#Christine Barron

[brokehorrorfan]

Night of the Demons will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray and Night of the Demons 2 and Night of the Demons 3 will be released on Blu-ray on October 3 via Scream Factory.

Shout Factory is offering an exclusive set with all three films with exclusive slipcovers by Joel Robinson, six posters, a prism sticker, a set of five enamel pins by Matthew Skiff (limited to 600), and a set of five lobby cards by Beyond Horror Design (limited to 500). Pictured below, it costs $199.99.

1988's Night of the Demons is directed by Kevin S. Tenney (Witchboard) and written by Joe Augustyn. Cathy Podewell, Amelia Kinkade, Linnea Quigley, Hal Havins, William Gallo, and Alvin Alexis star.

1994's Night of the Demons 2 is directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith (Leprechaun 3, Leprechaun 4: In Space) and written by Joe Augustyn. Amelia Kinkade, Merle Kennedy, Cristi Harris, Rick Peters, Jennifer Rhodes, and Christine Taylor star.

1997's Night of the Demons 3 is directed by Jim Kaufman and written by Kevin Tenney. Amelia Kinkade, Larry Day, Kristen Holden-Ried, Tara Slone, Gregory Calpakis, Patricia Rodriguez, and Stephanie Bauder star.

Night of the Demons has been newly restored from an earlier 4K scan of the unrated camera negative, presented with Dolby Vision HDR. Night of the Demons 2 has been newly transferred from the interpositive.

Workprints/alternate cuts of all three films are included. Special features are detailed below.

Night of the Demons 4K UHD special features:

Audio commentary by director Kevin S. Tenney, executive producer Walter Josten, and producer Jeff Geoffray

Audio commentary with director Kevin S. Tenney, actors Cathy Podewell, Billy Gallo, and Hal Havins, and special makeup effects creator Steve Johnson

Audio Commentary with director Kevin Tenney, actors Linnea Quigley and Phillip Tanzini and casting director Tedra Gabriel

Interview with writer/producer Joe Augustyn (new)

Interview with actress Jill Terashita (new)

Interview with special effects artist Nick Benson (new)

International cut (standard definition)

Night of the Demons Blu-ray special features:

Audio commentary by director Kevin S. Tenney, executive producer Walter Josten, and producer Jeff Geoffray

Audio commentary with director Kevin S. Tenney, actors Cathy Podewell, Billy Gallo, and Hal Havins, and special makeup effects creator Steve Johnson

Audio Commentary with director Kevin Tenney, actors Linnea Quigley and Phillip Tanzini and casting director Tedra Gabriel

Night of the Demons workprint (under the title The Halloween Party)

The Halloween Party alternate title card

You’re Invited: The Making of Night of the Demons - 2014 documentary with cast and crew

Interview with actress Amelia Kinkade

Interview with actress Allison Barron

Interview with actress Linnea Quigley

Alternate R-rated scenes

A Short Night of the Demons - 6-minute version of the film shown to potential distributors

Theatrical trailer

Video trailer

TV spots

Still galleries

Promo reel

Still galleries - Behind-the-scenes, special effects and makeup, stills, posters and storyboards

It’s Halloween night and Angela is throwing a party… but this is no ordinary Halloween party. Everybody’s headed to Hull House, a deserted funeral home, formerly the home of a mass murderer. But when the partygoers decide to have a séance, they awaken something evil - and these party crashers have a thirst for blood. Now it’s a battle to survive the night in Hull House.

Pre-order Night of the Demons.

Night of the Demons 2 special features:

Audio commentary by actors Cristi Harris, Jennifer Rose, Darin Heames, and Johnny Moran (new)

Audio commentary by director Brian Trenchard-Smith and director of photography David Lewis

Interview with directors Kevin S. Tenney and Brian Trenchard-Smith (new)

Interview with actor Amelia Kinkade (new)

Interview with actress Cristi Harris (new)

Interview with special effects artist Steve Johnson (new)

Interview with producer Jeff Geoffray (new)

Night of the Demons 2 workprint 

Dailies

Trailer

Behind-the-scenes gallery

It’s Halloween and the teenagers from St. Rita’s High School want to party at the neighborhood’s haunted house. For years, the Hull House has sat in eerie silence – tales of its haunted past have turned into gory jokes and no one really believes anything ever happened there. However, Angela (Amelia Kinkade), the hostess from hell, is summoning her army of teen demons to the blood-curdling contest between the school’s priests and herself, the princess of darkness.

Pre-order Night of the Demons 2.

Night of the Demons 3 special features:

Audio commentary by director Jimmy Kaufman

Audio commentary by writer Kevin S. Tenney and special effects artist Roy Knyrim (new)

Interview with director Jimmy Kaufman (new)

Interview with writer Kevin S. Tenney (new)

Interview with actress Amelia Kinkade (new)

Interview with producer Jeff Geoffray (new)

Night Of The Demons 3 director’s cut (workprint)

Night Of The Demons 3 TV cut

Behind-the-scenes footage

Alternate title sequence 

Dailies 

Trailers 

It’s Halloween! The gates of Hull House have creaked open once again and Angela (Amelia Kinkade) is waiting for her treats. When a group of rambunctious teens take refuge in the foreboding funeral home to escape the law, they soon realize their grave error.

Pre-order Night of the Demons 3.

[hellywoodfm]

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[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Snake Eyes chapter 5: Be Prepared (originally posted on September 25, 2023)

AN: We only have one chapter to go before the big halfway point, and I got quite a few things planned for it. We'll be getting the long-awaited rematch between Steven and Black Rutile, the beginning of the end of the Rutile Rebels, the true nature of Prince Nosiop's plans for the universe, and many more. Tensions will run high as the story reaches the second half, and the endgame will be the most epic that Alternate Future has seen yet. Now without further ado, let's get things started.

Synopsis: Black Rutile and her subordinates find themselves caught in a scheme by the insidious heir to Serpentes's throne to conquer the universe, and Black Rutile is all too eager to get in on the plan for the sake of revenge.

Cast:

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Jason Marsden as Prince Nosiop Jormagundr

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball, Doc, Navy, Army, Leggy

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

Gina Torres as Andesine

Avi Roque as Cinnabar

Awkwafina as Kyanite

Allison Janney as Pyrite

Kimberly Brooks as Dalmatian Jasper

Zehra Fazal as Zoisite

Lena Hall as Bloodstone

Jodie Whittaker as Xenotime

Barbara Dunkelman as Amber

Kristen Schaal as Howlite

Idina Menzel as Amazonite

Halsey as Tanzanite

Mia Barron as Apatite

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

Kari Wahlgren as Pyrope

Melissa Fahn as Demantoid

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Keith David as Pyth

Cissy Jones as Princess Naja Jormagundr

Aurelio Voltaire as King Cobralan Jormagundrr

Shirley Millner as Queen Constricta Jormagundr

Zach Callison as Steven

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Atticus Shaffer as Peedee

Matthew Moy as Lars

Julissa Aguirre as Lady Imagineer

John Mulaney as Flipso

--

Prince Nosiop Jormagundr wasn't always the way he was today. When he was a young snake, Nosiop was a prince with big dreams for the future of his race. However, not everyone was willing to listen to him because he was so young, but he didn't let that deter him. One year, during the 419,982nd annual Contest of Champions, Nosiop tried once again to plead his case to his father.

"Conquering the Ood? Surely you jest, my boy!" King Cobralan objected to what his son had just said as the two slithered through the castle halls. "You know we'd be no match for their psychic abilities! It would be utterly stupid!"

"But please, Father, our lives could be so much easier with a hivemind serving us!" Nosiop stated, but his father still wouldn't listen. "In fact, tons of races and planets would be of great use to our people, like the Shamoians, the Mooninites, and the Watchdogs. Maybe we could even abduct ourselves a few Gems!"

"Enough, my son." Cobralan urged his future successor. "I can see you have big ideas, but unfortunately, they don't align with our culture. Now, I'm going to speak with the Universal Lords for a bit. You go off and have fun at the Contest with your mother and your baby sister." He then began to slither away. "I'll see you again soon."

Although Cobralan left the conversation with a smile, Nosiop wasn't as happy as his father. "He just doesn't get it!" Nosiop grumbled angrily. "We could be perfect conquerors, just the two of us ruling the universe as father and son!"

"It truly is a shame that your father wouldn't give you the time of day," Pyth said as he appeared behind Nosiop. "My father was like that too when I was your age. Unlike yours, however, he didn't live long enough to see things my way."

"Are you suggesting I kill my father?" Nosiop asked curiously, causing Pyth to laugh at the idea.

"No, my boy, I'm way past killing parents!" Pyth chuckled loudly. "What do you think I am, Uncle Claudius?!" After another round of laughter, Pyth decided to get serious as he put a hand on the young prince's shoulder. "Come with me, child. There are many things I wish to teach you."

Nosiop obediently followed the royal family's grand vizier down the hallways and into a hidden room within the castle walls. As loyal as he was to his father, the prince of the Slytherophidians often believed that Pyth was more of a dad to him because of how much they agreed with each other on certain topics, chief among them being what should the future holds for their race.

--

"Let's hear it for the Andesine Armada, the new and improved rebellion against the Crystal Gems!" Andesine cried as her new subordinates chanted her name to celebrate her and Cinnabar's victory against Rigby Starglow and Captain Gearfeet. "Today is a most momentous occasion in our time together. With Black Rutile no longer fit to lead our cabal of insurgents against the tyranny of the Crystal Gems, I have proven myself more than worthy of replacing her and instating myself as a gentle guiding hand in our grand mission." The Armada all cheered in excitement. "Under my leadership, not only shall we finally put the Crystal Gems out of their misery, but Black Rutile will soon be next!" Her new subordinates cheered again. "And furthermore, with the Diamonds temporarily out of commission, this shall be an ample opportunity for us to race back to Homeworld when no one's looking and seize power for ourselves!"

"But what if Black Rutile hears us?" Holly Blue asked nervously while looking left and right.

"Stuff and nonsense, we're behind closed doors here." Aquamarine snidely declared. "There's no way she can find us." Just then, the doors to the Andesine Armada's quarters opened behind Aquamarine, and in came Black Rutile with Nosiop and Pyth, much to the other Gems' shock as they tried silently begging her to shut up. "Of course, that is if she hasn't been brainwashed by Steven right about now."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?" Black Rutile abruptly interrupted Aquamarine's bravado, sending chills down her spine as she turned to face her former master. "So, this is what you've all been doing, huh?"

"Uh, my Rutile, this isn't what it looks like!" Cinnabar awkwardly apologized to her old mentor. "Andesine and I were just playing a little game of follow the leader!"

"A likely story." Black Rutile replied while pulling out her bowie knife. "Tell me more about this Andesine Armada you've all been bragging about."

"Should you tell her, or should I?" Tanzanite asked Amazonite.

"No, I value my life too much to even talk to her right now," Amazonite replied fearfully, casting an illusion to hide herself from Black Rutile.

"Now, everyone, let's just calm down here and talk things out." Amber tried to ease the tension, but Black Rutile quickly shoved her out of the way to confront Cinnabar and Andesine.

"I'm going to assume this was all your idea, Andesine." Black Rutile said to her old friend. "After all, your name is literally in the team name!"

"No, it wasn't, it was Kyanite's idea!" Andesine tried to shift the blame onto someone else.

"Hey, I've only been here a few minutes!" Kyanite cried. "What's going on?!"

"Please forgive us, Black Rutile, but we simply believe you can no longer lead us into battle." Cinnabar firmly stated. "Your exile to Earth has turned you soft and pathetic, and you are perfectly aware of it yet never once bothered to fix it!"

"I did!" Black Rutile exclaimed. "I tried allying with a Steven from another universe where I'm the good guy, I struck a bargain with an extra-dimensional jester, and I even used the Internet to turn humanity against the Crystal Gems!"

"But that's the thing, dearie," Pyrite stated while filing her nails. "You failed at every single one of those." She added while poking Black Rutile in the chest with her nail filer. "For all your planning and thinking you're one step ahead of everybody, you fail to realize that you're just as flawed as the rest of us."

"Is that so?" Black Rutile said before turning the knife into her massive sword. "How's this for flawed?!" With a mighty swing, Cinnabar and Andesine were sliced in two and poofed, to the horror of the other Gems around them.

"Boss, no!" Bloodstone yelled in horror as she raced to scoop up Cinnabar's inactive gem while Howlite did the same to her superior's.

"Now then, anyone else care to join them?" Black Rutile smirked while menacingly pointing her sword at the surviving resistance members. Although they were more willing to speak up to their fallen superior, this ragtag band of Gems had every right to keep their mouths shut until one of them spoke up.

"All hail Black Rutile!" Eyeball chanted vigorously. "All hail Black Rutile! Come on, guys!"

"All hail Black Rutile! All hail Black Rutile!" the other members of the newly rechristened Rutile Rebels joined Eyeball in cheering for their new leader.

"Now that's more like it!" Black Rutile laughed evilly while sneering at Cinnabar and Andesine's followers mourning the loss of their leaders. "Now that I've reinstated myself as your fearless leader, allow me to introduce a new acquaintance I've made in my time here." She motioned for Nosiop to step forward. "This is Prince Nosiop of the Jormagundr royal family, and much like me, he also desires a new era for his people."

"Yes indeed, I now present to you a grand idea for the Slytherophidian race," Nosiop stated. "With all of you at my side, we can overthrow my good-for-nothing father and instill myself as not just the new ruler of his empire but as the most powerful Universal Lord there is."

"Are you crazy?!" Holly Blue yelled. "You'd be a fool to challenge a Universal Lord, especially if it's your father, Nosiop!"

"My father is yesterday's message, a clapped-out and distracted regime." Nosiop began singing to the Gem rebels. "Whose failings undoubtedly presage the need for a different dream. Yes, serpentine times are a-changing, meaning you must do so too. My vision is clear and wide-ranging and even encompasses you."

"So, prepare for the coup of the century. Prepare for the murkiest scam." Black Rutile also began singing, and far more intensely than Nosiop, as if she was using the song to air out her insecurities. "Meticulous planning and tenacity spanning centuries of denial is simply why I'll be empress! Undisputed, respected, saluted, and seen for the visionary I am! Yes, my gem and ambitions are bared. Be prepared!"

"Yeah, be prepared, we'll be prepared!" Zoisite exclaimed. "Uh, for what?"

"For the death of my father and the beginning of a new era for Serpentes!" Nosiop loudly announced.

"What do we do, make him sick?" Dalmatian Jasper asked before Pyth coiled his tail around her neck.

"No, you fool, we're going to kill him." Pyth proclaimed.

"And Steven, too." Black Rutile added sinisterly before DJ was dropped to the ground.

"Splendid idea!" Xenotime cheered. "Who needs either of them?!"

"Idiots, there will still be someone to rule!" Nosiop yelled. "Together, Black Rutile and I shall conquer the universe together using the power of the Lapidarist, who has the power to reset all Gems to their basic functions!"

"Wait, really?" Emerald asked nervously, not having a clue as to what Nosiop was talking about.

"Yes, you would all be rejuvenated on a massive scale, so to speak." Nosiop grinned with a hiss. "With her powers, I shall have myself an unstoppable army to overthrow my family and conquer all that I see! Now, who's with me?!"

Despite the dire circumstances this would place not just them but all Gemkind in by wiping everything that made them the Gems they are today, the Rutile Rebels had no choice but to agree out of fear for their lives. However, some were still nervous about how Black Rutile would play a part in this, especially after how she heartlessly poofed two of her most loyal subordinates. "All hail Black Rutile and King Nosiop! All hail Black Rutile and King Nosiop!"

"So, prepare for a glorious future!" Black Rutile announced as the Rutile Rebels chanted, 'Be prepared!'. "Be prepared for a universal golden age!"

"And like any other who'd murder their father!" Eyeball laughed before Aquamarine pulled her fusion partner aside.

