Katara Is So REAL For This :D

zuko getting brutally attacked by very murderous frogs

Mark Grayson the way I need him too

Ah, your atla arts are lovely!

Can you maybe draw young adults kataang with painted lady Katara, and a tall Aang pleasssse 🥹

anon is this good

The Truth About The Omniverse & The “Real” Ben 10,000 Future | by Catgirl

Ben (as Gutrot): “Animo coming back from the future again? Now, does that mean everything was different until he came back, or there was a world where he didn’t come back that doesn’t exist anymore, or what? See cause it doesn’t make any sense.”  Rook: “Time travel, Ben. It never does.”  ("Animo Crackers" - Ben 10: Omniverse)

I don’t know why this dialogue was chosen to be included INSTEAD of explaining the situation, so allow me to make sense of it for you. 

Because I’m starting to get the impression that some people missed the point, despite all the producers' statements and canon evidence spelling it out.

And, I suspect that’s mostly thanks to this kid…

...due to his various incorrect statements, and actively doing the opposite of what Paradox has been doing the entire series. 

His first mistake was his attempt to force the Prime Timeline into a certain direction, despite his own reality already existing in its place within the multiverse. 

Here’s the deal: his reality already exists. And therefore, can’t be “erased” by the existence of any other reality. If THAT was the case, it would have happened already, and there would never have been a multiverse. 

Spanner just going back in time is not enough to confirm that he is from the “real future,” since literally anyone could also go back to this exact point if they were to do the exact same thing. 

Future Gwendolyn, Ultimate Ben, and Future Animo - all from separate alternate futures - travelled back in time, and neither of which came from the so-called “real future.”  

Paradox being the one to give Spanner his equipment proves absolutely nothing. Especially not that he would suddenly go against all logic and reason to do the same thing as a misguided kid who clearly doen’t understand the way the Omniverse works. 

Wouldn’t it make sense to provide a means of defence for a kid in a multi dimensional warzone? 

On the other hand, despite the fact that it would be nonsensical to try to fix a ”perfect” relationship, does giving him that power and equipment to force something to happen, and go against the rules by which Paradox operates, seem reasonable?

I mean, *insert every time Paradox has ever stopped anyone from revealing the future here* 

Despite the main cast’s initial panic, nothing Spanner said held any power over anyone. The only thing he revealed was what happened in the alternate future that he, himself, had come from. That doesn’t dictate anyone’s actions moving forward. 

Entertaining him for a second, if what he said was true - the belief that, despite existing within an Omniverse, the present will only lead to his future - he really shouldn't worry about ceasing to exist. By his logic, no other reality would have ever existed at all. 

In fact, his own actions prove that he was wrong. 

There would be no need to panic if they really had no choice. If they didn’t have free will, no force or effort on his part should have been necessary. 

Paradox only intervenes when the entirety of existence is at stake. (Such as it was in “And Then There Were None” / ”And Then There Was Ben.”) Otherwise, he reveals next to nothing because the future isn’t set in stone.

Unlike Spanner, Paradox has never attempted to force anyone to do anything. That's why he wants to “prevent the future from changing" - he wants to avoid having an influence over their actions and therefore not allowing them to act upon their free will. Events only happen as people make their own choices, out of free will, which then is the reason for the existence of so many "branches." 

This is also a common remark amongst the fanbase. It’s not inherently wrong. However, what people fail to see is the reason for that.

The issue is that this alludes to the idea of there being just one possible future. When, the only reason there are different outcomes is because people have the ability to choose their next course of action. People have control over their own actions so naturally every different choice will lead to a different outcome.

And, which is why everything Spanner did and said was…completely incorrect. It wouldn’t matter what he did. He can not erase the fact that free will exists.

In this situation, Paradox didn’t intervene because it doesn’t really make a difference what happens as long as it isn’t detrimental to all of reality. One alternate universe is ultimately inconsequential in the grand scheme of the entire Omniverse. 

The reason “Ben’s future changes every time he meets his (alleged) future self” is because, as has been established, reality “branches off,” creating new outcomes that stem from the Prime Timeline. Meaning, he has the free will to choose his next course of action in any particular situation.

Azmuth: “Yes. You told me of his grand destiny that he was the legendary being who will someday.” Paradox: “Shhh! No spoilers. For that glorious future to occur, we must first survive the current crisis.” Azmuth: “It's too much! The child cannot win this time.” Paradox: “And I say he can. Won't it be fun to find out who's right?” (“The Forge of Creation” - Ben 10: Ultimate Alien) 

As shown in "Fight at The Museum", revealing the events of any future just causes unnecessary panic due to a perceived loss of free will and choice. 

Which, is NOT how it works. The future of any given reality should depend on the present, and not the other way around. 

Paradox - the one who understands all of this - is extremely cryptic. And, evidently, for a reason: to not reveal anything and to not influence anyone. He avoids forcing reality into any direction. His only interest is protecting all of existence.

Haven't you ever noticed how he never specifies exactly what anyone is “supposed to do?” And, just says things like, "he (Ben) will do what needs to be done?” Or refuses to get too involved in the battle? 

(Needless to say, completely unlike Spanner.)

