#I NEED TO SHOW SPINEL I LOVE HER SO MUCH AND I NEED TO DO IT /NOW/

[spinning-feeling]

still baffles me, ever so slightly, that me and spinel are... eachother's, now

ring-sealed and all, for the lack of a better term

it just makes me think on things, y'know? how much this silly pink gem changed my life, ever since i met her, for the good ofc

it baffles me, yet still i feel like i can find plenty of peace in these thoughts and memories

by my name, and by the gods, i love my adorable silly slinky wife

[sage-nebula]

"Friede's using himself as a decoy to keep us safe."

I rambled about this in the tags of a reblog, but hell, I'm going to go ahead and make a separate meta post about it as well, because it's something that I think could have a delicious narrative impact on a future Horizons arc if the writers choose to utilize it. (And even if they don't, it could make for some delicious fic.)

So, one thing I noticed on my catch up binge of Horizons is that Liko and Roy (and to a lesser extent Dot) see Friede not only as the leader of the Rising Volt Tacklers, but also as a hero -- as their hero. This especially jumped out at me in episode 25, when Friede had them take shelter in the tower of the ancient castle while he battled Amethio. Not only did they readily listen to him when he told them to stay put inside the tower while he alone went to the exposed top, but then we were treated to this:

This whole sequence is notable for several reasons:

Friede jumps off the tower to draw Amethio away from the higher floor of the tower where Liko and Roy are sheltering, so that Amethio has a lower chance of going after them.

As he passes by their window, Friede gives them a wink and a smile, to comfort and encourage them.

The animators made sure to show us not only how Friede looked from Liko and Roy's perspective (heroic), but also how awed they were by giving us a full shot of their own facial expressions.

Just in case it wasn't obvious enough, Roy and Liko spell it out themselves that Friede is using himself as bait for Amethio in order to protect them, not only telling the audience what he's doing in case the audience didn't pick up on it (which, young children do watch this show), but also showing how this knowledge affects them, because Roy's voice is shaking a little when he says his line, and Liko's is hushed.

This was a very scary night for these two kids. They were outnumbered, their enemies were much stronger than they were, they were being pursued and in hiding. But Friede put himself between them and the greatest, nearest threat, and did his best to comfort them as he did so. To give them a wink and a smile as if to say, "Don't worry, it'll be okay."

And this isn't the only time.

We would be here all day if I grabbed screenshots of every time Friede rushed in to either save the kids from danger (either directly himself or by sending Cap in his place), or check on their well being after the fact to make sure that they were unharmed. Often, he does both in the course of the same episode, sometimes multiple times. Hell, his establishing character moment in the very beginning of the series is a heroic rescue whereupon he enters the scene to protect Liko from Amethio on the rooftop of her school. Friede makes it a point to prioritize the kids' safety and well-being, and as a result, they've reached the natural conclusion: they view him as a hero. As their hero.

So then, the question must be asked: what happens if their hero is taken out of the picture?

The question needs to be asked for a few reasons, and not just because I have a love for angst. The first reason is because we've already been given a teaser of what would happen at the end of the Terapagos Shine arc. In episode 44, Friede was trapped in a tower of Spinel's design. Though neither Liko nor Roy knew that the tower was a trap by Spinel, they did know that Friede was trapped inside -- and both immediately panicked upon seeing that Friede was trapped in a tower beyond their reach in enemy territory.

Roy immediately tried opening the door and, when repeated attempts to yank it open wouldn't work, banged it on it with his fists while yelling Friede's name. Liko, meanwhile, stared in abject terror. And even after Friede reassures them, Roy still frantically demands more answers while Liko just as frantically wants to know if Friede is okay, and a little bit after that has to take a deep breath to try to get herself to calm down. Keep in mind that just an episode prior to this, when faced with a sudden attack by the Explorers, Liko's first instinct was to call Friede for help, while Roy said that he would battle because there was no time to call Friede (not because calling for backup wasn't necessary). Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the kids aren't brave. Of course they are! They both insisted on going on this mission in the first place! And they're there because, as concerned as Friede is for their safety, he is also Professor Pushover when it comes to them and caved immediately to their puppy eyes. But they also feel much safer on that mission because Friede is there with him. Feeling that he is in danger, cut off from them like that -- the stakes suddenly became that much more real.

And on the other side of the door, Friede knew it as well. And how did he react?

He's not happy. He knows this is a bad situation. But --

He does what he always does: he doesn't let on at all that this is a bad situation, so as not to worry and scare the kids. He also tells them to leave the area, because Spinel is there and Spinel is dangerous, and he wants to get them away from that danger. To date, Spinel is the most dangerous Explorer that they've encountered. Remember, Spinel is the one who successfully stole Terapagos' pendant, and the one who wiped Liko's memory and had her missing in Levincia for awhile. It's understandable why Friede would prioritize getting the kids as far away from him as possible.

So, to recap:

In a situation where, as far as the kids knew, Friede was just temporarily locked in a room away from them (in enemy territory but not with an enemy) and could still talk to them, it freaked them out enough to make them panic, and it took Landau telling them that they had to believe Friede could get himself out of the room and that they had to move forward for Liko to deep breath her way out of her mounting panic attack so she and Roy could move on. In a situation where Friede was actually captured, then, we could probably expect their reactions -- at least, their initial reactions -- to be much worse.

And I consider this possibility for two specific reasons: one genre, and one narrative.

First, genre. Pokémon has always been a coming-of-age story of sorts, but I feel that the Horizons anime feels especially so, focusing very strongly on Liko, Roy, and Dot as they grow up and discover both who they are, and who they want to be when they're older. (This has been especially emphasized with Liko and Dot, I feel; with Roy, he hasn't really thought about the future beyond battling Rayquaza.) The thing about coming-of-age stories set in fantasy settings, though -- rather, the thing about coming-of-age stories set in fantasy settings wherein the young protagonist has a stronger mentor that they can lean on to bail them out of jams is that, if they can consistently rely on the mentor to bail them out of jams and danger, then it doesn't give them the opportunity to overcome that danger themselves. Therefore, very often those stories will kill off the mentor character to force the younger protagonist character to go off on their own to face the primary villains in the end. Hence the deaths of characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, and so on.

Now, given that this is a Pokémon anime, obviously they're not going to have Spinel murder Friede. I mean, true, they let Zygarde kill Lysandre on Bonnie's order at the end of the XYZ anime, but Lysandre was the big bad and we didn't see his corpse, it was just heavily implied that he didn't survive what Zygarde did to him. Same with Hunter J and her crew in the DP anime. Did she live? Probably not, but we never saw the bodies, so hey, plausible deniability, and they were villains anyway, so. But Friede is a main character, and a hero, so we can be 99.9% sure that they're not going to have Spinel or anyone else murder him in order to force the kids to get by without him for awhile.

However, Friede doesn't have to die for him to be taken out of the action. He just needs to be put into a position where it is physically impossible for him to get to them to save them when they're in danger (and for them to know that he can't get to them when they're in danger). But I'm getting ahead of myself. The point I'm making here is that, for genre reasons, the writers have a reason to want to remove Friede from the field of play in order to force Liko, Roy, and Dot to stand on their own against the Explorers. Because while they would still have the rest of the adult crew of the Rising Volt Tacklers, the rest of the adult crew aren't really battlers. The only one among them who has a fully evolved pokémon is Orio with Metagross, and we've only seen her attempt to battle once. It doesn't mean she can't, of course, but it does imply that perhaps she's not an active battler. Certainly, she's not the one rushing in to save the kids all the time like Friede is. The rest of the RVT crew is important as well, but Friede is the one who would cause the real narrative impact here, as well as the psychological impact on the kids.

