#adora's too important to have a family

[ultfreakme]

So.

I finished She-ra.

I wanted to watch it because I realized I rarely watched anything with a female-centric cast and I especially didn't interact with sapphic content despite being sapphic. Abundance of cishet male-specific stories and a love for action-adventure led me to not exploring the latter in stories centering women because I had my own biases. I didn't think there were nearly enough action-adventure stories centering women out there in comparison to men. I just gave into convenience. Also I'll be real, internalized misogyny.

She-ra was so breathtaking and impactful because close to a decade after watching Legend of Korra and the beginning of Korrasami, I got to watch a fully-explored lesbian relationship on-screen with all the action and adventure I wanted.

I saw too much of myself in all the characters. In Glimmer & Angella's mother-daughter bickering, in Catra's insecurities, in Mermista's distance and aversion to people but still wanting companionship. I saw me in bits and pieces across all these girls and women.

It's a rare moment for a POC queer woman like me to truly see myself anywhere. My identity is often considered rare enough to be mythic (although queer POC are fucking everywhere lbr).

I remember being an eight-year old, and watching The Little Mermaid for the first time. I was mesmerized, I sung "Part of Your World" and re-enacted in my tiny apartment with only enough space for a bed and a cupboard and nothing else where my entire family were. I'd sing it on top of my lungs and then I'd look in the mirror and see brown skin and black hair and the spell of being a mermaid underwater would break.

Then fast-forward to 2024, I see She-Ra and her magical princess friends say they need to recruit a powerful Sea Princess to their war efforts. I am excited only because my fascination for mermaids has never really gone away. Then our main crew arrive and what do I see?

A brown woman, a woman with my skin tone and my eyes and my wavy kind of hair. She's stand-offish and a little emo, and she controls the ocean. She can switch her legs for fins and swim!! Suddenly I'm eight again.

I also remember watching The Swan Princess for the first time and feeling strange butterflies every time I saw Odette in her beautiful white gown. I didn't know then that girls could like girls, all I had was this feeling. A buttery, soft feeling where I wanted to sit beside her and see her smile. As I grew up I understood it was me being attracted to her and thinking "there's no love story showing the way I love".

Enter Catra and Adora. I felt a silly kind of nostalgia seeing Catra in love with a magical girl in gold and white.

I could go ON AND ON with all these little details where bits of me were in the show. It made me a little less lonely, and made me a lot more hopeful. Seeing yourself in media is important. Obviously you don't need it to empathize with a character or understand them but seeing parts of your own experience on-screen is a different kind of high. Like, like woah I can be a protagonist like that? I don't need to erase myself?

A story which treated parts of me- all the good and the bad parts- with kindness and gave it all a happy ending. I am so used to reading tragedy, expecting cruelty from even fantasy that I truly treasure stories with hope.

This show gave me that. I have been doing pretty bad in terms of mental health for months, maybe over a year actually. This was a nice reprieve and I hope the message of the story sticks with me, and that I start 2025 stronger and braver.

[antispopausandstuff]

what's bothered me for a long time is that stans praise SPOP for supposedly being a subversion of the self-sacrificing hero trope, when it's not the first, or last, piece of media to do so.

technically, the "i killed Gwen Stacy" trope ( it's a real trope, i'm not just pulling this out of my ass ) can be considered a subversion of the selfless hero, as, most of the time, the hero eventually has to come to terms with the fact they can't save everyone.

it's the first time for queer media, maybe ( though, even then, i kinda doubt it, since queer media's lived far longer than SPOP ever has ), but it's not the first to ever do so.

and this isn't to criticize the trope. it's actually one of my favorites to consume and write, as i usually relate heavily to the characters that represent this trope, and can be used as a metaphor for so many things, including the tragedy of martyrdom in marginalized communities.

but not only is SPOP not the first to do this, they didn't even subvert it in a way that's satisfactory or healthy.

for one, Adora was already on the path of healing when she stepped away from the Horde, the nest of her Atlas complex. however sloppily written it was, she was on her way from recovering, discovering her true self, realizing she's not responsible for everything, and learning to rely on others rather than using herself as the weapon the Horde envisioned her as.

and, though she didn't know it at the time, stepping away from Catra was good for her, too. healthier.

s3 was the strongest Adora's character was, because she stopped blaming herself for Catra's actions, and was done with someone she once called her best friend, her family, constantly trying to hurt her and deny who she was to control her.

there's multiple points in the story where Adora is in the midst of being controlled, whether through manipulation or magic, and it should've been written as huge steps for her character every time she was broken out of it and stood up against her abusers.

we could've really gotten into her psyche, how traumatized she really is, and how difficult her actions that aren't just habit, but a distinct part of her person, are to break. burnout, health issues as a result of stress, lack of sleep, and never knowing peace. we get crumbs of these, but the show is so focused on Catra and making the series as unseriously serious as a possible, that Adora hardly gets the time of day, even when it's at the peak of importance.

she could've been so incredibly realistic, wanting more than anything to have a choice, but being uncomfortable the moment she has it, because then that could mean disappointing or betraying everyone. exhausting herself so much that she's entirely broken down. a self-destructive cycle created by the people she loved so much that she was willing to die for them when she was just a child.

SPOP is not the first to subvert this, but it might've been one of the first to really nail on how completely and utterly damaging it is to constantly give everything you have to everyone around you.

i remember, at one point of my life, where i considered ending my life because i felt absolutely worthless in school. i related to Adora so much, because i could see myself in her, only putting value in myself to what i could provide, to what i could achieve, to what i could do to make everyone happy or proud.

which is why, even if there's weeks or months i'm not actively pursuing it, i'm still invested on rewriting her story. because i, honestly, feel betrayed.

Adora wasn't subverted. she was submitted. her psyche wasn't in the process of recovery, it was returning to square one, because Catra's desires were more important than hers, while the show painted it as a big choice she made.

her story didn't end in sacrifice, so everything's good, right? no.

even if she did make the choice, even if Catra wasn't a terrible person, that's not how it works.

one scene i really like in TLOK is the talk between Korra and Asami at the end of the series. they're acknowledging Korra's trauma, even if it's not directly said, and Asami doesn't blame her for being gone for so long. because healing isn't linear. she's just happy Korra is here.

Catra doesn't think like this, at all. she's still stuck on a promise she had broken years ago, and still insistent on blaming Adora, even in her confession of love.

people say she was ready to die, but she obviously wasn't. she's not happy that Adora is alive, she's happy that she had importance.

far above being a hero, Adora is a victim. and her "happy ending" isn't nearly as happy as people make it out to be.

so, if // when i have more people telling me to move on, i won't. they don't understand how much she means to me. maybe i'll never get to the point of completely rewriting her story, but i don't want to let it go. not yet, anyway. and maybe not for a long time.

she matters to me.

[thestargayzingetherian]

She-Ra In He-Man Revelations/Revolution

So it's been a few days and I wanted to put this post out there to basically publicly give my thoughts on some... recent developments concerning He-Man Revolution. Before I go into this, MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING FOR THE SHOW!

And also, and this is probably MORE important than the spoiler warning. Do not, and I repeat, do not take whatever speculation I put in this post as gospel or something that is GOING to happen. I may be a bit more knowledgeable than a lot of people about this stuff, but I don't wanna consider myself an expert. This is just me speculating and giving my thoughts and I don't want to get anyone's hopes up because there's a good chance, that what I'm saying turns out to be completely wrong and I don't wanna be responsible for that, so please, take all of this with the smallest grain of salt possible.

With that out of the way...

So the new season of He-Man ends with the reveal of this lady, Despara. For those who don't know... she is Adora. As in She-Ra Adora. In the DC He-man comics, Despara was the name Adora was known as when she was raised as Hordak's daughter. Her name is often used by Catradora fan artists and fic writers who really wanna just make Adora a hot evil lesbian, usually with a hot butch hairdo. It is likely that if/when another season of this show comes, Despara will be the main focus.

