#i guess..... su future future lol

[calypsolemon]

not sure if you’ve answered on this in the past, but do you have any thoughts regarding steven’s future/development/what he does following him leaving at the end of steven universe future? i find your analysis posts about steven incredibly interesting. sorry if somebody’s asked you this question already!

It hasn't been asked before! A question of this nature is going to really involve less analysis and more just... speculation/ headcanon, but thats fine too! I'm down to indulge lol

I think the thing that would near for sure happen post-future at some point is Steven moving into his own house or apt. His road trip basically intends as much (he states the goal is to try to find a place to settle down), and furthermore I think a place of his own is something Steven needs even more than distance from his family/ gem stuff. The one thing Steven really lacked growing up was any sense of privacy, and a consistently safe home environment. It would do wonders for his mental health to have a home that he has complete control over, that is unlikely to be in any immediate danger of being wrecked.

After that is more nebulous, as throughout most of the series all of Steven's ambition hinged on gem stuff, and then once he started actually doing gem stuff, it took over his life. It's hard to say what actually interests him outside of that. Quite possibly, he doesn't even know. I can say with near certainty that I think he would avoid any career to do with music (he likes making it but I think it would be too close to his dad's rockstar lifestyle), and he would probably avoid stuff with plants too (both due to risk of bringing them to life, and because plant care was one of Rose's main hobbies). However he is a creative soul at his core, so he might end up pouring himself into other hobbies that eventually become careers. I can see him doing something like pottery or glassblowing, something that can't really be shortcut by his powers and requires a sort of controlled strength. I think it would be therapeutic to him. I can also see him doing a lot of volunteer work in his spare time; I don't think he'll ever fully rid himself of the desire to help people, but if he doesn't have to become personally involved in someone's mental health, it could be healthier output for that "need to be needed."

Despite separating himself from it for his own mental health, I'm pretty sure he would still intermittently get re-involved with little homeschool and gem politics and whatnot. I think after some time healing he would find that he missed aspects of it, and also there's likely the occasional thing that require "pink diamond's" attention no matter what (unfortunately). But thats why the physical separation is important. At the end of the day, he's not the one soley responsible for these things, and he isn't even the primary person responsible. He can just be the guy they call in once in a while. Which, I think over time, would also help assuage any potential guilt he would feel over "dropping responsibilities." He may have left, but he isn't running away from his problems like Rose. He's simply taking an equal and fair part of the work that must be done.

Also, I didn't know where to fit this, but I think the one thing Steven will never do in the future is have children. And not just because of the passing of the gem issue, but also because I think he would genuinely not feel right about doing so. He likes kids and probably ends up adoptive-uncle-ing a few kids in whatever neighborhood he lives in, but I dont think he would ever actually raise kids of his own. This is just pure headcanon tho lol.

[screwpinecaprice]

Slow mindless sketches for a slow slow day. Man, the El Niño keeps hitting hard over here, it's so hot how are people able to think when it feels like the brain is frying?? 😭 I think I would have to change up my sleeping schedule to draw during the night instead.

[love-takes-work]

Streamily.com Presents: The Steven Universe Cast Reunion Q&A Part 1

Here's a complete overview of the Q&A that was put on by Streamily, hosted by Elijah ("Not-So-Average Fangirl"), featuring Rebecca Sugar as the showrunner/creator, Deedee Magno Hall as Pearl, Lo (formerly known as Charlyne Yi) as Ruby, Estelle as Garnet, Susan Egan as Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond, Tom Scharpling as Greg Universe, Michaela Dietz as Amethyst/Famesthyst, and Larissa Gallagher as Bluebird Azurite. Read below to find out about a secret scrapped episode, Rebecca's comment on how to look at Rose Quartz, and lots of hilarious commentary from the cast about the experience of voicing characters on Steven Universe.

When the stream opened, everyone did their introductions:

Rebecca said they created the show.

Deedee said she played Pear. LOL, then said Pearl.

Lo said they played Ruby.

Susan said I play Rose . . . (with a cringe) and Pink.

Tom said "I was Greg, and I still am Greg, I guess."

Michaela: "Famethyst for life baby!"

Larissa played Bluebird, and a little bit like the character, she pops up when you don't expect it!

Estelle was not on the call at the very beginning but joined shortly after the questions began.

Here are the questions and the participants' answers!

Q: There were so many messages in SU. Which one do you hope viewers keep with them the most?

A (Rebecca): Rebecca learned to trust themself in being the authority about who they are. They were a bit rocky on this issue when the show began in their twenties, and learned they needed to be true to the art they made. That was reflected in the characters too. They hope people watching will learn to trust in themselves too, in the face of other people trying to tell you who you are.

Q: For Deedee Magno Hall: Pearl grew and changed in the show. How did it feel playing her in the first few episodes vs. the last few?

A (Deedee): There was no way for Deedee to know Pearl's journey when she started voicing her. She relied on Rebecca and the Crew to learn how to voice Pearl. The group had been talking about the pilot before they jumped onto the call, and Deedee says if she had listened side by side to what Pearl sounded like in the Pilot and what she ended up sounding like at the end, Pearl (along with character growth), vocally got exaggerated--it was Deedee's voice but really "went there"! Pearl felt so many feels. Deedee hopes she executed it well direction-wise. What a blast to play Pearl! And to see the growth in her character! It was fun and a challenge, and Deedee was grateful!

Q: For Michaela Dietz: Amethyst is silly and chaotic usually--what did Michaela pull from for the more emotional and serious moments?

A (Michaela): Many of the more emotional moments are about figuring out origins (the Kindergarten, etc.). Michaela is a transracial / transnational adoptee, so she pulled from that and was looking for her birth family while they were recording the Kindergarten episode. That was an easy well to tap. The growth that Amethyst had over the course of the series and movie and Future, Michaela feels like it parallels her relationship with the other actors and their characters. She's grateful to have made so many friends and is so happy to have learned so much from Rebecca (she joked about calling Rebecca "Reba").

Q: Question for all: If you could hang out with your character for one day, what would you do?

A (Rebecca): Steven is based on their brother, so they would love to spend time with Steven. It was challenging through Covid to not spend time with Steven. They always make time for Steven. They love spending time with people who played the characters! They never got to have a wrap party because of Covid! They were together for 8 years and they still want to have a belated wrap party. They would also love to spend time with Ruby (the self-insert character) and they love spending time with Lo too. Then they said "I need to be stopped because I'll go through every person."

Announcement: Estelle just joined!

Belatedly, the mod asks Estelle's question: Garnet is such an iconic character. Did Estelle know she was a Fusion from the beginning?

A (Estelle): No. She was the big grown Gem who took care of the others. She found out in real time with the cast when she did the recording. She was surprised by the lines in real time and had to calm herself down to record each line. She felt it was an honor.

Back to the "all: question of what each would do if they could hang out with their character.

A (Deedee), misunderstanding the question: If she could hang out with characters, would do tae bo with Garnet, get french fries with Steven, and have a karaoke and dance party with Amethyst.