So, there isn’t something specific that absolutely needs to happen, “or else.” Something much worse - like deadly intergalactic wars - have already taken place within the Omniverse and it didn’t affect the entirety of existence.

So, a certain relationship not happening, in one universe? Out of literally infinite? Yeah, tragic.

Things can play out differently in different realities because that’s how the multiverse works. 

The relationship between the main timeline and every alternate reality can be described like this:  

Paradox: “But before I can answer any questions, you're going to need to brush up on quantum mechanics and string theory. There are many dimensions, many Universes, many Earths, and thus many Ben Tennysons across those dimensions, dimensions which are not always in sync in time. Think of time and space as this tree. Down here is when you were 10 years old. Right here is now. Up here is when you'll be 30 years old. The trunk is the main timeline. These branches represent alternate timelines, where reality literally branches off and becomes a different timeline, each containing its own Ben Tennyson.”  (“And Then There Were None” - Ben 10: Omniverse) 

By that logic, what is referred to as the “trunk” can’t lead to just one “branch,” outcome or in only one direction. To insist to opposite wouldn't make sense because...if you've ever seen a tree before, that's not how it works.  

If we’re going to argue that fate doesn’t exist, then there can’t be an already established end for the prime timeline. If there was, it wouldn’t have been “branching off” to begin with. But, as has been established by the sheer existence of every known alternate reality...that’s impossible. 

These realities are not mutually exclusive. Meaning, the existence of one doesn’t write off the existence of another. Both Ultimate Ben and this version of Future Animo could predict what was going to happen because their realities were branches off of the prime timeline, which both exist independently. 

Paradox: “Cross-time is made up of parallel versions of the history we know. There are hundreds of them. A world where Gwen found the Omnitrix. A world where albedo turned to alien x and was trapped motionless for nearly a year. A world where you didn't have to destroy the Omnitrix to defeat Vilgax. Et cetera. Ad infinitum. These worlds are all every bit as real as our own, but they cannot not be allowed to leak into  ours.” (“Ben 10,000 Returns” - Ultimate Alien)  

Paradox wouldn’t force the future into any direction to not interfere with free will. And he wouldn’t just give out equipment for that specific purpose, either, because then it would lead to the exact problem there was with Spanner. 

So, I don’t want to hear about how this is the “real future,” or his “fate,” or “destiny”...or whatever. 

("The End of an Era" - Ben 10: Omniverse)

Because, within the Omniverse, where there are infinite possibilities, and where new ones are constantly being created as soon as anything does or doesn't happen, the Prime Timeline can't be confined to just one.

The Ben 10 universe is an Omniverse. And the Omniverse is infinite. 

In Conclusion, as Professor Paradox said, “There are so many ways to tell a story, but that's what makes them so interesting; you could never predict how they are going to turn out." (“And Then There Were None” - Ben 10: Omniverse) 

Even the most recent official content ("Alien X-Tinction" - Ben 10, 2016) - which, ironically enough, had a plotline literally surrounding the Omniverse - supports my argument. Because, establishing the Omniverse, and ending on that note, effectively gives everyone what they want out of the Ben 10 series. Since, existing within an Omniverse means everything can happen, simultaneously. 

The only “fate” you have is the one you create for yourself, and the only “destiny” you’re confined to is the one you choose to follow. 

RESEARCH + REFERENCES: 

◾ Q&A With Matt Wayne - Page 58 (archive.is) 

◾ Category:Crew Statements | Ben 10 Wiki | Fandom

◾ Ben 10,000 | Ben 10 Wiki | Fandom

◾ Category:Timelines | Ben 10 Wiki | Fandom

CATGIRL’S OTHER POSTS ON THE TOPIC:

◾ On the future of the Ben 10 continuity

◾ On the alleged inevitability of Benkai

◾ On time travellers hiding their identity

◾ On Alien X-Tinction & its conclusion

If you're a Snape fan, you've probably had that moment scrolling through some Marauders posts and thought: Did these fans even read the books? Or maybe you've come across those wild comments where Snape gets turned into some kind of full-on villain, while James and Sirius get treated like flawless, saint-like heroes.

It’s like they’re talking about a totally different Harry Potter series! Sometimes, you’ve gotta wonder—do they even know what really happened in the story? Are we even talking about the same James Potter here? And honestly, comments like this kind of answer that question:

A lot of Marauders fans (not all, but definitely some) have no clue what really went down with the Marauders and Snape, who they really were, or what role they actually played in the story.

They’re just here because, let’s be real, the Marauders fandom is super appealing. It’s full of people their age, with tons of fantasy, drama, epic fanfics, hot character fan-casts, tragic love stories, and endless TikTok edits, roleplays, and cosplays. It’s fun, it’s exciting, and it makes you feel like you belong to something special.

With all this awesome fan content, why would anyone go out of their way to actually read the books and face the not-so-glamorous truth? The Marauders in the books are mostly about petty fights, bullying, and not much in the way of exciting, romantic storylines.

And that’s exactly why the hate for Snape has gotten so intense. Snape doesn’t fit the dreamy, tragic aesthetic they’re looking for. He’s basically just there to be the “bad guy,” so they have someone to hate and blame everything on. That way, their perfect heroes get to stay flawless, and Snape can just be the villain in their headcanon.

