#adora's the clueless dumb jock

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

you know… i really hate how they handled adora's development. she is shown in the first season as a very intelligent and strategic person. maybe a little on the paranoid side, but that is to be expected when you're a hero who is supposed to end the war. no one else took the war seriously anyway. adora was the best cadet in the horde and while she was goofy at times, she wasn't stupid.

but then, throughout the seasons, they make adora more and more of the “dumb jock” stereotype and acts like the only smart person in the entire series is catra. in s5, catra is apparently the “braincell” of the group because all of the other characters were so horribly out of character. glimmer and bow weren't that dumb at first either. glimmer was chaotic and stubborn but she definitely used her brains when she needed it. she was shown to be very cunning and resourceful when the situation called for it. bow was more„ non-descript but he had his moments of genius too.

but of course, catra has to shine so the other characters have to be reduced to “clueless idiots” so that catra can roll her eyes and groan at them. i really don't get the point?? they already had the perfect dumb jock character: scorpia. did they really have to turn adora into an idiot too? it's already bad enough that catra was so easily forgiven, they just had to go and make it worse by butchering adora's character too.

[hikaaa-bi]

another similar thing c//a stans do is the whole "haha adora is a dumb jock". i agree that adora can be a little goofy or clueless sometimes, but c//a shippers genuinely use that to blame adora for not realizing catra "loved" her.

"adora is so stupid haha how could she not know that catra was in love with her"

because catra tortured her, manipulated and tried to control her, and literally attempted to murder her multiple times. kind of hard to think that a person loves you when you see them revel in your pain and trauma.

adora is smarter than people give her credit for. which is why it's so disappointing when the show takes this stand in s5 and turns "adora knew that killing and torturing a person wasn't a love language" to "adora was too dense to realize catra's feelings towards her".

Catra didnt only want adora - The problem with the original save the cat script

Tw: Abuse and mention of murder

In the original script of 'save the cat', there was a line from horde prime that really bothers me:

Its the part where horde prime says to adora: 'all she ever wanted was you' and fans definitely uses that as catradora content when its just not true in the slightest and it removes the nuance she has just to hype an already toxic ship. First, lets discuss the very second episode of shera in season 1.

We see in this scene, adora offers catra to come with her yet catra rejects. If adora was all she ever wanted, why didnt she come with her on the spot? That wouldnt make sense if catra only wanted adora right? Well, heres where it starts to get interesting:

This is a callback from a previous scene, the scene where shadow weaver uses her electric magic onto catra then threatens to bring adora back. Sure, you can argue that she does only want adora but shadow weaver is holding her back, an obstacle to overcome for her actual wants but if thats the case, why does she actively seeking that obstacles affection if all she ever wanted was adora?

Especially her blaming adora for shadow weaver betraying her, let alone almost destroying the whole planet because of her blaming adora for shadow weaver's favouritism. Why would she if adora was all she ever wanted? Its simple. Given how shadow weaver favors adora more than catra during childhood, shes going to be seeking out shadow weavers affection in hopes she can finally gain the love she was looking for from her abuser. It also explains why she had an attachment to adora.

Adora was catras safety blanket as they made a promise to look out for each other and since shadow weaver told catra that she only stuck around because adora liked her, catra will depend on adora in order to be safe which is also why she hit lonnie when her and adora was being friendly, she was scared that she will get abandoned by adora if she has new friends which means that shadow weaver would dispose her (and with the word disposing, it may imply murder so catras life couldve ended or at least cause her more truama by her having 9 lives) It makes sense why she had attachment to adora, it makes sense why she seeks shadow weavers love, it doesnt make any sense if all she wanted was adora because the show proves otherwise through the exploration of catras character, why she does the things she does. Also theres this moment:

This is where we see catra be truly happy or at least the most prominently happy and it doesnt even involve adora, it was her taking over the crimson waste where shes given respect for her abilities and personality. This also makes sense by shadow weavers abuse/favouritism, catra being the scapegoat who relied on adora for protection to not only be her own leader to people but also be respected when your life was filled with not being respected. But when the show points out that shes truly happy when adora isnt even there despite them originally wanting us to believe she only wanted adora is non sense. Basically, saying catra only wanted adora makes no sense and removes nuance of her character, reducing her to a love interest. Now I know this line wasnt put in the actual show which is good but theres still fans who use it to hype up catradora in which another reason why the line doesnt work is this:

If she wanted adora all along then the ways she done it makes it more disturbing then it already is by those actions alone. I dont even need to explain why because this pic already says enough. Although i will say, she thought adora left her, not the horde (which the horde was the actual reason why adora left) and when she left, she was now unprotected from shadow weaver, feeling betrayed in which caused her to do all of this to adora, along with blaming her for shadow weavers betrayal, the woman she was prominetly searching for love that the woman gives to the golden child/adora. It was from misunderstanding and vegeance, not from love.

