While I'm still brainrotting over Splatoon...
A brief shout-out to Pearl's comeback story for the ages.
She started out getting hated by so many people for her unconventional design and large noggin, while her girlfriend fellow idol absolutely soared in popularity (not for unfounded reasons tho, Marina is awesome). The popularity imbalance was absolutely crazy. I was there to see it - it was something else.
But before long, things began to change. The Octo Expansion came out. We learned about Off the Hook's backstory. And we see the kind of person Pearl really is outside of the newscast. She was loyal, dependable and even despite her rambunctious tendencies, she was a genuinely wonderful person. And y'know, there's also the fact that if not for her, Inkopolis would be a pile of sludge.
And because of all this, things slowly started to turn around. She received the love she'd deserved for all the game's life. It felt like she and Marina were being genuinely treated as equals.
And soon enough, the final Splatfest came around...with some of the biggest stakes yet seen in Splatoon...
And Pearl freaking won.
Pearl went from the absolute butt of jokes among the fanbase, to the winner of the final Splatfest and one of the very most iconic characters in all of Splatoon.
To put it simply, stories like that is why I love this franchise.