A (Lo): When they were in kindergarten they would spit all over a tree and try to cover it with their spit. If they hung out with Ruby, they would ask for Ruby's help spitting on trees. There would be lots of hugging, punching pillows, etc. The moderator Elijah thinks fan artists will have fun with that.

A (Estelle): If she hung out with Garnet, she would ask Garnet to give her all the future information. She would want to borrow her "future vision goggles" too and want to know the future.

A (Tom): He would just drive around with Greg and listen to records. Go eat more. And end up going bowling.

A (Michaela): She would eat trash with Amethyst (and also some quality food?). They would mess around the San Gabriel Valley, get meal after meal, maybe buy an illegal turtle? No, that's not funny. They might hit up Ruby and spit on trees. Take in some underground wrestling. Amethyst is very intensely chill, and Michaela thinks they could do a great many things together.

A (Larissa): Going from intensely chill to intensely chaotic. She wants to bring it down from chaos and go ride Lion on the beach, with Bluebird carrying swords.

A (Susan): She wants to go into Rose's room to unpack. Pearl would need to be with her to Marie Kondo the situation. Then she would throw on a Universe shirt and hit music festivals.

Deedee realizes she misunderstood the question and wants to add: if she hung out with Pearl they would do laundry and some spring, summer, winter, and fall cleaning. Definitely Marie Kondo-ing the whole universe together.

Q for Susan Egan: Rose turned out to be a very complex character. As the story progressed and more about her was revealed, did Susan's approach to voicing her change?

A (Susan): She can't sing the praises of Rebecca enough: Susan didn't know at all what Rose's deal was. She got some hate comments when it was revealed that she was Pink, and she LOVED that because it meant the fans were invested. She was as shocked as everyone else. Pink was aging in reverse; Rose was wise and flawed, and then Susan would be voicing Pink and had to be petulant and immature, and she's thankful for Rebecca's direction in getting that right.

Q for Lo: Ruby is adorable. We got to meet so many versions of her. Other than Garnet's Ruby, which Ruby was Lo's favorite to play, and why?

A (Lo): They loved playing Navy. They got to be hammy. They ask if you know how when you order stuff at the drive-thru and you become that? They don't know why. It felt good. While voicing Ruby, they got to get in touch with how angry they were. Being seen as an Asian woman, it was nice to have a spot to channel that anger, and being Navy is like making fun of who you have to become when you're a people-pleaser. "I LOVE DIRT!"

Q for Tom Scharpling: Greg is an eccentric but loving father. What was Tom's favorite part of playing him and does he have a favorite scene?

A (Tom): Doing Greg was so fun. It's not Tom but it's more him than he thought all along. He had never done voice stuff before this, so he went in completely new. A script would say "walla walla" but he thought he was supposed to say "walla walla." Everybody laughed at him. He knew literally nothing about proper voice acting. So he got to really try and work at it. It was so satisfying to get to better at it. Anything from "Mr. Greg" was the big one in terms of a memorable episode. It was the best time.

Q for Larissa Gallagher: Bluebird Azurite is quite a menace. Did she listen to the individual Ruby and Aquamarine voice acting for inspiration?

A (Larissa): Yes. The script said Bluebird was Cockney, so she already knew what to aim for, but it turned out that taking those inspirations from the two characters she's made of would have led to this kind of voice naturally.

Q for All: Where do you each of the participants think their character is now and what are they doing?

A (Rebecca): To the cast, they know what the characters are up to post-show, but they can't say, it's too canonical.

A (Deedee): Says she doesn't know what canonical means. Pearl is probably doing more laundry and working on an album.

A (Lo): They guess they're just . . . fused. (Perhaps separating for scouting?) They might play Ruby Rider but not alone anymore. Interdependence, learning how to ground; Lo is not really sure how to answer since they feel like Ruby would spend most of her time as Garnet.

A (Estelle): She doesn't know. She figures Garnet sees what was gonna happen and just said "mmm." Just chilling. Even when she's fighting she has to be chill with the fighting-related grunting. She got direction to "flatline" her acting. She found it pretty natural though.

A (Tom): Greg is probably right where everything started again. Maybe working at a GameStop. Maybe he owns a bowling alley now. When asked what Greg would name it, he replies "Strikes and Spares."

A (Michaela): Amethyst would randomly get rich with Bitcoin and is retired. Maybe she would play Taiwanese Mahjong. Living a great retired life.

A (Larissa): Bluebird would be plotting and scheming and planning. Probably on a big planning board.

A (Susan): If Rose and/or Pink exists on any level, the only appropriate thing for her to be up to is community service. Like cleaning up trash at the bowling alley? Susan thinks it's time to start having a positive impact.

Q for Rebecca Sugar: Were there any scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor that you wish you could have included?

A (Rebecca): There was a bunker episode that they spent weeks on trying to crack; they wish they'd finished it. Ronaldo had a doomsday bunker. Sadie and Lars were trapped in it (with Steven). There's no way to leave. They were working on it so long and just couldn't make it work but they were determined to (maybe a little bit of the sunk cost fallacy!).

But usually the things that got left on the floor ended up evolving and changing into something different, even if they were really attached to the original idea. The idea for "Barn Mates" was originally that Sadie and Lapis would be the roommates with Sadie going to college. They feel that the Sadie story they ended up actually using was great. They love what they ended up doing with Lapis too.

In the very earliest version of "Giant Woman," Steven was going to unfuse into the two parts of him. And his "perfect" form, the big glowing muscular adult-looking Steven, was a Season 1 idea, and they didn't use him until Future. (After all, our roly-poly Steven is perfect!)

Now there are some fan-submitted questions. Their usernames are included.

Q for Deedee Magno Hall, from Makittuu: In what ways is Pearl special to you?

A (Deedee): She feels like a broken record, but she says again she was grateful to be voicing someone with the same natural voice as she had, and she had always wanted to be able to sing in a cartoon. She loves that she got to sing in the show. Pearl was the first major voice acting role that she had ever done and there's no way she would have known what the show was going to become and how successful it would be. She was auditioning for everything and was new to voice acting at the time. But one thing that she loved about voicing Pearl is that she got to share the experience with her kids. She connected the love Pearl had for Steven with the love she had for her sons. When she started voicing Pearl her kids were 2 and 8. For them to be able to watch Steven Universe on TV and hear Mommy's voice was so cool to share with her family. Now her kids are 13 and 19!

Q for Estelle, from Gonosoi: Do you have any fun stories from recording your lines on the show?

A (Estelle): When she was going through things in her life--and she thinks this is true no matter where you are or how you identify--the show somehow could speak to whatever she was going through. The lines would often be relevant. She'd come in with sunglasses on because it was early for her and her voice would be low. She'd be crying behind her glasses in difficult moments. She liked a fresh first take instead of knowing ahead of time what she'd be reading, so she didn't read the script ahead of time. She was surprised by needing to do the "ugh" and "ah" noises in different ways. It'd be difficult vocally. With Michaela, Zach, and Deedee, in between the lines and reading things together, hearing them switch back and forth between talking about life and then doing their recordings, it was so cool to see them do their work.

Q for Michaela Dietz, from Mal: Which one of your other characters would get along well with Amethyst?