Now this raises the obvious question... how are they going to handle the She-Ra stuff. As I have made posts about before, the She-Ra rights and He-Man rights have been separate for a very long time and apparently, the last thing I heard, Mattel themselves can't use any of the She-Ra characters in animated form due to Dreamworks owning them now.

So naturally, you might be thinking that Despara here is just a placeholder because they can't use She-Ra. Except... there are a LOT of She-Ra references in this season that are way too numerous to be just references.

For example:

They recreate the exact scene from the 80s She-Ra movie where Adora is taken as a baby by Hordak in a flashback scene. They also mention Horde Prime existing as well and they EVEN imply that Shadow Weaver exists in this universe as well and Hordak's new robot second-in-command, Motherboard is a replacement for her.

So yeah, all signs SEEMINGLY point to some sort of She-Ra-inspired adaption being the next part of this show. Now, considering the very complex rights issues... I can see this going one of two ways.

Mattel and Dreamworks did a deal like the one Sony and Marvel did with Spiderman to temporarily get the She-Ra rights back for JUST this next season. Despara is revealed to be Adora and her arc will be her learning her true family AND eventually becoming She-Ra to fight Horde Prime with her brother and possibly all the other She-Ra cast are there too. This I feel like it would be the ideal solution to all of this.

2. Despara is revealed to be someone else OTHER than Adora under her helmet because her face is obviously not seen in her brief scene when she takes her helmet off. Technically, Mattel would own Despara outright and not Dreamworks and they could easily make Despara her own character. This was also how they planned to include her in the second season of CGI He-Man. HOWEVER, considering all the foreshadowing and knowing how many people working on these shows loved SPOP... I feel like it'd be really unsatisfying if it wasn't Adora under the mask, both as a fan and from a creative standpoint.

As for my personal theory of what Despara's whole deal is, I think she's ruling Etheria on the other side of the galaxy with Catra and serving personally under Horde Prime. Basically SPOP but a bad ending. The plot will be He-Man and his friends finding out about Etheria and going there to free the planet and Despara will redeem herself and she and Catra and whoever will join team good guy.

But that's just my personal theory. I really don't know what the hell is going to happen here or even IF more episodes will even be coming and I don't want to get people's hopes up. There's a reason I myself have been working on my own She-Ra and He-Man crossover extended universe stuff for the last while so, at the very least, there'd be a fanfic that would satisfy my hopes. I am prepared to be very wrong here.

But even if none of this speculation pans out, I still highly recommend this show to She-Ra fans. The second season definitely fixed the few issues I had with the first one and I hope more comes out of this version of He-Man... then again, it wouldn't be the first time a He-Man series was cancelled.

Hope you find this post informative!

[spopsalt]

This was a longer post than I expected, spoilers for Bojack Horseman under the cut but for the TLDR: Bojack Horseman is a much better show than spop since it shows trauma realistically, has better humor, better story, know Bojack is a bad person and he gets called out on it.

On the last season of Bojack and it astonishes me on how much better it is when compared to spop, it's great on it's own and when compared to spop, it's a masterpiece! First of all, it actually shows trauma realistically! One example I would like to use is Penny, she was 17 and saw Bojack like a father figure of sorts, she lived with her family for months and trusted Bojack. Everything seemed fine until she propositioned Bojack, Bojack first does the responsible thing and shuts her down. But then he gets rejected by Charlotte, the girl's mother and Bojack's old friend. He doesn't tell her about what Penny tried to do for some reason, long story short they kiss but Charlotte rejects Bojack due to her having a family and Bojack trying to get her to run away with him. He was in a low place and saw Penny on the boat, she asked him again and he said "Go to bed Penny." it seemed like he rejected her again but we came to a horrifying realization. We hear stuff falling and then see Bojack lying down while Penny is undoing his bowtie. This is one of Bojack's lowest moments and it shows Penny's trauma. One example is when Bojack thought she looked fine, and she was, she healed from the trauma, then Bojack showed up again and all the old wounds opened up again. Another example is with Gina, one of Bojack's girlfriends whom he strangled. She is now traumatized whenever someone touches her neck due to that experience. Another one is Hollyhock, Bojack actually wasn't a shitty person here. His mother laced the coffee she drank with drugs and so she overdosed and got sent to the hospital. Later when she visits Bojack and sees medicine in his house she assumes he is trying to drug her, freaks out, and sends them to the trash disposal. I could go on and on but you get my point. We actually get time to see their trauma. Their trauma isn't just ignored or swept to the side for Bojack. And his trauma was shown realistically too! It's amazing how much better Bojack is compared to spop, I understand they are two very different shows, one being an adult cartoon with 6 seasons and another being a kid cartoon with 5 seasons. Now I will give spop some credit. It showed trauma accurately with Adora and Catra but everyone else's trauma gets ignored. That's why I'm so glad we have Bojack. It can be hard to watch at times but it shows it accurately and it is so important. Second of all, it knows Bojack is a bad person and people call him out on it. Many of Bojack's old friends, Diane, Princess Caroline, and Todd have called him out on his behavior. It also shows that abuse is no excuse for being a horrible person when Todd says "It's not your childhood or the shitty things that happen to you in your career it's you." This may seem small but with spop it tries to make everything Catra did okay because she had trauma when that's not the case. Third of all the humor. Now the humor is...ehhh it's ok. It's not the best thing in the world buttt I did laugh more times than I laughed while watching spop so that's good! Last of all. The story, now the story is really good, many of the bad things Bojack did in his past were brought up, and we see him multiple times try to improve himself but it seems like every time he takes one step foward he takes multiple steps back. This is very realistic to how it is. You can try and try but sometimes you end up spiraling by to where you were before. Bojack Horseman is really important and though it can be hard to watch at times, I'm glad it exists.

[caseydoesart]

Hey! I have the most important announcement to make! (Not really, I'm just dumb and I need a fuck load of help..)

So, I rewatched She-Ra's season four. (Catra is just too hot, my bad guys) Then I was very upset when I watched season five. Catradora decided to creep up on me without much more done to it. I mean, there is chemistry. But like, they just became friends again. I also realized S4 Catra never really did much with Adora. (That pisses me off because Adora should be flustered. I mean, c'mon. A sexy Magicat + Dumb jock lesbian?) So I went over to my brother and bitched him out about it. And he was like: Casey. Just make a damn fanfiction about S4. But redone. And where there is more chemistry (He means sexual tension..) between Catra and Adora.

Then it hit me.

Holy shit I should make a complicated and possibly bigger than the whole damn Bible fanfiction about season four but the relationship between Catra and Adora actually works and isn't forced. I should also totally make it sexual.

Guys I am so damn smart.

But uh. I need ideas! I'm rewatching season four again to learn each and every line the characters speak, every single action they make, every fucking thing they do,, just so that it's actually good. So, I need a shitload of ideas! Reblog this if you can (I won't steal your body pillow or nude Catra. I'm joking, I know you people don't have those... I think.) Please help me. It will be on ao3 because uh, Wattpad hates me,,

Fuck. Guys. Wait.

I've never made a fanfiction before. At least, not online. And not on ao3. Guys I just got invited. HELP ME. I would like to figure out how to fucking write the fanfiction. I should have done research... Anyway, help me out guys. It's pride month. And I'm a damn Gay. Please. (I won't tell your family about the smut you guys have been doing. I'm a nice person.)

Get off my lawn.

Thank you for wasting your time on my profile or on the She-Ra side of Tumblr. I love you guys with all of my gay heart. Happy pride.

Ps.

Please actually help me. Give me tips on wording, amazing things that happen in s4, quotes, uhm, Headcanons. Blah blah blah. Just help me guys.

[bloodyshadow1]

I thought I would be more disappointed with the amount of Lumity in the finale.  There’s some, but not as much as I wanted, but I’m not really, I would have always wanted more but it’s actually fine.  Because at it’s core, the owl house is about Luz, Eda, and King, they are the heart of the show.  Luz and Amity’s relationships, and Luz’s relationship with her other friends are important, big parts of the show, but the Owl House is at it’s core about the people inside of it. 

