#and like pearl from su when she was more freaked out

[kit-kat-jo]

SO glad that this woman does fingerguns and is awkward GOD SHE IS SO ME

[thenationaltreasuregazette]

I'm In: An Analysis of Abigail's Arc (ft. Elizabeth Swann)

So, the character arcs in National Treasure are kinda weird. Or, weird is not the right word. They are a bit unconventional.

Ben doesn't change, because he's a paragon. Riley doesn't change because he's the comic relief. The characters who move from one clear worldview to another are Abigail, Patrick, and arguably Sadusky.

That means of our core trio, Abigail is the only one moving through an honest to god character arc.

And it's awesome.

Am I really contending that Abigail's arc in National Treasure rivals the exquisite coming-into-one's-own arc of Elizabeth Swann in the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies? No, of course not.

Except for the ways that I am.

Let's go ↓

First, let's define what Abigail's arc actually is. What worldview does she come into the story with, and how is it forced to change?

Part One: The Status Quo

When we first meet her, Abigail makes her position on treasure hunting pretty clear. The disdain and/or skepticism is apparent in the way she asks

ABIGAIL You're treasure-hunters, aren't you?

While she is curious enough to indulge Ben's story with a few followup questions, when he isn't able to produce any proof, she dismisses him pretty harshly.

ABIGAIL Did Bigfoot take it?

She thinks the idea that there's an invisible treasure map on the Declaration of Independence is absurd, and although she collects antiques herself (the George Washington campaign buttons) she gives no impression that she does the actual finding of these objects. The Abigail Chase of the beginning of the movie doesn't get her hands dirty that way. She is not a treasure hunter.

Abigail's position is one of impressive status. She's the freaking Custodian of the Charters of Freedom, if you take the 2003 script at its word. At the very least, from what we see in the film she has a high enough position within the National Archives to both have an assistant, and to be the person who gets called when the Declaration's case malfunctions.

She is the voice of the historical establishment, and she has the degree and position to prove it. She plays by the rules. Treasure hunting is, honestly, beneath her.

In Curse of the Black Pearl, when we first meet Elizabeth Swann as an adult, she is likewise a woman of status and prestige. Though her circumstances are quite different, she is also the most high-ranking woman we meet in her story and, at least for the moment, she is following society's expectations for who she's supposed to be and what she's supposed to be interested in.

Part 2: The Call

And yet. There is something about the darker, more adventurous world outside their walls that calls to both women.

For Abigail it's Ben's story about the map and the pipe. She's still thinking about it days later when she sees Ben at the gala, enough to ask him about it in a room full of respected colleagues and wealthy donors. That's not the kind of thing you want people to overhear. And yet she can't help herself. The way she asks about it is even a bit sheepish, like she knows she's flirting with some kind of professional line.

For Elizabeth, this is her ongoing barely-secret fixation on pirates, represented by the medallion she keeps hidden in her bedside table. Like Abigail, when prompted (in her case by her dream about seeing the Black Pearl as a child) she also indulges her interest by doing something slightly taboo—putting the medallion on.

However, both women come short of actually entering this other world themselves. They'll continue to toe the line of propriety and expectation, even if a part of them is curious about what else is out there.

That is, until that other world comes calling.

Part 3: Kidnapped

I mean they're both literally kidnapped into the rest of their stories!

Importantly, they're both kidnapped because of a choice that they make that puts them in the crosshairs of the plot.

Abigail realizes something is up with Ben, follows him outside, and confronts a man she suspects of committing some kind shady business alone, in a ballgown, in the dark. She goes so far as to (as far as she knows) take the Declaration back from him and go to bring it to security inside. That's what makes her a target of Ian's.

Elizabeth, still wearing the medallion after being rescued by Jack, fights back against Pintel and Ragetti and nearly outsmarts them. When she's caught, she invokes parlay as a way to save herself, which is what gets her taken onto Barbossa's ship.

Part 4: Taking Agency

However, neither one of our heroines stay victims for long. Both insert themselves into the narrative, taking control of their fate through their intimate knowledge of the subject at hand.

For Abigail, it is her expertise with antique documents. She has the opportunity to leave when Ben lets her go in the park, but refuses, demanding to stay with the Declaration instead. Then she truly joins the hunt when she insists on being the one to apply the lemon juice. She becomes an accomplice to Ben's search, even if her initial motivation is to prove to him that he's wrong about the map in the first place. She knows where to look for the masonic symbol, gets excited about revealing the cypher, and even recognizes what kind of cypher it is. Perhaps there's a little more treasure hunter in her than she, or we, realized.

And over in POTC, Elizabeth's knowledge of pirate history and lore got her taken onto the Black Pearl, where she swiftly attempts to negotiate a ceasefire on behalf of the whole port. When she isn't taken seriously, Elizabeth threatens to drop the medallion into the water. She's figured out how important it is to the pirates, and even arranges a little trick where she looks like she's dropping it to prove her suspicions. It's also Elizabeth's decision to give Will's surname as her own that gets her taken on the crew's mission instead of being returned/killed/thrown overboard.

Part 5: The Second Act

Granted, Elizabeth has been kidnapped by the antagonists of her story, whereas Abigail has already been rescued by the good guys.

Abigail's arc is also going to be complete by the close of National Treasure, but Elizabeth's won't be until she becomes the Pirate King in At World's End.

But in any case, both ladies travel through their respective plots while being pulled closer and closer to the thing they've always pushed away but secretly been intrigued by.

Part 6: Becoming the Thing

I'm far from the first person to suggest that it's Elizabeth, not Will, who is truly on the becoming-a-pirate journey in Pirates of the Caribbean.

As Will and Jack prepare to infiltrate the gathering on Isla de Muerta, Jack lists several reasons why he thinks Will is well on his way to becoming a pirate in his own right.

JACK SPARROW For having such a bleak outlook on pirates, you're well on your way to becoming one. Sprung a man from jail , commandeered a ship of the fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga. And you're completely obsessed with treasure.

And for treasure, he clarifies, "not all treasure is silver and gold"—meaning Elizabeth.

But all of these qualifications are true of Elizabeth as well. She is also lying, tricking, and outsmarting her way through this adventure, and is in turn obsessed with Will.

Jack also famously says that "what a ship is, what the Black Pearl really is, is freedom." And nobody craves that freedom more than Elizabeth, who is being literally suffocated by her life at the beginning of the story.

Elizabeth Swann not only falls for a pirate, she becomes one herself.

In National Treasure we witness a similar shift in Abigail. Once the cypher is revealed and the hunt becomes real to her, she gets more and more into it. She could be dragging her feet through the Philadelphia sequence and griping about the tough spot that the guys have put her in, but instead she dives in.

Like, you can argue that Abigail is only willing to apply the lemon juice to prevent Ben from damaging the Declaration more than she, a trained professional, will. And that is absolutely true. But not thirty seconds later, when they see the masonic symbol, she's matching Ben's enthusiastic

BEN We need more juice ABIGAIL We need more heat

with literally just as much barely restrained excitement. In Urban Outfitters she's again matching Ben's frequency as they decipher the riddle Riley brings them. She doesn't miss beat as she and Ben riff off of each other, and she's the one to decode the fact that the clue points to a specific time.

All of this builds up to what might actually be one of the most fascinating lines in the whole movie:

PATRICK Then we just keep looking for it. ABIGAIL I'm in.

→ Part 2?

[oneknightstand-if]

So, uhhh, first ever message on tumblr, here's to hoping this is actually the place to post that stuff?

It's great, As a Game Master (mostly for rpgs on discord) I'm a big fan of the freedom of expression when it comes to characters. I just finished a run I'm pretty happy with, so I figured I should do as asked and share the results below.

(A word of warning, since I can only draw anime-style, this is now an anime.)

As a bonus, here's some design I doodled up for the character, to help myself visualize her.

Additional Data:

Adrian: Crush Merlin: To Befriend Pet: Cat (Roland)(Like the Paladin of Charlemagne) Wears: Frilly blouse and long skirt (She started wearing those to get reactions out of Adrian while avoiding more extreme outfits) Camelot Sequence: Lucid dreamer, talked to Merlin in the past (monty python reference to prove she's from the future), got directed to Arthur, asked Past!Arthur about lucid dreaming, Caught Current!Arthur about Lucid Dreaming (He now knows who she is), then spilled all the beans to Merlin after waking up (He knows who she is). Items: Magic 8-Ball, Cat memento, pouch of pearls, miniature garden (Audrey III!) Gas Station: Followed Merlin, Destroy Cameras, Clean traces, Get matches.

And now, for the wall of texts that nobody asked for but that you're all getting anyway!

Character Design

The design I went with was 'the super sussy character who actually is kinda hiding the least'.

Physically, she's basically hopeless, with her teeny tiny 10% on physical, which puts her firmly into the 'dead weight' category. Considering what's going on in here, it's a bit sus.

Even more sus is the amnesia background, because here's that girl popping out of seemingly nowhere with no memories right around the time the failed Lesser Circle happened, who just so happens to be a potential harbinger? Sus.

Appearance wise, her best features are her eyes (my dice determined they should be violet), but they are downturned (Tareme) ones, that usually express either gentleness, or belong to suspicious people, with a gentle, caring and overall traditionally feminine/motherly behavior (wears frilly outfits, cooks gourmet food, tends to her (mutant) plants). In other words, she's very much an 'ara ara'-type character. (The cuckoo is mostly limited to the confines of her mind).

However, she is an imposter whose special move consists of spilling all the tea (ironic, her favourite drink is Jasmine…), all the time. Had a weird dream (Part 1)? Write a report and drop it on Adrian's lap, almost shoving the marked arm under his nose. Freak encounter in a horse trailer? Write a report and drop it on the club leader's lap. Meet a strange but weirdly helpful stranger? Drop the Weird dream Dossier (part 1) on his lap. Questions about the self medication? Ha! She's got her entire (albeit short) life written in a folder ready for perusal! Had a weird dream (Part 2)? You better bet she's writing it down and dropping it on Merlin and Adrian's laps.

…

This is probably a side-effect of being overworked all the time and getting in the habit of making biology reports for everything, isn't it?

IC Thoughts on characters:

Merlin: Super strong incubus who may or may not be the actual Antichrist, may or may not want to cause the Apocalypse themselves to put humanity out of their misery if the Arthur plan doesn't pan out, and yet may very well be the most trustworthy person in this entire group, if only because waking Arthur up seems to be their number 1 priority. After all, all they needed to do was stand aside and do nothing if they wanted the Lesser Circle to fail, right?

Adrian: 'Friend' for several years, eventually got a crush on him a few months ago, but his ambiguous way of almost-but-not-quite friendzoning her is beginning to wear her down. Slightly suspicious due to his being much too prepared for the crisis at hand for a random bystander, but he had all the opportunities in the world to get rid of/corrupt her in all the years they knew each other, and she herself has this 'tiny' Impostor secret going on so she's trusting him so far.

IC thoughts about the adventure: 4 (Reluctant/panicking, but not forced)

What is there to be said. The end of the world, man-eating monsters, plagues, the end of the world, homicides, abductions, did she forget to mention the end of the world? For a woman with little inclination toward physical fighting and who would rather read a book in a corner, this is very much outside of her field of competence.