"If we don't spread rumors, she'll feed us and groom us!" Aquamarine stated.

"When we've got friends in high places, we hold all the aces!" the Rutile Rebels and a few snake guards chanted harmoniously.

"So don't try and rattle my scales." Nosiop snidely added.

"Oh, imagine if anyone dared!" the chorus cried out. "BE PREPARED!"

"So prepare for the coup of the century!" Nosiop and Black Rutile sang together. "Be prepared for the murkiest scam!"

"Meticulous planning, tenacity planning!" Nosiop proclaimed.

"Centuries of denial is simply why we'll!" Black Rutile added.

"Rule supreme undisputed, respected, saluted, and seen for the visionaries we are!" the villainous duo declared. "Yes, our gems, fangs, and ambitions are bared; be prepared!"

"Yes, our gems, fangs, and ambitions are bared!" Aquamarine, Eyeball, Holly Blue, and Cat's Eye, who have all loyally followed their leader despite everything that's happened, sang together.

"Be prepared!" the newly-formed union of the Rutile Rebels and Nosiop's followers announced, sealing their alliance with a shared evil laugh.

"Pleasure to be working alongside you, partner." Black Rutile said as she and Nosiop shook hands.

"The pleasure's all mine, partner." Nosiop hissed while covertly crossing two scaly fingers behind his back, which implied he desires to stab Black Rutile in the back when she least expected it.

--

"And that's the whole story of how we got here," Ronaldo said to Peedee elsewhere in the Ouraborium. "Though I'm pretty sure I didn't need to tell you all that since you did hitch a ride with us."

"You are definitely right on that one," Peedee answered.

"So why did you do it?" Steven asked. "What would Mr. Fryman say?"

"He said I should keep an eye on him no matter what," Peedee replied firmly. "And if that means hitching a ride with you guys on a spaceship heading for an alien planet in another galaxy, then I'll do it, no problemo. Plus, it would be nice to participate in one of your big adventures, Steven."

"It's nice to have you join in, too, Peedee," Steven said to his old friend with a hand on his shoulder. "But be warned, this planet is insanely deadly. You might be forced to fight for your life in a gladiatorial death match where you might die if you aren't careful!"

"Luckily, you got your big brother to protect you!" Ronaldo exclaimed excitedly while raising his sword.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Peedee dryly remarked, recalling Ronaldo's cowardice in his fight against the Decimator.

"Yeah, ditto." The three boys heard the voice of none other than Lars say as he walked up behind them. "Hey Steven, long time no see. Sorry we had to meet again like this."

"Lars, did they capture you too?!" Steven exclaimed at the undead human before him. "Oh no, where are the Off-Colors? Are they in trouble?!"

"Don't worry, they're fine," Lars assured Steven. "They're just stuck in a cell somewhere since none of them can fight per se. They only want me since I can't really die." Before Lars can continue, he suddenly noticed Ronaldo and Peedee standing behind Steven. "Wait, Ronaldo?! How and when did you and Peedee get here?!"

"We followed Steven here!" Ronaldo answered, smiling. "I was vindicated upon learning that the snake people, I mean, Slytherophidians, were real all along, like many of my theories, and I came along to gather as much info as I could about their people so I could spread them to the humans!"

"And I came along to keep Ronaldo from accidentally killing himself," Peedee added. "So, how's your space adventures been going?"

"That's actually a funny story. The Off-Colors and I were journeying to Wasprus when we got abducted." Lars revealed to the two humans. "Once their guards noticed that I'm basically invincible after experimenting on me, they said they wanted to keep me here forever so I'll keep fighting for as long as the universe lives."

An intercom crackled to life as if the Slytherophidians heard Lars' explanation. "For our next fight, we shall be pitting the one and only Lars of the Stars against the flying dreamer Lady Imagineer!" the voice of Queen Constricta announced. "Now, Lars, be sure you're as ready as you'll ever be because Ms. Imagineer is a very tough opponent."

"Well, speak of the devil." Lars muttered in surprise as the guards moved him to the arena. "Wish me luck, guys! I'm going to need it!"

"Good luck, Lars!" Steven hollered as Lars got further away from him and the Fryman brothers.

--

"Nosiop, are you there?" Naja called for her older brother while slinking through the castle halls. "Where are you? Father is getting worried and wants to see you." Unfortunately, her big brother did not answer. "Come on, Nosey, where are you?"

"Looking for someone, my dear?" Aquamarine asked as she fluttered down and landed on the floor next to Naja. "I once felt lost, too, but then I realized I had someone right by my side this whole time."

"You're one of those Rutile Rebels, aren't you?" Naja asked Aquamarine. "What do you want with me?"

"Oh, how very astute, your grace," Aquamarine replied with a mocking curtsy. "Now then, you were looking for someone, right?"

"Yes, I'm looking for Nosiop," Naja stated. "Have you seen him?"

"I am right here, dearest Naja." Nosiop hissed as he, Pyth, and Black Rutile emerged from the shadows. "Oh, I am so sorry that my sweet baby sister was so scared her big brother wasn't there to keep her safe. Then again, you were always pretty scared but always tried hiding it by acting like the showman you want to be."

"He does raise a good point there, princess." Black Rutile snidely added before cupping Naja's face in her hand. "You ever feel like your old man and the queen have been holding you back from reaching your full potential, Naja?"

"Nosiop, what are you doing fraternizing with Black Rutile?!" Naja asked hurriedly. "You know she's an intergalactic criminal imprisoned for multiple counts of attempted genocide! Stay away from her!"

"Oh please, you threaten to destroy one planet multiple times, and everyone treats you like the bad guy." Black Rutile rolled her eyes in disgust. "Anyways, your brother isn't fraternizing with me. I'M fraternizing with HIM. As it turns out, the two of us have something in common, and we became close quite instantly."

"Perhaps you'd like to join us on our little crusade." Nosiop offered while taking his sister's hand. "Together, the two of us can rule the universe side by side as brother and sister with an unstoppable Gem army at our command, and no one will have to judge you for what you really are!"

"What are you saying?" Naja asked, growing more concerned for her big brother's mental status by the second.

"I'm saying that Mother and Father are holding us back!" Nosiop yelled in his sister's face, momentarily flicking his forked tongue at her. "I have legitimately good ideas for our people, but no one ever takes me seriously! But Black Rutile, on the other hand, truly understands my suffering, for she has encountered the same problems as I!"

"Indeed, I was made an outcast because I disagreed with the current status quo of my race." Black Rutile added, trying to look as innocent as possible with a pout and big, pleading eyes toward Naja. "I was even betrayed by my friends who started thinking little of me, but I changed that quickly."

"I know where this is going, and I refuse to take part in it!" Naja exclaimed as she tried to escape the oncoming swarm of Rutile Rebels. "Father will hear about this!"

"Well, excuse me, Princess, but I think not." Black Rutile hissed angrily. "Rubies, seize her!"

"Yes, my Rutile!" the Rubies obediently chorused as they jumped up and tackled Naja to the ground. "Princess has been secured!"

"Excellent, little Rubies." Pyth purred eagerly. "Now, please show the dear princess to her room until further notice." He gave orders with a sadistic smile. "Wouldn't want her getting in the way by telling everybody."

"You won't get away with this!" Naja yelled angrily as the Rubies dragged her away. "Steven will find out!" As Nosiop watched the Rubies carry off his sister, he turned away in shame at having to betray his sister like this. But alas, their worldviews had no choice but to clash as he still had far grander designs in mind, and she didn't play a role in them. With a heavy sigh, the visionary prince looked to his new Gem ally and his royal vizier, who looked back at him with sinister smiles.

--

Meanwhile, in the Ouraborium, Lars had been pitted against the flying dreamer Lady Imagineer in combat, but despite his moderate skill in combat, the donut boy turned undead space hero was outmatched in every way possible.

"Stay still, for Pete's sake!" Lars groaned as he tried catching up with Lady Imagineer's airborne acrobatics. "Just because I'm human doesn't mean I can't beat you!"

"But that's what makes your race so fun, Lars!" Imagineer laughed sweetly. "You have so much potential; you just need to learn not to waste it!"

"Yeah, that's my sister up there!" the reality-warping trickster Flipso cheered for Lady Imagineer while conjuring up a smartphone to record the fight with. "You're doing amazing, sweetie!" Suddenly, Solaris Noctua turned his gaze to find Flipso in the audience below where he and the other Universal Lords were seated. Flipso immediately hid himself by disguising himself as a Slytherophidian. "Gotta keep up appearances."

"Quit flying around so much!" Lars yelled as he tried using his portal powers to scream his way to Lady Imagineer, but she was far too quick on her feet for him to keep up.

"Gonna have to catch me first!" Imagineer giggled before conjuring up an illusion of Sadie that made Lars blush, distracting him long enough for the space pirate to realize he was now falling to the ground. "I can also conjure up illusions based on what I find in your mind."

"YOU SUUUUUUUUCK!" Lars screamed before he landed on the ground with a loud thud, prompting the audience to chant.

"FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM!" the Slytherophidians cheered as Lady Imagineer floated down to where Lars landed and helped him up.

"Ugh, my back." Lars groaned in pain as he shuffled away. "This is probably the second most humiliating moment in my life, right after Steven possessing my body."

"Oh, come on, Lars, at least you had fun, right?" Lady Imagineer asked with a cute smile.

"Yeah, maybe it was a little fun." Lars laughed dryly before continuing his walk of shame.

--

"Oh, my back." Lars groaned in pain as he struggled back to the quarters the Jormagundr royal family gifted him upon his arrival on Serpentes and slumped on the closest velveteen couch to sleep his troubles away. "Oh, sweet Velveteen Rabbit. Take me away on your Edwardian adventures."

"Anything the matter, Lars?" Emerald asked while walking in and stroking Lars's aching back.

"Just lost to Lady Imagineer," Lars said while turning his head to face Emerald. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to comfort an 'old friend' of mine in these trying times," Emerald replied. "Seeing you so humiliated like that, while it was cathartic to see you feel how you always made me feel back in the day, it just pained me to see a worthy opponent go down like that."

"What are you saying?" Lars asked, not expecting a good answer at all.

"I'm saying is that Steven has ruined your life for long enough!" Emerald exclaimed. "First, he repeatedly robs you of your dignity, then he takes you away from your home planet where you were forced to die for him, and now you're fighting for your life on another alien planet! And you're expected to become his friend after all that?!"

"You're wrong!" Lars yelled as he bolted up, briefly yelping in pain. "Yeah, Steven and I got off on the wrong foot, but he still willingly gave up everything for the wellbeing of others, even me, and I returned the favor! Now, I'm living the dream as a badass space hero like in the old TV shows with a bizarro found family of Off-Colors!"

"That's what I hated about you, Lars, outside of the fact you stole my favorite ship and got away with it," Emerald stated while pulling out her spiked club from her gem, now pulsating with electricity as she pointed it at Lars. "You're way too human!" She swung her club at Lars, who deflected it with a kick.

"No, I'm just human enough!" Lars smirked before punching Emerald's face and knocking her down. "What's with the change in attitude? Last time I saw you, you were willing to face punishment for your crimes."

"Things have changed. Though I wanted to atone, eventually, I grew tired of Black Rutile's wailing and believed my failures were because of her." Emerald revealed. "Ditto for Demantoid, Pyrope, and Morganite as well."

"Guess old habits die hard, I suppose," Lars muttered before Emerald tried taking him by surprise with another swing of her club, but Lars dodged in the nick of time and sent her flying towards the wall with a combo of fists and feet. As Emerald lay injured against the wall, Demantoid, Pyrope, and Morganite raced to see what was happening.

"Emerald, what happened here?!" Morganite asked while helping the renowned pilot to her feet.

"Seems like I got a little shortsighted again." Emerald laughed weakly. "At least I tried to get one over on him."

"This won't be the last you'll see of us, Lars of the Stars," Demantoid said to Lars. "When next we meet, you will face the full might of the Rutile Rebels."

"And I'll be onto you like a Langdon Cobb movie." Lars replied firmly.

"Do any of you have a clue as to what he said?" Pyrope asked while the three Gems carried Emerald away, to which Demantoid and Morganite responded with hushed confusion.

--

In the Crystal Gems' room in the arena, Steven was sitting worriedly on the couch with Peedee as Ronaldo paced around the sofa, thinking about Lars's loss and how it would affect them. "Well, there goes Lars." Ronaldo declared bluntly. "Either of you got any bright ideas?"

"I'm not sure what to do now," Peedee replied. "I mean, what chance do we have now that the Diamonds have been poofed and Lars is out of commission? In fact, where are the Crystal Gems?"

"Off being forced to fight more innocent aliens," Steven added. "Speaking of which, I wonder how Black Rutile is doing."

"Attention all combatants, our next fight is a very special one!" Constricta's voice announced through the arena's PA system. "For quite possibly the biggest show yet in the Contest of Champions, we give you Steven Universe versus Black Rutile!"

"What?!" the three boys yelled while Black Rutile stormed into the room with an evil laugh.

"I see you just heard my big surprise for you, Steven!" Black Rutile announced joyfully. "As arranged by my dear friend Prince Nosiop, we shall have our long-awaited rematch, and I'll finally get the chance to destroy you once and for all!"

"No one destroys a boy like you, my Rutile," Aquamarine said while perched on Black Rutile's shoulder. "See you soon, Steven." The two Gems laughed as Black Rutile turned around and left, leaving Steven horrified at what he had just heard.

"This is not good; this is not good at all," Steven muttered nervously. "Everyone here already hates me because I don't want to kill people, so they'll no doubt be rooting for Black Rutile to destroy me! What do I do?!"

"Hey, don't fret, Steven, just believe in yourself," Ronaldo suggested. "Believe in the Ronaldo who believes in you."

"He's right," Peedee added. "Some people can't believe in themselves until someone believes in them first. Remember that no matter what, everyone back at Beach City has your back."

"Thanks, guys," Steven said with his eyes closed. "But I guess I have no other choice." He opened his eyes, revealing that one of them now had a diamond-shaped pupil.

--

And so, we finally reach the halfway point of Snake Eyes with the long-awaited rematch between Steven and Black Rutile, allowing them to finally settle the score after their numerous fights in Alternate Future. And this time, Black Rutile won't just decide to give up on Steven and let him wallow in shame, she's going in for the kill and has a lot of issues left over she'll use their upcoming fight for. How will things turn out? Find out next week.

[minos66]

☀︎ ˚ 彡 … anonymous asked: mwf?

andrea chaparro, cydney christine, ange jose, normani, naressa valdez, elotepreparado, tashi rodriguez, julie sofia, babynezza, kayla jane, mishti rahman, anncy twinkle, tanya ravichandran, aime pradis, aiyana lewis, fiona barron!