A (Michaela): Definitely Vee from The Owl House. Maybe Maj'el from Star Trek Prodigy. She would be so "What is this purple being? Why do you eat? Where does the food go?" She'd be fascinated with Amethyst. And Michaela feels like Amethyst would thrive and try to do weird stuff in response. The shapeshifting she has in common with Vee. They'd get up to some trouble. Fun trouble. Harmless trouble. (Another fanart cue!)

Q for Susan Egan, from Gladde: Does Susan feel that Rose forgot about Spinel? Does she think she wanted to go back?

A (Susan): Susan thinks a lot was forgotten in her mind when she became Rose. Rose was so enamored of what's in front of her in every moment; she lives in the moment and can be a good quality but obviously Susan didn't know all of that when she was recording! Steven Universe is her kids' favorite thing she's done. Rebecca?

A (Rebecca): So much of the show is about how--something that was ultimately captured in the end credits song-- when you don't think of yourself as someone with power, Pink had less power than everyone around her, and she didn't know how much she mattered to others. She did things to them that she didn't think twice about because her importance to others didn't register. Feeling that she didn't matter, it radiated out. To her--her relationship with Spinel, Spinel was a toy to her. When she got a chance to grow up, she thought it made sense to leave Spinel behind. Pink is actually a softened version of what she was originally planned to be like. The sympathetic side of that and her self deprecation grew as they developed Pink over time. In aspiring to be a better person than she thought she was, that became who she was.

A (Susan): Rebecca brought all these characters' complexity to the table. It's easy to make things two-dimensional but people are complicated and we need to look at that in context. Good and bad can exist in the same person. She doesn't want Rose to always want to think about being Pink, but she thinks it helped her want to save more characters as Rose.

A (Rebecca): Rebecca likes to think of the Pink Diamond / Rose character as a cautionary tale.

Q for Lo, from stiffcorpse00: What kind of dates would Ruby and Sapphire go on?

A (Lo): Axe-throwing. They reference walking through doors and accidentally crashing into the frame, and they say "That's me." So they wouldn't do axe-throwing personally. Maybe Ruby and Sapphire would get some boba. Go walking. Teach Ruby how to float in water back because anger makes Ruby sink. Helping Ruby get anger out by screaming into pillows. Swinging one way and the other way.

Michaela suggests they could go to a rage room.

Lo objects that they're so expensive, and that they could just break stuff without needing to pay for it.

Susan suggests it'd be a writeoff because it's for work.

Lo says they'll go there and take a date.

Michaela says the experience is exhausting and therefore you don't need much time there.

Lo says a Ruby and Sapphire date involving paintball would be great, but everyone would run from Sapphire. Ruby's rage would get in the way. Sapphire would coldly get everyone.

There is more discussion of smashing fax machines and glass etc. in a rage room. Deedee asks "What is a fax machine?"

Q for Tom Scharpling, from GalixyYouniverse: What was his reaction to Greg getting his hair cut and was he upset?

A (Tom): He was fine with it. He was always coming from a different place than everyone else. His change would be getting rich or getting a haircut. Everyone else's was huge and cosmic. Anything with Greg, he related to Greg more than he should admit to.

Rebecca points out they have like drawings from 2013 with Greg with short hair. Sacrificing hair in a battle is something they always wanted to do.

Q for Larissa Gallagher from 1F4cnt4ND: How does she think Aquamarine and Ruby met and what was it like when they fused?

A (Larissa): She says it was a little bit mean to put her after Tom answering about the hair cut! But she doesn't know. If she had to say anything, it'd be existential. When you meet someone and you get that ball of energy inside you and you don't know whether it's good or bad--you don't know what's going to happen but something will happen. She likes to think that's the kind of energy that evolved. It didn't go in the most helpful emotional way but it was that moment attraction that no one can explain. Rebecca?

A (Rebecca): They had discussed in the writers room what Steven's influence is on Homeworld, how there'd be all these Gems on the wrong side of history, whether they were high status like Aquamarine or low like Eyeball, they'd pool into an out-group and meet to be frustrated about it. They'd been working on something that made sense before Steven changed the rules. Different types of fusions / collaborations and one born out of frustration and spite was one they wanted on the show.

Q for all participants, from trynottohappen: What was the hardest scene to record?

A (Susan): The first thing she did as Rose was the VHS tape. The monologue was her first time playing a mother, and it spoke to her heart. Like Michaela looking for her biological parents, there's something the character can teach you. Susan had to pull herself together after reading it--she needed to be joyful about her progeny coming. It makes her weep even today. It was one of her favorite things. She loved recorded with Deedee, and loved the love between them, the betrayal of Rose to Pearl, when we finally get to know what was really going on between them.

A (Larissa): The scene where Bluebird revealed her backstory of why they felt the way they felt. The complexity of the characters in the show, the hate isn't just "I hate because someone did this and said that." It's grounded, a real space of hurt that can never be fixed. Having to recreate that and not hate the character but love the character because of how much pain they were in. That was difficult but incredible.

A (Michaela): The hardest scenes were toward the end because she knew the show was ending. They were cherishing every moment together. In 2016, the day after the election, that was a hard day. Everybody was really distraught. There was a group hug at the end. In a time of such uncertainty, it gave her so much solace to know they had each other and they had art, they had ways of expressing themselves, that day sticks out.

A (Tom): For him, the songs were difficult. He would get sent a demo Rebecca recorded the night before, he's driving into NYC from New Jersey and listening to the song for hours all morning so he'd have it in his head, and then would be so nervous doing the songs because he didn't want the whole recording to be just him going word by word, line by line. The songs were the big thing he was hung up on. He'd try to do the songs first, then the spoken lines, and then the things where he yelled--he'd end up screaming sometimes and he'd not have a voice left. He wanted to do right by these very special songs. He jokes that Rebecca said he let them down over and over. (Rebecca denies.)

A (Estelle): She doesn't remember many hard moments. She'd attribute that to Rebecca's direction. She took a laid-back approach. The grunts and noises weren't familiar but also weren't difficult for her. She'd drink tea after. Real life would be happening but they always had each other in their bubble.

A (Lo): The Ruby Rider episode was the most fun and the hardest. They always wanted to play a cowboy! They were also going through a divorce during the recording. It was tough leading up to marrying Sapphire, delivering the lines, and they started crying because the opposite was happening in their life. And then they got direction to be more emotional even though they were crying. They said their voice was dead inside even though they were quite emotional. They're shy in the booth. Lo felt sweaty and weird doing the acting in front of other people, feeling awkward, and this is the first time they had to be a voice actor. This was THE WORST playing multiple characters during the baseball episode.

Michaela was so impressed with Lo having to be "like 800 characters."

Lo comments that doing 5 voices around other people as a neurodivergent person was so difficult.

A (Deedee): She loved receiving the demo recordings before having to sing a song. One of her favorite things was the singing. She wants the album of all Rebecca's demos. She remembers getting a script Monday to prepare and record on Wednesday. She heavily depended on the voice director and Rebecca. The really wordy scripts were difficult for Deedee with "ten-dollar words." The screaming was also really difficult. (She'd also do singing at the beginning, speaking in the middle, screaming at the end.)