With that said, she almost got eaten by the monster under her bed and Merlin healed her when she was at Death's Doors, so she's giving them the benefit of doubt, for now.

Character affinities:

Probably Percival (cuckoo connection), Arthur (dream shenanigans) or Broderick (this entire thing is crazy!) would work best?

Here's to hoping this didn't get too long, I tend to get too verbose when I become enthusiastic about something.

It's impossible to be too verbose, especially compared to me. Also, my imagination runs in 4K surround-sound anime-style, so it was anime all along! Olwen fits in perfectly!

[candyskiez]

ramble abt ur favourite su characters

I HAVE BEEN FREED FROM AUTISM JAIL!!!

pearl is probably my absolute favorite. which is funny considering I used to dislike her a Lot. she was such a dickhead to steven and was very hard to like at first considering she used to be so mean. but the great thing about how she was developed is you simultaneously learn WHY she's like that while also seeing her become better. like. "gems do not experience childhood" explained so fucking much, especially with how unhealthy homeworld is revealed to be, ESPECIALLY with how horrific the treatment of pearls is revealed to be.

also just. the fucking horrible mess of emotions that is, the only reason steven is here is because rose *isn't.* and pearl had *no sense of self* outside rose. yet she couldn't get better while she and rose were in contact. there HAD to be some sort of separation for her to be able to heal and grow. pearl had to grow away from rose for a long time and be completely separate from her for a WHILE if she and rose could *ever* have a healthy relationship, if that's even possible.

pearl starting to form her own opinions is so fucking. god. it's so fucking cathartic to watch. and learning just how much of her worth she put up on being the only one rose trusted made her flipping out about the lion feel so much more Real. of course she freaked out, it was the only thing she felt like gave her worth. of course she freaked out, she used the fact rose told her things she told nobody else to make herself go "see? it wasn't all for nothing. you're not beneath her. she LOVES you."

and god the way she treats steven in season one still makes me so mad but. it makes sense. it's horrible and unacceptable, but it makes *sense.*

god. also just. the little hints of her having opinions outside of rose for so long, she just felt too guilty to show them. she felt like they were a betrayal to, she was terrified of being Too Much. she was terrified of displeasing rose and losing her looking at her like she was *worth* something. she tells rose, why would I ever want to go home if you're here. but she misses space, she risked everything to try and go to space even when it was too dangerous. she was so close to bismuth. she did have feelings outside of rose, but her world revolved around rose so much that she felt like she couldn't have them. I mean it when I say she cannot have a healthy relationship with rose. there's too much of a power imbalance and she has to be away from rose so she can grow more.

also, god. pearl finally being able to say, rose was wrong. rose was wrong to hurt you. you were hurt, badly. even if she didn't mean to, she hurt you and that was unfair of her. to volleyball? the girl who reminds her of herself when she was younger? poetic fucking cinema. it makes me feral. I love this show I love the "rose quartz isn't a monster" while also "rose and pearls relationship was deeply unhealthy and pearl cannot be with rose and heal at the same time, they have to be apart for at least a while for pearls sake." COEXISTING. this show knows what nuance is and I love it. pearl is such an excellent character and I GET HER. I love her so much. I want to kiss her forehead. a single pale rose made me cry.

(this is for me telling people to ask me for opinions/thoughts on su stuff! feel free to shoot me an ask)

[ao3-oner]

Hiiii I'm here just to ask if u have some canmaker/showmaker/canyon hcs and if u can share some w us? (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠) I really love how u characterized them it just feels real and like v human god (I wish to write like that one day) and yeah, also happy late saturday showdown !

Hi, and thanks for the ask!

I am always happy to share hcs, especially for CanMaker - I greatly appreciate the compliment of my characterizations (I try very hard!), and happy late Saturday Showdown to you as well!

Here are a few new headcanons for Heo Su, Kim Geonbu, and the two of them together:

Su loves to sing, but is atrociously bad at it. He adored music class in grade school and despite being very shy in normal circumstances he would always belt out off-key notes at top volume whenever the class sang in a group, much to the dismay of everyone around him. The only one who has ever agreed to go to karaoke with him more than once is Geonbu (and Geonbu enjoys it, too, because his ears can withstand the noise and seeing Su happy is so, so worth it).

Geonbu was actually pretty popular during his few years of secondary school and still keeps in touch with a few of his old friends. I mentioned in a previous fic my hc that he had a girlfriend for a while - that poor girl had a crush on Geonbu for years without him noticing until a mutual friend told him about it and he decided to ask her out, just to try it. They got along fairly well and stayed together up until Geonbu decided that he was going to drop out to pursue a career as a pro-gamer, at which point he politely broke up with her only because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to dedicate enough time to her and thought she'd deserve better. She was very understanding and supportive of that decision and they're still on good terms to date.

Heo Su's biggest secret, one that he's never told anyone, is from when he was still fighting with his parents about wanting to become a pro-gamer: one time, in retaliation for his mom stealing his mouse, he snuck into her room and stole an antique pearl necklace that belonged to his great-grandmother. He hid it in his room and planned to return it once his mouse was back, but then he completely forgot about it until a few months later when his mom noticed it was missing. Naturally, she FREAKED OUT - the police were called and everything - and Su certainly wasn't going to let her know that he was the one who took it now, so he just... didn't say anything and kept it hidden. He took it with him to the Damwon dorms in a well-wrapped bundle, and keeps it in the pocket of his suitcase where he can forget about it 99% of the time. Now that years have passed, he's considered returning it, but he thinks he might just wait for his mom to die and then put the necklace on her in her casket.

Meanwhile, the most trouble Geonbu ever got in as a child was the one time he got yelled at for feeding noodles to the family cat.

When it comes to love languages, Su both gives and receives words of affirmation but also really enjoys physical touch. Geonbu likes receiving words of affirmation and naturally gives acts of service. In short, how their relationship dynamic ends up working is Su insisting that Geonbu cuddle with him, which he is more than happy to do, then Su praises and teases him for it and Geonbu says "I love you too" and they're just... yeah.

Clearly quality time comes (came?) naturally to them to after living and working together for so long - I've talked about movies and karaoke but to be honest their best dates have always been when it's just the two of them together in the dorms - like Su sneaking into Geonbu's room at 2 am with a handheld video game console and a bag of chips and ordering Geonbu to feed him while he beats this boss. Then they both climb under the covers together so it's all dark except for the light of the screen and Su gets so locked into the battle and Geonbu is happy to just be there with him, watching his little expressions and giving him nutritional support. When Su finally defeats the boss he shouts because he's so happy, and Geonbu has to shush him because the others are sleeping, but Su is just too excited and snuggles up next to Geonbu to make it clear that he's spending the night there. A minute later, Su complains about their being chip crumbs on the mattress and Geonbu's just like "Really. I wonder who's responsible for that."

Hope you enjoyed these! These two are just so sweet ugh, thank you for the prompt and don't hesitate to reach out again if you want more!

Have a great day!!

[chi-the-idiot]

So im going to get real for a second, this may be ranty but i'll be sharing my feelings on Yuri on Ice just to pinpoint how this show literally changed my life (in what has to be described as the most cringe sad statement i will ever make in my life but hey, sometimes its like that).

So, picture little Chi. Dumb little Chi when she was 11 years old. Lonely girl, who had very few close friends to begin with but was also, quite literally, living inside a bubble (as described by herself back then). Then, i meet this person (kid, same age as me, nowadays nonbinary so i will address them so) and immediately bond over Steven Universe.

Now, keep in mind, this bubble i mentioned had to do with living in an extremelly sheltered space. Like, "didn't know being queer was even an option, just that it was wrong" levels of sheltered-ness. So, when they mentioned that Pearl from SU was clearly in love with Rose Quartz, I immediately pulled a face. Not that it would be wrong if she liked her, but, you know, i didn't feel like that was the case. My friend, then, suggested I search for the anime Yuri on Ice, and watch it through.

That weekend, while my parents were in the living room watching the news, I sat in my room, computer in my lap, facebook on the screen, and watched the entirety of Yuri on Ice in under a day. And, sure, at first it was odd, but by like episode three I was already rooting for them to get together. I freaked out at the kiss scene (even with the censorship). I cried at the ring exchange. I cried at the ending. And left with my heart full of something warm that I couldn't yet identify.

It took me years to finally understand what being queer actually was, and all that it entails. But that show, as weird as it sounds, guided me towards the first few steps of understanding. Its dumb, im aware. But as an 11 year old, living in the environment I lived in, it was my first introduction to queerness, even before Steven Universe got to the stage in which its queer themes were much more noticeable (for little me, at least).

It eventually lead me to the pont of putting the pieces together that I was actually queer (had been for a long time, but had repressed it as unnatural).

Yuri on Ice is not a perfect show. At all. Its been years since I last saw it but a lot of it probably didn't stand up to the test of time. But it will always occupy a super important space in my heart. Maybe that's why i still hold onto the hope that someday we will get more of it, whether at the hands of MAPPA or some other studio. Or, maybe, i don't need an explicit continuation, because to me the ending is clear. Victor and Yuri ended together.

Maybe their story in the screen is over. But they did make history.

[tev-the-random]

I AM AN ABSOLUTE JUMBLED MESS, SO HAVE SOME OF MY MESSY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE CROSSOVER TODAY, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

So far, we've got Tango in Gobland, Scar in Tumble Town, Pearl and Joe in Chromia, Cleo and Xisuma in Eversea, Keralis and Jevin in Sanctuary. Impulse and Grian are kind of making their own places. Did I miss anyone?

There are two kinds of emperors in this crossover: the ones who stick to the lore and claim they don't know the Hermits and the ones who drop everything and yell "MY RANCHER!".

Pix fits the second category, though a lot quieter.

Pearl fits the first, which is strange, considering her role as Literally God. At this point we really can't be sure of what exactly this means for Pearl or for Sausage. What is she?

Gem is her own category. There's something very sus going on with her.

Jimmy absolutely freaking out over seeing Tango again though-

I think at this point it's canon that either people have nametags floating above their heads or everyone is wearing an actual name tag and that's how they all know each other's names even though they never met.

Scott just got a magical flash grenade to the eye. How is this man seeing anything after the entire sky erupted in magic light-

Sausage. I'm not surprised. Not even disappointed. Xisuma most certainly is, though.

Is it a custom in Sanctuary to kiss people on the cheeks or is Sausage like... actively making out with newcomers? I know this is a very weird question, but it's Sausage we're talking about.

Joel adopted the one night armour stand joke lmao-

Tango freaking out over every little thing he sees.

Murder is canonically legal in Empires.

Grian is a force of chaos, as expected.

Rancher duo collabs again, pog? With horns and everything?

And Tango is now an engineer in Gobland, which means Fwhip might have some more to do other than poke the Sheriff. This crossover is a win all around for Jimmy, except for the toy jokes, which may increase, but I will thoroughly ignore that-

There's No Curse In Glimmer Grove.

Sausage keeping tabs on all the Hermits. That' either means that he's not as unsuspecting of them as he may seem or it implies that all Hermits are now their own empiresonas-

Grian's appearance in Tumble Town was so incredibly ominous, holy sh-

Shelby trying to be hospitable but at the same time being a witch inviting unsuspecting people into her hut in the cursed swamp after claiming the fog eats souls and pulling out a scythe. I'd be terrified.