[wankerwatch]

Commons Vote

On: Elections (proportional representation): Ten Minute Rule Motion

Ayes: 138 (45.3% LD, 43.1% Lab, 2.9% Ind, 2.9% PC, 2.9% Green, 2.2% RUK, 0.7% TUV) Noes: 136 (57.8% Con, 37.0% Lab, 3.0% DUP, 0.7% RUK, 0.7% Ind, 0.7% UUP) Absent: ~376

Day's business papers: 2024-12-03

Individual Votes:

Ayes

Liberal Democrat (62 votes)

Adam Dance Alex Brewer Alison Bennett Alistair Carmichael Andrew George Angus MacDonald Anna Sabine Ben Maguire Bobby Dean Brian Mathew Calum Miller Cameron Thomas Caroline Voaden Charlotte Cane Chris Coghlan Christine Jardine Claire Young Clive Jones Daisy Cooper Danny Chambers David Chadwick Edward Morello Freddie van Mierlo Gideon Amos Helen Maguire Helen Morgan Ian Roome James MacCleary Jess Brown-Fuller John Milne Josh Babarinde Layla Moran Lisa Smart Liz Jarvis Luke Taylor Manuela Perteghella Marie Goldman Martin Wrigley Max Wilkinson Mike Martin Monica Harding Munira Wilson Olly Glover Paul Kohler Pippa Heylings Richard Foord Roz Savage Sarah Dyke Sarah Gibson Sarah Green Sarah Olney Steff Aquarone Steve Darling Susan Murray Tessa Munt Tim Farron Tom Gordon Victoria Collins Vikki Slade Wendy Chamberlain Will Forster Zöe Franklin

Labour (59 votes)

Abtisam Mohamed Adam Jogee Alex Sobel Allison Gardner Andrew Cooper Andrew Pakes Andrew Ranger Andy MacNae Andy Slaughter Anna Dixon Bayo Alaba Chi Onwurah Chris Hinchliff Clive Lewis Darren Paffey Dave Robertson Emily Darlington Euan Stainbank Florence Eshalomi Frank McNally James Naish Jenny Riddell-Carpenter Jim Dickson Jo Platt Joani Reid Kenneth Stevenson Lee Barron Lorraine Beavers Luke Akehurst Luke Myer Markus Campbell-Savours Matt Turmaine Michael Payne Michelle Welsh Mohammad Yasin Nadia Whittome Olivia Blake Patrick Hurley Perran Moon Peter Prinsley Rachael Maskell Rachel Blake Richard Baker Rupa Huq Sadik Al-Hassan Samantha Niblett Sarah Hall Sarah Russell Scott Arthur Sean Woodcock Simon Opher Stella Creasy Steve Witherden Tim Roca Tom Collins Tom Hayes Tracy Gilbert Will Stone Yuan Yang

Independent (4 votes)

Iqbal Mohamed John McDonnell Richard Burgon Rosie Duffield

Plaid Cymru (4 votes)

Ann Davies Ben Lake Liz Saville Roberts Llinos Medi

Green Party (4 votes)

Adrian Ramsay Carla Denyer Ellie Chowns Siân Berry

Reform UK (3 votes)

James McMurdock Lee Anderson Richard Tice

Traditional Unionist Voice (1 vote)

Jim Allister

Noes

Conservative (78 votes)

Alan Mak Alec Shelbrooke Andrew Murrison Andrew Rosindell Aphra Brandreth Ashley Fox Ben Obese-Jecty Ben Spencer Bob Blackman Bradley Thomas Caroline Dinenage Caroline Johnson Charlie Dewhirst Chris Philp Claire Coutinho Damian Hinds Danny Kruger David Simmonds Desmond Swayne Edward Argar Edward Leigh Gagan Mohindra Gareth Bacon Gareth Davies Geoffrey Cox George Freeman Graham Stuart Greg Smith Gregory Stafford Harriet Cross Harriett Baldwin Helen Grant Iain Duncan Smith Jack Rankin James Cartlidge James Cleverly James Wild Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Wright Jesse Norman Joe Robertson John Glen John Hayes John Lamont John Whittingdale Julia Lopez Katie Lam Kieran Mullan Kit Malthouse Laura Trott Lewis Cocking Lincoln Jopp Louie French Luke Evans Martin Vickers Matt Vickers Mel Stride Mike Wood Mims Davies Neil Hudson Neil O'Brien Nick Timothy Oliver Dowden Patrick Spencer Paul Holmes Peter Bedford Peter Fortune Priti Patel Rebecca Harris Rebecca Paul Rebecca Smith Richard Holden Robbie Moore Roger Gale Sarah Bool Simon Hoare Stuart Anderson Wendy Morton

Labour (50 votes)

Alex Barros-Curtis Alison Taylor Allison Gardner Anneliese Midgley Baggy Shanker Cat Eccles Chi Onwurah Connor Naismith Daniel Francis David Baines David Pinto-Duschinsky David Williams Douglas McAllister Fred Thomas Gill German Graham Stringer Gurinder Singh Josan Helena Dollimore Henry Tufnell Jack Abbott Jacob Collier Jas Athwal Jess Asato John Grady Kirith Entwistle Kirsteen Sullivan Lauren Edwards Lola McEvoy Margaret Mullane Mark Ferguson Mark Hendrick Mary Glindon Matt Bishop Matt Turmaine Maureen Burke Maya Ellis Melanie Onn Michael Wheeler Mike Tapp Neil Duncan-Jordan Nesil Caliskan Nick Smith Patricia Ferguson Peter Lamb Rachel Taylor Sarah Smith Shaun Davies Siobhain McDonagh Sureena Brackenridge Tom Rutland

Democratic Unionist Party (4 votes)

Carla Lockhart Gregory Campbell Jim Shannon Sammy Wilson

Reform UK (1 vote)

Rupert Lowe

Independent (1 vote)

Alex Easton

Ulster Unionist Party (1 vote)

Robin Swann

[saturnehq]

@/astarvingartist ⁱˢ ᵗʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ··· ꒱ ⇢ mwf? x

jennie kim, hirai momo, ange jose, manon bannerman, cydney christine, glowprincess, lalatheislandgal, monet mcmichael, bella hadid, cierra ramirez, lena helena busch, zahara davis, lizeth selene, michelle domingos, fiona barron, park chaeyoung, iffat.marah, eyesrodgers, vinetrria, softest.hard, madisonmbt, lalisa manoban, matcha_cha, bbyambi, dasilvadakid, bella hadid tarayummy, ashley moore, kiana lede, lame.cobain, naressa valdez, spanishcvndy, emely.almonte, maria beltre, zion moreno, amanda diaz, queenpokoo, juliananalu!

[bllsbailey]

Bishop Barron on Paris Olympics Drag 'Last Supper': 'Would They've Dared Mock Islam in a Similar Way?'

The bishop of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, who is one of the most Catholic media voices, called out the theatrical opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris for mocking Christianity and the Last Supper, and asked if the Olympic organizers would consider insulting the Muslim faith.

“A question I would pose--we all know the answer to it: ‘Would they ever have dared mock Islam in a similar way?’” asked Bishop Robert E. Barron, who is also the founder of the “Word on Fire” ministry, in an X-post.

Barron said the enemies of Christianity are putting Christians on notice that the struggle is being fought right now:

“We should believe them,” he said. 

“They're telling us who they are,” he said. “We should believe them, but furthermore, we Christians--we Catholics--should not be sheepish. We should resist. We should make our voices heard.”

The opening ceremony for every Olympiad is always an opportunity for the host country to present its culture to a worldwide audience that could be in the billions. 

Friday’s spectacular marked the first time that the opening ceremony was not contained in the main Olympic stadium. Instead, the organizers also staged performances all over Paris by Beyonce, Celine Dion, and Lady Gaga, complemented by gymnasts on rooftops and a mysterious masked man character in 18th-century costume running through the city with the Olympic torch.

Throughout the city, the French erected statues honoring the 10 golden heroines of French history: Olympe de Gouges, Alice Milliat, Gisèle Halimi, Simone de Beauvoir, Paulette Nardal, Jeanne Barret, Louise Michel, Christine de Pizan, Alice Guy and Simone Veil.

Somehow, St. Joan of Arc, did not make the cut. 

There was also a singing and dancing drag queen segment, which seemed connected to the drag staging of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting. This staging culminated in the drag personification of the Greek god of wine, feasting, and frivolity, Dionysus.

One easy interpretation of that juxtaposition is that the organizers were mocking the commemoration of Jesus Christ introducing to the Apostles the transfiguration of the bread and wine at the table into the body and blood of Christ, which Catholics celebration in the Mass, with a rival deity with alternative take on wine.

“Would they ever have dreamed of mocking in this gross, public way a scene from the Koran?” asked the bishop, consecrated in 2015 after Pope Francis named him an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the titular bishop of Macriana in Mauretania.

Barron said there was no need to actually pose the question or wait for an answer.

“We all know the answer to that. I think folks, what's interesting here is this deeply secularist, postmodern society knows who its enemy is,” he said. 

Read related:

WATCH: Insane Wokeness Overtakes the Olympics, 'Drag Queens' Mock Christianity in Astonishing Display

Barron said he had just arrived home from the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, and he turned on the TV to watch the opening ceremonies as he would any other time.

“Just a few days ago, I was in Indianapolis for the marvelous celebration of the Eucharistic Congress, 50,000 Catholics coming together to worship the Lord and celebrate the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,” he said. “I come home, and I love the Olympics.”

The Chicago native said he was also looking forward to the ceremony because he studied there.

“It's in Paris, France, a city I love--I spent three years as a doctoral student there,” he said. 

“What do I see? But this gross mockery of the Last Supper, and I won't describe it any further, just go online. It's gone viral. You can see it,” he said.

“France felt, evidently, as it's trying to put its best cultural foot forward, the right thing to do is to mock this very central moment in Christianity where Jesus and his Last Supper gives his body and blood in anticipation of the Cross,” he said.

At least one French politician, Marion Marechal, who represents France in the European Parliament X-posted her own disgust:

"To all the Christians of the world who are watching the #Paris2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation," she said.

Barron, the former rector of Mundelein Seminary at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, his alma mater, said he found it particularly disturbing that the French ridiculed Christianity because that faith tradition has been central to French culture.

“What is presented, though, is this gross sort of flippant mockery,” Barron said.

“France, which used to be called the eldest daughter of the Church--Paris, that gave us, Thomas Aquinas taught there, and Vincent DePaul was there. King Louis IX--St. Louis,” he said.

“France, whose culture--and I mean the honoring of the individual of human rights and freedom is grounded very much in Christianity--felt the right thing to do was to mock the Christian faith.”

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

AUGUST Celebrity Birthdays & Events

August Birthdays

Leo Stars (July 23-Aug 22) 1: Tempestt Bledsoe, Oluchi Onweagba 2: Alvina August 3: Chandler Kinney, Jo Marie Payton 4: Eris Baker, Yolonda Ross 5: Chip Fields, Janet DuBois, Thishiwe Ziqubu 6: Merrin Dungey, Regina Van Helvert 7: Kheris Rogers 8: Meagan Good, Kimberly Brooks, Tawny Cypress, Sherri Marina 9: Whitney Houston, Angely Gaviria, Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut 10: Yaani King 

11: Viola Davis, Sophie Okonedo 12: Imani Hakim, Yvette Nicole Brown 13: Dawnn Lewis, Deborah Ayorinde 14: Jackée Harry, Halle Berry, Marsai Martin, Aliyah Moulden, Kabrina Adams 15: Christine Adams, Andrea Lewis, Tanedra Howard 16: Angela Bassett, Simone Leigh, Karen Obilom 19: Sara Martins, Tracie Thoms, Paula Jai Parker 20: Ashley Nicole Williams 21: Loretta Devine, Kelis, Kaliegh Garris, Kiami Davael 22: Rachel Adedeji

Virgo Stars (Aug 23-Sept 22) 23: Angelique Noire, Clarissa Thibeaux 24: Ava Duvernay, Harriett D Foy 25: Ashley Winfrey, China Anne McClain 26: Ola Ray, Keke Palmer 27: Chandra Wilson, Demetria McKinney, Tiffany Boone 28: Samantha Liana Cole, Jessieca Alford, Quvenzhane Wallis 29: Kelly McCreary 30: Angel Coulby, Xernona Clayton 31: Phina Oruche, Jaylen Barron

August Events:

1: Spiderman Day | 2: International Friendship Day | 9: International Day of the World's Indigenous People | 13: Pan-African Flag Day | 23: National Dark Skin Day | 26. ANNOUNCEMENT: WE DO NOT CELEBRATE WHITE WOMEN'S RIGHT TO VOTE DAY HERE | 28: Power Rangers Day | 31: International Day for People of African Descent

[marleneoftheopera]

London’s 36th Anniversary - Audio Gifts!

In honor of the 36th anniversary today, I thought it would be nice to share some previous POTO London anniversary audios! Many if not all of these are fairly common so you may have them already, but nice to have them in one spot!

The link is below and cast info will be beneath the ‘keep reading’ tab (and of course on my site).

Enjoy!!

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/dq3wt4rvqb07h/London_Anniversaries 

Matthew Cammelle (s/b), Rachel Barrel, Oliver Thornton October 4, 2004; London 18th anniversary performance in London.

Earl Carpenter, Rachel Barrell, David Shannon, Wendy Ferguson, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Annette Yeo, Rohan Tickell, Naomi Cobby October 9, 2006; London 20th anniversary performance. Includes speeches by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Ramin Karimloo, Leila Benn Harris, Alex Rathgeber, Wendy Ferguson, James Barron, Sam Hiller, Heather Jackson, Benjamin Lake, Lindsey Wise October 9, 2007; London 21st anniversary performance. Highlights.

Ramin Karimloo, Gina Beck, Simon Bailey, Rebecca Lock, Barry James, Gareth Snook, Nicky Adams, Rohan Tickell, Emma Harris, Stephen John Davis October 9, 2009; London 23rd Anniversary performance, includes speeches.

Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess, Hadley Fraser, Wendy Ferguson, Barry James, Gareth Snook, Liz Robertson, Wynne Evans, Daisy Maywood October 2, 2011; London Audio of the 25th Anniversary Concert. Includes speech and encore performances. Official CD and audience recording.

Ben Forster, Celinde Schoenmaker, Nadim Naaman October 10, 2016; London 30th anniversary performance.

Ben Lewis, Kelly Mathieson, Jeremy Taylor October 9, 2017; London 31st anniversary performance.

Josh Piterman/Adam Robert Lewis (u/s), Kelly Mathieson, Danny Whitehead, Ross Dawes, Richard Woodford, Britt Lenting, Paul Ettore Tabone, Sophie Caton (u/s), Georgia Ware October 9, 2019; London The 33rd anniversary show. Josh had to leave the show after Act 1 due to illness and was replaced by Adam Robert Lewis.

