better  past  the  end  of  the  series,  now  that  she  and  catra  have  the  time  and  the  freedom  to  work  through  their  traumas  together.  

[marzeline]

good morning, carry on but it’s catra and adora. i said it.

[pyroclastic727]

How To Get Out Of An Awkward Situation, Adora-Style

1. The best way to get out of an awkward situation is to transform into She-Ra!

Some examples of when to use this:

When your not-a-friend-who-tried-to-kill-you-several-times emerges from behind her new friend with a smirk and says "Hey, Adora." Instead of thinking about how sultry her voice sounds, transform and tell her off!

When you're in the middle of battle and your not-friend is running away to do something suspicious. Drop everything you're doing, transform, and run after her!

When your not-friend jumps on your lap and starts purring and you find it really hard to concentrate on anything other than the way she's sitting between your legs. Focus really hard and try to summon She Ra!

2. If you can't transform (like, for example, if you made your choice and you're living with it), then another good alternative is to fling yourself off a cliff.

Some examples of when to use this include:

When your friend is asking for romance advice and you don't know what to say since you abandoned your lover in the Fright Zone, and instead of dealing with your issues, you tried to kill her several times. Hope that the ground opens up and swallows you whole!

When your not-friend has been possessed by an intergalactic conqueror and just fell off a cliff and you're standing awkwardly on the edge of it. Don't wait there; instead, fling yourself off the cliff!

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

i just have to say this. she-ra was a weak hero.

don't get me wrong, adora was a very compelling protagonist. she was flawed, relatable and had good character growth (until s5, at least). but she-ra, as her superhero form? i feel like she was just lost potential. i mean, sure, she lifted tanks and stuff. but she never did anything truly mind-blowing as she-ra.

in her fights with catra, i guess you could say catra had the upper hand because she was adora's abuser. but in general, there were very few satisfying fight scenes involving she-ra. most of the “fight scenes” were just catra repeatedly and remorselessly torturing adora, all while berating her.

i mean, come on, i get that adora didn't want to hurt catra. but she couldn't even dodge or block catra's attacks? she couldn't figure out a way to restrain catra without hurting her? even a simple punch from catra seemed to really hurt she-ra, so what was the point of the she-ra form? if just seems to me that she-ra was a regular person who was taller and slightly stronger.

even in s4, where adora finally got tired of catra's shit, there were very few instances of her fighting catra as an equal or defeating catra. i guess some of it had to do with the fact that catra didn't want to face adora and sent double trouble in her place instead.

she-ra didnt really do much for the plot, she certainly didn't make adora's job any easier, since adora got her ass beat whether she was in the she-ra form or not. she was taller and stronger but the strength didn't really matter.

if she-ra was really created as a weapon, you'd think that the first ones would make it more durable and strong. but the outfit was flimsy and easily torn through, the sword didn't seem too different from a regular sword and there wasn't much improvement to her agility. it seems like all that's needed to defeat the legendary invincible warrior is a teenage catgirl who slacked off during her training and had only her claws for weapons. doesn't seem like a very powerful weapon to me.

and honestly, i feel like adora herself was mostly reduced to the dumb blonde jock stereotype after a while. i've mentioned this before how in s1, adora was shown to be very diligent, strategic and a capable fighter. but all of that is thrown away in the later seasons and her only strength seems to be her physical strength, which she doesn't use much of.

what's even more disappointing is that adora never faces off with hordak. hordak is literally the leader of the horde, adora is trying to bring down the horde. you would think that she would have some sort of animosity with hordak. you would expect to see fight scenes or at least a confrontation.

especially after the revelation that hordak was the one who adopted adora and took her into the horde, you would think that this would bring up a new dilemma. in any other story, i wouldn't be complaining. but this is literally a story about a war, where the chosen one is fighting the army led by an evil dictator. you would think that she would have a direct relationship with said dictator.

but no, the only person adora really seems to be opposing is catra. we're supposed to believe that there's a war going on, when the only rivalry that matters is adora vs catra (which is reduced to “oh they were just exes who couldn't get over each other haha silly lesbians” in s5).

