#gargantia

Hey everyone! I thought I'd give a boost to some fics I've written over the years which don't have comments despite mentioning many of these fics on @comment-exchange. Feel free to give some of these works your love and leave some comments. I'm always open to comments and concrit on what I've written.

Fandoms: Carmen Sandiego, Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Revolutionary Girl Utena  

Carmen and Utena remain scarred from the horrifying things they saw in Yokohama, Japan. In contrast, Peridot and Lapis have moved forward. They are realizing their dream to host a talk show. Even though this boosts everyone's spirits, for Carmen, desperate times call for desperate measures. Lapis, Peridot, Steven, Connie, Bismuth, and Pumpkin are drawn to Japan, some for a second time, to face evildoers who want to use the candy people to their own devious ends…

Fandoms: Carmen Sandiego, Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Revolutionary Girl Utena  

In the aftermath of fighting in Japan and the assault on V.I.L.E. Island, the Crystal Gems and their newfound friends are divided across the world, some in Siberia, some returning to Beach City, and some remaining on the island. Adora pushes Peri to bring them all together, allowing her to connect with old friends in Etheria, Bow and Glimmer, and create new ones, causing emotional tension and conflict…

Fandoms: Carmen Sandiego, Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

One week after the assault on V.I.L.E. Island and the fight in Japan, Adora, assisted by the Crystal Gems, goes on a date with Carmen Sandiego in the Floridian Archipelago. In the process, they grow closer as friends, but emotional tension grows, and they confront a new danger in the Tampa Lagoon, unknowingly manipulated by a person far out of their reach…

Fandoms: Carmen Sandiego, Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

The Horde has been defeated and dehordification has begun. However, the trial of Catra is the first real test of the effectiveness of dehordification on the planet of Etheria. Will the tribunal members vote to convict? Or be swayed by unseen forces? Can Adora…and her newfound relationship survive the mental strain of painful memories and her new 'wild' attitude? Only time can tell…

From Deception to Devotion: The Diamonds, Adora, Perfuma, and Challenges in Japan

Fandoms: Carmen Sandiego, Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Wandering Son

The Diamonds send emissaries to Earth to deliver a message to Steven about an impending issue on their planet which they claim is beyond their control. Are they being honest with him about this problem, or are they trying to manipulate him for their own selfish ends? Regardless of the answer, the "peace" Steven believed existed on Earth has been shattered into a thousand pieces. All the while, there are rips in the fabric of space time as they make their journeys across Earth and the former Diamond bases, as they begin to work on uniting the Earth together.

Fandoms: Carmen Sandiego, Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Wandering Son, Samurai Jack, Paradise Kiss

As the Diamonds prepare their Gem forces on Homeworld for a full-scale invasion of a far-off planet, can those on Earth keep themselves together without a mishap and disagreements that pull them apart?

Bonnie and Marcy's Unnecessary Melee with the Off Colors

Fandoms: Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Adventure Time, Revolutionary Girl Utena

As the Off Colors are about to leave Earth and travel across the universe to discover if the Diamonds have deceived Steven, they receive a message. Steven wants them to serve as ambassadors to Earth. They happily accept, but before this space trek can begin, they encounter a mystery ship which appears in Earth's orbit!

Fandoms: Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

Captain Lars concludes his conversation with the medical doctor/librarian named Doctor Oldham and hopes to leave Gargantia. However, he chooses to stay in order to help mediate a dispute between a mechanic and a pirate queen. Trials and tribulations remain for him and his crew and those across the stars whether on the now-peaceful planet of Etheria, the desolate Las Vistas wasteland, or the curvature of space-time itself. Friendships and relationships will be tested, people will be killed or hurt. Some will open themselves up to new possibilities, while others will close themselves off. Tensions are high. The problems of those across the stars are interlinked because the universe moves through them like a rushing river, raging their minds and hearts until it reaches its conclusion.

Fandoms: Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Samurai Jack, Cleopatra in Space

Dimensional travel! Rhodonite interrupts the tranquility of Steven and the Crystal Gems in an attempt to help her beleaguered captain, Lars, and his comrades, fighting off an assault from the Great Diamond Armada. Steven and the Gems agree to help Rhodonite, but before they leave, Connie reports that Catra, Adora's friend (or more than a friend) from beyond the stars, is missing. Pearl, Adora's girlfriend, has something to do with the disappearance, but won't disclose it for fear of hurting Adora, despite possible repercussions on their relationship... P.Y.R.A.M.I.D. is under attack from a traitorous Khepra, in the employ of the villainous Octavian, while Admiral Jack plans to invade the planet of Mayet, and Cleo struggles to ground herself in the new reality, dealing with a flirty Callie. Later, Adora and Catra travel through the Pearl's memoryscape on a journey of self-discovery and understanding. The fate of Mayet and the Nile Galaxy hang in the balance. Cleo, her friends, the Off Colors, and the Crystal Gems face their greatest challenge yet, facing the wrath of Admiral Jack, hostile Gem warriors, Octavian, and Xerxs led by Khepra. Can the heroes save the day, or will they succumb to the forces of evil?