​Killian Donnelly, Holly Anne Hull (alt.), Rhys Whitfield, Saori Oda, Matt Harrop, Adam Linstead, Francesca Ellis, Greg Castiglioni, Ellie Young October 9, 2021; London 35th anniversary show in London. Killian Donnelly (Phantom), Lucy St Louis (Christine), Rhys Whitfield (Raoul), Saori Oda (Carlotta Giudicelli), Matt Harrop (Monsieur Firmin), Adam Linstead (Monsieur André), Francesca Ellis (Madame Giry), Greg Castiglioni (Ubaldo Piangi), Ellie Young (Meg Giry) October 11, 2021; London Audio of the 35th Anniversary gala night, celebrated 2 days after the actual anniversary. Includes speeches and Happy Birthday at the end​

[narcosmx]

being baby arellano and being into barron would include: the christine incident

author's note:AHHHHHHHHHHH that is all and mention of the shooting and like details about it so if it's triggering pls don't read just for the thirst lol

okay cracks my knuckles let's fuCKING DO THIS

so is this a little off in the timeline with what i've written for baby arellano already in this series? yes. do i care? fuck no

okay wonderful wonderful here we go

so the christine was of course an after party to benjamin's 40th birthday celebration shit

and so of course, never wanting to miss any of the action or free drinks and waltzing around like you own the place you're convinced you're going with the boys

you're not staying home for a quiet night in like all the wifes and babies, you're here to have a good time and you deserve to be able to

just coming out dressed and meeting them at the cars, don't even bother asking benjamin just slip into the car and wait for them

the boys start piling in and ramon is like fuck yeah, now it's a real fucking party and wrapping his arm around you to kiss your forehead

claudio coming in slightly confused, giving you a preplexed look before shaking his head and laughing because he knows better than to get into it with you

pancha and benjamin sliding in at the same time, almost don't notice you

until pancha turns around to tell claudio something and he's like "que chingado" and benjamin wips around, sees you and is like "no, absolutamente no"

and you're like crossing your arms like "ya estoy en el carro, chingao, quiero celebrar mi hermano" essentially if you want me out of this car take me out kicking and screaming i dare you

and benjamin deep sighs and turns around like "pero te comportas, hm, nada de tus pendejadas. los dos" giving you and mon a warning glare before signaling to the driver he can go

let the fucking rager begin ahh

you and mon are the first ones with a drink in your hands obvi

can we just talk about the power move that is walking in to the christine with the arellano felix boys filling in behind you

amazing perfect

anyways

you're having fun but you wanted to go dancing and as you get up to leave benjamin gives you this like ??? raised eyebrow look

before he can yell at you you level with him "me llevo al barron" you offer and benjamin sighs and calls barron over to you

"te la encargo" "sta bien" barron reassures as he's like eyeing all over your body i just

"te comportas" benjamin shouts after you to no avail because you're already giggling and weaving your way past people as barron keeps a cool pace behind you

it isn't until you're out of direct line of sight that barron leans in to grab at your waist and kiss your shoulder "i like the way you think, baby"

and i just dancing up against barron will someone please stop me

grinding on him as he tries to keep his composure and keep aware because he is trying to work here

him grabbing at your waist the second you try to pull away

but it felt like in an instant you were feeling his tug a little bit more urgently as be pulls at your arm

he's pulling you along with you as he gets closer, you're following his line of sight and are like "oh you don't have to worry abou"

he cuts you off, a rare occurence and the honey that is usually dripping fron his voice when he talks to you is filledwith worry now

"take off your heels, get low and stay behind me" he directs in a calm and matter of fact tone which has you following without question

barron turns around to look at you again, making sure you're following along and as you start to say "done" he turns and shoots the two cops in the face

grabbing you instantly, he's like "run" as you go up the stairs, barron doing his best to keep his body in front of you

he leaves you in this little corner against the cement railing of the third floor, a little corner he can defend

"stay here until i come get you, i've got you baby girl"

and while this is going on your brothers are losing their minds, ramon's screaming, benjamin is at the point of throwing up, pancha is looking around frantically but he knows who you're with and if pancha trust anyone it's barron

barron shooting back at chapo, gets back against the wall and sees you there nearly shaking and knows iet's time to go

lets out a few last shots before turning around and barreling towards you "good girl" he praises softly lifting you up to your feet, "lets go"

him again putting his body fully in harms way as he guides you and you're kind of just in this frozen state until you reach the exit and see your brothers making their way down the stairs

instinctually you run over to benjamin and when i say your brothers immediately form this human shield around you i mean fucking in an instant

there's that moment where benjamin is like "pegados" and he means like close against you

sobbing at the idea of that's how pancha got shot in the arm because the boys are absolutely surrounding you making sure nothing touches you

benjamin's leading the charge and won't for a moment let go of your hand even though you're looking behind you feeling this like sense of doom the further away you get from barron

and walking through that like little balcony with your brothers, shots ringing around you and idk why i am like just fascinated with the image of you staring at the top of those stairs as chapo comes around the corner and shoots claudio

you just staring shaking before benjamin is dragging you along and barron comes out the other side giving you this "i got you" look before being pushed down that like kitchen hallway between benjamin and javier who is like holding on to you for support too and you see the first look of like oh shit wtf on benjamin's face you've ever seen

i am just going into the kitchen and they start shooting from the window

ramon fucking tackles you to the floor and is protecting you with his body, i cry covering your ears

the fucking thud at the door as javi and mon put you behind them but fuckING BARRON BARGING IN AHHHH

shooting out the window and yelling instructions at everyone before coming to look you over to make sure you're okay

your brother's yeeting themselves out the window and barron lifting your chin up to look at him because you're shaking and he's like "i told you, i've got you, baby girl" before gently pushing you and like lifting you up out of the window where mon is there to like whisk you off to a car with them

i am just the DEAD SILENCE OF THAT CAR RIDE

ramon is holding on to you, benjamin needed to sit next to you

he's stroking your hair and is like "i'm so sorry, nena. i'm so sorry i let this happen to you" and for the first time in your goddam life you're out here apologizing to min for not understanding why he never let you go to these things

barron driving, looking back at you from the rear view mirror every like 10 seconds to make sure you're okay

i just getting there and everyone jumping out of the car to make sure everyone else gets in and is safe

leaving you there shaking like a fucking leaf in the back sobbing and :(( barron leaping over from the driver's seat and pulling you into his lap

stroking your hair and whispering "i've got you, i've got you. i won't let anything happen to you baby girl"

and i just the moment dina sees you; exchanging that look of pure like terror and grief you're crawling over to sit with you as she's nearly craddling you

dina looking down seeing you sob and shake and her turning to the boys and being like "quiero sus cabezas"

and i just when you guys get to the next safe house the amount of times that ramon thanks barron wow cannot

min pulls him aside and hugs him and is like "gracias por cuidarme a mi angel"

and min assigning him to take care of you as he takes care of his little family and he puts ramon with dina

you asleep in the car, barron coming to pick you up and carry you up to bed

you startle awake in his arms and see it's him :( :( :(

and he's just like "sh, sh don't worry, i'm not going to leave your side. promise"

A LITTLE PINKY PROMISE BYE KILL ME

[gangstababydoli]

being ramón’s girlfriend and getting kidnapped by chapo hc

@curaheed gave me this idea so thank u so much for this 🙏🏻 i’m sorry if this is messy but i tried my best,and i’m sorry if this is short,it was longer but then half of it got deleted and then i couldn’t write it the same :-(

i feel like this whole ordeal would start after benjamin refused to sell the imperial valley to chapo,guero and azul

we all know how that scene went down right,everything seeming like it’s ok and chapo leaving with a salty look on his face and then the shooting at christine happens

well you and món and everyone else are having fun at the club,celebrating benjamin’s birthday,drinking,dancing, threatening claudios balls

and then the shooting happens. hearing the first gunshot,ramón would immediately push you behind him,or would just bring you close to his chest so he can protect you

and while you all were running away in that chaos,you would slip from ramóns grip somehow and that’s when chapo would snatch you

when món realized you weren’t with any of his family when getting in the car,you know what would happen

he would go crazy,and i mean CRAZY

he would be thrashing around,yelling at everyone,yelling at barron for not being there to protect you if he himself wasn’t able to

and ok,let’s try not to sob,but when everyone would go to their rooms,to sleep,ramón would be in his own room tearing up because he thought you were dead

and you know he would be blaming himself for this

benjamin tried to calm him down by telling him that you weren’t amongst the dead at the club

which did calm him down just a tiny bit,but then he went back to being angry because that means you were lost somewhere

he would pay everyone,and i mean everyone in the surrounding cities just so they could look for you

something in his mind was telling him that you actually were dead,they just didn’t want to tell him or they couldn’t identify you

món wouldn’t sleep for days because he would be patrolling the streets looking for a sign of you

and then one day he got a phone call

when he heard chapo from the other end of the line,different types of curses left móns mouth,as expected

and then chapo said “your girl’s with me” and ?$!? ramón would experience many emotions at once

at first he thought you purposefully ran away with chapo,but he knew that wasn’t the case,you weren’t like that

the deal was,”your brother gives us the imperial valley,and i return your girlfriend,if not then my condolences” and then chapo hanging up

you know ramón broke that phone in pieces from anger

then he went to benjamin yelling at him and telling him about the phone call

this put benjamin in a hard place because he didn’t want to give the valley to the sinaloans but he knew if he didn’t you would be dead

and that would be bad for ramón as well because he knew his brother finally found the one and he knew ramón would go even more insane than he was now if he lost you

if he’s creating chaos right now imagine what he would do if you were actually dead

he would start a real war in mexico over you

because right now,ramón was killing and torturing everyone that he even suspected was working for chapo,he was burning down facilities that might be theirs and as i said just creating utter chaos

benjamin could already see what would happen if you were dead

after a few days of ramón yelling at everyone and breaking everything in sight he would go catatonic :-(

he couldn’t sleep because he missed you and he was scared for you,imagining what’s happening to you right now

he was scared they would do something bad to you that would scar you for life and he knew he wouldn’t ever forgive himself for that

he was blaming himself for all of this,how he wasn’t able to protect you back at the club,how he didn’t notice you disappearing

every few hours he would go to benjamin and ask him if he’s made his mind up and when he would say no món would just go back in his room and secretly cry

until one night he decided he couldn’t go like this anymore and he had to find you

in the middle of the night he got up and loaded himself with every type of weapon and went to barron and the narco juniors

telling them to get ready because this time they were going to actually find you

so they took off,without anyone in the family knowing about ramóns plan

if he told benjamin,he would’ve tried to stop him and tell him he would still need to negotiate with the sinaloans but ramón couldn’t wait for that,he needed you back and safe

in the next week,he,barron and the narco juniors interrogated every guy that was connected to chapo and eventually some of them talked

they hit the jackpot with one of the guys,who knew the exact location where they were hiding you

you were hidden in a warehouse somewhere outside of culiacán

ramón would drive so fast over there the others were scared they would crash

when they got there of course the warehouse was guarded but knowing ramón his hand immediately went to grab his rifle and he started shooting

and then he finally found you

you were tied to a chair and he RAN over to you so fast,immediately untying the ropes and embracing you

he would squeeze you so hard and kiss you all over,maybe he would even tear up,or he would save his tears for just the two of you when you go back home

he would scoop you up bridal style and carry you to the car where he would gently place you on the seat

he would be so gentle with you on the way back because he didn’t want to hurt you as you were already in distress

he would be cursing under his breath,and you would hear “pinche chapo” many times

when you got home ramón would immediately run a bath for you and order the cooks to cook your favorite meals

and :-( when you two would be laying on your bed he would tell you how scared he was of losing you and this is when he would let his tears fall

and then the whole night would be the two of you talking about how much you love eachother and just not wanting to let eachother go ... my heart :-(

the next morning you would wakeup with no sight of ramón,and you knew what he was up to (let’s all just pray for chapo)

[marvel-snape-writes]

Face Your Fears, Doctor Strange.

NEW Chapter! ⬇️

Chapter seven: Showers Don’t Have Cameras.

After Stephen's lie to Doctor Barron, his guilty conscience leads himself and Christine into taking sneaking around at work to a whole new level...

Snippet:

“There is only one thing you need to apologise for, Doctor Strange…” Christine bit her lip, keeping her eyes on his.

“Oh, yeah?” Stephen squinted his eyes playfully, “That sounds ominous. What is it?”

“You just need to, uh…” Her lips formed into a smirk as she leaned up on her tiptoes again, whispering against his lips, “You need to stop making me want your cock at work.”

“Oh…” Stephen’s breath hitched in his throat from her words and he pushed his hips forward slightly, Christine willingly allowing him to pin her against the lockers by them, “Is that right?”

Tags! ♥️:

@isle-offlightless-birds

@hellorachelmarianamorgan

@liliwandamoff

@julyrogers

@curiousgalacticsoul

@jasmarie2600

@hayden429

@benedict-cbe

@christinepalmers

@palmerstrangedaily

[andrewmoocow]

Little Homeworld Life chapter 26: Hostile Takeover (originally posted on June 19, 2023)

AN: It has all come to this. The end begins here. The final episode of Little Homeworld Life is here at last, and after that will be Steven Universe: Snake Eyes. It has been an honor delivering such consistent quality writing to this fandom, and I'll be damned if I don't enjoy doing it again one last time before I finally decide to move onto other stories I've left to dry for too long.

Synopsis: Connie returns home from college just as Black Rutile takes over Little Homeworld and holds the Crystal Gems captive. With their alien friends in danger, the people of Beach City decide to repay the Crystal Gems by joining together to save them from Black Rutile.

Cast:

Grace Rolek as Connie

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper, Skinny Jasper, Carnelian, Superfan Rose, Hippie Rose, Shy Rose, Cherry Quartz, Biggs Jasper

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon

Martha Higerada as Topaz

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball, Doc, Navy, Leggy, Army

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald, Chest Emerald

Melissa Fahn as Demantoid, Eyeball Demantoid

Kari Wahlgren as Pyrope

Jon Wurster as Marty

Shanelle Grey as Sally Grove

Larissa Gallagher as Bluebird Azurite

May Calamawy as Chrome Chalcedony

Susanne Blakeslee as Pietersite

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, Famethyst, Tiger's Eye

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Yellow Pearl, Blue Pearl, Volleyball, Black Pearl Brigade

Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Squaridot

Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Laz, Zuli, Phoenix Lapis

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Dee Bradley Baker as Lion, Concretes

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Matthew Moy as Lars, Dante

Kate Micucci as Sadie

Indya Moore as Shep

Enuka Okuma as Rhodonite

Kathleen Fisher as Fluorite

Ashly Burch as Rutile Twins

Erica Luttrell as Padparadscha Sapphire

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Priyanka

Crispin Freeman as Doug

Andrew Kishino as Kevin

Reagan Gomez Preston as Jenny, Kiki

Godfrey as Kofi

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Brian Posehn as Sour Cream

Lamar Abrams as Buck Dewey

Colton Dunn as Mr. Smiley

Toks Olagundoye as Mayor Nanafua

Joel Hodgson as Bill Dewey

Eugene Cordero as Jamie

Atticus Shaffer as Peedee

Billy Merritt as Mr. Fryman

Kristin Chenoweth as Sheena Synstylae

Nancy Linari as Martha

Brian George as Mr. Frowney

Jackie Buscarino as Vidalia

Aparna Nancherla as Nephrite, Lemon Jade

Ian Jones Quartey as Snowflake Obsidian, Bixbite

Michelle Maryk as Larimar

Auli'i Cravalho as Orange Spodumene

Kimiko Glenn as Blue Chalcedony

Tara Platt as Heaven Cubic Zirconia, Earth Cubic Zirconia

Tara Strong as Grossular Diopside

Phillipa Soo as Chrysocolla

Anika Noni Rose as Watermelon Tourmaline (fusion), Watermelon Tourmaline

Aimee Carrero as Moonstone

Gal Gadot as Desert Glass

Willa Holland as Albite

Maddie Ziegler as Serpentine

Courtenay Taylor as Beryl

Sarah Jessica Parker as Dumortierite

Cavetown as Diaspore

Emily King as Kunzite

Alex Newell as Monazite

Alyson Hannigan as Lavenderine

Avi Roque as Cinnabar

Gina Torres as Andesine

Awkwafina as Kyanite

Allison Janney as Pyrite

Zehra Fazal as Zoisite

Lena Hall as Bloodstone

Jodie Whittaker as Xenotime

Idina Menzel as Amazonite

Halsey as Tanzanite

Mia Barron as Apatite

Sarah Stiles as Spinel

Christine Baranski as Hessonite

Olivia Olson as Citrine, Citrine Twins

Lin-Manuel Miranda as President Eduardo Suarez

Wendie Malick as Vice President Theresa Maxwell

GZA as Major General Wade Grant

Tim Curry as General Lloyd Waller

John Kassir as Reginald Johnson

Stephanie Beatriz as Arleen Suarez

Xolo Mariduena as Huey Suarez

Leslie Grace as Riley Suarez

Pierce Brosnan as Bane Jones

Hugh Jackman as Beckham Jordan

James Monroe Iglehart as Coach Matt Monroe

Karen Fukuhara as Makoto Fuji

Matthew Rhys as Dr. James Brenner

T-Pain as Sam Galley

Christoph Waltz as Francis von Bowling

Rob Paulsen as Mr. Shreds

David Kaye as Collar

Roger Craig Smith as Tank

Alex Hirsch as Lawrence Abrams

Zach Callison as Steven, Onion, Cactus Stevens, Topiary Stevens

Featuring Christopher McDonald as Carl Grove

And Betsy Sodaro as Maureen Grove

--

"It just feels so good to be bad." Black Rutile gloated to the Crystal Gems as she held them prisoner in a makeshift prison. Today had quite possibly been the best day she has ever had on Earth. Black Rutile had now converted multiple Gems to her coalition of rebels, whether by force or through coercion, her enemies were now hers to torment, and their precious Little Homeworld into her newest evil lair. "I haven't felt this utterly delighted to be victorious since the siege of Tweenis 12, I feel like singing! Maestro?"