Hats and mounts get passed all around. Is this a crime?

Why does only Pearl get an outfit change? I mean, I know why, but like, canonically speaking, why did it happen?

Still, I felt a bit teary-eyed upon seeing the Arena Duo together again, the Gilded Helianthia dress only made it better. I missed these guys interacting so much, and I don't know if I'm in denial like Sausage or if I'm just about to open a Word document to write an entire one shot about it-

Sausage had a vision of Gilded Helianthia, I'm not ok

Oh god, now we have both Joel and Scar yelling LORE in the same place, save us-

So convenient that E!False decided to travel far away right when HC!False shows up. Smart decision, yes, but at the same time, the fanfic writers must now assemble to make the two of them meet.

Ok, so apparently some people remember the Life series and some people don't. I guess that means that some of the characters, such as Jimmy, Joel and Scar, are the same characters from the Life series after they lost their third life. Other characters, such as Scott and Pearl, are not. But what does this mean?

Fwhip sounded so hurt for a moment when he thought Jimmy made Scar his new deputy. This man is not ok.

Soup Group? Soup Group.

Big ears Scar is cursed.

Sausage is too hospitable for his own good.

Scar's deputy and moral support arc. I'm happy for it, but at the same time, I don't trust it.

On one hand, I do think the wallpaper in Tumble Town looks very pretty and it would be so sad to destroy it. On the other hand, Jimmy deserves some dignity and shouldn't take this slander anymore, I swear to god-

Poor Impulse is so confused, why is this cat lady yelling at him, why are animals walking on two legs, where is he, he's having a crisis-

Stratos' class system gets called out, finally.

Just when Joel was so close to convincing the fandom that he's tall, the Empires' folk shut it down and confirm that they're only playing along and he is not, in fact, tall. Short king is back?

Katherine, when you go around telling everyone, including literal strangers your secret, I don't think it can be considered a secret anymore.

Fwhip encourages crime, such a good deputy of the law.

But then again, it's not stealing, it's borrowing-

Seeing the empires from the Hermits' perspectives is crazy, I hadn't realised just how massive these empires got.

The Hermits are staying for a while. I'm so happy this isn't going to be a one-episode thing, I'm dying to see where this goes!

(I'm trying to watch as many perspectives as I can. Some of them haven't come out yet, and I don't feel like watching Keralis' hour long episode. Can someone tell me what happens there?)

[veldian]

tell us more of ur think tank hcs i personally am at the edge of my seat

HELL YEAH ALRIGHT HERE WE GO. some of these might be against canon in some way but that's your fault for trusting me with this

ALSO, AS USUAL, I HAVE TO APOLOGIZE. THIS GOT VERY LONG. when i think about the tanks i go fuckin wild with it

starting with pride headcanons to get the ball rolling

all the tanks are nonbinary, but additionally, dala is a trans woman and 0 is a trans man

8 hates gender he fucking hates it. every day he wakes up and says "today i will make gender my bitch" and then he does. he says this in the game too you just don't know cuz he only speaks in static (don't factcheck this)

if you ask 8 what pronouns she uses, they will shrug and give you a "i dunno" noise. sometimes it'll make a non-committal hand movement and some unintelligible noises. good luck

god this bitch (borous) is gay! good for him! good for him.

he's also intersex! i don't remember where we got that hc but i like it and im holding onto it

okay but borous calls himself bi because yeah Men, but he also loves dala very much and doesn't want to misgender her. also as previously stated, 8's main goal is to confuse everyone about their gender so the tanks all stick with mspec labels to be on the safe side. you never know what'll happen. gender is a ticking time bomb

bi gang: klein, borous, 0

pan gang: dala, mobius

don't ask her about any of her identities she doesn't know the answer either: 8

have i gone off about polytank dynamics enough? i don't think so

8 and dala started dating first because horny bitches gravitate towards each other. they can also "pass" as a "straight couple" so hopefully no one at work will look at them and call them slurs. hopefully

klein and borous knocked things out of the park for being the first gay scientists ever

8 and dala became polyam icons and pulled 0 in. trans bitches gravitate towards each other

klein and borous did the same with mobius. bitches with facial hair gravitate towards each other

???????

idk and then all six of them started dating somehow. the end

somewhere along the way klein and 8 were like "i like you a little too much" and now they're inseparable

okay anyway. misc hcs

ive mentioned this before but when i pretend everything is in modern times, 0 is a tiktokker and he thrives on the attention and making fun of his coworkers on the internet

"watching steven universe repeatedly when i felt even slightly bad transed my gender" - doctor 8 old world blues

i just remembered i made a carrd for the tanks as if they were kinnies in their early to mid 20s

8 kinned pearl su. borous kinned werewolf cookie. 0 kinned rimmer red dwarf. mobius kinned... morbius forbidden planet. obviously. klein refused to put his kins on it. DID DALA KIN FROM DANGANRONPA

i think at one point we had a half-joking hc where klein gets nauseous if he sees blood

and then that changed to he can't see others blood, only his own

while borous can't see his own blood, but he's fine seeing other ppl's

i know borous said that gabe barked at everyone, but i think gabe trusts the other tanks because he knows borous does

borous set up a kissing booth with gabe. the crowd goes wild

when the tanks get together they usually go to klein's. he's the leader or something. also he has a fucking bar in his house.

he complains about them the whole time but you can really tell he loves having people over. why else would he deck his house out like that? he LOVES hosting stuff. house husband

if you saw my chart where i said klein would rather die than do dishes, i was so wrong. his house is pristine. its easily the cleanest

klein's love language is acts of service. he goes over to his partners' houses when they feel awful and clean stuff up for them when they can't. he also makes them food if they want it. he only complains a little, but you can tell he's mostly teasing

did you know klein has five mugs in his kitchen in-game. he's literally prepared to host his partners at any given moment.

the group have learned that letting 8 come over when their house is a mess is a Huge mistake. it goes from 8 trying to help "tidy up" to "im going to put your books and albums in alphabetical order by artist also your clothes are going to be hue-sorted"

"8 why are there only 8 books on each of my bookshelves"

"it looks better"

"it literally does not"

8 can no longer stomach going into 0's house

on the other hand, 0 hates staying in 8's house. the ticking of all their clocks is sensory hell

on 80 date nights they have to do rock-paper-scissors for which house they go to. or they go out. they love each other but their houses drive the other fucking nuts

oh speaking of their houses. yes dala said she didn't like Literal Teddy Bears but that is null and void considering she has teddies in her house

and she has 5 on her bed. five of them :)

she named all of them after her partners! its mostly cute but there is a slight bit of concern because they know what she does with them <__<

not that 8 has any place to judge. mobius found batteries under its pillow once. all 8 said was "they can vibrate." mobius regrets touching them.

i don't know what to say about dala's mannequins i don't have anything funny im just scared

WHY ARE 0 AND KLEIN THE ONLY ONES WITH BATHROOMS IT DRIVES ME INSANE 0'S BATHTUB ISNT EVEN LAYING DOWN ITS AGAINST THE WALL WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT GENERATOR IN HIS BATHROOM DO THE OTHER TANKS JUST SHIT OUTSIDE I'M SEEING RED

mobius and 0 are both into robotics, and they worked together to make muggy, so they've had date nights where they mainly tinker with electronic things.

0 gets very excited when he makes a breakthrough, and seeing that warms mobius's heart. mobius made a habit of kissing 0 on the forehead or squeezing 0 into a hug when they figure things out.

(0 remembers he likes men.) 😳

dala/klein date nights are essentially just them drinking and gossiping chatting

i asked polycule for some more, so here are ones from your local think tank kinnies

borous -

"klein and borous both like classical music in very different ways. klein mostly likes it to feel smart (see: wheatley) but he just started associating it with the others so it felt nicer And borous just likes it bc hes borous"

klein also likes jazz, but so do all the rest of them

8 has a cochlear implant

"dala likes dressing up to look pretty (see: runway) but is personally embarrassed by it (until she gets encouragement) bc she feels like the others dont support that"

"0 loves collecting and reading those stupid magazines with the birthday party products and themes that ud wanna buy from as a kid but are way too expensive"

"mobius has a secret love for puppetry and will try to bring it up sometimes whenever he can. hes made 3 separate sets of the other tanks as puppets and they freak 0 out"

"borous, in an attempt to better his faults, has started learning from dala and 8 on how to take care of plants instead of what he did before. his basement turns into a cool little green house cozy cuddle area"

"to add on: 8 gardens to cope whenever hes alone bc (projects onto ur kin) he mood drops very fast when alone"

"mobius likes dressing in cozy sweaters and fancy stuff"

0 -

"0 doesn't like anal that much" (thanks.)

dala -

"their new rap album called boyz in the tanks" (THANKS.)

and to top things off, :) here are the normal names for them all, created primarily by our borous kinnie

klein - Ernest Klein (nicknamed ernie)

mobius - Wilbert Mobius (nicknamed bert)

borous - James H. Borous (nicknamed jamie)

dala - Dala Theodore (HER NICKNAME IS TEDDY ITS GENIUS)

8 - Emmett Handley (nicknamed 8 + emmy)

0 - Robert O'Barrick (nicknamed 0/O + robbie (HIM SHARING HOUSE'S NAME IS INTENTIONAL. HE'S TRANS HE PICKED HIS NAME WHY DID HE DO THIS))

[kadomoni]

I always thought I might be bad, now I’m sure that it’s true…

I really can’t tell you what to think of Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz. I can’t. It’s something you have to decide for yourself, but I’m going to explain why she’s one of my favorite characters of the show, but I also think she is the villain.

Now, I know what Pink Stans are saying, “She’s not the villain! She’s morally grey and trying to change!” And, to that I say, yes clearly. She’s an incredibly well-written, nuanced, and complex character. But, as much as she has done good, she has also done very, very bad. And, I’m here to explain why I think Pink is not evil—she’s just bad (and she knows it).

There is no doubt about it that Pink was raised in an abusive family. White is a pretty typical narcissistic parent (over-reliance on perfectionism, wanting people to please her and be like her but no one ever living up to her expectations, trouble with empathy, ect.). Yellow and Blue love Pink but have no idea how to raise her. That’s pretty typical of dysfunctional family dynamics. None of them had a good role model, so they can only replicate a bad role model.

I understand this dynamic. I had a “mother figure” who was very emotionally (and sometimes physically) abusive. My parents were nice and good parents but they had anger issues. I went from being petulant to shutting down, but I think I fit more into a Pearl archetype because instead of acting out my pain, I kept it inside and felt like it was me that was wrong. Pink does this, but not before causing a lot of issues, and often exploding outwards.

((Major Steven Universe/Future Spoilers under the cut))

We’ll start with what we know about Pink, which is very limited.

The first “memory” we have from her is the astral projection dream Stevonnie had where she threw a tantrum about wanting a colony. It was childish, yes, but Yellow response was no better considering she just yelled at her. They both threw tantrums, and no doubt, she was going to get locked up in her tower after. Pink got angry, she punched a mirror (hopefully, she’d only punched mirrors, please, Rebecca, don’t hurt me like this).