A (Rebecca): Instead answering what scene was the hardest to write, they say there are so many. Because it was storyboard-driven, the script was in flux until it was animated, and they'd still be working with dialogue. With the potluck, when Lars doesn't show, Sadie has dialogue as she's walking down the street talking about Lars. They did a thousand drafts of it. With Sadie's story, there's a matryoshka of struggling with self-esteem while commenting on other people's self-esteem. There was a long path to get Steven to step into his mom's shoes. The biggest thing was tracking the ongoing storyline in a storyboard-driven show. Rose's speech was pored over as well. They wanted it to be layered and make more sense as you learn more about her. Does this line encapsulate everything you're going to learn about this character 60 episodes from now?

Q from CaughtMoonlight: If each of them could play any other Gem, who would it be?

A (Susan): Everyone wants to be Garnet, but could never!

A (Larissa): Ditto. 100%. Also, not a Gem, but she wants to be Lion.

A (Michaela): Peridot. All the way.

A (Tom): He says he can't do that and he's just a slob doing the voice of a slob. These things are all out of his reach.

A (Estelle): She'd go with turbocharged Peridot. She says the things that are in Garnet's brain. She'd get spicy with it.

A (Lo): Lo would choose Greg. They say he's not a slob. The world should be more relaxed and accessible.

Tom says he doesn't mean slob in a bad way. But he owns his slobbiness.

A (Deedee): Hard question! She loved voicing Pearl and all the Pearls. Everybody else, it would be so hard to voice. No comment.

A (Rebecca): Early on they decided to take a back seat and not cast themself. They loved being in the director role. They put a lot of themself into SO many characters. That let them have a presence in everyone. One thing they're really grateful for, but their former boarder Adam Muto on Adventure Time, they got to voice Marceline's mother. The composers aivi and surasshu asked them to sing "Love Like You" because it's really a reflection of so many characters that they got to write.

Q for All: They are asked to share their projects and socials.

A (Rebecca): Working on things they can't talk about yet. Last year they released an independent album. Years ago Estelle said Rebecca should tour. Susan said kind things. Lo texts songs back and forth. They would not have been able to make that album without that encouraging. Tom had them on the radio show. So humbling. Spiral Bound is a little EP and they're so grateful. They'd love to do more stuff like that.

A (Deedee): She loves the album. She is doing some recurring voices for Kiff on the Disney channel, and singing praise and worship at church.

A (Lo): They're playing Larry in StuGo who's shirtless and gender fluid on Disney. They want everyone to know sunsets are awesome. Catch them while you can to chase away depression.

A (Estelle): She has a new album coming out early next year, with two singles out now. The music is uplifting. And there's the Estelle Show (on Apple radio!). She's just living her best life.

A (Tom): The Best Show/podcast is still on every week. He started writing a new book--he wrote one a few years ago and thinks the one he's writing now will be done in maybe 11 years, so check it out in 2038. Just working on TV stuff and dealing with whatever happens.

A (Michaela): Exciting stuff we can't talk about. It's tangerine season! Trees going off! Been harvesting.

A (Larissa): Just got back from Japan. Trying to get back there. Video games are coming out but she can't talk about it. She is working on a startup called Ethovox, trying to protect voice actors int he age of AI. Larissa got so much fandom just from doing Bluebird for two minutes! She's so grateful for that.

A (Susan): She produces live concert content for Disney worldwide. She loves being behind the scenes and creating jobs for others and bringing joy. They've been in 18 countries! She wrote shows for the Hollywood Bowl.

Part Two comes out November 18, 2024! You can get signed prints at Streamily!

[rey-jake-therapist]

Sorry but the more they try to justify the Elrond/Galadriel kiss, the more it's becoming awkward and sus lol

Morfydd Clark: Well, I kind of wanted the elves kissing on the mouth all the time from the very beginning. I kind of see it as an ultimate show of love and admiration, but in a platonic way. And I quite like that. It was kind of felt, to us as humans, quite like, "[Gasps] It's romantic." I quite like the idea that the elves do move through the world quite differently, and kind of a little bit bohemian. But when I read it, I was like, "[Gasps] Ooh." But I also think that this idea that romantic love is the greatest, most important form of love isn't something that I necessarily kind of — it's wonderful, but there are also so many different types of love, and the love that Elrond and Galadriel have for each other, which is millennia long and filled with respect and loyalty and admiration, is something that I think is so beautiful. Patrick McKay: To our minds, the kiss is not romantic in nature. But also, he loves her, and he's very scared she's going to die, and he needs to create a distraction to slip her a way of breaking out of her locks. And this is an expression of his love and regret, and apology for starting to realize that he was maybe wrong about some of the things she was arguing earlier in the season. I don't know, it grew organically out of the material, and felt like where it wanted to go. But certainly, it does not auger a romance between these two friends in the future. And elves are different, you know. Elves express their love in different ways. JD Payne: They're a little more European. Patrick McKay: Yes, yes, a little more European. [Chuckles]

(Source)

So first as an European lady, I feel low key offended by JD Payne's remark. Seriously, if American people genuinely think that everybody in Europe goes around kissing their friends on the LIPS, I'm afraid I'm going to break their fantasies but it's not true?! LOL Kissing in my country is actually very coded, like we've got "la bise" that almost everybody does which is two or three or even four kisses on the cheek to say 'hello', and it's very annoying because you're at risk of catching someone's bacterias, also it's gross in principle. But kisses on the lips are only for our lover/mistress/boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse! Yeah, even if our platonic best friend is at risk of dying we will probably hug them, cry and maybe even scream in pain, but one thing we probably won't do is weird them out by kissing them on the lips lol

Seriously, I feel like Charlie when Morfydd told him he would do well in the wild because he's Australian lmao

Now, on the Elves being "different". No shit, they're different indeed. But I have yet to find one shred of evidence that Elves are demonstrative folks. It always seemed to be the other way around to me, like... they always seemed rather aloof, physically speaking? I mean, I remember Legolas and Gimli, seems we lost the opportunity to see Legolas plant a kiss on Gimli's hairy lips if it's such an usual thing to do for Elves...

I just find very sus that they keep insisting that it's just a cultural thing, while we never, ever saw Elves even give a kiss on the cheek to show their affection (I think in LOTR we see Galadriel kiss Frodo's forehead, that's it?)... Let alone lip kisses. The only characters I remember seeing kiss on the lips were lovers: Arwen and Aragorn of course, and I guess, the couple in the Hobbit, sorry they were so boring I always forget their names. And I'm actually surprised that people like JD Payne and Patrick McKay, who seem to have a very deep knowledge of Tolkien's world and of the PJ movies, keep saying things like that. I mean, I'm sorry but it seems to come straight out of their heads, that Elves were like "bohemians". Morfydd wanted Elves to kiss on the mouth, I mean yeah cool, and if after season 2 we suddenly Elves kissing on the mouth at every corner, I'll just say "okay this is like this now" and I'll take it, but so far... the Elrond/Galadriel kiss is a first. And Galadriel thought she would never see Celebrimbor again and that he would die at the hands of Sauron, but she didn't kiss him on the lips, mind you.

