#and yes they are all steven universe related

[scribbox]

the struggles of letting an idea marinate in my head for four years straight without telling anyone. now i'm excited to make content for the au of the previous au that originated from another au (the first one) that only i will consume

[teddypines]

Weekend alone

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Summary: Y/N and Bruce have the house to themselves so they think watching a movie or show would be a good idea, until things take a different turn.

Bruce Wayne x Fem!reader.

Warnings: SMUT! 18+ MDNI, please and if you do not my problem. Use of vibrator, bit of degrading, i think. Let me know if i missed something.

Note: So.... First time doing smut. I hope it's good, i hope you enjoy it. Tips are always welcome!

Art/picture's are from Pinterest, credits go to whoever made it. I just put it together like this.

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It was an odd acuranse for Bruce and Y/N to have the whole house for themselves. Yet it happened to them. All the kids out of the house doing their own things with friends, partners or just something by themselves. Even Alfred went out for the weekend, going on a well-deserved vacation to a butler convention. Even the animals did their own things as Bruce and Y/N tried to figure out what to do for the day. Not wanting to do a lot since it was Sunday, which meant a lazy day for Bruce and Y/N to bond and recharge for the next week.

“We could watch a new show or movie downstairs.” Bruce suggested. Knowing fully well that they would never watch something new without the kids and will probably circle back to one of their favorite shows and or movies. “Yeah, but the bed is so warm and cozy right now. I don’t want to leave.” Y/N answered as she snuggled into Bruce’s side a bit more. Bruce laughed a bit and booped her nose. “Alright then, we can watch a show or movie here in bed. I did put in a tv in the room that we barely use.” 

“Can we watch Steven Universe?” Y/N asked Bruce, not even bothered that they watched Steven Universe multiple times and it wasn’t a new show or movie. “Please, Brucie, please.” Giving Bruce her puppy eyes. Bruce looked at Y/N and sighed. “You really want to watch Steven Universe again over watching something new? Something that, I don't know, needs to be checked before we watch it with the children?” 

“Steven Universe." Y/N answered. “Because all I wanna do is see you turn into a giant woman.” Bruce could only laugh a bit at Y/N quoting the show. “Or we can watch something that is a bit less gem related. We could watch that show with the angels and demons.” Bruce said as he pulled away from Y/N to find the remote to the tv in his nightstand. 

“Be more specific, Love. There are multiple shows with angels and demons.” Y/N responded. Turning on her side to watch Bruce look for the remote. “The one where they are lovers.” Bruce added. “Still not specific enough, love.” Bruce sighed and rolled his eyes. feeling a bit frustrated about not finding the remote or the show he ment.

“Do you want me to list them off?” Y/N asked, wanting to help Bruce with finding the show or movie he ment. Bruce only nodded his head as he continued his search for the remote. “Okay, so we have ‘Good Omens’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Lucifer’ I think ‘Vampire diaries’, ‘Buffy the vampire slayer’ ehm…. that one show with the witches. Yeah no I think that’s it.” Y/N listed off all the shows she could think of. Bruce was a bit baffled about all the shows with angels and demons that were lovers or had other lovers. He dropped the remote on the floor. “Yeah… ehm… Let’s just watch Sherlock.” “Okiedokie, which one?” 

Bruce looked at Y/N, wanting to give up on watching a show or movie all together. “The one with Rdj?..” Bruce answered. “First or second one?” Y/N asked again. Bruce leaned against the headboard in shock. “Jeez women stop asking so many questions, I just want to watch Sherlock Holmes and snuggle with you!” He answered. “So…. I can pick the Sherlock version?” “Yes! Just pick, please.” Y/N giggled and put on the first Sherlock Holmes movie with Rdj in it after grabbing the remote from Bruce’s hands. 

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“I don’t like Irene.” Y/N commented after Irene just tricked Sherlock into doing her dirty work. Bruce laughed at her comment and kissed the side of her head. “I know you do. Good thing she’s not real and Sherlock ditches her.” Y/N nodded her head at Bruce’s response. “You know Sherlock only likes her somewhat because she’s interesting to him and he can’t really read her like all the other people, right?” He asked before continuing to kiss Y/N head and cheeks. “Yes, I know that, but I still don’t like her.” Y/N pouted after answering.

Bruce laughed a bit at the pout Y/N had on her face and slowly placed his hands over her thighs. “Such a pouty girl.” Y/N looked up at Bruce, sticking out her tongue. “And here I thought I was free of children for the day.” Bruce teasted. “Maybe I should teach you how to behave.” Y/N turned a bit red and quickly looked back towards the tv. “No need.”

“No need? Owh sweetheart, I think you do need to be taught a lesson in behaving.” Bruce whispered into Y/N ears. His hands moved from her thighs towards her hips, gently lifting her up and placing her into his lap. “Good girls don’t stick out their tongues.”

Before Y/N knew it Bruce had pulled off her sleep shorts and panties. “Focus on the tv, Sweetheart.” He ordered Y/N in a husky tone. Y/N could only listen and turned her focus on the tv in front of her. She could hear Bruce reach for his nightstand and grab something from one of the drawers. She had an idea of what he grabbed but had to do her best not to look. Her suspicion was however quickly confirmed when she felt something cold against her clit and a low buzzing sound started to fill the room. “There's a good girl. Keep looking at the tv, love.” Bruce smirked as Y/N started to whimper and squirming between his legs. The vibrator was on the first setting and she was already a mess.

“Bruce…” Y/N moaned as she turned her head up to look at Bruce. “Ah ah. No, Love, keep looking at the tv.” Bruce purred into her ear before turning up the vibrator, making Y/N’s breathing hitch. She moaned at the stronger sensation on her clit, the feeling of Bruce’s hard one against her back wasn’t helping either. She wanted to look at him not at the tv, but he wouldn’t let her. “Such a good girl, Sweetie.” The way Bruce said those words didn’t help Y/N at all, the feeling between her legs only getting stronger and stronger.

Bruce looked back at the tv enjoying the movie once again as he kept the vibrator on Y/N’s clit. Changing the levels every once in a while, going from really low to the highest and everything in between just to tease her. Making sure she wouldn’t come or look away from the tv. Holding her tightly against his chest.

“Bruce… Please~” Y/N whined as she could feel herself getting close again. “Please, please.”

“Please what, love? What do you want?” Bruce asked, adding to the teasing, wanting to hear her say what she wanted in this messy state. “Please, want to come.” Y/N barely got out as Bruce turned up the vibrator once again. “Yeah? You want to come, love? but I don't think you have learned your lesson just yet.” Bruce answered Y/N plea. The way she started to shake in his lap made him want to continue this little teasing game. “Please Brucie, please, i'll be a good girl. A really good girl.”

“Hmmm, are you? Are you going to be my good girl?” Bruce asked after placing a kiss on Y/N’s shoulder when she nodded to his question. “Alright, love, come for me, sweetheart. Be a good girl and come.” The moment Bruce told Y/N it was okay to come, she came. She arched her back against Bruce and moaned out his name. Bruce was pleased by Y/N coming like this and the sight alone made him come inside his sweatpants.

After a little while of calming down Y/N turned over in Bruce’s arms. “You’re mean,” She whispered. “But I love you more. Now let me make you feel good too.” She said before getting onto her knees, only to be stopped by Bruce. “No need for that love, you already made me feel really good.” He gestured down at his crotch where a noticeable dark spot was. Y/N looked at it and could only laugh. “Did I really make you come by just letting you toy with me?”

“Maybe.” Bruce smirked and pulled Y/N towards him for a kiss.

“Come on, let's get cleaned up and get some snacks so we can finish this movie.” Bruce said as he picked Y/N up and started to carry her towards the bathroom. Y/N smiled and nodded her head. “I’d like that a lot.” 

[love-takes-work]

Streamily.com Presents: The Steven Universe Cast Reunion Q&A Part 2

Here’s a complete overview of the Q&A that was put on by Streamily, hosted by Elijah (“Not-So-Average Fangirl”), featuring Rebecca Sugar as the showrunner/creator, Sarah Stiles as Spinel, Deedee Magno Hall as Pearl, AJ Michalka as Stevonnie, Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Grace Rolek as Connie, Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli, Kimberly Brooks as Jasper, and Erica Luttrell as Sapphire/Padparadscha. Read below to see various insights and opinions, and lots of hilarious commentary from the cast about the experience of voicing characters on Steven Universe.

Everyone opened with intros. Elijah ("Not-So-Average Fangirl") is the mod.

Rebecca said they created and ran the show for 8 years.

Sarah Stiles says she played Spinel!

Deedee Magno Hall says she played Pearl.

AJ Michalka says she played Stevonnie.

Shelby Rabara says she played Peridot.

Grace Rolek says she played Connie.

Jennifer Paz says she played Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, and Bob.

Kimberly Brooks says she played Jasper.

Erica Luttrell says she played Sapphire and Padparadscha.

Elijah says the questions are largely taken from the audience.

Q (for Rebecca Sugar): If you could be a Gem that WASN'T in the show, what Gem would you be and what abilities would you have?