It didn’t feel like she-ra’s finale where everything hinged on Adora and Catra getting together romantically to save the world with lesbian power.  It didn’t feel like the finale of Korra where Korra and Asami getting together felt like a blessing of a long shot that no one actually saw coming when it first aired.  To be clear, no shade to those shows and any other show that gets their main character paired up in the last episodes, it’s just different. 

With Lumity, Luz and Amity have been together since the middle of season 2, there’s a lot of content about them before and in a relationship.  I want more canon content of them, because I’m a fan, but I’m not starved for it because there is a lot of canon content with them.  So it’s okay that they’re not the key focus of the finale. 

The owl house is about more than anything three weirdos and their found family together. Yes, their found family grows bigger and there’s blood among them too, but it’s about the three of them.  Because it’s the key theme of the first episode of the three weirdos sticking together and it’s the key theme of the finale. 

[swearyshera]

I want to say I really respect how you're handling Glimmer's arc, her interactions with Bow in particular. Them dealing with the emotional fallout of this in a harsh and awkward but earnest way is really gratifying. I feels like pulling teeth in the best way possible. Glimmer's arc still rings amazingly to me and somehow hasn't diminished since the apology bit.

Is it weird that I "respect" Glimmer's redemption more than Catra's? I guess I always thought Glimmer's heart was in the right place despite like... everything she had going on. I never once felt Glimmer couldn't be redeemed and frankly my opinion on if Catra really "deserved" redemption still flips every time I think about it. If i thought I had a way to annihilate the people who took my family away, I don't know if I'd hesitate to top-rope elbow drop the Big Red Button even as much as Glimmer did. I guess that was Catra's rationale too on a deeper level, but at least Glimmer wasn't fine with the world dying once confronted with that reality, as sad a step up as that is. I feel like the fact I don't feel much sorrier for Catra reflects very poorly on me.

The series had a bad habit of Catra's choices having their more catastrophic potential consequences avoided so her redemption could go down smoother, my most prominent example being the corrupt shera virus. I'd pay damn good money to see how the story could even begin to salvage Adora and Catra's relationship if Adora killed someone like Glimmer or Bow under the effects of that. (not to mention the portal only kills one, albeit very important, person, Adora just happening to survive falling a pit, the story conspicuously forgetting about Angella etc) This sort of thing makes me think the author is cheating or working backwards from the ending they already want. Other characters were involved in some of those choices but that only expands the problem imo.

Glimmer's doesn't kill the universe either, but there's still disastrous consequences for Etheria and people she cares about, pretty much all of s5, and her story is all about understanding what she brought on them, and becoming a more responsible person to her friends/people. I really liked that. The only person Catra is really held accountable to is Adora, and maybe Perfuma on Scorpia's behalf. There's Entrapta but I dont think she operates in terms of blame/forgiveness, at least in canon. I know she literally forgave Catra explicitly, I guess I'm too mean to believe people could let go of stuff that "easily' and write it off like it doesnt count.

I know Catra's arc wanted a more intimate scale and they didn't have time to litigate all this, but my deep gut reaction is "tough shit, you shouldn't have had Catra do all that if you weren't gonna make her face what she'd done", especially since Adora makes a point that Catra is afraid to face people she hurt, then Mermista, Micah and Scorpia are conveniently chipped until the last minutes of the damn show. HP really did Catra a solid there. Glimmer's arc felt more willing to make her culpable in dire shit and not pull punches about it, even less so here, so sincere gratitude from me there. Not that Adora and Catra weren't put through hell but their s5 relationship seems to happen in its own little bubble safe from outside responsibility apart from Adora's martyrdom pathology.

Anyway, very excited to see how the Catra reunion will be handled given everything so far, and for Glimmer and Bow stuff. You've never done wrong by us yet. Sorry for this fucking thesis. Please feel free to point all the ways I'm being a myopic dumbass.

I always see Catra and Glimmer as two sides of the same coin - the same person but treated very differently by those around them. Glimmer had love and forgiveness from the people she grew up with, particularly her mother, whereas Catra had none of that outside of Adora.

But I think the end of season 4, start of season 5, we see a little bit of a flipside of that, and that's what starts making both of them wiser, more mature, etc. Up until then, Glimmer had never really had to deal with consequences for her actions - her mother, outside of grounding her, didn't appear to really punish her when she did things wrong. Even Bow, at least until Fractures, felt he always had to support and agree with her (and his own arc played into that). But when Glimmer decided to plough ahead with her plan to activate the Heart and ignore her friends, she actually had serious consequences for once. She had to deal with losing friendships, attracting Prime. And that wasn't something she'd really had to deal with.

Catra, by contrast, always had negative consequences to even the slightest of actions. Usually by Shadow Weaver, and then by Hordak, she was punished for her mistakes. But in season 5, she gets shown kindness and forgiveness despite her actions, and it too, becomes a turning point for her.

I also don't really see the story as 'redemption'. It's not about Catra or Glimmer redeeming themselves, it's about accepting you've done wrong and making the choice to be better. Yes, they do have apologies to make, wrongs to right, and we don't see a lot of that in the show. But we don't need to. What we see is Glimmer becoming more levelheaded and choosing to use that in place of recklessness. We see Catra choosing to return to Adora in Heart not for herself, but for Etheria. Both these young women have done things that have had a huge negative impact on other people, but they both end up trying to do better, to be better.

Redemption is based on how other people treat you. This is a story about how you treat yourself. Both are important.

[inflammatoryfandomblog]

okay. so voltron’s second season (”seasons” 3-6) were. well.

i have to say that i sort of vastly preferred the first production block. i definitely think the show was more in its element with the episodic “defeat zarcon” stuff than with... to be honest, i have no idea what’s happening.

i mean it started off pretty good. could have gone in a lot of directions. i was interested in the idea of lotor, whose ideology seemed to be a very good contrast to zarcon’s but still seemed to be a good villain. a darker side to the alteans, the fact that the lions can bond to multiple paladins, etc etc etc.

like idk, i know there are people that would take issue with it but it would have been kinda cool if various characters could bond to the different lions sometimes, and the relationship with each one could reveal something about the character. like maybe it would have been a contrast to zarcon, who was hyperfixated on the black lion and thought that because it was the leader, it was the Important One or whatever.

anyways this is called “inflammatoryfandomblog” and it’s time for the griping.

-> the plot is about quintessence, which... the galra empire depends on for some reason, even though it was really the druids we’ve seen use it before, and they were destroying whole planets for the stuff and using it to power zarcon’s little ego “i’m going to get the lions trip.” it’s kind of unclear what else uses it. and i think that’s like my main issue with this season/production block? aside from the S1-like episodes, it feels very muddled and hard to really get into.

i just. am trying to make sense of lotor’s plan. or haggar’s plan. or what they each wanted. or what even what quintessence does. quintessence seems to be like, a... theme-thing... for being too entrenched in the past and what you’ve lost, and so being poisoned by it is losing sight of the present by trying to recreate it. at least that’s what makes the most sense. it’s not, uh, subtle--but it’s not used well enough to relieve it of the Magical Bullshit feeling. 

(this is something she-ra has over voltron; whatever plot magic BS happens is generally woven in better, thematically, with adora and glimmer and catra--but this just might be because there’s a lot less characters and she-ra very early on drops the pretense of being political in any way; it’s the type of series that’s very transparent with that--it says “yeah lmao our world doesn’t matter this is basically a basic family story with princess/scifantasy icing”, while voltron is very different in this regard, and so this approach does it no favors, because how it developed its world was a very good selling point for me in the first production block)

like “oh we just offer them more quintessence and they’ll listen to me” seems like a really bad justification for......... anything......... and idk if they even needed that plotline, i feel like lotor wanting to create an “inclusive/fair empire” is a pretty interesting oxymoron without the weird altean magic stuff. that haggar also unlocked. somehow. i wasn’t very invested in it i suppose; it failed to sort of convince me at any point of being true to the setting, which was a real strength of the first season.