(And to briefly address Dot, since I've barely talked about her: Dot hasn't received as much focus in this discussion since she rarely leaves the ship, and thus hasn't been in as much danger as Liko and Roy. However, Friede has had as much of an impact on her life and I believe she sees him as a personal hero just as much. He is, after all, the one who gave her the new life that has impacted her so greatly. He's the one whose thesis first caught her attention. He showed an interest in her interests. He called her abilities special. He invited her to join the Brave Asagi. He brought her aboard no questions asked, made her feel welcomed, has never shamed her for being a shut-in, so on and so forth. Friede treats Dot with as much respect as he does the rest of the crew and his offer to let her become a crew member changed her life for the better. So while he hasn't had to rescue her as much as the other two, I think she does see him as a hero just as Liko and Roy do, and would be just as affected if something happened to him as they would be.)

The other reason why I think the question needs to be asked is a narrative one. I think, from a narrative perspective, it would simply make sense for the Explorers to want to do something about Friede at some point, particularly if they wish to take Terapagos from Liko (or get the kids out of the way of their plans for Rayquaza / Terapagos / Rakua). Again, whenever the kids are in danger, Friede swoops in and saves them. This is something that Spinel, at least, has noticed; he built the trap on the island specifically to imprison Friede. Why would he do that, if Friede was not at the very least a nuisance, at the very most a threat? And at the end of it all, we got this:

Which then brings me back to what I mentioned earlier: since the anime clearly can't (and won't) murder Friede, because that would be going way too far for a Pokémon anime, if the writers do choose to temporarily remove him from the field of play in order to give the kids room to stand on their own two feet without Professor Safety Net, then I could see this playing out one of two ways.

The first (and most delicious) way is obvious: have him be captured by the Explorers. I feel that this is already set up by Spinel's little smirk and comment above. Spinel has already designed one trap meant to imprison Friede; there is nothing stopping him from designing more. Of course, it would require nerfing Friede (and Cap) a bit, in order to leave them captured for a good while; but it would also give the kids a mission, that mission being rescuing Friede and Cap in a reversal of all the rescues Friede and Cap have provided for them thus far, while simultaneously taking the fight to the Explorers, versus the Explorers always coming after them. Of course, this does carry the risk of still seeming too dark for the writers to want to consider, since Friede would be a prisoner during all this, but if nothing else, I can always write fic.

The second possibility that is less obvious and more bonkers, but less dark and so somehow more plausible in my mind, is that Friede could somehow end up trapped in Rakua with Lucius. And before you're like "what," consider this:

Friede has a plan that involves the three Heroes they've obtained so far. If I had to guess, Friede is going to continue pursuing the remaining Six Heroes while the kids are on their Terastal course. And that's fine / good; he's continuing the mission so they don't lose time, although how he's going to do that without Terapagos is a mystery. (Although I'm sure Liko would let him borrow Terry if he just asked.) But the point is, he's got this mysterious plan involving the three Heroes they currently have. Rakua is some mysterious place that isn't on any maps and so could very well be another dimension or something similar, because those are 100% canonically real in the Pokémon world (e.g. the Distortion World). It would behoove the writers to have Friede off the field of play for awhile, to the extent that it is physically impossible for him to help the kids. And the kids also intend to reach Rakua because that's what Terapagos wants. So if Friede somehow got trapped in Rakua, then they would be killing two birds with one stone: Friede can no longer help the kids when they're in danger from the Explorers, and the kids can rescue Friede when they take Terapagos to Rakua to see Lucius' spirit (or just Lucius himself if Lucius has been alive in Rakua all this time because it's like a fountain of youth or limbo or something). Bonus points if the kids don't even know that's where Friede is, if they just know that something happened to him but don't know what, but they keep working toward Rakua anyway because the other adults on the crew convince them that Friede would want them to. (But Friede can maybe still somehow get messages to them through Terapagos visions or something, I don't know.)

I could honestly see this being the way they go with it, simply because it's less dramatic than "the enemy has taken your mentor hostage and taunt you about how powerless you are to do anything about it and also they're going to hunt you down to steal your little turtle, too." Plus they're setting Friede up to do something with the three Heroes, and it can't be for nothing. But then again, neither can Spinel's interest . . .

Either way, the fact that the kids so clearly see Friede as their hero, and the way it would impact them to have something happen to him as a result, has lived in my head ever since episode 25. Particularly since it would have a narrative impact as well, given how often he is their safety net, and what it would mean if he couldn't be any longer. Not because he chose not to, because he would never choose that; but because he couldn't, because external forces took that choice away.

Well. Even if the anime itself doesn't deliver, that won't stop me. :)

[trelinha9]

I loved today's episode. I loved it, loved it, loved it!!!!!

Spoilers below the line, as always, and let's go to all the incredible points of this incredible episode in this incredible anime with incredible characters!

Spoilers below the cut!

1 - The episode begins where we left off, with Liko and Ametio trapped together in the cave. This opening scene is short but important. Terapagos is yelling at Amethio, and Liko tries to calm him down without success. Ametio takes a deep breath, steps forward and tells Terapagos that he wouldn't do anything, to trust him. I like how Amethio kind of prepares himself to say this sentence, as if he doesn't know how to handle the situation

2 - Terapagos apparently realizes that Amethio IS NOT Gibeon, despite probably looking a lot like a younger Gibeon. The small sparkling legendary turtle is clearly confused, but he simply turns his back and heads back to Liko. At that moment, Amethio sighs, he is relieved to have solved that problem

3 - The cutest scene of the entire episode: Ceruledge watching Floragato collect grass to help Liko stay warm, and he decides to use his blades to warm Amethio too! It's like, the cutest thing in the world. I love these two so much. I need more fics with these two. Ceruledge cares so much about Amethio, it's so beautiful

4 - Liko asks Ceruledge to burn the grass to make a fire, and Amethio agrees. The two sit together and do something that no one thought Pokémon writers would be able to do: THEY TALK!!!! Like, they ask each other questions, and they answer those questions, and they both end up understanding each other better in the end. Here are the notes, because it was my favorite moment of the episode by far:

5 - One thing I really liked is that Amethio is the one who starts the conversation. He asks why Liko was ready to give up when he terastalized Ceruledge, and Liko explains that she failed the terastal application test. Liko says she thought she would be more useful if she had passed. Amethio then asks if she's going to give up (HE ASKS IF SHE'S GOING TO GIVE UP OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS EPISODE SO MUCH). His words (in the Brazilian dub) are "Are you going to give up just because you tripped once and you think you won't be able to help?" Amethio clearly identified with what Liko said here: he lost to Friede, he lost to Rayquaza twice, he lost to Hamber, and in the last episode he lost to Spinel's Umbreom. He had to recover from all these losses if he wanted to continue to be useful to the Explorers. Faced with Amethio's words, Liko reflects and says that she doesn't want to give up.

6-It's Liko's turn to ask a question, and it's interesting when she says that she always wanted to ask him that: because he saved her in the battle against Rayquaza. Amethio says that he didn't save her, and Liko says "But I was saved. You saved me" (which, coupled with the fact that she thanked him, shows that she is grateful to Amethio for saving her, since she thought on the subject).

7 - Liko says that the Explorers are "bad" people who are after Terapagos and Rayquaza, but she feels that Amethio is different in some way. This is in the episode. I'm not making it up. It's 100% canon. I'm normal. I'm fine.

