#tabletoptime

Oh my godddd I read the issue and I didn't even think of that, that's genius.

PLEASEE this is so funny but i’m still in tears over this from the chat:

like i’m heartbroken that saltcoats doesn’t have a more lighthearted tone and I can’t include this because LMAOOO

jango: good morning Boba my beautiful perfect baby boy!! I love you so much I hope you slept well!! ❤️❤️

As someone whose red string rambling makes up a good chunk of the Extinction tag, that means a lot. <:’) I will therefore make sure to lose twice as much shit if and when the Extinction makes its debut. 

Also, fresh theory for the road (or at least a prediction):

Jon is going to summon/manifest the Extinction all by himself, completely off the cuff. No big set of Fearful trials, not even any fancy ritual. All it will take is two things.

1) Acceptance. Acceptance that the Change can’t reverse. 

2) Acknowledging that, yes, inflicting fear and pain on his personal victims does feel good, in a grotesque way. A fact that’s equal with the reality that picking off avatars doesn’t really do anything. No, it’s the Fears themselves that need to be targeted. To suffer. To stop in their soulless cruelty. But, ha, even the Archivist can’t put a dent in them, right? Nothing can. Not without killing off humanity and starving them off.

But there are worse things than death, Jon knows. Change, for instance. Terrible changes inflicted on you, upon the world around you, ripping and inverting and deforming everything that was good and right until it is antithetical to anything you might have loved and hoped for. A gruesome, hideous Change that disgusts and terrifies you with every waking instant you are forced to witness what you’ve become. A Change that cannot be undone, no matter how badly you wish it.

“Personally, I think that’s a Fear this world is sorely lacking. But, since all of humanity is already so busy being terrified of the current fourteen, well.

“I suppose the Extinction will just have to make do with the Fears themselves.”

And that will be all it takes. 

The most powerful avatar on Earth, already marked with his own catastrophic change, coupled with the latent dread of the Fears and their selfish avatars whose whole rush to make their ritual happen was born of a fear of the Extinction. It will need no other invitation but Jon’s last, desperate, bitterly vicious stab at the Fears that have used and changed him against his will. Tit for tat.

I imagine Jonah or Annabelle or even Helen might do some reflexive quailing about how Jon’s gone mad, how it would mean the end of humanity..!

It’s already too late by then, of course. The Extinction is being born, rushing to meet its lone, welcoming avatar, ready to start renovating the Fears. But I hope there’s time enough for Jon to smile. And remind them:

“Oh, but haven’t you heard? I’m the most powerful person in a world where the worst consequences imaginable have already happened..for humanity.”

Cue a spike in the Archivist’s static. A crackling that slowly, steadily warps into the click-tick-click of a Geiger counter.

“I think it’s about time you experienced some yourself.”

No disrespect felt! I’m always happy to engage in discussion. So, there’s a few reasons why I’m positive Catra is going to have a redemption arc.

First off, I’ve just consumed enough media to recognize a redemption arc in the making. Catra is essentially the secondary protagonist, and it’s really her story as much as Adora’s. A lot of time is spent digging into her headspace and motivations, because we’re meant to sympathize with her and understand why she makes the bad choices she does. Writers don’t typically approach characters in that particular way without giving them a redemption arc; it’s just good storytelling. But the thing is, you can’t have a redemption arc in the first place if the character doesn’t ever do something bad, something that many might even consider unforgivable, because otherwise there’s nothing to come back from. That’s the low point upon which to build the entire arc of growth on, and it’s something that had to happen with Catra. 

And don’t get me wrong, with a lot of shows, I don’t always trust that the writing will properly follow through on what’s been set up. But She-Ra is different in that the writers don’t come together each season and make it up as they go along. Instead, the show was conceived and produced as a whole. It’s more like a novel in that way. And when you’re writing a novel, you have an end in mind. Some characters might surprise you (like Noelle has described of Shadow Weaver), but with a character as integral as Catra, you generally know where you want her to land by the end. And Noelle has been pretty upfront in the way she’s talked about Catra in interviews; she’s basically said it’s going to turn out okay. She’s also shown her interest in and approach to stories like this in her past creative works, so the writing for a redemption arc is on the wall. 

But beyond all of that, you only have to look at the fabric of this show to realize Catrademption is inevitable. This is a story that is fundamentally optimistic about the power of love and compassion, for yourself, for others, and for the world. It’s about overcoming obstacles and doubts and opening your heart and mind to connection with the people around you, and the power that connection has to transform you and the world for the better. The show examines the fear and pain and insecurity that drives people to make bad decisions, and it tells us that it’s never too late to step back from that ledge. Whatever situation we find ourselves in, we have the power to make a choice about who we’ll be. Nothing is so hopeless and terrible we can’t find our way back from it and move towards something good.