-> i remember being miffed at the lack of shiro/lotor interactions (i mean, the lack of interactions sort of gave it away that this shiro was not worth investing into, especially since it was so telegraphed that druidlady was controlling him, but i was annoyed at the time) because i dunno, real!shiro and lotor could have built up an understanding re: being forced by zarcon to do bad stuff. generally the shiro clone plot is very meh, i feel it would have been better if a) the “real” shiro was actually taken to be some sort of trojan or he’s dead and the clone has to reckon with what it means and be an actual character or b) shiro’s spirit guided them and he was a mentor figure the entire way through, only getting back into a body at some point or another.

generally the entire clone plotline was just kind of worse than most possible alternatives to it, including having both shiros be alive and kicking. as it is now shiro is basically the same as the one from the first production block and can’t have changed.

-> for a second, since most of my predictions panned out in some way, that shiro *was* actually going to be zarcon all along. that would have been wild. similarly a very funny alternate universe is one where the gang splits the comet, gives half of it to the evil alteans and half of it to the galra and simply lets them fight.

-> i liked that the characters went off and had lives/missions outside of voltron (or at least, pidge/keith) and had a few episodes dedicated to those. those, aside from the early “season 3″ episodes and the fun one-shot ones were very enjoyable breaks from the mostly incoherent main plot. i had fun watching them instead of being like “hmm. so this is a Thing now” in the Main Story 

i really feel that ultra-dramatic storytelling is not these writers’ strong suit. which, fair, i mean, i’m not a writer, but i don’t think it’s a stretch to say that they’re a lot better with episodes with some implications as opposed to long, serialized, dramatic structures as a group. i think it might just be a matter of experience; most cartoons until the 2010s were very episodic, and longer stories just have more production/meddling complications which are non-trivial, whereas with episodes, if something doesn’t work... you can just dump it. but episode-episodes also don’t play well with streaming. just kind of an unfortunate media-landscape conundrum there.

(note that japanese animation for example, while it’s very serialized, most of the time has the benefit of having source material already laid out for it. really the equivalent of something like that are like, comic book shows i guess.)

-> animation is really stellar and action is very good. studio mir is great. they always stick the landing.

-> i guess i like that they tried to do something with the idea of “the evil emperor is dead/gone, now what?” which is kind of a difficult plot to write honestly, especially when the main cast are transformer-power-rangers, it’s not obvious how to make them relevant enough to have the focus on them. (and in classic fashion, i don’t really like making suggestions.)

-> lance is going to get with allura nooooooo. i was really invested in the idea that he defects because of a hot girl. instead he just gets jealous of lotor. the sad thing is i really think they could have been at least good friends (lance/allura). the scene where allura replicates trying to flirt with the blue lion is really funny, and lance bringing out everyone’s goofballness would have been a good variant on his general archetype. instead lance is mostly Annoying and gets a few disconnected Scenes. i can’t even really think of a good lance episode this season.

-> pidge baby though. she’s obviously flawed (esp with the prisoner exchange stuff like wth lady) and like. the main plot is dead to me at this point. but i really liked her side episodes. same with keith etc etc.

-> predictions for next season (if i get around to watching it):

-> 1. sendak (zendak?) invades earth. “YOU EARTHLINGS DEFEATED ME LIKE A CHUMP... LOOK WHO’S THE CHUMP NOW???” -> 2. allura and coran start a cow extermination policy -> 3. everyone gets sent to a mental institution and they have to break out -> 4. haggar does some quintessence bullshit and tries to revive lotor or whatever. zombie lotor is horribly mangled and rips a hole through reality again! -> 5. shiro binge-watches all the series he’s missed in the time he’s been dead. he likes kdramas or wuxia. not anime though. -> 6. ?????? lance becomes embroiled in cuban politics. just randomly. (he’s the one who likes anime.)

[wintercloudburst]

well, it's been a week since i posted the final chapter so...

What I’ve Done chapter sixteen thoughts, for those interested (but mainly for myself)

*SPOILERS*

So we finally finish the story... I have been working on this fic since 2021 on and off and finally finishing it brought up so many feelings but overall im really happy with what i've done (accidental pun).

(Side note: the fic title is in fact just based on What I've Done by Linkin Park, because I felt like it perfectly encapsulated Catra's journey throughout the story).

We open up with adora's anxiety relating to a event that has passed, I had been wanting to explore Adora's own feelings of anxiety after writing Catra's feelings towards their newly developed relationship. I feel like Adora was a big anchor to Catra's own struggles but i felt it was important to also show the other side of the coin. Throughout the story we had seen bits and pieces of Adora's struggle with anxiety and her impulsivity when it came to decision making, so I thought it important to show "ok we are together but we are both still struggling to understand one another and struggling to find our footing in this relationship.

I also wanted Adora to find out about Catra's old phone in an organic way (my initial outline had the reveal after their first time having sex last chapter but that felt waay too loaded) and I wanted the knowledge of the phone to kinda hang over them.

ANother thing i wanted was for Adora to switch majors, in a few chapters we kinda get a glimpse of this terrible anxiety she gets from her major, and the way it seems like it doesn't really align with her. I thought finishing her character arc by allowing her to take agency of what she really feels passionate about was really necessary for her as a character. Also I kept picturing her in lil scrubs just exhausted but so happy.

Throughout all the outlines of this story i have written they were always going to throw the phone away together. However, initially i had planned for them to throw it out and THEN get together. which would have been interesting but definitely might have felt a little rushed in my opinion.

I cried lots of times writing this chapter and one of them was in fact, the scene where they are driving toward the camping site. I kept thinking about how Catra would feel, preparing herself to give up on something so monumental and i couldn't help tearing up shdkhfkghdf.

The camp scene: I wanted to illustrate the domisticity that they built and Adora just generally feeling a lot better about her life than the last time we had seen her pov.

As for Catra's letters: when i wrote the second chapter i had written about some letters Catra had written and never sent and i thought... what if the way she lets go isnt just by throwing an old phone out but also by letting go of all those feelings she had held onto for so long.

I couldn't stop crying while writing the letters, specifically the one that says she saw Scorpia's nine year old nephew playing and was filled with sadness.. Catra is finally old enough to view her abuse as senseless, as she watches a kid around the same age as when it had started playing in a party. realizing you weren't the one to blame, no matter how much of a troublemaker you might have been.

And yes... Idk how anybody felt about this chapter but i thought this scene was impactful to ME and that's probably all that matters shdfkhdglf.

The wedding: I wanted to show them being happy years in the future, even if they probably are both still dealing with their individual issues, they are a team. I also just wanted to showcase their friends and family being so accepting of them and celebrating their love

I genuinely had to rewrite the ending multiple times but i feel like it's a good note to end on and I'm happy i was able to work on this story for so long. It just means the world to me!

Anyways thanks if anybody actually reads this for taking the time to read and i hope you guys liked my silly little fanfic !!!

[acephysicskarkat]

So much of the disappointment of S5 came down to its refusal to actually do anything with the good elements of SP0P. It feels like we traded final seasons with the Berenstein universe, or it was based on Stevenson’s original drafts instead of the actual episodes, or they meant to go back and flesh it out with payoffs for the planting but never got around to it. (Or, in keeping with my conspiracy theory about this, that the permission/order to do c/a came a noticeable chunk into the allotted writing period and forced them to rewrite everything in a wild rush.)

Adora and C*tra had a promise to look after each other. We learn this in a big episode named after it, written by the showrunner! Is that going to go anywhere? Nope, never mentioned again. But hey, it was inadvertently recontextualised by the flashback that paints their entire friendship as a toxic, controlling mess; that’s not nothing! It’s less than nothing!

Adora punches C*tra in the face and refuses to put up with her guilt-tripping any more. How does S5 handle this? Well, it has C*tra pull out the Blame Game several times, and Adora meekly accepts every shitty bit of victim blaming the writers dole out in their frantic attempt to both-sides this argument four seasons after they would have had to start to make it work. (Which is a failure confined solely to S5, as a note; whoever had the idea to build C*tra’s redemption around an apology hopefully did not anticipate that it would later be whittled down from “I’m sorry for everything” to “I’m sorry you were offended”.)