(this isn't hate on adora btw it's a criticism on the crew-ra who had to go and make a regular catgirl stronger than the literal warrior goddess being.)

[anti-spop]

as i see ppl reducing adora's character development to "dumb lesbian jock lol", i kinda remember how some a/tla fans treat zuko.

for context, zuko/sokka became a lot more popular in more recent years, and sadly, i've seen ppl reducing zuko's entire arc to "he's a stupid gay". and i'm not saying you're not allowed to project onto him and hc he's gay, but not only is this a way of ppl to antagonize z/utara (trust me, the hate this ship gets is ridiculous), zuko as a character doesn't always get the right treatment from a part of the fandom. he might be infantilized despite being one of the oldest characters in the gaang.

secondly, azula stans often devalue zuko's trauma to make azula the "actual" victim - but trauma isn't a competition. besides that, ppl often overlook how unhealthy m/aiko is, considering mai avoids any emotional connection with zuko and just makes him kiss her or do pointless things, along with her being complicit in the fire nation's imperialism. now, i do not want to say that mai's apathy is what makes her a bad person. lack of empathy does not mean someone is automatically a monster or a "psychopath". the problem is that mai's and zuko's personalities clash a lot, as zuko deeply empathizes with others, even his supposed enemies (like katara). zuko and mai don't share the same morals. mai doesn't even understand why zuko turned against the fire nation. sadly, m/aiko is another victim of bad writing bc they end up together in a very concerning way ("never break up with me again").*

*in fact i'm planning to write a more detailed comparison with c//a.

basically, i feel like even this is like the way the spop fandom treats adora, which is also the show's fault considering it doesn't explore much of adora's trauma in comparison to catra's. while zuko's trauma IS deeply analyzed in atla, some fans silence his experiences bc they think azula deserves more attention. i agree that azula in some ways was done dirty (especially if you read the comics), but they straight up erase the fact azula abused zuko, that she intimidated and blackmailed ty lee, and obviously did a plethora of bad things. azula is still a victim of ozai, of course. but i'm so sick of azula stans erasing the damage she's done.

[lady-of-the-spirit]

She-ra fandom: *jokes about Adora being a dumb jock*

Me watching She-ra and seeing that Adora is pretty fucking smart actually:

[tuiyla]

She-Ra’s like, really good, people

It’s been over a week since She-Ra season 5 came out and I binged it and this is not going to be coherent but I just want to rant about it a bit before writing some more structured metas. I deffo wanna write about Catradora and how I think SPoP is the true spiritual successor to the Avatar.

But first, let me just scream about how good this show is. I already started rewatching it, pretty much straight after finishing it, and I don’t rewatch tv shows often. The exception is Avatar (seen it like 15 times) and sitcoms. But She-Ra is so layered that I felt like I needed to watch it again just to appreciate the dynamics even more.

I already enjoyed the first season but it kept getting better and better. I’m not in love with the art style and it’s definitely for a younger demographic overall than my other favourite animated shows, but like any good kids’ show it balances tone well. It doesn’t talk down to its target demographic but also includes more traditionally mature themes in a digestible and entertaining way. Not all the jokes landed for me but as the series went on I learned to appreciate the tone and the type of humour She-Ra goes for.

It’s funny to me because this is definitely the type of show I would have rejected as a kid, with all the princesses I would have deemed it “too girly” and therefore not for me because screw gender roles. There’s a degree of internalized sexism to that, for sure, a rejection of the feminine because it’s always been seen as less somehow. But there’s also a truth that, at least in my childhood of the late 90s and early 00s, children’s media targeted at girls often had a poor quality to it, at least when compared to “boys’ stuff”.