Secondly, we have the dream Steven had about Blue, who begged Pink to stop being combative and letting her “organics” loose, but ultimately just ended up admonishing her further. It’s also implied that she had her stay in the tower room.

Also, that tower is even more fucked up than just isolation. @singlepalerose​ explains this in her meta that Gems need light to live, not food. Rebecca says in an interview when asked that she “can’t say” what would happen if put in a place with no light. But, @singlepalerose​ comes to the conclusion that this might be literally akin to starvation, which is torture. There’s a good chance that Pink was literally tortured by her care-givers.

And, poor Pink Pearl. I don’t know what happened, but whether it was a scream or some physical altercation, it was frightening enough that she broke her pearl so badly, it couldn’t be repaired, which as seen in RS’s concept drawings, Pink is really fucked up by this. She becomes more introverted with her feelings because of this.

                                                          Don’t Break This One.

I’m not going to comment on whether these actions make her “bad” or “abusive.” She was clearly a child in an emotionally maladaptive environment, and she did decide to change and to keep her anger and frustration internalized at the risk of harming the people around her.

But, unfortunately, the information after this is where I begin to feel disturbed by Pink’s actions.

She got a colony. At first, she liked it, but clearly, she either grew bored or disenchanted with managing it. I feel as though she was expecting some sort of freedom, when really, the extra responsibilities probably just weighed her down even more.

The events of ‘A Single Pale Rose’ come into play now. Pearl suggested they go down to Earth, and Pink felt her first taste of unrestrained freedom. She liked interacting with other gems, liked interacting with humans, and finally decided that she didn’t want to destroy the Earth. And, she did beg all the Diamonds to let her give up the colony, but not only had Pink kinda shot herself in the foot with this one because she begged so hard for a colony and made so many big scenes about it, White and Yellow are incredibly steadfast in tradition and rules, and this wasn’t going to fly.

So, she decided to take drastic action.

I personally think that the idea to fake her own death was…weird. And, pretty extreme. I understand her reasoning, but this was the first time where she made a decision that benefited her far more than it did others (and I’m not talking about the planet right now because that’s a whole separate thing). This action traumatized Pearl to the point where she doesn’t eat, won’t shapeshift, and can’t talk about it. Yes, I know she commanded Pearl not to talk about it, but this caused significant emotional distress for her later on in the series.

This also traumatized the whole gem race, specifically the Diamonds, because she’d framed it as a terror attack. It would be way different if she stood up to White herself publicly, but there was so much deception going on that it fundamentally changed the course of Gem Culture and the fate of the Earth. Mostly what bothers me here is how manipulative this action was and how unnecessarily complex it was. Pink did everything she could to wipe her slate clean, be seen as a martyr of Gemkind, and also live freely on Earth.

It was a very good way to get her freedom, but it was also extremely harmful to all parties involved.

The War only escalated at this point. They had to fight Homeworld as a full-on army, and countless of gems were shattered.

Now, yes, of course, these actions saved the Earth, which is good in our perspective because we live on Earth. Earth is essential to us because it is our only frame of reference. But, something that continually complexed the Homeworld gems was why someone would fight for one measly planet at the cost of so much. It makes sense to us because we would sacrifice a whole heck of a lot to keep our planet from being invaded by space aliens, but the gems were colonizing tons of planets and destroying them for energy. It was obviously horrible as colonizers are horrible, but it’s sort of like how different armies will invade other countries, but because we’re being told that it’s for good, most people don’t really care.

From the gem’s perspective, this was all a horrible disaster—a loss of countless life, resources, and pride.

And, for The Crystal Gems, the “loss” of the war meant that all of their friends were corrupted, except Rose’s closest friends (which I’m personally unsure if this is completely truthful. I would hope it would be, but it’s also very suspicious because letting only the people that trust her the most survive would make it easier to control her own story).

Speaking of which, wtf is up with her bubbling Bismuth? It just feels like it would be easier to hide her away instead of trying to explain why she doesn’t want to shatter the Diamonds. But, Rose shattered Pink, anyway? I personally believe Bismuth was too close to figuring out her story, and she didn’t know what to do. I can’t think of any other explanation that would explain her actions and make sense with telling the Crystal Gems she’d been shattered. It feels very manipulative and selfish.

All of this obviously traumatized Pearl (we see it in her Pearl within a Pearl within a Pearl), and it had to have traumatized Garnet considering her reactions to mentions of the war and the “fusion” experiments. It was especially bad on Garnet’s end because she thought the war was actually what Rose said it was, which is why she freaked out when it wasn’t.

She kept secrets from everyone, even Her Pearl. But, Pearl didn’t know that she didn’t know everything. You could call Pearl delusional, but I think this is more proof that Rose never did something in front of her that made her feel like she was being untruthful.

And, I said y’all don’t want to get me started on Rose’s treatment of Pearl because I go feral when I get worked up about it. I would like to personally thank @theroguefeminist​ for their meta on Rose/Pearl and Fandom Ableism. It’s super good, and it was the meta that made me finally sit down and watch all of SU way back in the day. But, it illustrates the point that fandoms tend to look down on characters that act “bitter,” “weak,” “jealous,” “depressed,” or “neurotic.” It’s even more sinister because the reason why Pearl acts the way she does in the first two seasons is because she’d been manipulated by Rose.

She was Pink’s Pearl, her partner in crime, her renegade. They were the Heroes of The Rebellion. Pearl admitted she had feelings for her, and Rose’s response was enthusiastic (“Don’t ever stop!”). From what we’ve seen, the disregard of her feelings only began when she started dating Greg, considering Pearl didn’t see “the men who came into her life now and again” as threats because they “didn’t really matter until [him].” But, the treatment that we see of Pearl in “Story for Steven” and “We Need to Talk” is dismissive at best and cruel and uncaring at the worst.

After Greg was trying to flirt with Rose, Pearl said defensively, “I can sing!” and they laughed at her. Even Rose beamed. They were basically making fun of her when Pearl was only reacting that way because she loved Rose and felt threatened by Greg, even at this point.

I do want to add that I think Rose was trying to be a good person by telling Greg to go away. She made a good point that he shouldn’t give up on his dreams to be with her (especially considering that she knew that nothing would become of him in a place like Beach City). But, she was wooed by him. She laughed and gave into her instincts to surround herself with people who look up to her (even Vidalia said something about how Greg worships her).

But, I find Rose’s treatment of her in “We Need to Talk” to be unnecessarily flippant. Obviously, Pearl was very upset during the whole “What Can I Do For You?” song, and her last ditch effort was to show off Rainbow Quartz and try to belittle his efforts, but Greg was rightly defensive. This doesn’t mean Pearl was being “salty” or “abusive” or “bitchy.” She was reacting negatively towards the emotional neglect that Rose was showing her. Of course, we don’t know every interaction that Pearl and Rose had, but it’s very heavily implied that Rose never communicated with Pearl how their relationship was developing.

I do not, I repeat—I DO NOT—think that Pearl was owed Rose’s love. What I think is neglectful about this situation is that Rose didn’t either apologize or properly explain the nature of their relationship. It’s implied that Rose made her believe they were an item and then proceeded to sleep around and eventually find an alternative partner. No one is owed affection with someone who doesn’t want to be romantically involved, but to lead someone on for thousands of years is horrible, and the idea makes me nauseous, especially since the fandom is more likely to blame Pearl even though Pearl was literally her glorified slave and only able to break out of that thought process years after Steven was born.

Pearl was so emotionally fucked up by Rose’s possible emotional neglect that she had several traumatic episodes starting from “Indirect Kiss” and culminating in her “Cry for Help.” She literally believed she was powerless and felt so weak that she thought the only way to feel agency was to manipulate and extort affection from Garnet. I’m also not defending Pearl for doing this, but it’s clear that she did this because she was mentally ill and not because she was knowingly or maliciously disregarding Garnet’s feelings to fulfill her own needs. Trauma episodes often cause you to act in destructive ways towards yourself and others, but it’s also very different from how Rose did disregard the feelings of others to get her way, or have fun, or “play” with people.

It also reminds me of her treatment of Spinel. Pink was having fun with Spinel until they decided to give her a colony, and then, instead of bringing Spinel with her or sending her back to the Diamonds, she told her to stay there, and she abandoned her for 6,000 years with no plans of returning for her. To be fair, it would really mess up the Crystal Gem dynamic if she suddenly returned with a Spinel who was gifted to Pink Diamond. So, in Rose’s perspective, I get it, but as myself, I don’t think it’s right.

Greg, even, I think was taken advantage of. He’s so sweet and trusting and good that she would easily have been able to get him to do anything. I’m not going to go too much into this because there’s not too much evidence besides her behavior towards him in “Greg the Babysitter” and how she laughed at him in “We Need to Talk.” I just have the feeling that Greg knows something that no one else does and that his perma-sunburn might have something to do with Rose and/or Steven’s conception. Don’t take my word for it since this is just a theory, but I do think there’s something we don’t know yet.

Alright, now that most of the character stuff is out of the way, let’s talk Rose symbolism. In almost every episode, there’s a shot of Rose’s portrait with her eyes covered or something obscuring them. This is classic anime imagery of a suspect character, and it’s foreshadowing of her suspect actions. All of her organic experiments eventually go rouge without constant maintenance from Rose (see: the moss in “Lars and the Cool Kids,” the thorns in “Indirect Kiss”). We don’t know why this happens, but it points to the idea that there’s something malignant lurking underneath Rose’s creations.

Rose’s Room also has disturbing implications. The fact that it gives Steven whatever he wants, but more often than not, it turns into psychological horror is telling. It may be that Steven just doesn’t know how to use the room, but also, the Gems didn’t want him to go in there. (“It doesn’t know how to handle a task like that!” What do you know, Pearl????) The creepiest one, in my opinion, was how the Fake Connie he made in “Open Book” eventually turned on him, attacked him, and basically physically forced him to admit feelings he wanted to keep hidden. I’m not saying this is the intended purpose of the room, but I find it troubling that it can be used in this way and defaults to it when there isn’t anything stopping it. It could also be that when the illusion the room makes is broken that it reverts to an angry (and dare I say Pink Diamond-esque) temperament.

My final point is how her decision to have Steven, even though eventually for good, hurt many people, Steven included. To make the decision to die and have a kid was confusing to everyone, but more so, the gems. They don’t understand human reproduction outside of a biological level, and the fact that gems normally can’t sexually reproduce makes the concept even more foreign. It seems like she explained that she was doing it and would die but didn’t fully prepare the gems about what that would entail. I think this is most clearly seen in “Three Gems and a Baby” because the Crystal Gem’s behavior towards baby Steven reflected Pearl’s response to emotional neglect, such as acting impulsively and dangerously just for not understanding the complexities of the situation.

Their whole dynamic was screwed up, and they all felt deeply hurt by Rose’s death. If you compare how they act at the beginning of the series to the end, they were basically all at each other’s throats because they couldn’t communicate properly due to all the undealt with baggage that had been left behind. It ended up becoming Steven’s job to emotionally support the gems when he should have been the one being emotionally supported. This imbalance of “the parents being the child” and “the child being the parents” is a huge reason why we see Steven in such emotional distress during Future. He’s internalized the idea that he should be the leader, the supporter, the helper, and he hasn’t properly been able to find his own identity because Rose looms over all of them (see: “Rose Buds”).