A (Rebecca): Says they put so many Gems in the show. They used to go to gemhut.com to pick new ones. There were so many Gems inserted that were an aspect of Rebecca. They like Titanium--you get to be all the colors! And they always liked writing for the Quartzes--the soldiers who had epiphanies to not fight and settle down. They think they'd be a Titanium Quartz.

Q (for Shelby Rabara from Greenie_507): How was voicing Peridot different from any other character she ever played?

A (Shelby): Peridot is her favorite, hands down. She had a lot of emotional range--it was interesting to start her off as stoic and militant and then go through the transformation of losing her limb enhancers and becoming cute. Playing Peridot was such a great opportunity to embody an awesome character who evolves, and says what she's thinking without worrying about repercussions. Such a huge arc for this character!

Q (for Jennifer Paz from BrookesNook087): Which parts of Lapis did she find easy to connect with and which, if any, did she find difficut when voicing her?

A (Jennifer): She's so happy to be here and reconnect. Lapis has range too--when you meet Lapis it's intense, and she came in with such back story--Jennifer wasn't sure if she was even a good guy or a bad guy. She related to her so many ways--she was going through her "second puberty" (aka perimenopause) so she represents rediscovering yourself after dealing with trauma--she didn't even realize until after watching it that this character was reentering the world. She was a new mom and trying for her next kid and immediately going through perimenopause--it all led to this brain fog that she didn't even realize how much story was packed into Lapis's character.

Q (for Kimberly Brooks from Marco_Syrup): What was her favorite moment/part of voice acting for Jasper?

A (Kimberly): There are a lot of favorite moments. The surprise where Rebecca was going with the character; at first Jasper was a straight-up bully, but then she got an arc. Kimberly loves working with everybody and loves being part of the show. When she mentions Steven Universe, that's the show she's worked on that gets the most response. For her, the favorite aspect is the impact the show had on young people--gender identity, things in the ether. She loved being part of a timely, cool movement that a lot of people were affected by. She felt special being a part of it. Jasper is just a fun character to voice and she had fun.

Q (for Grace Rolek from Sammie47): What was it like growing up with her character? Were there ever any similiarities betweeen her real life and Connie's?

A (Grace): Yes! She loves this question and she REALLY feels like she grew up with the character. She started working on the show at 15 and now she's 27. She was in high school, really figuring out who she was, and in a lot of ways the character growth of Connie did mirror hers. She wasn't a shy kid but she was a bookworm and was homeschooled. Connie's journey of finding herself, her voice, her confidence, mirrored her own. This was very special for Grace to see her become a badass sword-fighting character. It was amazing to have that outlet and this space to explore growing up in her acting. She can look back as a full-blown adult and see how it mirrored her journey. She did once try fencing at the Renaissance Faire but decided that's more Connie's thing.

Q (for Sarah Stiles from somestarlight22): What part of the movie was the most challenging to record?

A (Sarah): She couldn't go for more than 45 minutes because she'd lose her voice. It was also the most thrilling voice work by FAR that she's ever done. Emotionally it was one of the great gifts of her life. She jumped into the world that had already existed and she'd had no idea her character was so important to the movie when she first got the role. She thought it was such a beautiful world. Spinel is very close to home sometimes, unfortunately. Her niece has a Spinel costume.

Q (for AJ Michalka): If you could fuse with any character you've ever played or voiced, who would you pick and why?

A (AJ): Steven Universe was the first cartoon she'd ever worked on, and then not long after it was She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. She LOVES playing Stevonnie and Catra. Something about merging Stevonnie and Catra would be some badass complication would be amazing. There should be fanart. The name would be what? Stevonatra? Catronnie? Deedee thinks then that character would have to sing Cookie Cat.

Q (for Erica Luttrell from FluffyBee_93): Would you want Sapphire's future vision abilities? Why or why not?

A (Erica): No, no, nope. We don't know much about the mysteries of existence, and she doesn't even like to go to a psychic because the answers would worm their way into her psyche and she'd always think it would be bad. She would want to intervene. It's funny because Estelle was on the previous day and she very much DID want all the answers.

A (Rebecca): In the writers' room this was discussed a lot because they'd determined Sapphire's future vision was entirely passive and fixed on one future where she does not act. Ruby's so impulsive that she fractures potential futures. When they combine in Garnet, they see multiple futures, so these answers make sense to them. At the bachelorx party before Rebecca married Ian, they had a psychic, and their brother Steven said "this is bad."

Q (for Deedee Magno Hall from ennedept): "Volleyball" is one of the questioner's favorite episodes. How did Deedee like voicing four characters in one episode?

A (Deedee): She can't remember doing all four in one episode. (Elijah suggests there's a Fusion of four Pearls. Rebecca corrects saying the Fusion in that episode is Crystal Gem Pearl and Volleyball.) Deedee says it's difficult to do multiple Pearls--she'll need a previous recording played to voice match, and she prefers to do one character at a time all the way through. She considers it a good fun challenge. She relies on Rebecca.

A (Rebecca): They gave the direction that Blue Pearl is mousy and Yellow Pearl is more like an old-timey secretary.

A (Deedee): Deedee remembers being told that the sound to shoot for is more like Betty Boop or Marilyn Monroe. It was very helpful to have that direction when creating the voices.

Q (for all): Which scene had them the most emotional while voicing or writing it?

A (Rebecca): The song "Change Your Mind" was a personal song that wasn't supposed to be for the show. It was written at a difficult time when Rebecca was facing pushback on the show and trying to stand their ground. It was an emotional choice to include it in the show.

A (Sarah): Her audition for the movie involved singing "Drift Away." She remembers being on her bed in her apartment singing it into her phone and couldn't stop crying. Recording the song live was also really emotional. It's burned in her mind. In a good way.

A (Deedee): When she recorded "It's Over, Isn't It" because she was also doing Tommy the musical, and her voice was raw after doing that musical. She had to reschedule the recording to sing the song properly. When she did manage to go to the studio to record it, she was still doing the show, but she wasn't on during the week. She was so worried about the vocal performance that she wasn't as invested as much as she wanted to be. All the times she was able to sing that song again, it was far more emotional afterwards. She loved that it spoke to so many fans. There were so many other songs that she doesn't sing in the show that take her to an emotional place too. She loves "Love Like You." It's her all-time favorite. She loves the way Rebecca sang it.

[Pausing the question to ask Rebecca a question before they have to go]

Q (for Rebecca from DominoMuffin): What happened to Cactus Steven after running off?

A (Rebecca): The Crew talked about this. In a way, it foreshadows the end of Future, which is a character who's been through a lot and then has to go live their life and be free. Their goal was to call forward to the adventure Steven would be having. Cactus Steven is living life and figuring it out.

Anything to say from Rebecca before leaving?

A (Rebecca): They're so excited to see everyone, they miss everyone, and they're on TikTok @rebeccasugar. Just playing little covers of the songs and they have the EP Spiral Bound out. They can't thank the other participants enough for helping to encourage them to record personal music.

[Back to the "All" question about the most emotional recording moments.]

A (AJ): The introduction of Stevonnie in "Alone Together" and realizing they were a Fusion and an experience, and not really knowing what it would be like. That part really got her--she likes to tell people they're an experience now, that they're a moment in time. It made her tear up when she recorded it. And then recording "Here Comes a Thought" with Estelle was super special. The lyrics are deep and touched many people. She loved singing with Estelle after only really having duet experiences with her sister.

A (Shelby): Many emotional moments happened in the recording booth--crying and laughing, all of it. Her most emotional moment was in the "In Dreams" recording with Zach Callison. It felt a bit like a goodbye message to the Crew, too--that they want to be connected even if they have to leave and live far away. Zach is so talented and gave so much--they even held hands during the recording. She really felt like she was on the edge with Zach, that she could feel everything that happened. Such a cool moment as an artist. She feels fortunate to be connected to all the other actors through this beautiful piece of art.

A (Jennifer): She agrees with Shelby. Jennifer didn't feel like she got to record that much. She remembers being emotional during Lapis's opening scene of saying to the Crystal Gems, "You three knew I was in there and you didn't do anything." She remembers she was shaking when she recorded the scene. It was so heavy for a cartoon, and she hadn't known it would be like that since she hadn't really done too many cartoons. Rebecca told her she's playing someone who was trapped and she didn't know much else--she was alone in the booth and didn't know what was going on. Later when she saw the episode she was blown away. She also remembers an emotional recording when Lapis stands up to Jasper in "Alone at Sea." What she was tackling, with Lapis taking her agency, her power back, from being in this toxic situation--this is a lot for an eleven-minute piece of art. That in particular, she was emotional in the booth. It was a powerful message to those getting out of a horrible situation. She would meet fans from cons and they would share personal stories of getting out of their own horrible situations and reference that episode. Jennifer feels fortunate to have been part of a show that gives such great life lessons.

A (Erica): Erica can't find the episode name (it was "The Question"), but her emotional moment was when Ruby and Sapphire were separated and Ruby came back from being a cowboy. She knows how it is to be separated from a person who feels like a part of you. She connects easily with others and she hates when someone ends a connection.

