#can i play steven universe Giant Woman in the background?

[breoasis]

People are loving the Codfather design quite a lot so i present you the Ocean Queen because she is an icon she is a legend and she is the moment !! (enjoy the seablings)

[colourstreakgryffin]

Nakime with demon! reader with fire abilities that activate when they are mad, excited or nervous etc etc? basically Ruby from Steven universe and twice as adorable.

<3333

Oooh… okaaaayy. I never watched Steven Universe but Ruby’s character seems very complex yet cute so I definitely will try this out! Thank you, loves!

Nakime- Hot Red Strings

Nakime is a composed, quiet and stable woman. She never lets her emotions get the better of her, she is almost a hollow mysterious soul; stoic, dull and straightforward. She doesn’t often connect with others and ignores others but when it comes to you, the new Upper Moon. She can’t help but feel interested in you

Nakime finds you fascinating. You have incredible flame-based abilities tied to your emotions; when you’re angry, excited or nervous, you erupt into giant balls of hot red flames. She doesn’t really jump seeing it but from behind her long bangs, she is watching you

Nakime is your basically opposite in every fashion, personality wise. You’re emotional and you have the habit of letting out outbursts whilst she is content and almost never acts on any type of emotions. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel anything for you, she can just keep herself under control. You… not that much

Nakime likes to listen to you as you struggle to talk or have a explosion. She can handle the way you stomp around and leave burn footstep marks on the floor whilst burning up in beautiful hot flames. To her, you look absolutely beautiful, she loves hearing that you have emotions… it’s like hearing the Biwa strings strung

Nakime uses you as an inspiration piece for her Biwa playing. She sits in silence on her own and thinks about the way you act. The way you make little shapeable flames for her to internally admire and it gives her the confidence to play her beloved Biwa again

Nakime may or may not summon you to the Infinity Castle solely to see you but she always catch you when you’re having a rampage and setting something on fire. She finds it funny how often you do react in this way and end up blowing up everything around you. It’s adorable

Nakime is quite flattered to the fact you’re protective and caring over her to the point you don’t like leaving her side. When your own crush on her blooms, you’re suave romantic, soft with words, and quite flirtatious. She really likes it, she’s often in the background so having this cute passionate fire volcano-like Upper Moon admiring her is making her feel so heard

Nakime is the serene one, the one balancing out your impulses and it draws you two together. She likes that she is so opposing and she can control you. It’s almost like you were made to be hers… that’s how she feels but she always disguises it behind her long bangs and soft voice

Nakime takes quite a while to show off her single eye to you, she doesn’t want you to find it hideous and when you express that you like it, she feels a lot more comfortable on keeping her full face open whilst around you

For real. We’re Ruby and Nakime’s our Sapphire

[nina-rosa]

Goodbye Steven Universe

a season 1 vibe drawing to say goodbye to the show… I’m feeling a lot of things right now, but I’m mainly very excited to see the final episodes airing tonight! ⭐️ 

I just can’t express how much I love this show, it inspires me in so many ways, I think it is one of the most important thing that happened in my life? I know it might sound silly but like really, it affected me so much, I don’t think I would be the same person if I would have never watched it. I think I just want to cry a lot?? But even if it is over (isn’t it?), life will go on, and this show will continue to inspire me in the future, no matter what. Steven Universe, you truly are a gem in this world. 💎⭐️💕

(Sorry for the long personal text below, feel free to read it or not!)

So Steven Universe is ending today.

I was already a big fan of Rebecca Sugar when she was working on Adventure Time, I really loved listening to her song demos. I think I was like, 11 back then? And then when su started I heard about her new show, watched it a few times, and I remember asking my brother one day when he was watching an episode on tv “is it good?” and the first episode that made me really watch the show, if I remember, was Giant woman (also first song I learned! There’s still a little vid of me singing and playing it on the piano on my Instagram), and that was around 2015 I think. Then really fell in love with ruby and sapphire when jail break came out. I always loved the feeling of excitement I had when new episodes were airing, it almost felt like butterflies in my stomach, and my heart was beating!! (you can tell how much I’m in love with this show haha) And discovering the story over the years was such a great experience!! Steven Universe made me want to learn playing the ukulele, it taught me about self love and self care, it made me realize things about myself, it taught me to be a better and kinder person and having compassion, it helped me with anxiety (especially with here comes a thought), now I like the color pink haha it made me progress with my art (I drew a LOT of Steven Universe stuff), and I met a lot of new friends and artists!!

This show has amazing characters, who feel so real and human (yeah even gems), who you can identify with, sing with and cry with! Omg and yeah the music.... the music!!! It’s so beautiful, the songs as much as the soundtrack made by aivi and surasshu! The art style is also very pretty, the background artists are so talented!!! Like, wow!! Everyone in the team is talented and really just amazing people! The voice acting is perfect, the animation can go from very goofy to really fluid and pretty, the storyboarders are so creative, everyone in the crew worked so hard and with so much love on it! Thank you so much for everything Rebecca Sugar, and everyone who worked on the show.

[hello--mrs]

Steven Universe Podcast: Battle of Heart and Mind

I don’t usually do this but I said I would for the server, so here we are. 

This episode included Rebecca Sugar, Kat Morris, Joe Johnston, Matt Burnett, Ben Levin, and Ian Jones-Quartey. 

·     The episode starts with the rainbow worm in Steven’s dream, who is voiced by Deedee. This is the last homage to the princess references in the arc. The worm is from the Kyanite colony and was brought to Homeworld by Pink, which Blue allowed, but then Pink released all worms in the ballroom. Rebecca mentions this links with Pink’s desire to be free by releasing animals from their colonies. 

·   This specific princess reference was to Jasmine (in Aladdin) opening the cage and allowing the birds to fly free. It was also a reference to Pink’s love of animals and wanting to set them free, which isn’t out of character for Steven either. 

·   For Diamond Days, they picked the most common princess tropes for Steven’s time on Homeworld and made this experience alienating for him. 

·   Rebecca states that the Diamonds are meant to exist as a body- the inspiration for the ship. Pink is the Id, Blue and Yellow are the Ego, and White is the Super Ego. This is represented in Change Your Mind where the collective mind experiences embarrassment when the Id demands they enjoy something. 

·   Kat admits that they came up with the new outfits by continuously emailing each other with ideas. Rebecca said they considered everything but there were some concepts that they really wanted, for example, Rainbow 2.0 would have a scarf and a jacket. It was important either way that the fusions would notably have Steven’s clothes and the gems. However, the fusions would hint at the new forms and Pearl didn’t end up having a scarf, but she did have the jacket. Later, McKenzie asked if the jacket was a throwback to Bad Pearl and Rebecca confirmed that it represented her independence. 

·   One of Garnet’s new designs included transparent glasses and Peridot’s glasses in the shape of a star. Kat came up with the idea for the shredded shorts and star pockets for Amethyst. 

·   All of the new outfits represent how the gems have changed and learned from Steven. 

·   Rebecca mentioned that Pearl has been ‘playing the field’ and ‘exploring who she is’, which started in Last One Out of Beach City.

·   Lapis has gold accents on her new outfit to match the real-life gem stone. Kat said that Rebecca really wanted the sandals for Lapis and it makes for comfortable cosplay. 

·   Joe said that he enjoyed a lot of Garnet’s new designs. Most ideas were based off superheroes and had a more ‘knightly’ aspect. 

·   They confirmed that they tried Peridot’s new design with star hair but it was too much. Rebecca said that the glasses already change her silhouette and expose her gem more. 

·   Peridot also has boots this time. Before, she had socks because she used to wear limb enhancers. 

·  Mary Poppins and Bert were the inspiration for Rainbow 2.0. These concepts were made by Joe around 2-3 years ago. Sunstone was a newer concept. 

·  Rebecca said that all Garnet fusions can break the fourth wall, but with Steven, it would break it to give advice to children. The suction cups are also a combination of Steven’s shield and Garnet’s gauntlets. When creating Sunstone, Rebecca wanted her to look like a toy that you could stick in the back window of a car with suction cups. 

·  Alistair James auditioned for Rainbow 2.0 by doing an impression of his grandmother with a British accent. Rebecca said that Shoniqua was perfect and she knew immediately that she wanted her for Sunstone. She sounded exactly like how Miki Brewster pitched her. 

·  For Obsidian, they’d had her concept from the very beginning since she was shown as the temple. It was a hidden in sight visual that would eventually pay off. 

·  Obsidian’s sword is in the ocean, which is a part of the temple. It’s first seen in Bubble Buddies and seen again in Ocean Gem when the ocean is cleared. The sword design changed over time to ensure that all the Crystal Gem’s weapons could fit into the design. 

·  The earliest inspiration for White Diamond is traced back to the beginning of the show. She was inspired by the film ‘A Story of Menstruation’, which was made in 1946. It was a film by Disney played in schools to teach children what to expect in menstruation, and the narrator’s voice was a kindly older woman. Rebecca said that she found the designs really interesting and cute. 

·  From the film, the inspiration came from a scene where a woman cried into her arms but in the reflection of her mirror, she straightens up and starts smiling before going out dancing. The narrator says: “Don’t forget that people are around you and you’ll have to be more pleasant if you want people to like you”. The scene passes by and it ignores that fact that the woman was crying earlier, because she’s now seen being ‘correct’. This is the voice and the feeling that she went for with White Diamond and Homeworld. 

·  Homeworld is inspired by Busby Berkeley, and White is inspired by Hedy Lamarr in Ziegfeld Girl and Nell Brinkley drawings, all within an era where women were seen as beautiful pieces of furniture. Rebecca states: Women are like lamps, smiling and there, part of the scenery. It all originates from the idea that people thought it was lovely and seen as an escape from reality. 

·  Those early inspirations were also used for the wall gems- the idea that people are in the background as if turned to stone and function solely as architecture. These faces we see in the architecture are gems and that’s their function. 

·  White has always been associated as a mother, especially in terms of her storyline with Steven in this arc, and how gems are viewed as her children. This arc wanted to begin to explore her relationship with them. 

·  Rebecca says that White’s way of thinking is that she is everyone and everyone is her. She considers herself the default white light that passes through other gems, so when she sees gems absorb other colours from that light, she considers it a variation of her but lesser. In that way, she has no identity at all because she considers herself just light. She feels that people can be turned into her because they are all the same. 

·  Rebecca also stated that White is wrong about how she views the world and herself. It’s an antithesis to Rose’s journey- expression and repression. She lives in a delusion that everything is fine but it isn’t. 

·  Matt and Ben said that the whole episode was balanced by ensuring that every single character got their moment. It was an accumulation of ideas from over the years that they tried to fit into one episode, such as Amethyst greeting Jasper after she was uncorrupted. They felt they did everything they wanted to do before they left. 

·  All past episodes, especially for Diamond Days, were made to build up to the scene with White and Steven where she pulled out his gem. Mirror Gem is the first time they introduce the concept that a sentient gem can be trapped inside an object and that object is Steven. They’ve been planting hints that Pink may be trapped inside him ever since. 

·  From the beginning, they’ve wanted there to be doubt that Steven was his own person and have the audience question if Pink/Rose could still be alive. Even when the gem was pulled out, they still wanted the viewer to doubt if he was Steven. They planted enough hints that the viewer would think it could go either way. 

·  Between the crew, the hottest debates were about the storyline between Steven and Rose/Pink, about who Steven would be if they were separated. One of the most recent arguments was about Steven’s gem self and the fact he was devoid of any feeling, that there was none at all. That emotion came from Steven. 

·  Rebecca had planned the split perspective scene since the start of development and storyboarded it early in the process. It’s still from Steven’s point of view. Ian noted that if the show wasn’t completely from his perspective, it wouldn’t work. The split perspective was to also represent how torn and disoriented Steven was in that moment. 

·  Pink Steven is him as a default. If you take away his personality and emotion, he is empty. He’s been separated from his humanity and all that’s left is power. There have been nods to this in the past by showing how his power is greater because of his humanity and his capacity to love. 

·  Ian said that Rebecca has always had the idea of the final confrontation being about Steven’s relationship with his powers and that connection showing who he really is. Steven wants that human side of him, even if it slows him down, because it’s what makes him who he is.  

·  The scene of Steven returning to himself was originally written for episode 10. It was going to be a part of Giant Woman where they establish fusion. 

·  Rebecca confirms that James Baxter animated the scene where Steven reunites with Pink Steven. She met him by doing a drawing for his daughter’s birthday. 

·  The fusion sequence with the two Stevens was the ultimate princess trope- a rotating dancing scene specifically boarded by James Baxter. He completed the whole sequence himself apart from the inking. 

·  Ian mentioned that he wanted the uncorrupted gems scene for a long time. He said they always knew the arc would come back to the corrupted gems as that was the original conflict of the series, but now they finally get to see it through. 

·  On top of that, Ian went through every single episode that had a corrupted gem and designed their healed versions, while Rebecca added some of the quartz designs. He mentioned that the longer they were in their ‘monster’ form, the more they will look like that form, even when they’re healed. That’s why several of the healed gems look more like their original designs.

·  Rebecca added that Ian helped with the fusion designs and their sequence, as that was a wishlist moment for him. He wanted Steven to fuse with all the gems in a row. 

·  Ian said that he had been most excited about Rainbow 2.0 and that Colin Howard had done most of the groundwork already. 

·  Rainbow is they/them and he/him, and Sunstone is they/them and she/her. 

·  Rainbow 2.0 is mixed with Pearl’s properness and Steven’s penchant for making jokes. Rainbow 2.0 loves to make puns and is a throwback to Steven’s puns in the earlier series. In the episode, Ian also came up with the idea that RQ 2.0 could ride their umbrella and have a rainbow shoot out of the end- a reference to Pearl being able to shoot lasers out of her spear. 

·  With Sunstone and Rainbow 2.0, they wanted to be able to show common traits in Sardonyx. The break in the fourth wall comes from Garnet, but loving to hear themselves talk comes from Pearl. Steven enables the both of them to embrace their silly sides. 

·  The ship foot falling on them was a slight reference to Monty Python but also a reference to the giant foot mentioned in Arcade Mania. 

·  Rebecca stated that the song Change Your Mind was not written for the show, but a personal song she wrote while fighting for the wedding arc. She was hesitant at first to include it. 

·  Change Your Mind isn’t for the end of the Steven Universe franchise but for this arc, Ian mentions. He adds that even though it was written for the process of including the wedding, it perfectly captures the theme of the show. As a coming of age story, Rebecca notes that this is something that had to happen for Steven to start making decisions for himself. 

·  Rebecca also admits it has been hard to write for Steven because he always puts others before himself. It’s always about what others want and what he thinks they want. However, he finally comes to a realisation in this arc that he doesn’t have to be anyone else other than himself or pamper to other’s expectations. 

·  Ian states that this arc was incredibly important for Steven’s development, in terms of who he is, who he thinks he is, and who others believe him to be. Moving forward, everything will be different from Steven’s perspective. There’s going to be more but it will have changed, because Steven has changed. 

If I’ve missed anything out, let me know. Hope you guys enjoy!

[spacenoise]

Essential Steven Universe Episodes

Hello everyone! 

Looking to watch Steven Universe, but not drag yourself through all the episodes? Never fear! I’ve made a list of what I believe to be the most essential episodes of Steven Universe with unnecessary ones labelled as such (and my reasons why). Now here’s some things to keep in mind before looking at the list:

When I say “essential” I mean ones that introduce important elements to the story. New important characters, new powers, episodes that develop the character and plot-relevant episodes fit this category. 

Episodes that develop certain characters will be labeled as “unnecessary” if they don’t contribute enough to the plot or their growth.

There may be some personal bias since I found one or two filler episodes to be enjoyable despite their uselessness to the overall plot but I’ll label them as well so you know.

 Avoid reading ahead. The labels for unnecessary ones may contain SPOILERS so if you care about that kind of stuff: you’ve been warned.

On to the list!

Season 1

1. Gem Glow

2. Laser Light Cannon

3. Cheeseburger Backpack: Steven’s first mission

a. Together Breakfast: shows off gem rooms and a monster but that’s really it.

b. Frybo: introduces PeeDee but he doesn’t ever really do anything so...?

4. Cat Fingers

5. Bubble Buddies

6. Serious Steven

a. Tiger Millionaire: while there is some character development, there isn’t really enough to make it worth watching since most of the episode is focused on wrestling.

7. Steven’s Lion

8. Arcade Mania

9. Giant Woman

10. So Many Birthdays: a peek at how dark this show can get

11. Lars and the Cool Kids

a. Onion Trade: mainly about Onion; if you like his character, feel free to watch but if not I’d avoid it since it ultimately doesn’t mean much.

12. Steven the Sword Fighter

13. Lion 2: The Movie

a. Beach Party: Gems piss off the family that runs the town’s pizza shop and try to make it up to them by inviting them to hang out. Shenanigan ensue, but has no lasting impact on the story.

14. Rose’s Room

15. Coach Steven

a. Joking Victim: develops Sadie and Lars’ relationship; skip if you don’t really care about either

16. Steven and the Stevens

17. Monster Buddies

18. An Indirect Kiss

19. Mirror Gem & Ocean Gem 

a. House Guest: shows why Steven has trouble with his powers, but nothing too important happens other than that; watch if you wanna see more Pearl & Greg interactions

20. Space Race: shows Pearl’s fondness of space; develops her character and background but not necessary; skip if you want

a. Secret Team: if you don’t like episodes about characters making temporary truces I’d avoid this one; not enough character development to make it worthwhile.

b. Island Adventure: another Sadie and Lars episode; Lars opens about his feelings but not much else happens.

21. Keep Beach City Weird: relevant for SU: Future reasons, but if you don’t like Ronaldo skip

22. Fusion Cuisine

a. Garnet’s Universe: contributes nothing, but is a kinda cute episode.

b. Watermelon Steven: introduces a character(s) that is only used a total of three (maybe four?) times; also introduces a power that is rarely ever used when it matters.

23. Lion 3: Straight to Video

24. Alone Together

25. Warp Tour

a. The Test: some good character discussions, but not important overall.

26. Future Vision

27. On the Run

a. Horror Club: if you don’t care for Ronaldo, Sadie or Lars: skip. Even if you care about Lars, skip this one since you kinda get the gist of his character at this point.

b. Winter Forecast: a few nice moments, but ultimately a big “what-if” episode

28. Maximum Capacity

29. Marble Madness

30. Rose’s Scabbard

a. Open Book: a Steven and Connie episode; fun if you like them, but skippable

b. Shirt Club: focuses on one of the Cool Kids but ultimately means nothing

c. Say Uncle: Uncle Grandpa Crossover; some funny moments from the Gems but if you don’t like UG avoid this one.

31. Story for Steven

32. The Message

a. Political Power: addresses certain concerns the Gems have, but nothing important crosses over into the next episode; most about Mayor Dewey anyway

33. The Return

34. Jailbreak

-------------------

Season 2

1. Full Disclosure

a. Joy Ride: Steven messes around with the Cool Kids; there’s a bit here briefly referenced in SU: Future I think, but other than nothing really happens; skip it if you want

b. Love Letters: properly introduces Jamie and shows his character, but he never does anything for the plot. All you need to know if him and Steven are friends.

c. Reformed: introduces Amethyst's new form and shows more of her insecurities but that’s all this episode is really good for.

2. Sworn to the Sword

a. Rising Tides, Crashing Skies: a Ronaldo episode; need I say more?

3. Keeping It Together

4. We Need To Talk

5. Chille Tid

6. Cry for Help

7. Keystone Motel

a. Onion Friend: another Onion episode; addresses how Amethyst feels regarding the current situation, but other than that nothing worthwhile.

b. Historical Friction: Jamie puts on a play and some gem stuff is involved; no action, but tells us about the Gems’ history

8. Friend Ship

a. Nightmare Hospital: mostly about Connie and her mom; some cool scary bits, but skippable.

b. Sadie’s Song: entirely about Sadie and how her mom makes her feel; skip if you don’t care much for Sadie.

9. Catch and Release

10. When It Rains

11. Back to the Barn

a. Too Far: develops Peridot and Amethyst’s relationship, and develops Peridot’s character, but not enough to make this episode necessary

12. The Answer

a. Steven’s Birthday: fun episode, but ultimately contributes nothing

13. It Could’ve Been Great

14. Message Received

a. Log Date 7 15 2: shows how Peridot got to where she is (as a character) and fills in some holes between Catch and Release and Message Received; fun and worth watching but skippable regardless

-------------------

Season 3

1. Super Watermelon Island

2. Gem Drill

3. Same Old World

4. Barn Mates

5. Hit the Diamond

a. Steven Floats: introduces new power but not much else

b. Drop Beat Dad: Explains where Greg gets his money, and I guess if you’re a Sour Cream fan watch this one? Skip if you’re not. 

6. Mr. Greg

7. Too Short To Ride

a. The New Lars: focuses on Lars mostly, but Sadie also shows up at one point; skip if you don’t care about them.

b. Beach City Drift: watch if you like Stevonnie; skip if you don’t really care.

c. Restaurant Wars: pointless fight between the pizza shop family and the fry stand family. I guess if you like food watch this one, but you can skip this one.

d. Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service: focuses on certain member’s of the pizza family. Skippable, but watch if you like pizza I guess.

8. Monster Reunion

9. Alone at Sea

a. Greg the Babysitter: a “stories of the past” episode where Rose shows up; nothing important really happens though

b. Gem Hunt: a certain character makes a return, but not until the end of the episode; skippable

10. Crack the Whip

a. Steven vs. Amethyst: develops their relationship but skippable overall

11. Bismuth

12. Beta 

13. Earthlings

14. Back to the Moon

15. Bubbled

-------------------

Season 4

a. Kindergarten Kid: Looney Tunes-esque episode; fun but skippable

b. Know Your Fusion: certain fusions return but still skippable

c. Buddy’s Book: shows off more of the Gems’ history and has Rose in it; still skippable despite all this since none of it is super important.

2. Mindful Education

a. Future Boy Zoltron: skippable since it focuses on Mr. Smiley and a former colleague; watch if you want to see some fun interactions.

b. Last One Out of Beach City: fun episode and shows some of Pearl’s development, but still skippable.

c. Onion Gang: it’s an Onion episode so: skippable.

d. Gem Harvest: Thanksgiving episode; reveals Steven’s real last name but nothing else important.

3. Three Gems and a Baby

4. Steven’s Dream

5. Adventures in Light Distortion

6. Gem Heist

7. The Zoo

8. That Will Be All

a. The New Crystal Gems: shows us what Connie, Lapis and Peridot did while Steven was in space. Nothing really happens so just skip this one.

9. Storm in the Room

a. Rocknaldo: features Ronaldo once again and is arguably one of the worst episodes. Thankfully, it’s skippable.

b. Tiger Philanthropist: callback to an older episode; doesn’t contribute anything to the current plot

10. Room for Ruby

a. Lion 4: Alternate Ending: goes no where and contributes nothing; reveals possible name for Steven if he was a girl though so...cool I guess? Skip it.

11. Doug Out

a. The Good Lars: develops Lars’ character a little, but not much else

12. Are You My Dad

13. I Am My Mom

-------------------

Season 5

a. Stuck Together: Steven and Lars’ relationship develops further along with Lars’ character; some dramatic moments make it an overall a good episode, but you can skip it if you want.

1. The Trial

2. Off Colors

3. Lars’ Head

a. Dewey Wins: Steven realizes why Connie’s upset with him; saved you from watching Mayor Dewey for almost eleven minutes.

b. Gemcation: another good episode, but skippable regardless.

4. Raising the Barn

a. Back to the Kindergarten: shows how Peridot feels after a certain event, but nothing else really happens.

b. Sadie Killer: Sadie starts a band and that’s it. Skip if you don’t care much for Sadie.

c. Kevin Party: watch for character drama and one resolution, but skip if you can’t stand Kevin.

5. Lars of the Stars

6. Jungle Moon

7. Your Mother and Mine

a. The Big Show: a Sadie’s band episode; skippable

b. Pool Hopping: shows off Garnet’s fears and insecurities but is still skippable

c. Letters to Lars: basically amounts to Dewey finding his place in town after losing his job; nothing else so just skip this one.

8. Can’t Go Back

9. A Single Pale Rose

10. Now We’re Only Falling Apart

a. What’s Your Problem: develops Steven and Amethyst’s relationship further; skip if you want, but it’s a good episode to watch.

11. The Question

12. Made of Honor

13. Reunited

14. Legs From Here To Homeworld

15. Together Alone

a. Escapism: shows how Steven contacts the B-team but overall just feels kind of out of place? Skip if you want.

16. Change Your Mind (four parts; almost an hour long btw)

  -------------------

Watch Steven Universe: The Movie if you plan on watching Steven Universe: Future

 -------------------

Steven Universe: Future

1. Little Homeschool

a. Guidance: skippable since nothing in this episode is mentioned ever again. Smoky Quartz is in it though so watch if you like her.

2. Rose Buds

3. Volleyball

a. Bluebird: introduces Greg’s new look and a new fusion that’s never brought up again.

b. A Very Special Episode: fun episode but contributes nothing to the overall story.

4. Snow Day

a.  Why So Blue: shows other Lapis Lazulis and shows us how far Lapis has really come; watch if you’re a Lapis fan, but skip if you want.

b. Little Graduation: skip if you never really cared too much about any of the human characters since this is mostly about them.

c. Prickly Pair: downer of an episode; no one ever mentions anything that’s said in this episode, but check it out if you wanna see Steven more of Steven’s plant powers!

6. In Dreams

7. Bismuth Casual

8. Together Forever

9. Growing Pains

a. Mr. Universe: Greg’s history is revealed but doesn’t contribute much so skip if you don’t really care about that too much.

10. Fragments

11. Homeworld Bound

12. Everything’s Fine

13. I Am My Monster

14. The Future

And that’s it! I guess let me know if this list was helpful or not, but other than that: I hope you enjoy Steven Universe!

[grailbot143]

Welcome Back Everyone!

Thank @daiskken for this week's artwork! I really love the style of this picture.

As I was not the biggest fan of last week’s episode and had every intention of wiping it entirely from my memory, this week, we are going to do something a little different. Instead of a recap of last week, we are going to focus on:

Briefcap Beach Party

Consolidated lingering Questions The Steven Universe World Characters Places Things Likes and Dislikes So Far Briefcap from Steven Universe: Beach Party (S1:Ep18)

Beach Party opens with the Gems fighting a Blowfish. Steven throws his boogie board to try to distract it for Garnet. Garnet gets blown into town where she destroys the front of the pizzeria. Amethyst turns into a baseball bat and hits the blowfish out to the ocean. The Gems argue with each other. Mr. Pizza gets upset about the pizzeria. The Gems go home. Kofi tells Steven the Gems are banned. He goes home to tell them because he's so sad.

Steven sets up a really boring beach party to bring the Pizzas and Gems together. The Gems dress appropriately at Steven's behest. He pairs up the Gems with Pizzas for a volleyball game that dwindles into a cheating match. . . . I told some jokes.

The blowfish returns and Nanafua directs everybody through a really ridiculous fight and the blowfish is defeated. Kofi wraps up the episode faster than Dumbledore wrapped up the Sorcerer's Stone and about as haphazardly.

AND . . . Episode Over (thank goodness)

Episode Random Noticings

Fish Stew Pizza never got fixed.

Fish Stew Pizza still sounds disgusting.

Nanafua is commanding and the Gems are oddly compliant.

Consolidated lingering Questions

The Gems:

Where do they come from? How is power derived from them? Are all the gems the same, but act differently according to… something? How is magic embued into the gems? Who is chosen to wear them and why? Why is a pearl considered a gem? What about the gemmed enemies? How do they get gems? Or are they created out of gems? Assumption: each has unique powers, i.e., Amethyst can’t project a plan from her gem_ If the above assumption is correct, what exactly is Garnet’s superpower? What are Steven's powers? s Amethyst's strange relationship with gravity a po Who all can fu?se?w old are each of them? It’s suggested that they're centuries old. Amethyst acts a bit like a teenager. Is she that much younger than Pearl? Where does Garnet fall? Why is Steven the only boy? How many boy gems are there everywhere? Why is Garnet the boss? Is it because she's older and wiser?

The World:

The Lunar Sea Spire was known as the Oasis for Gems on Earth, so I know it’s Earth, but… Is it in the same Earth that we are in, but hidden from us, or some sort of alternate universe Are the gems ONLY on Earth? This would make the nomenclature Oasis for Gems on Earth redundant, so probably notar, everything seems to be happening in this town… are there other Gems in other towns? Like every town has a team of Crystal Gems protecting it? Or is this town some center for universal negativity, so the Gems are focused here? Why do people in anime scream out the names of their attacks? Where did Lion take Steven and Connie for training? Is that place, or a similar one, available to all gems? Do you need a familiar to take you there?

The House on the Beach:

This is more a curiosity, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the fight that took off that statues hands What is up with the living temple inside the house? Beating hearts, waterfalls, a pool for getting rid of evil spirits. Need much more history and understanding here. BTW, it's been more than 10 episodes and none of these have been answered. Why not? The Steven Universe World This is just a quick list of things that make this place unique… no explanations.

Townies:

What's up with Onion and his dad? Are they from some other place? Why would you make a place called Fish Stew Pizza? What is the name of the fry place?

Rose Quartz:

Why does Rose have to die to give Steven his superpowers? Is Rose even dead?? I don’t remember that explicitly being stated What would make her choose that? a prophesy? desire to give Greg a kid? gonna die anyway? Did she give up her gem to HAVE a kid or to EMBUE a kid with the gem? Did she get to KNOW Steven?

Lion:

What all does Lion know? How did he get his powers?

Characters

The Crystal Gems

Pearl Garnet Amethyst (dead?) Rose Quartz Steven

The Townsfolk

Sadie Lars FryMan PeeDee Fryman Rinaldo Fryman Greg Mailman Barb (not seen) Nanafua Pizza Kofi Pizza Jenny Pizza Kiki Pizza Sour Cream Buck Dewey Onion Onion's Dad Guy that runs the Arcade Suitcase Sam? Mayor Dewey

Monsters/Creatures

Centipeedles and their mother Red Eye (offscreen) A giant bird with a giant polka-dot egg The Spirit from the painting that possessed Together Breakfast The Crystal Shrimp (deceased) Frybo Steven with Cats The Eel that liked shiny stuff Lion Starfish Drills and their MOM? Giant Bird from Giant Woman The Geode Beetles from Heaven and Earth The carnivorous moss that turns into beautiful flowers Holo-Pearl Training Robot from the cavern Blow/Pufferfish Blood Polyp (offscreen)

Places

Around Town

Big Donut the fry shop the arcade the boardwalk Fish Stew Pizza Greg’s van the car wash the storage facility the Crystal Gem’s house on the beach Suitcase Sam's T-Shirt store Amusement Park Dock Wrestling Arena Movie Theatre (in town?) Pearl's favorite tree (deceased) Under the Ocean

Mystical

The Temple with a beating heart the storage unit? Greg said it was magical (destroyed) The Lunar Sea Spire the teleporter thing in Steven’s living room The Training Cavern Upside Pyramid in the Strawberry Fields Sand Castles that the Dessert Glass built The cave in Arcade Mania The Sky Spire The Lava place where Garnet retrieved the Geode Beetle of Earth Deadman's Mouth The cloud/Pillar place in Steven The Sword Fighter

Things

Gems

Rose Quartz 2 Garnets Amethyst (not a gem) Pearl Centipeedles’ Mothers gem (pants animating) Gem Shards (maybe? pretty sure) The Lunar Goddess Statue Eel's Gem Gem from Upside Down Pyramid Dessert Glass Starfish Mother Gem The ROC in Giant Woman Blowfish Gem

Mystical Items

Summoned Weapons Laser Light Cannon Red Eye? Lunar Goddess Statue Cursed Painting Replicator Wand (destroyed) Button in the Cavern (and all that stuff)

Food (as it’s seemingly important to our little hero)

(discontinued) Cookie Cats Fry Bits (Cat Fingers enjoy this too) Together Breakfast (offscreen) Pizza (unmentioned) Cupcakes in jars (not food) Cheeseburger backpack Donuts Fish Stew Pizza Giant Strawberries Margarine to slick hair back Sodas that he threw all over the place in Tiger Millionaire Coconuts Sandwich Cereal (Arcade Mania) Steven (for the bird in Giant Woman) Cake Aqua Mexico Burrito Cream Pies (more a prop than food) Bag of Chips Burger for Onion's Dad Seagull's banana peel and pizza Cheeseburger Backpack full of snacks for the movie Popcorn Hot Dogs Burgers (with a ridiculous amount of buns, lettuce, and silverware)

Likes and Dislikes Far

Dislikes

Not a fan of the important role junk food plays in the show I don’t relate to Steven much. He mostly annoys me. Why is there not a main antagonist? Are we going to be playing monster of the week forever? Surely we’ll get one antagonist we can loath… (this is still an issue 18 episodes in. . . ) Season 1: Episode 5 Frybo Season 1: Episode 18 Beach Party

Likes

I like that all the answers to everything are not conveniently packaged in an episode I like Garnet… and sometimes Amethyst… and I often relate to Pearl I like Greg and his super awesome van I like that it seemed like we landed in the middle of a life, rather than the beginning of a story. . . this continues to be true through every episode. I like the most of the townspeople and their relationships with Steven I appreciate that though there are some references a kid wouldn’t understand completely, there is so far no blatantly adult humor or sexuality even in undertones - still true after 18 episodes. . . I like the whole living temple thing - but it is frustrating that we have only explored it once and so many questions remain. I like Connie alot. She is funny and smart and a perfect non-super for the story. I like the random swords sticking up in multiple places. I like arcade games. . . I like that there are so many details in the background like everywhere . . . and it's obvious the creators are nerds I like Sour Cream

I just want to remind everyone, I write these recaps after having only seen the episode once, a week ago, and often interrupted by my whole blogging thing. I mainly do it for myself to refresh my memory for the next episode, but since I post it, I thought I should ask your forgiveness if it isn’t exactly perfect (or even close). Don't forget if you have a submission for artwork for today's episode, submit before Friday using the link above, and I'll pick one to use as the cover art.

[love-takes-work]

Best Buds Together Fun Outline & Review

Best Buds Together Fun is a lovely little activity book...with a few Easter Eggs for fans!

This activity book is for child fans of Steven Universe (and, well, maybe for some of us who aren't so much children). Most of the quizzes and activities are lighthearted little amusements for kids, and there are paper cutouts to play with, but as usual with Steven Universe materials, there are also a few tidbits of information that might be enlightening to overanalytical fans like yours truly.

As in most of the other books, the outfits for the Gems flip flop between older and newer outfits, which just by itself makes you wonder "when" in the continuity this book fits, and then on top of that there are many references to Homeworld Gems as "villains" even though at the time of the book's release, two of the former villains are on friendly terms with the Crystal Gems.

If Peridot is still a villain for purposes of this book, it probably can be placed somewhere between episodes 67 and 68. (I say 68 because it also has a reference to Connie still wearing her glasses even though she doesn't need them, and she stops doing that after 68.) The cover features Steven and Connie high-fiving in the foreground, with a background of Pearl and Garnet in their beach outfits from "Beach Party" (with Amethyst as their beach ball).

Here's an overview of what you can find in the book. At the end I list glitches or especially interesting bits for SU nerds.

☆ Crystal Gems ☆

Steven and the Gems welcome you, encourage you to be a Crystal Gem even though you don't have Gem powers, and provide you with a detailed table of contents festooned with Crying Breakfast Friends stickers, stars, and Cookie Cats. You're then invited to fill out personal info and pick a Gem to become part of the team (potentially based on your birthstone; mine's Garnet!), and then there are some cutouts of the Crystal Gems with stands so you can put them on your desk.

They also have some catch phrases in talk bubbles that you can put beside them. Pearl's is "Some of us are trying to protect humanity" (from "Laser Light Cannon"); Steven's is "I am pretty great!" (from "So Many Birthdays"); Amethyst's is "Chill it, dude" (from "Cat Fingers"), and Garnet's is "Don't hold back!" (from "Lars and the Cool Kids"). And then you can draw yourself (with a star on your clothes, they instruct) so you can be part of the team. Cute!

Then there's a Fusion activity. You get to write about who you'd like to fuse with and do a quiz to make sure you know your Crystal Gem Fusions, featuring Alexandrite, Stevonnie, Garnet, Opal, Sugilite, and Sardonyx. Nice to see Sardonyx here! She was left out of the Guide to the Crystal Gems, presumably because it was unknown whether her reveal episode would have been released by the time the book was (it had been). And finally, there's a quiz about each Crystal Gem. Four questions each test your knowledge of Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, and Steven.

☆ Beach City ☆

Next up, Beach City. First, there's a map for when you come to Beach City! Beach City businesses are featured next, with a maze to solve to help Steven get fry bits from Beach Citywalk Fries and an empty plate on which to draw your own pizza from Fish Stew Pizza. Then there's a Ronaldo page encouraging you to discuss what weird stuff happens in YOUR hometown.

And for the Big Donut, you get a job application so you can work with Lars and Sadie. Answer honestly!

Next we're off to Funland Arcade where you can design a video game, and there's a search activity to find certain items in Greg's U Stor unit.

☆ Humans ☆

Human characters are next on the list. We get a picture of some of the human characters with hints, and then there's a Connie quiz and a Greg quiz, and there's a place to write a "killer song" like the one Greg had to win Rose Quartz's heart.

☆ Villains ☆

Next, we have a section for the villains. Cutouts for Peridot, Lapis Lazuli, and Jasper come first, with stands for them and some accessories for Peridot. These guys also get talk bubbles: Peridot's say "They're the ones that keep breaking my machines!" (from "The Return") and "You clods don't know what you're doing!" (from "Jailbreak"); Jasper's says "Why are you so weak?" (from "The Return"), and Lapis Lazuli's says "I'm tired of being everyone's prisoner. Now you're my prisoner, and I'm never letting you go!" (from "Jailbreak").

There's a place for you to record and retaliate against a Homeworld attack message, and then you're supposed to write about your fears and draw a monster. Next we see a mirror like Lapis's where you're supposed to write the story of another mirror-trapped Gem and give it a name, as well as your own intentions toward it. And then there are images of opponents the Gems have fought for you to write in their names.

☆ Objects ☆

The next section seems to be about objects. The next activity has a collection of objects that belong to characters (including less obvious ones, like a pile of junk from Amethyst's room!), and you're supposed to identify who the items belong to.

Then we have a Warp Pad Connections page where you play squares, then a list of what you'd pack for a trip in your Cheeseburger Backpack. Then there's a shot of Amethyst's room (from "So Many Birthdays") where you compare one picture with another to spot the differences.

☆ Adventure ☆

The next section is adventure themed. The next activity is a memory test; you look at a picture and then answer questions on the next page. It's reasonably difficult since some of the questions aren't super straightforward (e.g., what weapons are the Gems using? They aren't!).

Then you get to fill out specifics of your perfect celebration party on becoming a Crystal Gem, and draw a comic about your own first Gem adventure (helped along by stills from the show--Steven with star eyes and Steven packing helpful items from "Cheeseburger Backpack," the Gems collectively attacking and Garnet's reluctant face from "Marble Madness," a crowd scene of humans from "Ocean Gem," and the "congratulations" scene of Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst from "The Test"). And there's a board game you play with penny markers and coin tosses, with bonuses and setbacks themed from the show.

You also get to do a Mad Libs style fill-in adventure like "Garnet's Universe," a word search of SU-associated words, decode a message, and come up with imaginative social media status updates you think the characters would have.

There's a coloring page for the Crystal Gems, a journal page for your adventure, a place to draw your dream home, and a choice of activities to do with your best buddy. You can cut out a Steven-themed door hanger, and fill out info about your family, and plan a family meal and discussion, and document your family history.

☆ Join the Team ☆

And finally, you get to cut out your honorary Crystal Gem certificate and check your answers in the back. I thought the "answer" to your Big Donut application being an illustration of Lars saying "Hmm, we'll review your answers and get back to you!" was really cute.

☆ Notable bits and questions: ☆

1. In the Garnet quiz, you're asked to pick the component Gems of her Fusion. The choices are all familiar Gems except in two answers "Turquoise" is an option. It made me wonder if there will someday be a character named Turquoise.

2. In the Pearl quiz, you're asked to guess how old Pearl is. The only possible answer that makes sense is "several thousand years." They're not nailing her age down yet, but we know the youngest she could possibly be is around 9,000--she once claimed she was "only a few thousand years old" when she began fighting alongside Rose Quartz, and we see her doing so in an episode that took place 5,750 years ago, so even if that was the earliest she started fighting with Rose, she was a few thousand years old by that point.

3. I like that they put quotation marks around the word "born" when referring to a Gem being made.

4. One of the Steven quiz questions asks for the name of Steven's rock band. One of the multiple-choice answers is "REO Steve Wagon." Another one is "The Rolling Gem Stones." Oh my god. (Do you have to be old to get these?)

5. The Beach City map is cool--I wish there had been a way to include it in a bigger format. I have actually seen the high-res art version of this and it's so much better if you can really read everything. It has references to old docks that were destroyed, which roads go into Beach City (SR 13, I-95, toward 1A), and plenty of locations both familiar and unmentioned in the show. The peninsula Beach City is on in Delmarva is bordered by Rehoboth Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The map features a compass rose--you know, with actual roses on it and Rose Quartz's symbol. Nice touch.

6. One of the images on Ronaldo's page purports to picture a psychic duck. It kinda looks like a Psyduck from Pokémon.

7. The U Stor search is interesting. Most of the items really were pictured in Greg's storage unit at some point. I was particularly interested in the fact that the mysterious totem pole was in there, and it was reproduced as it is in the show. It's a weird item, with one face that looks like it has Rose's shield, one face that looks like it has Jasper's Gemstone, and the top face looking like one of the birds from "Giant Woman." Some of the items actually are difficult to find, which is nice, and though it asks you to find a Mr. Universe record album, the thing that's there is actually a CD.

8. In the section where you fill in the names of the show's humans, the show refers to them as "Boardies." Connie technically isn't a Boardie--she doesn't even live in Beach City.

9. The book refers to fry bits as "Steven's favorite food." I think there have been several different foods that are his favorites, but this is the first time I've seen one specifically called out to be THE favorite. Surprised it's not Cookie Cats.

10. Peridot's villain cutout, featuring her with her limb enhancers, also has a couple robonoids and some mysterious star-shaped objects. They look almost identical to the drill parasites from "Arcade Mania." That's peculiar because those were "children" of the Gem Cave Creature, not a piece of Homeworld technology.

11. In the section where you're supposed to write out the names of opponents the Crystal Gems have fought, two of them are corrupted Gem monsters and their names are kind of arbitrary descriptions, not officially assigned in the show. In the supplemental materials associated with these characters, they're called the Ice Monster (from "Monster Buddies") and Watermelon Tourmaline (from "Beach Party"), but the answer key calls the latter "Giant Puffer Fish." (The characters never call the Ice Monster anything; they just fight it.)

12. In the Spot the Differences activity in Amethyst's room, the answer key is slightly incomplete. The key shows five differences: 1. A cup that's labeled "#1 Gem" vs. "#1 Dad"; 2. Pearl's hair color; 3. Amethyst's knee star color; 4. A moon replica that's there in one shot and is gone in the other; and 5. A dark object that's next to Steven's feet in one shot but not in the other. It's a little petty, but the bottom picture is also cropped just a little differently, so you can see a shred more of the image on the bottom picture's left side and a little less of it on the right.

13. The memory test where you answer questions after looking at a scene has a potentially misleading question. They ask you to name the colors of Pearl's clothes, and the answer key only has blue, pink, and green. The star on her chest is also yellow.

14. The mini board game is cute, but it would be hard to play in the book because it doesn't lie flat and the board area would need to be open flatly enough to put penny markers on. You'd have to pull out the pages.

Activity squares give you a bonus for finding Cookie Cats at the store (but wait, they're discontinued!), set you back if you lose some of your GUYS (featuring two Dave Guys), give you a bonus if you win a singing contest at Beach-A-Palooza (even though the talent show does not appear to actually be a contest in the show), set you back if you're attacked by clones of yourself like in "Steven and the Stevens," give you a bonus if you fuse with the other Gems (whoa! the space features Alexandrite), give you a bonus for using a Warp Pad, set you back if your homemade spaceship falls apart like in "Space Race," and have you win if you're first to get back to the Temple.

15. The "choose an activity and then make plans to do the activity" page is funny since some of them aren't possible. I mean, sure I can choose between volleyball and football, or going to an amusement park vs. going to the movies, or reading a book vs. playing with toys, or riding a bike vs. a unicycle, or going to school vs. going shopping. But I'm afraid I can't make plans to fly like a bird or swim like a fish, fuse with Pearl or Amethyst, or fight a Gem Monster or Homeworld Gem. And I can't choose between Cookie Cats or Lion Lickers, since neither exists in my world and Cookie Cats are discontinued in Steven's world! Waaah!

16. The "family portrait" illustrations in the family section surprised me! The Rose Quartz portrait is well known to fans, but the image of Greg with his arm around Steven and the Gems posing around him is new! So is the image of Steven on Garnet's shoulders with all the Gems waving at you congratulating you for becoming a Crystal Gem. It's cute.

And your congratulatory certificate is signed by the Gems. Pearl has loopy cursive and Amethyst has blocky print as you'd expect, but Garnet's signature is uncharacteristically elegant; it's a little tighter but just as fancy as Pearl's. You'd expect it to be a little bolder, knowing Garnet. So this was cool to see.

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

[letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked]

Found

Steve Rogers X Reader Soulmate AU

A/N: I know I said I was going to bed, but ERMERGERD!! I finally hit 200 followers!! I have been obsessing over Soulmate AUs, lately, so I figured what a great time to try and bang one out! A special occasion fluff piece! Thank you so much for those who have followed me! 200 may not be a lot to some of you, but it is a huge milestone for me!

Summary: Soulmates are born with their partner’s name tattooed over their heart. What happens when the reader is born with a famous missing Captain America’s name?

Warnings: A poor deer gets hit by a car, minor accident, very little injury and blood.

Word Count: About 1700 words (more or less)

Masterlist

Steven Grant Rogers.

When I was born, my parents and doctors were astonished. Captain America had been presumed dead since the forties, making it an impossible scenario at the time. History books never mentioned that he had a name tattooed over his heart. He hadn’t made that information public. I guess soulmates were considered controversial at that period of time, since there was not a lot of information about it.

“You mustn’t let anybody know who your soulmate is, Y/N.” My father always warned, failing to hide the fear laced in his voice. “You don’t want the wrong people to know this piece of information. It could do a lot of damage and get you hurt.”

So, I covered up the delicate writing. Foundation and high-cut shirts became my life-line. I never told anybody that I had a soulmate, and people didn’t question me. Not everybody’s born with a soulmate, anyways.

The world is cruel. I would rather have had no soulmate, instead of a dead one.

I had gotten pretty good at hiding my tattoo, and refused to let the sting of knowing I would never meet my other half get me down. I had graduated high school with honors, graduated from a great college, and got a job as a nurse in a local hospital in New York. I loved my job. I worked really hard to have a good life, and enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing that I was helping people.

Then he was found. He was alive.

I was sitting in the break room, talking to one of my colleagues about an upcoming vacation I’d planned, when someone had shouted to turn on the TV.

Captain America Alive – Frozen in time!

The headlines all said it.

My heart almost stopped beating. He was alive. After all this time. He was alive.

I ran to the restroom to call my mother. “Did you see the television?” I all but shouted, hands shaking.

“I did.” She responded, a smile in her voice. “He’s alive, after all this time.”

“What do I do? I don’t want to freak him out! I’m sure waking up in a different era after being frozen is hard enough, without adding me into the mix.” I sat down on the counter, next to the sink. I needed to think this through, before making any rash decisions. I was overjoyed. I was nervous. I was hurt. I had spent my whole life believing that I was never going to meet my other half. Thinking that the universe was playing a cruel joke on me by giving me the name of a dead man.

I had been wrong after all this time.

“It’s up to you, sweetheart. You need to be the one to make the decision.” I could faintly hear the television in the background of the phone. “If you really want to meet him, you don’t need to do it today. Do it in your own time.”

So that’s what I did. I waited. Three years.

I had followed what he was doing through the news and social media, over time. He had joined a group that called themselves The Avengers, and was trying to do some good in the world.

I was trying to get my life in order, before I met him. I was paying off my student loans, I was working a lot, and I had moved closer to Stark Tower – now called The Avengers Tower – to be close when I was ready to talk to him.

After a particularly grueling day at the hospital – a twelve hour shift – I was supposed to be making my way to see my parents for an upcoming birthday. I was tired. It was really late at night, and I was skipping the set-up with my mother, since the party was the next day. It was a gross night, the rain was coming down in sheets, and it was way too cold. I had been wearing my scrubs, but the shirt was too dirty, so I was driving with my scrub pants and a tank top, making sure the heat in my car cranked up.

Luckily, traffic was pretty light, but the rain was not letting up.

“What the hell! Pass me, asshole.” I muttered, looking in my rearview mirror at a giant SUV behind me. “What, are you trying to pick your goddamn teeth in my mirror?”

My eyes had only flicked to the SUV for a second, but when I looked forward all I saw were a pair of shining eyes.

DEER! SHIT!

I gasped, slamming the brakes as the deer was tumbling onto my hood and smashing into my windshield. My body was forced forward, and my face made contact with the steering wheel. My foot felt like it was forcing my body weight onto the brake, and I threw my car in park, praying I was on the side of the road. “God dammit.” I yelled, bringing my hand up to my throbbing nose, and it came away sticky with blood. I felt it, and – luckily – it hadn’t been broken.

Shit. My windshield was fucked.

The deer!

I clicked off my seatbelt, throwing open my door. Before I climbed out, I grabbed my dirty scrub shirt, pressing it against my face to soak up the bleeding.

“Woah, are you sure you want to be getting out of the car, right now?” A woman’s voice said from a few feet behind my car. “Are you okay?”

My windshield was splattered with blood and hair, and the car was totaled. “Fuck! So much for paying off my car!” This fucking sucks.

I turned to the woman, and froze in my tracks. I would recognize that red hair anywhere. Natasha Romanoff? The Black fucking Widow? “Uhh, I’m fine. I just hit my nose. It’s bleeding, but it isn’t-”

HOLY SHIT.

The passenger door to the SUV opened, revealing none other than him. Captain America.

He was a lot bigger in person. He was tall, broad, and handsome. His hair was so golden blonde, but dirty at the same time. And his blue eyes stood out from his clear, attractive face. They were the most beautiful shade of blue I had ever seen.

Oh, God, I’m freaking out…

Oh, shit. You were talking, Y/N.

“-It isn’t broken. I’m more pissed about my car.” I shivered, rain making the cold seep into my exposed flesh, and shock of the accident waring off. “I just need to call a tow.”

“I already called one, Ma’am.” His perfect voice flooded my ears, and I had to stop myself from embarrassing myself by swooning. “Are you sure you’re okay? That’s a lot of blood.”

I nodded, using the soiled scrub shirt to wipe the blood from my face and chest. I tossed it into the car and grabbed my umbrella to block off the rain, “D-did they say how long they would be?”

“Twenty Minutes.” He responded, unzipping his hoodie and tossing it to me, “Take this. You don’t want to catch a cold.” Such a gentleman.

I was so focused on not embarrassing myself in front of Steve, that I didn’t notice Natasha eyeing up my badge and my half-wiped makeup over my tattoo. “Hey, Steve.” She looked over, beckoning him closer. “Check out the name on her badge.”

My heart stopped beating. Oh, shit. My eyes were almost bugging out of my head, and I could tell that she knew exactly whose name was tattooed over my heart.

“Y/N Y/L/N?” He read aloud, voice questioning. His head sprung up, looking serious and taken aback, “Your middle name wouldn’t be Y/M/N, would it?”

I smiled sheepishly, taking my sleeve and wiping the rest of the dripping foundation off my chest, “Hi.”

“Hi.” He smiled, a look of relief on his face. “You’re my soulmate.”

I felt my face blush, and I bit my lip – heat radiating off my cheeks as he walked up to me, “And you’re mine.”

“Why didn’t you say anything, before?” He questioned as Natasha walked back over to the SUV.

I wrung my hands together, nervousness taking over my body, “Well, uh, I don’t know. I mean, it’s pretty surreal seeing you in person and not on the news.” I wrapped his hoodie tighter around my body, “Plus, I mean, I thought you were dead my whole life, so I never exactly planned out what I would say the first time I ever met you.”

His face fell, “I’m sorry. I had my whole life before the ice thinking about meeting you, and you spent yours thinking that I was never going to be with you.” He gently grabbed my hand, leaving my other one free so I could hold the umbrella. “I’ve had a whole speech planned since I knew what this tattoo meant, and I’ve forgotten every line.” He chuckled, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. “I’m happy to finally meet you, Doll. You’re beautiful.”

I cleared my throat, “You’re not so bad yourself, Captain.” Oh my god, he isn’t disappointed. Thank god.

“You can call me by my name, you know.” He winked, leaning against my dripping car. “So, do you want to go get some coffee, or something?”

“Oh, shoot!” I pulled my hand out of his, and leaned back into my car to grab my phone, “I was on my way to my parents’ house for a birthday that’s supposed to be tomorrow.” I quick texted my mother, letting her know that I was going to be late without going into details. “I would love, some coffee, though.”

He chuckled, running his hand through his wet hair, “Why don’t we leave Natasha with your car, and I’ll take you to your parents’ house? We can stop for coffee on the way?”

“Sure, that sounds lovely.” I was so relieved that he wasn’t disappointed. I had always dreamed of meeting my other half. This was not a dream, this was reality – and I was so ecstatic, I could cry.

Natasha came over, tossing Steve the keys to the SUV and my suitcase from the back seat. “You kids have fun, I’ll have this towed back to the tower. Make Stark pay for it.”

Steve ushered me over to the vehicle, opening my door and taking my umbrella from me. He jogged over to the driver’s side door and closed my umbrella, hopping in and starting up the SUV.

As he pulled back onto the highway, his right hand took hold of my left, “I am really glad I found you, Doll.”

Another blush crept its way over my skin, and I gave his hand a little squeeze, “I’m really glad I found, you, too.”

As we rode, I felt a sense of happiness spread through me. My soulmate had finally found me, and I’d finally found him.

My heart felt complete.

I could finally show my tattoo to the world.

Steven Grant Rogers.

My soulmate.

TAGS: (I do forever tags, whoever wants to join the party!)

@luckynumber1213 @mrsnegan25

[danguy96]

I’m Back From Beauty and the Beast 2k17

So, how did I enjoy it?

Well, here’s the short version:

It wasn’t as good as the Cinderella and Jungle Book remakes, but it wasn’t as bad as the Maleficent spin-off or the 2010 Alice in Wonderland film. It’s a mixed bag of good, bad, and meh.

For the long version, I’ll leave it under a “read more”, with a list of things I liked, didn’t like, or was neutral to, as well as how it could’ve been better.

Also, SPOILERS, obviously.

Things I liked:

 Starting off, a lot of the songs which aren’t sung by Emma Watson are pretty good, for the most. “Gaston” and “Be Our Guest” actually made the film worthwhile, and are as much a treat to view as they are to hear. The score itself is great as well, and Alan Menken really outdid himself in recreating many of the pieces of music he created with the late, great Howard Ashman.

Most of the supporting cast fit their roles pretty well, and if the CGI on the enchanted house staff gets a little freaky at times (yeah, I know that that’s the point, but you have to admit that it does creep into uncanny valley more than a bit, to say the least).

I like some of the set designs for the town and the castle, particularly the tavern where Gaston hangs out, as well as the ballroom during the iconic dance scene (though, the original will always be better).

Luke Evans makes a good choice for Gaston, being hammy enough when he needs to, as well as serving his role as being a villain. I also like it that he’s also a war hero and former army captain as well as a hunter, since it gives another reason for the town to worship and follow him. Though, they do exaggerate some of his womanizing and more negative traits (he was already a misogynistic asshole and a braggart in the original, but here, when LeFou tries to help him find his “happy place”, said “happy place” is implied to involve romancing the widows of fallen soldiers) which makes his descent to a full-blown villain go quicker than the original. I’ll explain it more later.

Yes, even though it is implied that LeFou may be gay or bi in this version, Josh Gad still delivers some funny moments, and he does manage to pull off Gaston’s song pretty well. Also, the gay/bi implications don’t really go beyond a few jokes of his giant man-crush on Gaston (or is it just a regular crush in this version?), and that “gay moment” is just him dancing with another man near the end. Not really much to fuss over, and I think Disney should’ve kept it a surprise and not said anything, because the punchline would’ve been more effective that way.

I do appreciate how they tried to solve some the more questionable issues in the original, like Maurice apparently taking all Winter to go back to Belle and the castle, or how the Beast was apparently cursed at 11 years old, since the rose would “bloom until his 21st year” (if I were the original story writers, I would’ve made it his “25th year” or just left the years vague like in the stage version), and they’ve apparently all been cursed for 10 years, or how the villagers don’t know that there’s a giant castle near them. In this version, they clear the season problem up by making the castle and the area surrounding it trapped in a permanent Winter, and it’s a part of the curse, which is a change I don’t really feel that strongly for or against. They also establish that, like in the stage musical of the Disney version, that the rose would “bloom for many years”, and that the Prince was in his late teens or so when he was first cursed (though, the king is still apparently dead when he was first cursed in this version as well). The reason why the villagers don’t know about the giant castle is that part of Agathe the Enchantresses’ curse is that the memories of the people were erased, and would only be restored if the spell was broken (Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth are also apparently married in this version, but their spouses were villagers who had the memories tampered with until they restored at the end). Also, like the musical, it’s said that the castle inhabitants are also cursed because they were partly responsible in making the Prince the way he was by spoiling him, and doing nothing to stop his descent into cruelty. it’s still harsh, yes, but at least it’s a reason.

I kind of like how they to expand upon why the Beast grew up to be “spoiled, selfish, and unkind”, as well as trying to make parallels to him and Belle, such as the Beast having once been an avid reader like Belle, and both of them having dead mothers, and having fathers who helped made them who they are, but I feel they could’ve expanded upon it more, as well as expanded on how the Beast’s father became so harsh after the death of the queen.

I also like the little nods to the original fairy tale, such as how Maurice gets in trouble for unknowingly stealing a rose from the Beast’s garden, or how the village is named “Villeneuve”, after the author of the original, unabridged version of the fairy tale, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.

Things I Didn’t Like/Didn’t Care For/Was Mixed On:

 Since you’ve all probably been waiting for this, let me just it out of the way that Emma Watson’s Belle... well, it’s not terrible, but it’s not exactly good, either. It’s just kind of bland, and I still don’t think she was the right girl for the part to play Belle. Her acting is sort of “meh”, outside of when she cries over the short-lived death (no pun intended) of the Beast, and her singing voice just sounds weak compared to everyone else who sings in this movie, especially since it’s slightly auto-tuned (it’s not completely apparent in the film, but it is more noticeable in the soundtrack). Watson just doesn’t really seem to display the same warmth, wit, or sense of adventure Paige O’Hara or Susan Egan (the original Broadway Belle, who is also the voice of Megara in Disney’s Hercules and Rose Quartz in Steven Universe) brought to the character (this goes for the many other actresses who’ve played Belle on the stage as well, and what they brought to the table), and it leaves what could’ve been a great movie feeling weaker because of such a subdued protagonist.

I know that it’s implied that Maurice is still an inventor in this version as well, but he just spends his time preoccupied with building music boxes and other gadgets because he’s getting on in years, but I really still think they should’ve said that out loud and not just have Belle be the inventor. Hell, if I made the film, I would’ve made them both inventors, and added lines like “my father taught me to do this” or something, because I can’t see why they’re can’t be both an eccentric old man who’s an inventor, as well as his more down-to-earth daughter who was taught nearly everything he knows. That actually sounds like a pretty good idea on it’s own. While Maurice isn’t completely useless now, it’s just something that “burns my beehive” more than a little.

While I do like how they made some things more clear and spelled-out in this version, one thing which I feel was better off being not as emphasized as much was the sexism of the time period. Not that I’m not aware that the original film implied stuff about how women were looked down on during the time period the story took place (”It’s not right for women to read. Soon they start getting ideas and thinking.”), but it was subtle in doing so without feeling too heavy-handed. The scene where Belle is looked down on for reading to a young girl, when only boys are allowed to attend school, just feels as subtle as an anvil landing with a smash on your head. It’s not full-on Tumblr-esque, but it could’ve been at least more subtle.

While I still like Luke Evans’ Gaston for the most part in this, I still liked the original where Gaston’s first plan was to have Maurice thrown in an insane asylum better. Here, Gaston initially goes with Maurice to try and find Belle, but he ends up thinking that Maurice is just crazy and made it up. After yelling at the old man, Maurice tells Gaston that Belle will never marry him, so Gaston knocks out Maurice unconscious and leaves him for dead, only for the disguised Enchantress to come and save Maurice (yes, she’s not just in the prologue, and it’s implied that she showed Maurice the path to the castle). After returning to the village, Maurice tries to tell everyone how Gaston tried to kill him, but Gaston just claims that Maurice fabricated it like he did the Beast, and is just crazy, and then he and some of his gang try to send Maurice to the looney bin. I guess this added to not only extend the plot, but to also not accidentally create a misaimed fandom for Gaston, but it kind of seems like overkill to me.

While I admit that it was kind of tearjerking seeing the castle staff become full-fledged inanimate objects as the last petal falls, I’m still sort of mixed on seeing the Enchantress herself appear in disguise to lift the curse after Belle says “I love you” to the Beast. I would’ve had it that Belle would say “I love you” just right before the last falls, see the castle staff become inanimate, have the spell be lifted immediately after, and have the Enchantress look on in disguise in the background after the spell is lifted.

As I said before, I really like to know a bit more about the relationship between the Beast and his father, and explore how his father grew cold and harsh after the death of the Beast’s mother, and how that attitude molded the Beast into the selfish prince he was. Hell, It could’ve been a pretty good parallel to how both Belle and the Beast’s fathers helped shaped them into who they are. I know that a movie can only be so long, but it’s still a good story opportunity.

I feel like Belle trying to escape and the Beast not initially giving her a room (Lumiere and Cogsworth show her to her room in this version), are things which ween’t really needed. Just show Belle telling the Beast she’s not hungry behind the door, and continue the scene and story how it usually goes. Yeah, that would make it a shot-for-shot remake, but I’d rather that than have some scenes which miss the point of the story, and are only slightly excused because of a few admittedly cool musical numbers in the film.

Last, but not least, I will never get over how they made Belle’s iconic yellow dress look so plain-looking. After the Cinderella remake, and how beautiful they made Ella’s ball gown look, there’s no excuse for why they couldn’t do the same with Belle’s gown. And, no, Emma Watson not wanting to wear it because she didn’t to doesn’t count. She should’ve just sucked it up and worn an accurate recreation of Belle’s yellow dress, or should’ve not accepted the role if she knew she was going to wear a big, poofy dress. Hell, it’s not like she can’t be replaced, and I say that Disney should’ve just let her go after she started making one too many suggestions, and found another actress who’s not only more willing to wear the dress with as few alterations as possible, but who also has good, natural singing voice *coughAnnaKendrickcough*. Better yet, they could probably some fresh or little known talent to play the role of Belle, like how Lily Evans wasn’t really that much of a household name, but did a good job regardless.

Things I’m Neutral On:

I don’t know if it bears repeating, but I don’t really care if LeFou is heavily implied to be gay or bi in this version, because it’s as big a deal as the press or Disney making it out to be, since it’s just a few jokes which some people may or may not miss.

The look of the Beast is a weird issue for me. While I wish they went further with making him look more, well, beastly, like in the original animated version, it also appears that they’re trying to make him look a bit like the Beast from the French film version by Jean Cocteau (a version which heavily influenced the original), so the Beast looks inhuman, but not really as wild, as seen here:

Closing Thoughts:

Overall, while it’s not the worst remake or live-action spinoff Disney has done, there’s still a whole hell of a lot of room for improvement, to say the least. Some of the musical numbers were pretty good, and there’s some things I liked, but I don’t think I’m gonna be coming back to this remake as often as I come back to the original animated film or the stage musical. Hell, if I had my way, this movie would be a fusion of some of the stuff in the original, some of the stuff in the stage musical version (”Evermore” is nice song, but I prefer “If I Can’t Love Her” and it’s reprise as the songs fitting for the Beast), and some of the stuff I actually liked in this version. Also, my version of this remake would also include “Human Again”, and I remain one of the few people who actually really likes that song, and didn’t mind it being put in the Special Edition of the animated film.

For it’s rating, while I consider Cinderella to be a B+, this is either a C or a C-. Maybe a C+, and that’s being generous.

It may seem like I’m going a little too hard on this movie at places, but that’s because Disney has set a pretty high bar for these remakes with stuff like Cinderella and The Jungle Book being critically acclaimed and being big financial hits, and I hope that at least some of these remakes will at least try to live up to that standard. There may also be some as seeing me going too soft on this film because I like a few musical numbers, and that may true, but the reason I was being generous by giving it a C rating is that because I love this story so much, as well as having a soft spot for Disney, so I can’t bring myself to completely hate it, even with Emma Watson’s blandness.

Still, I at least that if this trend of remakes continues, they learn from their mistakes and try to keep things at the bar Cinderella and Jungle Book set, and also try not to have certain people have as much free range on the project.

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

Valley Girl (2018)

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Valley Girl (2018)

Valley Girl Release Date

  In Theaters June 29, 2018

Valley Girl Credits

Starring: Mae Whitman

Written By: Wayne Crawford, Andrew Lane, Jenny Lumet, and Amy Talkington

Directed By: Rachel Goldenberg

Produced By: Matt Smith and Steven J. Wolfe

Distributor: MGM

IMDB: Valley Girl on IMDB

If you’re excited for Valley Girl

Set to a new wave ’80s soundtrack, a pair of young lovers from different backgrounds defy their parents and friends to stay together. A musical adaptation of the 1983 film.

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[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 55*: Shirt Club

“This sounds like a very abstract problem.”

For fear of echoing Buck Dewey’s condescending assessment of Steven’s drawing, there’s just something endearing about a cartoon about making art. Animation as a medium is remarkable for how many types of artists are involved: for instance, Steven Universe exists as a collaboration between visual artists, writers, songwriters, actors, singers, composers, and instrumental musicians. It’s a crew that by necessity has a passion for art in many forms, and episodes like Shirt Club let this passion shine. (See also: James Baxter the Horse from Steven Universe’s big brother Adventure Time.)

Many of the artists behind Steven Universe have multiple roles: most famously, its storyboarders are also its scriptwriters. Some boarders even pull triple duty, like guitarist Jeff Liu and voice actor Lamar Abrams, who brings Buck to life. It’s fitting, then, that Shirt Club revolves around guitars and Buck as Steven navigates his way through the perils of publishing his art.

As sincere as this episode is, it’s also ridiculous. The final sequence of Steven as a faux assassin straight up shooting Mayor Dewey in the chest is absurd both as a situation within the show and as something that was allowed to be on the show itself, but sure enough, Steven Universe manages to give a lone gunman sniping spree an emotionally fulfilling resolution.

This scene proves a core lesson of the episode: just because something’s silly doesn’t mean it’s not art. Buck hits the nail on the head when praising Steven’s drawing for its sincerity and naïveté, even if he’s being a wad about it: the Guitar Dad shirt is awesome because it’s a pure expression of a kid looking up to a parent, even if that expression won’t win any medals for aesthetics (and because it won’t). Steven Universe doesn’t need to prove its artistic merits, and the episode is wise to avoid this path and devolving into meta defensiveness, but I appreciate how its structure demonstrates its message. 

That Buck recognizes Guitar Dad’s merits but sees its meaning in a negative light speaks volumes about his own relationship with his father, as well as the general adolescent obsession with irony. And let’s face it, Buck is mean in this episode. The other teenagers laugh at the shirt, but don’t necessarily laugh at the subject: Sour Cream is a bit of a jerk to Greg, but Jenny seems to honestly appreciate him even if she thinks he’s funny. Lars is easily swayed, having no opinion on the shirt but seeing the value in at least pretending to appreciate it (which certainly lumps him in with real-life folks who feign an appreciation for art for impress people, if you’ll allow me an overanalysis). But Buck is cruel in a way that’s uncomfortable, but not totally out of character.

In Lars and the Cool Kids, Buck is the most enigmatic of the Cool Kids, as per his mirroring of Garnet. As he repeatedly pulls the rug out from under Lars with a straight face, it’s hard to tell how much he’s intentionally messing with the guy. The same goes for his ordering salad at the Big Donut after examining its salad-free displays. He plays it so cool in both situations (and in general) that some of it has to be an act, and he’s perceptive enough that he has to notice Lars’s barefaced need to please, but he’s such a closed book that we can’t get a read on what’s in his head.

We see more of him in Shirt Club than ever before, and while he’s always been friendly to Steven, we really don’t know him all that well. His father’s an obvious sore spot, and seems to be the only thing that can make him completely crack, whether from embarrassment or being genuinely touched (or feeling remorse or feeling more embarrassed, a tear from this guy could mean anything). It makes for a fascinating “villain” when compared to our emotionally open hero, and he’s really the only kind of antagonist an episode like Shirt Club can have.

Regardless, the fact that Buck is still somewhat out of character (he’s utterly kind to Steven everywhere else in the series) is worth noting, because this is one of the last collaborations between storyboarders Lamar Abrams and Hellen Jo before the latter left Steven Universe. While this team is responsible for some terrific episodes and my all-time favorite scene of the series (the ending of Winter Forecast), they’re also behind House Guest and Fusion Cuisine, which are essentially about evil twins pretending to be Greg and Connie. 

For whatever reason, the Abrams/Jo team seems to enjoy bringing out the worst in beloved characters (or inventing negative traits out of nowhere) in ways that wildly diverge from their typical depictions. It allows for drama within a contained story, but in a way that clashes with the consistency of the series; with the exception of Island Adventure and its lesson that emotional and physical abuse is okay sometimes, these kinds of character-nuke episodes are my least favorite. Shirt Club is the best of these divergences by far, in that I can actually deduce Buck’s rationale and because he’s a mysterious character by design, but it’s still an unfortunate trend that happily gets ironed out as the show continues.

(Bear in mind that beyond letting us watch the snow fall, Abrams co-boarded The Answer and Chille Tid and When It Rains, and while it may be a coincidence that each contains a breathtaking scene of a character coming to grips with a scary new environment, I tend to think that he’s really good at framing them. He’s also the only boarder to work on every Onion episode; even if Onion Gang is a dud, Onion as a character certainly isn’t, and I get the feeling we mostly have Abrams to thank for that. I want to give no impressions that this isn’t a brilliant animator.)

Mayor Dewey and the Crystal Gems are here for comic relief, and oh boy do they deliver. Jo and Abrams are brilliant at giving the Gems incongruous background tasks: in Watermelon Steven it’s reading the paper, and here it seems to be assembling IKEA furniture. Their criticisms of Steven’s art and unwillingness to help his strange problem highlight Shirt Club’s casual tone, and they get little moments of self-parody without dipping too deep into meta humor: Garnet’s twinkling shades during a pregnant pause certainly counts, but Amethyst and Pearl’s escalating concerns about Steven’s shirt problem takes the cake.

Mayor Dewey is incredibly, but not unbelievably, lame. Between his outdated slang and his blatant desire to connect with youths (without putting in any actual effort) it’s easy to see Buck’s disdain. Bill’s speech about losing his speech is overshadowed by Steven setting up his sniping position, but is worth paying attention to for Joel Hodgson’s masterful meandering.

And despite his selfish and thoughtless intentions, actually seeing Buck and Steven making shirts is a bunch of fun. It evokes Steven and Greg’s adventures in rocket science from Space Race, but with the wrinkle of Buck demonstrating actual knowledge of the craft to contrast with Steven’s silliness. While the distribution and interpretation of art once it’s complete makes up the episode’s conflict, the creation process itself is joyful and pure, as it should be for a kid making art.

Buck comes around at the end, of course, apologizing to Steven and offering to take guitar lessons. But honestly, the nicer he is to Steven, the weirder his behavior here seems, whether or not he’s a mysterious guy. The best thing I can say about Abrams/Jo character-nuke episodes is that there’s only three of them, and finishing Shirt Club, from that lens, is a huge sigh of relief. 

Future Vision!

The Good Lars not only shows Buck wearing the Guitar Dad shirt, but showing off what he’s learned! And he’ll continue to play guitar as one of Sadie Killer’s Suspects, a band that will eventually be managed by Greg himself.

I guess you could read it that way…

On the one hand, watching this after Joy Ride makes Buck’s cruelty even stranger. But on the other, getting to know him better there, and Bill better in Political Power, makes an examination of their relationship a nice coda.

Tonally, Shirt Club simply doesn’t fit where it’s intended to go. Open Book and Story for Steven at least have their dramatic moments that fit the simmering tension of post-Marble Madness Season 1, but Shirt Club’s lightness thoroughly deflates the momentum. The Gems casually building furniture makes no sense in this time period, and Pearl and Amethyst’s list of fears don’t even hint at them worrying about Homeworld.

Still, the reordering leaves us with pre-Jailbreak Garnet, which is a little confusing without context. (I certainly prioritize this minor continuity error lower than harming dramatic tension.)

Regardless of your opinions about the order shift, I’m happy to say that Shirt Club is the last of it! No more asterisks!

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Buck’s strange meanness doesn’t tank Shirt Club down to the bottom, but it does make me less inclined to rewatch what’s an otherwise wonderful episode about art. It’s a shame, but there’s still a lot to love when you get shirt!

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

Rose’s Scabbard

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Winter Forecast

On the Run

Warp Tour

Maximum Capacity

The Test

Ocean Gem

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Future Vision

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

No Thanks!

     4. Horror Club      3. Fusion Cuisine      2. House Guest      1. Island Adventure

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 56: Love Letters

“Three’s a crowd.”

So, it turns out time passes in Beach City! Its residents aren’t in a Springfield Limbo where seasons change but ages stay the same, and this opens a whole new realm of possibilities to expand the ongoing narrative of Steven growing up by having him actually grow up. We really shouldn’t take this for granted, considering how easy it is for a cartoon to freeze characters (especially child characters) in time, and honestly my biggest initial takeaway from Love Letters is that it’s the first episode that deals with how the passage of time by itself, rather than a series of events like Steven’s adventures, affects the show and its characters. This is a show where Steven, Lars, and Sadie disappeared for a week and nobody seemed to notice, so yeah, it matters.

The reason time alone is a factor is because we focus on the all-but-forgotten Jamie the Mailman. After a cameo in Mirror Gem/Ocean Gem, Jamie disappears without a trace for thirty episodes. This isn’t remarkable for a side character, especially one whose only other appearance is the first scene of the third episode. Jamie may be sweet and funny in Cheeseburger Backpack, but on a show full of sweet and funny characters he was easily lost in the background.

Well, it turns out his absence for the latter half of Season 1 has an in-universe explanation, one that allows the show to hang a quick lampshade on the common trope of vanishing characters while reintroducing him to those of us that forgot he existed: Jamie was literally gone, looking for his big break in the bright lights and busy streets of the Sunflower State, the big KS itself, home of Dorothy Gale and the Rockin’ Chalkin’ Jayhawks, that’s right, Kansas.

I’m really glad he’s back! Jamie is similar to Ronaldo in his role as a background character and occasional lead whose cluelessness is played for laughs and occasional drama. Both are passionate about self-expression (Jamie through acting, Ronaldo through blogging and the occasional documentary) and show some skill at it, but think themselves masters. However, where Ronaldo fluctuates between funny and grating at the drop of a fedora, Jamie is a consistent force for entertainment; he never reaches the comedic highs of Ronaldo’s A-game, but we never suffer any lows.

The secret, I think, is that Jamie’s core kindness evokes empathy instead of annoyance when he goes off the rails. His silliness doesn’t hurt anyone, and in an episode where he could’ve turned bitter and nasty over romantic rejection, he handles it surprisingly well considering his maturity level in other regards. This reaction may be a thematic necessity to teach Steven and Connie and the audience a generic “honesty is good” lesson, but it sets the tone for Jamie’s fascinating ability to be self-important without being a jerk.

Jamie’s overacting always benefits from Eugene Cordero’s veteran comedy chops, but is amped up even further by Lamar Abrams and Hellen Jo’s delightful brand of hypersilliness (see: Steven and Garnet’s workout in Future Vision, Amethyst’s burial service in Watermelon Steven, all of Rising Tides, Crashing Skies). Jamie’s love letter is zany enough, but actually seeing him write it does wonders to enhance what could have been a simple letter-reading sequence. Even if Jamie didn’t literally write the letter this way, it’s a nice peek into his ridiculous self-image, complete with anime twinkles.

Steven and Connie are classic theatrical meddlers in a classic farce, where love letters gone awry and easily avoidable misunderstandings create melodramatic tension. It’s a nifty twist that they aren’t playing matchmakers despite their resemblance to middlemen like Don Pedro or Dolly Levi, but just want to spare Jamie’s feelings. And I love that Steven, a hero with a weakness for schmaltz, rejects the idea of Jamie and Garnet as a couple even before Garnet does, solidifying that neither the show nor our well-meaning but misguided kids are going in that direction.

(Love Letters also don’t drag out secret of who wrote “Garnet’s” response letter, which further subverts typical farce tropes but probably has more to do with the eleven minute runtime.)

As Jamie says, Steven and Connie are super cute. It’s nice to have them as supporting characters (albeit the characters with the most screen time); we get snippets of them just hanging out in most of their episodes, but this time it doesn’t contrast with more serious drama like Connie’s replacement by a doppelganger or the possible end of their friendship. This is the first full episode of the two kids just being kids since Winter Forecast (oh look, another Jo/Abrams episode), and it’s soon to be followed by Connie’s temporary indoctrination; heavy episodes like Full Disclosure and Sworn to the Sword may be great, but a respite is appreciated.

Fortunately, a calmer (if wackier) tone doesn’t mean Love Letters lacks good character moments. Connie gets a quiet display of her growing emotional intelligence in the back-to-back scenes of Jamie’s admission of multiple rejections and the rewrite of Garnet’s letter. In the first scene, after hearing all about Jamie’s emotionally vulnerable state, she sees no issue with handing him another rejection and has to be stopped by Steven; whether or not ripping off the bandage is the right course of action, Connie’s reaction shows a distinct lack of tact. But in the second scene, she’s the head writer of the revamped letter (using the power of torrid soap opera know-how); even if she and Steven are way off-track in terms of how romance works here, she understands the problem and wants to help.

Little slip-ups and corrections like these do a great job of showing how far Connie has come from Bubble Buddies without losing the realistic awkwardness that makes her so endearing. Her disadvantage to Steven on the emotional intelligence front also continues to even out their relationship, as she schools him in book smarts throughout the series and will soon become a far more capable tactical fighter to his natural talent, a la Katara and Aang. Just because Steven isn’t an idiot and Connie isn’t emotionless doesn’t mean their differences have to go away, and Love Letters is a great example of her lower-key foil duty in action.

Garnet is mostly great as the oblivious, then apathetic subject of Jamie’s affection. Her sexualized emergence from the sea is played for laughs thanks to over-the-top visual effects and Estelle’s exaggerated sultriness. Visually, while her introduction may evoke classic Birth of Venus imagery, the more amusing sight gag can be found in the, erm, interesting positioning of Jamie’s mailsack malebag mailbag as he’s filled with sudden lust:

But back to Garnet. Her instant and insistent dismissal of Jamie may be cold, but it’s fair and faithful to her character: Garnet is locked down on the relationship front, and we’ve seen how little she cares about the feelings of human strangers from her interactions with Kofi (and her general demeanor). She benefits from having little to do with Steven and Connie’s scheming, which makes her another victim of poor communication who gets fed up with what she perceives to be a pushy admirer instead of doubling down on her bluntness to a point that might make her seem mean; it also reinforces how important is to take the feelings of both people involved in a crush into account.

Even so, my biggest/only issue with Love Letters is her final conversation with Jamie, where she dismisses his infatuation as a performance. I guess I get that she’s trying to let him down easier than before and is putting things in a way he understands, but there’s a much better way to differentiate between love and a crush than essentially saying his crush is delusional. As someone who’s had crushes and has been in love, sure, the latter is strong enough to make the former look tame in retrospect. But that doesn’t make infatuation an act, and for a show that’s all about feelings, Steven Universe could do way better at explaining Garnet’s point of view without being condescending about someone’s emotions (especially the emotions of a young audience).

That said, Jamie’s response is somewhat true: local theater, at least, is really solid advice.

Future Vision!

Beyond local theater being in the future, Love Letters gets a nice resolution in Jamie insisting that he’s moved on in I Am My Mom. And then we get to see that, uh, nope, he’s still holding the torch as of Reunited.

Our introduction to Barb is a long time coming, and the fact that she knows Greg telegraphs their low-key and largely off-screen friendship.

If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have inconsistencies…

Despite Garnet proclaiming that love at first sight doesn’t exist, The Answer more or less shows Ruby and Sapphire’s relationship to be just that. Maybe they spent more time on the surface getting to know each other than it seems, but as per its fairy tale nature, love springs up pretty much immediately. (And it’s great! But maybe don’t have that person be against the notion of instant love.)

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

I enjoy the goofiness here and the dedication to a farcical format for a theatrical character, and as I said, the acknowledgment that time is an actual factor for this show earns some points. But beyond not sticking the landing, and it’s honestly just a little too broad to be a favorite.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

Rose’s Scabbard

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Winter Forecast

On the Run

Warp Tour

Maximum Capacity

The Test

Ocean Gem

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Future Vision

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

No Thanks!

     4. Horror Club      3. Fusion Cuisine      2. House Guest      1. Island Adventure

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 41: Horror Club

"Take it down a notch.”

I don’t dislike Horror Club because it focuses on Lars and Ronaldo, two of my least favorite characters on this show at this point. Lars and Ronaldo are two of my least favorite characters on this show at this point because of episodes like Horror Club.

I would’ve loved to love this episode. Expanding the backstories of the show’s two most grating characters could’ve given us actual insight beyond “they were lousy kids and now they’re lousy teenagers whose lousiness made them drift apart.” We could’ve gotten concrete character development instead of waiting around for these two to start growing for a couple more seasons (a wait that will only pay off for Lars). And in terms of the episode’s specific subject: the end of a childhood friendship is heavy stuff, but something I thought this show would handle better than this.

Instead, crammed into Season 1′s otherwise incredible final stretch is an episode about a cruel bully and a victim that honestly isn’t much better. We’re asked to empathize with them, and I vaguely do, but only when each has to deal with the other. Their consistent awfulness in the present and the past is so at odds with the rest of the lovable-but-flawed denizens of Beach City that I always skip this one on rewatch.

After following Sadie to Ronaldo’s horror movie marathon, Lars spends the whole night mercilessly mocking Ronaldo at every opportunity. What a jerk! Then we then learn that as children, Lars was ashamed of his friendship with Ronaldo and abandoned him. What a jerk! Considering this, and Lars’s general behavior towards Steven, the show seems to want us to sympathize with Ronaldo. But when Ronaldo thinks a poltergeist that swallowed Sadie is haunting Lars, he tries to murder Lars and would have succeeded if Steven wasn’t around. 

And when they were kids, and Lars got smacked in the face by a plank, Ronaldo didn’t pay any attention to Lars’s physical well-being; ignoring the obvious humiliation of publishing the photo is bad, but ignoring an injured friend’s pain is way worse.

Who in their right mind wouldn’t try to get away from this guy? Even looking beyond his obnoxious personality, his impulse to put his desires over the needs of others seems to be a lifelong issue.

Lars and Ronaldo are both awful here, but Ronaldo gets no comeuppance for his often dangerous selfishness. We may empathize with a bullied character, but bullied kids really shouldn’t be taught that the solution is attacking their tormentors with potentially lethal force. Like the profoundly misguided Island Adventure, the lesson here is that if somebody hurts you, it’s okay to hurt them more. It’s the total opposite of what this show stands for.

Calling Ronaldo out on his actions in the same manner as Lars would’ve gone a long way towards improving this episode, as it would not only provide a better lesson, but could lead to positive character growth; instead, Ronaldo remains stuck in an immature and frankly violent rut (but it’s okay, he’s kooky!). At the very least we could’ve made one or the other more sympathetic by the episode’s end, but their mutual awfulness ruins even that. Ronaldo’s fun reversal of the header quote on Lars in the final scene, playing off the fact that both teens are a bit much, deserves a better episode than this.

Sadie and Steven get the shaft here, which is a real shame considering this is the first Lars and Sadie episode since the aforementioned Island Adventure and it’d be nice to have some redemption. Sadie’s only real role is to move the plot: Lars only goes to the lighthouse to hang out with her, then he and Ronaldo compete over her attention, then she gets damsel-in-distressed to make the boys fight more. Is this the right show? I thought this was Steven Universe, the one where sexist gender roles are thrown out the window.

But at least we get some new peeks into Sadie’s personality, showcasing her enthusiasm for horror and exploring her headlong approach to danger. Steven’s only real role is to be our window, because we need him to see what’s happening; otherwise, Horror Club presents a foggy view of our lead. He stands up to Lars’s bullying, but this doesn’t faze his naive assumption that everyone is friends with Lars. He’s too scared to watch a grisly horror movies despite maintaining his nerves during actual monster fights on a regular basis, including the likes of Frybo. Despite having experienced Keep Beach City Weird, an entire episode about how all the magical stuff in Beach City is Gem-related, he freaks out and thinks that a magical event isn’t Gem-related.

And when he’s not inconsistent, he’s just dull. Maybe the crew didn’t want to take the focus from Lars and Ronaldo, but despite its flaws, compare this to how well Island Adventure splits the focus between side character Steven and the non-Steven leads. Lars and Sadie were still front and center there, but Steven got tons to do in the background. Here he’s just going through the motions.

The most damning problem of Horror Club is that Lars and Ronaldo both manage to leave it worse characters than when they entered. Lars gets to morph from standard jerk to relentless bully, and on top of the aforementioned Ronaldo issues, our conspiracy buff is shown to be a complete idiot: why does he not immediately suspect Steven as a part of the Diamond Authority (y’know, that conspiracy that he himself thought of) after witnessing him magically whisk away a Gem firsthand? Ronaldo’s whole identity is clinging to every shred of evidence that agrees with his preexisting worldview, and Keep Beach City Weird established that his preexisting worldview is that polymorphic sentient rocks are pulling the strings. And we can’t even get that right?

This episode is overwhelmingly unpleasant, from Ronaldo’s cringey freakout about the original Evil Bear II to Lars’s repugnant stream of toxicity. Even the horror itself is lame compared to the likes of Frybo and Rose’s Room and anything with Cluster Gems. Still, there’s one good thing about it: nothing comes of the hinted Ronaldo/Sadie/Lars love triangle, so unlike plot-important misses like House Guest and Fusion Cuisine, Horror Club can be skipped without any consequences. I’m thrilled that this review is done so I can go back to never watching this one again. 

Future Vision!

While it’s not necessary to watch Horror Club, I should note that it introduces Sadie’s love of horror, which serves as a pillar of her transformation into Sadie Killer. But we get that elsewhere, so all is well if this episode is ignored.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

While I obviously didn’t like this one, at least its lead characters didn’t suddenly lose their core values to advance a single episode’s plot, which puts it ahead of Fusion Cuisine and House Guest. And while its message’s tainted execution is similar to Island Adventure’s, trivializing abuse is far worse than poorly portraying a failed friendship.

Still, it’s never good when I spend this section considering just how low I want an episode to go. For now, it’s the “best” of my least favorites.

Top Ten

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

On the Run

Warp Tour

The Test

Ocean Gem

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Future Vision

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

No Thanks!

     4. Horror Club      3. Fusion Cuisine      2. House Guest      1. Island Adventure

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 40: On the Run

"That’s not my home.”

Anxiety and depression are two sides of the same coin, separated by opposing degrees of certainty. Depression tells you to dread the future because bad things will definitely happen. Anxiety tells you to worry about the future because who KNOWS what’s going to happen, yikes, things could go REALLY BAD. Depression tells you to zero in on awful things from your past and remember that there’s nothing you can do about it. Anxiety tells you that oh man if you’d just done that one thing differently life might be better, or heck, life might be WORSE, so hopefully you won’t get lost in a time vortex and screw things up, oh no, one more thing to worry about! Depression tells you that nobody cares about you. Anxiety makes you cripplingly unsure, because what if your friends are just pretending and your parents are just tolerating you, but what if that’s all in your head and everything’s fine but people find out you’re worried about this and think you’re crazy?

When depression gets its way, you’re a passive mess accepting a miserable fate. When anxiety gets its way, you’re an active mess stressing yourself into a panic about possibilities. And a lot of us get to have both!

Amethyst and Pearl are sad in a way that Garnet and Steven fundamentally aren’t, but this sadness takes two distinct paths. Pearl’s is certain and passive where Amethyst’s is uncertain and active. Pearl is Depression, and Amethyst is Anxiety.

Of course, this isn’t (and shouldn’t be) a perfect metaphor, because like most actual people with anxiety or depression, both Gems have elements of both disorders: recall Pearl’s many anxious fits and Amethyst’s depressive slumps. Moreover, it’s important not to diagnose fictional characters with real disorders when you don’t have a medical license and the characters don’t have the physical brains required to even have human mental illnesses. But as a representative exercise, Pearl appeals to my despondency while Amethyst appeals to my overthinking. Pearl often lets negativity engulf her, but Amethyst internalizes and dwells on it until she explodes.

On the Run is one such explosion. Except for a single joke-based hint in Steven’s Lion (“We kept Amethyst”) there’s been no reason to believe that Amethyst has a different origin than Garnet or Pearl, but it’s soon clear that Kindergarten is never far from her thoughts. Our excursion solidifies Amethyst as a character who’s always worried about how people see her—which, I mean, she’s a shapeshifter, come on—and that she’ll never measure up to the roles she’s supposed to play. She’s supposed to be part of a team that fought the Homeworld Gems, but she’s the direct product of the invasion. She’s supposed to be a mighty Quartz warrior, but she’s an overcooked runt. She’s supposed to be one of Steven’s guardians, but she’s still treated like Garnet and Pearl’s kid sister half the time. Pressure squeezes away her self-esteem until she sees an opportunity to bond with Steven, and they immediately bounce.

The conflict of On the Run hinges on Amethyst’s anxiety blending with her middle-child syndrome. This isn’t Tiger Millionaire, focusing on Steven and Amethyst, or Giant Woman and Secret Team, focusing on Amethyst and Pearl. This is about how both of these relationships pull Amethyst in different directions.

The prompt here is Pearl’s explanation of the Homeworld invasion, which pointedly omits Amethyst from the group of rebels led by Rose Quartz. We can see that Amethyst is mad, and gets madder as Pearl dances around the “bad” thing Homeworld was doing, but at first viewing one could easily read her reaction as anger over being ignored. Miniature twists like these do wonders for the show’s rewatchability.

After a welcome aside commenting on old-school book series like The Boxcar Children and The Hardy Boys (complete with criticism of their ridiculous comic counterparts), Steven and Amethyst are off! 

On the Run (the song) has two important achievements beyond being a great tune. First, it speeds our characters from Steven’s room to the open rails and gives us a little journey without using too many of the show’s eleven minutes. Second, it ensures our understanding that Steven and Amethyst are in separate places. We begin with Steven singing alone, highlighting the silly hopefulness of running away on a whim. Then we have a whistle solo (courtesy of the sequence’s songwriter/co-storyboarder and resident guitarist Jeff Liu), giving a nostalgic, adventurous interlude to reinforce how fun this whole thing is. But then, as Steven continues to obliviously enjoy himself, Amethyst reveals that she’s still dwelling on Pearl. It all culminates in the same line, “Home’s a place that I have never known,” sung from opposite perspectives—one goofy, one wistful—before a gorgeous final shot sets a somber tone for the rest of the episode. 

Amethyst reverts to her usual demeanor as soon she’s home, reversing her and Steven’s chipper/wary dynamic from the song. I wonder how grade-school kids grapple with the fact that the ominous canyon full of bacteriophage drills we spend most of the episode in is called “the Kindergarten.” Does it tap into their budding sense of irony to see a class they aren’t far removed from associated with such a scary setting? Do they think the name is funny, in the way Fluffy the three-headed dog from Harry Potter is? Regardless, as an adult, I love love love the name of this literal garden that grows children.

Amethyst’s light attitude helps keep the Kindergarten’s dim lighting and eerie soundscape (the music, sure, but also those clangs) from getting too frightening, but it’s still a hell of a place. In a rare moment of asking the right questions, Steven voices the viewer’s concerns over just how many Amethyst-shaped holes there are in the walls, and all that they imply. But Amethyst is just happy to give him a tour.

Because when she’s around Steven, she gets to be the cool big sister that runs away with him and tells him all the secrets the grown-ups don’t want him to know. He, and we, wouldn’t get this introduction to the Kindergarten without Amethyst’s desire to bond, and maybe show off a little. She’s not ashamed of her background, instead proud to position her earthling status as something she and Steven share.

It’s only when bigger sister Pearl shows up that Amethyst’s sour mood returns. Telling Steven the full truth is against the rules, it seems—who would’ve thought a team founded by Pink Diamond might be against telling the truth?—and Pearl is blind to Amethyst’s ulterior motives in bringing Steven to the Kindergarten. Part of this is Pearl’s fault, as she should know Amethyst well enough over thousands of years of friendship to understand why she might be upset, but a lot of it is Amethyst’s fault for her stubborn refusal to talk things over. It takes something drastic to break this pattern, and it comes in the form of their first physical fight on-screen.

While Steven Universe has always veered against violence being the answer, its exciting fight sequences often go against this message. Not here. Amethyst and Pearl’s fight is just brutal, even when Amethyst gets what may be her most badass line in the series (“I wouldn’t wanna fight me neither!”) and the choreography’s on-point as ever. Aivi and Surasshu obviously help, but Amethyst’s blind rage quickly giving way to her self-loathing is heart-wrenching on its own, especially when we see how futile her attacks are. And when you think the worst of it is over, it ends with this:

The ambiguity afforded to this scene is incredible for a children’s show. While watching it over and over reveals that Amethyst is clearly stepping away before Steven bubbles, in the moment itself it’s uncertain whether her exclusion was intentional on her or Steven’s part. Obviously Steven’s not a monster, and immediately is concerned, but physically separating Pearl and himself from Amethyst encapsulates the latter’s self-exile in a way that’s succinct, elegant, and tragic. Having it not be immediately clear whether she’s the one doing the exiling is icing on the cake.

While this is Amethyst’s moment to shine, Steven gets to show off his maturity by realizing he’s in over his head. It’s Pearl that needs to talk with Amethyst, but there was a time where Steven wouldn’t know that, and Pearl wouldn’t have listened even if he did. I appreciate that his contribution isn’t overplayed, because this isn’t really his story, but I’m also glad he isn’t limited to a standard “hey stop fighting!” role.

The positive reinforcement for Steven about talking versus fighting has major benefits down the line. He, and we, are shown that talking things out, even when you’re sorta bad at it and it’s awkward, beats fighting. There’s a straight line connecting the conclusions of On the Run and Mr. Greg that I adore; Steven presents the same solution to a longstanding conflict, but where the former comes from a place of confusion and desperation, the latter is a planned and confident maneuver (and in song!).

I don’t wanna think about what Amethyst would be like without Michaela Dietz. In the wrong hands, the character’s slangy lexicon would aggravate and alienate viewers over the age of ten, but Dietz’s natural delivery makes every line feel wonderfully unforced (give or take a “Chill it, dude” that not even she could salvage). This skill by itself would be enough to make her casting worthwhile, but episodes like On the Run let her show off her impressive range and criminally underused singing voice. Dietz has openly discussed how her experience growing up as an adoptee affects her portrayal of Amethyst, and her vulnerable performance exhibiting Amethyst’s anger and sorrow in the Kindergarten is some of her series-best work.

On the Run continues the show’s trend to put character first even in heavy lore episodes; with all the emotional tension here, it can be easy to forget just how much we learn. Not only is Amethyst from Earth, but lots of Gems are, and it was kind of a huge deal to the rebellion. This is a game changer, but we care more about whether Amethyst and Pearl will make up, even though we’ve already had two entire episodes about their feuding natures. 

Still, this is hardly to say the lore is brushed aside. Even if the Gem Odd Couple is one step closer to the healthy sisterhood of Last One Out of Beach City, the lingering final shot of Kindergarten before it cuts straight to black leaves an impression of its own. We’re in this deep, folks.

Future Vision!

The lovely melancholy feeling of the train ride gets another day in the sun when Steven and Amethyst take Peridot on the scenic route back to the Kindergarten in Back to the Kindergarten.

Now We’re Only Falling Apart not only shows the moment Amethyst was left behind, but the moment Pearl’s anti-Amethyst sentiment was born: this might’ve been a very different relationship if nobody had bumped Pink Diamond to the ground.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

The amazing tone of Kindergarten gets this high marks already, but finally getting some development on Amethyst and Pearl’s relationship after hemming and hawing for forty episodes? Yeah, put it up there.

Top Ten

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

On the Run

Warp Tour

The Test

Ocean Gem

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Future Vision

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

No Thanks!

     3. Fusion Cuisine      2. House Guest      1. Island Adventure