Anyway, these fishy explanations just make me suspect that it was not always supposed to be Elrond in that tent. Yes, I'm still hanging on the Elrond = Sauron theory, because I watched the scene and listened to the music playing over and over again, and despite it being an Elrond centric scene... I can't hear Elrond's theme anywhere.

If someone can hear Elrond's theme in this scene, please let me know, maybe I just can't? Maybe I'm too biased to hear it? If someone can prove me that Elrond's theme is playing somewhere in the background of this scene, that will be the end of this theory for me tbh. I believe in plot holes, I believe in bad writing, but music... Music doesn't lie. Not with Bear McCreary at the helm, anyway. This man's a genius.

The entire scene:

The kiss:

Elrond's suite:

Elrond's theme is pretty easy to recognize, in every shape and form, so I'm deaf or it's just not there.

It especially hit me when I realized that Elrond's theme was playing again when Elrond joined the battle later (and as several people noticed, it seemed strange that there was a battle going on while... the Orcs were supposed to have stopped fighting, the time of the negotiations?), and threw that Orc who killed his horse on the walls of Eregion (poor narrative choice because why would he throw rocks on the Eregion walls, but he was angry, poor boy).

And I know that for most of you, it means nothing, but for me the music means everything. When a scene is character centric, his theme is playing at some point. I made a comparison with the Galadriel/Adar scene; in the firt scene, we can only hear Adar's theme playing, which makes sense because he's entirely dominating the situation. I think I can hear a few notes of Gal's theme inserted here and there, but it's very subtle because yeah, she's Adar's prisoner, he's the one doing most of the talking.

There's a bit of Sauron's theme when Adar describes how Sauron's eye "bores a hole and the rest of him slithers in" ;) Again, it makes sense, because the discussion was focused on Sauron. When I say that Bear McCreary is a musical genius, I'm not exaggerating: THIS is the kind of subtlety this man will bring.

But in the second scene, Galadriel is now Adar's equal in terms of occupation of the stage, so her theme is playing along with Adar's:

EDIT: This is Galadriel's theme by the way:

In the Elrond/Adar scene, it's not just Adar dominating the stage: Elrond is right there basically playing a dick contest with him, so I just find a bit weird that Bear McCreary didn't think it would be appropriate to, you know, include Elrond's theme in there?

And what about the kiss? Only Galadriel's theme is playing from what I can hear. It's very unusual. Especially since Elrond's the one initiating the entire exchange, including the kiss itself.

Elrond's theme blasts during the soundtrack of the Battle of Eregion, which makes sense since it was Elrond's battle.

There are also Adar's and Celebrimbor's themes, which also makes sense. But at 4:06, there's another theme playing, which corresponds to the moment Elrond (apparently) sees Galadriel in a cage. It's a theme that I remembering hearing twice in the TROP soundtrack: when Galadriel drowned in season 1, both times she did. The first time, Halbrand saved her, the second time Sauron let her drown. Anyway, each time it was about him, even if it's a variation on Galadriel's theme. It may be just the music that Bear McCreary chose to accompany scenes where Galadriel is in danger tbh, but I find this coincidence interesting.

This theme then evolves towards the music that preceeds the kiss, a music which is also a part of Galadriel's theme. There are choirs with low male voices playing in the background, which are slightly different from the choirs that play in the background of Galadriel's theme; these are sung by women, and seem more... idk, lighthearted, less present too? It may not mean a thing, but I can't help remembering Bear McCreary saying he wrote Galadriel's and Sauron's themes to be quite similar.

Anyway, I can't hear Elrond's theme anywhere during this break which is the kiss scene, which I find very sus considering the intense moment he's believed to share with Galadriel.

I may regret this, but I had to post it in its own post. For the record, as delulu as I am, I don't hold the hope that they will reveal anything of the sort in season 3. As certain as I am that it was supposed to be Sauron in that tent, I also believe that it was meant to be revealed in the finals of season 2. They chickened out for some reason (probably because after Sauron tortured and killed Celebrimbor, and ordered the killing of all remaining Elves in front of Galadriel, romanticizing Sauron wouldn't have been a good look? I can see that tbh). So it will always be Elrond who kissed Galadriel, this theory will remain a crack theory that will make people laugh, and suddenly Elves are like Europeans who casually kiss their platonic friends on the mouth to say goodbye.

[joojdraws]

Me needs talk about something undiscussed about Rarold that I do find quite interesting to analyze in-depth... Because, I do think he is an interesting character. (⚠️ Spoilers under the cut!!!)

Rarold's motives. As shrimple as that. 🦐

Before I elaborate on all that I have to say, all the way back in September 2022 I had a discussion with a friend that met the BKMN author at a convention... you can of course have your own interpretation on his case... but ever since I heard about it... IT HAS BEEN LIVING IN MY HEAD RENT FREE. And it makes so much sense with what happens in the book once you know this undiscussed detail about him. It makes his character so much more interesting when you know the reason of his actions. And it's why I love him.

In the book, it never is explained what were the reasons he did commit all these crimes... but if you don't know the fun fact he did kill for the sole reason blood would make his crops grow better... I feel like there is some clues there in the book that leads to this information.

We all know Rarold is the "Copycat killer". He doesn't have any original way of killing. (Sorry, Rarold, I love you but it's true... 🐒)

One of my headcanons for him is that he doesn't know how to kill at all. And that his wife most likely is his very first victim, and before that he never killed anyone... ever. Obviously sucks at killing. Which is why he got ideas from both the "Dead Rope Killer 2" movie and from Neighbor's way of killing. For both the ropes and purple threads.

Subtle detail you might miss... but the main character from the "Dead Rope Killer 2" movie most likely is a foreshadowing to Rarold's future crimes... He absolutely is shaped like him! And also, a bit before that part, we can see Rarold standing in front of the theater, and he most likely went to watch this movie for inspiration. (Which is funny to me... Given the fact Neighbor and Wegg were both alone in the theather when they saw that exact same movie, it just is hilarious to imagine Rarold being all alone in there and just taking notes...)

The reason Neighbor kills is related to blood... Hehe. Remember the fun fact I earlier shared in this post? Teehee. Yeah. What if...

WHAAAAAT IIIIIFFFFF... It was also truly Rarold's case...

First time we see Rarold killing someone in the book, is in his cornfield of ALL PLACES... and also, he specifies his corn is "so, so good"... Why would his corn be this good, huh?! Sus if you ask me.

I did some researches about blood and crops... and as cursed as it sounds, it actually is a good fertilizer to grow corn. (I guess that makes sense since blood is... well... organic)

"Anonyme a demandé"... French moment (My first language...) but once someone did ask why the copycat killer (Rarold) only did kill women... the author specified in their post, that it was intentional... and that... THE SEED IS THERE! I know it's a way of saying, but corn grows with seed... and most likely, his wife was the seed. His very first victim. And her blood made her crops grow better...!