It’s hard to say whether Rose intentionally left Steven to clean up her mistakes or if she just felt like he could fix it all when she couldn’t, but there is no denying that Rose’s actions have seriously messed up our boy. This is the clearest theme presented in the show, so I’m not going to go super hard on this topic because basically the whole show is Steven angsting over his mom.

So, the point of all of this is that, yes, Pink was abused. There is no doubting that she was very badly abused and developed her personality and coping mechanisms due to this trauma. However, Rose has hurt her friends, family, and gemkind due to her actions. A lot of abusers have been abused. I know my abuser was abused in the same way I was, but that doesn’t give her an excuse to enact that abuse on me. It’s the same as Rose. Her bad upbringing gives context about why she turned out the way she did, but it’s incredibly short-sighted to say that Rose acted in mostly good ways towards others.

And, she knows she’s bad. Whether or not Rebecca will outright admit what the song is about, we have enough context to know that “Love Like You” is Rose talking to Greg (if not the other gems as well).

“I always thought I might be bad Now I’m sure that it’s true ‘cause I think you’re so good And, I’m nothing like you

Look at you go I just adore you I wish that I knew What makes you think I’m so special”

Rose is admitting that she thinks she’s bad and isn’t special and doesn’t understand what Greg sees in her. She knows she’s done bad things, but in my opinion, she didn’t do enough to fix her problems. She made Steven instead. It was her final act of avoidance. Maybe she gave up on herself. Maybe she knew she couldn’t “Love Like You.” I don’t know the answer to that. I just know that Rose’s actions were abusive. She’s not good. She’s morally gray. She did good things, but she did many bad things as well. She’s not evil, but she is the series’ antagonist. She has good things about her, but she has many bad things as well. People can be two things. But, saying she’s not an abuser is making excuses for her behavior.

Here are my answers to a few common complaints on my shitpost meme.

Q: Rose didn’t want to cause war! She just wanted to free the planet/have freedom/save the gems, ect. A: If she didn’t want to cause war, she very well could have…not started the war? There are much less destructive options than pretending to be a rebel when she really was a Diamond. The double life thing is so ridiculous, no one in the show could even guess it. Q: Don’t discredit her Rebellion! A: I just think she cared more about herself than she actually did the Earth. The Rebellion did save the Earth, but not without crazy death and destruction. Q: Pink was good compared to Japser, the Diamonds, Lapis, ect. A: All of you saying that those other characters are bad while Rose is good totally misses the point. All those characters did abusive things. So did Rose/Pink. Pink is good and bad. It’s really showing your ass that you hate x, y, z but will cape for Pink even though she’s probably caused the most harm of the entire series. Whatever happened to all those morally grey arguments?

Q: This take is bad! A: soz bruh cry harder Q: This is black and white thinking. A: I shouldn’t have to explain every aspect of a character in a shitpost. This meta is my full explanation, so here’s my morally grey meme uwu

Q: Blue, Yellow, and White are colonizers and also really abusive. A: Yes. It doesn’t negate Pink’s actions, though.

Q: Pink Pearl was an accident! She changed after!!! That’s not abuse!!!!!!! A: Abuse isn’t always intentional, and we don’t canonically know it was an accident. Pink Pearl said that it was, but she admitted she was making excuses for her. But, accident or not, hurting someone deeply can be abuse if it’s not dealt with. Pink Pearl was not dealt with. She was brainwashed for 8,000 years, instead. Pearl-Pearl helped her deal with it. The continual explosive anger from Pink was abusive, hands down.

Q: She’s not a villain! A: She certainly is framed as Steven’s villain. Regardless of what you personally think of Pink, Steven is deeply disturbed and harmed by Rose’s actions. It’s literally the whole plot of the show! If Pink is eventually redeemed, I won’t mind, but she’s irredeemable in my eyes.

[thelyd]

SU Rewatch: Serious Steven

I remember not liking this episode.

Ah, because Steven isn’t nearly as mature or resourceful in this episode as the previous one. He has every right to be since he’s literally a child but seeing him go from on the fly reaction main character to super childish kid on a field trip was hard to watch on my first go around watching this show. Now I value every moment of Steven being happy and being a kid because I know things get so much worse from here.

NAH DAWG I REMEMBER THIS NOW OH NOOOO

The strawberry battlefield is so beautiful but so bittersweet. Pearl is so happy that there’s wild life growing on this battlefield and then they find the upside down pyramid that ABSOLUTELY is something to do with White Diamond, if not Homeworld at least. Pearl completely stops and her whole demeanor changes when they walk toward it, and there’s Diamond shapes everywhere in the background. Remember when we thought it was just aesthetic when it was really foreshadowing?

Okay but the triangle thing was flat side up when they entered and it changed when Steven made the flat side go down...like White and Pink’s gem orientation! Like me absolutely reading too much into everything but the show is over and I’ll over analyze whatever I want!

Nah but the gems being locked in the bottom and the Era 2 symbol on the ground is creeping me out, man.

Obviously the landing that gets redone in Change Your Mind is from this episode.

Bruh Steven REALLY almost died there AUGHHH

“We can take a break if you’re not feeling well, Steven” “No, I’m okay...” *poses like Ruby*

STEVEN’S SHIRT GOT FREAKING RIPPED HE THEORETICALLY ALMOST GOT SHATTERED BEFORE GARNET CAME OVER I’M

Again with no self-preservation, Steven just LEAPS off of the teacup ride at Fun-land. I’m sure it’s for the comedic effect but DUDE

Did Steven seriously completely dissociate? I know Garnet said she carried him while he took a nap but like...it feels like a flashback trauma thing? This child has been through and will go through so much and I can see why he feels like he shouldn’t give the gems more problems to deal with later on.

Steven starts picking himself apart before he realizes the Gem thing is like the teacup ride. I’m so worried about him.

The thing is Gem powered and clearly resembles White Diamond. I know her design wasn’t quite final yet but upon pulling the gem out, the room stops spinning and the statue changes from frowning to smiling. The gem is also oriented much like Pink’s when she became Rose. Idk, lots of people used the mural in here for theories back in the day but I don’t want to touch in it because I never understood it enough to make my own theory or build off of anyone else’s.

Butterflies in Steven’s eyes and Garnet comforting him? Aww yeah, here comes a thought!

[leah-ocarina]

Hooooooo boy! Warning: SU Future spoilers ahead just in case people haven’t thought to add it to their mute list yet.

This line. This line fills in a missing piece of Rose’s puzzle that has been driving me nuuuuuuuuuts.

“One knew your mother was trying to change, but she couldn't understand why. The other never expected her to change at all. Now, I get to understand everything. Now, they finally get to have each other.”

I didn’t think it was Rebecca Sugar-like to just have Pink Diamond pivot on her heels so hard just because she saw a human one time. This tells us something that I wasn’t really expecting. 

Even before our Pearl was even born Pink Diamond already suspected she was fucked up. 

If I had to guess I’d say it might be Volleyball’s eye that made her start thinking about it. Or maybe when Volleyball was taken. Or perhaps it was something we know nothing about yet. She clearly didn’t fully realize it because she still wasn’t spending her time thinking about how her actions affected others by the time she left Spinel (confirmed in a Rebecca Sugar interview),  and our Pearl was around when she got her colony. (If you look at Steven juggling in that dream and then at Spinel juggling it’s almost shot for shot and it seems to pain Pink Diamond to see, so I would be shocked to find out Volleyball and Spinel were in service at the same time)

If I had to guess it went something like this:

• Volleyball’s eye got fucked up because of a temper tantrum.

• Pink Diamond felt bad but Volleyball assured her it was fine and not her fault.

• Pink Diamond was then like “Oh okay. If you say so I guess it isn’t my fault after all.”

• Though she didn’t think about it or reflect on it at all, doubt got tucked away in the back of PD’s mind.

• Something we’ve yet to see happened and PD clammed up (no pun intended)

                 • Yellow and Blue were way more gentle with... ‘obedient’ gems than 

                White or Pink, so it’s possible Pink Diamond got an earful/abuse of her

                 own.

                • Seeing what White did to PP may have been the trigger.

               • Could have been she was trying to act grown-up enough for a colony.

                • It could have been something we haven’t seen yet. Time will tell.

• Our Pearl came along after whatever that was, and PD had already been suppressing her outbursts for a while, which is why Pearl didn’t know about them

• Seeing that human reminded PD that innocent bystanders can get hurt just by being near a destructive force, and her transformation into Rose began.

If you ask me getting shaken up by Volleyball being taken is the only thing on my list of potential triggers that would have created such a huge personality change. I wonder how long it was between Pink Pearl being taken and our Pearl showing up. PD and Pearl seemed pretty new to each other in the flashback, so it could be our Pearl was specifically made to help with the colony.

Anyway, getting back to the quote, when Volleyball said it was just an accident and she was standing too close, that was probably true. But Volleyball never expected Pink Diamond to change so instead of making PD reflect on how not fucking okay it is to have a freak out like that with somebody standing right next to her (repetitively I might add), she not only let it go, but probably insisted it wasn’t a big deal. Our Pearl was never physically hurt by Pink Diamond and it’s very telling that she ‘didn’t understand why’ PD would want to change herself and settle into the loving and compassionate Rose Quartz we all know from the beginning of the series. That can only mean that from our Pearl’s PoV she was already ‘kind’. 

It’s so, SO important for our Pearl to be able to come to terms that Rose didn’t always do ‘I’m trying to do what’s best for everyone even if my methodology is flawed’ and that her needing to change was 100% necessary. I’m really excited for this ‘coming to terms with Rose once being the horrible Pink Diamond’ arc that seems to be forming. I hope Volleyball sticks around. I don’t think she and our Pearl can fully heal without one another. Now somebody please help Spinel I don’t trust the Diamonds with her.

Closing thoughts: I think the reason Pink Pearl was the only one visibly scarred by Pink Diamond has to do with the fact there was actual (even if indirect) violence involved. My parents used to scream at each other all the time, but one time they started throwing shit. I wasn’t even in the room and I think it would have been enough to crack my eye if my physical form had been linked to my psychological one. I’ve always heavily identified with Rose Quartz since the beginning of the show, and it’s been disturbing to me that out of all this horrible stuff that’s coming out of the woodwork I just... haven’t stopped feeling that connection. When I was in middleschool I was a toxic fuck. I think Rose is/was really a walking embodiment of what can come from a dysfunctional household and, like me, realizing how fucked up a person you are and breaking that cycle. Nothing will ever excuse what she’s done, but reminder her redemption arc is played in reverse. 

[thepuppeteer-andthetrashmob]

Thoughts on the SU Movie

-Spinel is straight out of a 1930s cartoon and it’s awesome

-They do a really good job hinting at her backstory in her words and behavior before it’s ever shown

- “Did you play games without me? What did you play?” yes, they played Steven Tag

-Her sound sounds like something you’d expect to find in Bendy and the Ink Machine due to the fact it sounds like a dark 1930s cartoon song

-The Rejuvenator explains how they kept uprisings from happening until Rose

-Apparently gem rotation isn’t specific to diamonds

-A gem’s mental state really affects their look and I like that

-Reset Spinel reminds me of Micky, but I like her “snapped” look more and I’m glad they stuck with it

-Didn’t like the diamonds being so clingy and replacing Pink after saying they weren’t

-Reason 50 why Pink messed up

-Pink probably meant to either come back and retrieve Spinel originally or wanted to but couldn’t after starting her gem rebellion. I mean, let’s face it, as much as she respected organics and her pearl, she still saw them as lesser (or even pets) until Garnet. And Spinel was really starting to annoy her.