A (Kimberly): She wishes she had a better memory. She has the same issue as Erica. She remembers also feeling like she's stepping into an existing world that she hadn't heard of when her character arrived. Her character was the abuser and the bully, and she didn't realize what the impact was. All of her scenes were emotional--with anger--but pain is always underneath it. She felt like EVERY scene she recorded was emotional--what is making Jasper so angry? what is missing from her life? Such a heavy character to represent. Once she had to record as a public service announcement about bullying and she thought it was so relevant.

A (Grace): Grace also tried to Google an episode name and it might have crashed her Wi-Fi. The episode was "Full Disclosure," where Steven is pushing Connie away. (Though she recognizes Connie also pushes Steven away elsewhere in the show.) She got choked up recording the episode--she knows the feeling of trying to be there for someone and they're pushing you away is familiar to her. At that age your friendships and relationships are so dramatic. There's also when Connie confronts her mom in "Nightmare Hospital" when she tells her mother she hadn't even noticed that her glasses don't have lenses. She kenw that feeling of growing up and not being a little girl anymore. She thought something similar to the others about how her concept of working on a cartoon was more like "We're going to go on adventures and fight bad guys!" and then before you know it you're crying in the recording booth and exploring your past.

Elijah the host says other messages from children's media (Rainbow Fish, The Giving Tree) taught people to give all of themselves away and encourage toxic relationships, but this show stood against that.

Q (for Shelby Rabara from Mylesjude2): In Little Homeschool, Peridot teaches gardening to students. What are her favorite plants to grow and why?

A (Shelby): Peridot loves growing pumpkins and she doesn't have to build anything for gourds to grow. She's a big bean fan and she likes to pick the pods off. How can there even be food scarcity? It's just logical!

Q (for Jennifer Paz from Kai): What element other than water would she like Lapis to manipulate and why?

A (Jennifer): She thinks she would love to be able to read minds. That's not really an element but wouldn't that be cool? She can tell sometimes when people aren't saying everything they mean and she'd like to be able to root it out. Maybe Lapis could be a therapist, taking what she learned evolving through trauma.

Q (for Kimberly Brooks from TheMaskedTaco): What does she think Jasper is doing now? Does she do anything in Little Homeworld?

A (Kimberly): She needs help with that answer. Did she learn any lessons? Did she move forward? Kimberly isn't sure. She needs some serious therapy. Let's just say she's getting some self help and is doing better, taking responsibility for her actions. That's what Kimberly wants to believe.

Elijah says they should take Jasper to a rage room and can break something every time she reveals something about herself. What if Lapis and Jasper went into business together to run a rage room? Maybe have a crying room? Include Peridot and make morps in the barn? Someone should draw that too. Deedee wants to know if someone can come to the rage room to clean and organize things too. Perhaps do laundry. It could be very therapeutic.

Q (for Grace Rolek from WhatIsJuan): What does she think Steven and Connie are up to now that the show is ended?

A (Grace): Connie's off to college and Steven visits. She remembers she went off to college at 18 and Zach visited her. It'd be similar adventures. And they'd probably get up to adventures as Stevonnie.

Q (for Sarah Stiles from Flowerz4Daises): What is Spinel up to since the movie?

A (Sarah): She's learned Cirque du Soleil tricks. Trapeze, skateboarding, hip-hop classes, cooking, baking; she's got endless energy and ideas, so she's doing a LOT of stuff. She'd have such chaotic colors and flavors! Maybe combine baking AND a circus! And hole up in the barn.

Q (for AJ Michalka from G70_Heart): What was the process like when voicing the conversations between Steven and Connie while they were Stevonnie?

A (AJ): It was tricky. There are things Grace does that AJ would pick up on, and then with Zach she'd think of the Steven laugh and mannerisms. Stevonnie is a whole person and she wanted to subtly reference aspects of how their components talked without it seeming like she's playing two people.

Q (for Erica Luttrell from Nachet): Was it fun playing two different kinds of Sapphire and was it hard to go from Sapphire to Padparadscha? (Everyone jokes about not being able to pronounce Padparadscha.)

A (Erica): It was not difficult at all because the two characters were in completely separate episodes. It was fun, especially since Padparadscha is SO different and cute. Sapphire is regal. She relates to the deep thinking Sapphire does and sometimes her wife doesn't want to listen to it.

Q (for Deedee Magno Hall from Bella): If Pearl could say one thing to Rose about how Steven turned out, what does she think she'd say?

A (Deedee): Rose would be so proud of him. That would be it. And he is loved.

Elijah's mom calls in from off camera to say they're all having too much fun. It's funny since they're just talking about moms. Erica says her nine-month-old just took a couple steps for the first time during the recording.

Q (for all from pulpypal953): Which Gem character's power would you want in real life?

A (Sarah): She would want to be big and strong. Like Jasper.

A (Deedee): As a mom, she would want the healing power.

A (AJ): She'd want to manipulate water like Lapis. She'd love to be able to save people from tsunamis.

A (Shelby): She wants future vision so she could prepare.

A (Jennifer): She remembers Steven healing Lapis with his spit. She wants to heal with spit.

A (Erica): She's giving it serious thought. She'd want to be strong like Jasper but also impervious, and she wants to be able to jump back a second or two in time to fix misses. She wants to shield those she loves and those who need it.

A (Kimberly): Invisibility. She's kind of a voyeur. Elijah thinks she could have Amethyst's shapeshifting power and become a small animal.

A (Grace): Shapeshifting. She'd love to be able to cause chaos.

Q (for all from HaoTamaLove): What animal does your character remind you of and why?

A (Sarah--Spinel): Maybe a little puppylike or bunnylike.

A (Deedee--Pearl): Bird. She adopted the loving term "Bird Mom." Maybe like a flamingo, but a flamingo beak isn't pointy. Kimberly thinks like a crane? A fusion of a flamingo and a crane. A cramingo! (Artists? A new prompt.)

A (AJ--Stevonnie): A Lion because of their mane. They're sturdy and reliable.

A (Shelby--Peridot): A squirrel. She'll do anything to get what she wants. (Artists??)

A (Jennifer--Lapis): Maybe Lapis's alter ego, Bob--Bob would be a regal cat. The cat would cause trouble. Lapis had dry one-liners.

A (Erica--Sapphire&Padparadscha): Padparadscha would be a "slemur." A sloth lemur. A hyper-aware but slow creature. Sapphire would be an antelope, but in the arctic.

A (Kimberly--Jasper): The African Bush Elephant, which is the strongest animal in the world. Then also maybe the Muskox.

A (Grace--Connie): A companion animal that's really smart, like an Australian Shepherd.

Q (for all): Share socials, other projects, and outros!

A (Sarah): She's on Instagram and she's in the first season of Hazbin Hotel, plus some hush-hush stuff.

A (Deedee): She's on Instagram and is voicing occasionally on Kiff. Thank you to Streamily.

A (AJ): She's on Instagram and is releasing a new album with her sister (Aly & AJ).

A (Shelby): She's on Instagram, and she just released a kids' book with her husband called Martee Dares to Dance. She directed her first short for a film festival and directing a music video. Also "mommin' so hard."

A (Jennifer): She is working on some secret projects. She did some voiceover on a game. She's developing a musical with her husband called Proud Marys. She's writing and producing things she can't talk about, but hopefully soon!

A (Erica): She's on Instagram and the bird site that shall remain nameless. She can't talk about her current projects. Things she's apeared on before will be involved.

A (Kimberly): She's on Instagram and can't talk about upcoming stuff and doesn't quite know the process for some of them. She's in a new thing: she is in Arcane as Sky. And she's done some work on The Simpsons and South Park.

A (Grace): She's on Instagram and worked on Clone Drone in the Hyperdome as Kata, and she plays bass in a band called Starling.

That's it! You can get signed prints at Streamily!

[manicpixieyandere]

The Genius Of Not Labeling Jinx

The Messiness Of Labels

Jinx from Arcane is known as the poster girl for borderline personality disorder, but today we wanted to talk about some of the other conditions she has symptoms of (but doesn't necessarily qualify for) and why it was smart to not label her.

Let's go over the different conditions Jinx could have:

Of course first we have BPD. Not gonna spend too much time on this one but she hits all nine of the diagnostic criteria!

Schizophrenia:

Jinx is seen to hallucinate many times in the show. She gets visual hallucinations of her family she has guilt over killing. She experiences overlays of child like drawings. She has auditory hallucinations and delusions as well.

BPD can come with hallucinations and delusions but it tends to more often be auditory hallucinations and delusions of grandeur than anything else. Schizophrenia and bipolar are the conditions more likely to cause the type of psychosis Jinx experiences.

DID/OSDD:

An argument could also be made for Jinx nearing a dissociative disorder. We haven't seen much of the show from the season two trailers, but they do seem to be hinting at Jinx embracing Powder a bit more.