8 - Liko asks why Amethio needs Terapagos and Rayquaza, and Amethio explains that, to fulfill his grandfather's, Gibeon, dream of finding Rakua, he needs them both. (Note, Amethio explicitly says that he wants to make his grandfather's dream come true. This is the first time we hear him say that he wants something, in this case, to make someone else's dream come true).

9 - Mini note: the moment Ceruledge kneels next to Amethio when he says "I want to make my grandfather's dream come true" is so... Sweet. Interesting. As if Ceruledge is saying "I'm with you on this, you're not alone"

10 - Liko and Amethio continue to bond over the fact that they are both following their grandparents' legacy, and how their path is similar.

11-One of my favorite moments of the episode: Liko says that she was happy to have had that conversation, because before she only thought of him as an enemy. Amethio responds that he only thought of her as "the girl who has Terapagos". This tiny moment is actually huge. It is explicit in the text that Liko and Amethio's view of each other has changed. The two talked, opened up, and ended up understanding each other. Now THAT'S what I call a wholesome bonding scene

12 - My greatest wishes were fulfilled in this episode: Amethio gets up and says "Let's get out of here, Liko". LIKO. LIKO!!! HE CALLS HER BY HER NAME!!!!! I'M SO NORMAL ABOUT THIS.

13 - Amethio and Liko come up with a plan to enlarge a hole in the ceiling of the cave so they can get through safely. Ceruledge and Floragato climb onto Corviknight and use their attacks to open the hole wider. The two work very well together, and Amethio and Liko successfully exit the cave (also, considering the fact that the exit was on the roof of the cave, we can assume that Liko and Amethio rode Corviknight together, which is cute to imagine )

14 - I loved how Amethio reaches out to Liko and helps her get out of the crack they created. He is a gentleman indeed

15 - Amethio warns Liko to be careful with Spinel, because he would definitely try something like that again, which is nice of him. He hates the guy, that's a fact.

16 - Another super interesting conversation was when Liko asks Amethio why the Rising Volt Tacklers and the Explorers don't come together, since they both want the same thing, and Amethio says it's impossible. Amethio says that, even though the goals are the same, the paths are different, and that he will continue in his own way.

17 - The scene where all the admins, especially Spinel, stab Amethio in the back is heavy. Spinel and Agate did a great job of pretending they didn't know anything, and Coral and Sidian, too. To clarify, no, Amethio was not kicked out of the Explorers, at least it is not said in the episode. Gibeon says that he was disappointed in Amethio, that even Amethio was turning against him, and tells Amethio to leave, that he doesn't want to see his face. This one is HEAVY. First, we get some hints about what happened to Amethio's father (he probably betrayed the Explorers), and second, the fact that Gibeon doesn't even give Amethio the benefit of the doubt to explain what happened is horrifying. He's his grandson, you should believe what he says!

18 - The episode ends with Amethio literally shaking. He was betrayed by his colleagues, and neither his mentor nor his grandfather wanted to let him explain himself. Additionally, he has been compared to his father. This boy needs therapy.

Episode 10/10 for sure! I didn't mention the scenes with Roy, Dot, and Friede throughout the episode, because the Ameliko content was the highlight of the episode for me and is more relevant than anything else. I can't wait to see how Liko and Amethio's relationship will develop in the next arc, and what the writers will do with Amethio's character.

[thedeerman]

ummm someone tell me why listening to system/BOOT PearlFinal (3) from the SU Movie just gave me the wildest fucking Hazbin AU concept (this is fucking long pls forgive me)

So- Steven Universe Movie x Hazbin Hotel. All of them have just had their memories wiped, their 'default' personalities reset, and not having any idea who they once were. you get to really see what each character would have been like had they not faced whatever horrible thing landed them in Hell to begin with.

Going through that song in particular made me really think, guys. Hear me out.

Lucifer is Rose/Pink in this, so he wouldn't really be there.

Obv Charlie takes her rightful place as Steven, as she is literally, in almost all fucking ways, Adult Demon Steven Universe. Take out the aliens and add in the bible and you got Charlie Morningstar

Lilith is Pearl- She fell in love with the angel that took a liking to her, dedicating everything about her existence to Lucifer. Even when it came to giving up everything, she did it for him. Reset, she's just as dedicated but has no one to give that dedication to. Until...

Yes, ALASTOR HAS TO BE GREG. Lilith may have come from Eden with Lucifer, by his side from the very beginning, but after all those years, I never thought I'd lose... Also, the whole 'pearl latching on to greg as her new diamond' thing makes that EXTRA hilarious. Charlie's gonna be all "Mom, don't you recognize them? Don't you recognize me?" Lilith's overly helpful ass is gonna be like "Hmmmm... Well I certainly recognize my Um Radio Demon!" And Al just, "...Oh boy."

Angel is Ruby, even if he hadn't been raised in the mafia, I'd like to think that Angel would be a solid badass mf either way, dedicated to protecting what he cares about.

Husk is Sapphire, ever think that maybe the reason the oddly wise bartender always seems to know everything isn't because he's a bartender? Uh oh, secret's out, Husky. (not to mention the idea of Huskerdust 'isn't it love' is killing me)

Niffty is Amethyst- except an amethyst is big, and strong... this one is not the best example, something is clearly wrong! (im sorry i have no self control). anyway yall can't tell me that cute little reset 'who am i? whats going on? idk, lemme just copy this guy over here' Niffty wouldn't be the best fucking thing

Now, I don't think it even needs saying that Sir Pentious needs to be Peridot, if you show me both of their pictures I will say 'that's the same picture'

And that means Cherri takes her role as Lapis, which I fuckin adore

As much as I'd like to make Vaggie be Connie, Connie is entirely absent the whole movie lmao and I also think that Bismuth is a damn good gem for Vaggie anyway. Bold, determined, has a deadly hatred of the place she came from and will do anything to defend her new home (gay as shit)

And for spinel, I'm not 100% sure. I'm thinking it could be an adamsapple situation where Adam was left in Eden, forever waiting for Lucifer to return despite the fact that he's essentially dead to the rest of Heaven. once he finds out about Lucifer having made a life for himself in Hell, he goes to take out his jealousy on Charlie and the others. and when he's reset he goes back to a silly, fun loving innocent guy that wants nothing but to make others happy.

Uhhhh oops that got long, im Very Normal about these two shows, guys. i swear.

[wallflowers-in-the-wind]

Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz

An analysis with a bit of theorizing

For those who watched Steven Universe, Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond seemed to be complete opposites in every way. But when we got the reveal of them being the same person it seemed impossible. Learning this from at first admiring Rose to the slowly deconstruction of this perfect being was also very clever yet the shock still never seemed to fade.

Yet the one thing everyone seems to be focused on is if Rose/Pink were right in their actions. So many innocents were harmed, shattered, bubbled, or killed in a war that seemed needless. But what if it was the only option?

From what we are told throughout the show Pink Diamond is trapped in an abusive situation with the other Diamonds. They see her as a child that needs to be placated for shut up entirely. Casting her off to be other gems problems or creating best friends for Pink so she would leave them alone.