-None of the gems can freaking communicate, that could’ve solved Pink’s whole problem with Spinel

-STEG FINALLY

-OPAL AGAIN AND SHE TALKS I’VE BEEN WAITING SEASONS FOR OPAL TO APPEAR AND SAY ANYTHING AGAIN, WE GOT FREAKING RAINBOW 2.0 BEFORE WE GOT OPAL TALKING AGAIN

-yELLOW LAUGHING WAS GREAT

-Don’t like the diamonds, but Spinel at least gets friends!

-Bismuth, Lapis, and Peri had shorter roles than I wanted but they were all great in the screen time they had.

- “I could have lost all my character development!”

-Sapphire saving Ruby showing that, under the amnesia, they still love each other because Sugar’s said Sapphire’s very passive and wouldn’t change fate

-little Amethyst mimicing everyone

-“My um Greg”

-Greg just wanting Pearl back to herself was a nice touch, a lot of shows have the character get wrapped up in having a servant

-Steven, wording. Don’t say “pretend none of this happened” to the potential BPD case who just showed up today. NOT WHEN SHE JUST BECAME YOUR FRIEND.

-I’ve listened to “Other Friends” so much since the movie

-Cotton Candy Garnet

-Overall I liked the plot, even if it didn’t feel like a time crunch due to Spinel switching sides a few times. The story was good, and even if the ending fell a bit flat, Spinel’s story was good, the gems re-experiencing their key live points was nice to see, and I’ll probably watch it again!

[dogcopter]

Rose is Liveblog 2020: I Am My Monster (Steven Universe Future Finale)

Rose is Liveblog 2020 Masterlist

I can’t believe Steven Universe Future came and went with the clandestine Rose Quartz still in disguise! Conspiracy still holds, though. Finale spoilers ahead. 

Here are the final Lion appearances of all time or until another SU world title is made. (may come back and do a post about roseislion related background art tho)

SUF 19: I Am My Monster

Pre-Lion talk: Lion isn’t in Homeworld Bound or Everything’s Fine, but the PD parallels this season are very noisy. Steven’s going through some feelings his mom has felt too. I think there’s an argument to be made for “pink mode” cries for help to be her influence, like Cactus Steven, but I choose to take the cortisol explanation at face value for now bc I prefer it.

So Lion’s not at the intervention, but once Steven transforms and everyone is trying to talk to him, Connie is shown with Lion. I’m assuming he was napping under the beach house or behind the cliff as usual, Rose could have been hanging out as a ghost with them, w/e.

Connie: We can change him back, can’t we? Garnet: As long as he believes he’s a monster, he’ll stay one.

Everybody’s worried about Steven. Greg is moved next to Lion, because that’s their son and they became close sometime as of like, season 5.

Connie and Lion go to “protect the townspeople”, and make it back just in time for the climax.

White Diamond: ...and if Pink hurt you, it was because I hurt her! Like I hurt Yellow, and Blue, and Steven, and everyone in the entire universe! This is all my fault! Connie: Yes, it is!

(they either ignored the fight to climb up on that dome for her proclamation, or Connie told Lion to jump off a cliff 5 seconds before)

Cannot overstate the importance of Lion witnessing White Diamond acknowledge her actions. Given what White was like before, this is basically Rose’s equivalent of Steven getting an apology from Rose. Generational trauma the anime. 

White is the controlling, abusive parent who tells you there’s something wrong with YOU, if you are anything but what she’s decided you’ll be, and that belief is reinforced a million times by your life and even your own choice and actions. (which are themselves informed by trauma, even though trauma doesn’t excuse the harm you cause others - as Future tells us, Rose and Steven are far more alike than either once realized.) But there wasn’t anything wrong with you; abuse wasn’t for your own good. She says “all of this is because of me”, and I’m glad that Rose, who definitely feels like this was all her fault, heard the root of her trauma acknowledged. 

But this is about Steven, lol. Lion’s part of the hug charge! He delivers Connie to Steven’s nose so she can embrace him with a healing kiss.

Steven panics when he comes down from his meltdown,

Lion gets in his face and offers some pure animal affection. It’s exactly what Steven needs to let go and let himself sob. 

The best shot in all of Future

Series finale callback: Pink Steven Rose and Steven hugging, AGAIN, because this entire show is a double helix of their character arcs intertwined like a hug.

Next post is the tiny bit of Lion in The Future, and then SU is gone, forever, at least until we get artbook lore. I can’t believe how many of these I’ve done, and only for personal satisfaction.

Finale roseislion meta

assuming Shy Rose is Rose, and I really think she is, there’s something specific about her behavior in Rose Buds as relates to I Am My Monster. It’s implied Rose asked Wy-six to come to earth, she’s waiting right against the door, but she and Steven are shocked to see one another and don’t even speak until later in the episode. Rose notices Pearl is freaking out, she notices Steven is uncomfortable even though he’s pretending to be fine, and she leaves because he won’t tell them to leave. 

She takes action to improve Steven’s environment, even though Steven claims he’s ok. She tells him that they (the Rose Quartzes) were also pretending to be fine, and doesn’t downplay the severity of the trauma they’re dealing with in the aftermath of Rose’s decisions (”It’s not whatever.”). And if she came to Earth to tell him she wasn’t “gone”, it’s possible she chickened out, but I also think she realized it’s not the right time to put this on Steven.

Not to understate how big a mess she left him by, y’know, giving up her physical form and remaining as a ghost, but in and of itself her behavior in this one small episode scenario is exactly what Connie must later ask of the Gems in the final showdown. 

In other words, she may have had a crisis about the trauma she’s caused Steven, but she also prioritized Steven’s needs, changed her behavior, and verbally validated his feelings - just in a lower-stakes situation. (I do think she hides her feelings for similar reasons to Steven too, but in this scenario it works in his face) 

And at the end of the episode, Lion is back with Steven, keeping him company - like at the end of I Am My Monster. I think Rose, as usual, has good intentions. She can still come forward eventually, and I like to believe she can and will get there, but like Connie says:

Yes, you hurt him but this isn’t the time to make this all about you!

(Lion: owo;;; ) 

Rose got that and said something about it 16 episodes sooner than the other parents. She got her comeback moment and her potential for the redemption arc/conversation we’ve all been waiting for, but it wasn’t the right time to put that on Steven. also with Rose alive in her own body they could easily drag that story out a few more seasons being bff with Connie has been a good influence on her, lol. If SU is ever continued, there’s potential for Steven and his mom to meet, when both are in a better place for it, and both of them can go to therapy. Still tragic but hopeful in an SU fashion.

Lore on this assertion: Rose Buds Lion liveblog, Shy Rose is Steven’s Mom, the use of The Cave, the fact that she looks and behaves like Lion - watch Rose Buds but only the parts with Shy Rose, meta clips compilation, Rose Ghost Theory & chronological list of SU ghosts, Rose Is Lion theory masterpost 

thank u for the support

[artificialqueens]

Girls Interrupted, Chapter 1: The Institution: 1, Katya: 0 (Vatya) 1/2 - Maeve

AN: Hi, everyone! I suppose this is my debut as a fan fiction author, and I’m super nervous. I never thought that I would be a writer, myself, but when I suggested a Vatya fic outline, some of you lovely people encouraged me to give it a try. ConCrit is always welcome! I tried my hardest, and I hope you enjoy! EEK!

August air is like a woman in heat: wet, warm, and not in the mood to do favors.

The short walk from her baby blue Beetle to the cafeteria doors left Katya sweating like a hooker in church. “Part-time-clown working a corner in the Red Light District” was a solid look, but Katya was beginning to doubt that it was the right choice for the first day of the new school year. The fabric of her long-sleeved dress clung to her skin uncomfortably.

If the funfetti doesn’t cover my sweat stains, I’m suing, Katya thought.

She tried to smooth down the sheer fabric out of habit. Katya took a deep breath before throwing open the glass door and bracing herself for a head-on collision with nostalgia. White floors, harsh light, kitchen clatter—too much for a Wednesday.

It’s an A/B day. First period: English, room 316. She repeats the mantra again and again in her head. If she loses the thought, she’ll never be able to find her way back.

Pussy, she chastised.

Katya’s bright red combat boots plunk across the linoleum and up three flights of rubber stairs. She might apologize for shattering the silence if anyone else were around, but the English corridor remains silent.

She, In her loud dress and noisy shoes, looked very out of place.

Mother, I’ve breached a sterile environment.

The white walls and white floors seemed to stretch for miles in either direction. Katya had forgotten how sad the white looked without students against it.

Mrs. McPhee’s door, like all the other doors, was an unremarkable brown. Katya stared into it and tried to reconcile the empty canvas with the image of the imp of an english teacher described by the upperclassmen . No dice. Perhaps her friends were exaggerating their hatred for the woman behind the unassuming door. It would be nice to think the best of  people, but she knew she lived in a time when that didn’t happen often. People suck; get with the program.

An eternity later the bell rang and Katya got to her feet before the horde could pull a mufasa on her. The unremarkable door swung open, revealing a short woman with a tight face and copper hair.

This could be trouble, an alarm flashed in her mind.

However, her body did not have time to trigger a fight or flight response. The older woman flashed Katya a bright smile, taking in her first student of the year. Mrs. McPhee enthusiastically extended her hand for Katya to shake.

“Hi there! I’m Mrs. McPhee! It’s so nice to meet you!” She all but chirped.

Katya snapped out of her thoughts and accepted the gesture. “I’m Katya. It’s nice to meet you too,” the teen delivered the customary response before Mrs. McPhee ushered her inside.

“Feel free to sit anywhere! I need to run to the copy room and grab a few things for class today. There’s an ice breaker activity on the tables that you can get started on,” she said before ducking out into the hall.

Someone’s had their morning coffee, Katya quipped, the corners of her mouth turning up in a small smile.

Familiar faces began to fill the chairs at the tables, but Katya had yet to find one she’d spoken more than a sentence to. The presence of her long time crush, Trixie Mattel, in the seat across from her did nothing to quell her growing anxiety, either.

A frantic Mrs. McHale returned with arms full of papers shortly after the end of the passing period. Katya could hear the eyes rolling at the sight of her. Cue the secondhand embarrassment.

Copies of the syllabus made their way around the room. Katya tried desperately not to wince as her English teacher introduced the “phone spa” where phones would live during class.

It wasn’t hard for Katya to become lost in her own thoughts once again.

Is there going to be a project on the summer reading? Is my copy of All the Light We Cannot See—which I’ve annotated the crap out of—going to be of any use to me at all?

The blonde was fucked if they were going to have to do an in-depth analysis of the text. The only thing she could remember about it was that the girl, Marie-Or-Something, was blind. And that only stuck with her because of the cackling fit she had on the floor when her mom asked her why she chose the book. And, of course, it was stupid. It was too hilarious that a book with a title about not being able to see the light had a protagonist who was blind, and thus, literally could not see the light.

