Characters / ADORA: Vagabond of the Etherian Cosmos

Characters from EtherianFrigatebird She-Ra and the Princesses of Power fanfic ADORA: Vagabond of the Etherian Cosmos. Be warned, this page contains unmarked spoilers for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

Adora (Vagabond)

ADORA: Vagabond of the Etherian Cosmos!

“You are my everything. And we deserve a happy ending.”

The protagonist of AVEC. After a mild deviation from the canon events of season 5, Adora is forcibly ejected into a rift in space and time. This starts an entire decade of her being tossed around many dimensions, until she eventually finds her way back home. However, she’s no longer the person she once was…

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• Anguished Declaration of Love: Upon sensing that Glimmer is pushing her away, Adora confesses her love.
• Butch Lesbian: Adora states many times in the narrative that she doesn’t feel too comfortable presenting herself as feminine.
• Determinator:
  • Adora seems unable to give up. Even when the odds are fully stacked against her, she manages to find a way out. During her time in the multiverse, most of this motivation comes from the fact she wants to get back home.
  • When the heroes go to deliver the Failsafe to the Heart at the end of AVEC, there's a dark moment where everything seems lost. However, it's her love for Glimmer that saves the day.
• If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Averted when Adora offers her sword to Glimmer upon defeating Prime to let her kill him.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Despite all the terrible things she’s been through, Adora still remains naive and kind.
• Insecure Love Interest: In this sense, Adora and Glimmer foil each other. Adora feels that she is a monster for having to kill other people — namely, Glimmer's own doppelgänger.
• Internal Reveal: Adora experiences quite a few of these after arriving back home.
  • Glimmer keeps putting off telling Adora that she was a in a relationship with Catra for four years.
• It's All My Fault: A default for the main leads of both AVEC and POMM. Adora often laments this, feeling certain event were caused by her.
  • Despite Adora killing Siren Glimmer to defend herself, she still feels like driving her to do so was her fault.
  • During the final chapters of AVEC, Glimmer has to take the Failsafe after the Heart of Etheria begins to unnaturally surge unstable amounts of power. The Failsafe is guaranteed to kill She-Ra, thus, Adora can't do much in the situation besides help her get to the Heart. Throughout the final chapters, Adora becomes physically ill with guilt, feeling it's all her fault.
    • As expressed the Heart both, the power surges have something to do with Adora - as the Heart has been unable to share its overwhelming power into another individual. But, the Heart was the one to send Adora away in the first place.
• Lady and Knight: Adora is beyond chivalrous to Glimmer.
• Love Makes You Dumb: For Adora, there are many things about her that fall under this category.
  • Oblivious to Love: A default to many characters in both AVEC and POMM. Adora often doesn’t take hints. At all. This includes, but is not limited to;
    • Glimmer changing in front of her with no shame, initially trying to rile her up.
    • Siren Glimmer purposely wearing a low-cut kimono, and entering her room late at night in order to “encourage” her to talk about She-Ra.
  • She also struggles to talk Glimmer when she’s flustered by her, often stuttering or not making much sense.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Adora thinks something along these lines after fatally wounding Siren Glimmer.
• Next Tier Power-Up: Right before the finale, Adora's She-Ra form becomes more powerful, and gains many Cosmic Motifs.
• Physical Scars, Psychological Scars: Naturally, a hero that can’t say no to anyone in dire need for ten full years has a lot of scars.
  • Horde Prime inflicted the ones on her jawline. Glimmer often feels anxiety looking at these scars, as she feels like she could’ve saved Adora.
  • Adora has two sets of scars on her back — one from the fight with Catra during the season 1 finale of the show, and another from her fight with Siren Glimmer. Often, the narrative describes the later “aching” when she feels severe anxiety.
• Reincarnation: Matching the canon of the show, She-Ra reincarnates into a new individual upon the last She-Ra dying. However, AVEC adds more lore and tries to explain some things the show left unanswered.
  • She-Ra has to be Etherian. Adora qualifies because her mother was Etherian. However, the First Ones managed to redirect the cycle into Mara and the She-Ra before her.
  • She-Ra’s soul is bound to another — one that is guaranteed to reincarnate after death, just like She-Ra. For Mara, she was bound to a Magicat named Ahyoka. In AVEC, it’s clearly suggested that Glimmer is Ahyoka’s reincarnation, and of course, Adora is Mara’s — therefore, they are soulmates, “bound together, woven at the seams”.
  • The Failsafe was created to end the She-Ra reincarnation cycle, as Mara and allies feared that someone would attempt to use the power for their own gain again. It also acts as a factory reset function for the Heart of Etheria. The heroes utilize this in the finale of AVEC, after the Heart goes berserk.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Vagabond Adora canonically has PTSD, and in a subversion to most media, she actually starts going to therapy after she gets back to her dimension. After her travels, Adora is a bit of a shrinking violet (get it?), and often struggles to have conversations. She also tends to fidget and space out. At one point, it becomes very clear something is wrong with her after she experiences a PTSD episode upon seeing a bruise on Glimmer’s stomach — in the exact spot where she stabbed Siren Glimmer.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Adora is this with Glimmer. Namely during the finale, after Glimmer is almost taken by two separate monsters two separate times.