Now, I need to talk about the dream/vision part of that one fun fact my friend got at a convention... That would make a similarity between Neighbor and him. Neighbor most likely had a dream about Lady Trudy... Rarold probably had a dream about another sort of deity... and I might have an idea on that deity. Yeah... Lord Callum. Why you may ask...? Well, Lord Callum is bird shaped... and you know what bird likes... yeah! Corn! Believe it or not but a male swan is called a COB. And you know what else is a cob? Yes. Corn on the COB. And a scythe is strangely shaped like a bird when you deeply think about it...

Might be a coincidence but it is interesing to think about... But the way a male swan is called COB and well Rarold's a corn farmer (corn on the COB) that is like... the revelation of the 20th century to me (lol 1974). Another headcanon I have is that Rarold only kills people he was told to kill in his dreams/visions... he doesn't kill any random person. I suppose I told everything I had to say about him and his motives!! Rarold is very interesting to me... Gosh, love the corn man.

Oh yeah, one more thing I'll say... but Rarold did not die. You can see him in the 1975 epilogue chapter... the man is still alive, and apparently not in jail for some unknown reasons... if Neighbor can have a good future despite all the people he killed (Glenn did not deserve his fate btw), I think it's fair Rarold can too. I believe he can be a better person too. Personally I think he regrets what he did, but that's a headcanon of mine! Anyone can have their own interpretation and that's 100% ok. Well here is the end of this post... thanks if you have read everything... I loved to talk about him and it's something I do wanted to share for a while, hehe. 🫶🌽❤️

[tharett]

**** This is going to be the last ranfren post I'll make ****

I'm pretty sure some of you may know (and by looking into the community, will probably tell me to "grow up" lololol), the ranfren creator has... a VERY problematic past (that i properly searched and educated myself about)... and I no longer want to associate with their work (simple as that, really)☝️🤓

[Context as to Why I'm Uploading this xd]:

I was in the process of drawing this page (with the intention of uploading it ywy) before finding about the LORE about the making of the Ranfren series, so I couldn't bring myself to NOT upload this after putting a lot of work in for it... and we find ourselves here in this awkward situation :v

So with this, I will bid the series adieu and continue uploading art of my other interests 🙇‍♂️

Eng Translation of my Chicken Scratch Handwriting:

Nyon and Nyen photo:

- ok 1/2 (letters on his shirt)

- Nyon looks too feminine lmao (in my style)

-Nyen (why is he always drawn all muscley??) (Future thare: I now know (HAH))

Luther photo:

[Headcanon Box]

- always unprepared for visitors (doesn't have enough drinks each visit somehow)

[Dialogue]

Luther (L): "I hope your friends like them..."

Randal (R): "thanks big brother! Woah, an ash tray for a cup!? Cool"

Avalona and Spider Girl photo:

[Dialogue]

Avalona Mercury (A): c'mon guys! Hurry up! N'hee hee hee!"

R: "I'm on my way ladies!!"

A: "ew you're drooling again hee hee!"

[OC]Hirose Daiki (H): "I'll stick around a bit!"

[Extra Notes]

- HS AU ☆ high school alternative universe

- they all get along like normal teens <3

Comic Strip (LEFT TO RIGHT! Also Numbered!!):

[Contex Box]

- meeting the Ivory Family

[Dialouge + Action Boxes]

H: "oh! Hey Sebastian (S)! What a coincidence! Wanna hang later?"

S: "H-Hirose? What are you...?" [First time meeting Hirose out of school]

H: "I'm also here for groceries?? Lol. Why else would I be here?"

L: "oh? Is he a friend of yours, Randal?" [Lean--]

R: "eeh, I guess? He's a friend of a friend" [uninterested]

H: "hello! I'm Hirose Daiki, Randal's and Sebastian's friend! You must be Randal's big brother, Luther, right?" [Offering hand for handshake]

S: "I told you, you don't have to greet them..."

H: "nonsense!! It's a pleasure to meet you! Hi Randal ^^"

R: "ugh... hi..."

L: "(Oh, he's nicer than the other one (Satoru)!) Well yes! Yes I am- it's a pleasure to meet you, too!" [Flattered Blush]

H: "the pleasure is all mine!"

R: "Seb, let's go to the candy section!"

[Contex Box (2)]

- later made plans to introduce his (Hirose) parents

Traducción de Todo lo que Dije antes pero en Esp xd:

**** Esto será el último blog de Ranfren que haré ****

Estoy seguro que algunos de ustedes saben (y al mirar los tipos de la comunidad, probablemente me dirán que "ctm/no mms" xdxd), el creador de Ranfren tiene... un pasado MUY problemático (en la cual yo tome el tiempo para buscar para que me eduque adecuadamente)... y ya no quiero asociarme con su trabajo (así de simple, la neta JAJA) ☝️🤓

[Contexto de pq subo esto xdxd]:

Estaba en el proceso de terminar este dibujo (con la intención de subirla ;-;) antes de enterarme de la HISTORIA sobre la creación de la serie Ranfren, así que como no subir este dibujo después de ponerle tanto esfuerzo para terminarlo, y pues... ahora nos encontramos aquí en esta situación incomoda :v

Así que con esto, me despido de la serie y continuaré subiendo arte de mis otros intereses 🙇‍♂️

Traducción Esp de mi letra culera JAJAJA:

Foto de Nyon y Nyen:

- ok 1/2 (lo que tiene escrito en su blusa)

- Nyon se ve demasiado femenino JAJAJA (en mi estilo xd)

- Nyen (¿pq siempre lo dibujan todo musculoso?) (thare del futuro: ahora lo sé (JAJ))

Foto con Luther:

[Caja con Headcanon] ("Headcanon" son ideas que son implementados en un personaje(s) de cómo interactuan/como reaccionaría en ciertas situaciones, etc)

- Siempre no esta preparado para sus visitantes (por alguna razón siempre no tiene suficiente bebidas para servir en cada visita)

[Diálogo]

Luther (L): "espero que a tus amigos les gusten..."

Randal (R): "¡Gracias, hermano mayor! Gau, ¿¡un cenicero para una taza!? Chido"

Foto con Avalona y Chica Araña:

[Diálogo]

Avalona Mercurio (A): "¡Vamos chicos! ¡Apúrense! ¡N'hji ji ji!"

R: "¡¡Voy llegando chicas!!"

A: "¡Que asco, estas babeando de nuevo ji ji!"

[OC]Hirose Daiki(H): "¡Me quedo con ustedes por un poco!"

[Notas Extra]

- UA de Prepa ☆ Universo Alternativo de la Prepa/Secundaria

- se llevan como adolescentes normales <3

Tira Cómica (¡LEER DE IZQUIERDA A DERECHA! ¡¡TAMBIÉN ESTÁ NUMERADO!!)

[Caja de Contexto]

- conociendo la Familia Ivory

[Diálogo + Cajas de Acción]

H: "¡oh! ¡Que tal Sebastian (S)! ¡Que coincidencia! ¿Quieres pasar el rato?"

S: "¿H-Hirose? ¿Que haces aquí...?" [La primera vez que mira a Hirose fuera de la escuela]

H: "¿¿También estoy aquí para el mandado?? Lol, ¿para que más estaría aquí?"