The thought brought a smile to Katya’s face even now. It was unlikely that Anthony Doerr intended to make an ironic joke about a blind girl, but Katya liked to believe that humor wasn’t dead. Was it terrible? Yes. But come on, she literally couldn’t see the light. Because she was blind. Katya snorted at the mental picture that formed and immediately covered her mouth. Scanning the room, Katya determined that she hadn’t drawn any attention to herself. That was, until she caught Trixie Mattel’s unimpressed gaze.

Go figure, Katya scowled, I bet she thinks I’m keeping squirrels in the space between my ears. The teen could feel her cheeks flush beet red in embarrassment. She darted her eyes down to the syllabus, suddenly finding classroom procedures intriguing.

Fuck! Shit. She thinks I’m a freak, and she’s going to tell all her friends. Everyone will stare. You’re an embarrassment, a fool a—

Lady luck chose the opportune time to smile down on Katya, for it was an A/B day, and that meant classes were much shorter. The shrill bell sounded over the loudspeaker and silenced her pleas to be wished out of existence.

Katya’s second period was library aide. It was the perfect opportunity for her to get ahead on homework when she wasn’t needed. However, she knew full well that she’d spend the hour and a half people watching and reading obscure works.

The library was empty this morning and she cou;d take a moment to compose herself. Mrs. Slay, the librarian, gave her a brief runthrough of her duties and explained library procedures. Afterwards, she released Katya to her own devices.

Katya had never actually spent much time in the school’s library. The harsh, fluorescent lighting did nothing to make the room look cozier. Dozens of tall wooden shelves framed large areas along with some extra shorter shelves of books.

Katya trailed her fingers along dusty spines, hoping that a title would catch her eye.

Her third period class, theater, was on the first floor. A lot of people found it weird that a self-identifying technician was still involved in normal theater classes. Katya began her career on the stage, though. Her stage fright and lack of singing and dancing abilities were not about to stop her from growing as a performer. She promised herself that she’d audition for the play this year.

Ginger was waiting for Katya in their usual seats when she entered the black box. The blonde smiled at her best friend, taking a moment to look over the other faces in the space before joining her long-time companion.

Unfortunately, another year had not flushed out the riff-raff. Katya scowled, new year, same bullshit. The blonde shared a knowing glance with Ginger.

Rolaskatox—the inseparable trio of  Roxy, Alaska, and Detox—remained front and center. Sharon and Jinkx camped out in the back, and Tammy sat awkwardly on her own with Raja and Manila nearby. Pearl and Trixie gossiped to their left.

After Ms. P, the theater teacher for juniors and seniors, passed out the syllabus, they gathered in a circle. Playing stale warm-up games never failed to put the majority of the class in a pissy mood. It was no secret that half of the room hated the other half of the room; times when they were all forced to work together were toxic.

The second activity Ms. P had put on the agenda for that morning was not any better: duet scenes. The oblivious woman thought it would be a fantastic idea to assign partners at random for the scenes. Katya’s heart jumped in her throat when their teacher called Alaska Honard’s name along with hers.

Alaska had long, silky golden hair, soft pink lips, and big doe eyes. She was easily the tallest girl in their grade (and quite possibly in their school). She had legs for days, and they looked stunning under that short green cheer skirt in Katya’s opinion. And most of the student body’s opinion. Alaska might have been the nicest girl on the cheer squad, but Katya was sure that this encounter could still be fatal.

Katya hesitantly approached Alaska, who had yet to stop chatting with Roxy and Detox, and cleared her throat.

“Um, Alaska, I have our scene…If you want to go work on it…” Katya trailed off, digging the toe of her boot into the black floor.

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her. She could feel the eye roll and once over from tweedle dee and tweedle dum. Instead, she focused on the tight smile the blonde in the middle gave her. Alaska nodded and followed her out of the black box.

The two girls made their way to the anti-lobby in without a word. Neither of them knew how to break the silence between them.

It was Katya who bit the bullet “Look, Alaska, I know you’re not thrilled about being my partner. But I care about the work I do in this class, and I know you do too. So can we just—”

“I’m sorry about them,” Alaska cuts her off. The confusion and shock is visible on Katya’s face, and Alaska feels the need to further elaborate. “Rotox…they’re rotted cunts sometimes. I think you’re a great actress, and I’m actually pretty glad to be working with you,” Alaska confessed . She ducked her head, and a long, golden lock fell into her eyes. Katya had to clutch the fabric at her thighs in order to resist the urge to brush it behind the taller girl’s ear.

“Okay then,” Katya breathed a sigh of relief, “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Katya could not believe the success she’d had on her scene with Alaska in theater. Maybe cheerleaders—well, certain cheerleaders—weren’t so bad after all. Katya was feeling optimistic as she made her way back up to the third floor for biology.

Are all biology classrooms supposed to reek of formaldehyde? Katya wrinkled her nose in disgust. There were tables made up of four desks clustered in front of the whiteboard at the front of the room. The back half of the room contained lab tables and equipment. Katya figured they would not be spending the majority of their time in there. Again, not wanting to draw attention to herself, she slipped into an empty desk near the back of the room. Their teacher, Mrs. Yates, shuffled around marking students present—to save time, Katya supposed. She finished moments before the tardy bell rang, and the students quieted as she took her place at the front of the room.

Mrs. Yates opened her mouth when the door slammed open. The culprit was captain of the cheer team, Violet Chachki, or what Katya swears, must be the devil in high heels. Satan made eye contact with a startled Mrs. Yates and lazily flashed her a small slip of paper. Hot pink: Coach Calhoun’s signature color.

“You must be Violet Chachki!” The friendly woman greeted. “Why don’t you take a seat next to Katya in the back?”

The gentle instruction wasn’t an option for Violet. The only empty seats left were at Katya’s table. Katya felt as though Mrs. Yates had just declared it open season on quirky blondes with questionable fashion sense. Dread pooled in her stomach; she was too young to die.

Similarly, Violet visibly recoiled at the idea of sitting next to some theater clown. Violet’s withering gaze focused on Katya, but she was certain it wasn’t her that the fuming brunette was plotting to crucify. Katya pitied whichever of her bimbo cheerleader friends forgot to save her a seat.

Violet chose the desk across from Katya. The blonde didn’t resist the opportunity to take a magnifying glass to the untouchable girl, herself.

Violet chachki was stunning. If looks could kill, the school would be a cemetery by now. She was a dark horse, a vixen, a black widow, the kind of beautiful that hurts you if you get too close. A girl like that did not belong here. Katya watched in awe as Violet’s manicured hand brushed long onyx strands back into place.

Unfortunately, Katya was no Double O Seven, and it didn’t take Violet long to pick up on the attention she was getting. The same painted fingers removed themselves from dark, silky waves and ventured closer to Katya’s face. They snapped suddenly, and Katya almost fell out of her blue plastic chair.

She only had a second to recover when Violet spat venom at her. “Hey, Bozo the Cunt, has the lack of oxygen in your tiny car affected your ability  to function, or are you just simple?”

“Bozo the Cunt”? That’s new. Mother, I’ve made a name for myself. Katya brought her eyes up to look at Violet. Her failure to provide a timely response did her no favors and the she-demon’s ruby red lips curled into a snarl. If Katya could feel her legs, she would be running to the nearest place of worship.

“Quit staring at me, freak,” Violet hissed. Katya met violet’s piercing eyes with her own sheepish blue ones.

“I-I uhm…Sorry. You look nice today?” Katya offered with shrugged shoulders. She wouldn’t buy her excuse either.

The brunette rolled her brown eyes, fishing her sparkly red phone from her bag and leaving Katya to pick at her hands.

Mrs. Yates saved Katya’s cuticles when she passed out materials for the students to make makeshift nameplates for their desks. Katya was a sucker for crafts. She wasted no time in writing her name in thick, red letters. A large, yellow sickle and hammer ran through the center of the page and black Russian characters accented her work of art. Katya was proud of herself. Capping the black marker, she took a risk and peeked at Violet’s handiwork.

Violet chose a clean and classical look for her own sign. V I O L E T was spelled out in deep purple, looping script.

Katya sighed. It was going to be a long year if the ice queen froze her out completely. At least Katya enjoyed biology.

After everyone was finished with their nametags, Mrs. Yonkin passed out an ice breaker activity designed to help the students get to know everyone at their table. Unfortunately, it was an activity where you had to interview a partner, and Katya’s partner was clearly unwilling.

“I don’t see why we have to talk,” Violet complained. “Trade papers with me so we can fill out our own answers. I’m tired of working with people that are not myself.”

Katya couldn’t help but feel a bit insulted. It wasn’t like she had herpes or something. They didn’t even have to share their entire life stories with each other; a favorite color is as generic as it gets. If the bitch wanted to be difficult, Katya sure as hell wasn’t going to make it easy for her.

“Look, Princess, I don’t know anything about science other than it’s really good for you,“ Katya bit back, “But I haven’t done enough crack to melt my brain. Do you honestly think people would believe that you could produce chicken scratch like this?” The blonde gestured pointedly to the top of her own page where she had scrawled out her name. Violet pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Oh and I’m also not bad at science. It was a joke, A bad one,” Katya tried to assure the frustrated girl in front of her. Her words of comfort did little to change her new partner’s mood, though. She tried again, “What’s your favorite color?”

[i-lost-my-heart-in-republic-city]

answer all the questions in that ask thing, or go through it and just answer all the ones u rlly rlly want to

Sorry this took so long, but you asked for all of them and Iam very emotional.

1.  What episode of Steven Universe got you hooked on the show?

I started watching shortly after Jailbreak came out so I’m not sure if I can pinpoint exactly where I got hooked, but I think it was around Coach Steven of Mirror Gem/Ocean Gem when it really got me. Although, I will say when Sworn to the Sword came out, that’s really when I knew this was it for me. 

2. Are you the type to watch episodes as they air, or do you just get your fill of Steven Universe online?

I tried to live watch episode premieres as much as I could, or watch them the day they were posted online by CN. I really tried to make an event out of them, and I’m glad I did. 

3. What’s your favorite quote out of the entire show?

It’s really hard to pick just one. Maybe “You have to be honest about how bad it feels, so that you can move on.” - Connie in Mindful Education. Really feeling that one right now. 

4.In what ways has Steven Universe inspired you? 

I really feel like it has inspired me to live. I havestruggled with depression and anxiety since a young age, so it can be hard todo that. Steven Universe gave me something to look forward to, made the world abetter place. When I was hurting it provided me with comfort and happiness. Thereisn’t another show out there that’s like it for me.

5. Has Steven Universe actually taught you lessons?

Yes, oh god yes. It has helped me to be more honest withmyself and with others. I don’t think I would’ve come out to my family if itweren’t for this show. Over the years, it has really helped me to learn to letgo of shame, and guilt, and self-hatred I had carried around for so long. I wouldn’tbe the person I am today without this show.

6. Favorite character design and why?

I really liked Garnet’s wedding outfit, mixing both the gownand tux. I’m a big Garnet/Rupphire stan and it was just great to see them embracethe queerness of the whole situation, and that it was love, something to becelebrated.