Glimmer (Main Universe)

A broken queen

"For every single fracture in life, there is something beautiful and worth fighting for."

Glimmer, as she appears in the alternate ending spinoff, "Death to Violets".

The deuteragonist of AVEC, and the main love interest for Adora. She experiences severe guilt over the fact she couldn't save Adora from being ejected in the Multiverse. In the decade Adora is gone, Glimmer becomes more reclusive, and suffers from PTSD from her experience on Horde Prime's ship.

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• Amazon Chaser: The fact she’s with Adora implies this. But also, its stated that Perfuma has attempted to set her up with multiple, brawny women, suggesting Glimmer has a type.
• But Not Too Bi: Glimmer is bisexual, and is suggested to have been with many partners, but whether or not any of them are men isn't stated.
• Cleavage Window: Her primary design includes one. The creator once jokingly stated that “it represents the hole in her heart”.
• Cosmic Motifs: Just like how she incorporates purple in nearly all her outfits, she always has some sort of moon or star motif.
• Erotic Dream: Glimmer apparently has many of these of Adora... But unbeknownst to her, they weren't dreams — they were actually consciously together during these times. What's worse, Catra overhears Glimmer murmuring in her sleep during ones of these — ultimately being the nail in the coffin for their breakup.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Glimmer grows out her hair — likely a nod to Angella’s long hair.
• The High Queen: Glimmer becomes far more graceful and tame compared to her days as a princess. She is kind to all her subjects and is coveted by many.
  • Adora, specifically, refers to Glimmer as a goddess and angel... Well, she technically is the latter, but it's still flattering nonetheless.
• Insecure Love Interest: In this sense, Adora and Glimmer foil each other. Glimmer is insecure because she feels that she doesn't deserve Adora's love because the way she treated her after Angella's death, coupled with how she failed to save Adora from the portal.
  • Even after they marry, Adora still is sometimes reminded of Evil Glimmer just by Glimmer's presence. It makes Glimmer sad knowing this, and she wonders if she's actually good for her.
• Introverted Parrot Person: Glimmer owns a flock of parakeets, and has named them all. Catra (distastefully) jokes that Glimmer has them because she's lonely.
• Useless Without Powers: In a slight devation from canon, Glimmer relies on the Moonstone as a life source. This is because when she almost died when she was born, and her parents asked the Moonstone to grant her life.
  • After Adora disappears and Glimmer's mental health takes a sharp decline, she doesn't recharge herself at the Moonstone. This is essentially a death wish (done intinially), and her connection to the stone is almost severed when Shadow Weaver senses the weakness. However, Catra catches Shadow Weaver in the act, and saves Glimmer.