But that wasn’t what she wanted. Pink Diamond didn’t want to be cast aside she wanted to have a purpose for her existence, to do something grand like the others. This anger and frustration caused her to lash out against the gems given to her as a distraction or to serve her. Perhaps this is something the other diamonds have done to her when she goes to far in her demands to be treated equally and she just replicated it against those she could. It is inexcusable and the damage still affects the gems still around that served Pink Diamond like Pink Pearl and Spinel. We probably won’t ever know the full extent of the Diamond’s actions against Pink Diamond and the domino effect agaisnt other gems but from what little we do know it was inexcusably

However, their actions kept Pink Diamond naive. She didn’t realize what the other Diamonds were doing to the other planets until she got one of her own. When she disguised herself as Rose Quartz she got to explore the planet she owned her way with what she thought was her own authority. Seeing the effect the Kindergartens had on the planet and listening to stories from other gems may have been what caused her to change for the better. When the other Diamonds wouldn’t listen and gave her the human zoo to placate her again it must have been the breaking point.

This would lead to the rebellion. Perhaps it was stared to get the others to change their minds at first. If they wouldn’t listen to her then she would force them to listen to someone who fights back. Rose Quartz became a persona where she could act and say what she had been saying for centuries but no one listened. But I don’t think Rose/Pink meant for it to get out of hand to the degree that it did. It started out with just her and Pearl but when they met Garnet and so many other gems who believed in her and trusted her not because she was a Diamond but for what she thought it became much more that just her voicing her thoughts. But by the point she realized how far the other Diamonds would go to stay in the right, it was too late.

Her only option left was to leave as Pink Diamond and allow earth to be destroyed or to stay as Rose Quartz. But she couldn’t live as both without someone becoming suspicious, hence the fake shattering.

But sometimes I wonder if she ever had the intention of righting any of the wrongs she had committed against others. She had proven before she would never reveal her true identity to the other Crystal Gems. However, if she never fell for Greg would the events that take place in the show force her to confront her past or if she would continue to be Rose Quartz until the truth is revealed?

Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz are far from perfect. There are many things they never resolved that was left to Steven. But their reasoning while flawed is understandable to a certain extent.

If the show ever gets the chance I would love for a series to show Pink Diamond’s past and her time as Rose Quartz. While I know this would take away from the way we learned about Rose and her true identity I think it would be fascinating to see how everything happened and Pink Diamond/Rose’s thoughts and feelings so the fandom can understand her better.

[roseofcards90]

Rose rose how far are you in Steven Universe? 👀 I must know your thoughts once you get to the movie.

OMGGGG MINTY HIIII!!! I HOPE YOU’VE BEEN DOING WELL I’M SORRY I HAVEN’T BEEN AROUND 😭 I’LL COME BACK EVENTUALLY

Haha, you see…I already finished everything actually! I have gotten through the whole show including the movie and Future (just finished it yesterday!). I was planning on making posts giving my overall thoughts for each season, but I’ve only done that for season 1A so far 😭 I gotta get back on that rip

My general thoughts though are that I love and enjoy the show so much!!! I kept hearing about it while it was still airing, but I never got the chance to properly watch it until now. I knew the show had a bad rep (for very dumb and inaccurate reasons), but that didn’t stop me from wanting to check it out! And I was pleasantly surprised. Everything was just great quality all around (character writing and designs, backgrounds, soundtrack ESPECIALLY SOUNDTRACK)

It was fun going through each episode while theorizing about certain things (such as Rose Quartz being Pink Diamond), where I was trying to connect the pieces and predict what’ll happen, but some stuff still threw me for a loop lmao aka all the Pearl stuff. My reaction to A Single Pale Rose was just me losing my mind tbh LMAOOO and there are so many episodes that will stay in my mind for a while fr

My favorite characters are Pearl, Garnet, and Lapis! Absolutely love how they were written, Pearl especially (my friend sold me on her since the beginning lmao), and despite the ending being clearly rushed, I don’t blame them for that because of what was happening at the time. Also, even if it did feel rushed, they still executed it pretty well imo? With the episodes that they had to work with. My only real complaint is how they handled White Diamond and her character, but it’s not like they could’ve done much with that tbh. Blue, Yellow, and Pink are already a delight so that complaint doesn’t bother me too much lol. Also shout out to Pink/Rose for being so well written that people couldn’t handle her being complex/morally grey lmao, she’s great. It’s so cool to her character be explored in reverse, with learning how she ended up and then going back and seeing how she was before in the beginning THE SHOW DID SO GOOD WITH SHOWING THAT OMG

I loved the movie a lot! Spinel is very fun as a character (also damn did that scene/song where Pink leaves her is heart wrenching), and also just the general musical format of the movie itself was very enjoyable (coming from someone who loves musicals and singing lol). I have to go back and listen to the whole soundtrack again from this, all the songs were just so fucking good omg

And I loved Future a lot too! I think they could’ve done more with the series, but they tied up things pretty well, especially with the second half focusing solely on Steven. It was what his character very much needed after the original series ended. Overall, I loved watching all of it! It was an amazing experience fr 🙏

[novantinuum]

I'd love to hear more about Connie's trauma! The attention you give her character through the parallels between her and Steven always resonated with me.

Ohohoh yasss I really do wanna get back to this one…

This one-shot examines like… the whole thing with Connie being largely absent from Beach City and active Gem nonsense in the beginning of Steven Universe Future, and attempts to give an potential explanation as to why.

Like I guess personally, it just always seemed a bit strange to me that she made such a sharp pivot from actively desiring to be a close participant in Gem matters on Earth, to… seemingly not? She even specifies to Steven in Together Forever that her interest in politics is more for “down to earth” reasons, when he asks if her experiences with intergalactic diplomacy got her on that train. So my brain kinda was just… okay, what changed? And my current thought is that… after the deeply, DEEPLY upsetting experience she went through in White’s head… she realized she needed to take some time to step away for her own wellbeing. And I think it took some time for her to figure out even that much- some time, and some long discussions with her own therapist. Thus, set post movie, I have a scene with her and Pearl cooking away in my brain. It’s only a starting sketch, but it’s eventually gonna tackle like… the residual trauma Connie still has about Pearl restraining her when she was controlled by White.

Snippit:

_

“All right! Wonderful hustle, as always!” Pearl says, her holo-Pearls dissipating into glittering light at her command. “Now—“ she summons a material sword from within her gem-space, posture falling into a ready stance— “your final opponent today will be me. You’ve made great strides with those new defensive maneuvers I’ve taught you, so let’s concentrate on refining our footwork this time, shall we?”

“Yes, Ma’am!” Connie exclaims with a snappy salute, and refocuses her attention on the precise rhythm and form of her steps as— with a mighty shout— she glides across the training grounds towards her teacher, sword in hand. 

Stance wide, she reminds herself. Body lowered. Let your toes point the way.

Ever the in-sync mentor, Pearl follows her lead. She’s clearly not playing it easy this afternoon. To be fair she rarely does, but there’s this extra wild glint of tenacity whirling in her eyes that alerts her to the fact that she’ll have to dig for every last strategical advantage to win this one. When she raises her blade to attempt her first strike, the Gem effortlessly dances around it. She counters with a swift overhead assault, which Connie blocks with the flat of her weapon.

If she were practicing against the holo-Pearls, her teacher would’ve interrupted the moment to shout an eager word of praise, but not this time. Not in their recent one-on-ones. 

Not when some stray Era 3 dissenter could drop right onto their doorstep at any second and destroy all the progress the Crystal Gems have worked so hard to achieve.