Amazonite turned on a music player at her master's command, causing Black Rutile to sing a reprise of a familiar song. "Wither the rose! Growing shadows! Sow a world of chaos! Wither the rose! Only highs, no lows! In a world of chaos!"

"Is this really the time to be singing?" Pearl muttered as she tried to break free from her chains.

"Ha!" Black Rutile laughed in response before looking out at her various enforcers. "Come on minions, hurry along! Soon, Beach City will be gone! I could squeeze myself with glee, first the Diamonds and then this galaxy! I really stopped at nothing, gaslighting, terrorism, and lying!" she declared. "Whatever it takes to get revenge, you really can't blame me for trying."

Little Homeworld soon began hovering over Beach City, casting a dark shadow over a large portion of the town while the townies had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, the water holding the Gem village in the air began firing at the humans, making them scurry in fear as Black Rutile finished her song. "Wither the rose! Growing shadows! Sow a world of chaos! Wither the rose! Don't you doze!"

"This planet is basically ours!" Aquamarine sang along.

"We have control over its superpowers!" Eyeball added triumphantly.

"You are helpless to resist!" Holly Blue proclaimed.

"There's no way for you to persist!" Cat's Eye declared.

"Saying sorry just won't cut it!" Cinnabar boomed.

"This universe will be ours, bit by bit!" Andesine stated.

"You thought you could contain us," Black Rutile sang out in victory. "but you can no longer discuss!"

"Genocide, slaughtering, jingoism, in enemy blood, we shall wade!" the seven Gems joined together in harmony. "Rutile Rebels come celebrate, as we make these foolish Crystal Gems fade!" By the time the song ended, Black Rutile looked out at the destruction below her and began making a speech. "People of Beach City, do not look away!" she bellowed to the humans below. "You witness a Rutile's revival, and the birth of her new empire!"

"What do you want now, Black Rutile?!" Lars yelled from below.

"What I want is recognition!" Black Rutile responded. "As you can see, I have officially conquered Little Homeworld and taken the Crystal Gems as my prisoners. The means as to how it can fly can all be blamed on their dear friend, Lapis Lazuli." She looked over at Lapis, who was sitting on the Warp Pad with a blank look on her face. "Despite what the Crystal Gems believed, Little Homeworld was the aspiration of idiots and dreamers! A mere tool to indoctrinate poor, unfortunate Gems who were living lives free of their tyranny. But unfortunately for them, I am far smarter than the average Gem, so I continued planning my revenge for months on end, which leads me today." She then sent out her drones, ready to attack at any moment. "Either surrender to me at once or else your pathetic little town will go bye-bye! Bye-bye."

Down below, Jasper and White Topaz were watching the carnage the entire time, lying in wait for an opportunity to strike back at Black Rutile and save their friends. "So, any idea on how to stop her?" Jasper asked her girlfriend. "I mean, it's just a bunch of us Gems that she could convert at any moment with those Blasters."

"Well, one thing's for certain, Black Rutile has gone too far this time." White Topaz declared. "We kept giving her second chance after second chance, but she always used them to try and destroy us! I've had enough of this! Once we defeat her, she's going straight to Revanche 666 where she belongs!"

"Someone's got leftover issues they need resolving." Teal Zircon added as she popped up behind the two big Gems. "Okay, Topaz and I have spent the last few minutes coming up with a plan."

"If it involves doing something astronomically stupid, then I don't want in." Jasper stopped Teal before she could finish. "What makes you think you could come up with an intelligent plan?"

"Because outside of being the obnoxious but lovable comic relief, I am actually far more observant than you think I am." TZ declared. "Which is why I am 10,000,000,000% certain that my plan will work."

"I'd like to see you try." Jasper scoffed before White Topaz placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on honey, just hear her out." White Topaz suggested. Jasper knew she couldn't disappoint her lover, so she relented with a sigh.

"Okay, proceed." Jasper groaned and let Teal explain.

"I say instead of just saving the day ourselves, we team up with the humans to save the world from Black Rutile!" Teal declared proudly. "The people of Beach City have been around us long enough to know what to do in situations like this, and we've gained a few allies over the years to back us up."

"I get what you're saying now." Jasper nodded proudly. "Like him for example!" As if on cue, Dr. James Brenner walked up to the three Gems. "I found him falling to his doom when Black Rutile threw him out. He's her psychologist, ergo, he should know exactly what she's thinking!"

"You are indeed correct, Jasper." Brenner declared. "I have been forced to watch as Black Rutile's schemes took shape, hoping that maybe my advice would get through to her, but alas, my words fell on deaf ears. Perhaps joining forces with all of you can help me redeem myself for being so powerless to help her."

"Great, we have our first recruit!" Teal Zircon cheered while giving the psychologist a hearty slap on the back. "Okay guys, I'll go gather the troops! You two on the other hand will have to find a very special someone."

"Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" Jasper then asked White Topaz.

"I think so Jasp, but Pete Rose?" White Topaz replied oddly, making Jasper raise an eyebrow at such a non-sequitur. "I mean, can we trust him?"

"No, I think Teal means we should fetch Connie!" Jasper yelled. "You and I both know she's been throwing a wrench in Black Rutile's plans multiple times! Her first invasion of Earth, the Steven monster crisis, and the alternate universe business, all of them had Connie involved and she played some role in stopping them all! You see what I'm getting at here?"

"Yeah, I get it now!" White Topaz exclaimed. "To Connie's house!" Just as the two raced off, a small black spy drone was watching the pair and quickly began following them.

--

"Breaking news all the way from Beach City!" Lawrence Abrams announced on the news. "The alien terrorist Black Rutile is once again laying waste to Beach City, and at the same time, our beloved president has been subject to a violent uprising against legions of angry Arnold Clump supporters led by the alt-right Internet personality Reginald Johnson. Are these two events connected? We'll be back after the break with more updates."

"Sweet Manila in the claws of light." Doug Maheswaran gasped in shock as he and Connie watched Black Rutile's invasion on the news. "This is probably something Steven should take care of, right?"

"Hopefully he at least knows what's going on," Connie added as she prepared to reach for her phone, only to hear a knock on the door. "Can someone get that?"

"Don't worry Connie, I'll get it," Priyanka said to her daughter as she opened the door to find Jasper and White Topaz waiting for her outside. "Oh, you must be that Jasper and Topaz who tore apart Beach City."

"You are never going to let go of that." Jasper declared. "Anyways, we need to see your daughter. The world is in danger and we need everyone we can get to save it."

"Right here!" Connie exclaimed while she raced up to the front door with her sword at the ready. "Come on guys, the Crystal Gems need us!"

"Yeah, about that." White Topaz stated nervously. "They kind of broke up because Black Rutile exposed Bismuth for poofing Lapis and is now holding them all hostage at Little Homeworld. Plus, Lapis officially betrayed them to Black Rutile and is helping make Little Homeworld fly. You know what, I think I know of a way to explain this better."

White Topaz then turned her fingers into puppet versions of the Crystal Gems to further go in depth about their situation. "Hey, what's this I hear about Bismuth poofing me and setting me on this path of torment and betrayal?!" her imitation of Lapis complained. "Oh no, the jig is up!" an imitation of Bismuth exclaimed. "Okay, I did poof you, Lapis, but I didn't mean to!"

"Saying you didn't mean it won't save you from me!" the shadow puppet of Lapis yelled before lunging at Bismuth, only for Garnet and Pearl to stop her.

"Top thirty reasons why Bismuth is sorry." The puppet version of Pearl stated. "Number 5 will surprise you."

"Top thirty anime deaths," puppet Lapis continued. "number one: YOUR BUTT RIGHT NOW!"

"I'm just here to be supportive!" a shadow puppet of Amethyst said as she took Lapis and Peridot's side in the tussle, ending with White Topaz making "whoop whoop whoop" sounds as she started twiddling her fingers into a big clump. "And scene!"

"Okay, I'm going to need a refresher here." Priyanka said, shocked at the bizarreness of White Topaz's show. "What does this all mean?"

"Look, the point is that Teal Zircon and all the Gems Black Rutile didn't convert are gathering everyone in Beach City to fight back against Black Rutile, and we believe Connie is the best possible candidate to lead them all." Jasper explained in brief. "If anyone else wishes to join, you're free to come along."

"But what about Steven?" Connie asked. "Surely he'd know what to do in this situation." Suddenly, the tracking drone from earlier emerged from Jasper's hair, making her and White Topaz wonder if it was following them the whole time, and dropped into Connie's hands to deliver a message from Black Rutile.

"Ah, Connie Meka-Leka-Hi-Meka-Hiney-Ho-Swanson, we meet again." The hologram of Black Rutile smirked at her message's intended recipient. "If you are seeing this message, then you're already well aware of my latest revenge scheme and how frequently you've been playing a part in my constant failures. I would kill you and your parents right here and now, but I believe that would be too easy." The very thought of being killed by such a madman unnerved the Maheswarans. "Which is I offer you this challenge! Meet me at the flying Little Homeworld in ninety minutes to face me for the fate of your wretched world, and bring company too. And for an extra challenge, Steven must not get involved in the slightest. Lose, I will kill each and every single one of you. Win?" She let out an evil chuckle. "The only winner will be me, no matter what. Allons-y!"

The drone then shut down and crumbled to pieces of metal in Connie's hand. Despite the threat to her life, it only made her more determined. "Take us to Beach City."

--

Later at Beach City, Teal Zircon was true to her word and had assembled the entirety of its citizens and then some to discuss their plans to stop Black Rutile. Along with all the Gems that escaped Black Rutile's earlier assault, there was the Barriga family and the Off-Colors, Sadie & Shep, the former Cool Kids, the Pizza and Fryman families, Mr. Smiley and Mr. Frowney, Jamie, Kevin, Onion and his friends, Vidalia, Yellowtail, and Sheena Synstylae. In addition, Teal had also managed to get into contact with Bane Jones, Beckham Jordan, Matt Monroe, Makoto Fuji, and Sam Galley. Now, all that was left was Connie and her parents to make their makeshift army complete.

"My my Teal Zircon, you assembled quite an assortment of characters here." Brenner nodded at all the humans and Gems gathered together to stop Black Rutile. "But do you think this will be enough to stop her?"

"Oh, I know so!" Teal yelled excitedly. "You know those kinds of movies and TV shows where there's a team of people who cannot function together, but they pull through regardless? That's what I'm going for here. On our own, we're just a bunch of misfits. But when we're together, now that's something special." Just then, Connie, her parents, Jasper, and White Topaz appeared behind her from a portal created by Lion. "And there's our girl of the hour! Let's give her a hand!"

Everyone began applauding as Connie walked up to Teal Zircon. "Uh, hello everybody, thank you for inviting me to your little get-together. I'm afraid I'm going to need some catching up to do on what's been going on. I don't think a funny little puppet show is enough."

"Then allow me," Brenner said before he spoke to the audience. "As some of you may not know, our 'dear friend' Black Rutile", He put "dear friend" in air-quotes. "has enacted quite possibly her greatest revenge plot yet, and I bore witness to the fruits of her labor overtime as I was assigned to be her criminal psychologist. She has assembled criminal masterminds, bigoted online personalities, more old enemies of the Gems, and forlorn Gems looking for a place to belong. I have tried multiple times to convince her that she wasn't doing the right thing, but she kept ignoring me at every turn."

"Online personalities like who?" Ronaldo raised his hand, making the rest of the crowd turn to him. "You mean Sally Grove? I've had tons of arguments with her about the Gems before."

"Precisely that," James explained. "I have no idea why she is so cruel, but she seemed perfect as one of Black Rutile's top lieutenants, using her social media influence to gather more human followers through the Internet. There is also Francis von Bowling and his cohorts from P.H.A.N.T.O.M, no doubt brought in for their vendetta against the Gems too."

"Well, I'll be." Bane Jones muttered in bemusement while preparing a technologically advanced shotgun.

"In addition, Black Rutile is now joined by this Marty fellow, who claims to have his own grudge because Steven took his son away from him." James continued, giving him strained looks from Greg and Vidalia. "Together, these scoundrels have converted multiple Gems through these strange blasters built to brainwash anyone hit by them!"

"It's because of those blasters Black Rutile took away my crew!" Nephrite sobbed into Biggs Jasper's arms.

"She took out almost the entire Famethyst!" Carnelian added.

"And like, tons of other quartz Gems too." Chest Rose stated. "Me, my sibs, Biggs, Tiger's Eye, and Cherry are the only ones left."

"Hopefully what the Black Pearls said about finding a way to restore them is true." Cherry Quartz nervously said, looking over at the Black Pearl Brigade.

"So, what can we all do?" Beckham Jordan asked. "We're all just a bunch of humans and Gems who have no idea how unprepared we are for this! Heck, I'm just a star basketball player who knows more about how to score a point than fighting battles! What would happen if one of us were to die today? Besides, Steven won't be here to help us!"

"I promise you all, I won't let that happen." Connie declared before unsheathing her sword and holding it to the sky. "The Crystal Temps will defend this planet to the end!"

"Wait, is that what we're calling ourselves?!" Kevin yelled from afar. "Why not something cooler like the Substitute Crystal Gems, or something?!"

"It's very sentimental!" Connie hurriedly replied. "Now who's with me?!"

"I am!" Orange Spodumene yelled while raising her hand.

"I am!" Kofi Pizza and Mr. Fryman shouted in unison.

"And me too!" Sam Galley added excitedly. "Also, just want to get this outta the way, but I have a bit of a crush on Amethyst."

"Me three!" Lavenderine shouted, followed by a wave of excitement from the gathered New Crystal Temps.

"Aw, what the heck, I haven't got that long a lifespan anyways." Kevin resigned himself to the cause. While Connie proudly looked over at the crowd united for a singular purpose, she felt a familiar hand touching her shoulder.

"I'm in too." Priyanka proclaimed, much to her daughter's surprise. "After that hospital incident, I feel like it's time for me to get involved in your Crystal Gem business and be on the frontlines."

"Well, someone's a little eager." Brenner smiled at Priyanka before looking over at Doug. "And what shall you do for this, sir?"

"I think I'll go look into the Sally Grove situation." Doug answered. "Her parents deserve to know that their daughter is basically selling out the human race to Black Rutile. But be sure to call me so I can still join in."

"Black Rutile told me that I have to meet her in ninety minutes," Connie announced while looking at her watch. "Well, this announcement went by quicker than expected. Anyways, let's save the world!" The New Crystal Temps then began cheering for their grand leader.

--

Meanwhile, in the dark void of space, Revanche 666 was now completely abandoned following Cinnabar and Andesine's escape from the prison. Black Pearl guards, Bismuths, and Peridots were locked in cells formerly occupied by members of the Rutile Rebels, surviving on a false hope that someone would come to save them. However, two particular prisoners weren't meant to be there. They just wanted to get in, stop a prison riot, and get out. But fate had other plans.

"How long has it been since we were trapped here by Cinnabar's plotting and my own recklessness?" Hessonite muttered to Citrine as the two languished in their prison cells. "Feels like we've been stranded here for eons."

"It's only been a few weeks, Hessonite." Citrine stated. "But yeah, it really has felt like forever. I mean, it would take a miracle for someone to notice that we're stuck here!" Suddenly, the two heard something crash through the walls. "Well, what do you know?"

"Hey, anybody here?!" Spinel yelled as she and Lemon Jade emerged from a spaceship they just crashed into the prison. "The Diamonds were getting worried that something bad happened!"

"Over here Spinel, over here!" Hessonite yelled to Spinel. "Hello, it's me, Hessonite, and yes, I am exactly who you're looking for."

"Yeah, we haven't seen you guys since you went to stop that prison breakout," Spinel answered while turning her hand into a ventriloquist dummy resembling Yellow Diamond. "Old Yeller was like 'I fear something might've gone horribly wrong on Revanche 666. I need someone to volunteer to investigate.' Luckily, I was there to oblige."

"And I simply got dragged along." Lemon Jade added. "So what did happen?"