Meanwhile, on C*tra’s end, there was that whole Thing in S3 about how her obsession with Adora was only hurting them both and the best thing for her would be to move on. That was gutsy. Acknowledging that even if two characters did care for each other, trying to commit to it would only hurt them? That’s the kind of complex, difficult thing you’d see from Steven Universe at its best. So, naturally, season 5 opts to completely drop that because doing anything to expand on it would contradict the Shipping Grid of Destiny, which is more important than any of your lowly mortal concerns like plot, characterisation, or theme.

Or hey, how about Adora’s desire to find her family, which is given a wildly unsatisfying resolution (”they’re dead so stop asking”) and then dropped entirely? They don’t even take the low-hanging fruit option of having C*tra console Adora over it (that would be too much like treating Adora like a person with her own needs for S5 to even consider it), they just forget it was there, and even the found family option is given one dream sequence that is never actually connected to it. Bonus points because taking this option both abandons the power-of-friendship stuff from the much better written season 1 and 4 finales and sidelines the best candidates for her found family, the Princesses of Power, who you’d think would have been important because they’re literally in the title but apparently not.

This is a pattern that becomes much clearer in the wake of S5 and its attempt to make a clean break with seasons 1-4 but was already there before it, from the C*tra/Shadow Weaver parallels that end up going exactly fucking nowhere to the crowd of princess outlines that Light Hope shows Adora for no coherent reason because we later learn that the only one who actually matters is Scorpia.

The show always seems to be planned out until the end of the season and then just wings it from there. And that’s not an inherently bad thing, many great stories have been the product of just winging it, but it does make it weird when people ignore that and act like it’s not this thing it’s hard not to notice that it in fact is.

If this whole thing was a Glorious Cohesive Narrative That Was Planned In Advance, that means they intentionally had C*tra do something borderline unforgivable with the explicit intent of having it be hastily forgiven. They deliberately yelled in the audience’s face that this relationship is not healthy and the best thing for them both would be to move on as an intentional way of making people want them to hook up. That’s...kinda not a good look.

[baggebythesea]

Hey, Bagge, how are ya? I wanted to share my current obsession in the context of She-Ra AUs with you. Said obsession being detective and thief stories.

I wanted to share this 'cause I got thinking about how this dynamic would work in a She-Ra AU. I think most would think of having Catra play the thief role with Adora and Glimmer being the detectives, but then I realized that even more interesting dynamic would Glimmer playing the thief role with Adora, Bow and Catra as the detectives chasing her.

I think it be interesting 'cause the BBFs members would have a different dynamic with Glim in the context of a detective vs thief story. Adora as the strictly by the books professional investigator. Catra as the wild card who uses unconventional, and sometimes dangerous, methods to catch her target. And Bow as the complete outlier in a genre full of characters defined by arrogance by how he be the nicest detective ever.

And of course, Glimmer as a master thief would be unmatched. There's so much you could do with her character and dynamic with the detectives. Go in depth into why a possibly rich heiress would steal for the thrill of it, how it maybe ties into her family. And her dynamic with these three investigators who decided to rise to the challenge of capturing her, how it starts as her thinking she has easy targets to play with, only to slowly realize their getting too close to comfort, both in their investigations and their shared feelings, but also, there be an irresistible magnetism that keeps making her go back to them. Something that pulls her to them somehow.

This has just been ping ponging in my brain and I had to put it out there.

I love it so much! There is an image floating around of Glimmer as a victorian cat burgler (I'll see if I can find it) that absolutely captures the spirit of it. She would be flirty, she would be fun, she would have a code of ethics and be the darling of the newspapers.

At the same time, the detectives would be so interesting. Adora might be easy to circumvent, but she'd be relentless. She might be by the book, but she never skips a step. And no matter how well you hide, you can never be certain that Catra doesn't lurk in a deeper shadow. Bow would bring both honesty and friendliness to the table - but also tech. There would absolutely be a scene when they consult the forensic detectives Entrapta and Hordak.

My most important question is: Do the gang know Gilmmer? Does she know that they are on her case? Is this a multi level game of cat and mouse?

Lovely AU!

[vivaciouscynner]

Divinity's Forgotten Birthday

Heads-up: The following takes place in my Divinity and Her Flaws universe because that's all I can think about. This occurs on some timeline after chapter 13 which is still being written. Do also note that I am writing this on a whim - time does not permit me to write well or proper at the moment. I'm so tired and busy BUT WITHOUT FURTHER ADO

---

Catra came back from visiting Mara who found Adora by her window. She held a little flower in her hand. It only had three petals with sharp points like a star. Adora loved any flower that changed color depending how the light hit it and this was no different. It reflected six colors if looked closely and more if you had Catra's eyes. It went from blue to purple to red to yellow and if you angled it just right, there was a bit of transparency and then finally a dark black. Each petal tipped with gold, the only part that wouldn't change.

"And what's this?" Adora asked.

"Oh nothing really, Mara sending you another invitation to see you again. I think she likes you more than me." Adora laughed at that. Catra then pointed to the window, "How's the fam?"

Adora smiled, trying to hide secrets the best she could. "Good," she said simply, "Actually, we wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh?" Catra tried to glimpse into Adora's mind but could only see spotty blips of love for her. She raised a brow.

"Yep!" she said quickly, "I know you told me once that you must have had a 'beginning' and I wanted to share one of our traditions where we celebrate such begin-"

"You've given me a birthday?"

"If you want?" she opened her hands into a shrug. "I- we wanted to show you how much we care and are so thankful that you exist. So...," Adora held on to her amulet and thought of her family and in a moment the pools in the window revealed her family awkwardly holding a few poster signs. Adam let his rest on his foot. Marlena and Randor held theirs close to their chest.

Adora sank her fingers into the portal window and said, "She's looking now. Hold them up." Her family startled to the surprise voice in their heads and then held their signs up to the sky. They said in unison, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATRA!"

Adora retracted her hand and told Catra, "Happy Birthday, C'yra." She drew Catra, who seemed to be in awe, into a hug. When she didn't return the hug, she brought herself back, "Was this a bad idea?"

She blinked, "You gave me a birthday?"

Adora shrugged, "More like a day where we appreciate you and remind you that you're important to us. I may be a billion trillion eons too late, but you know what they say, better late than never?" Catra seemed expressionless. Adora was unsure if she was processing or hated the idea. "Erm, I'm getting never vibes...," she looked a little sorry and then realized her family was still holding the signs up. "Oh, right," she stuck her hands into the window again, "You're good guys, you can put the signs down. I'll uh... keep you updated." She turned back to Catra. "Um, Catra? Are you okay? I'm sorry if-"

Catra embraced her. The warmth enveloped Adora and there was a brief wave of euphoria that went down Adora's shoulders and back. "You give me little surprises?" Adora went, Mmhm. "You planned this without me knowing?" Adora went, Mmhm. A little smile rose to Catra's tail swishing back and forth. "And do you have any more surprises?"

Adora pulled back and kissed her. Then she said, "Maybe. if you're up for it?" Catra narrowed her eyes. "Please stop trying to read my thoughts, it is SO hard to block this." The both snickered.

"Show me."

Adora held her amulet and thought of her town center. As before, her fingers reached in. "She's watching now."

And a huge crowd suddenly gathered at the town square. Ten of them, at least, began to unravel a statue. It was Catra sitting cross-legged on the ground with several cats climbing over her. And Catra, a giant smile across her face. They looked to the sky, the view that Adora told them she'd be viewing and all shouted out on a count of 3, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CATRA!" and cheered.

"I was going to do this last year but the statue wasn't ready and they didn't have a whole lot of references so..., it took a while. But hey, it sorta looks like you! And I gave them pictures of the guardians, er well, Mom did, I just sorta said hey can you give-"

"Adora." Adora went hm? Catra gently brushed back Adora's hair. A fingertip traced the edge of her ear as she Catra looked sweetly into her eyes. "How do I repay you? Hm?" She mocked the hm. "How do I treasure you like you deserve?"