It is common in BPD for the person to believe they are a completely different person than their past self. We think this is well represented in characters like Spinel from Steven Universe or Ashley Graves (Leyley) from The Coffin of Andy and Leyley. This is of course also shown in Jinx with Powder.

But Jinx and Powder's differences go a bit beyond the typical BPD self image issues. Their personalities while similar, are quite different. And instead of Powder staying purely in the past, Jinx switches between the two personalities. You can see her face change to be more soft like Powder in certain scenes. (They quite literally transform her face).

Some other differences are; Jinx is represented by pink, while Powder tends to be blue. Jinx is left handed while Powder is right handed (she uses her left to shoot, right for other stuff). Jinx is the daughter of Silco, Powder is the daughter of Vander. Both are the child of Zaun.

Jinx is of course also known to dissociate in many scenes. (As a side detail we just love how well animated the face acting is).

While Jinx fits BPD best it is also important to note that comorbidity is a real thing. While rare, all three of these conditions can be had at the same time. Personality disorders and dissociative disorders especially tend to be comorbid.

The most likely reason Jinx isn't diagnosed with anything is stigma. Giving a terrorist a mental illness may come off a demonizing. But Jinx is still loved by the neurodivergent community because her symptoms and trauma are treated with care. She's a fun relatable character. But we think another genius reason is because she's all encompassing. Saying she has BPD may make anyone who doesn't have BPD immediately think "oh, well then I won't find her relatable". But in an age where fandom likes relatability and kins the most, you cannot afford that. Instead really any neurodivergent can see themselves in her.

This is both a smart strategy but also just an accurate portrayal of how real life ends up looking. Medical conditions are technically social constructs. That's not to say they aren't real, but that they are labeled by humans. It's a list of behaviors the body or brain executes. But humans are messy! Who's to say one person is gonna nearly fit into that BPD box? Eventually you get to a point where you have someone diagnosed with 10 or so mental conditions! (Hi yes it's us, we have been diagnosed with 10). Humans were not made to fit into boxes. You see this pattern with queer identities all the time as well. The creation of microlabels has greatly helped people categorize and understand themselves, but at the end of the day the most accurate label is: you. You are you. Insert name here is Insert name here.

Thanks for listening to the ramblings of a mad Jinx kinnie. Here's to hoping season two is just as good as the first one! Still absolutely loving Jinx's new look!

[rosenotactuallyquartz]

“when i was thinking of pink/rose i thought of it being a cautionary tale about what can happen when someone has dangerously low self esteem, and also the kind of environment that can create that situation.” — rebecca sugar, q&a the art of steven universe

"on the flip side, [rose & greg] enable each other. she never unpacks what scares her about her past, and neither does he. — rebecca sugar, end of an era

every now and then, i come across some steven universe fans who like rose and they glorify the end of her life.

they say something like,

“by the time rose gave up her physical form, she was in a good place. she made peace with herself and her past. she was in a stable loving relationship and they communicated their decisions perfectly!”

rose is my comfort character & she’s also the character i relate to most. i can understand why someone would have this take because i think this is what they want to believe about rose. they don’t want to believe that the last few years of her life were as complicated & tragic as they were.

in reality, she became incredibly withdrawn before she made a decision to end her own life. she can love the life that she created with all her heart & she can be extremely self destructive at the same time. that’s an ongoing theme for rose. there were also many conversations that she never had & yes, those conversations were important.

her life, all of her relationships, and how she felt about herself… all these things were not in a very good place when she died

that’s also why we see the characters go through a lot of the things they go through! they discover things about rose, they process them, & then they eventually find closure. to really see just how complex rose’s character is, as well as understand her loved ones, i feel like we have to face the harsh reality of what things were like when her life ended. things were terribly communicated & again, not in a good place. there was no closure, really. steven’s parents genuinely loved him and wanted him to exist, that’s the positive side of things, but on the other side there’s many problems that are rarely talked about because they really are extremely dark.

[aretheyqueer]

Is he intersex?

disclaimer: this is a hc, not speculating on what the writers intentions were.

perisex = not intersex

reason under the cut!

Many people compared Steven's experience as a gem human hybrid with the experience of a trans and non binary kid, and while I also like those parallelisms and think they are valid, I also really like the Intersex reading of his character. You know, ever since he was born he was different. He challenged a binary of a world with only gems and humans and nothing in between. He felt as he couldn't relate to any side despite technically being both. Some see him as a weak gem, other as a human freak, its similar to how some intersex people are just reduced to "having both parts" or get referred to as perisex with extras.

But in the end, Steven realises that he is just himself. Steven. He becomes comfortable in embracing each side of himself in his own way that is different yet similar to gems and humans. Because he isn't a freak. He is something unique and beautiful. He is just Steven. "Change your mind" really cemented all of this with Pink Steven and Human Steven. And I think its a very well written metaphor that can also be read this way.

[adorationmajestic]

Cypress' TLT Fic Recs (October '24)

Aight. I've never made a rec list before but imma give it a try. No ratings, just praise. No, it's not just halloween/fall themed stuff, that just happens to be what month it is right now lol. Visit the whole list on Ao3: here (link to the bookmarker tag).

I have a few categories for you! Something Hot, Something Long, and Something Still Going.

These are from a variety of years and sizes. Most of them are Griddlehark, but I sprinkled some other pairings in like salt bae.

Next time I'll give something a little more organized and varied. Probably.

First category: Something Hot

Hungry Like the Wolf by Slaycinder - GriddleHark (2 chapters, approx. 13k words) There's two tags that stuck out to me, upon first glance. These were: Local Woman Nearly Dies for the Vussy: Says it Was Quote "Worth It", and Unrelated: have you ever seen needlessly badass artwork of wolves and naked women? I think these two tags do, indeed, sum up what happens quite well. Very hot. Gave me those very special spine tinglies that once upon a time told me that I do in fact like women, vampires, and werewolves. You are never gonna guess what three things this fic has.

Between the Lines by Rohad - Griddlehark (8 chapters, approx. 30k) A modern AU: a stunning look into the life of editor Harrowhark Nonagesimus. She's been assigned to work with one of her publisher's favorite little meow meows, Gideon Nav (an erotic fiction author) (who Harrow hates) (even though they've only ever spoken via email). Harrow accompanies the awful horrible Nav to a few conventions for book signings. This one, in as much as I've tagged it as belonging to the "Something Hot" category, is honestly packed full of feels as well. Harrow and Gideon have to learn how to communicate effectively, and how to interact respectfully, and they learn a lot about each other as well. Rohad's reworking of their respective backstories to fit into the modern day has me FLOORED.

I am a conversation by sluggg - PaulDve (1 chapter, approx. 5k) This work caught my eye with the tag Paul stop quoting Steven Universe it is making everyone uncomfortable and honestly I probably wouldn't have noticed the quotes if I hadn't then actively been looking. Sluggg fits them in just perfectly. There are a precious few Paul/Pyrrha works (and they are ALL bangers actually) and this is for sure one of my favorites.

put some goddamn moves on you (god knows you need it) by hoteyedwraith - CamPal (2 chapters, approx. 23k) This one has a very simple premise, but it really hits home for me. I can relate to Camilla in this modern AU in a very real way, and it felt very very good to reach the end of this work and see the metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel. Cam has a bit of an issue, but she doesn't know what the problem is. But it is fixable, and Palamedes lends a hand.

If you've noticed a theme so far, yes. I like my horny with a pinch of sad. What are you gonna do about it.

Second category: Something Long (For those of us who like em big)

The Process of Elimination by zoicite - GriddleHark (8 chapters, approx. 122k) That Regency AU from HtN! The two tags I would like to highlight are; Season 1 of The Bachelorette: Canaan House and Fake/Pretend Relationship. It is probably a general fanfic staple that every pairing MUST have at least one fic where they pretend to be in love and then slowly fall in love for real. It's a classic, and it never fucking gets old. I stayed up til about 4am reading this for three nights in a row. I'm not a slow reader, by any means, but this one hits different after 10pm honestly (when my emotions are at their easiest to sway) and if you can handle that sort of sleep gymnastics (and you brain works similarly) I would recommend giving that a try.

Cataclysmic Variable Star by Elldritch - GriddleHark (101 chapters, 190k exactly) I stayed up reading this one until I passed out about an hour before my alarm went off. I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THAT. This one, you want to have full command of your faculties because this one will make you think. It is a Harrow Nova AU rewriting of GtN and HtN (written before NtN released!) and is a beautiful piece of literature. You want a full night of sleep before grabbing this one by the reins! It is fabulously put together, drawing everything that needs to happen from each of its sources, but with a twist at each turn that you certainly won't see coming.

orbits, eccentric, on course for collision by Stacicity - DiosApate (9 chapters, approx. 76k) The timeline of HtN as told by Augustine Quinque. I might have gone slightly insane and left 800+ word comments on each chapter, which goes to show just how invested I have been in this. Looking at that word count, you might go "Huh. That's not that much, Cy. That's less than half the size of the last one." You would technically be right. But the way with which Augustine perceives time might change how you feel about that. Even if you aren't writing whole essays in the comment section, this one goes by slower somehow. I recommend pulling it up and then having an extra tab open to look up a few of these words in a dictionary. Stacicity has (correctly) decided that Augustine would use a lot of high-level words. This is, frankly, above my reading level (/joke).