It’s unfortunate— ever since the injector incident a few weeks ago, the usually bright and upbeat atmosphere at Steven’s house has grown… uncomfortably tense. Most of the bio-poison’s damage has been mitigated by this point, with Beach City residents aiding in physical clean-up and Steven using his powers to heal the ecological impacts, but there’s been a clear shift in the tides for her friends. She can feel it radiating in her very bones. Before Spinel, the Crystal Gems seemed content to hang up their weapons and enjoy the peaceful bounty and simple joys this new era promised. Though she still trained with Pearl during that period, those spars resembled more of a casual workout than any real battle simulation.

But now… even though they try not to show it… Connie can tell her friends have been re-traumatized. Recent events have simply sucked them right back into the barbed thickets of the war they never truly escaped. It’s not a physical battlefield this time, thank goodness… more a battlefield of the mind… but in her opinion its impacts are one and the same, even for Gems.

All the endless perils that shaped the trajectory of their pasts… they’ll always in some small part be there to haunt them.

Connie, of course, is no exception to this rule.

[haro-hawayu]

CCS: Clear Card Ch. 79

Chapter 79!!! I usually try to avoid spoilers but got sorta-spoiled from an unexpected place prior to this chapter, but it wasn't TOO bad. The latest chapter can be found on CLAMP-net’s YouTube Channel. As always, please check out @meimi-haneoka's post on the latest chapter for EN-JPN translation differences!!

Links for previous chapter reactions can be found here.

Reading Reactions:

THE COVER PAGE! IS! BEAUTIFUL!!!

AHHHH!! I LOVE THE TWO TOGETHER!!!

Ruby Battery to the rescue!

I love that they're working together!! And they can kinda "joke" about things XD love their interactions!

Tomoyo from this side profile view is so lovely ♥

The way Kaito is holding onto Akiho, I'm--TuT

Sakura PROTECT MODE ON!

SAKURA BIG BRAIN!

BIGGEST BRAIN!

Sakura looks so kakkoi saying all this!!!

I love assertive and determined Sakura!

Kaito saying something along the lines of "you need lots of magical power to do this" and Sakura responds by showing off lots of magical power

LI MAMA!!! AHHHHHH!!! (this was where I kinda got accidentally spoiled prior to reading--but I'm still very happily surprised)

Wow, all this magic at work!

New card time!!

A card that resembles Akiho! WITH KAITO'S DRAGON WINGS!!

Card upgrade?? Card fusion?? Remind?!!

I love that the cards Sakura are creating resemble her friends~

Sakuraaaa

I love the art so much omgsh

Syaorannnn <3

HAND TOUCH!

Finally a reality where Kero and Touya can talk to face to face lolll omgshhh is this… the end?? soon??

Ahhhhh!!

Thoughts: I wrote my "reactions" on a sticky note yesterday when I read the chapter and I only found out today that the next chapter will be the last one!! Wow... how far we've come already. We're reaching the end, finally.

I absolutely loved how this chapter goes back to Sakura, our protagonist, doing protagonist things, and saving her friends. I know it's very cliche, but it feels so good seeing how she's able to make things right in her own way? Like, how genius is her idea of just making the villains forget? If that happened from the very start, so much pain/hurt/trauma would have been averted. But of course, it HAD to be Sakura to be the one to think of this idea and carry it out. She is, after all, the one with the power to create cards (and fuse them too, like in Movie 2), and when she was lacking in power, had the means to receive powers from others. This isn't "new" because she's received help/powers from other people before, and it's so wonderful that this time, she's receiving that help from Syaoran's mom. I hope they can meet face to face (can we get a bunch of extra chapters or something after the final??) because I just crave "mother-daughter" interactions FOR Sakura, and "mother-in-law & daughter-in-law" comes quite close for me, esp when it's Sakura LOL.

Also, I'm kinda relieved that next chapter is the end, meaning they won't get into more on the villains/Association because idk, I feel like this is a very satisfactory "resolution" for CCS. If they trek anymore into this route, we might have a very different story. So I'm glad that things went the way they did this chapter. Our Sakura still got her shining moment, so all is well with me.

For Akiho and Kaito, I hope we get more of them in the final chapter. BUT!!! WHERE IS MOMO??!? I hope she shows up and gives Kaito an earful before smothering him with her own brand of love/care XD I want the three of them to be happily together, and they can go travel the world or something. I wanna see Momo, Kero, and Spinel interact too XD

Until the final chapter... (unless we get extras, hehe)

[hupla222]

Assorted Thoughts

A collection of small thoughts that I have but don't feel like making a separate blog post for.

Saw the new title: The Three Explorers. I'm hyper than I've ever been. This is what I've been waiting for. But it got me to wondering, are the original Explorers just the trio from the intro?

Kleavor is kinda small for a member of the Six Heroes isn't he?

I've always seen Amethio and Sidian as a duo like a prince and a knight (metaphorically of course). And usually I see it as Amethio as the prince-like one seeking his own path beyond the "crown" and Sidain as the knight with nobody to protect. But what if I'm wrong and its more like Amethio as the knight wanting to do more than serve and Sidian as the prince trying to earn his title. They both seem equally accurate and likely. I swear that one shot from episode 57 awoke something in my brain.

Chalce eludes me as I don't know much about her and she won't tell me anything. From what I do know, she thinks blood ties are messy and some secrets should remain hidden, which I've said before makes it sound like she has a secret child or something. Doesn't help that everyone, even Spinel, refers to her as Miss. Maybe she's older than I first thought...

Coral also eludes me sometimes. Sure, I know her character pretty darn well, she gives us plenty to work with. But I've never been able to grasp a solid backstory for her beyond overbearing family with one too many rules. Maybe that's all there is too it but it feels like there should be more. Also, all of the other admins have more than one partner so I wonder if she has more in the back or she's sticking with just Glalie.

Will the main trio every acquire more Pokémon? The show seems pretty comfortable with them each having two (Liko has three I guess if you count Terapagos). I mean I guess I'm okay with that but a part of me is oh so curious about what else they could have. Also, will they ever Tera their other Pokémon? They need some love too!

Could have sworn by now they would have done something with Lucca. I had this gut feeling when she first showed up that she was going to be important but maybe I'm wrong. She just seemed so vague / cryptic when she spoke...

[revolver-d]

Revolver, I'm a fan of SU's AUs, the next thing I'm going to tell you doesn't mean that your comic is bad, maybe if it's very incomplete... (although you'd have to wait for the final chapter) it will be your decision to answer me or not.

There are only five questions in total (alert a lot of text)

1.-What makes Black Pearl more tragic than other gems like the Cluster, Lapis Lazuli, Spinel, etc and why do you have to feel bad for her?

2.-Although "The Stain" and the "warriors of the Old Homeworld" are part of your comic, but, in the series there is no indication that they exist, then: how did you come up with the idea of ​​creating them and where did you base yourself from?

3.-In the wiki, it is confirmed that Lapis Lazuli in "Reunited" after having told steven that he was going away, actually returned to the Moon, so if Lapis returned to the Lunar Base and inside she can observe Beach City from the orb of the base, why hasn't she gone to help the Crystal Gems, and even more so with the Pyrite ships that were waiting for 3 WEEKS?

4.-Although pink pearl (black pearl) helped Pink by being a better diamond, (according to this au) why did Yellow Diamond punish her, if what she wanted was for her sister to be more responsible and disciplined?

4.-In this story, Pink Pearl and Pink Diamond were "really" in love, but was it really like that? If he could get her a planet (since Yellow Diamond was in charge of verifying which planets were perfect to be a colony), why couldn't he manage to be with his diamond? I don't know, even stealing a communicator.

