Modern AU where women’s Major League Baseball actually exists and is popular! Catra and Adora grew up playing on the same little league team – Catra’s foster mom was obsessed with the idea of the kids she took in becoming professional athletes – but went their separate ways when Adora’s parents died, and her older sister Mara moved them out of town.
10 years later, Adora has been drafted by the Brightmoon Mets and is due to start playing for their Triple-A team, the Moonstone Mets as First Basewoman/Designated Hitter. Her first game is a home game against the Black Garnet Giants (their division rivals), and there is buzz among the crowd and the players because the Giants have a new star pitcher fresh up from Double-A. When Adora steps up to the plate, she is beyond shocked to see her former teammate Catra Alvarez atop the pitcher’s mound.
The story follows the two women’s interactions as new rivals throughout the first half of the regular season as they vie for promotion to the majors, complete with confrontations, hit-by-pitches, injury scares and eventual reconciliation, all leading up to the trade deadline where Adora is called up to Brightmoon’s major league roster, and Catra is traded to the Moonstone Mets with the promise that she’ll be given a shot to pitch in the majors in the next season.
Here's where things get nerdy and granular. If you couldn't tell by my choice of team names, I'm a big New York Mets fan, so I've used the players on that team as a bit of a guide for which character types should be playing which position. I'll explain:
Adora (1st Base/Designated Hitter)
I've essentially based Adora's baseball profile on Pete Alonso, the 1st baseman of the NY Mets. The vibes are Blonde Power Hitter, hyper serious on the field, labrador off the field. Adora reads to me as the type of player who would rise to stardom quickly by hitting a lot of big home runs, but could just as easily fall apart if she gets in her head.
Glimmer is kind of a mix between Kevin Costner's character from Bull Durham (snarky, but secretly kinda wise leader type) and Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (life of the party vibes). Also catchers tend to be on the shorter side.
Short stop is just a really technically demanding role that requires all sorts of different skill sets. Mermista reads as hyper-competent, but super nonchalant about it.
Also a position more suited to shorter players, but I mainly put Frosta here because she has Jeff McNeil vibes, i.e. angry as hell when things aren't going her way, and extatic when they are.
Perfuma (Starting Pitcher)
Pitchers are often tall and lanky, but more than anything else, good pitching often boils down to an ability to stay out of your own head and not let the pressure get to you. I thought of Yusei Kikuchi as inspiration for perfuma - the man has talked about sleeping and reading an absolutely ungodly amount for a working athlete - a truly zen pitcher would be dangerous.
Netossa (Designated Hitter/1st Base)
For Netossa I thought of J.D. Martinez, an older, more experienced player who essentially doubles as part of the coaching staff.
Honestly, I just needed somone recogniseable to play at 3rd... no shade to Spinny.
Seeing as this is women's baseball, Bow couldn't be a player, but I do really like the idea of him in a teaching role. Bow has a level head and technical expertise, so having him giving Adora technical (and, let's be real, emotional) guidance made a lotta sense to me.
Can't have a SPOP modern AU without a bit of Brightmoon family nepotism.
Angella (Brightmoon Mets General Manager)
Obviously Catra is a volatile character, and totally the opposite of how I described Perfuma as a pitcher, but she reads to me as someone with insane technical ability who could be let down by a tendancy to lose control. Unbeatable when she's in the zone, and calamitous when she isn't.
I liked the idea of having someone at catcher who can work well with Catra, but wouldn't be afraid to give her shit when she isn't in the zone, hence Lonnie.
Scorpia (Designated Hitter)
Scorpia seems the type to be able to hit hard and often, but is clumsy enough that she might have trouble with defence. No fielding for Scorpia.
Huntara makes sense at first base in the same way Adora does to me - someone who can hit well, and stay steady on their feet to catch out a runner.
Emily (2nd Base - okay, I was reaching with this one)
Flutterina (Centre Field - ... this one too)
Obviously I wanted DT in a position where they can mess with Catra's head. It's what they're best at!
Prime (Garnet City Giants General Manager)
Clearly this prompt is heavily inspired by A League of Their Own, one of the all-time great sports movies. But, I like the idea of making it more career/goal driven, and having Adora and Catra be on opposing teams from the get go. Having them end up playing for the same franchise after making eachother better by playing against eachother, and growing closer in the process, feels like a particularly satisfying end point.