She-Ra is not only a clever, heartfelt, complex story, it also transcends that binary of having to be either for girls or boys. I know most of modern animation rejects that as well, but She-Ra embraces so many traditionally feminine qualities while also going beyond gender roles and even the gender binary. This show is so queer, man, and I love it. It’s especially impressive when you consider the source material that was literally just the girly version of He-Man. I have no beef with 80s She-Ra, haven’t seen much of it, but this is such an upgrade.

That being said, I would have loved to watch She-Ra as a kid. I’m so incredibly envious of kids, aged around 10, who get to watch this show as they’re growing up. But I am so, so, so happy for them and for the future of animation that shows like She-Ra can be made now, that they’re being made. I’m going to go into spoilers soon, but just before that: She-Ra’s a perfectly enjoyable show in many aspects. I think the worldbuilding’s pretty cool, the story feels coherent and planned out, it’s lighthearted and so genuine. That’s the word that I ultimately choose to describe the series: genuine.

I feel like so much of TV aims to be dark and gritty nowadays, animation included, and though that’s slowly turning to dark comedy or a balance between fun and serious, it’s still the norm. At some point in the last decade, creators became terrified of being judged as cheesy. Even something like the MCU bathes in bathos to avoid being cheesy. But She-Ra proves that creators shouldn’t be afraid of being genuine, of basing characters and storylines on the simple power of love. Like, it’s such a cliché trope but I think that’s mostly because it has become stale.

Noelle Stevenson has talked about the importance of love in her story and I’m so grateful for that. Through, She-Ra, she’s truly proven how powerful love can be in a story and how it doesn’t have to be cheesy. It’s just so unabashedly genuine. The power of love and friendship literally saves the day several times but it’s always so genuine and more importantly it always makes sense that it doesn’t get boring. If the foundation wasn’t there, then I’d say “well this is just super cheesy”. But the show makes a point of building relationships and making them the focal point of the story.

Alright, so, spoilers because I need to talk about character arcs and THAT KISS and just everything. I really need to write more in depth about Adora and Catra and their relationship but for now I feel like it’s so important to appreciate how they’re developed. Everything from their shared childhood to their trauma with Shadow Weaver and the finding their way back to each other, it’s just *chef’s kiss*. It’s so well-written and believable. Ngl, I do have some minor issues with Catra’s redemption arc. Let’s just say that on a scale from Kylo Ren to Zuko, she’s definitely closer to Zuko. I also appreciate Shadow Weaver’s death scene and how it allows them to move on. I didn’t see that one as Death as Redemption and it shouldn’t be. Again and again the show made it clear that she was abuse towards both girls and nothing will negate that.

From what I can tell, the fandom really latched onto Catra, even when it wasn’t clear whether she’d get a redemption arc. I think that’s important, because unlike some characters in animation, Catra’s actions were almost always framed appropriately. There was always an understanding as to where she’s coming from, how she’s acting from a place of hurt, and yet her actions weren’t justified. They weren’t suddenly all okay just because she’s hurt, too. I especially loved in the season 3 finale when Adora was allowed to finally say no, to say that Catra’s actions were not her fault. That season as a whole was beautiful, like, episode three when Adora’s struggling so much and Catra has the opportunity for a better life but she still fails to choose her own happiness because she’s too bitter over SW and Adora? It’s poetic cinema. I love that angst, so well done.

It would be so easy to misfire in Catra’s storyline and either a) write off all the awful things she does because she’s just “misunderstood” or b) irredeemably stuck in her abusive environment with no hope of escape. They balanced quite well there and managed to handle such a complex character with delicacy. I’m quite happy with how Catra was portrayed because on the one hand, she’s painfully relatable to me and I assume to many others. The audience can see their own mistakes reflected in her character because we’ve all been too stubborn, done things out of spite, refused to acknowledge that we were wrong because we were hurting so much. At the same time, I always felt like the show gave me enough space to judge Catra’s actions and acknowledge that she was in the wrong. I honestly think I would have been a better adjusted teenager is if saw this show just before my angsty years, lol.