5.-Do you think your comic is good as it is or do you think some things need to be corrected?

uh, that's six questions but okay, I dunno how much my answers is gonna satisfy you but here we go;

I did not claim her story is more tragic than other gems and there is no need for you to feel bad for her, really. But her story is indeed a tragic one. And if you don't feel bad about her at all there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that since lot of it is told in Black Pearl's POV readers tends to feel bad about her, that's all. no one is a bad guy in their own story and all that.

2. well the Stain and Old World is something I made up to test and play around uncharted water of the show's story. an extra, spin-off contents if you will. (that, and I found the idea of gems in ancient Asian aesthetic clothes appealing.) So yeah, there's not much indication of them in the comic other than Jade at this point, which I wish I had more time and resources to elaborate further in spin-off or something, so I can't argue with the point that it may feel random. but so far it's not really a crucial part of the main storyline so that's a save.

3. Lapis may or may not go back to Earth to help out Crystal Gems later in the story but at this point that you pointed out, there's few things to consider. namely, how long it took Lapis to act to help when she noticed something is wrong, how long it takes to get from Moon to Earth, and the distance between Moon and where the Emerald Consideraton was located. because there's many possible answers to your questions. Maybe Lapis might've hesitated to intervene, maybe Lapis took off the Moon as soon as she can but it took time to get to Earth, and maybe the distance between Moon and Emerald Consideration was to great to spot a spaceship with naked eyes. There's many possibilities.

4. Because Yellow's feelings are complex and often contradict itself. She says she wanted Pink to "Grow Up" and act like a Diamond but when she starts to act on her own and became more dominant and assertive, she get a mixed feelings where she wants Pink to, well, stay Pink. Which is why she settle on the opinion where Pink is still not ready for all the Diamond's duty and responsibilities. But with Rosa(Black Pearl)'s influence Pink became more and more assertive with her standing, so Yellow became to see Rosa as a "bad influence" to Pink. Then, when Pink get her first colony and got shattered by one of her own soldier, Yellow directed her anger towards Rosa who aided Pink in getting her own colony.

5. I dunno who's "he" in this question, so I'm gonna assume that it means "she" and that it means Rosa. and to answer first part of your question, Yes, they were really in love. The reason why Rosa and Pink couldn't reach each other was because other Diamonds(mainly White and Yellow) actively stopped them from communicating with one another. White wanted Rosa as a head secretary for all the Diamonds, and Yellow wanted to keep Rosa and Pink apart so it was impossible for them to reach one another.

6. Well, everything could use improvements and so does my comic. I'd honestly redo the whole thing and make them as detailed and well put together as possible, if I had the time and resource for it. But one should know their limits and gotta be happy with what they have, I guess. but that doesn't mean I think my story is bad. I just don't think my comic is THAT bad? if that makes any sense.

Welp, that's all I've got for your long if not slightly condecending line of questions so I hope it was enough to clearify some of your curiosity!

[moremysteriesthantragedies]

For the demon child story, I'm curious what about your inspirations' treatment of said demon child characters did you dislike and inspired you to write it differently?

Okay, I could go off about this topic but, I'll try to keep this short by focusing on the "expectations" put on these demon children in both series respectively.

Tag list: @perasperaadastrawriting, @caxycreations, @profoundlyhauntedclaws.

Spoilers for the Omen series and Lucius game series below. These are my personal opinions, and not meant as an attack towards anyone who enjoys these series (I actually quite like the Lucius series myself despite it's flaws).

In The Omen series, the expectation is that Damien is the antichrist. That title means he is evil incarnate, there is no chance for redemption, he was simply born to destroy the world and therefore he must be killed. This is the attitude taken throughout the series, the people that try to protect a literal child are the enemy, even when parts of the writing say otherwise.

For example, in the second Omen, we even see Damien freak out about what he is and show fear and resentment over being the antichrist, but that is pushed under the rug because "he's the antichrist of course he'd be evil!". The same is true in the third Omen, even when we see him get extremely close to a single mother and her child, the former of which he saves, a first for him, and the latter of which he didn't even kill, a priest being an idiot is what killed him!

The trauma Damien might have developed through his father literally nearly stabbing him to death is completely pushed under the rug, because he is labeled the antichrist there is absolutely zero sympathy for him. His story comes to an end (yes, I am ignoring the extremely bizarre fourth movie) when he is killed, because that was the only plausible ending for Damien within the series.

Lucius is interesting because we see most of the title character's actions are influenced by Lucifer himself, who constantly encourages Lucius to kill the people around him to make him proud. The character Gabriel also does not hurt Lucius, not seeing that as the way and, rather, attempts to convince him to be better.

Still, the "good ending" of Lucius can only be achieved if Lucius (the literal child) stabs Lucifer (the literal devil) and, upon rebelling, Gabriel comes to rescue Lucius. It then ends with Gabriel taking Lucius up to Heaven with him who, again, is still just a child.

In both cases, so much pressure is put on these characters, and it always feels like the expectation is "they need to leave this Earthly realm in some way, or innocent people will suffer." A lot of these narratives (mostly just The Omen series) take away the child character's agency, and overlook any moments of remorse they feel, or refuse to recognize when an adult figure is the responsible party (I do quite like that the Lucius series was more proactive in addressing this concept).

This touches on quite a few themes I personally really don't like:

The wrong doings of a parent reflect on their child/Children are their parents.

Someone can be born in a way or be made unintentionally harmful, and "death" is the only solution to "protect" others.

People can just be born evil, and they will remain evil no matter the circumstances.

Children are so sheep-like one bad influence could turn them into monsters, regardless of the context of this bad influence.

Children are responsible for their circumstances.

Certain titles justify losing sympathy for a person.

In this story, I plan to explore how these viewpoints can really hurt a person, especially as someone who experienced the harm of some of these viewpoints as a queer kid. I've always seen the children in these story lines as the biggest victims, used as a tool by both sides, and we see how that effects Spinel throughout. His relationship with his mother focuses a lot on the struggles of raising someone to have self love even when the world constantly tells them they're wrong or evil.

[lampmanliveblogs]

Whew, okay, got a little worried The Collector was gonna try to collect them there for a moment, but thankfully not. This is progress. The Collector has learned to ask nicely if people want to play. Now they just needs to give back all they toys they stole without asking, and maybe the other kids will want to play with him. Or we could go wherever the next picture shows.

Next stop: The Knee!

And man oh man, is this a pretty picture. This show has some seriously lovely shots of the night sky.

The Knee of course first appeared in the episode Adventure in the Elements, where Luz learned her second glyph, realized that glyphs could be found in the nature of the Island, and where we got our very first hint that the Titan’s spirit was still around in some form… and if they don’t do something about Philip soon, then the Titan will be around physically too, not just in spirit.

Aw man, and then they’re gonna hit me with this beautiful shot right after? With the entire island spread out before them, with Tiara Halls hanging above the head? Mwah! Lovely.

Collector: ”[The Titan] must really like you if he’s shown you this much.”

This gets confused looks by the rest of the gang, because they don’t know the Titan still remains in some form.

Yeah, kindness and forgiveness. A bit of kindness and forgiveness did wonders for Lilith and Amity both, and now they’re willing to give you a bit of kindness and forgiveness Collector. It’s up to you what happens next. It’s like the song goes:

You can make it different You can make it right You can make it better We don’t have to fight! You can make an effort Starting with tonight Cause you You can make a change

(and that’s two Steven Universe songs. Do I have it in me to make that three before the end of the episode? Place your bets now!)