L: "¿Oh? Este es un amigo tuyo, Randal?" [Se inclina--]

R: "eee, ¿yo diría? Es amigo de un amigo" [desinteresado]

H: "¡Hola! ¡Soy Hirose Daiki, amigo de Randal y Sebastian! Usted es el hermano mayor de Randal; Luther, ¿es cierto?" [Ofreciéndole la mano para saludarlo]

S: "te he dicho, no necesitas saludarlos..."

H: "¡¡Tonterías!! ¡Es un placer conocerte! Hola Randal ^^"

R: "ugh... hola..."

L: "(Oh, ¡es más amable que el otro (Satoru xd)!) ¡Por supuesto! Soy el hermano mayor- ¡Es un placer conocerte!" [Rubor Halagado(?)]

H: "¡El placer es todo mío!"

R: "¡Oye Seb, vayamos a la sección de dulces!"

[Caja de Contexto (2)]

- después hicieron planes para introducir sus padres (de Hirose)

Con esto, me despido y les deseo que tengan una buenas/os días, tardes, o noches 🫂💕

And with this, I say goodbye and wish all of you a good day, afternoon, or night 🫂💕

[novantinuum]

Reformation ref sheet for an AU Steven (named "Astra") who's been invading my brain since like,, April. It's VERY wide, apologies. There's a lot going on here because this man is incredibly old and has poofed way too many times for varying reasons. (See This post for how I headcanon that Steven can poof and still be considered a hybrid being.)

While I will not talk in huge length about certain aspects of his AU on this blog due to some of it involving strong NSFW themes, there is a ridiculous amount of other lore I've developed over time for Astra, and I love him to death. He is my sad, lonely mans who I metaphorically hurl against the wall like a sticky hand when I need to feel something.

This version of Steven will likely never have any kind of full ass fic or comic made about him. Despite that, I do enjoy sharing some art and fun character lore for him from time to time. So, I might as well finally give followers like... literally ANY context for him. I've had this ref sheet for a while and just have never gotten around to throwing it on here, LOL.

Ridiculously long dump about my guy under the cut.

Subnote, this was supposed to be a quick post but I can't help myself and wrote you a fucking BOOK under the cut because I love my guy so much UWU

(Content warning I guess for like, extremely vague mentions of Steven/Steven later on.)

-

The huge tl;dr of Astra is as follows: he's a version of Steven who exists for SO long that he basically transforms into something of an ancient, lonely god.

He's outlived every single person he once knew as a child, and so as a result is starved for affection. At the same time, being vulnerable is the absolute scariest thing for him and he's really shit at navigating relationships, F.

The guy is THE most powerful living creature in his entire universe by the end, and yet remains a soft-spoken, (generally) benevolent soul. He dedicates himself to acting as caretaker for the vast, populous world he exists within, and to maintain the continuing legacy of Gemkind. A big discovery that occurs in this AU is that Gems are in fact susceptible to entropy over the span of millions of years and will eventually fall "inert," (but not him because of weird hybrid biology stuff he honestly sees as more of a curse than a blessing) so a huge plotline early on in Astra's lifespan is trying to either find a "cure" for this issue or to develop a means by which new generations of Gems can be created without the reinstatement of Kindergartens so Gemkind doesn't overtly go extinct.

-

But, to start... this Steven diverges off a point in canon- this is the timeline where he actually takes up the Diamonds on their offer of the throne in the movie, believing he may have a better chance of heralding true societal change working from the INSIDE rather than stepping away. Because he pours himself so thoroughly into his role on Homeworld and his mind is continuously occupied by this purpose, he never experiences the events SU: Future, nor does he develop his "pink mode" (yet...) or corrupt at all.

However, he's also so engrossed in his work that he's... kind of a shit boyfriend to Connie as years go on. (In that he's not terribly attentive... always super busy... their visits are often cut short, or few and far between.) Their relationship never really goes anywhere as a result, though Connie wants it to. To be fair so does Steven, but he's so scared that everything he's worked so hard to organize and set up in this new era will fall apart if he steps aside from his role for even a moment that he can't allow himself to follow that want.

At some point here he learns he can poof through a complete freak accident, and that's where things really begin to change in this timeline.

It takes a good few months for him to reform, but once he does he's back at it with all his work on Homeworld pretty quick.

The thing is... he doesn't have an innate physical need to eat or drink or sleep anymore, because he now consists of entirely hard light. It mimics human biology to an insane degree, so he COULD do all those things, but he doesn't need them to persist. So... he kinda takes this as an excuse to cut those activities out of his schedule entirely so he can spend more time focused on his duties as a diamond.

Connie is NOT a fan of this, and this leads to some debate and tension within their relationship. That being said, they remain an item...

Up until out of nowhere, Connie dies in an accident on Earth while Steven is off planet in a place where he doesn't have any contact with them for a few days. By the time the Gems are able to get in touch with him, it's far too late to resurrect her.

The kicker? In the autopsy it's discovered that she was a few weeks pregnant when she died.

Steven is emotionally gutted by this... and the thought of what could have been... and poofs.

The guy is understandably destroyed when he comes back in his next form, and his form reflects that- his gem flips as a sort of metaphorical severing from his own humanity.

He spends a long while in a deep depression at the loss of his childhood sweetheart... at the loss of any potential for (as far as he sees) a "normal" human life. There's a part of him that resents the choices he's made to end up in this present, but like, there's still work to be done.

And as the years move on, a LOT of that work is mitigating the growing relations (for better or for worse) between Gems and humans as humanity stretches their legs and reaches out into the stars. Humans kinda get... really aggressive in their expansion though, and quite territorial, and it leads towards some inevitable conflict between them and Gemkind. This time, with them more at fault. Things get so spicy that some groups of humans and Gems go to war.

Steven tries to mitigate one of these situations at the front lines- and gets poofed by a disgruntled Gem, speared straight through the back because she (kinda wrongly) assumed he would take the humans' side due to his ancestral ties to them.

When he reforms this time, he is glowing a perpetual pink. The Gems don't really know what to make of this, but he seems to be in perfectly fine health otherwise, so they assume it's just a normal aspect of this new neutral form.

And while this isn't something Steven has context to figure out until like... billions of years later, what's actually happened is that he's entered a permanent pink mode, pretty much. Guy's just got that much bottled up, unaddressed trauma.

He spends a long time in this form, and over all these thousands of years oversees the slow return to peace between Gems and humans... their marriage as a space age federation... and their deeper exploration of the galaxy. Beyond their home solar systems exist a bounty of alien species they've yet to meet... some friendly, some less so. There's definitely some conflict that crops up amidst the local galactic neighborhood when Gems and humans show up on the playing field here, lol.

But all-in-all, Steven develops a fairly peaceful and predictable routine during this reformation- living more like a Gem than ever before. He's still got the Crystal Gems at his side through all of this, and they are some of his greatest confidants.

And then... without any warning... Gems begin to go inert. Amethyst is among them.