Fandoms: Library War, Steven Universe, Cardcaptor Sakura, Zevo-3, The Simpsons, She-Ra: Princess of Power, We Bare Bears, DC Super Hero Girls, Mysticons, Yami to Boushi no Tabibito, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

The Librarian Tribunal is in session and they mean business. This supernatural body ensures that citizens are treated fairly as patrons by their respective librarians and libraries. Can they deliver justice or will be derailed by the legalistic arguments of the defense… only time will tell what these librarian jurors will decide!

Gargantia originally came out in 2013, and putting aside some period-accurate bigotry I'm not at all cool about (episode 5 my beloathed), it's genuinely one of the best anime I've ever seen in my life based on worldbuilding alone. There's so much obvious thought and care put into every little detail of how life out on the open ocean would work, from the paperwork needed to form a fleet to how rain is gathered for fresh water to the mail delivery system Amy and her friends are part of.

Like, someone or multiple someones on the team clearly knew what they were talking about when it came to ships and engineering. The way fleets are formed by linking ships together, the lull being used for repairs, Ledo rerouting the air when he was trapped in the diving Yunboro, the orbital cannon that doubles as a means of watering crops - it's all internally consistent, makes sense, and is just plain cool to see fit together on screen. I can't get over it.

Compare this to Kaina's worldbuilding; Kaina came out in 2023 (almost exactly a decade after Gargantia) and has a similar premise - a boy from outer space (or close to it) ends up on a surface world he didn't know existed, while possessing advanced technology and knowledge most other people don't have, which he then uses to help save the world/prevent its destruction. But unlike Gargantia, the world in Kaina feels...emptier, in a lot of ways. I say this mainly because Gargantia always gives an answer, where Kaina usually doesn't.

Let's use clothes as an example. In Gargantia, we know that they grow crops on the ships, and we see tailors working on cloth to fashion into clothes. Ergo, we can surmise they probably grow crops like cotton and such to weave into cloth, which is then turned into clothes. In Kaina, we see one of the Canopy villagers sewing together clothes for Ririha to wear, but I couldn't tell you what those clothes were made out of or where they got it from. Bugs, maybe? Some kind of plant that grows on the orbital tree? It's left unclear, same as what Atland and Valghia's clothes are made out of. There are scales on Ririha's outfit, so maybe they come from snow horses? Who knows? Kaina doesn't tell us.

In fact, the more I look at Kaina's setting, the more questions I have. What are the sea horses, and where did they come from? We can assume that, like the bugs, they were left here as part of the terraforming ecosystem, but it's never really made clear. What do the people of the surface world eat? There are no crops shown until the end of the movie, and there aren't really any scenes of people eating other than in the Canopy (who are considered odd for eating bugs) and Planato (whose food appears to be rations excavated from somewhere). Who the hell was in charge of the terraforming anyway, and how did things get so bad that not only history but written language as a concept was essentially lost to everyone but the survivors on the Canopy?

Like, don't get me wrong, I really like Kaina and I think it's a really cool concept with a lot of great lore. But compared to something as comprehensive as Gargantia - where nearly every question I can think of has an answer either stated, shown, or implied in the show - it does feel oddly empty in places. Which isn't bad, necessarily - not everything needs to have an answer, and it's perfectly fine to leave things up to viewer interpretation - but it does end up giving a very different experience than Gargantia.

I guess the best way to put it is that when I finished rewatching Kaina, I felt satisfied by the ending and didn't really have any desire for more content. They told a whole, complete story and that was enough. But when I finished rewatching Gargantia and got reminded of the vast, rich world it was set in, I felt almost heartbroken that it had ended where it did. I could watch five more seasons of that show where all they do is expand on the lore and I would never get bored, because every new thing I learn about it is cool as all hell.

Some lesser known lads from anime and manga that I felt like drawing.

The Corona Chronicles, about 13.4k words, completed work, teen and up. Can be read fandom-blind. Summary for chapter 1, i.e. first of four chapters: A long time has passed since Cass stopped being a lady-in-waiting for Princess Rapunzel and struck out on her own. She left the Kingdom of Corona behind as an independent woman after she was manipulated by Zhan Tiri into hurting Raps and her friends. She wanted to figure out her own life and left Raps live the way she wanted. She couldn't bear to see Raps anymore after everything she did, thinking about the awful things she had done every time she saw her. Shortly thereafter, she joined crew of space pirates. In the process, she fell in love with a 19-year-old charismatic, striking captain, Marika. One day, Cass hears an unexpected voice on one of the ship's machines, pleading for help. Although she is unsure if she wants to burden others with her troubled past, Marika convinces her to go on an unexpected mission to Corona. An eventful reunion with a princess she once loved awaits Cass while the invisible virus, which has caused a crisis in Corona, has put Raps in jeopardy.