"We thought Andesine and her entourage had surrendered, but it was all a ruse she and Cinnabar set up to escape," Citrine explained to the visitors. "Now we're all stuck behind bars with no way to leave, no way of contacting anyone outside this prison, and no way to deactivate our cells. Do either of you have any bright ideas?"

"I got one! I saw this on a TV show once." Spinel replied before she leaned on the wall between Hessonite and Citrine's cells and gave it a hard knock, which somehow forced the destabilizing fields guarding the two to deactivate. "Ey!" she added with two thumbs up. "You can thank me later."

"Finally!" Hessonite sighed with relief while shaking Spinel's hand as she emerged from her cell. "But what about everyone else?"

"Don't worry, I got this," Citrine said as she walked out of her cell and straight to the control room.

"So, where are Cinnabar and Andesine now?" Lemon Jade asked Hessonite.

"The two of them are currently on Earth aiding Black Rutile in whatever harebrained scheme she has now planned," Hessonite stated while the prison staff was released from their cells. "We need to act quickly if we want to stop all of them in their tracks."

"Roger roger, live long and prosper and all that!" Spinel exclaimed. "Come on Jade, let's chew bubblegum and kick some butt! And I'm all out of bubblegum."

"I'm not sure if I'm equipped for a fight, but whatever you say, I'll follow," Lemon said as she, Spinel, Hessonite, and Citrine boarded the ship Spinel crashed earlier and took off for Earth to bring Cinnabar & Andesine to justice.

--

"Ocean Town." Doug muttered to himself as he pulled into Beach City's sister town, easily identified by a sign declaring "STILL NOT ON FIRE." His journey ended at a shabby but homely-looking one-story house where he pulled into the driveway before getting out and knocking on the front door. An overweight, middle-aged fellow with a receding hairline, a barely shaved mustache, and clothes that looked like they haven't been washed in days soon answered. "Hello, is this the Grove residence?"

"What's it to ya?" the fat man said while pulling a half-eaten hot dog out of his pocket to shove in his mouth.

"Doug Maheswaran from Beach City." Doug introduced himself to the man while pulling out his ID. "I'm here to speak about your daughter, Sally."

"Oh good, I thought you were here about the body we found on the train tracks." The man sighed in relief before turning his head to call for someone. "Maureen!"

"What?!" what Doug assumed to be the man's wife hollered back.

"We got a cop here to talk about Sally!" the man replied before letting Doug inside and sitting him down and offering him a drink. "Here, have a shot on me."

"No thanks, I'm good." Doug rejected the offer before a skinny woman hiding her bleached blonde hair in a bandana walked into the living room. "Hello there miss, I'm here to talk to you about your daughter's recent activities."

"Ah yeah, Sally." The woman said as she and her husband sat down on the couch. "I always kept hearing her talk with that alien woman on her whatchacallit….computer. Anyways, my name's Maureen Grove and this is my husband Carl."

"Well, that alien woman is a known bigoted criminal who is plotting to destroy the world." Doug revealed, making Carl and Maureen blankly stare at each other in silence. "Something the matter, you two?"

"Shoulda known our girl would do something like this." Maureen Grove shook her head in shame. "If you think Sally's views were a product of an abusive upbringing or some kind of trauma, I'm afraid you're mistaken, officer. She was diagnosed with kajigger disorder or something."

"Antisocial personality disorder." Carl Grove corrected his wife. "What we're saying is that Sally is just not a pleasant person to be around, especially in this current era of that danged Internet. She thrives on being so smug & self-righteous and making people hate her, yet at the same time she wonders why everyone hates her. And we've tried our best to help her, but she always kept picking on us for stupid reasons! It's absurd, I tells ya!"

"So, she brought this upon herself," Doug said while writing down in his notepad. "Would you care to further elaborate on her behavior?"

"She also had this TubeTube channel that barely had any subscribers because people would rather watch cat videos, let's plays, and those creepy kids' videos," Maureen answered. "But then came that weird monster attack last year, where everything changed forever."

--

"Sally honey, time for dinner!" Carl called for his daughter while knocking on the door. "Mama's making chili cheese dogs tonight!"

"I can buy and sell you, old man!" Sally insulted her father from behind her bedroom door.

"Fair enough, just starve then because I'm a man." Carl casually replied as he walked away. "I swear, we have got to get her a therapist soon." He muttered to himself. "Dropping out of college I can understand, but she desperately needs to do something with her life."

"CARL, GET DOWN HERE!" Maureen shrieked for her husband. "SOMEONE'S INTERRUPTED AMERICAN IDOL!"

"They WHAT?!" Carl bellowed as he charged down the stairs to see what was going on. To his alarm, their TV show was cut off by the sudden appearance of Black Rutile on their television screen as she made a speech.

"Greetings to the civilians of this backwater planet. I am Black Rutile, soon to be supreme ruler of the Gem race." Black Rutile introduced herself to audiences around the world. "I come to you today because you are faced with a crisis that has been right under your noses for thousands of years now, and it can all be blamed on the Crystal Gems."

"Nothing that changing the channel won't fix." Carl declared as he picked up the remote and tried switching to another channel. Unfortunately, Black Rutile was interrupting the programming there, and on every other channel too. "What the Sam Hill is going on here?! Who would believe such malarkey?!"

"They have been living among your people since the dawn of man, and have brought numerous world-ending threats along with." Black Rutile's speech continued on Sally's computer, much to her curiosity. "From loads of monsters that were formerly members of their kind, to insane terraformers that stole the ocean for selfish purposes followed by nearly drowning thousands once they returned the water to Earth, a superweapon made from the remains of their own kind that remains buried under the Earth as we speak, repeated counts of abductions and the near-genocide of all organic life." Despite Black Rutile clearly spreading lies about the Crystal Gems, the desperate TubeTube user felt a special sort of parasocial connection to her. "But now we are faced with a new problem, and it's all thanks to one Gem: Pink Diamond. It's because of her that this monstrosity plaguing the Earth at this moment is running amok and the Crystal Gems have done nothing to stop it, or her for that matter. Should you believe this planet is worth saving, something must be done about the Crystal Gems, or you will suffer the consequences. That will be all."

With the end of Black Rutile's warning, Sally's life was changed forever. Her TubeTube channel was then completely overhauled to benefit from her newfound hatred of the Crystal Gems. They caused so much chaos and destruction, yet they're celebrated as heroes. Sally simply gives her opinion, and she's constantly villainized for it. To her, that simply wasn't fair. But what no one realized about Sally was terrified of growing past her bigoted, misanthropic mindset and becoming a better person because she believed kindness and compassion were signs of weakness. And she despised being weak.

--

"Ever since then, that Black Rutile yutz has been a bad influence on our girl." Carl finished his story. "Sally's been completely off her rocker because of her. Every time we tried setting her up with various lovers, she just kept abusing them. Especially this one feller named Fred who she kept saying had a small di-"

"Anything else I should know before I leave?" Doug asked, cutting off Carl before he could finish. "What other crimes has she committed?"

"What hasn't she committed?" Maureen replied. "Thankfully, she hasn't done anything super serious, but she's also formed lynch mobs online against random people she hates, and cyberbullied her so-called friends away. And let's not forget that she wrote some really disturbing fanfiction!" She cringed in disgust at the thought.

"Right, thank you for your time, Mr. and Mrs. Grove, I promise I'll have your daughter returned home so she can get the help she deserves," Doug said as he got up and prepared to leave, only for Carl to stop him.

"Hey, before you go, officer," Carl said before presenting Doug with a chili cheese dog. "care for a chili cheese dog? Can't save the world on an empty stomach."

"You know what? I'll take it." Doug accepted the dog before pulling out his phone. "Connie, I'll be coming back soon. Is everything ready?"

"Almost, Dad," Connie responded. "Bane Jones helped us get everybody weapons for the big fight. We just need to wait on you now."

--

Elsewhere in Washington D.C., President Eduardo Suarez, his vice president Theresa Maxwell, Wade Grant, Lloyd Waller, and his presidential cabinet remained in hiding from the forces of Reginald Anderson. Having just witnessed his family being held hostage, the White House being overtaken, and one of the secret service agents under his employment brutally beaten to near death, the president was naturally anxious about what to do next. What's more, there's no way he can contact the Crystal Gems at the moment. He was at an utter loss at what to do.

"Never seen Eddy this worked up in ages," Theresa muttered in wonder at her president's nervous pacing. "Last time I've seen him like this was when Clump seemed to have beat him in the polls."

"I wouldn't blame him," Lloyd replied. "Country's in crisis again, plus his family is in grave danger. Poor thing looks like he'll have a panic attack at any moment."

"I'll go have a talk with him," Wade said as he walked over to his chief and put a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. President, are you feeling alright? Do you need anything before we make our decision?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine!" Eduardo exclaimed bravely, a far cry from the nervous front he was just putting up. "I'm willing to give everything for this country, as a good president should!" However, his courageous smile was quickly replaced with an insecure frown. "But what can I do when my family's lives are at stake here? One wrong move and I could lose everything."

"You're right, he's giving us a very tough choice here." Wade nodded when he suddenly got an idea. "Wait, I know!" Whatever he whispered into the president's ear, Eduardo was liking what he was hearing. "You got that?"

"I like what you're saying." Eduardo nodded. "Let's do it." Just then, three men opened the doors to One Observatory Drive and walked in. The first man wore a nice suit and was balding, while his two associates were dressed in a tank top and a collared shirt respectively. "Hello there."

"Greetings Mr. President, my name is Mr. Shreds." Mr. Shreds introduced himself to the president. "These are my two associates, Tank and Collar, and we are here to deliver you to Reginald Johnson so you can relinquish your presidency."

"Just move along now and don't keep us waiting!" Collar said as he and Tank took Eduardo by the arms and guided him to their limo. "Any last words, sir?"

"Yes, I'd like to make a personal request to Reginald." Eduardo nodded. "I'd like to have a public debate with him, face to face."

"As absurd as your request is, I shall grant it," Tank replied begrudgingly, not knowing what he was in for as the limousine drove away.

"So what did you tell him?" Theresa asked Wade as the two worriedly watched Eduardo be taken away.

"You'll see." Wade gave the vice president a knowing smirk.

--

"Making yourselves comfortable, Crystal Gems?" Black Rutile asked her prisoners while paying them one last visit to their cell. "Doesn't matter to me, because I got special plans for you."

"What is it now?" Peridot muttered disdainfully. "Is it about how you're so much better than us because you're not us?"

"Whatever it is, just get it over with already," Bismuth added sadly. "I deserve it for what I put Lapis through."

"Yes, yes you did." Lapis harshly agreed. "You poofed me and then forced me to be the dumb little plaything that you'll always throw away when you don't need me."

"You're still depressed about that?!" Black Rutile groaned in irritation as the brainwashed Emerald pulled up a throne for Black Rutile to sit on. "I'm saying that this could all be avoided if you joined me! Over time, I began to realize that the Rutile Rebels aren't as different from the Crystal Gems as I thought. We all started out as nobodies, did something extraordinary that made us different from the rest of our kin, rose to the top, and earned the respect of the Diamonds, only to have all torn down by a person who didn't even care about them." She declared. "I'll admit, when I first heard about Little Homeworld, I wanted to destroy it so bad, especially when you locked me up here. But after spending some time trapped here, I, ever the opportunist, decided that I could make it into something better!"

"Like turning it into our new secret lair for example!" Aquamarine added.

"And we have your stupid bickering to thank for it!" Eyeball said as all the other Rutile Rebels threw their heads back and laughed.

"What I'm trying to say is that there are special people like us who should run the world, and then there are the disgusting humans who deliver our food and fight our wars." Black Rutile continued. "Which is why I'm offering you this one-time opportunity. Let us work together for once so we can truly bring Gems and humans together in peace and harmony!" To emphasize her point, she turned on a news report documenting the attack on the White House. "Refuse, and I shall make you pay with your lives! Bring out the Disintegrator!"

"Wait, the Disintegrator?!" Bismuth shrieked in terror as Sally walked in with a small, glowing boxlike device in her hands that she set on the table. "I thought that was outlawed eons ago! How did you get one?!"

"You'd be surprised what I can accomplish through mixing Gem technology with human garbage." Black Rutile stated while presenting the device. "For those uninformed, most likely you Amethyst, this was an ancient torture device built to execute criminal Gems by grinding them up into dust and dispersing them in the air in a beautiful yet morbid fashion."

"Curious, most curious." Francis von Bowling nodded with intrigue. "And how does it work exactly?"

"Allow me to demonstrate." Black Rutile responded before presenting a small rock she placed in the Disintegrator. She then turned it on, and the rock was instantly ground up into dust in a terrifying show of the machine's power, leaving the Gems horrified yet not surprised she would use something like that. "That oughta show you for brainwashing us all!"

"You're kidding me?" Pearl scoffed. "You claim we're brainwashing Gems against their and forcing them to join our side when that's literally what you are doing with those devices! Those aren't rejuvenating blasters, they're inculcating blasters! All these new Gems of yours say: "All hail Black Rutile! All hail Black Rutile!", but the Gems we teach would never say anything like that. We didn't force them to come here, they made that choice willingly."

"Kind of like how Lapis willingly joined me after I convinced her of how alone we were in the universe?" Black Rutile retorted, pointing to a sullen Lapis in the darkness. "Or how I convinced Sally Grove here to be a kindred spirit?"

"Yeah, that reminds me," Amethyst asked. "How could you team up with someone that obviously evil? Surely, you must have some tragic reason for doing so, right?"

"No, no tragic reason at all," Sally admitted without a single ounce of empathy in her voice. "I just like being hated. It makes me feel powerful."

"Hatred makes all of us powerful." Holly Blue agreed with Sally, with Cat's Eye by her side with her cat Blake in her arms.

"Very powerful." Cat's Eye agreed.

"Okay, we've had enough taunting, let's get to executing!" Black Rutile declared eagerly as she began choosing which Crystal Gem to disintegrate. However, her choice was pretty easy. "Bismuth, do you volunteer as tribute?"

"Wait, what?!" Bismuth muttered as the brainwashed Demantoid and Pyrope freed her from her shackles to be executed. "You won't get away with this, Black Rutile!"

"As a matter of fact, I've gotten away with it months ago." Black Rutile cruelly sneered while shoving the Disintegrator towards Bismuth. "Now, you might feel a little tingle."

"Lapis, please, I'm sorry!" Bismuth cried out for possibly the last time to Lapis, but she didn't seem to listen. All Lapis could do was turn away in shame. As Bismuth was about to be thrown into the machine and the other Crystal Gems cried for Black Rutile not to do it, the Disintegrator was suddenly stabbed with an epee, causing it to shut down. "What?"

"You!" Black Rutile yelled at Tanzanite for destroying her machine. "I have put hours upon hours into building that, and you made it all for nothing!"

"That's because you've gone too far this time, and I can't do this anymore!" Tanzanite yelled angrily while proceeding to free Bismuth, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Peridot from their restraints. "Brainwashing is one thing, but executing too?"

"Are you seriously trying to talk back to your master?" Black Rutile growled angrily. "You know how Rose lied to you, you know how she left you to die and become part of a planet-destroying abomination against your will! I was there for you, and this is how you repay me?!"

"Yes, the Crystal Gems aren't honest, but their intentions are definitely real." Tanzanite declared firmly, bringing a tear to Pearl's eye before her former student was threatened with Black Rutile's bowie knife.

"Take that back and fight for me, or pay the price." Black Rutile ordered Tanzanite to stand down, and the punk purple Gem meekly did as she was told while Navy raced up to her master's side. "Yes, Ruby?"

"We got humans and enemy Gems at 12:00!" Navy yelled hurriedly.

"Did you tell them I hate them?" Black Rutile asked while turning her bowie knife into her sword. "No matter." With a superhuman leap, Black Rutile bounded out of her lair and landed in front of the New Crystal Temps before striking a pose as she drew her sword. "Well, don't stop on my account."