Third category: Something Still Going

God Is Dog Spelled Backwards by labyrinthineRetribution - GriddleHark (more than 8k) As of writing this list, this work has 2 chapters. The plot has just gotten started, and I'm intrigued. This title stands out from the crowd in terms of the way it handles the setting (modern AU, somewhere in Aotearoa). Gideon really is the saddest girl in the world, I think, in a very complicated sort of way. I will wait patiently for as long as it takes to see this story develop.

Dividers by enchanthings

[dreamwreaver]

When the pilot first dropped, I was a teen who shipped Chaggie only because it was canon and it was cute. But now that I'm older and watched the series, I realize how... simple and dare I say it, flavorless this ship is. They don't have that much in common, I can't really think of at least 3 things they have the same interest in. Their viewpoints are different and sometimes it can really broaden the perspectives of the couple for the better, but for Charlie and Vaggie, it only serves to clash in a way that doesn't amount to a lot in the long run, considering how Charlie often disregards Vaggie's caution and Vaggie shuts down most of Charlie's ideas. Not to mention that the whole "exorcist reveal" was poorly handled and did no service to their characters, only butchering these two further.

For me, I cannot see Vaggie providing any essential and substantial development to Charlie's growth in the series because of how bad the show makes her out to be only the love interest. Also, what is Vaggie's purpose to the hotel and for redemption as a whole? Simply being the manager and supporting Charlie doesn't really help much especially when she seems not to care all that much aside from her girlfriend. She cannot relate with all these sinners she was originally tasked to kill because she is most likely a heavenborn angel so what can she offer?

While I don't ship Chaggie anymore, I wish the show would take this ship seriously. They are doing their fans a disservice by failing to make their main pairing mean something more than scoring sapphic points.

My sweet nonny, you took the words right out of my mouth. Like, I feel that most charlastor shippers don't have an actual issue with chaggie being canon in and of itself, they have a problem with it being canon and yet it not meaning anything. Which isn't to say shows can't have main characters with stable queer relationships going on in the background. I think Kipo and the wonderbeasts did it? The new She-ra DEFINITELY did that, Steven Universe walked, and I'm guessing had it not been canceled after like 2 seasons Ok Ko let's be heroes would have developed lord box man and processor venemous' relationship in the background with major plot points being their on and off again dynamics (side note please watch it it's made by Rebecca sugar's spouse and it's so good!)

The problem with chaggie, is that they're BOTH main characters. Charlie is essentially the titular protagonist. Vaggie is one of the core six. Them being together in a relationship can be casual while not being missable. Let's look at a straight example of this being done right; Kim Possible. Nothing about Kim and Ron's dynamic as friends/heroes changes once they're in a relationship. Sure, fears and concerns that drive plots change, but the fundamental characters and dynamics do not. Moreover, we see the casual displays of affection between them that definitely indicate they're not just friends. (Then again KP did an awesome job of establishing that Kim and Ron both have this weird attachment to each other long before they got together. They had an official Kim/Ron night on Fridays).

Chaggie at least as far as season 1 is concerned, is not the focus. And yes, I know, "it's only 8 episodes!" Okay, but tell me if every episode counted why did we have one focused on introducing the Vees? Why did we have an entire episode focused on Huskerdust? These are not complaints in and of themselves but it makes you wonder when the big season 1 plot twist is that Vaggie's been an Angel the whole time.

You're also right about Vaggie not... really having a place there? She's just kind of there, and it's very glaringly noticeable. She's manager in name but Alastor handles all the facilities work and is by his own admission (believable or not) that he's there to watch people fail for his own entertainment, Charlie's the one involved with lesson planning and activity development and she certainly doesn't lack for cash to fund the place, Husk and Nifty both have positions within the hotel but are very obviously only there because of Alastor. Angel and Pen are guests. So what does Vaggie actually do besides wrangle sinners and tell Charlie no?

And part of why I'm so annoyed by this is that I think everything we do know about Vaggie's character could make her super compelling if it wasn't so heavily dependent on Charlie. A fallen angel and former exorcist who was cast out because she did the right thing rather than follow orders? Awesome! Injured in the process losing both her wings and eye? Badass! Believes that people can better themselves long after the lives they've lived? Cool! Is constantly fighting against her own self hatred and projects that out onto other people without meaning to? Feels she's utterly useless if she's not being of service to someone or something? Like this is barely scratching the surface but it's all there and it's all super interesting!

Except for the fact that tying it to Charlie negates all of it. Vaggie doesn't seem to have a character outside of Charlie, which is why they aren't really separated. Think about it, even when Vaggie's confronting Carmilla is on Charlie's orders. And while I'm sure vaggie always means well, her way of helping Charlie involves Charlie changing herself to be more acceptable to others. Alastor's way of helping Charlie involved him bringing her to a place where he knew her natural inclinations would actually be welcomed with open arms.

Alastor and Charlie just make too much narrative sense to not be together. They're foils, dark reflections, and they have so much chemistry it's honestly insane. People said that shippers got shafted when dad beat dad came out but all I saw was the greatest "your daughter calls me daddy too" joke of the last like 20 years. Alastor, who is canonically only in people's spaces to piss them off, who makes even his closest female friends wait for permission to touch him, both climbs over Charlie like ivy on a brick wall and lets her touch him on prompted without recoiling. Alastor always offers something useful to Charlie, even if he delivers it in an insult, and more importantly; not once has he ever laughed at her. He wants to guide her and watch her reach her full potential; malicious intent or not he's in it for the long haul. Again I say this not to bash on Chaggie but to emphasize how WEIRD it is that there's this dynamic isn't present in the canon ship.

I'm with you on your last point nonny, I can not actively ship chaggie and want better for it. I cannot tell you the rage that filled my body when I watched the last episode and saw that out of 8 episodes Chaggie got 1 30-second song and not only was it a REPRISE it was a reprise of the FATHER-DAUGHTER SONG!!! If that creative decision doesn't tell me everything I need to know about the ship's treatment going forward, I don't know what would.

[novantinuum]

Fandom: Steven Universe Rating: Mature Audiences (For references to underage sex) Words: 2.8K~ Summary: It’s possible. The timing lines up. What Connie fears is one hundred percent possible. The problem is, a potential pregnancy this early into their relationship was absolutely not in their plans.

WOE, post canon Connverse pregnancy scare fic be upon ye.

This is honest to god the fastest I've ever written a fic of this length in my whole ass life- I thought of this idea literally last night and nailed it all out in like twelve straight hours. Just so y'all can make an informed decision on whether to read or sit out, this contains minimal description of actual sex beyond like one short paragraph- instead focusing in on the human fallout of poor teenage decision making.

Connie is 17 and already in college, and Steven is 19.

On a semi-related topic, Google absolutely believes I'm pregnant now after all the incessant research I did for this story, lmafo.

Enjoy! I'm putting basically all of this fic under a cut here due to its mature topic nature.

__

If you asked Steven what kind of conversation he expected when Connie called him out of the blue at one AM in the morning, one where she’s hysterical and halfway to hyperventilating definitely wouldn’t have been at the top of his list.

“Woah, woah—” he stresses, passing the phone to his other ear so he can pick on up what she’s saying better. “Just— slow down, okay? Start from the beginning. What’s happened?”

“It’s been three days, Steven!” she says, voice hitching upon his name. “I know my cycle, okay?? I’ve been tracking my cycle ever since I started menstruating, and it’s supposed to be like goddamn clockwork! It’s never been late like this. Never!”

“And you’re, uh— you’re absolutely sure there’s nothing else that could be interfering-??”

“Of course I’m fucking sure!” she hollers, making the small speaker bar on his phone vibrate against the side of his head. 

He winces, already regretting his poor choice of words with her. 

“Okay, okay, I— I shouldn’t have pressed about that. I’m sorry. Just—” he sucks in a deep breath of air, doing his absolute beat not to delve down the dangerous implication filled rabbit hole this early on, when tensions are high and accurate information is sorely limited— “what do you need right now? What can I do to help?”

“I need you here,” she warbles, her hysteria finally pushing over the brim and transforming into a heartbreaking bounty of distraught cries. “With me—!”

He clamps down upon the inside of his lip, thinking. The unfortunate part of living two timezones away from a romantic partner is that their transportation options for emergency visitations are limited. Unless… 

“Is Lion with you?” he asks, crossing his fingers and hoping beyond all hopes that this aloof feline miraculously chose this evening to make a visit at Connie’s off campus group home.

“I-I…” Brief pause. There’s a faint ruffle in the line, probably her shifting position. “I think he’s outside, yes.”

“If you can send him over to me, I’ll be there as fast as I can. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispers, hoarse and strained. 

“We’ll figure this out, I promise. Love you.”

“Love you…”

And with that, Connie hangs up from her end.