7. Has the show ever gotten an intense emotional reactionout of you? (ex - crying, fear, anger)

I’m crying right now about it, does that answer yourquestion?

8. Do you associate any songs with any characters in StevenUniverse?

I associate Can’t Hold Me by Emily King with Stevonnie becauseit was used in that episode, and I love Stevonnie.

9. Gush about your all-time favorite episode real quick.Just go on a long, rambling tangent about how much you love it. Do it. We’relistening.

For the series proper, it’s Reunited. I love that episode somuch and it makes me cry every time I watch it. Growing up I fell into the ‘notlike other girls’ phase because I was not interested in love and romance likeall my friends seemed to be, and I had no desire to go on dates with guys. Irealize now that I rejected these things because they didn’t fit me. I didn’t wantto be with a guy, and never saw myself in any of the traditional media. Ireally am a bit of a hopeless romantic though. Now that I am more confident inmyself, and understand my feelings better, I’ve really gotten to enjoy thispart of myself.

Ruby and Sapphire are the first couple I really got to experiencethis with, seeing them being cute and together and in love, and the wedding isthe accumulation of all of that. Getting to see these two women in love witheach other celebrate that love as the beautiful thing it truly is means theworld to me. After years of watching this show and growing with it, this episodewas the moment were I finally let go of all my self-hatred for being queer. I justknew in my soul that every hateful thing I had heard or been told about beingqueer was wrong, and that this was the truth, love was the truth. It wasn’tsomething instantaneous, it was something I had been working towards for years,but this episode marked the turning point for me.

10. Gush about your all-time favorite SU character realquick. Just go on a long, rambling tangent about how much you love them. Do it.We’re listening.

I already gushed about Ruby/Sapphire/Garnet a little, solets do Pearl. I just love how even after all she’s been through, she is stillsuch an independent spirit. I know her whole past with Pink/Rose wascomplicated but she still isn’t here to let anyone tell her what to do. She’ssmart, and creative, and resourceful, and goofy and she knows these things butshe also has a lot of self-doubt and seeks validation from others. I relate.But she worked through those things and is in a better state now. Even thoughshe still hurts and is still dealing with the trauma, she is so much better.

I also really relate to how she feels about loving someoneand them not feeling the same way/it not working out. As much as I love Rubyand Sapphire’s relationship, I also think I need Pearl. She defined herself forso long by her relationship but she is her own amazing person. Growing up, Isaw many messages about not letting a relationship with a boy define you. Butwhat about a relationship with a girl? I think there can be so much pressure toprove that you’re really gay by always being in that kind of relationship. ThatI’m not truly queer because of my lack of experiences with women. But that isn’ttrue. Being queer is a part of who I am and that doesn’t change just because Iam or am not in a relationship. My feelings can still be an important part ofme without having to define me by my relationship status, just like Pearl.

11. What fusions do you want to see in the show, and whowould you like them to be voiced by?

I would probably most like to see a fusion of Steven andLapis. Her only experience with fusion was her toxic relationship with Jasper.So I would really like her to have a positive experience with fusion, based ofthe friendship and love she and Steven have for each other. I have no idea whowould voice them though.

12. Which episode do you think has the best aesthetics?

I mean Steven’s fusion dance in Change Your Mind isabsolutely gorgeous. James Baxter ain’t a legend for nothing, and I’m gladRebecca held on to that favor from him. Just everything, Connie’s little walkback, the way White Diamonds eyes open, its all wonderful.

13. List any headcanons you have about any characters.

Pearl is in a happy polyamorous relationship with Bismuth,Volleyball, and Amethyst.

14. Favorite arc out of the show? Why?

The Wedding Arc for reasons I’ve already talked about above,but also Diamond Days because it was everything the whole series was buildingtowards. Just the whole message about how systems hurt people who are deemed ‘different’but that there is hope for a better future with compassion and love, and notbeing afraid to share your feelings is something I really needed.

15. Have you ever made any jokes based on the show? Whichones were the funniest?

So many. One of my most popular was this post from way backwhen in early 2016. 

Want a joke for the final? Maybe the real treasure insideRose’s chest was the friends we made along the way.

16. Most misleading episode summary of all time?

I know people freaked out about Rocknaldo because cartoonnetwork promoted it by advertising the appearance of a new gem. I mean, youcould argue technically it was true because Ronaldo made a gemsona, but that isdefinitely not what people took it to mean. I wasn’t really buying it though,cause the title was Rocknaldo. People hate on that episode and I think it’sbecause of the false advertising. It’s really funny though and has one of thebest jokes. “Rock people. They’re putting fluoride in the water supply- Whatthe-They hate men?!”

17. Has Steven Universe inspired any creative ideas ofyours?

I rewrote sleeping beauty but with lesbians because of thisshow. Does that count?

18. If you are a fanartist, which SU character is theeasiest for you to draw?

Not a fanartist, but Amethyst is the easiest for me to drawbecause she’s basically just circles.

19. If you are a fanartist, which SU character is thehardest for you to draw?

Maybe White Diamond, because she’s so detailed. Also, I strugglewith Pearl’s nose lol.

20. If you are a fanfic writer, which SU character is theeasiest for you to write?

Not really a fanfic writer, but Ruby and Sapphire maybebecause I’m gushy like that.

21. If you are a fanfic writer, which SU character is thehardest for you to write?

Jasper. I have a complicated relationship with her, but Iloved her in Future.

22. Have ever practiced voice acting using SU characters? Ifso, which character can you do the most successful impression of?

I don’t practice voice acting, but I do mimic lines from theshow. I think I sound most like White Diamond, hoo boy.

23. Have you ever sang along to SU songs? Which one is theeasiest for you to sing along to?

All the time, in the car, in the shower, around my house. Myfavorite is Here Comes a Thought, because it just helps me so much with myanxiety. The Tale of Steven and Let Us Adore You are definitely in the sweetspot of my vocal range though.

24. Have you ever imagined any of the human characters asgems?

Not really, I’ve more so imagined the gems as humans.

25. Are you big on AUs? Have you created anyyourself?

I like human gem AUs and college AUs.

[bitchin-b33]

So with that new leak about SU: Future, I have more of a theory. (Here’s the link to the transcript on @novantinuum’s blog: https://novantinuum.tumblr.com/post/190209335254/transcript-of-leak-for-reference)  Everything I say will be under a ‘read more’ and won’t have too much evidence linked since it’s my own personal thoughts that’re going to happen. 

So, I totally believe this leak might be leadup to Steven corrupting, from the pained noises he makes towards the end, to the strain in his voice, like he’s trying to hold it together. It sounds also like it parallels Jasper, and what did Jasper do while she was corrupting? 

She pushed Steven away, she pushed away his help he was offering. And her emotional turmoil, her anger and her hatred only served to corrupt her faster. 

In Future I feel Steven has a lot of parallels to Jasper actually. He’s having outbursts of anger, something not common with Steven, he’s fighting (Mostly seen with Jasper, but Prickly Pair can be seen also. Though it’s mostly emotionally he’s fighting, not physically.) and he’s pushing people away. Though he’s pushed people away for three years (two years since CYM, and then a year since the beginning of Future since it was winter, and now warmer in Prickly Pair/Little Graduation. And since SU has never released episodes out of order, it’s obvious those two are after Snow Day. ) 

So what does this mean? 

Three years, three years of Steven bottling up his emotions and putting a smile on, helping people. In the movie, he even says he won’t have a happily ever after like he wanted! This boy has problems that need solved!  But that is no surprise to us fans, it’s still a surprise to the gems around him (Omit Spinel and maybe Pink Pearl... and Jasper.) They have seen Steven put a smile on for the last three years, why else would such outbursts be so outlandish to them? (They weren’t there to see Steven’s anger when he poofed Spinel. Spinel did though, and I bet she remembers, and if she shows up soon, she’s going to connect those outbursts to that I bet. She’s not stupid.) 

What’s going to happen though is Steven’s corruption, I’m sure of it. I will bank my left freaking kidney on it. This leak simply gives more proof (and better proof to the smear frames, which I feel are a bit too... on point.) to that idea. Steven’s going to corrupt, and now, I feel the gems are going to be at the epicenter of him finally snapping.  They’re feeding into him feeling like a monster, just look at their dialogue in the leak? Pearl especially, and then also look at how Steven talked about them in Prickly Pair. How he can’t go to them for various reasons (which aren’t really too true, at least, so we thought.) 

Pearl isn’t going to spiral out of control if Steven tells her about his issues, but she wouldn’t give him sound advice either (Just by how she’s reacting in the leak, it just... Pearl might mean well, but it rubs me wrong. Blaming Steven for things he can’t control, and as a person with anger issues, being blamed for it never helps. In fact, it does the opposite. It makes me angrier, and I can assume it’d obviously be the same for Steven.)  Now that isn’t to say Steven needs to talk it out, he needs to, but the ways the gems are trying to go about it since Prickly pair (This leak has to be either the next episode or the episode after.) 

Anyways, how will this relate to corrupting Steven? I think this episode (whatever episode it happens in, probably towards the middle.) will be apart of three, three showing Steven corrupting, three years of trauma and pain and helping and burying his emotions ripping and tearing through him. Three years is a long time, and it can produce big trauma with what Steven’s been through (He was literally ripped in half in CYM, that’s going to stick with you.)  But how would that happen if the season is in Steven’s perspective? 

Easy, his negativity clouds him. It clouds his mind. And since Steven is half-human, he’s still able to think.  Now, this is a personal headcanon, and easily thrown away or dismissed. I simply think it would be cool to see, would give more depth to Steven’s emotions, and ties back to Cacti-Steeb.  He’s still in control, technically. He can think, he can speak, but his thoughts are skewed by corruption just like his body. All his negative emotions and hatred messes with his head. Just like someone who is angry and say/do things they don’t mean (Also taken from myself, I cannot speak for everyone, but a lot of times I get too angry to think clearly and I feel bad after.) And it’s just like Cacti-Steeb, relaying his true (or at least, anger-filled) emotions at the people he cares for. Showing them what he’s been bottling up for three years, and this is how he can start to heal, how his family can begin to help him. 

Starting with the gems, Amethyst would be the first to get semi-through to him I feel. They have that sibling-like bond, she was also the first person he helped in the movie get their memories back. Then Pearl, who always meant well for him, she’s the second person who he helped in the movie get their memories back, then Garnet (Omitting Spinel even though she was next in the movie) and then everyone else he’s helped (that’re close, maybe had Nephrite in too though because just YES) Connie, Greg, the diamonds, his friends from Beach City, and it lets him put away his pain, lets him get over it enough that it stops consuming him (Enough that he can start to look more human again.)  I feel this would be a song because SU is built on their amazing songs, and what’s the opening? What has always been the opening? The gems singing together. Make it a reprise of ‘We are the Crystal Gems’, the final song to end Su. The song we started with, is the song we end with. 

But! As I said, these last few parts have been my own headcanons and are easily discarded, I do think it’ll take three episodes for Steven to finally corrupt, r at least, three episodes it takes for things to swiftly go south before the gems can help them (Listen, I really want it to explore the destruction Pink really held at her fingertips, and what Steven now has potentially unlimited access to.)