Last thing is how its honestly really funny how when the line of catra only wanting adora that removes nuance and misunderstood her character was used by fans for catradora content in which barely anyone on that content called it out yet when people call catra out for her actions, theres many fans in their comment sections who act like they misunderstood her character/remove her nuance just from mentioning the harm catra's done, even saying that they dont know complex characters? So reducing catra as a love interest is fine but god forbid someone mentions catras harmful actions that impact people because they just dont know complex characters? (when the line literally shows how even the show originally didnt know about catra as a complex character) The fact that catra was clearly shown to be the writers favourite but even they didnt understand her originally really shows how season 5 was too focused on catradora happening and even that was shit in the end for how poor catras redemption was if there is any by that confession in the series finale. Just the fact that this line even existed baffles me.

[meg-noel-art]

Adora for the character thing

Gonna tag @thatcatangelwriter who also sent me Adora, here we go:

1.) First Impression: She finger gunned her way into my heart in 5 seconds and never left.

2.) Impression now: Would, have, and will kill for her. 🤺

3.) Favorite moment: "You made your choice now live with it" was a defining and powerful character moment. And it also resonates really deeply with me to this day. Honestly, unforgettable.

4.) Idea for a story: I wanted to do an AU where Adora does get sacrificed in the portal and then it becomes a Glimmer is Now The Main Character AU. (Adora gets rescued later its fine). But eh.

5.) Unpopular opinion: Adora is naive, but not dumb. Lots of memes about making her a clueless jock are funny, but it also seems to have genuinely sunk into a lot of people's subconcious. Adora is literally not stupid. Or too soft tbh? Like uh... man how to describe this. I think a lot of ppl can turn her into a 'coddler' (I've done this too don't @ me) but she can be just as snappy, fiery, or headstrong as anyone else.

Idk where im going with this answer anymore.

6.) Favorite relationship: if you can guess I'll give you the key to my entire estate.

7.) Favorite Headcanon: Adora has OCD

Thank you for the asks :)

[seasinkarnadine]

So we all know Adora is that lovable clueless dumb jock lesbian, but honestly I will fight anyone who says she was not just as abused as Catra, albeit in a different way, and suffers almost constantly because of her traumatic upbringing as well as the expectations put on her

Oh I ABSOLUTELY believe that Adora is traumatized. She has had an unfathomable amount of pressure placed on her shoulders.And honestly? With this whole She-Ra thing…? I don’t think things have improved for her in that department. The bar set for her is incredibly, impossibly high. We have seen on multiple occasions that Adora is hard on herself. And what’s worse is that in a way, it’s justified. Because there are LIVES at stake (it would be one thing if she was upset because she failed a test; because a test can be rationalized down to inconsequential. If she’s beating up on herself for a test it’s more obvious that something is wrong. Someone can see that sign and step in. But like this…? With She-Ra? With the world…?) She can’t afford to make mistakes or stumble. And that mindset– that there’s no room to err–is indescribably toxic. And that way of thinking? That’s how Shadow Weaver raised her. It’s all Adora knows.

[manic-sapphic]

ok i honestly can't stop thinking about spop haha~

and i'm truly so sorry if it's blowing up anyone's feed in a way that's annoying fr dude - buuut uh

adora is this totally lovable fuckin dumb jock himbo babe imo lawl and i'm just very very gay ok like i played softball as a kid w girls like her i had gut-wrenching crushes on aight lol - and i'm sure many of ya might agree - adora legit just doesn't get emotional shit a lotta the time. like, almost literally ever tbh lol unless it's fckin just spelled out for her ok hah. like just said to her so straight up and blunt but yeah def when it is, she undeniably does care about it so so much tho.

she always has something she wants to say. whether it's an interaction w glimmer, catra, bow, anyone tbh - and it often seems to be something she thought the other person already knew but now that she knows they don't - she absolutely has to say (like "you matter to me") she's just honestly never felt like she was allowed to say that kinda stuff and omfg wth it really is so so sad. and like, i'm sure it might be obvi that i personally relate more w catra. but that doesn't change the fact that i see and appreciate adora's struggles as well tho. and tbh, i just wish i saw more of an effort for that to be reciprocated by some fans on the flip side.

like for example obvi, catra's confession in the heart in the finale - "don't you get it? i love you, i always have" like gurl implies calling out adora for her complete cluelessness right there lol but obvi in a very loving way - just like calling her "such an idiot" lmao it's this actually very sweet way of appreciating that sorta oblivious aspect to adora's personality and how cute it actually is to catra, even if sometimes it might drive her a lil crazy lol. like, c'mon tho haha

and yeah lol tbh i think them kinda being opposite sides of the same coin w their emotional issues is by design - and designed by who, might you ask? three guesses who lol, sw ofc. she provided them each w varying experiences as they grew up - and during their most formative years, mind you - that directly contributed to adora's kinda sorta emotional shut down more or less, i suppose? cause like yeah, emotions weren't something she was raised to believe she was afforded to have tbh. the ultimate way to prep a mind to become an unquestioning sacrificial soldier, imo btw.

but contrast it w catra - who has feelings so fucking loud it literally deafens her to reality in the crimson waste ep. it's called dissociation sweaty ok lol. and it can mess a person up fr. and no one deserves to feel that way, not even catra just idk if you ask me anyway