The Universe Runs Through It: Cheering Gargantians, Snotty Peridots, Calm Etherians, and a Perplexed Kipo, about 11,000 words, completed work. Can be read fandom-blind. Rated Teen and Up, has warning for Graphic Depiction of Violence. Summary for chapter 1 (of 4 chapters): Captain Lars concludes his conversation with the medical doctor/librarian named Doctor Oldham and hopes to leave Gargantia. However, he chooses to stay in order to help mediate a dispute between a mechanic and a pirate queen. Trials and tribulations remain for him and his crew and those across the stars whether on the now-peaceful planet of Etheria, the desolate Las Vistas wasteland, or the curvature of space-time itself. Friendships and relationships will be tested, people will be killed or hurt. Some will open themselves up to new possibilities, while others will close themselves off. Tensions are high. The problems of those across the stars are interlinked because the universe moves through them like a rushing river, raging their minds and hearts until it reaches its conclusion.

Blue Angels Fly High: Marshall's Selfless Act, Rei's Surprise, Nanako's Joy, Little Grey Men, and... Everlasting Love?, about 10.4k words, completed work. Can be read fandom-blind. Rated Teen and Up, has warning for Major Character Death, Drug Use, and more. Summary for chapter 1 (of 4 chapters): Marshall Cuso has escaped jail, thanks to a mycologist named Amelia, giving him the substances he needed to fake his own death. He ends up taking some of the blue angel mushrooms after escaping, which he finds near at his former cabin, and retrieves his tortoise, Socrates. In the process, he is somehow transported through time and space, and finds himself on a railroad overpass in a densely-populated Japanese city, where he watches a very tall 17-year-old Seiran Academy student, with long flowing blonde hair, fall off a bridge, trying to reach for a bouquet of flowers which fell out of her grasp...

Crisis in the Nile Galaxy: Admiral Jack, the Diamond Armada, and Callie's Unrequited Attraction, about 10.5k words, completed work. Can be read fandom-blind. Rated Teen and Up, has warning for Graphic Depictions of Violence, and more. Summary for chapter 1 (of 6): Inter-dimensional tears continue to cause havoc in the universe. One of these rips causes an armada of Gem warships, prepared to invade an alternative Earth with a technologically advanced civilization, to be transported thousands of years in the future to the strange and little-known Nile Galaxy. This accidental warp through space and time, will lead to conflicts between the immortal villain, Octavian, the forces of P.Y.R.A.M.I.D., and the Gem armada, while secrets are revealed and relationships are tested. As characters enter the stage, they will be forced to make decisions which will determine the future of the Nile Galaxy and the entire universe, as the fabric of space-time hangs in the balance…

A Gargantian Dilemma and the Off Colors Drift Along Rocky Seas, about 10.1k words, completed work. Can be read fandom-blind. Rated Teen and Up. Summary: After unintentionally arriving on the ocean floor of an alien planet through a wormhole, Lars and his crew are dredged out of the depths by a group of machines. They are confronted by the female head of a salvage team who declares they are on a planet named 'Earth,' perplexing them because Lars and his comrades are coming from Earth. How can this be the case? How will they establish contact with the inhabitants of this completely water-covered planet, where human society floats across the waves, without causing conflict? Whether this is possible or not depends on the teamwork between Lars and his friends, whether those in this society trust them as outsiders, especially those from another planet which is mystifying in some way or another, especially since their technological knowledge is outdated based on Earth standards. This adventure challenges Lars, Pappy, Rhodonite, Fluorite, and the Rutile Twins in ways they never could have imagined, setting in motion the seeds of their next adventure on this planet and others, involving them in conflicts, whether they like it or not, intertwining their destinies with those of humans of this planet, opening their minds to new possibilities as they are confronted with this world.

Mountaina belongs to @sweetywreck

Also uuuuuuuuuh silly NILLY thorns of origins lore cuz I don't think I ever talked about Petunia properly , she's semi important

And here's the-

When I started the second season of What If…?, I didn’t expect that the first episode (entitled “What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?”) would center on mysterious mechanics, data cores, and secrecy! The first season didn’t have it as directly, apart from one episode (“What If…Ultron Won?“) with a scene almost like one out of Raiders of the Lost Ark, although I compared the Watcher to an…