Adora laughed, "That's just it, C'yra, you don't. Today is all about you. And getting reminders that we appreciate you and love you. So, how 'bout we head down there and hear what they all have to say? Hm?"

Divine finger raised and placed upon Adora's forehead. Then a smirk. Then she tilted her head at Adora to hear a bit more truth of how she was able to keep a secret from her so well.

With a roll of her eyes, "Okay fine. Scorpia, Perfuma, and Mermista did most of the work. It was my idea like 2 years ago. They set it up, didn't tell me, and then surprised me with it only a couple days ago. But I still did it, even if it was a couple days. You should be impressed!"

She was. "I am, actually." She gave Adora another kiss and off they went to meet the people who celebrated her.

[anotherwvba]

An Origin Story pt. 6

The infirmary was a marvel of modern medicine, a state-of-the-art facility that could handle everything from fight-related injuries to basic surgical procedures. Gabby Jay led the group of new and prospective fighters into the infirmary.

"Mes amis, welcome to the infirmary," Gabby announced, his French accent lending a touch of elegance to the sterile environment. "Here, you will find everything you need to keep you in fighting shape and ready for the ring."

Gabby then gestured to a middle-aged man in a white lab coat, “Please allow me to introduce Doctor Genkoto Wakada. Doctor Wakada is our chief physician on staff.”

Doctor Wakada stepped forward, a warm expression on his face. "Thank you, Gabby. Welcome everyone. Today, we'll be conducting your physicals. This will include blood work, EKG, the works. We want to make sure you're all fit to fight. The health and safety of our fighters is of the utmost importance to us here and we will put your health ahead of your fight."

“They are médecins fantastiques,” Gabby spoke up. “Doctor Wakada and his staff have kept me in fighting trim through one hundred bouts.”

“Thank you for the kind words, Gabby.” Doctor Wakada looked to his clipboard, “Let’s get started. Reina Adora, you’re up first.”

“About time,” Reina stood, radiating arrogance. She shot a disdainful look at the rest of the group before disappearing behind the curtain.

Star Mika took a seat in the waiting room, her eyes falling on the teal boxing gloves in her bag. I’m here, Mac, she thought. I'm finally here, in the WVBA. I can't wait for you and everyone to see how much I’ve grown.

"Umm, sorry, is this seat taken?" A voice broke through Mika's reverie.

Mika looked up to see a young blonde woman dressed in jeans and a Chicago Cubs tank top. "No, go ahead," Mika replied, smiling.

The blonde sat down and introduced herself, a midwestern accent tinged her voice. "I'm Kinsley, but you can call me Skye."

"Nice to meet ya’, Skye. I'm Mika. Star Mika," she introduced herself, extending a hand.

Skye shook it. "Star Mika, huh? That's pretty cool. I saw how you stood up to lucha chick earlier. That was badass."

Mika chuckled. "Thanks. I just don't like it when people act like they're above everyone else. We're all boxers, right? We’re all the same when we lace up the gloves."

Skye nodded. "Exactly. I hope I get signed just so I can fight her. I’d love to take her down a notch. Can't stand bullies."

"Me neither," Mika agreed. "So, you're from Chicago?"

"Born and raised! Chi-Town tough, that's what my daddy says. How about you?"

"I'm from the Philippines, but my family moved to New York when I started middle school."

“New York? So you’re a talker,” Skye smiles, giving the last word an exaggerated New York drawl.

Mika chuckles and puts up her dukes jokingly, “Oh, I talk alright.”

Both girls share a laugh, then Skye says, "That's awesome. What got you into boxing?"

"I was a gymnast, but I couldn’t find a place when we moved to New York.” Mika absently reached for her gloves in her bag, “One of my best friends was in the boxing club and got me hooked."

Skye grinned. "Really? I’m a gymnast, too! Gymnastics, dance, cheerleading, but I saw at a WVBA show at the UIC. That was when I knew this was where I wanted to be."

"Petmalu! Lots of skills translate to the ring,” Mika said excitedly.

"It's all about that footwork, baby," Skye winked. "So, you know anyone here?"

"Not really. I mean, I know of some fighters, but I don't really know anyone here personally."

"Then, wanna be my study buddy? We can help each other out."

Mika's eyes lit up. "Absolutely! We should totally see if we can room together too!"

Skye's eyes widened. "That would be awesome! Let’s check out the gym together tonight."

"I'm all in for it," Mika agreed, her excitement palpable. “So let me tell you about the cafeteria they’ve got…”

Just then, Doctor Wakada called out the next name, some guy named Tim or Tom—they didn't catch it. Mika and Skye were too engrossed in their newfound friendship and the exciting plans that lay ahead. They were here, in the WVBA, and the future looked brighter than ever.

[karlachgale95]

Hearts of the Multiverse-Chapter Three: The Phoenix

          Adding all of Rei’s friends to the conversation was easier done than said. Once everyone got back, they decided to have a conversation about this witch. Luz still looked a bit dazed. Whatever the monster that had attacked her and Hunter had done, must’ve been bad.

              The group sat in the living quarters of the shrine. Miles noted that Baldur’s Gate was still loaded on the TV. Hopefully he wouldn’t burn out the gaming system. But now, all of them were trying to talk about what they had just experienced. Apparently Usagi and her friends were superheroes around Tokyo. They’d been protecting people for a while now—maybe as long as Miles had been protecting Harlem.

              “So, you guys are superheroes, too?” Miles asked Rei.

              Rei nodded. “It’s a secret. We try not to go around broadcasting it.”

              “Understood.”

              “How are you feeling?” Katara asked. She’d been searching for her boyfriend earlier and had arrived later than Sokka and Zuko. But she seemed just as concerned.

              “I’m fine,” Rei assured her. Her face softened. “Thank you for asking.”

              Usagi held her cracked compact in her hands. She looked ready to cry.

              “Hey, sorry about your compact,” Miles spoke up. He paused. “It’s important, isn’t it?”

              Usagi nodded. “Without it, I can’t transform into Sailor Moon.”

              “And that’s the superhero identity, right?” Josuke confirmed. Usagi nodded. “Damn. That sucks.”

              “Don’t be so glum!” Nemona said. “We’ll help you for now!”

              “Absolutely,” Adora agreed. “Most of us are probably heroes, anyways.”

              Sure. Totally not a multiversal anomaly. None of that here. But what could it hurt to help? Well, Miguel or any of the other spiders could catch him out in the open. Unless he ran into, maybe, Hobie, he’d be kind of screwed. Still, leaving someone to fight without powers seemed like a jerk move.

              “I’ll help,” Miles offered. “Gotta study whatever power that lady had. Wasn’t electricity. I would’ve been able to shoot it back.”

              “You can bend electricity?” Zuko asked, almost wearily.

              “Yeah. I just learned how to take down forcefields, too,” Miles bragged a little. “I wouldn’t use it to be evil or whatever, so don’t worry.”

              “And we’re just supposed to trust each other? Just like that?” Anne asked. “Seems sketch.”

              “What other choice do we have?” Arven asked. He handed out a few sandwiches he made. “I can sort of vouch for some people here, especially Miles and Luz. They’ve been really nice to me.”

              “And Zuko and Sokka literally saved Rei and Hunter back there,” Josuke added.

              “In other words, now’s not the time for petty mistrust,” Giorno said. “There could be a bunch of monsters out there, and we don’t even know what those girls in the tree wanted. Could also be dangerous. We don’t know, and I hate not-knowing. We should probably do as much research as possible. That might involve fighting more of those things.”

              “I’m sorry,” Lillie spoke up, her voice small and quiet. “You want us to go out and look for a fight with those monsters?”

              “Not necessarily,” Giorno said. “But if we can learn more about them, they could be easier to stop.”

              “It might not be a bad idea,” Luz chimed in. She stood up. “I mean, our friends are out there. If we sit back and do nothing, they could be in danger.”

              She looked over at Hunter. “I’m not going to let any of my friends or family down.”

              Hunter gave her a half-hearted smile and murmured a ‘thanks.’