I have a more comprehensive post here about the (rebranding of the Marauders and, consequently, the need to villainize Snape)

i will shoot myself

just like how izuku never sees the soft longing gazes that katsuki gives to him, katsuki never sees the sharp possessive stares that izuku gives whenever anyone got too close to him

Bisexual Harry Potter who flirts with every single Weasley sibling just to piss of Ron.

“Y’know Ron? I love your sister and all, but I hope you know Bill was my bi awakening. I’d totally go there”

Fred and George flirting back shamelessly.

Percy pretends to be annoyed, but secretly enjoys watching Ron squirm. He stage-kisses Harry one afternoon when Ron was being particularly annoying.

Fleur laughing as Bill jokingly proposes to Harry at every family gathering

Charlie and Harry talking about adopting dragons together and calling them “our kids”

Harry and Ginny, who actually *are* dating, being obnoxiously lovey-dovey when Ron’s around.

Molly and Arthur going along with it and calling Harry their Seven Time Son-in-Law.

Molly knits Harry his own set of sweaters that are identical to those of her other children.

Harry comes downstairs wearing a different one every morning.

“YOU CANT HAVE ALL MY SIBLINGS HARRY!”

“I’ll fight you, Ronald”

Thinking about them again

James Potter stans will really look at a privileged boy with a loving family and close group of friends, torment and torture another kid because he finds it funny, and write it off as "oh it's just teenagers being teenagers".

And at the same time, see a boy who was relentlessly abused for his whole childhood, was never safe or protected, was vulnerable enough to be taken in by a cult and carried his trauma-based anger into adulthood because he never had the space or support to heal, and they'll act like he's the devil incarnate.

Make it make sense. There's nothing "Oh just teenagers" about what James and co did to Severus. He chose cruelty for cruelties sake and there's no indication that that attitude ever changed. Severus on the other hand, with everything he'd been through, still tried. He recognised the mistakes he made, he carried that guilt and he fought for years, through anger and fear, to make it right.

heyo, its been a long time since i did an analysis!! this time on a more controversial subject: Rook Blonko. And how I think he was robbed.

When you actually look at the way Rook is written in omniverse, they dont give him very much to work with. like revvonaganders and their culture are cool, but rook feels so underdeveloped as a person outside of his culture. hes kind of a gwen in a way; hes got bare minimum flaws but he's treated like hes in the right when hes doing something actually flawed. hes never condemned for treating ben the way he does and he doesnt even have a consistent arc. he doesnt feel like a teenager, he doesnt feel like he has any sort of character progression, hes just kinda there, and his lack of depth in character-to-character situations is only amplified by the lack of holding him accountable for negative traits he possesses, instead punishing ben or ignoring the behavior. Instead of writing a scenario where Rook is in the right and ben is in the wrong, or showing rook behaving poorly and have him learn from his actions, i can hardly think of a time where rook was shown to be wrong for his treatment of ben.

For example in a scenario where Ben is keeping personal information from Ben, and rook wants to know it for the sake of their partnership, instead of portraying Ben in the wrong properly by showing his keeping of said information being harmful to the public or his friendship to rook, or have the information be personally important to rook making Ben's keeping of it harmful, instead rook has scoured Ben's file for all information and is asking about something that is of no matter to him entirely because he doesn't know it. He pesters Ben incessantly even when Ben has told him firmly no. Tjis is a recurring issue, where it seems like the story wants rook to be right but is ignoring context and the way he goes about it.

This would be an aggravating issue but ignorable if rook had anything resembling a consistent arc, but he doesn't. the conflict of rook idolizing ben and meeting him and realizing hes not what rook thought he was is interesting, but its always treated as if bens in the wrong for not living up to rooks expectations. rook overstepping his boundaries with ben due to being a huge fan and maybe cultural differences is interesting, but its never portrayed as a flaw on rooks end, more like bens fault for keeping the information. his struggle with his culture and staying connected with it, his conflict with his father about his career path, his relationships to his siblings, him slowly watching revvonah be plundered for its resources as the series goes on, i love that, thats genuinely interesting. but they never talk about it outside of those episodes. rook is in the wrong often and it brings up a lot of interesting questions about him as a person, but they dont talk about that in favor of treating him as bens babysitter, or setting up a joke where ben is the punchline.

It's disappointing to me that rook was never given the attention he deserved. Like i said, there's a lot of good stuff in his framework that's just begging to be explored, but his lack of an arc makes him feel so one note after a while and really dampens his relationship with ben. Since rook is not a character on the same level as ben, he feels less like an equal like they tried to illustrate and more of a plot device. They even threw away the most interesting conflict between ben and rook; rook being book smart and ben being street smart, experience over training. Ben and Rook hardly ever have issues based on this other than rook misunderstanding a joke. This is why rook and ben feel like such a flat relationship to me.

all of this to say: rook fans. Please, for the love of god, work your magic. He's got all the pieces there, and i am certain you can do something special in fanworks about him. Don't let the show being lackluster hold you down.