Steven’s humble little studio apartment falls into complete and utter silence. He cradles his phone in his hands, staring with unparalleled intensity at his seventeen-year-old girlfriend’s smiling contact photo for a good few minutes… contemplating the sheer daunting weight of the potential future life’s just sprung on them out of nowhere. 

It’s possible.

The timing lines up.

What Connie fears is one hundred percent possible.

“Shit,” he ultimately hisses, shoving the device in his back pocket and moving to grab his wallet, his keys, and a light jacket.

This was absolutely not the conversation he expected to have tonight.

_____

One trip to his local 24-hour convenience store and a ride on Lion later, Steven finds himself perched on the edge of Connie and her housemates’ shared couch holding the instructional pamphlet for a pregnancy test, intensely conscious of the sleep shattering noise they’re probably making out here despite their best attempts at whispering. Ugh. He really, really hopes they don’t wake Patricia or Natalie up with all this racket. He doesn’t want to be rude, especially not at the heart of midterms season.

“But this says you’re not supposed to take it until a week after your first missed period,” he says, tapping his finger at the relevant section of fine print.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not gonna work at all, though,” Connie shoots back, tussling the instructions from his hands. “Look, see—? It doesn’t say you’re not supposed to take it until then, it just says the results may have a higher chance of inaccuracy.”

“And isn’t accuracy exactly what we need at the moment?” he responds with a bit too much stress riding within his tone. 

(His thoughts trail back to almost three weeks ago. That kissing session that got a bit more heated than either of them had originally planned for. The expired condom that he didn’t realize was expired until after it broke in the middle of sex.)

She shoots him a withering look, her eyes puffy and damp from all the tears she’s already shed tonight. 

“No, what I need is an answer. Any answer, so I can finally go to bed and stop freaking the hell out over this. You know how I am— I just gotta rip the bandaid off, and then I’ll be fine. I’ll even test daily for the next week if that makes you feel better.”

“Whatever makes you feel better,” he gently redirects, capturing her trembling hand within his and rubbing faint circles against the side of her palm for a few precious moments.

Sniffling, she gives a faint nod, grabbing the test itself from the coffee table and moving to stand.

“Okay. I… I’ll be just a few minutes. I’ll come back out once I have the sample ready, a-and… and then we can wait together.”

“Take your time,” he says.

She does.

As it turns out, peeing on demand (and on a plastic test strip, no less) is pretty difficult, even more so when one is stressed beyond all belief. 

They keep in contact over text for those long twenty or so minutes, and it’s through this feed of discussion that he starts to piece together the full picture of what must’ve happened here.

Mistake number one: Connie knew she was in a fertile period. She knew, and— horny as she was at the time— decided to progress the speed of their lovemaking anyways. All her choice. She provided him a condom she’d gotten as a free sample from some university health fair, and off they went. In any normal circumstance, that’s where this story would stop.

But then came mistake number two: right as he neared the brink of orgasm, he felt a distinct jump in sensitivity— one that not only sent him careening right over the edge, but also alerted him to the fact that his condom must’ve snapped. He’s almost positive Connie felt it too. He pulled out as quick as he could the second he realized, but what’s done was done. 

They discovered big mistake number three right afterwards: The condom was already expired. It was expired all along, and neither of them had thought to check the label before slipping it on. Stupid. Connie promised she’d talk to the campus nurse about getting her hands on some free Plan B that next morning— just in case— and Steven assumed that was the end of it. 

But then there was mistake number four: Apparently, Connie never took that Plan B at all. She was so wigged out over one of her upcoming midterms in a class she’s barely passing that (as he learns via this text thread) she forgot to go to the nurse to inquire about it in the first place. By the time she remembered, too many days had passed for it to be effective, so she didn’t bother looking into it further. Instead she merely crossed her fingers that nothing would come of this series of unfortunate happenings whatsoever, but then came late period day number one. And then number two. And then number three. And by that point, the evidence seemed so stacked against her favor that the stress simply exploded. She couldn’t study. She couldn’t even sleep. Thus, she just has to secure an answer tonight, or she’ll never find any peace, she says.

He understands, he does.

But also… he really, really wants to make sure that whatever answer they settle on with this matter is guaranteed correct. And soon, while there’s still time to do something about it (if that’s what she wants) without too much emotional investment coming into play.

Because accidentally knocking up his girlfriend in her second year of college… before they’re even married or close to being engaged… and while she’s still seventeen to boot was absolutely not in their plans.

“Ughhh… stupid, stupid,” he hisses to himself, knocking his head against the plush backing of the sofa. 

If that damned test comes back positive, her mother (and heck, probably Pearl too, for that matter) is going to kill him.

While he wouldn’t mind being a father in a few years’ time, the fact of thee matter is that they’re nowhere close to ready for such a future at this current juncture. Neither of them have jobs. Neither of them have a home of their own that isn’t partially paid for by their parents. Hell, on his end, even with regular therapy and steady medication he still struggles with the most basic self-care like showering daily and remembering to eat breakfast. So how on Earth— if Connie’s fears are right, and she is positive— is he supposed to suddenly pivot to taking care of an infant too on top of all that? Oh stars he’s not ready for this. He’s not. 

And if that’s how he feels, then he can’t even begin to imagine how much terror must be surging through her mind at this present moment.

Yikes. He’s really made a mess of things, hasn’t he? He should’ve… ugh, he should’ve said something. He should’ve gently told her ‘no’ the moment she revealed she was only a day away from ovulation. He shouldn’t have taken the risk. He should’ve thought to check in with her about the Plan B instead of blindly assuming she took care of it. He’s older, so he should’ve been the responsible one. 

He tells her as such.

no, no… it takes two to tango, silly, she responds via text a few seconds later. it’s not your fault any more than it’s mine. im sorry for yelling at you earlier, it’s just. not what i had planned.

same, he responses. 

And then, after a hard swallow and a moment’s pause… he dares to rustle up that big ol’ elephant in the room.

He asks The Question.

have u thought about what you’re gonna do if its positive yet

A set of ellipses show up at the bottom of the screen. She’s typing. Slowly. 

Or maybe… 

The ellipses disappear for a bit. Then reappear. Then blink out existence once again.

Steven sighs, sinking back into the couch and setting his phone upside down so he doesn’t have to psych himself out by staring expectantly at her contact photo at the top of their text feed for the next goodness knows how long. 

Good grief. If he weren’t already so damn emotionally drained over all this, he’s sure he’d be glowing bright ass pink right now. Thank goodness he’s not. Connie needs his comfort tonight, not the other way around. His lip crinkles into a pensive frown as he reflects on the situation… shifts his gaze around the darkened living room. (He catches the faintest glimpse of Lion snoozing outside the window again as his eyes adjust to the light level.) For the briefest of seconds he considers shooting a text to Dad, curious if he might have any advice on how to handle this sort of situation, but then…

No, no. It’s far too early to say anything. Plus, he doesn’t want to risk letting the blunt reality of their active sex life break containment unless Connie says it’s okay.

His phone buzzes.

Heart pounding with unimaginable ferocity, he flips it over to read.

honestly the reason i’m so freaked out rn is that i think id really wanna keep it. even though im SURE it would mess up all my college goals. is that stupid??

Brief pause yet again as she adds something else.

i’m so, so sorry i know that might not be something you’re ready to commit to rn. that’s half of why i’m so upset. i don’t want this to speed up our relationship in ways you’re not ready for, or ruin it altogether

Steven’s inhale is sharp and shallow, his thoughts racing as he tries not to consider the potential implications of what her decision means for him too deeply. It’s not about me, he reminds himself. It’s not about me.

hey, no- it’s okay, he types, fingers shaking. don’t fuss about me. it’s your body. your choice. i’ll support you through whatever you decide. promise.

Send.

A good while passes without a response. 

Considering the heaviness of the topic, he’s half a mind to stride across the room and go knock on the bathroom door to see if she’s okay, but then that very door squeaks open.

Connie scuttles to the couch in a hurry, the test and a generous wad of toilet paper in hand. She lays down the paper on the coffee table first for cleanliness’ sake, and sets the plastic sample cartridge on top of it.

Then, with a weary sigh, she sets a timer on her phone for three minutes.

“Please don’t let me look at it until time’s up,” she says, slumping against his side for comfort. 

“It’s okay,” he whispers, shifting his position to wrap his arms tight around her. Secure. Safe. “We’re okay. Whatever happens, we do it together, all right?”

“All right.”

Noticing her heavy blinking and angling to help her feel better, he brushes a stray wavy lock back behind her ear, his touch as delicate as he can muster. “Hey. Jam buds?”

“Jam buds,” she nods with a watery smile.

They sit in silence for about thirty seconds, allowing each others’ racing heartbeats to lull them to at least some form of camaraderie laden relief.

Or at least, they try to.

“My mom is not gonna be happy about this,” Connie says out of the blue, attaching words to the daunting thought they’re clearly both stewing over.

“If it’s positive,” he reminds her. “It’s still a big if.”

“But I’m right though. I was an underage accident, too, remember? I just—” her voice breaks as she chokes back what he fears might be an impending sob— “I know she wanted better for me. I don’t want to disappoint her, y’know?”