              “And we’ll make sure no one gets hurt, either,” Makoto said. She winked at Miles. “It’s good to know there’s more than one person who can manipulate electricity.”

              “I can’t sit back and do nothing,” Usagi said so quietly it was almost as if she never said anything.

              “I’d prefer if you stayed back for a while, until we can fix your compact. The girls and I have got it,” her boyfriend, the masked guy, Mamoru said.

              “Because roses are so effective,” Sokka said flippantly. This earned him a glare from the boyfriend. “What? It’s true. You could at least use a boomerang. I mean, I used to have a space sword. It’s something!”

              “He’s got a point,” Josuke agreed. “Who in the hell uses roses to be intimidating?”

              “Please friends, let us not fight,” Starfire said. “We should do as our friend, Giorno, suggested. We should stay on track and try and find these monsters—perhaps even locate a centralized area where they have come from.”

              “Great idea,” Giorno said with a nod. “At least someone is being rational.”

              “Harsh,” Anne said.

              “But not wrong,” Miles said reluctantly. “Look, we’ve got to try and get entire scope of our situation. I mean, it seems like we’ve found a few of our friends here, but it’s like Luz said: our friends are probably out there.”

              Well, their friends, anyways. And he was Spiderman.

              “Those monsters could be anywhere, and it doesn’t sound like that lady is going to give up so easily. Who even knows where they’ll pop up next? But I can tell you one thing: I’m not going to sit back and just let them hurt people. I’m going to figure out how to beat them, and everyone here will be safe.”

              He was his universe’s Spiderman. He wouldn’t let anyone else get hurt. No matter what. That, despite Miguel O’Hara’s opinion on the matter, was what he signed up for.

              …

              In an office building some distance from the shrine, Phoenix Wright’s left eye twitched as Gideon Graves melodramatically shifted through the list of accusations carried to him by Seto Kaiba’s legal team. The most prominent of that legal team being Phoenix’s old friend-to rival-to friend again, Miles Edgeworth.

              “I didn’t steal his stupid plans for whatever-the-fuck graphics!” Gideon complained. “And he’s coming at me with the best prosecutor in the country? I didn’t even ask to be here! I was just drinking mocha with my girlfriend, plotting the demise of that dramatic idiot Patel, and inventing better technology than that kid could ever dream of! It’s absurd, Wright!”

              Phoenix wasn’t sure what exactly to make of Gideon Graves. It was rumored he’d made a league of evil exes and put himself at the top just to win back a certain Ramona Flowers. Toxic dedication? Maybe. The only reason Phoenix had agreed to this case in the first place was since Graves had seemed so sincere in his innocence, and the magnatama had pretty much proved he hadn’t taken anything.

              But the whole crux of the issue was someone who looked very much like Graves had been seen sneaking files out of the building.

              “Mr. Graves,” Phoenix spoke up. “Have you tried reaching out to Kaiba Corp in any way, shape, or form? I mean, they have to acknowledge with all the weird stuff going on lately, there could be foul play.”

              Graves blinked. “No. Why would I do that?”

              “Monsters that can shapeshift might be able to prove your innocence, you know?”

              Gideon snorted. “Maybe. But who’s to say that kid will believe that?”

              Phoenix had been doing a bit of late AM research. Apparently, Seto Kaiba was a CEO and only sixteen. He’d been through a lot of staff due to his temperament. Or people just straight up quit. Edgeworth could probably handle him. Probably.

              “It’s worth a shot.”

              “And you think they’ll let me on the premises?” Graves asked sarcastically. “You’re supposed to be the best defense attorney here. That Edgeworth guy recommended you. No, I need a better plan than that. If you think it’ll do any good, YOU do it.”

              Edgeworth recommended him? Phoenix could almost hear him say, “And don’t make a fool of yourself, and by extension, myself, Wright.”

              “I might be able to, but I can’t make any promises.”

              “Oh, that’s fine,” Graves said in a sickly-sweet, definitely over-the-top tone. “It’s just my livelihood is all.”

              He leaned in closer, “If you screw this up, I will make sure both you and that prosecutor pay dearly.”

              With that, Graves pressed a button on his desk; almost immediately an older man came to the table.

              “See Mr. Wright out. Make sure he gets to where he needs to be.”

              The old man nodded and gestured toward the elevator. Phoenix internally groaned. It was enough that he had this high-profile client, but now both his and Edgeworth’s reputations were on the line.

              …

              “So, Nick, how’d it go?” Maya asked.

              “It went,” Phoenix said with a sigh. “That Graves guy is…something.”

              “Sounds like. I’ve heard he’s helped a lot of musicians get their start.”

              But at what cost? What did those poor people go through every day?

              “Oh Nick! One of our guests helped me make an authentic Italian dish! Isn’t that cool? You gotta try it!”

              Maya Fey, spirit-medium, little sister to his late mentor, Mia Fey, had been sticking around to help Phoenix with the influx of people staying with him. To be fair, Maya kind of suckered him into helping them in the first place, but it wasn’t so bad. At least they helped with the money situation.

              Maya dragged him into the kitchen, where one of the aforementioned guests, was helping another divvy up food onto plates.

              “Ah, hello Mr. Wright,” the man in the strange, white with black polka dots and gold trim suit said. His name was Bruno Bucciarati. He’d kind of just appeared in their apartment one day, pretty beat up. But somehow that wasn’t too bizarre for Phoenix. Plus, he was a perfectly polite house (apartment) guest.

              “We were about to eat without you,” the older woman beside him joked. Eda Clawthorne. She had people out there she cared about. If she found any of them, she had sworn she’d go with them, instead. For now, Phoenix guessed this was home base to her. She was…not as tidy or polite as Bruno.

              “You guys didn’t have to do that,” Phoenix said.

              “Well, Maya was curious,” Bruno said. “It served two purposes.”

              “Literally,” Eda said with a laugh.

              The door swung open, and the gaggle poured in: Hop, Hau, Shana, Wally, Toph, BB, and Gus. All of them were kids—BB being the oldest at fourteen. Toph and Wally were probably the youngest. Hop, Hau, Wally, and Shana had come from a place where those marketable creatures that fought each other actually existed. Toph came from a place where people could bend elements (she could, too). BB was a part of superhero group and could morph into any animal of his choosing, despite all animals being as green as he was. And Gus came from the same place Eda came from; a place where magic freely flowed. It was like having a large family. Phoenix had never really had one. His parents had died pretty early on in his teenage years, so he knew how to take care of himself.

              Eda, who knew Gus beforehand, looked to him. “Hey! Did you—?”

              Gus shook his head. “Nope. None of them. I’m gonna go back out tomorrow.”

              Eda sighed and sat down at the small table. “Thanks, kid. I’ll probably join you again. Just thought it’d be nice to help out around here.”

              A green dog walked through the living room, leaving Phoenix only a little perturbed this time. BB, or Beast Boy, was a unique kid. He could transform into different animals—and he liked dogs. A lot.

              He waddled over to Eda and then changed back; he gave her a goofy grin. “Don’t worry, Eda, we’ll find them and the titans!”

              “I’m sure we will,” Eda said. “Probably in some trouble, but they can handle it.”

              “And I’m sure they’ll find their way to us,” Shana said. “There’s no way they can’t!”

              The radio crackled in the background. The speaker was like someone from the 1920’s. “And now time for short stories with your delightful host! Now, our story begins in England, along a jagged mountainside. A man, his wife, and child crashed and were badly wounded. The mother perished, but the son and father were awoken by a mugger in the disguise of a savior. From that moment began a promise, a legacy, and a legend. Stay tuned to catch the rest of the story!”

              “That guy’s creepy,” Toph said with a slight grimace.

              “I want to know what happens next, though,” Maya argued.

              “What if the ending’s lame?” Eda asked. “Human stories always end weird.”

              “Are you kidding?” Gus asked. “Human stories are the best!”

              “The best kind of stories are the ones you make yourself, cousin,” Hau stated.

              “Agreed!” Eda said with a grin.