((tangent: I looked up Change on the official Cartoon Network youtube channel. It shows the scene from the movie, so far so good, But firstly, the audio sounds really weird, no idea why it’s like that. Secondly, they cut out the part where Spinel responds by shouting ”Just can it, why dontcha ya’!?” You know, the BEST part.))

[spinning-feeling]

▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽△▽

The day when it finally happaned was, almost, a day like any other. Perhaps that only added to how unexpected it was to him, when it happaned.

Maxim went to the living room, finding Spinel waiting for him patiently on the couch, seeming the slightest bit timid.

"Maxie!"

She called out to her beloved, her tone warm and loving.

"Someone's excited to see me~"

Maxim jested, as he went over to sit next to her.

"'Course i am! I have plans today, and they involve you, silly!"

"Oh? And what kind of plans are they?"

"Ah, ah~ You'll see in due time, hun."

She smirked, her confidence shining and making him blush, before her slightest timidness returns.

"Right now, howeva', we's gonna enjoy ourselves some movies! Afta' that, we'll need to get packin'."

"I assume i'll see where we'll go in due time?"

"Eeyup! Now make yaself comfortable while i go fetch our snacks - oh! and ya go pick whatever movie ya wanna watch, while you's at it!"

"On it, Boss!"

He chuckled, giving her a salute, as he looked at the screen before him... There were many movies to chose from, some that he has already seen, some that he hasn't, and some that he was meaning to get to.

"...Eh. Can't go wrong with the ol' Classic."

He grabbed the remote, and pressed 'play'.

~ ~ ~💜~ ~ ~💗~ ~ ~

"Maaaxieee, did ya pack the sun cream?"

The pink gem called from the other room, as they both packed their bags proper for their outing,

"It's already packed! As well as my swimming goggles, should i choose to go further than i usually go."

Spinel finally brought her bag into the room, as Maxim finished up his own preparations.

"...Say, love, Why do you look so nervous, i wonder...~?"

He teased, as Spinel blushed, her little bunny tail swiftly moving from side to side, as she puts her hands on her hips,

"N-nervous? I ain't noivous, i'm just excited for our beach trip! Been a hot minute since we managed to have fun with the sand and watta'!"

Maxim couldn't help himself but chuckle. He always found it so adorable when he old timey accent shone through in her speech. He gave her a quick kiss on her forehead, before turning back to his backpack to zip it up.

"Sure, love. It'll be fun time... though that's a given, since i'll be with you, and you always make everything fun."

"Oh, Shush."

She snickered, playfully shoving him back, before kissing his cheek, as she took her bag and moved towards the door out of their home.

"You commin' Maxie?"

"Yeah, im commin'. Y'know, love, i do wonder what kind of swimwear you decided to pack up~"

He teased with a purr, to which she nudged him, flustered, her nervousness becoming more apparent,

"Oh, you'll see, ya goober."

~ ~ ~💜~ ~ ~💗~ ~ ~

Dusk was soon to come as the sky slowly darkened and the sun began to set. Such a beautiful sight, indeed. Though not as beautiful as the Gem beside him.

Both the Gem on her chest, facets shimmering in the dimming light, as well as her, in her entirety.

"...Maxie? Wanna get up, for a moment? i... i wanna show you something."

Her tone sounded calm, but careful. Nervous. Said nervousness made him slightly nervous, but he trusted her. Whatever she was going to show him, he'd grace with his gaze and devine attention, just like he always graces her as such. He hummed softly, smiling, as he gets up to his feet, seeing her rise with him, before glancing around them for the merest of moments...

His eyes manage to catch her going down on one knee, as she reaches for something from her gem... His brows furrow for but a moment, before his eyes widen in steady, slow realisation.

"...Maxim."

She spoke firmly, with a certain careful confidence in her voice.

"We've been through... So, so much. And we have such a long, long way to go..."

His hand moved to his mouth in slight shock at the sight of what was going on, but he was paying full attention.

"You taught me that to live, is to be Selfish... And all i want is You."

That's... That's his Teaching. One of his chants.

"Won't you live with me forever, tonight? Won't you take me as yours, and let me take you as mine?"

A moment of silence, as Maxim takes her words in. His eyes lightly teared up as her let her words sink in, before slowly begining to grinning.

How else would he answer her, other than

"...Yes, Spinel. Just... Yes."

Happy 1st Anniversary of Spinel's Proposal!

[giggly-squiggily]

Hi Hello it's midnight for me and I just finished watching Steven Universe and the movie (I haven't watched Future yet- gonna do that this weekend) so now I have thoughts

Spoilers for Steven Universe below the cut!

First of all: I'm kicking myself repeatedly for waiting so long to watch it cause HOLY- 😭🥰 IT WAS SO GOOD!!! I wasn't sure I was gonna be into shows like this (Wasn't massively into Adventure Time- don't get me wrong, it was cute as hell and funny but just kinda..eh?) But I finally gave it a shot and WOW!

My favorite gem is still Garnet; I just- I adore her. She's wise, funny, the whole Sapphire and Ruby ship is so cute ("They were my favorite couple!"- Bismuth my blacksmith queen) and just-GAH! I love how excited she got over fusions and just how lovely she is all around!

My second favorite is Peridot. I loved her- she is the cutest little green dorito EVA! The way she speaks, her mannerisms, her dynamic with Lapis (Who admittedly I still have mixed feelings on but generally I enjoy her alot)- it was all so freaking kfakjerakjkjrakjerkjekjr I can't get over how cute she is HELP!

Really- I found myself loving all the characters! Pearl is cute as heck, Amethyst is an icon (I loved that scene where she refused to put all her problems onto Steven and recognized he had so much on his plate already- it was truly such a growth moment and I'm beyond proud of her. Plus- Smokey Quartz is an icon), and STEVEN! He's a doll! I adore him so much!

As for Beach City- I don't think I have a non-favorite. Everyone is so charming and silly; and even when they were at their worst they managed to bring it back around. Lars becoming a space pirate and Sadie becoming a rockstar- the grandmother becoming mayor and Ronaldo being..well, Ronaldo; it was all so good! I really do love Greg aswell; that Comet song will be forever stuck in my head. Oh! And Connie! I adore Connie!

As for the movie....eh? Don't get me wrong, it was great- and I really like Spinel; but all the endless songs started to get a little much after a while 😅 There was some great ones like Garnet's return song True Love and Steven's Change song- and of course Other Friends and Drift Away are absolutely incredible. It was a good mix of great songs and....kinda meh songs but still incredibly pleasant to listen to. I had a great time. (I also really liked Happily Ever After but I think I prefer Natewantstobattle's version; the rock cover really gives it that extra oomph!)

The DIAMONDS! I kinda don't know how to feel about Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond. I get why she did what she did; it was clear as glass the home life she was living wasn't good to her- but the way she did it certainly wasn't the cleanest. I like how complex her situation is and how Steven navigated it. I also like how the diamonds were presented- not good gems but complex enough that they're enjoyable. (Not to be bisexual on tumblr but Yellow Diamond....👀)

Overall this was a great time all around! I don't know what I'm gonna watch next (post future), my sister and I are thinking either Owl House or Amphibia, but y'all are welcome to leave suggestions! This was a much needed comfort experience during an admittedly crappy time.