Siren Glimmer (POMM Universe)

Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon, the Divine Siren

"I have to be more brutal than them."

Glimmer as the Evil Queen

Glimmer's design in POMM. Note: she has lost her powers, therefore, she also lost the color in her hair.

After a disastrous mission in Thaymor, this Glimmer performs a hostile takeover of Bright Moon and rules with an iron fist. She's considered the most powerful sorceress in her universe, and is universally feared and respected.

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• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Catra sometimes refers to her as “princess” or “your majesty” when frustrated with her, but also uses the former affectionately.
  • In chapter 11, Catra refers to Glimmer as “Gvgeyu'i” — a Tsalagi word that directly translates to "I am selfish for you".
• All for Nothing: Almost all the evil acts by Glimmer are a disillusioned endeavor to combat the Horde, avenge those who’ve suffered at their hands, or protect Etheria. Even after reuniting with Catra after five years, she actively defends her actions. However, some events end up negating the need for her to have ever done these things in the first place.
  • Most notably, the Catra of this universe ends up being She-Ra. Glimmer likely prevented her from connected to the Sword, seeing she took it from Whispering Woods.
  • It’s revealed in POMM that Glimmer is Catra’s soulmate, and they are destined to protect Etheria side-by-side.
• Amazon Chaser: Despite canonically hating She-Ra, she’s very obviously intrigued when she first sees both Adora’s She-Ra form and Catra’s.
• Beyond Redemption: Glimmer believes she is this.
• Casting a Shadow: Her favorite form of attack, implied to be a result of her tutelage under Shadow Weaver.
• Character Tics: When Glimmer is experiencing her lowest moments, she tends to dig her nails into her arms.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Throughout the time she spends with Adora, Glimmer falls in love with her, and hard — to the point where she wishes she could spend the rest of her life with her. It seems she can't resist Adora's naivety and infinite kindness.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Deliberately Invoked by Queen Glimmer, who uses this tactic to throw her enemies off balance more easily.
• Divergent Character Evolution: This really applies to all the alternate dimension characters, as their timelines may differ greatly from the canonical / main universe. For Glimmer, there are two major factors that make her a virtually entirely different character compared to the main universe's Glimmer;
  • Micah dies — he actually dies in this universe — as in, they recover his body.
  • The events at Thaymor are the start of her long, painful decline. This casues her to make many bad choices, such as killing her own mother to take the full power of the Moonstone and blasting Catra's arm off during a fight.
• Evil Costume Switch: After becoming an evil queen, she goes under a pretty dramatic appearance change.
  • Her outfit overall is largely inspired by the Shadow Queen from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
  • Even when she's secluded in a distant, virtually unpopulated mountain, she finds a way to wear purple. Unlike the main universe’s Glimmer, she also tends to incorporate black as well.
  • Expository Hairstyle Change: Glimmer grows out her hair after becoming queen, similarly to the main universe's Glimmer.
• Faking the Dead: She did this out of guilt at hurting Adora, as revealed in "Phantom of the Mystic Mountains".
• Fallen Hero: Queen Glimmer is this, starting out as a leader of the Rebellion, as in canon, before various events changed her outlook on the world.
• Femme Fatale: A prime example, and she's proud of it. This trope is also similar to the Baroness.
• Heel Realization: Right before Glimmer attempts a final blow on Adora, Angella appears and reminds her that she’s the problem.
• Her Own Worst Enemy: This Glimmer is incapable of seeing herself as anything other than a villain, despite Catra's best attempts to convince her otherwise.