I’m going to write more about Adora at some other point but I love how vulnerable she’s allowed to be. Protagonists never used to be my favourite characters because they all seemed the same, with two major categories: the stereotypical male hero who can do no wrong or the angsty boi who can be shitty and the text still frames him as awesome. It’s only recently with series like The Legend of Korra and She-Ra that I go “damn, protagonists can be like that, huh.” Adora is a dumb jock who tries so hard and she deserves all the hugs in the world.

Also, Catradora? Breathtaking, amazing, groundbreaking. No doubt She-Ra needed shows like Adventure Time, LoK, Steven Universe and the likes to pave the way but still, it went there. I saw people be anxious about whether they were gonna be queerbaited, but I always, idk, knew? Trusted? That She-Ra would follow through. I didn’t wait six years for Bubbline to happen for Catradora to not get their big damn kiss. The series has been so effortlessly queer from the get-go that it just made sense that they were always heading there. I did see a gif of the kiss before watching s5 and ngl, that spoiler kind of bummed me out in a way that I wanted to be surprised. But even before I saw that I wasn’t worried. And the context of their journey in season 5? That cannot be spoiled by a simple gif. You have to experience that to fully appreciate it and that is the marker of good storytelling.

I understand that, though this should be the norm by now, Noelle Stevenson still had to be smart about how she approached the execs and she wasn’t sure this could happen. I cannot tell you how happy I am about what she said regarding how Catradora was so integral to the story that the execs couldn’t not allow it. That’s so brilliant, and it feels so natural in the story. Queer love saves the day and it’s not ambiguous, it cannot be censored because you lose a part of the story without it. You did it, Noelle, you funky little lesbian, what an icon. I can’t wait to see more stuff from her.

In other news, I appreciated other characters as well, like how all the princesses got to be different and awesome in their own unique way. Season 5 was great for so many characters, Mermista got so much to work with and Spinnerella and Netossa got so much more characterization than in previous seasons. Glimmer continued to be the third most important character in the story and I’m happy about all the relationships that also got to be canon. Good characters and dynamics all around, no wonder since the show is built on that.

Such a satisfying conclusion and one that makes you feel like this is just part one of a much bigger story. Such genuine, heartfelt moments, well-developed characters, complex themes explored in a respectful and digestible way, and such an unapologetically fun show. Melissa Fumero as a side character? Yes please. Catra’s new haircut? Heck yeah! She-Ra’s new design? Oh my.

I’m not even like, super into She-Ra, and I usually don’t write so much about things I only watch casually. But this show is so good and important that I had to rant. And I will write more about it eventually, but for now I needed to get all of this out. I’d give it a better structure but if I really get into I might never end up posting it so for now here, have this ramble of love. She-Ra, of all shows, deserves that.

[virovac]

Can’t help but feel never letting Adora ever have like a “win” intellectually and being allowed to use her smarts for like some “dumb jock archetype pandering” or trying to make her relatable or wanting to make all of her education at the Horde worthless and highlight how Catra would have been a better commanding officer and SW’s favoritism  was wrong...

 left her bereft of a heroic identity? She didn’t get to use her smarts, and she didn’t have the kindness or heart of 80s She-Ra.

I don’t know, they wanted to paint her preparedness as something entirely a bad thing because of anxiety, but as someone with ADHD I found her planning skills admirable and was upset they were always the object of ridicule.

I quit right before the last season, so I don’t know if they fxed that.

Anyway in Roll For It, the moral was BS and the lesson should have been “no bad ideas in brainstorming”. All of her friends plans would have gotten them killed without her pointing out the weak points of them. The issue was her control problems, but they painted her trying to be prepared as bad.

It really does feel like she’s just a vessel for She-Ra’s power and not really much an asset in her own right.