"Black Rutile, we've come to finally bring you to justice!" Connie declared while raising her sword in the air. "In the name of the Crystal Gems, the planet Earth, and the entire universe, we'll punish you for your crimes. And this time, we'll make it permanent. Do you yield?"

Black Rutile just sneered at Connie's bold declaration and responded with simply "I do not." With a snap of her fingers, the other Rutile Rebels, including a reluctant Tanzanite and Lapis, soon gathered behind her to counter Connie's forces. Just then, however, the Crystal Gems leaped out from behind the Rutile Rebels to join Connie and the others, followed by Spinel, Hessonite, Citrine, and Lemon Jade crashing into Little Homeworld on their ship.

"CRYSTAL GEMS!" Garnet roared while summoning her gauntlets. "Assemble." With that, everyone behind Connie roared as they charged into battle against Black Rutile and her enforcers, along with legions of brainwashed Gems, Concrete warriors, and Cactus & Topiary Stevens once again forced to serve Black Rutile. This was a day unlike any other when humans and Gems alike found themselves united against a common foe for the first time in thousands of years. On that day, everyone in Beach City became a Crystal Gem.

--

"Of course, you would find a way to ruin my plans!" Black Rutile said as she got into an intense swordfight with Connie. The battle for Earth had already gotten off to a rousing start. Bane Jones and Beckham Jordan fought side by side against von Bowling and his men, Kevin and Vidalia were up against Marty in a mechanical war suit, and Lars had a rematch with Emerald, among many other battles. "For too long now, you've always been interfering and you didn't even know it!"

"It's called loyalty Black Rutile, something you would probably never know!" Connie retorted before going in for a stab, only to be blocked by Sally Grove fighting back with a laser sword. "And as for you!"

"Don't even try to preach to me, little girl." Sally taunted in her usual high and mighty fashion. "We all know you would've found a way to call your white savior because you have no other personality outside of being his protector! You're a disgrace to your ethnicity, brat!"

"That's what you think, bullying my daughter like that!" Priyanka retorted with a sword of her own to fight Sally and Black Rutile with. "Apologize to her at once or I will reveal everything your parents told my husband!"

"What do you mean I have to apologize?! She attacked me!" Sally said before she realized what the doctor meant. "Wait, really? Oh no, no no no no!"

"Yeah, they told me some pretty messed up stuff about you," Doug said while putting out his notepad and reading what he had written earlier, making Sally writhe in agony while Black Rutile looked disdainfully at her human charge. "Let's see, abusing everyone around you, including your own parents, refusing to grow beyond your toxic personality while also blaming it on everyone around you, that disturbing fanfiction-"

"It's only disturbing from a certain point of view, having sexual relationships with your family members is perfectly normal in some parts of the world!" Sally only kept digging herself deeper into insanity in her attempts to preserve her image, unaware that Ronaldo had been live-streaming her this entire time, and her reputation was falling apart by the second. "Hey, turn that camera off!"

"No way, this is going to make a killing on Keep Beach City Weird!" Ronaldo laughed mischievously. "Wow, these negative comments expressing how betrayed your viewers must be for how much of a hypocrite you're being are coming in by the dozens."

"It's the same story I've seen so many times." Doug shook his head in disgust as Sally had an utter breakdown in front of the Maheswarans and Black Rutile, who was just as disgusted at how pathetic her partner was. "A fine, upstanding bigot. Your nose is so close to the grindstone, you can't see anything else. Meanwhile, the world changes and grows, and you're blind to it! Ignorant and proud of it too."

"Am I glad that's not me!" Black Rutile scoffed hypocritically as Sally was handcuffed and taken somewhere safe until the battle was over. "Now where were we? Oh yes!" She immediately got right back to her clash with Connie.

--

"So, calming down Lapis." Peridot muttered as she, Jasper, and White Topaz stood in front of Lapis and Phoenix Lapis fighting Laz and Zuli. "Got any ideas?"

"You're her life partner, you should know!" Jasper exclaimed while Laz and Zuli fought for their lives. "Paz, got any bright ideas?"

"I think I might have a good idea of what to do." White Topaz declared. "Bismuth, we need your help!"

"I'm in the middle of something here!" Bismuth replied while she was fighting Andesine and Cinnabar. "Oh, you want me to make up with Lapis, right?"

"Hopefully having her back on our side will turn the tide of battle!" White Topaz suggested, causing Bismuth to knock her two opponents out and walk up to her. "Just say what you need to say and hopefully she'll listen."

"This had better work." Bismuth took a deep breath and yelled "HEY LAPIS, OVER HERE!" The four Lapises then turned to see Bismuth below. "No, not you, the one who hates me!" she corrected herself.

"What do you want now?" Lapis angrily asked as she hovered on the ground.

"Listen Lapis, I know you won't ever forgive me and the other Crystal Gems for what we did to you," Bismuth said. "but I swear, if you listen and understand we didn't know what we did, maybe we can finally start making amends."

"Wait, you mean it?" Lapis's face softened in surprise.

"Yeah, we're still your friends!" White Topaz declared happily.

"And besides, I'm the only one who gets to be all sullen and betrayed here!" Jasper added before reaching her hand out. "Just take my hand."

Lapis started smiling again, bringing smiles to Peridot and White Topaz's faces as well, and began to reach out to Jasper. However, she was quickly interrupted by Cinnabar and Andesine's groups pointing their Rejuvenation Blasters at the Crystal Gems.

"Make another move, and we'll have to reset all of you." Cinnabar declared coldly.

"Now then, any last words?" Andesine smirked.

"I got one," Bismuth stated before raising her fist at Lapis's gem. "Please don't hate me for this again!" With a single punch, Lapis was poofed yet again, this time to save her from being shot with the Rejuvenation Blaster as the Rutile Rebels began opening fire, prompting Bismuth, Jasper, White Topaz, and Peridot to scatter.

"I'll be taking this to reverse-engineer, thank you very much!" Peridot snickered as she robbed Howlite of her Blaster to experiment on and ran away with a maniacal "NYEH-HAHAHAHAHA!"

"After her!" Howlite commanded and raced after Peridot with Dalmatian Jasper, Zoisite, Amber, and Xenotime behind her.

"Check it out, I got a Rejuvenation Blaster!" Peridot said to Squaridot and IQ while presenting the stolen blaster to them. "Maybe we can work together to find a way to use it to get everyone back to normal!"

"That's some good thinking, Peridot." Squaridot complimented the other Peridot's idea before the three geniuses snuck off to get to work.

--

"So it's come to this, Tanzanite, the student versus the master," Pearl said as she took a battle stance, and Tanzanite did the same. "Tell me Tanzanite, why did you join Black Rutile instead of accepting everything as it was? I understand if you felt betrayed by Rose, but this is not a healthy way of coping."

"It's because I just wanted to save everyone from what I suffered," Tanzanite revealed sadly as she clashed with her former mentor. "My friends! My family! Everything I did was for the galaxy, for the Crystal Gems! But it was all for nothing, Pink Diamond used all of us to avoid the consequences of her actions." Despite how much Pearl tried to speak up, Tanzanite kept ranting. "I had to use my skills on friends; on family; Gems that I knew. She controlled us through lies." She then let out a strained and tearful laugh. "Homeworld, no better than the rebels Rose created. I helped terrorize my people! I wanted you to stop it, I had to stop it. I spoke out. I spoke out to Black Rutile, to save everyone from you! But when I did, I only stood with a monster. You chose Pink Diamond." Now, Tanzanite was on the verge of tears as she sobbed into Pearl's chest. "You left me, gave me no choice! The Diamonds wanted to destroy worlds, and they did. Pink destroyed mine."

"Oh, poor dear," Pearl muttered sorrowfully while holding her old student close. "But do you still believe Black Rutile is good for you?"

"I'm not sure if anyone is good for me." Tanzanite sobbed. "I don't know if Black Rutile really cares for me or if she just saw me as a tool."

"Black Rutile never cared for anyone to begin with." Pearl declared before she held Tanzanite's head in her hands. "I'm truly sorry that I made you choose this path, and I promise that there will be no more secrets between us from now on. Is that good?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if I can forgive myself for this." Tanzanite agreed just as she felt the business end of a Rejuvenation Blaster pressing the back of her head.

"Another last-minute betrayal, I see." Andesine grinned while preparing to pull the trigger, only for Tanzanite to smack it out of Andesine's hands with her epee before stabbing her in the chest.

"Now look what you made ME do," Tanzanite smirked as she threw what Andesine said when she shattered her back in the red Gem's face before she poofed.

--

"Okay Mr. S, here we are." Mr. Shreds said as he pulled the limo up to the White House and let Eduardo out. "Just make it quick, I'm on a tight schedule here," Eduardo said nothing as he saw his family surrounded by terrorists and Reginald smugly standing by a video camera and a podium.

"Go on Mr. Prez, don't be shy." Reginald mockingly urged Eduardo. "Just say what you need to say."

"That's exactly what I was going to say to you." Eduardo declared before trapping Reginald in a headlock. "NOW!" The SWAT team immediately overwhelmed Reginald's enforcers while Reginald tried his best to fight back, only to be met with a krav maga kick from Theresa, coming straight out of nowhere.

"Did you plan all this?!" Reginald shouted.

"Well, not necessarily," Eduardo replied as Wade and Lloyd came to handcuff Reginald. "It's just that I'm far more quick on my feet than you'll ever be."

"Dad!" Huey and Riley Suarez cried as Theresa freed them from their restraints and hugged their father.

"Oh, mi preciosos, I was so worried," Eduardo said as he hugged them back before seeing Arlene walk towards them as well. "And I surely didn't forget you, my love."

"And you never will," Arleen replied before kissing her husband. And so, the White House was saved, thanks to the president and his quick thinking. Now all he had to do was hope that the Crystal Gems were doing alright.

--

"Must I remind you of my superiority, pretty boy?" Marty taunted Kevin while showing off the capabilities of his war suit. "Face it, hiding behind all these beautiful women won't get you anywhere in life!"

"Yeah, I'm absolutely unequipped for this, but that won't stop me from trying!" Kevin exclaimed before beginning to fight back.

"How could you, Marty?" Vidalia asked her ex-husband. "I knew you were a dirtbag, but selling out the entire human race for what? Just because you're mad we disowned you!"

"Oh yeah, I'm absolutely livid," Marty agreed. "but I'm mostly just here to get even with you guys. I don't give a damn about Black Rutile's whole rebellion business!"

Meanwhile, Bane Jones, Beckham, Makoto, and Matt were all standing back-to-back against Francis von Bowling's men. "So, when this is all over, could I perhaps get an autograph?" Bane asked Beckham. "I'm a huge fan, and I consider it an honor to be fighting for Earth with you."

"I'd be more than happy to." Beckham smiled at the offer.

"Hey boys, can we pick up the pace a bit?!" Makoto said while delivering an upside-down spinning kick to Konstantin, Pavel, and Leo at once.

Above the chaos going on in Little Homeworld, Black Rutile stood atop the whirlybird tower and was not happy with how her forces were losing. "STOOOOOP THEM!" she shrieked angrily while pulling at her hair just as she turned to see Connie, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot, Bismuth, Jasper, White Topaz, Spinel, Hessonite, and now Tanzanite standing behind her. "You! You ruined everything again! I could've made everything perfect!"

"You didn't want to make things perfect." Tanzanite declared to Black Rutile. "You just hated things the way they are."

"This is your final warning, Black Rutile." Garnet declared. "And this time, we won't be giving you a second chance. You and your minions are headed straight for Revanche 666 after this!"

"Fine, if I can never win, then neither should you!" Black Rutile completely snapped. "Aquamarine, Eyeball, Chrome Chalcedony, to me!"

"Ready as always, Black Rutile!" Aquamarine said as she and Eyeball fused into Bluebird Azurite, while Holly Blue and Cat's Eye arrived to make Chrome Chalcedony.

"And now, for a little surprise!" Bluebird proclaimed.

"I have a little joke for you all." Black Rutile smiled dementedly while grabbing Bluebird's hand. "What do you get when you cross a depressed loner with a society that abandons her and treats her like trash?!"

"That's not a very good joke!" Amethyst replied.

"I'll tell you what you get, you get what you deserve!" Black Rutile shrieked before she and Bluebird merged to form Pietersite, now sporting Black Rutile's new pink cape and red visor in addition to her outfit now looking different to fit Aquamarine's regeneration.

"PIETERSITE LIVES!" Pietersite bellowed loudly for all to hear and cringe in fear. "AND NOW CRYSTAL GEMS, IT IS TIME FOR THE FINAL CURTAIN CALL!"

"I don't think so!" Peridot said as she fired a Rejuvenation Blaster at the two fusions, which they dodged only for the blast to hit one of Nephrite's crew and revert her to normal. "I stole one of those blasters from Howlite and reverse-engineered them to change everyone hit by them back to normal."

"I'm free, I've been freed!" the Nephrite cheered at finally being brought back to her old self.

"What?" Pietersite muttered in horror as the Crystal Gems immediately understood what was going to happen and raced down to solid ground so they can do the same for all the other Gems Black Rutile converted. "No! No no no! Don't do that, I worked so hard!"

"Stop them!" Chrome Chalcedony added as she and Pietersite tried fighting back against the enemy, but as the Crystal Gems' forces grew with every Gem turned back to normal, they were quickly outnumbered.

"Well, we're boned," Apatite muttered as she and Amazonite prepared to leave. "Let's skedaddle!"

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Amazonite replied as she and Apatite found themselves confronted by the entirety of Beach City's population, and they weren't happy.

"Goin' somewhere?" Sheena Synstylae cracked her neck and her knuckles.

"Don't worry, you're not the only ones we'll be punishing," Lars added.

"We'll finally gain an advantage over Black Rutile!" Padparadscha Sapphire exclaimed happily.

Pietersite could barely comprehend what happened, and it was so anticlimactic too. Her forces were subdued, her weapons seized and modified to fix what she had done, and now all that was left of the Rutile Rebels was her, Aquamarine, and Eyeball once again. "Please no, just give me a second chance!"

"Not likely," Lapis said as she summoned a sawblade made of water that sliced Pietersite in half, barely giving her a chance to fight because the Crystal Gems now considered Black Rutile to be that pathetic to not even consider a grander defeat. To seal the deal, Little Homeworld was returned to its rightful place outside of Beach City with help from the Lapis Lazulis.

Black Rutile, Aquamarine, and Eyeball all fell to the ground in defeat, while the rest of the Rutile Rebels were brought together in chains. "I hate happy endings."

"Well, that should about wrap everything up!" Pearl sighed in relief once the dust settled. "Now then, it's off to Revanche 666 you all go!"

"And me too," Tanzanite added, much to Pearl's shock. "Even if I changed my ways, I still need to forgive myself for siding with Black Rutile too."

"Indeed, young Tanzanite." James began one final monologue. "At the end of the day, we are all but individuals crying for fairness in our lives. You won't get everything, but you'll get something. The Crystal Gems finally restore peace, while Black Rutile hopefully realizes how futile her schemes were. In the end, we just need to decide what is fair and what isn't."

"Oh, be quiet!" Black Rutile said as Hessonite and Spinel carted her away to the ship Andesine and Cinnabar hijacked in their prison break, while everyone was left to rejoice.

--

"So, that's all that happened?" Steven asked Connie a few days later over video chat. "Wow, sounds like you had quite the adventure."

"Yeah, and that's not even getting into what happened next," Connie stated. "First, Marty's now on the run from the law and lost everything. Then, Kevin got a key to the city."

"That's a phrase I never expected to hear." Steven laughed. "What else happened?"

"The Crystal Gems have all made up with each other and the Diamonds, and they're getting the therapy they need from Dr. Sucrose, Mr. Ikari, and Dr. Brenner." Connie continued. "Speaking of which, Brenner put Sally Grove under house arrest and is writing a book about the psychology of influencers, Neil Michaels is stuck doing ChikFlix movies to recoup his losses, Francis von Bowling is stuck in prison with Reginald Johnson, the president is still alive, and finally, the Rutile Rebels are all safely behind bars for what they've done. But I kinda doubt they'll stay there for long because evil geniuses are harder to squash than cockroaches."