He risks a dry joke to lighten the mood.

“Well… at least if she’s mad, you have the excuse that it runs in the family to fall back on, right?”

“Oh, shut up, you,” she says with a half-hearted giggle, playfully shrugging him away.

They lapse into a peaceful quiet yet again.

He busies himself tracing abstract shapes against the knob of her shoulder, doing his best to help ground her amidst this unexpected squall in their relationship.

“How much time’s left?” she asks, her tone shrunken and nervous 

Steven glances over at her phone on the table. “Just a few more seconds.”

The timer goes off a mere cluster of heartbeats later.

Taking a deep breath as one committed unit, their hands inseparably intertwined, the two lean forward to investigate the pregnancy test together.

There’s only a single band visible in the results window, where the control should be.

Negative.

Steven lets out what’s quite possibly the biggest exhale of his full nineteen years.

Thank the stars.

That’s step one.

It’s still not a solid confirmation— not with this singular test taken so early into what she fears is a missed cycle— but it’s a start.

“What does it mean that a tiny part of me is kinda disappointed now…?” Connie asks him afterwards, sinking backwards into the couch’s soft embrace. 

“It means we’ll have to try again in a few years,” he says, giving the crown of her head a soft kiss. “When we’re actually ready.

_____

Connie tests again just a few hours later that morning. 

Then the next day.

And the next.

All negative.

Much to their relief, their one hundred percent conclusive answer comes on day three, when she calls him at the literal crack of dawn with immense excitement to report the belated start of her period.

Just to be extra sure, she makes a walk-in appointment at the university clinic to talk through the scare with one of their doctors on day four.

“It was that damn anxiety med I just started,” she relays to him over the phone later that evening. “I didn’t even think about it. Apparently medications that function as antidepressants run the risk of screwing up your cycle a bit. Thus, the delay.”

“Well, now we know for the future, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” she says with a faint chuckle. “That, and the importance of never using cheap free sample condoms. Ugh… I’m gonna be so paranoid about expiration dates, now.”

He frowns, rapping his fingertips against the arm of his desk chair.

“Hey, listen— don’t get all worked up over it, okay? Like you’ve said before, it takes two to tango. We never have to do anything you’re not explicitly comfortable with.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right,” she acquiesces. “Of course you’re right… Still, I guess the silver lining of all this is that now I know I actually want children someday.”

“Same,” he says, his chest fluttering with unquestionable affection. “Let’s get you through college first, though. Then we’ll talk.” 

Connie giggles, lively and free. The sound is spellbinding music to his ears.

“Sounds like a deal, Biscuit.”

[artist-heart83]

VivziePop and her “POC characters”

I said “see ya in january” but Vivzie and her fans had been talking non sense every day after my bingo post, so let’s talk about this, shall we

You know the deal, this start because of the hazbin hotel cards and one specifically talking, the Alastor card

The card in particular had voodoo symbols and yeah, look at first I didn’t know anything about voodoo or what was the problem so when I start seeing all the tweets related to the situation and explain it why it was bad, I was “ooh… that’s not good”

Also people reacting (for second time) that Alastor is suppose to be black. Like I didn’t know it at first, until I start watching redesign videos and seeing people drawing him with black features

But people would go and said (you know, trying to defend Vivzie) “oh but you don’t had to” and my honest opinion is:

Like I said, it’s important because that how you can tell a character is supposed to whatever ethnicity(? is, otherwise people are gonna making them white

“Even if they are not human?”

Yes fulanita, even if they’re not human, Steven Universe had gems with some black features (kinda not the best example, but i can’t come with other right now)

I’m like I said before, fans of Vivzie start defending her and specifically one doing a thread about “other POC characters” if you see the thread you know what I going to talk now

Half of the characters are:

1. Stereotypes

2. Non human that you can’t tell if they’re black, latinos or whatever, only if you see their voice actor

3. Majority of the characters are created by people of the staff

When I talk about to brother how Alastor is supposed to be black he goes: “maybe she doesn’t know how to draw black people” and “that should be hard” and I stop him because that bullshit.

I start to explain him that is not hard because she just had to give some texture to the hair and add some features, and hard? To her? The one who made complex design? Can draw a different hair? Nah man, that woman is just racist, like pretend to be shocked. Of course he understands my point.

And the thing that definitely is pissing me off, is how Vivzie decide to ignore this, but not stuff like “my name is Caine I’m your bitch” or “Charlie discourse about what she is supposed to be”, and of course blocking people talking about the situation and trying to explain why is bad

So in conclusion. If you want to introduce any topic in your series 👏 do 👏 the 👏 proper 👏 investigation 👏 because you don’t know if it bad or just a stereotype. And we should expose all the bullshit that VivziePop had done before and still do

[anthurak]

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

4.Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?*

Hazbin/Helluva Salty Ask game

(Link to Ask List)

For the first question, sadly yes. It was someone I'd been following for quite some time, since the heyday of Steven Universe. But then they turned out to be really big on the Vivzie/Hazbin/Helluva hate and I promptly unfollowed them.

As far as NoTPs go in the Hellaverse, the big one for me is definitely Charlastor. For me that ship was and is the perfect storm of uncomfortable and insufferable 'wanking the overrated tumblr sexyman'. Like you know that post I did a while back on how 'the biggest lie that Alastor ever pulled was convincing all of Hell and tumblr that he’s NOT actually the biggest petty, insecure goober with an ego comprised of wet-tissue paper, etc. etc.'? Yeah, the 'tumblr' part of that is focus SQUARELY on this ship.

And I am VERY happy to have seen it's popularity dwindle since the release of Season 1. Like I might think RadioApple is overrated, but I consider it FAR preferable over Charlastor.

On the Helluva side of things, I would actually say the INVERSE of the question is the one with the more interesting/spicy answer.

But as far as 'fandom OTP that I consider a NoTP', it's not quite a full-blown fandom OTP, but I'll say 'Moxxie/any-lady-that-isn't-Mille'. Simply because many of them (especially Loona/Moxxie) kind of REEK of that same trend we see with Jaune where the ship is basically 'I want to fantasize about having sex with this pretty girl but am too lazy to come up with my OC so I'll just awkwardly crowbar this character I find 'relatable' into a generic self-insert mold'. Like here's a fun game; find any Moxxie/pretty-girl-that-isn't-Millie fic and check if it ignores his bisexuality.

[haphazardlyannotated]

Okay, can we talk about this for a moment?

Rose's whole quote here is:

When a Gem is made, it's for a reason. They burst out of the ground already knowing what they're supposed to be, and then… that's what they are. Forever. But you, you're supposed to change. You're never the same even moment to moment; you're allowed and expected to invent who you are. What an incredible power, the ability to "grow up."

So Rose states here that Gems are incapable of fundamental growth and change. Which is... Kind of an insane thing to say considering the Crystal Gems.

Every day Rose comes home to an Amethyst who seems to prefer food and shape shifting over fighting, a pair of different gems who choose to live as an illegal fusion out of love, and a Pearl who is both a swords- and spearmanship master as well as a tech expert. Not to mention, she herself has not only flipped her inherent skill set in the opposite direction from destructive to healing, she has lead a literal rebellion against her purpose of colonizing planets and using them to make more gems.

So why would Rose say that?

Regarding Rose herself, the explanation is pretty easy. Not even the most fervent, uncharitable Rose Anti hates Rose as much as she hates herself. I have no trouble believing that Rose would be able to convince herself that everything she's done as Rose is a pretty facade and she is still the monster she has made Pink out to be deep down.

But what about the others?

I find it a bit hard to believe that Rose would deny that they have deviated from what Homeworld thinks they are. But then I realised: While Rose might realise that they aren't what Homeworld wants them to be, she could feasibly interpret their actions as still holding on to some basic principles Homeworld instilled in them.

Yes, Amethyst is more interested in fun and relaxation than fighting, but other Amethysts tend to like those things too. And Amethyst is still fighting, just alongside the Crystal Gems instead of as part of Homeworld's army. It wouldn't be too farfetched to assume that the basic programming is intact here.

Pearl is lightyears away from the "stand around and look nice" ideal Homeworld has for Pearls, but Rose is all too aware that Pearl is still has the single mindedly devoted to her. Sure, Pearl's fantasy about her and Rose removes the ownership relation, but, whispers Rose's self hatred at the back of her mind, would a Gem as great as Pearl really choose Rose if her choice was truly free?

Garnet might be harder to explain, but still, aren't Ruby and Sapphire always together this way, just as a Sapphire and her Ruby guard are supposed to be?

If you think about it like that, I could see how Rose might talk herself into some kind of Gem determinism and decide that the only way for herself to truly change would be to stop being both herself and a Gem and be reborn as part of a human child.

But she's wrong.

We know she's wrong because Steven Universe showed us.

Amethyst leaves combat behind as soon as it's unnecessary and becomes a teacher. Ruby and Sapphire regularly do their own thing by SUF, and Ruby proposed to Sapphire to make being Garnet their own decision. And then, of course, there's Pearl.