• I Just Want to Be Loved: Glimmer almost states this verbatim, before Adora interrupts her and abandons Glimmer.
• Reformed, but Not Tamed: In a sense. Glimmer has been functioning as the guardian of the Mystic Mountains for five years, but she doesn't fully regret her actions as Queen and still possesses a lot of her hubris.
• Scars Are Forever: This Glimmer has two wounds — one on her neck, given to her by Catra, and one on her stomach where Adora stabbed her.
• Self-Disposing Villain: As pointed out by Catra in the first chapter of POMM, Glimmer clearly had the means to heal the wound caused by Adora stabbing her. It’s later revealed that she wanted to die, and teleported out to Mystic Mountain in the endeavor.
• Self-Made Orphan: Glimmer ends up killing Angella in order to take over the kingdom.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Her entire rationale for the "more brutal" philosophy — the only way to win is to be worse than what she's fighting.
• Useless Without Powers: Akin to the main universe Glimmer, she nearly died after being born prematurely. The Moonstone also acts as a lifeline to her.
  • Similarly to the main universe's Glimmer, she uses this fact against herself when she makes an attempt on her own life.

• Villain's Dying Grace: Upon “dying”, Glimmer ejects the Runestone’s powers from herself, and gifts Adora’s magic.
• Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about "Phantom of the Mystic Mountains" without spoiling the fact that she survives her seeming death in AVEC.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Glimmer views herself as this, arguing that her actions as Queen were terrible but necessary. Catra calls her out on this.

Catra (CAT-RA universe)

Catra... The Leader of the Rebellion...!?

"Right now, I’m taking destiny into my own hands!”

Catra's POMM design

In this universe, Bow's fathers, Lance and George, find Catra abandoned in Whispering Woods. Upon no one claiming her, they take her in as their own. She grows up as Glimmer's childhood best friend. After a bitter falling out and breakup, Catra leads the Rebellion in hopes of standing up to Glimmer's tyranny. But after Adora arrives in their universe, Catra soon learns of her own fate as She-Ra.

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• Artificial Limbs: After Glimmer blasts her arm off prior to the events of AVEC, Catra requires an amputation. Thankfully, her adopted brother, Bow, creates a prosthetic for her. It seems to be very complex, allowing to her control her fingers at will. Interestingly, she keeps the prosthetic when she morphs into She-Ra.
• Broken Bird: In this respect, Catra and Glimmer are narrative foils. Both become standoffish and cynical after falling out from one another.
• Childhood Friend Romance: Catra had this with Glimmer. However, they break up prior to the events of AVEC.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: After chapter 11, Catra begins to wear her hair down - likely inspired by Glimmer requesting she does so in chapter 9.
• A Girl and Her X: Between the events of AVEC and POMM, Catra gets a steed — a Feathered python named Drakon. She chooses to bestow powers upon him, thinking that he’d be much cooler than he actually is. However, after Catra becomes stronger, Drakon gains a mane, antlers, and the ability to speak.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Catra (even more so than Vagabond Adora) states multiple times in POMM that she doesn’t want to be She-Ra — and even upright says she hated She-Ra up until a certain point.
• Reincarnation: Just like Adora, Catra is a reincarnation of both Mara and She-Ra. As such, the Glimmer of her universe is also her soulmate.
  • However, Catra's past differs greatly from Adora's. Catra was born directly after Mara's death. Upon Ahyoka discovering her fate, she took her away from her mother, and sealed her away in Whispering Woods for the next thousand years. Ahyoka did so to protect both Catra and Etheria.
• Supernaturally-Validated Trans Person: Catra’s mother states that a medicine man told her that she’d have a baby girl. Thus, finding out Catra has discovered that part of herself is no shock to her.
  • The fact she is She-Ra validates her, too.
  • Bright Moon Violets only bloom when the queen of Bright Moon is in love with another woman. They bloom in POMM, after Glimmer develops feelings for Catra again.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: What?! But Glimmer's not Catra's girlfriend! Regardless, after a Manticore nearly kills Glimmer, Catra drags it off of her, and almost kills it.
• You Are Too Late: Mere moments after discovering she is She-Ra, Adora “kills” Glimmer.