"Hey, Connie!" Lapis cried while knocking on Connie's window, now back in her Crystal Gem uniform. When Connie peeked her head outside, she could see the other Crystal Gems outside her house. "You got a minute?"

"I'll call you back Steven!" Connie said before hanging up on Steven and racing outside to meet with her alien friends, no doubt to go on another adventure together. In the distance, the Officer was recording everything he saw and sending it to his masters.

--

Meanwhile, on Revanche 666, the prison was restored to order as the Rutile Rebels were locked behind the destabilizing fields in their cells.

"Hey, don't be so bummed out everyone!" Kyanite exclaimed. "We can make prison life fun!"

"Oh be quiet!" Zoisite yelled angrily.

"I did pretend to get sent to prison only to get sent to prison for real!" Amber added. "I'm getting anxious!"

"Hey, is no one going to check up on Black Rutile?" Dalmatian Jasper asked while pointing at Black Rutile sitting calmly in her cell.

"She's looking even mopier than me," Xenotime added worriedly. "I hope she's alright."

Hiding from the endless chatter of Zoisite's team, a restored Emerald, Morganite, Demantoid & Pyrope who were behind bars to repent, Black Rutile gazed emotionlessly at her hand as she wondered how it all came to this. So many months of planning have now gone to waste, once again because of the Gems' human friends. This made her finally ask herself one thing. "Is this still worth it?"

--

This went way longer than I expected, and with way too many characters I put on the cast list that didn't get a line! I've recently found it to be a bad habit of mine, and I hope to remedy that in future stories. I also think I kind of rushed this to be as big as possible while still meeting my deadline. But in the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed these past thirteen weeks and I get to enjoy a break at last and maybe pursuing either a story I haven't written yet or one I still need to finish. But for now, let's see what to come in the finale.

--

"Your Highness, we received another update from Aescul!" a snakelike alien told his master, another snake alien who was far larger and resembled a king cobra, as he received the news from their deep cover agent. "He says now might finally be the time."

"Excellent work, sir." The king cobra alien said to his subordinate while slithering away. "You are dismissed." The cobra then retreated into a mysterious chamber where he met with a shadowy figure towering above him. "It's time for the Gems to enter our contest, great Lapidarist." He declared to the shadow. "Soon, we shall return your children to you."

The shadowy figure began glowing a brilliant white light as it woke up, followed by shimmering with every possible color in existence while laying eyes upon its servant.

--

Featuring Voltaire as King Cobralan Jormagundr

TO BE CONCLUDED IN STEVEN UNIVERSE: SNAKE EYES

A FINALE THREE YEARS IN THE MAKING

[papermoonloveslucy]

ZIEGFELD FOLLIES

April 8, 1946

Directors: Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth. Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney,  Norman Taurog, Charles Walters. Robert Lewis Producer: Arthur Freed for Metro Goldwyn Mayer

The shooting schedule ran between April 10 and August 18, 1944, with retakes plus additional segments filmed on December 22, 1944 and then between January 25 and February 6, 1945. The film was first proposed in 1939. 

Synopsis ~ We meet a grayed, immaculately garbed Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. in Paradise (his diary entry reads "Another heavenly day"), where he looks down upon the world and muses over the sort of show he'd be putting on were he still alive.

PRINCIPAL CAST

Lucille Ball ('Here's to the Ladies') is appearing in her 64th film since coming to Hollywood in 1933. 

Fred Astaire ('Here's to the Ladies' / Raffles in 'This Heart of Mine' / Tai Long in 'Limehouse Blues’ / Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide') also appeared with Lucille Ball in Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935), and Follow the Fleet (1936). His name was mentioned twice on “I Love Lucy.”

Lucille Bremer (Princess in 'This Heart of Mine' / Moy Ling in 'Limehouse Blues') 

Fanny Brice (Norma Edelman in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') appeared in the original stage version of many editions of The Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway.

Judy Garland (The Star in 'A Great Lady Has An Interview') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943). 

Kathryn Grayson (Kathryn Grayson in 'Beauty') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Lena Horne (Lena Horne in 'Love') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Gene Kelly (Gentleman in 'The Babbit and the Bromide') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and A Guide for the Married Man (1967). He made an appearance on the Lucille Ball special “Lucy Moves to NBC” (1980).  

James Melton (Alfredo in 'La Traviata')

Victor Moore (Lawyer's Client in 'Pay the Two Dollars')

Red Skelton (J. Newton Numbskull in 'When Television Comes') also starred with Lucille Ball in Having Wonderful Time (1938), Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and The Fuller Brush Girl (1950).  On TV he appeared on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “Lucy Goes To Alaska” (1958). Ball and Skelton appeared in numerous TV specials together. 

Esther Williams (Esther Williams in 'A Water Ballet') also appeared with Lucille Ball in Easy To Wed (1946). 

William Powell (Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.) also played the same character in The Great Ziegfeld (1936). 

Edward Arnold (Lawyer in 'Pay the Two Dollars') appeared with Lucille Ball in Roman Scandals (1933) and Ellis in Freedomland (1952).

Marion Bell (Violetta in 'La Traviata')

Cyd Charisse (Ballerina in 'Beauty') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943).

Hume Cronyn (Monty in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') was honored by The Kennedy Center in 1986, at the same ceremony as Lucille Ball. 

William Frawley (Martin in 'A Sweepstakes Ticket') played the role of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”. He also appeared on “The Lucy Show,” his final screen appearance. 

Robert Lewis (Chinese Gentleman in 'Limehouse Blues' / Telephone Voice in 'Number Please')

Virginia O'Brien (Virginia O'Brien in 'Here's to the Ladies') also starred with Lucille Ball in Thousands Cheer (1943),  Du Barry Was A Lady (1943), and Meet The People (1944). 

Keenan Wynn (Caller in 'Number Please') appeared with Lucille Ball in Easy To Wed (1946), Without Love (1945), and The Long, Long Trailer (1954). 

SUPPORTING CAST

Ziegfeld Girls

Karin Booth  

Lucille Casey  

Aina Constant  

Elizabeth Dailey  

Frances Donelan  

Natalie Draper  

Karen X. Gaylord  

Aileen Haley  

Carol Haney  

Shirlee Howard  

Margaret Laurence  

Helen O'Hara  

Noreen Roth  

Elaine Shepard  

Kay Thompson  

Dorothy Tuttle  

Dorothy Van Nuys  

Eve Whitney - appeared on “I Love Lucy” episode “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15).

Dancers

Gloria Joy Arden

Jean Ashton  

Irene Austin  

Judi Blacque  

Bonnie Barlowe  

Norman Borine  

Hazel Brooks  

Ed Brown  

Kathleen Cartmill  

Jack Cavan  

Marilyn Christine  

Laura Corbay  

Rita Dunn  

Meredyth Durrell  

Shawn Ferguson  

Jeanne Francis  

Jean French  

Mary Jane French  

David Gray  

Bill Hawley  

Doreen Hayward  

Charlotte Hunter  

Virginia Hunter  

Patricia Jackson

Margaret Kays  

Laura Knight  

Laura Lane  

Dale Lefler  

Melvin Martin  

Diane Meredith  

Lorraine Miller  

Joyce Murray  

Janet Nevis  

Ray Nyles  

Billy O'Shay  

Jane Ray  

Dorothy Raye  

Beth Renner

Melba Snowden  

Walter Stane  

Ivon Starr  

Robert Trout  

Chorus Boys

Rod Alexander

Milton Chisholm  

Dick D'Arcy  

Dante DiPaolo  

Don Hulbert  

Herb Lurie  

Matt Mattox  

Bert May - appeared on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford”

Jack Purcell  

Tommy Rall  

Ricky Ricardi (!)

Alex Romero

“LIMEHOUSE BLUES” starring Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, and Robert Lewis

Robert Ames (Masked Man)  

James Barron (Couple with Banners)  

Eleanor Bayley (Couple with Branches)  

Mary Jo Ellis (Couple with Banners)  

Sean Francis (Ensemble)  

James King (Rooster)  

Harriet Lee (Bar Singer) 

Eugene Loring (Costermonger)  

Charles Lunard (Masked Man)  

Patricia Lynn (Ensemble)  

Ruth Merman (Ensemble)  

Garry Owen (1st Subway Policeman)  

Ellen Ray (Couple with Parasols)  

Jack Regas (Masked Man)  

Billy Shead (Couple with Parasols)  

Ronald Stanton (Couple with Branches)  

Wanda Stevenson (Ensemble)  

Ray Teal (2nd Subway Policeman)  

“LOVE” starring Lena Horne

Juliette Ball (Club Patron)   

Lennie Bluett (Dancer)   

Suzette Harbin (Flirt)   

Avanelle Harris (Club Patron)  

Maggie Hathaway (Dancer)  

Charles Hawkins (Club Patron)  

Marie Bryant (Woman Getting Her Man Taken)   

Cleo Herndon (Dancer)   

“THIS HEART OF MINE” starring Fred Astaire and Lucille Bremer

Helen Boyce (Countess)   

Feodor Chaliapin Jr. (Lieutenant)

Naomi Childers (Duchess)

Charles Coleman (Majordomo)   

Sam Flint (Majordomo's Assistant)

Sidney Gordon (Masked Man)   

Count Stefenelli (Count)   

Robert Wayne (Dyseptic)   

“PAY THE TWO DOLLARS”  starring Edward Arnold and Victor Moore

William Bailey (Subway Passenger)

Joseph Crehan (1st Judge) - played a Detective on “I Love Lucy” “The Great Train Robbery”

William B. Davidson (2nd Judge)

Eddie Dunn (3rd Subway Policeman)   

Harry Hayden (Warden)   

George Hill (2nd Subway Policeman)   

Wilbur Mack (Subway Passenger)   

Larry Steers (Magistrate)

“NUMBER PLEASE” starring Keenan Wynn

Peter Lawford (Voice of Porky)

Grady Sutton (Texan)

Audrey Totter (Phone Operator Voice)

Kay Williams (Girl)

OTHERS

Bunin's Puppets

Elise Cavanna (Tall Woman)

Jack Deery (Man)

Rex Evans (Butler in "A Great Lady Has An Interview”)

Sam Garrett (Roping / Twirling Act)

Silver (Horse in "Here's to the Ladies') 

Arthur Walsh (Telegraph Boy in "A Sweepstakes Ticket") - appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (ILL S3;E11). 

‘FOLLIES’ TRIVIA

Sidney Guilaroff, Lucille Ball’s hair dresser, who takes responsibility for her famous ‘golden red’ for this movie, becoming her trademark color.

Although they appear in different segments, this is the only feature film collaboration between “I Love Lucy co-stars" Lucille Ball and William Frawley. Coincidently, Frawley's character in this film shares a striking similarity with his iconic character of Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy.” In this film he plays a money-hungry curmudgeon of a landlord, much like the show. In the above photo, he appears with director Minnelli and co-star Brice. 

The horse ridden by Lucille Ball is the Lone Ranger's Silver!

Lucille Ball was actually fired by Ziegfeld from his road company production of Rio Rita in the 1930s.

In February 1956, Lucy and Desi appeared on “MGM Parade” to promote their MGM film Forever Darling. The show also included footage of Lena Horne singing from Ziegfeld Follies. 

Lucy also played a showgirl in pink in “Lucy Gets Into Pictures” (ILL S4;E19) aired on February 21, 1955. The scene was inspired by Ziegfeld’s legendary stage shows featuring beautiful women wearing elaborate costumes navigating long staircases. To solidify the comparison, Ricky says he is going to a meeting with Mr. Minnelli. Vincente Minnelli was one of the directors of Ziegfeld Follies. 

Lucy Ricardo had previously cavorted around in a lampshade in the manner of a Ziegfeld girl in both the unaired pilot and “The Audition” (S1;E6).

Ziegfeld Follies includes a sketch for Red Skelton called “When Television Comes” aka “Guzzler’s Gin” in which a (future) television spokesman gets increasingly sloshed on his product. This sketch was an obvious influence on Lucy’s Vitameatavegamin routine in “Lucy Does a TV Commercial” (ILL S1;E30) aired on May 5, 1952. 

Ziegfeld Girl Eve Whitney appeared on “I Love Lucy” episode “The Charm School” (ILL S3;E15). She used her own name for the character.  

The Telegraph Boy in "A Sweepstakes Ticket" Arthur Walsh - appeared on “I Love Lucy” in “Lucy Has Her Eyes Examined” (ILL S3;E11) as Arthur ‘King Cat’ Walsh. He teaches Lucy how to jitterbug. 

The first Judge in the “Pay the Two Dollars” James Crehan also played the Police Detective on “I Love Lucy in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5) first aired on October 31, 1955.

Porky, a voice on the telephone in “Number Please” Peter Lawford, played “Password” against Lucille Ball on September 24, 1964.  At the time, Lawford was married to President Kennedy’s sister, Patricia. On November 26, 1968, Ball was a guest on “The Tonight Show” when Peter Lawford was sitting in for Johnny Carson.

Chorus Boy Bert May appeared as a solo dancer on “The Lucy Show” in “Lucy and Tennessee Ernie Ford” (TLS S5;E21) in February 1967. 

In the dressing room, Lucy jokes with Fanny Brice, one of the funniest women in showbusiness.  This was the only time Ball and Brice collaborated and was Brice’s last film. 

Ziegfeld’s follies began on Broadway, so it was appropriate that the show featured past and future Broadway musical stars:

Lucille Ball ~ Wildcat (1960)

Carol Haney ~ The Pajama Game (1954)

Tommy Rall ~ Call Me Madame (1950)

Fanny Brice ~ The Ziegfeld Follies 

Marion Bell ~ Brigadoon (1947)

Victor Moore ~ Anything Goes (1934)

There was a lot of material that was not filmed, but written and cast. Some of the original skits would have added “Lucy” performers Mickey Rooney, Ann Sothern, and Van Johnson to the cast.

[retropopcult]

"Hold Me" is a song by British-American rock group Fleetwood Mac, and was the first single released from their thirteenth album, Mirage, in 1982. 

Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham were the lead vocalists on the song and it was written by McVie with assistance from Robbie Patton. The single became one of Fleetwood Mac's biggest hits in the US, peaking at #4 for a then-record seven consecutive weeks.

The music video features the band in a surreal scenario set in a desert, based on several René Magritte paintings. Unfortunately, due to the band members' strained relationships at the time, “the video shoot in the Mojave Desert was a nightmare," according to producer Simon Fields. "[They] were, um, not easy to work with," agrees Steve Barron, who directed the clip. Most scenes feature only one or two band members at a time. The entire band is never seen together.  "It was so hot, and we weren't getting along," recalls Stevie Nicks. Buckingham was still not over the breakup with Nicks years earlier, nor her subsequent affair with Mick Fleetwood. Further, she elaborates, the rest of the band was angry with Fleetwood because he had begun an affair with Nicks's best friend, who left her husband as a result.

“They didn't want to be there," says Barron. "Christine was about ten hours out of the makeup trailer. By which time it was getting dark." According to Fields, "John McVie was drunk and tried to punch me. Stevie didn't want to walk on the sand with her platform shoes. Christine was fed up with all of them.”

[thesolotomyhan]

Hermosa princessa you almost killed me with that Ismael content, it was so goood. i can't wait for the nsfw 🥵 and your Amado content aswell ofc. I think him, Amado (when he was not with the cuban and being romanticized/softned) and the Christine shooting scene (can we talk about Barron bc ooff) were by far the best parts of the season. Btw, did you saw my other ask about the thot i had for Amado and mentioned that scene from Mad Max?

:((( aww thank you mi amor :( and yeah i can agree with your picks on being highlights of this season haha and i just checked rn yeah i think i did receive it,, its just buried under so many asks so it might take me a while :((( ill try to get to it soon tho :((