              Phoenix sat down and rubbed his temples. He’d go and try to speak with Kaiba Corp tomorrow. With any luck, Edgeworth wouldn’t be there. If he did, Edgeworth might perceive this as meddling or tempering with the case.

              “Oi, Mr. Wright, you don’t look so good. What’s up?” Hop asked.

              “It’s nothing, Hop. Just go ahead and eat your dinner,” Phoenix said dismissively.

              “Is that so?” Bruno asked. “Hate for the effort to go to waste.”

              There was a bit of guilt there. “I’m sorry. I’ve just got a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to…”

              “So, you’re gonna starve yourself? Bright idea, Wright,” Eda said with a snort.

              “Well, I need to try to get into Kaiba Corp tomorrow, but I’ve heard the CEO isn’t very…cooperative.”

              “Oh, is that the sixteen-year-old that runs that gaming business?” Maya asked.

              Phoenix nodded.

              “You’re worried about some kid?” Eda asked. “Just tell his mom if he’s that much trouble.”

              “He’s an orphan.”

              “Oh…well, could’ve said that before I stuck my talon in my mouth.”

              “I might be able to help you,” Bruno offered. “I have special clearances for occasions such as this. I might have a contact within the company. You never know.”

              “Really?” Phoenix’s face brightened. “That would be extremely helpful! Thank you.”

              “Not a problem. Now, please, don’t let the food go to waste.”

              …

              Somewhere, in another reality, perhaps, stood a dark and morose laboratory. The red witch, Kaolinite frowned as she looked at the recent reports she’d just written. The webslinger, the invisible attacks, the boomerang boy, and the fire-bender were all a big imposition on her plans.

              Ever since whatever force had decided to tear open a new window through space and time, a new, powerful, and most promising crop of pure hearts had been scattered all around Tokyo.

              The only problem would be actually getting a hold of them. She’d need to corner most of these targets, make sure none of the pests stood in her way.

              Then—and only then—she would bring Dr. Tomoe what he needed to destroy this world and begin the next.

[determination-has-left-sys]

Ig we outa do this like introducing thing . So we don't know what kinda system we are, but we are undiagnosed cause, apperently to the USA, everything costs $$$$ and you can't even get Healthcare sooo fuck off . But we are bodily 22 plus size and have disabilitie like adhd,dyslexia probably an eating disorder now- and severe depression we are diagnosed with those things we put that cause apperently it's important. But we do have a huge hyperfixation on undetale for the past 7years thats how we got swap papyrus to be our host he started off as a caretaker . So he's our host he's kinda lazy but very understanding you'll probably get along with him and I'm angel I'm the co host but since papyrus dosent always have the energy I'm a bit more flirty and probably more energetic? I started as an alter but apperently the body must've really liked me our orginal host was chara and undine but undine is no longer around yes undine not undyne even tho we have an undyne alter our main Fronters are me , papyrus, chara moxxie and nightmare. But we have othera like Valery she's a brainmade alter and she's very quite and sweet and we have rick who's a realists and a Jack ass he looks on the more scientific side of things then there's handplates gaster who dosent really know how to socialize or nightmare who's extremely negative he's a protector and ya know goes from there like tori she's super nice and probably a caretaker or alter Sorry couldn't finish this but I have husk who's likr a anger alter and he's kinda who I'm with also gabriel he's super sweet he was originally a lust sans alter but changed their name and goes by he/them other stuff and husk is just kinda grumpy all the time but sweet to me and he's likes his alcohol 🍸 so there's that warning and grillby normally gives it to him he's another protector so he knows how much to.jeez there's so many new ones to like morty doubtle troubleThere's also adora alphys aliza Ane ballora I may just post our whole list but everyone here is amazing I just don't say so enough and youll probably like them too if u got the chance we have Littles like patience or integrity, sally Ben patients is a people pleaser and integrity is out going Ben likes his video games but scared of water sally dosent like adult men so much cause they scare her but likes her stuffed animals . There's Elizabeth she's super nice and likesLike robots just like alphys but feels safer around ballora there just to much to put here sorry-angelAlso, there's a good chara their pretty cool there, really into demonology and attached to Fizz and Asmodeus, and thatd how we got the clone of fizz and stuff and their but kinda confused on wether or mot they like God cause after all he's still something good and they wanna impress both , but they really care about asriel and flowey(which we don't have) and family not always nice-angelStories with happy endings and strong characters she's basically the closest to a Christian you will get here there's still more but guess you gotta fine out for yourself huh?-angel

[fire-dwelling]

Still on my fixation on how this series didn’t work, went through the TV Tropes page of characters to see which updates they did in light of the finale in relation to Soul Eater--and I’m still floored at how many characters got zero development and in fact not even a name. 

For all the crap Horikoshi gets for having too many characters in My Hero Academia, just about all of them have some detail to them that gives you insight into their lives, whether news anchor Miyagi and his choice to give up his horn, the likes of Mawata, or how Bakugo’s parents first met. He didn't need to give every characters their own chapter or story, but Horikoshi gave us enough to latch onto to get some small detail to make them feel like believable people rather than only existing to advance some plot detail. (And hey, look at that, they actually have names: that'll be relevant when I talk about the unnamed Fire Force characters.)

And that’s not even getting into all the planning and payoff for characters in One Piece. 

But here, with Ohkubo, it’s the same problem as in Soul Eater, only worse. The lack of detailed history to characters in Soul Eater let fans fill in the blanks, thereby enriching the story; Fire Force insists so strongly on crafting this complete history, and then making it a pre-history to Soul Eater, that when the details are not filled in, it comes across more like oversights or laziness or incompetence. 

For example, that Fire Agency Director that Akitaru knows: what’s his deal? We get enough dialogue between the two to know their relationship and a sense how the Director helped Akitaru set up the 8th. But it’s just not as engaging because we never see that Director do anything of importance later. Where was he to testify on Akitaru’s behalf when he was accused of treason? What political insights can he provide in negotiation between the public, the Fire Force divisions, and the Church to smooth out the problems? 

Likewise, the head of Haijima: he permits Vulcan to make a new version of Amaterasu--and that’s pretty much it, he has almost zero bearing on the rest of the story. We don’t even get a post-finale check-in to see how his hold on industry and innovation in Tokyo likely collapsed now that there is an entire world out there with Haijima no longer holding a monopoly over all fields--or, maybe with the rest of the world now opened up, he takes that opportunity to dominate in global business. 

Also, why was there no scene (in the manga--I don't know about the anime) about Asako reacting to her grandfather's death?

Edit: Based on a screencap, it looks like the anime did add a scene of her looking dejected about her grandfather's death.

It didn't even have to be her mourning, because, maybe this is just headcanon, the story never gave me a sense that the two were close.

And, in fact, the story may have been more engaging if they weren't close: Soichiro was such a creep and obsessed with Adora that, for all I know, he was the black sheep of the family, or cut himself off from family like Asako.

Asako was there when her grandfather was getting his ass kicked in the fight against possessed Shinra--and she has almost no reaction to her elderly relative getting wrecked. It's just bizarre, not even in a "this is a dark comedy" way that Arthur's family flat-out abandoned him (which, even as dark comedy, I don't think works and contradicts whatever messages or heartwarming ending Ohkubo is trying to provide).

Come on, show us Asako having a more obvious reaction at the funeral for her grandfather, either crying or just looking pissed because, after everything he did with his life, he is now dead, there was no reconciliation, no closure, and now she has to carry that feeling for the rest of her life (until the stupid finale resurrections that make any deaths in this series absolutely pointless--and no, "the feelings were real that they felt when they died, that is something they won't lose" doesn't help, the resurrections undermined any point of the deaths).

Edit: Again, as I said earlier, it looks like the anime did add a scene of her looking dejected about her grandfather's death.

But no, we can’t develop these details: we need to see Nataku and Sho in Kurono’s class (WHO THE FUCK LET HIM BE A TEACHER?), Maki and Lisa shopping, and fanservice in the form of the Soul Eater trio as babies. Fucking hell, this long later, and this series still has flaws that continue to piss me off.