[literaphobe]

Underrated pairing, scorpia and Adora . Two dumb jocks

remember when scorpia had to sting adora because she was being a danger to herself? iconic. remember when adora was delirious and typed out catra’s fave number and scorpia lost her damn mind? the rights of that

[catradoraism]

Platonic love can sometimes get over shadowed by romantic love in media, so how why not rant a little about some of your favorite friendships in the show?

i’m gonna limit myself to four of my favourite underrated brotps bc i have a lot

some honourable mentions

entrapta and scorpia

entrapta and bow

sea hawk and glimmer

sea hawk and scorpia

adora and mermista

mermista and perfuma

adora and scorpia

two dumb of ass and pure of heart buff jocks who were both in love with a mean catgirl, honestly the perfect dynamic

scorpia’s jealousy of adora is so funny, i love how it’s framed as “you’re my new gf’s Ex,, i hate u” something every lesbian who has dated a girl who is still in love with their ex can relate to (not based on personal experience,,)

criminally underrated and underused, they had great chemistry and should’ve had more scenes

scorpia taking care of drunk adora was great

scorpia deciding to hate adora on Sight in remember was also great, also the fact that this is what made scorpia realise reality was bad lmao

“if u get us out of this, i will just dislike u a reasonable amount”

scorpia poking fun at adora’s hair

also the fact that scorpia can canonically go toe to toe with she ra so that means a lot of arm wrestling and sparring

mara and razz

this was kind of a weird pick bc they’re not exactly underrated but the popularity of this duo spiked when ppl thought they were romantically involved and then ppl lost interest when it was revealed their dynamic is much more like adoptive grandmother or female yoda so i will talk about their friendship

“mara dearie”

everything about that pie episode that we thought was gonna be lighthearted but wasn’t

“she was brave my mara”

glimmer and catra

not underrated by any means but i love them so much i will talk about them anyway

their initially antagonistic relationship is perfect, like adora and scorpia but the bitterness is cranked up to 11

basically “you’re my new gf’s Ex”/“you’re my ex’s new girl”

also glimmer imagining catra Like That when she saw catra at her brattiest and most annoying will never not be funny

“you even taste like glitter” what does glitter even taste like

“horde scum” “sparkles”

part of me thought catra would retaliate with “rebel scum” but i guess that’s a star wars thing

i love their whole narrative foils thing, how they both screw up horrendously and make almost the exact same mistakes (ending the world and all) but ultimately, catra continued to go down a bad path while glimmer immediately tried to fix her mistake, which was great bc it showed catra someone who was the same as her but chose good

glimmer was a major player in catra’s redemption, there were times where she seemed to understand catra even more than adora did (“she’s being a stubborn brat!” “what did you think she’d magically become a different person”)

“do one good thing in your life”

“don’t go thinking i care about u or anything”

even tho in corridors, catra says she’s not saving glimmer for glimmer’s sake, while adora is the main reason, catra definitely does care about glimmer

i wish angella was addressed tho, but time constraints and all

and of course, my favourite brotp, adora and bow

do not ship these two romantically ffs adora is a lesbian why do adora/bow shippers still exist

these two were unfailingly loyal and constantly supportive of each other

from the beginning i loved their dynamic, bow tackling adora into a hug after she turned into she ra to save thaymor? chefs kiss

he was quick to see that adora isn’t an evil horde soldier and immediately tried to get her to try new things

“come on i know you like her too”

the battle of brightmoon where adora apologises when the horde is seemingly winning and bow comforts and tells her it’s okay? good shit

implied that bow thinks adora’s name is pretty

dumbass jock and nerd dynamic

“bow is the feelings guy and i’m the ‘punch out your feelings’ guy”

their hugs are always so tender and soft

i like adora’s protectiveness over bow like in that episode where glimmer is yelling at him and adora immediately snaps “don’t talk to bow like that”

the face smoosh shot during that elberon episode

bow making sure adora gets sleep and getting pissed off at everyone trying to disturb her

also they have the cutest fucking ship name,,, adorabow, like adorable which is what they are (again i stress i only platonically ship them)