All of the Crystal Gems reinvented themselves in the exact way that Rose didn't believe Gems ever could.

And in doing so, they also proved that Rose was wrong to think of her own growth as a lie. She didn't become a perfect person- nobody in this show was or will ever be perfect. But she became a genuinely kind and nurturing person who was loved and admired by many for good reason.

When you think about it, the only part of Homeworld that she couldn't let go of was the image she had of herself.

[spacefrog1984]

Lily, how do you come up with this stuff? Even if this isn't an anon-self-ask and this person genuinely found someone saying that you have a problem with Jewish people - how the hell does that related to SU? You are aware that Steven Universe was created by a Jewish woman - I know you know that, we all know you know that. Of course, you're also someone who essentially called this Jewish woman a Nazi or Nazi-sympathizer/apologist. Yes, we all know that your word play in the SU video lets you think you can wriggle out of this, but you'd be wrong.

So, if anyone has problems with Jews, I doubt it would be SU fans, and the more likely suspect would be the person who accuses a Jew of being a Nazi. Wouldn't you agree?

[manicpixieyandere]

Our Top 5 Systems In Media

As we all know DID/OSDD rep has never been the best in media. So we figured we'd share our favorite systems in media! This will be characters diagnosed with DID/OSDD or just plural coded. Gotta spread the positivity you know?

Number 5: Venom & Eddie Brock

Marvel Comics / Venom

Venom and Eddie were the reason we started reading comics in the first place! They're an amazing love story. But also an amazing system story. Learning how to share a body and work together. It's self love but also romantic love! And yes it's canonically romantic don't you dare try to deny it. They have like 8 kids bro.

Number 4: Heart, Mind, & Soul

Chonny's Charming Chaos Compendium

Now these songs are fire that we have on so so many playlists. As far as we know Chonny isn't plural but still ended up writing a story about human duality that also encompasses plurality quite well. This system feels most relatable to us and how we operate as an OSDD system.

Number 3: Shimada Kayn & Rhaast

League Of Legends / Heartsteel

Specifically we want to mention their Heartsteel versions where it is heavily hinted that Kayn has DID in this universe and Rhaast is an alter. This does a cool thing we like in League where they creatively use magic to code in disabilities in the main universe but then actually keep those disabilities in the more realistic skinlines. Like Aphelios staying mute In Heartsteel for example. We just love the banter Kayn and Rhaast have. And also their part in the song is the best.

Number 2: Asa Mitaka & Yoru

Chainsaw Man

We absolutely love these two! We originally read the manga for Makima but were pleasantly surprised when Denji took a backseat in arc two and Asa and Yoru became the protagonists! The way they both start to care for each other more overtime is very sweet. It's nice seeing them embrace each others' sides a bit more. Asa becomes more confident while Yoru learns compassion. We can't wait until they make it into the anime one day. Even if that's in 20 years at this rate.

Number 1: Marc Spector, Steven Grant, & Jake Lockley

Moon Knight

Specifically we want to talk about show Moon Knight. The comics are fine but we absolutely prefer silly sweet cinnamon roll Steven over Bruce Wayne wannabe. But more importantly the story of DID in Moon Knight is so incredibly important. We actually rewatched it soon after discovering our system. Seeing Marc and Steven learn how to integrate and work together to be Moon Knight is so emotional and powerful. It serves as inspiration and hope that we could achieve that one day. Obviously there's some stuff played up for Hollywood, but for the most part it's a very accurate representation of plurality based on our own experiences and other's we've seen online. Obviously not everyone agrees, but it seems rather well received for the most part!

Edit:

Honorable Mention: Sun, Moon & Eclipse

FNaF

Oh my god! How could we forget Sun, Moon, and Eclipse? The literally "us frfr" characters! Everyone's favorite canonically autistic skrunkly! We've seen some debates on if The Daycare Attendant perpetuates the "evil alter" stereotype. We can certainly agree it's a fine rope to walk, but the way Sun and Moon are written is interesting enough. It's hinted Moon isn't exactly himself at the moment. Moon is also just supposed to play the villain in theatre shows! They're theatre kids, quite fun!

[rosenotactuallyquartz]

pearl being misunderstood

characters who aren’t pearl, even ones outside steven universe, will do the most heinous things. said things are easily sympathized with. understood. justified by simple sentences like, “it’s because x loved y!”

so, i think in this space, we can agree that lots of things pearl has done for rose are simply because pearl loved rose. and that’s all.

for example, “rose quartz believed all life is precious and worth protecting” is something absolutely beautiful that pearl said because she loved rose. not because of obsession or devotion to a diamond. throughout the show, she loved talking about how rose was a healer and she could never stop talking about it because on homeworld, she knew how much pain pink experienced. during the war, she knew how much pain rose experienced. she was terribly hurt in the past, and then pearl watched her heal so many others who were hurt. that’s why she always talks about this: it’s one of the reasons she loves her so much. and that’s wonderful, strong love for someone else.

was pearl overprotective? yes. was pearl’s love so selfless that she forgot to think about herself sometimes? also yes. did pearl become fixated on rose because of grief, shared trauma, constant worrying, communication issues, and self-blaming issues? yes. is pearl toxic if she breathes around rose while every other character’s considered a-okay? of course not! there are worse fictional partners, ones that are obsessive for worse reasons, ones that are the opposite of obsessive, ones that alternate between the two.

just a pearl defending ramble that no one asked for because im thinking about something that isn’t even really related to pearl. but i have to bring up how misunderstood she is sometimes. not by you guys of course, but i’m posting this because i know you guys get it.

she’s flawed but she has so many good qualities and her love is absolutely genuine love.

[willowshimmer]

So I watched Fiona And Cake and I'm hooked...

First episode:

I love how it started with all the colors and how it felt! The voice acting was spot on and it felt surreal with the pastel theme.

"I don't wanna go to work......" Relatable... Especially since my school will start soon...

The way Cake is acting really true actually! Minus the ice... Also when cats ears and nose are cold that means they are healthy! If their hot then that means the cat is sick.

I honestly did not know Fionna's job was a thing....

When I saw Marshall Lee I screamed. I live for his DESIGN! And his personality.

Love Fern's hair. That's all I have to say.

Man Fionna's Boss is short I thought they were a kid.

Love Fionna's reaction from getting fired...And how she technically flipped of her now old boss.

PRINCE GUMBALL or should I say Gary...

Gary's so adorable! I would love to try the cookies he made! They look delicious and sweet and the latté there!

Fuck Gary's boss! He don't deserve to work with that short ass dwarf (No offense to anyone who's short) he deserves better!

When Marshall started singing I was just amazed by the voice acting again! Like such voice is amazing for him!

Oh the poor coffee...

Aw! Marshall likes the cookies! I hope he meets Gary some episode!

I don't trust this version of Lumpy space princess...

I LOVE HUNTER! They are so gentle and nice! I get a bit of gender enby vibes from them.

I LOVED THIS EPISODE!♥️

Below is the next episode review cause this is getting a bit long and cause I explore a few dark topics.

Second Episode:

I missed Simon so much!

I don't like how he's basically a human attraction to the citizens. I just don't feel comfortable with that cause of anxiety and I don't like getting asked questions in general.

I personally think that kid should've just left Simon alone and not talk about his past to HIS ENTIRE FAMILY!

I do think what's interesting about the trauma of Simon is that he's so traumatized from his past as the "Ice King" to the point he can't look at ice without freaking out. It's like soldiers who have been in wars and are so traumatized by loud sounds to the point they just at times attack.

I like Finn's new design! It matches well with now personality.

And I like how TV (One of Jake's kids) is with him.

So wait Jake's DEAD!?

Blindfolded into a forest... What could go wrong?

I really love the forest layout cause of colorful and bright it is! It blends in with the vibe it's going for.

I was at first like "Woah there's blood!" When Jake killed the fish but then it made sense cause Adventure Time came out year's ago and they now they're audience has grown since then so it makes sense.

I would love to hear more stories from before Simon was the Ice King.

"SUCK ON THESE NUTS!" YES!!

More things that I noticed about Simon when he was fighting the bear thing is that he's not a fighter, he's not violent, he's just trying to fit in the best he can but even he can't cause of how people keep reminding him about his past as the Ice King.

I know what Finn did was irresponsible cause he just blindfolded Simon and led him into a forest but let me explain. He's lost Jake. And when Jake dies he was probably and most likely devastated since he lost the only person he was mostly close to a that was like a brother to him. That's his way of coping with stuff! But he doesn't know alot about Simon so he tried to do the one thing that helped HIM! He tried.

I was so HAPPY to see Marceline and Bubblegum again!

I find it very funny that Bubblegum's skin sticks to the tattoo gun.

Love Marceline's new hair cut as well.

I just Simon to be happy with his wife! Is that to much to ask!?😭

Also I think I catched a Steven universe reference when Cake came out Simon's hair.

This episode was heavy and full of emotion to unpack and I think I like that!

I love the series so far and hope more of it soon!

Also I'M BACK!