(Also I'm almost done with Season 2 of Vinland Saga and y'all it's absolutely incredible but so freaking SAD- ooooo, I got feelings but I'll share them all when I finish the last four episodes)

This is your gentle reminder to sit down and indulge yourself in something comforting! Especially if things are being tough right now- you deserve to treat yourself :)

[chipsncookies]

Ep 14 sorta review (copied on twt and i post this here since im shadowbanned on there 😢) pls excuse the grammar and the length i have too much thoughts

Ok i finally watched it with subs!! Now I understand things better.

First things first we have new reaction image

Roy's part is straightforward, im glad he's so supportive and helpful to wattrell, and eventually captured it. murdock giving him a pokeball to catch it is so sweet, he knew it was coming!! Also him and liko going shopping and having ice cream together is cute, and him thanking her for letting Dot make sandwich is heartwarming :'). But never thought his comment about wanting a certain spice will backfire...

In last ep i thought spinel was ready to act when he came out in disguise, but no he was still trying to gauge the rvt's strength. I wonder if he's trying to lull friede into a false sense of security since the signal problem has been addressed (speaking of friede, rant incoming)

Friede oh my gosh. after watching the ep i can't blame friede 100% since liko went to town on her own without company, but it's still irresponsible for friede to not tell his team what happened.

He knew something was wrong but he chose to ignore it in favour of focusing on takeoff. If he'd told the team about it they'd be on high alert and less likely to do things on their own. It reflects badly on friede's leadership (and cpt. Pikachu as well?). Him not telling liko he's hired by her mom was funny before but it's harmful now. And given how he just met liko's parents.. this stings more 😬

That said it's also a risky gamble for spinel to attack friede because what if friede is responsible and told his team to be on alert instead, did he know friede won't tell? 🤣 and Liko really need to be more careful, i think she's been under protection so much she got careless. If there's a silver lining i think this incident could be a learning opportunity for rvt, they've been getting Ws so much they got overconfident.

Onto Spinel, DID HE REALLY NEED TO ASK THIS?? THE AUDACITY?;"?#!'

He just love mocking people isn't he? Even in disguise his personality shows through 🤣😭 alternatively he could be making sure liko actually lost her memories, but knowing how smug he is it's hard not to read it that way.

He succeeded getting the pendant but it's clear he didn't care about liko, going as far as wiping her memories (he's being safe but it's overkill imo) and leaving her in levincia.

Did he not know the pendant won't activate without her?

He saw what happened back in arboliva forest since he's been spying on them, but it seems it didn't register to him (possible spinel L?). I think now is a good time to confirm if that testament is true.

Also reminder, it was amethio who made this observation and decided to get her along with the pendant, at the expense of his time and gibeon's patience (lol). He made this conclusion right as it happened. So both spi and ame have seen the pendant react to liko, but only ame made the connection (possible amethio W?). This also highlights amethio and spinel's difference, ame is more observant and will deviate from orders if he deems necessary, meanwhile spinel is more focused and follows orders as is. I love this tbh it makes them more interesting.

Liko's memories got wiped right after the ep where she reminisces and being thankful about her adventures and new friends feels kinda cruel lol, poor girl... Not only liko, sprigatito also lost its memories, but seeing the preview, they somehow stayed together until night and then they saw the moon together. This is a callback to the scene where she trained with sprigatito back in ep 1! I think this is an important milestone 🥹💖 i hope they remember.

Overall, it's insane how the story goes from high (roy helping wattrel and catching it) to low (likos pendant got stolen). We (or at least me) were on a rollercoaster of emotions the entire ep, it's amazing. Story-wise I love that this anime is constantly challenging the status quo by having the pendant actually got stolen and liko got attacked. It keeps me on the edge of my seat bc i don't know what to expect, because anything can happen!!

Ok i think I've finished talking abt ep 14 dang that was long🤣 That said, in next ep preview...

Is this spinel? Is spinel still there ?? I thought he leave already??? He's risking his position if he stayed there for long, what's stopping him from leaving already? He didn't need to worry about them finding liko anyway since she's not important to him, he already got the pendant so why is he preventing them from finding her? But maybe it's not spinel but someone else. Maybe even pokemon, we can never trust previews 100% lol.

The ep title doesn't really give a hint since apparently it focuses on Dot and quaxley? Iono will also appear, but I can't tell what's the correlation between the two, other than they're both influencers. They're definitely going to find liko, so maybe dot will ask for iono's help? Her gym test does revolve around looking for people after all. But 'someone getting in the way' makes me feel nervous.

That's all my thoughts, this was a great ep, explorers fans are fed well, see you next week!!

[starrygalazy]

Random HC's for all the Overwatch characters (mostly Mei) that I've been gathering over the last 3 months (starting Sept. 17)

It's just. Exactly what it sounds like. Fluffy, angsty, funny, probably not spicy (I lied-ish, talking abt a dick). We'll see. Gonna try and post this on December 31 for something

(Sept 17) Zenyatta is ticklish as hell. Typically omnics aren't but he got his touch receptors modified, tho I can't decide if Ramattra and Mondatta tricked him into it or he wanted to try it out

(Sept 20) Genji used to have a dick piercing, when he was young and stupid. After Blackwatch he took it out and now there's just a scar.

(Sept. 29) Mei finds a lot of comfort in music box songs her mom had lot when she was young and it helps her sleep.

(Oct 3) Actually on top of the previous hc, Mei can't do silence anymore. She always needs background noise, so usually she keeps her machines in the science ward running when she's actually trying to sleep. Otherwise she puts on music or uses sound generators if it's a bit too quiet on Gibraltar. The only sound that disturbs her more than just silence is wind blowing through the quiet, because it REALLY reminds her of emerging all alone.

(Oct 20) Mei is a Steven Universe girl. Her favorite Gem as a kid was Garnet because she loved her message about self love and how much Sapphire and Ruby loved each other, and she still knows almost all the songs by heart. She got very good at singing because she sang along so much. Also she probably cried when Steven lost his gem then got it back, and when Spinel sang "Drift Away"

(Nov 4) If Mei geeks out to someone, she really really loves and trusts them. Usually it'll be about her tech, climatology, or any show that she's currently watching. She only does this if she's fully comfortable with someone though

(Nov 19) Mei is one of those people who goes ALL OUT for Christmas. If you've seen those tiktok slideshows abt warm Christmases and tacky Christmases and more, she is ALL OF THEM (a little warmer leaning imo). She'll start looking for stuff to buy as soon as Halloween ends but she refrains from actually making anything until Thanksgiving (as request of quite a few OW agents).

(Nov 19) Cassidy either hates pumpkin spice latte's or loves it. No in between. He loves pumpkin pies though!

(Nov 28) Mei genuinely did consider joining Talon instead of Winston's recall in a grief filled moment. However, she immediately remembered her friends and knew they wouldn't want her to go down that path. On top of that, if Mei's struggling with a tough decision, she thinks about what her Ecopoint team would do. She thinks of it as the least she can do considering she believes she was at fault for some of it (even though that's not true).

(Dec 15) Genji has a lot of scuffs on his armor, mostly around his shoulders, although a lot has been buffed and polished out. Most think it's from battle, but a lot of it is actually from Snowball nuzzling him too hard. The same goes for Tokki, Reinhardt, Brigitte, and a few others.

(Dec 15) As a kid and teen, Mei's mom always got her a lot of clothes and she never really got clothes on her own except in the winter time. She'd put buying clothes as a last priority since usually her mother would do that, and it's why she never has a lot of clothes for the summer: she's just still in the habit of putting off clothes shopping.

(Dec 30) Mei would have 100% been a Royale High girl on roblox. You can fight me on this

It's currently almost 1 AM for this on Jan 1st and im posting this now. HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE