#greg reviews

[steven1123x]

In the summer of 2008, Rose Quartz Universe was filming her son, Steven Quartz Universe, unaware that he would soon become the star of a cartoon produced by Cartoon Network under the guidance of a brilliant director. [STEVEN UNIVERSE ACTORS AU]

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My take on Steven Universe and how Steven got his big break into the acting world and even got his own TV show on Cartoon Network. This was inspired by a short on YouTube I saw called ‘Steven Moves In’ you can look up ‘Steven Universe shorts and watch the video.

I hope I can keep this going for you guys as much as I can. Anyway. Bye, guys!

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Behind The Scenes - Chapter 1: Steven’s Big Break.

June 2008.

“Is it on?” a voice asked. A boy nods. The boy had a head of curly black hair, had black eyes, he also wore a salmon pink T-shirt that was too big for him, and cuffed jeans. He has a Band-Aid on his left cheek, he also had no shoes on his feet as he sat next to his father in his van which had both the doors open. the child flashed a smile and a peace sign to his mother.

The woman behind the camera chuckled, and the boy smiled softly at her.

“Come on, Steven, show us what you wrote.” his father insisted. Steven took a deep breath strummed the ukulele and sang. Steven has heard stories about her team members and wanted to write a song about them, and him if he was a member of his mother’s rebellion so, that was how this song came to be.

“If you're evil and you're on the rise

You can count on the four of us taking you down

'Cause we're good and evil never beats us

We'll win the fight and then go out for pizzas

We are the Crystal Gems

We'll always save the day!

And if you think we can't

We'll always find a way!

That's why the people of this world believe in

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl and Steven!”

She laughed in amusement then stopped recording and closed the screen to the video camera, Setting it down so she could upload it to YouTube later on her computer. The man, Greg Universe, looks at his wife walks over to their van, picks up Steven, and kisses his cheek. Steven laughed as the woman spun him around. Her husband smiles, grabs her all-white MacBook, takes out the SD card from the camera, plugs it into the computer, and starts editing it for YouTube.

Steven Quartz Universe has a musical talent from his father, Gregory Universe, and the ability to learn faster than other children from his mother, Rose Quartz Universe.

Greg was only twenty-six years old when he and Rose had Steven. And he couldn’t be any happier, they knew that they had to tie the knot, so in 2001, they got married in Los Angeles Rose’s team — The Crystal Gems were there also for it, Pearl, Rose’s friend (And probably crush) was jealous of her that she was getting married to a rockstar and had a baby with Rose in the process the previous year.

Seven years later, they were happily married and very happy with their son, Steven Quartz Universe who was born on August 15, 2000.

Over time though, He wondered why Steven was not aging like the other kids in his grade were. By the age of one, he still looked a few months old. Rose had an idea of why he wasn’t aging.

Due to her being a gem, she and the other Crystal Gems don’t age. But, no matter what they still loved him no matter what.

Steven looks at his parents.

His mother, Rose Quartz Universe possesses a commanding stature, towering above both her husband and son at an impressive height of approximately eight feet. Her taller and heavier build projects a sense of strength and presence. Her complexion is characterized by pale peach skin that exudes a soft and gentle radiance, complemented by defined pink lips that add a touch of delicacy to her features.

Her mesmerizing appearance is accentuated by bright black eyes that seem to hold a world of depth and mystery within them. Cascading down her shoulders, her long, curly pink hair is meticulously styled in thick ringlets, lending an air of elegance to her overall demeanor. Notably, her unique gemstone is situated where a human navel would typically be found, serving as a distinctive and striking feature that sets her apart.

His father, Greg is a uniquely styled individual, appearing with a plump physique typical of middle-age, yet with a touch of eccentricity in his appearance. His dark-beige beard frames his mouth, contrasting with his taupe hair, which is styled into a mullet cascading down to his waist. Despite his middle-aged plumpness, he maintains a somewhat skinny frame. Notably, Greg sports a full head of hair, adding to the curious juxtaposition of his appearance.

Moreover, he flaunts a tan line gracing his shoulders and feet, hinting at his outdoor ventures. To add a hint of edginess, his look is further accentuated by earring pieces that embellish his overall look with a touch of individuality.

The Video was finished uploading as they went back to their beach house, located in Delaware.

His childhood home. A two-story house elevated on stilts, characteristic of areas prone to flooding or coastal regions. The front of the house is symmetrical, featuring a central door and two windows on each floor. The exterior is painted in white, creating a contrast with the green surroundings of trees and a clear blue sky.

A distinctive feature of the house is its spacious second-story deck, accessible via a staircase from the ground level. This deck wraps around the front and one side of the house, providing ample outdoor space for relaxation or social activities. Beneath the deck, the ground level seems open, likely used for parking or storage purposes, effectively utilizing the house's footprint and offering protection against potential water damage.

They walked inside and Steven smiled and looked around his home.

He looked at a spacious and elegantly designed open-plan living space with a coastal design aesthetic. The room is illuminated by natural light and features a color scheme predominantly consisting of whites and creams, complemented by deep blues and natural wood tones.

In the living area, there is a large, white sofa adorned with stylish throw pillows, creating a cozy and inviting ambiance. Positioned in front of the sofa is a dark wooden coffee table adorned with books and decorative items, adding a touch of sophistication to the space.

Moving towards the left, there is a dining area featuring a simple wooden table surrounded by contemporary chairs, seamlessly connected to the nearby kitchen. The kitchen boasts white cabinetry and a visually striking blue island, topped with elegant white marble, adding a pop of color and a touch of luxury to the room.

Pictures hung on the walls of Greg and Rose’s wedding in California, an acoustic guitar that was signed by Chester Bennington - who was the lead singer for one of their favorite bands LINKIN PARK. Three surfboards lined up the wall. A white one with red roses, A large board bright pink one with hibiscus flowers all over the board which was custom-made for Rose, and the smallest one was light blue with a large white stripe going diagonally.

The room is further enhanced by large windows that offer picturesque views of a water body, enhancing the serene coast.

Steven was now playing on his Nintendo DS in the living room, Rose was cooking dinner as her husband helped her. Steven looks up from his game of Mario. Pausing his game and walking to the kitchen. Steven grabs a chair and stands on it watching his mother. Rose looks over her shoulder.

“Looks like you have a little helper.” Greg smiled and looked at his son.

“What are you guys making?” Steven asked.

“Where making mozzarella sticks,” Rose said Steven’s eyes lit up. He loved mozzarella sticks, and the way his parents made them was amazing!

Rose smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “Oh, you don’t need this anymore,” she said, pulling the Band-Aid off his cheek. Steven smiled as he took his finger and felt the soft fuzzy surface, the cut wasn’t there anymore.

He was playing at the beach the previous day. He and his friends Lance and Mikey were playing tag and Steven fell on a rock and scraped his cheek a little bit. He went home then got cleaned up, then he was back to playing again. Rose asked him if she could heal his cheek with her spit but he didn’t want to. Rose respects his boundaries and wishes, so she doesn’t press on.

Rose wondered if he would ever get his gem powers, or maybe it was a possibility that he wouldn’t get them at all. But Steven wants to be like his mother and learn about his gem heritage and culture.

Greg grabs the bowl that was filled with the mozzarella sticks and puts them in the fridge to cool them before frying them. He walked to the sink and washed his hands. He dried them, walked to the couch, and picked up his acoustic guitar that was sitting on a guitar stand. He sat on the couch and began to strum it.

Steven and Rose both smiled. Rose loved her husband’s playing ever since they met at that concert back in 1987. Steven knew the story of how they met. Then they had him — The light of their lives. Steven Quartz Universe.

When Greg heard his full name for the first time, he started tearing up. It was such a beautiful name for such a beautiful, bright, and intelligent boy. And Steven was very intelligent for Seven years old.

But, he does love doing stuff like most kids do, from going to the skatepark to playing video games. And Steven had an active imagination and loved to play pretend with his parents and friends.

Since it was summer vacation and his birthday was in two months, what he wanted to do was visit California and go to a movie/TV studio. Greg and Rose were unsure of this though — Any concerned parent would. But, they wanted to respect Steven’s decision in all of this and be supportive as much as they could throughout his life and moving forward.

An hour passed, and Greg put the cheese sticks in the oven and closed the door. Rose was on her phone texting one of her teammates that she’d fought along the rebellion a long time ago way before she even met Greg. Steven sat on the couch next to her and looked at his mother texting on her iPhone 3G.

“Who are you texting, mom?”

Rose looked from her phone and faced her son. “You remember the Crystal Gems do you?” Rose asks him.

Steven nods.

“They just want to see how I’m doing and if I’m alright.”

“Do you still talk to Pearl, Mom?”

“Yes, I still talk to Pearl, Steven.” she smiled and kissed her son’s cheek.

Steven smiled back. He felt a sense of happiness. Steven then hugs her. Greg pulled out the food from the oven and plated it for the three of them to share. He pulls out the marinara sauce that he’d made, puts it into three individual dipping cups, and puts the sauce inside them. He served it with some Caesar salad and some spaghetti he’d made earlier in the day while Steven was swimming on the beach.

Dishes were put in the dishwasher, Steven was changing into his bathing suit in his room. Rose wore a one-piece swimsuit with a circle in the middle where her gem was exposed. Steven grabbed a towel, walked downstairs, and saw his mother.

Rose and Steven both went outside to the waves and played together.

Greg smiled and walked down the steps of the beach house with his acoustic guitar in his hand. He had his long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. He sat on the sand and played some notes on his guitar as the sun was beginning to set.

Morning approached Greg and Rose were both asleep in their room, Rose woke up and stretched, her pink messy hair falling on her shoulders.

She got up and did her morning routine. She walks out of her room Rose sees her son playing on his Nintendo GameCube up in his loft bedroom. Steven woke up an hour ago and now he was playing Sonic Heroes.

“Good morning, Steven!” Rose called out to him. Steven paused his game and smiled, he got up from his bed, ran downstairs, and hugged her. Rose smiled and bent down to hug him, Standing at eight feet tall. So he only reached up toward her legs. But he didn’t mind it as much. He still had a lot of growing to do.

“You want to go out for breakfast?”

“Yeah, but what about, Dad?”

“We can wait for him.”

“Or, you can text him.”

Steven nods and pulls out his phone from his pocket then texts him.

Greg walked down the stairs in a black t-shirt and jean shorts. “Let’s go, guys! Rose, you can drive.” her husband said, tossing the keys toward her. Rose caught them one-handed and they walked out of the beach house, Rose unlocked the van and got into it, and Steven opened the passenger side door and crawled into the back, Rose stuck the key in and they went to Washington to a diner in Deleware.

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Steven was reading the menu. Greg was on his phone, Rose looked over his shoulder. “Whatcha doing?” Greg looked at his wife and smiled. “I’m seeing if that video you posted of Steven playing the ukelele got some views.”

Rose’s eyes widen, that video got ten thousand views overnight! “Steven! look,” she said, the seven-year-old looked up at his mother. Rose gave her phone to him and he read the numbers, he looked up with white stars in his pupils as he read the numbers. “Ten. T-Thous-what?!” Steven said in shock and disbelief at what he was reading off her screen.

Rose smiles and nods. “Looks like you are famous my superstar.” Rose smiled softly at him, Steven stood up and sat in her lap. Rose felt his warmth and wrapped her arm around his body softly, Steven felt happy at the moment that he saw his video of him playing the ukelele and singing had gone viral on YouTube!

Rose got a text notification, she pulled it out of her shorts pocket and pressed the button to unlock her iPhone 3G.

She sees the lock screen of her iPhone. It features a background showing her, Steven, and her husband. Standing at his car wash The lock screen displays the time as 9:29 AM on Monday, June 17. Notably, there is a text message notification from a contact named “Christopher,” Rose read the message content; Can Lucas come over today, or is it a bad time, Mrs. Universe? Additionally, there is a slider at the bottom prompting her to "slide to reply.” Rose slid to reply to the message.

“Mom? Who are you texting?”

“You remember your friend, Lucas? his father asked if he could come over.”

“Please, mom? can he?” her son begged. Rose giggled and patted his curly hair. “Sure he can, Steven. Your friends are always welcome.” Steven smiled as he sat up and hugged his mother’s neck. Greg smiled then put a hand on his black fluffy, curly hair

Rose texts him back, saying that he can come over. Steven wanted to jump for joy, but he sat still and kept calm. Rose saw a teen walking up to them, she wore a black apron and her brown hair was in a ponytail.

“Hello, are you ready to order?” she asked with a smile on her face, Steven smiled and looked at her.

“Can I have the chocolate chip pancakes?” he asked. The teen recognized the boy instantly and smiled.

“Hey! I saw the video of your son yesterday after my shift, he’s very talented with that ukulele.”

“Thank you!” Steven said.

“Thank you so much, miss. He is incredibly talented.” Greg smiled

“He is very talented. Who does he get it from?”

“He gets it from me.”

“And he picks up things very fast from me.” Rose smiled. Steven looks around the restaurant.

“I hope your son gets a job as a singer or an actor one day, you're going places. Say,” she knelt to his level.

“What’s your name?”

“Steven,” he said.

“Well, Steven. I hope to see your face in movies and TV one day, and if you do. Don’t forget about who helped you achieve your dreams.”

Steven smiles at her. “I won’t! what’s your name?”

“Pearl.”

“Oh, that’s funny. I have a friend named Pearl.” Rose chuckled.

“That’s awesome,” she said. “Are you ready to order?"

“We will have the scrambled eggs with bacon and this little guy will have the chocolate chip pancakes,” Greg said, passing the menus towards Pearl so she could collect them, Pearl wrote everything down on her notepad, then collected the menus. “Are you okay with water?”

“Do you have a strawberry milkshake?” Rose asked.

Pearl nods. “We do.”

“Mom, can I have one too?” Steven asked.

Rose nods. “Okay, what kind? we have chocolate, vanilla, Oreo, and strawberry.” Pearl asked him.

“Um, may I have Oreo?” he asked. Pearl smiled and wrote it on her notepad.

“Alright, I will put these in so you guys can get your breakfast.” Pearl smiled and walked off.

Rose turned on her phone and she played a game. Greg went on his and dug into his pocket and pulled out a pair of earbuds. He looked at Steven.

“Steven, do you want to listen to some music with me?” Steven nods happily. Greg gave him the left earbud. He grabbed it and he went into his music and played a song. It was called ‘All The Small Things’ by ‘Blink-182, one of their favorite bands. Rose looked at them and wanted to take a picture of them.

Maybe when Pearl comes back with our food I can ask her to take a picture of us.

Rose saw her walk up with their drinks. “Here you go, guys,” Pearl said setting down their milkshakes and orange juice. “Thank you, oh, can you take a picture of us?” she asked, pressing the home button and going to the camera app.

“I can,” Pearl said, as she took the photo and handed her phone back to Rose. Rose saw them and smiled. “This is so cute. thank you.” she smiles.

Pearl nods. “I’ll be back with your breakfast,” she said walking off. Steven tapped his mom on the arm.

“Mom, can I get down?” Steven asked, pulling the earbud off his ear and letting it hang off from the floor.

Rose nods as she sets Steven off her lap and onto the floor.

The boy walked towards his chair and tried to get on so he could sit, but he was too short and tiny. Rose saw that his son was struggling so she helped him up.

“Thank you,” Steven said, Rose smiled and kissed his head.

Just then, A boy and his father walked in, Greg looked at them and smiled

He sees a younger man, with a happy expression. He has short, neatly styled hair and clear skin. He is looking directly at his son. His overall appearance seems clean and well-maintained. Additionally, he is wearing a small earring in one ear, adding a subtle touch of style or personal expression to his look. The plain and out-of-focus background serves to highlight his face and features, making him the central focus.

The boy standing next to his father is depicted as a cheerful and happy child with dark brown skin. He is wearing a blue short-sleeve T-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of white Converse sneakers and has shoulder-length dreadlocks.

“Greg, Rose, how are you two!” the man — Christopher, or Cris asked the couple.

“We're good, I’m glad that you came. Greg said, hugging the man. Rose looked at his son.

“Hi, Lucas.” she smiled.

“Hi, Rose. you look pretty today.”

“Aw, thank you, Lucas.” She smiled. he then turned to Steven.

“Hi, Steven!”

“Hi!” he smiled, Lucas went toward him and gave him a high five. “Steven! Where matching!” Lucas smiled, looking at Steven’s blue T-shirt which was a little bit too big for him.

Lucas knows that he won’t grow normally like other kids, but he doesn’t care. Their still friends.

Steven and Lucas both met at school in September two years ago when Steven was in first grade. Lucas had changed schools in Delaware. Steven already had no friends because of the way he looked at others. One boy asked if there was something wrong with him or if he had a disability.

And someone even asked Lucas, in front of him ‘Why do you hang out with that baby?’ Lucas was so angry at this and wanted to kick him in the leg. But Steven told him to let it go and went to play Pokémon with him on his GameBoy.

“Hey, Steven,” Lucas said.

“Hi!” he said happily.

“What’s up? we're going to have so much fun together” Lucas said. Steven smiles and hugs his friend. Just then, Pearl walked back to their table with their food.

“Here you go, guys,” Pearl said, handing them their breakfast. Steven smiled and unrolled his napkin revealing a fork and knife and eating his pancakes. Christopher smiled and put a hand on his son’s head.

“Okay, Lucas. I’m off to work now. Have fun with Steven, your momma will pick you up. I have to work late tonight.” he told his son, Locas nods

“Okay, bye Dad!” he said, seeing him walk out of the diner.

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Steven, Lucas, Greg, and Rose went to the arcade when they went back and played some games, Lucas and Steven went to ski ball while Greg and Rose were on the racing simulators. The owner of the arcade—Mr. Thomas was pleased to see them having fun. He smiled and watched them, Despite that Greg’s wife was an alien. He didn’t care he was happy to see a person or alien, having fun.

Mr. Thomas was standing not too far away, attending the prize booth. He appeared to be in his thirties, with short light brown hair. He is wearing a checkered shirt with colors that include red, blue, and white. He also wore blue jeans and Vans on his feet. He also had a welcoming smile on his face.

“Hey, Steven!” Mr. Thomas said walking up towards the boy. Steven smiled and looked at the man.

“Hi, Mr. Thomas,” he said. He smiled at the boy and knelt to his level.

“Hello, Steven! I heard that your birthday is in two months, are ya doing anything fun?” Steven wanted to go to LA for his birthday and meet his mom’s friends who also lived there. He was excited for his birthday. He was turning eight years old. He loved his birthday a lot, hopefully, this one will be special for him. Steven smiled and continued to play ski ball with Lucas. They hoped they would never separate.

Steven was now in his bedroom, it was ten o’clock PM, and he was playing Super Mario Sunshine. Rose walked upstairs to his loft bedroom. Steven looks at his mom, she wearing her Mr. Universe T-shirt and long pants. “Hey, mom,” he said, still playing.

“Hi, Steven,” she said, the boy smiled, Rose sat on the bed, Steven paused the game and hugged her, feeling the warmth of his mother could put him to sleep. Steven yawned as he hugged her tighter, Rose smiled and kissed his forehead. “Goodnight, Steven.”She whispers, covering him up with the white puffy comforter.

Rose walked downstairs and into her and Greg’s room. Greg was on his laptop. His wife walked to her side of the bed and went in, he looked at her and smiled lovingly at her. “I love you, Rose.”

“I love you too, Greg,” she said, kissing her husband on the cheek. Greg smiled, closed his laptop, and put it beside him. Rose got comfortable and they both went to sleep

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A/N: hi guys! I hope you all enjoyed this fanfic as much as I did. I love making stuff like this. I thought of a Steven Universe Actors AU for a while now. I started writing this three days to come up with, I hope you guys review this it’ll mean a lot to me if you do.

[crazyfangirl100]

Succession Characters as Musicals because I’m a burnt out theater kid:

Okay I’d first like to say that I haven’t listened to some popular musicals and this is only based on the ones I’ve listened to so lemme know if others fit better ✌🏻 ✌🏻 ✌🏻

Kendall- Tick Tick Boom

Roman- The Lion King

Shiv- Kiss Me Kate

Connor- The Phantom of the Opera

Tom- he thinks he’s Cinderella but he’s actually Mean Girls (thinks he’s marrying into the royal family after working but he’s actually bribing and sneaking his way to the top)

Greg- Dear Evan Hansen or The Producers

Logan- Chicago

Ok lemme know if you want a part twooooo!

[mylifeinfiction]

Batman: The Court of Owls Saga by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo

". . . I'LL BE WATCHING. ALWAYS."

The Court of Owls Saga is AWESOME! I went into this book completely in the dark about anything to do with what or who The Court of Owls was, and what I got was a brutal, nightmarish exploration of Gotham's role in Batman's mythology, and vice versa. Scott Snyder's writing doesn't quite reach the heights of Miller (and there's a plot-twist late in the game that I simply didn't like) but his understanding of Batman as a symbol and Bruce Wayne as a man—and what they both represent and how they function within their world—brings to this story a sense of identity that richly embodies the more specific themes, making the stakes feel as urgent as they do desperate.

And Greg Capullo's artwork is straight-up BADASS! He brings both the ferocity of these enemies and the nightmare into which they thrust Bats to life with a visceral sense of despair and hallucinatory terror. It's truly fantastic work that brings Batman to life in ways both stunningly classic and shockingly surreal.

8.5/10

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

[thethirdbill]

“Ranking” is a stretch, since they’re all above simply “good” but I did share my thoughts on every Steven Universe song to celebrate 5 years since listening to them for the first time!

[rabbitechoes]

a bit of a light week, probably missed some stuff because i've been very busy, but there were still some rlly interesting songs that caught my attention! here are my thoughts on them!! if u care ... which i know u do!!! :D click here for last week's post!!

also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

"Screamland" - Father John Misty

◇ released: Sept. 17, 2024 ◇ featured on Mahahmashana (not yet released) ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, art pop, indietronica

In the span of a few hours, Father John Misty released this new single and announced a new album. Alongside the announcement, Bandcamp announced that they were hosting an advanced listening party of the new record which I gleefully attended. I'm so glad I did. This new record is fantastic. He plays around with the Wall of Sound production style and his instrumentation and writing is as ambitious as ever. This track in particular, "Screamland," was a massive highlight. These songs are living and breathing, it's like you can feel the ideas as they come to Mr. Tillman. Brimming with brilliance. I can't wait to dive into this record again. For those that missed the listening party the album is out there if you look hard enough wait until it officially drops in November!

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"First Time" - Greg Mendez

◇ released: Sept. 17, 2024 ◇ featured on First Time / Alone (not yet released) ◇ genres: singer-songwriter, indietronica

I had never heard Greg Mendez's music prior to this new single, leading up to his debut on the Dead Oceans label. This is a very cute, somber cut that's very pleasant on the ears. Can't say it leaves the biggest impression, but it whets the appetite just fine in the lead-up to this EP. If you're on the lookout for a minimalist song to fit one of your yearning sessions, look no further!

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"God Gets You Back" - Mogwai

◇ released: Sept. 17, 2024 ◇ genres: progressive electronic, art rock, post-rock

This new track from Mogwai is a pretty decent progressive electronic track that's easy to get drawn into. There's some big, looming synths here and some lyrics penned by Barry Burns's daughter. I have to admit I'm not the biggest Mogwai fan. This is one of the only tracks I've heard from them outside of the Mogwai Young Team album, but I'm impressed! Not sure where this ranks among their discography on the whole, but I really enjoyed this song. It's just got so much energy to it. Definitely need to listen to more of their stuff at some point.

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"Psycho Killer (Acoustic Version) [feat. Arthur Russell] [2024 Remaster]" - Talking Heads

◇ released: Sept. 17, 2024 ◇ featured on Talking Heads: 77 (Super Deluxe Edition) [2024 Remaster] (not yet released) ◇ genres: folk rock, post-punk, art punk

The Talking Heads are gearing up for a "super deluxe" reissue of their debut record, Talking Heads: 77. As a treat alongside the announcement, they shared this acoustic version of their classic song "Psycho Killer" featuring renowned multi-faceted composer and cellist Arthur Russell. This is a cool rarity. It features early verses not present in the studio version and the band's energy is palpable - as it usually was. Russell's contributions are also pretty neat, adding some more fire to it all. If you're a fan of The Heads or Arthur Russell, definitely give this a go.

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"NEW! Christianity" - The Armed

◇ released: Sept. 17, 2024 ◇ featured on Everlasting Gaze (not yet released) ◇ genres: post-hardcore, noise pop, noise rock

Abrasive post-hardcore band The Armed are returning with a new EP, Everlasting Gaze. Acting as the final piece of their previous record, which I regretfully haven't listened to yet, it seems the band had more to add to that project. I can't speak on the quality of that album, but this track is pretty stellar. A weird mix of insane noise rock and dreamy verses - with the occasional screamed vocals. This song rules hard. Definitely gonna be listening to this new EP when it drops, but before then I need to catch up on their previous record that slipped under my radar.

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"Bird W/O Nest" - Alice Longyu Gao feat. Danny Brown

◇ released: Sept. 18, 2024 ◇ featured on Assembling Symbols Into My Own Poetry (not yet released) ◇ genres: art rock, indie rock, pop rap

Alice Longyu Gao has released another single leading up to her upcoming EP, this one being an art rock-y track featuring Danny Brown. I like it! It's a little clunky in places and I wish Gao's verses had some more edge to them, but they sound nice. Brown's feature was unexpected, but it's very hard for him to put in a bad performance. This is a cool little song regardless! I'm curious to hear how all of these singles come together on the EP, but we shall see soon enough!

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"Do You Realize??" - Willie Nelson

◇ released: Sept. 19, 2024 ◇ featured on Last Leaf On The Tree (not yet released) ◇ genres: country, americana

Coincidentally, the same week I see The Flaming Lips live on Weezer's Voyage to the Blue Planet tour, country legend Willie Nelson releases a cover of their song "Do You Realize??" This is a fine cover, it removes the psychedelic tones of the original in favor of rustic and soothing Americana. His voice is aged, not like a fine wine, but it's charming nonetheless. The backing vocalist is adding some much needed touches to it all. Is this cover necessary? Not really. Is it pleasant? Yeah, sure! If you like the original or Nelson's brand of old-timey country balladeering, give this a listen!

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"S P E Y S I D E" - Bon Iver

◇ released: Sept. 20, 2024 ◇ featured on SABLE, (not yet released) ◇ genres: indie folk, singer-songwriter, chamber folk

Bon Iver have returned with their most stripped-down song in years. Justin Vernon has reached back into his indie folk bag to the delight of many, myself included. For those not attuned to the band's last few records of off-kilter electronica blending with Vernon's cryptic prose, "S P E Y S I D E" is sure to excite. However, for those I have lovingly deemed the "sickos," of which I am one, this is a bit of a letdown. I still really enjoy the song, but I loved what Vernon and crew have been doing with all the weird sounds. Still, I'm excited to hear what SABLE, will sound like. I've never been disappointed by a Bon Iver project, even i,i which was wrongly overlooked by many, so I'm excited no matter what. Here's hoping the strange electronic stuff will return in some fashion!

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[pricelessreviews]

[mandoreviews]

📽️ Operation Finale (2018)

This movie was so interesting! It was extremely detailed and easy to follow. It wasn’t super action-packed, although there was some action; but it kept my interest the whole time. The fact that it’s based on a true story just makes it even better, especially since I learned some things I never knew about Israel after World War II. I would definitely recommend this movie especially if you’re someone who is interested in history.

Sex/nudity: 2/10 (kissing, woman briefly seen in a bra)

Language: 4/10 (one f word and several other curse words)

Violence: 7/10 (gory violence vividly described but not seen, other violence including torture seen on screen)

Overall rating: 7/10

[silveragelovechild]

I saw the trailer for “Fly Me to the Moon” a while back. It’s a comedy about faking the Apollo moon landing starring Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson. They are popular and good looking. I thought it would be a hit.

I was wrong. It opened very nearly on the 55th anniversary of the actual moon landing and… failed spectacularly at the box office. It earned only $31 million against its $100 million budget. It probably needed to make $200 to break even.

Aftering being away on vacation, it’s the first movie I decided to see - purely based on my reaction to the trailer. I didn’t read and reviews in advance. I had hoped it would be an old fashioned screwball comedy. But I don’t think director Greg Berlanti knew what kind of movie he wanted to make. He has directed 3 other movies (two gay comedies) but most of his experience is with superhero shows (aka The ArrowVerse).

The movie starts off okay… Johansson plays a super successful New York ad executive right out of “Madmen”. Woody Harrelson arrives as a super secret Richard Nixon operative who needs her to improve the public’s perception of the Apollo program. For some reason he needed to blackmail her which didn’t quite make sense.

In Florida Johansson and Tatum met-cute. He’s the Apollo mission’s launch director and doesn’t think he needs her help. He resists her every way he can.

After successfully doing her job, Harrelson then tells Johansson he wants a backup plan in case the moon landing fails. He wants her to organized a secret fake film of the landing to broadcast instead. Of course this puts her at odds with her budding romance with Tatum.

Let me cut to the chase… even if this is a screwball comedy (which it’s not) the plot makes no sense. Harrelson wants to use the actual audio of Armstrong/Aldrin from the moon but use the fake video of Johansson’s mock up. Huh?

If the Lunar Module arrived without crashing, no disaster, therefore the fake footage is unnecessary.

Then there’s the fake drama created as a wedge between Johansson and Tatum. Apparently Johansson’s character has a secret criminal past (just like Don Draper) that Harrelson uses to blackmail her. This was so unnecessary - couldn’t she just have been a successful ad exec without that bullsh#t?

Then there’s Tatum’s backstory. He feels personally guilty for the deaths of the astronauts in the Apollo 1 launch testing disaster. I can just imagine the writer’s room discussion about how they needed to add more gravitas to the story and let Tatum prove his acting chops. Again totally unnecessary.

At the age of 44, Tatum is 8 years older than Gene Kranz was in 1969 (the actual flight director). In his first scene I noticed that Tatum looked like he had very obvious stage makeup. Throughout the movie, except for two lines between his eyebrows, he had absolutely no wrinkles… no crows feet when he smiled, no lines across his forehead, no laugh lines. (BTW, Kranz was not the flight director for Apollo 1.)

At the end, the movie attempts to become a comedy again with antics involving Chekhov’s Black Cat. When all else fails, throw in some slapstick. (The poster above spoilers the ending.)

And my final petpeeve - Berlanti, who is opening gay, included a character (played by gay actor Jim Rash) who is the worst gay stereotype - he can only be described as “f@ggy”.

The fact that the movie flopped at the box office, probably doesn’t matter to Apple Studios who produced it. They didn’t care that 2023’s “Napoleon” lost $165 million.

[watchfuldeer]

this has been sitting in my drafts for a while, but now i’m seeing the first episode tomorrow and the review embargo is up i need to publish my tomgreg state of the nation now or it’ll be hindsight instead of foresight lol.

my interpretation of everything that has lead up to this point is that each is the other’s central relationship. the scales have long been tipping in favour of greg, for tom, and tom has pretty much always been it for greg. at the end of the last season, they sat among twinkling candles in a tuscan garden and married each other. they made a soul deal. the tom and greg relationship is relevant to the plot, they are hugely popular, and the possibility of (even more) romantic development, or sexual, seems like it could very much be on the cards to me, with some important caveats.

namely, that greg has his own wants and desires, and tom has historically been not great at treating greg as an equal. i foresee attempts by greg at achieving normalcy (i.e. dating), and crashing and burning every time. tom meanwhile is still married, and probably hurting. i’ve been hoping against hope for an unsatisfying tom and greg bacchanal, post all the bells say, because while they made their pact, they’re still tom and greg, y’know? they’re not brilliant at expressing their inner selves. greg in particular is desperately hungry for pretty much anything, and tom will be trying to stave off the horrors.

which brings me to something i’ve been thinking about a lot recently: the nature of a soul deal. you retain your soul until the devil comes to collect, but the devil is at the behest of the person who made the deal in the mean time. if tom reneges on their contract by being unwilling or unable to give greg what he wants, what does it look like? metaphorically, tom and greg are bound together, and the negotiation of their relationship, to what extent they need each other and what exactly they want from each other is a throughline that i expect will take us all the way to the end of the series.

whatever shape the relationship takes, it will most likely lie far outside of what we, as fans of the pairing in a fandom, have imagined, because we’re not writing the tv show succession. we don’t have to imagine stories with seven central characters and a whole host of other important players, as opposed to just our favourite two, balancing it with a plot, all as part of a final season. but they are obviously in this together, and i think things will get wild.

[claygoestothemovies]

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Greg Berlanti’s FLY ME TO THE MOON had my theater cackling, myself included. Unfortunately, the rom part of this rom-com crashes on take off. Thankfully, this screenwriter (Rose Gilroy, based on a story by Keenan Flynn and Bill Kirstein) at least appears to know how a cat acts in real life, unlike another recent film.

The razor sharp caper follows Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson playing Don Draper if he was fast on his feet and had a sense of humor), a marketing genius who’s “encouraged” by a man working for Nixon (Woody Harrelson) to take on a job in Florida. What will she be marketing? Why, the moon, of course! America is deep in the Space Race, and NASA needs a social facelift if it’s any chance of succeeding. On the more technical side of making Apollo 11 happen is launch director Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), and the last thing he needs is a smart and attractive woman making distractions, or something like that.

The big hook of the film is that in order to ensure that the moon landing goes off without a hitch to the American People and the world, they have to take measures to fake it. The comedy of all of this is hysterical. I haven’t laughed so much at a con since DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS. The jokes consistently land, and make fantastic use of Tricky Dick being in office. Scarlett Johansson is at the top of her game here, more films should let her be funny! Give us a ScarJo/Rachel McAdams buddy comedy, someone! Rose Byrne can come, too! Tatum is fine, and he handles the comedic elements satisfactorily. Harrelson and the rest of the supporting cast seem to be having a marvelous time, especially Jim Rash as the high strung director brought in to make the top secret film. Ray Romano also gives a warm turn as Henry Smalls, a fatherly figure working at NASA. A delightful black kitty is also featured. What a year for cats in cinema!

If this had just been a comedy, I would mostly give it top marks. Although I would definitely deduct points for that inexcusable runtime, no comedy - romantic or otherwise - needs to be 132 minutes long. But it’s not just a comedy. It’s a romantic comedy, and in that department, it somehow fails entirely. Everything about the romance, except for maybe the meet cute, feels so utterly forced I never bought in for a second. It’s the Sixties, I should be feeling Doris Day and Rock Hudson levels of sexual tension between these actors! Johansson could have chemistry with a napkin, yet Tatum seems like he could be her character’s brother; romantic sparks are not the vibe they give while sparring.

While overlong, and that could have been fixed by Nix(on)ing (sorry) the romantic plot, and my issues with the romantic aspects aside, I still had a great time with this one! I laughed a lot of that runtime, enjoyed some possibly revisionist history, and got to see ScarJo rocking period costumes and hair while making all the men around her look dumb. It’s not rocket science, but as far as popcorn entertainment goes, you could do a lot worse.

3.5/5

[agentnico]

Fly Me to the Moon (2024) review

America - f*** yeah!!

Plot: Starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, Fly Me To The Moon is a sharp, stylish romantic comedy set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA's historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Brought in to fix NASA's public image, sparks fly in all directions as marketing maven Kelly Jones (Johansson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis's (Tatum) already difficult task. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, the countdown truly begins.

Is it just me or this does not feel like a real movie? Like yes, I watched it. Yes, it’s been properly shot and has real actors in it. But there seems to be something overly synthetic about the whole thing, almost as if it was written and made by AI. A generic romantic comedy with all the generic tropes of the genre, only with the added backdrop of the fake moon landing narrative, though even that has been adapted on film many a time. Look, Fly Me to the Moon is a passable movie that has some enjoyment level and also seems as if it were made on a decent enough budget, but the lead two characters share zero to no chemistry, and the movie’s narrative lacks any significant substance to actually say anything nor deliver on any if all themes (aside from showcasing the respect for the sacrifice of the Apollo 1 tragedy). The only reoccurring theme is that of the Americans values and patriotism overload, which I guess it’s good for a country to toot its own horn, but it doesn’t result in good entertainment.

I usually really enjoy Channing Tatum, however here he feels awfully miscast, as I did not buy him as a guy that would be around in the 1960s. It also seemed like he was riffing a lot and mimicking Rock Hudson, only that Hudson knew how to deliver the charms for a romcom, whilst Tatum delivers a bland and grumpy performance here with a one-note expression throughout. Scarlett Johannson is fine, she does the best with what she has and to be fair to her she manages to showcase her range of different accents which is praise-worthy, as well as having a colourful outfit change every 5 seconds. Woody Harrelson I wish was in this more, as he plays a politician/member of the White House and he plays crooked officials well. Ray Romano AKA Manny the Mammoth from Ice Age is also along for the ride, and I’m always happy to see some Romano.

My issue is that I am getting a little tired from the level of mediocrity that is coming out of big movie studios recently. This movie is an example of a typical forgettable slog, that is neither funny, nor romantic, nor thoughtful, nor honestly anything. This made me feel nothing. Fly me to the flop, I tell ya.

Overall score: 3/10

[phdingifs]

When I get contradictory comments from my peer reviewers...

[steven1123x]

Behind The Scenes - Chapter 2: Sun, Sand and Surf

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Steven was on the beach, it was six in the morning and he was about to surf. The waves were perfect for it, it wasn’t too hot outside. So it was the right time for a little morning surfing. Greg and Rose weren’t up yet. So it was just him out on the water and a few people who also came to the beach. The boy saw a wave coming up. he paddled out to it, popped up on the board and he surfed that wave.

“Woah! Look at that little guy go!” A man said, sitting on his board. Watching Steven. Some other people joined in on the fun, Steven wanted to put on some music, but a guy on the beach put his iPhone into the dock of his iHome and he turned on some rock music. ‘What I’ve Done' by ‘LINKIN PARK’ played on full volume.

Rose walked out and leaned on the railing of the wooden balcony, watching her son. (since Steven was the smallest one there) Then the door opened to the house. Her husband walked out and put an arm around her waist. Greg went on his tippy toes and kissed her on the cheek.

“Is Steven in the water?” Greg asked after a few minutes of silence. Rose nodded and pointed, Greg recognized the figure as their son, and he went back inside. She was confused at first, but then she saw that her husband was dressed in blue swim trunks that had a white palm tree pattern, he was shirtless and was carrying his surfboard under his arm.

Rose smiles and watches her husband go down the steps and get into the water to surf.

She went to go change into a pair of shorts and a tank top. She also walked down the wooden steps and sat by the water, some surfboards were sticking out in the sand and some people were talking or sitting on beach towels. She took out her phone and took a picture to send to her friend, Ameythest. She had forgot a few times that they were three hours behind them since her team lived in California.

Rose watched as her son and husband were out on the beach having fun. A woman walked to her and sat in the sand. “Hello,” Rose said, waving toward her.

“Hi.” the woman said. She is wearing a dark green bikini with triangle cups and ties that fasten around her neck and back. The bottoms tie at the sides and feature a minimal coverage design. The woman has a medium skin tone and long, dark brown hair styled in loose waves. She is smiling and facing her. “Hi, I’m Allison.” She said.

“Hello, Allison, I’m Rose.” she smiled, a chunk of her pink hair falling off her shoulder.

“You are pretty.”

Rose smiled. at her. Blushing; “I get that a lot.”

“Oh?” Rose nods. “Multiple people tell me that I’m pretty.”

“Well, you are. Are you a model?”

“No, I was a commander,” she said casually.

“A commander? Like for the US Army?”

“Mmmmm, something like that. Have you watched Transformers?” Rose asked. Allison nodded.

“It’s like that, but I commanded a rebellion against my kind.” Allison wanted to believe that that wasn’t true or that she was making it up, but half of her told her that she was not joking.

“So you lead a rebellion?” she nods again, Then Greg walks out, holding his surfboard, Steven is next to him. He wore a pair of pink swim shorts, Allison saw something… Different about him, He had a pink gem where his navel should be. and he was tiny. Maybe she thought he was about five years old.

“Aww, who’s this little guy?” Alison asked.

Rose smiled as her son sat next to her on the sand. “This is my son, Steven,” she told her. Allison wondered, and wanted to ask her.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how old is he?”

“I’m seven,” he said.

“Wow.” She said with a smile on her face. “He looks so cute.”

“Thank you,” he said, smiling at her. Greg smiled and put a hand on his son’s shoulder. Steven looks up at his father.

“Alright, let’s go inside and have breakfast, then after we can go back to the beach,” Greg said, Rose and Steven agreed with that and they went to the beach house for breakfast.

Two boys stepped out of a red 2008 Ford Mustang with their mother. They were both wearing bathing suits.

The first boy appears to have short brown hair, a cheerful smile, and bright eyes. He is wearing a plain white t-shirt and standing in the sand. He is in a happy mood, radiating positivity and warmth through his expression. He has brown hair. The combination of his smile and bright eyes could indicate a sense of joy or contentment, adding a sense of innocence and youthfulness to his overall appearance.

The other boy has a joyful expression on his face. He has curly hair and is dressed in a black T-shirt. The t-shirt features a graphic design with multiple white panels, which may contain comic strips and a large white swoosh logo. The overall atmosphere of the photo is festive and cheerful, with a greenish background and sparkling white stars adding to the lively ambiance. The young boy in the image has a joyful expression on his face. He has curly hair and is dressed in a black t-shirt and red swim shorts, The t-shirt features a graphic design with multiple white panels, which may contain comic strips and a large white swoosh logo.

“Lance, Mikey.” A woman told the two seven-year-old boys.

“Yeah, mom?” Lance said, walking up toward his mother. His mother was a tall woman, not as tall as Rose. She stood at six foot seven. She has a light complexion and long blonde hair that is casually styled, flowing around her face and shoulders. She is wearing a dark top, with short shorts with a bikini underneath her clothes. Lance and Mikey both helped their mom with items, such as towels and an umbrella.

Steven sat at the table with his mother, as his father made breakfast. Rose saw two boys and one woman walk up the stairs through the glass leading outside to the house. They heard a knock on the door, Steven opened it and saw his friends standing there with their mother, Luisa.

“Guys! You're here!” Steven hugs both of his friends.

“Hey, Steven!” Kyle said.

“Hey, man!” Lance said, giving him a high five. Steven gave both of his friends hugs and they walked in with their mother.

“Hi, Greg, hi Rose.” Luisa greeted them.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Universe!” Lance and Kyle said.

“Hi guys, how are you?” Rose asked. Rose now wore another one-piece swimsuit. Like the last one, her gem was exposed. And, her pink hair was tied back in a ponytail, they were about to go back out again to surf. Greg, Rose, and Steven were almost finished eating breakfast and they were going back onto the beach.

“Do you want breakfast guys, Mom made French toast.” Steven said, standing up and putting his plate in the kitchen.

“No thanks, we just ate back at the house,” Mikey said, Lance nodded. Steven went back outside with his friends. Their surfboards were leaning on the side of the house, Steven grabbed his that was by his dad’s and went down the wooden steps.

Steven, Lance, and Mikey all went down to the beach and they were now playing together. Greg and Rose then came outside with their surfboards and they were now out on the water.

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Steven was now in his room, playing GameCube with his friends Lance and Mikey, who wanted to sleep over. Rose said yes, and now, Rose was making popcorn for the boys for a movie that they were going to watch in the living room. The movie was set on the silver VHS/DVD player they had sitting inside the large TV.

“Boys! Popcorn is ready!” Steven’s mother called out. Steven, Lance, and Mikey raced downstairs and all sat in the living room. “What movie is this mom?” Steven asked, sandwiched in between his bigger seven-year-old friends.

“Lilo & Stitch,” Rose said, Steven’s eyes lit up into the shapes of stars.

“I love that movie!” he said, Rose chuckled. “I know you do, Steven.”

“Your dad should be back with the pizza.” She said as she saw a pair of headlights in the distance.

“That must be him!” Steven said excitedly. Rose chuckled at her son’s enthusiasm. Running to the door, Steven opened for him, letting the summer air come in as well as the smell of the sand and the ocean Greg was walking up the stairs and smiled when he saw his son holding the door for him.

“Thanks, Schu-Ball,” Greg said, ruffling up his curly black hair, Steven closed the door and locked it. He set the box down on the table so the boys could eat. Steven opened the box and gasped, stars in his eyes. “Pepperoni!” he said, he and his friends grabbed a slice then ate some pizza and watched the movie.

“OH, YOUR TOUCHING ME!”

“Not touching.”

“TOUCHING ME!”

“It’s free air!”

Steven licked Lance. “EW!” Mikey laughed as he ate his popcorn.

“That’s funny.”

“No, it’s not!” Lance said, going into the kitchen and washing his face.

“Did your parents go to bed, Steven?”

“No, there outside on the porch,” he said, looking at the wrap-around porch through the window, the lights were on and Greg was strumming his acoustic guitar.

“Okay guys, let’s play Shadow The Hedgehog!” Steven said, opening his TV and handing Lance and Mikey two controllers.

“I’ll be the original Shadow.”

“I’ll be gold Shadow!”

“I’ll go next after you guys!” Steven said, putting his Sony TV to the right input as they played the game.

“Hey, Steven. Is there any water or something?” Lance said, getting up from the floor.

“Yeah, they should be in the fridge,” he said. Lance went to the fridge and saw a whole case of water bottles, he grabbed one and went back upstairs to his bedroom.

“Hey, Steven. why don’t you have any walls and a door?”

“My parents thought that it was cool like this, and I agree with them,” Steven said, playing the game.

Lance nodded and they went back to playing.

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The next day, Lance, Mikey, Steven, and Greg were playing volleyball on the beach, and Rose was surfing.

“Steven! it’s your serve!” Lance said, Steven threw the volleyball into the air and tried to serve it, but he was too small to reach over the net, so the ball went under it instead.

“Ugh! I’m too short for this game!” he said in frustration. Then, Greg walked to the other side of the net and knelt to his level.

“Steven, you can do anything you set your mind to,” Greg said, touching his shoulder. Steven didn’t believe that.

“Dad! Just admit it, I’m a joke. An excuse, I wish I… I was more human, like Kyle, Lance, and Lucas. And all of the kids at school! I HATE the way I look.” Tears welled up in his eyes and are now streaming down his cheeks. Greg listened to his son vent.

“Every day at school I was called a baby because I look like I’m in the first grade still! I would get made fun of by COUNTLESS KIDS CONSTANTLY! The coaches would not put me on a team with kids when we would play basketball because I’m ‘too short’ or I have some kind of ‘growth problem’ You know how AWFUL THAT IS! Why do I always get the short end of the stick, why am I always discriminated against because I was born differently maybe… Maybe I shouldn’t been born at all!” Seven finished his rant, balling up his fists and glaring at the sand beneath his feet.

Greg felt his heart shatter into a million tiny pieces. No seven-year-old should think like this. He put a hand on his shoulder. “Steven. What made you think like this, dude?”

“Remember that kid I told you and Mom about last year, the boy who I think got held back a year or so and was in Miss. Phips class with me and Lucas?”

“Yeah.”

“Well he called me all kinds of names, and the one that stuck with me the most was ‘baby’ he told me to go back to kindergarten!” Greg didn’t say anything but took him and hugged his son.

“You know.” he started. “I don’t understand this gem stuff, but your mom and I both love you, Steven. Don’t talk like that about yourself again, understand?” Steve nods. Greg smiled kissed his hair and stood up. Steven looked at the ocean, the sound of the waves, the sand, and the salty air hitting his nose.

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Steven was at the mall with his friends and his mom in Delaware. Steven was on his mother’s shoulders. “What do you want to do first guys?” Rose asked.

“Mom, can I get a new hat?” Steven asked.

“Sure,” she said, walking into a Spencer’s. Steven picked out a Sonic The Hedgehog beanie. Rose smiled and examined it.

It was a beanie hat with a vibrant blue and black pattern. The pattern includes stylized text that is artistically designed, making it somewhat abstract and challenging to read. Notably, there is an embroidered patch of Sonic the Hedgehog, a popular video game character, displayed on the fold of the beanie. Sonic is depicted in his classic running pose, colored in blue with details in white, red, and flesh tones for his face and arms.

Steven’s eyes had stars in them and wanted to try it on, Rose smiled and helped him slip it on his curly head of hair. Rose’s eyes lit up and smiled, admiring how adorable he was! “You look so handsome!” Rose said, his friends nodded in agreement. Steven went to the mirror and looked at himself.

“I’ll take it, Mom!” he said, excitement in his voice.

Rose smiled and got one for herself too, she looked in the mirror and gasped at how cute she looked in it!

It displayed the pink beanie on her head, adorned with an embroidered design depicting a cartoon-style character on the front. The character exudes a playful and mischievous vibe, characterized by its large eyes and expressive features atop of her naturally pink hair.

“You look so good, mom! We should get one for Dad too. What do you think he will like?” Steven asked.

“Isn’t his favorite character Tails?”

“Yeah, but maybe we can get both, Or we can get Vector The Crocodile., 'cause Dad likes music. And vector is a DJ.” Rose liked that idea

“Alright, Vector it is then!” she said, reaching up for it and grabbing it. “Wow…. I still can’t believe that I have an eight-foot-tall mom.” Steven said, with stars in his eyes as he looked at his mother in amazement.

Rose giggled and ruffled her son’s hair.

They stepped out of Spencer’s and now decided to eat at the food court. Lance and Mikey got something, they got two Sonic shirts. Steven wore his beanie and Rose wore hers also. Steven was holding his mother’s hand as they walked through the mall.

Steven held the Spencer’s bag as they went to the food court.

“Can we get Burger King, Mrs. Universe?” Lance asked. Rose smiled “Yes you guys can, Steven. do you want Birger King also?”

“Can I have Taco Bell?” he asked.

“Ohh, that sounds wonderful. I’ll maybe have that myself.” Rose said. She knelt and pulled out ten dollars for Lance and Mikey.

“You know where it is, do you?” she said, handing Lance the bill.

They both nod and walk to the Burger King.

Steven, Rose, Lance, and Mikey all sat down and ate their food. “Thanks for this, Mrs. Universe,” Mijey said, dipping his chicken nuggets in barbecue sauce.

“No problem guys.”

“Raise your hands if you think Mrs. Universe is the best!” Mikry said, dipping a fry in the sauce. Lance, Mikey, and Steven all raised their hands. Rose laughed and smiled.

“I think you guys are pretty great also.” she smiled at them, Steven hugged her from the side, and Rose hugged him back.

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“Rose was driving her husband’s van back to Dewey Beach. Steven was sitting in the front and looking out the window. The radio was playing Sum 41. Rose drummed her hands on the steering wheel and Steven drummed his fingers on the window.

Steven took off his beanie and set it on his lap. He saw that the beach was coming up and Rose stopped the van and they got out Steven grabbed the bag and they went upstairs, Steven giggled at the door handle.

“Hey, mom! it’s locked! I think Dad’s not in the house.”

“I have a key, Steven.” she smiled and opened the door to the beach house. Just then, a red 2008 Ford Mustang pulled up next to their MR. UNIVERSE van then step out. “Boys, your mother is here. Get your stuff.” Rose said. Lance and Mikey went inside and grabbed their stuff.

“Bye, Steven. See you tomorrow or something.” Lance said.

“Bye, guys!” Steven waved as they went down the steps and to their mother’s car.

“Steven, If you want to go into town, you can. You remember how to get back, right?” Rose asked. Steven nods and hugs his mother.

“Thanks, mom.” Steven ran down the steps, Rose was leaning on the porch, watching her son leave. Steven was walking around the boardwalk, he saw some people as he was looking around.

Steven came back home a few hours later. Rose was reading on her phone at the minibar.

“Hey, Steven how was your walk?” Rose asked.

“Hey, mom. It was good, thanks for asking,” he said, walking up the stairs.

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Rose, Greg, and Steven were now dressed. It was later in the evening, Steven was wearing a blue polo shirt, jeans, and a pair of red Converse high tops. Also, to complete his look. He was wearing his Sonic The Hedgehog benie Rose wore a white button-down shirt with pink jeans and a pair of white Adidas. Greg wore a long-sleeved shirt with blue jeans and a pair of white Converse with his Vector The Crocodile beanie. They were going to a party in Washington tonight at Christopher’s and Jasmine’s house.

Steven grabbed something from his room, he grabbed his Nintendo DS with a copy of Super Mario Bros inside. Steven, Greg, and Rose all walked downstairs. Greg opened the door to his van and sat inside. He put the key in the ignition and left Dewey Beach.

Steven, Rose, and Greg saw a large home come up.

A charming two-story suburban house with a striking brick facade and numerous large windows. The design of the house is symmetrical, with a central entrance that is flanked by two evenly spaced windows on either side. Above the entrance, there is a large arched window, adding to the architectural symmetry of the building.

The roof of the house is multi-gabled, suggesting the presence of additional space on the second floor or in an attic. A concrete driveway leads up to an attached two-car garage, located on the right-hand side of the house and seamlessly integrated into the main structure.

The landscaping surrounding the house is meticulously maintained, featuring manicured grass, various shrubs, and a few young trees. This attention to detail enhances the overall aesthetic appeal and creates a tidy and welcoming atmosphere. The clear sky in the background indicates that it is dark, with the house lights on.

Greg parked on the driveway and killed the engine. Rose and Steven both went up to the house and knocked.

A woman opened the door with a joyful expression, looking directly at the couple. She has long, straight black hair and is adorned with a blue top. Her makeup is subtly applied, naturally enhancing her features, with a bright, engaging smile on her face.

“Greg, Rose!” Jasmine said, shaking both their hands. She looked at Steven and knelt at his level. “And little Steven!” she said with a large smile.

“Hello, Jasmine,” he said. Jasmine smiled.

“Come in, Steven. Lucas is in the living room with everybody.” Steven nodded and walked into the house. He walked into the living room and saw Lucas and everyone playing Guitar Hero on the Nintendo WII.

“Lucas!” he smiled and saw him on the couch with their five other friends around the same age range as both boys. Steven sat on the couch and watched three of his friends, Joey, Ryan, and Andrew all in front of the TV. Steven saw the song list, Andrew selected a song, and Steven’s eyes widened.

“Wait! Go up!” he said. Andrew went up and the song displayed the name ‘Comet’ Mr. Universe, 1984.

“Can you play that one? It’s my dad’s song!” Steven told them, stars in his eyes.

“Woah! Cool. We can play it!” Andrew said as he pressed the green button and they got into the game, “Wait, pause it. I’ll be back!” Steven said, running into the kitchen where the adults were. Greg had a can of soda in his hand as his other arm was wrapped around Rose’s waist.

“Dad! you gotta come into the living room!” Steven said, grabbing his bicep.

“Woah! Where’s the fire, buddy?” Greg asked, letting go of Rose and kneeling to his level.

“Dad! come into the living room, mom can come too!” he exclaimed, running towards his friends Greg and Rose both walked into the living room and Andrew unpaused it, they were playing the song.

Some... say I have no direction, that I'm a light-speed distraction, that's a knee-jerk reaction.

Still, this is the final frontier, everything is so clear, to my destiny I steer

This life in the stars is all I've ever known,

Stars and stardust in infinite space is my only home

Greg and Rose both smiled and watched the kids play.

But the moment that I hit the stage, thousands of voices are calling my name

And I know in my heart it's been worth it all of the while

And as my albums fly off of the shelves, handing out autographed pics of myself,

This life I chose isn't easy but sure is one heck of a ride

“Do you remember that we met two decades ago, I was watching you play and the rest was history.”

Greg smiled. “You know I do, babe,” he said. They both listened to the rest of the song.

At the moment that I hit the stage, I hear the universe calling my name

And I know deep down in my heart I have nothing to fear

And as the solar wind blows through my hair, knowing I have so much more left to share

A wandering spirit who's tearing its way through the cold atmosphere

I'll fly like a comet

Soar like a comet

Crash like a comet

I'm just a comet

Greg and Rose looked into each other’s eyes, Rose had stars in her eyes, and being reminded of how they met holds a special place in their hearts. They both leaned in for a passionate kiss.

Steven and his friends were by the pool. It was a luxurious and modern backyard setting with a swimming pool as the focal point. The pool area is elegantly designed with a neatly paved deck surrounding a sleek, rectangular swimming pool. On the right-hand side, there is a dining area under a large parasol, complete with a contemporary table and chairs, perfect for outdoor dining experiences. Next to the dining area, there is a cozy seating space featuring a wooden bench, providing a comfortable spot for relaxation.

The architecture of the house is modern and stylish, characterized by large glass doors and a minimalist design aesthetic. The garden surrounding the house is beautifully landscaped, with lush green lawns and a variety of ornamental grasses and flowering plants adding to the overall charm of the space. The combination of the swimming pool, outdoor dining area, seating space, and well-maintained garden creates a tranquil and inviting atmosphere in this backyard setting.

“Chris, aren’t you waiting for the delivery driver to get here with the sushi?” Jasmine asked, Chris nodded.

“He will be here with the platter, Jasmine. And Steven, I did order you avocado and cucumber, I know that you don’t eat fish.” Steven smiled and nodded.

“Thank you, Jasmine,” he said, smiling. Jasmine smiled back at him.

“Sushi is here,” Christopher said, that Steven, Lucas, Joey, Ryan, and Andrew were all talking about their favorite cartoons.

“Hey, Steven. Have you seen this show called Chowder? It’s so funny!” Andrew said. Steven nods. “Heck yeah! Have you seen Teen Titans?” he asked.

“It’s a shame that the director canceled it,” Joey said.

“How about The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy?” Ryan asked.

“YES!” Steven said. “I loved that show, my favorite character was Fred FredBurger, Uh. Joudge, joudge!” Steven said.

“The nachos made my poopoo really stinky!” Rose cut in, the boys burst out laughing at that.

“I love that show,” Rose said, stars in her eyes.

“Awesome! But.. You're an adult.”

“So, I like cartoons too. When I came to Earth, years later like. Thousands of years later after I met Greg, the first movie we watched together was Transformers The Movie.”

“Wait, how old are you?” Joey asked.

“She’s over a thousand years old,” Steven said. Joey choked on his water.

“Wait, what?!” he asked, as he coughed. Steven nodded and looked at his mother.

Joey looks at Rose. “She looks like she’s in her early twenties.”

“I know,” Steven said.

“Wait, I remember the first time we met, I asked your mom that if you had a growth defency, no offense.”

Steven knows that he doesn’t mean that but, all the years of him getting talked down to and bullied by other kids in his grade made it impossible for him.

“I think I do because I’m almost eight and I still look like I’m four.” Steven tried to keep his anger inside, but his parents told him to not keep your feelings inside. Steven looked up at his mother, Rose looked down at him and knelt to his level.

“Steven, are you okay?” Steven shook his head. Rose looks at her husband, Greg nods and removes his keys from his pocket.

“No, I don’t want to go home. I… I need some time.” he said, Greg knelt to his level.

“Are you sure, Schu-Ball? We can take you home.” Greg said, concern in his voice.

“I’m fine Dad.” Greg nods and then puts his keys back into his pocket. Joey looked down on the floor and Greg walked to him.

“I know it wasn’t your fault, Joey. But next time, be careful what you say next time.” he had a warm smile on his face saying ‘Hey, I’m not mad at you, just don’t do it again’ Joey nods. “Steven had a lot of trouble from other kids for his height,” Greg said. Joey nodded sadly and looked at Steven.

“Sorry, Steven.”

“It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean it,” he said, hugging him.

🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬

The Universe family drove back to Dewey Beach, Steven fell asleep in the back of the van. Greg was driving, Rose was looking out the window, and LINKIN PARK was playing softly on the radio. It was a comfortable silence.

Rose reached for his hand, Greg smiled and intertwined his fingers in between hers.

“I sometimes can’t imagine mine or Steven’s lives without you, Rose,” Greg said, breaking the silence. Rose smiled and looked at him, Greg stopped at a red light and they both kissed. Then they broke the kiss.

“I love you, Mr. Universe,” Rose told him softly. Greg smiled.

“I love you too, Mrs. Universe,” Greg said, then. He had another name. “Or, should I say Mrs. Quartz Universe?” Rose giggles. “I like it…”

They drove back to the beach house and put Steven to bed. Then they went to bed themselves.

🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬🎥🎬

A/N: Hi guys, Hopefully you guys are enjoying this story so far as much as I am. Now for some questions.

Q: This was amazing! It was so wholesome and cute! I wonder whether we'll see more of the Crystal Gems adapting to modern life on Earth?

A: Yes, you will see them in the story. But I don’t know what chapter.

Hopefully, you guys are liking the story, Making it is a little bit of a struggle. But hopefully, I get to keep writing this fanfic for you guys. If you have any suggestions My Tumblr is; steven1123x

[successionable]

⚠️S04E08 SPOILERS⚠️

[elitewrestlinghoe]

[thevideogameshutterbug]

The Murder of Sonic The Hedgehog: Can We Get More of This?

No joke. You might have noticed from my sudden return to activity after a while, but I really, really liked The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog. Gaming April Fools jokes are quirky and weird by nature - that’s the point. But every once in a while a game developer will release an April Fool’s joke that is so fun and unique in its quirkiness that it takes off and completely captures the audience with its charm. Sometimes these are even on purpose - attempts to test the waters and deliver some fun at the same time, like the trailer for Fighting Ex Layer. Sometimes it’s probably not, but... maybe it could be. I think that’s what The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog could be.

I‘ve been a Sonic fan for a very, very long time. I’ve loved most games in the series for the whole length of that time. There are few Sonic games I could say I outright dislike, tbh. But something I’ve long felt the Sonic series could’ve benefited from way back when was a stronger spinoff game. I think people give spinoffs a bad rap just on principle. “Why make disposable spinoffs when we can focus on making mainline games?”, people say (Sonic fans are also a bit unreasonably petrified of alternate gameplay styles). But I think that’s the missing the point. Spinoffs are a major part of what gives game series their identity - especially family focused series like Sonic. Not just because they give accessibility to a wider range of gamers, but because they make a buffer zone. Main line games take a long time. You have to wait years to see it, and if it has problems... well... that’s the reputation of the series for the next few years until the next game comes around. Spinoffs, however, mean that there’s always something involving the character out there to keep people interested. I means that if even if one game isn’t so good, there’s always others out there delivering quality. It gives the series something to look at at all times, and that gives it longevity. So why think about Sonic, a series about super speed and hi-momentum platforming, and make a visual novel spinoff? Visual novels are slow by nature, static images and careful deduction. Well... you make it for exactly the reasons everyone loved Murder.

People like these characters. People really like these characters. They’re fun. They’re all unique from each other. And they bounce off each other so well. But Sonic fans rarely get the chance to really experience the characters. Sonic’s long had a problem of loads of characters without quite knowing what to do with them. Characters like Rouge, a jewel thief primarily used for spy parodies, just plain isn’t going to be in most Sonic games - the games don’t have those kinds of plots often.

But that’s where a visual novel shines. Visual novels are all about going from scene to scene interacting with large swaths of characters, quirky conversations and unexpected character and plot developments. It’s not just that you can use tons of characters, but that you can give them center stage far more freely than you can in a platformer or a more action-focused plot. Sonic has been absolutely killing it this past year with adaptations and projects that were all about exploring the characters and what makes them fun, and Murder’s just the latest example. All the characters get segments to themselves to show off, tell jokes, and be fun - it’s silly and cartoony, charming with lots of character moments and eccentric turns, and it’s perfect for Sonic. So I really want to see more of this sort of thing!

We could get more parodies like this - hey, if Detective Pikachu can be a thing, why not more Detective Tails? Or we could get more involved stories. Something more Adventure-esque, or something more Saturday Morning Cartoon-y like Colors. Or a mixture of both! Character focused, or whole cast all at once just like this. Another everyman as the focus character, or one of the cast - Tails actually makes a very good protagonist for this sort of thing. The sky is the limit, here. Even this little April Fools joke gave us a surprising amount of worldbuilding and fun ideas I hope get revisited someday. Plus, it has to be said that visual novels take an entirely different creative process than platform games, and this game indeed was made by a third party, so the crowd nervous that any spinoff could take away from the development of the main titles doesn’t really have much to worry about: in the end, these would be made by different teams. It’s just a good idea all around. So I really hope this doesn’t get abandoned. Give us the continued spinoff visual novel / point and click adventures of Sonic and friends. I imagine any future ones wouldn’t still be free, but sure I’ll pay for it. Why not? I mean, you’ve got a perfect premise right here:

Eggman Industries’ Famous Eggscape Rooms! They’ll scramble your brains. And maybe your lifespan.