Some of them simply stop reforming after they poof... especially those who were older Gems, or who have been cracked before. Steven and the other Diamonds using their powers together are able to "fix" this at first and "jumpstart" their reformation, but it's just a bandaid of a fix- these Gems will fall inert again pretty soon. And the longer they persist without poofing from alternate causes, the more unstable their form, power, and memory becomes. (Think of this as Gem dementia at its late stages,,, oof.)

The bottom line? Just like organics, Gems aren't immune to the forces of entropy. Sooner or later, their gemstones will decay from the inside out. Stubborn to find a way to save the ones he loves as he watches them slowly deteriorate all around him, Steven dedicates himself to trying to find a cure. But deep down, a part of him recognizes the futility of this. What he believes Gemkind actually needs to do is to develop a means of rebooting Gem incubation that doesn't destroy planets, so they can rebuild their quickly dwindling population and keep their legacy alive.

The big problem with this is that Gems take a SHIT load of energy and resources to properly incubate, so that puzzle will take a long ass time to sort out. There's kinda a lot of chaos that happens during this time. The reality of their own blunt mortality freaks out a bunch of Gems, and Steven has to do damage control with the heads of state for a lot of other alien species.

In the interim, all the Crystal Gems and some of the Diamonds (White is still in the picture, though) end up falling inert. Pearl is the last of the CGs to do so.

Steven is understandably SUPER gutted about this, and poofs yet again. (Lol notice a theme? Poor mans keeps poofing from friggin' anguish. Help him.)

After reforming with barely any changes, it's right back to work for this guy. He and the rest of his team of researchers are unable to find any cure for Gems decaying and falling inert, but they do end up making huge leaps and bounds in other kinds of tech. One of these advances allows Steven to finally deep-scan his own gemstone down to the atomic level to check for decay- this was previously a process that was very invasive, and came at the risk of irreparably damaging a Gem, but not anymore.

He expects to find evidence of the same micro decay that's been slowly eating away at the rest of Gemkind within his OWN diamond, but the thing is...

He just... ISN'T decaying at all? Even though the sheer age of this gemstone itself should suggest otherwise? As it turns out though, his existence as a hybridized being makes him kind of... an anomaly. When he first reformed all those thousands of years ago, all the data within his gem- data that would otherwise be susceptible to decay- was translated into genetic material. DNA that's woven entirely out of hard-light... but, DNA that has also been constantly regenerating itself thanks to a combination of all the intricate biochemistry surrounding the human telomere and his healing powers.

In other words, he is incapable of falling inert from natural causes, like micro decay. He's functionally immortal. Unless someone shatters him (or... heaven forbid... he shatters himself) he simply can't die.

Which, all of a sudden, makes his race to save Gemkind from their quickly approaching extinction all the more personal. Because if he FAILS- then he'll be the very last of Gemkind. There will be no one else left in this world who is even remotely like him. (Humanity has mixed and mingled with the galactic locals so much by now that they're very much unrecognizable from what they once were.)

His spirit is very nearly broken by this discovery, and he is severely tempted to throw all his own principles out the window and just sanction the construction of new Kindergartens again, if only to keep the dwindling Gem populations up and birth new generations. Perhaps surprisingly, it's White Diamond- the last Gem left who Steven actually knew since the very beginning- who urges him to reconsider. To not give up on his own morality, to not revert all the miraculous changes he's worked for these long few million years.

The big shift in the tides is when he discovers the means to jump to alternate timelines, and thus the existence of the greater multiverse. This allows him to gather intel and ideas from a far greater spectrum of sources.

And eventually... it's with the aid of many alt versions of himself from other lines across the multiverse that leads to him finding a suitable, eco-friendly solution to his Gem incubation problem. (This is the aspect of this AU I cannot discuss in length for discretion's sake. Use your imagination. Or don't, I don't care.)

The following two sections, I'll be talking more about the broad thematics than anything else. At this point, know that there are now new batches of Gems being created all the time. Gemkind is no longer at risk of any extinction, but now- like any stable organic species- new Gems are made at the same rate that they fall inert.

So, the BIGGEST thing here with this reformation is that this is overtly where this guy picks up the name "Astra." Why a name change? Well, after White finally went inert, leaving him the last Diamond in existence within this line, it basically just felt... upsetting to him, to continue to go by a name that every person he ever loved used for him. Thus, the new name is overtly a means to distance himself from that past, and from that pain. (It's also a name he chooses while thinking back to a meaningful conversation he had with White, back before she went inert, oOF. I'll probably yell about that at some point in another post.)

So, too, is the lack of any tangible facial features. He HAS a face, but others just can't see it. He subconsciously obscures it from almost everyone's sight as a means of avoiding vulnerability. One might also have noticed by now that this guy's proportions have gotten like, really strange and sorta "stretched out" over time the larger he becomes... and this is intentional, as it's yet another way he's just becoming more inhuman in form, yet another way he's internally separating himself from those humble human origins of his.

But here's the thing, though.

Deep, deep down, to be human and to live a simple human life is basically all he's ever craved. It's everything he feels he's lost forever, with the death of his Connie. And instead, he's kinda stuck in a hellish sunk cost fallacy of his own making, acting as eternal caretaker for this world that- no matter what he does to try and make it a better place- will never quite be PERFECT. Thus, in his mind, even though he's literally fixed Gemkind's BIGGEST problem, he can't Stop. He can't Rest. He simply can't allow himself himself to lay down and Sink Away into the unknown.

And even if he could allow himself to do so, he is so, so scared of walking that path alone.

If he's going to die... he wants that end to be at a lover's side.

How, though, is someone who's basically a god supposed to find anyone in this multiverse with experiences they can remotely relate to?

Well... ultimately, Astra finds that it's far, far easier to build up a close relationship with varying versions of himself than anyone else. He's... kinda trash at it, though. This guy has so much bottled up Gunk in his head and is so starved for any form of affection that he has a habit of throwing WAY too much of himself into the relationships he engages in, and expecting that same level of commitment in return. There's one relationship with an alt Steven he's in for a while that ends up pretty unhealthily co-dependent before it fizzles out, and then another where he assumes the individual is committing to this partnership for the long run, but then no... actually Astra was always pouring more into this dynamic than he was receiving in return.

This second relationship, when it ends, is pretty devastating to him- since it was one that lasted for like, a LONG ass time. Unimaginably long. We're talking billions of years, here.

Uh-oh! And now he's even more distanced from other people. Folks can't even parse his actual chosen name at this point- except he isn't really consciously aware of this for a while?? It's yet another silent cry for help, yet another internal defense mechanism specially intended to keep others from truly getting to know him. Because every time he does... stars. No matter what he does, he keeps getting hurt. Almost everyone he knows and loves is torn from his life eventually... if not by death, then by some form of tragedy... and he's just so, so tired.

He wants literally ANYTHING to change in his life. He craves some new form of purpose. He craves the attention of someone who might love him as passionately as he loves them.

For a while, he almost believes he's found that- in yet another close relationship he forges with an alt version of himself- but while this other Steven does care for him immensely, it's only as a friend. Which kinda kills Astra, because he's like, lost in the sauce levels of In Love with this guy. There's a LOOOOOOT of story I have here with this, oh my god. If I am thinking about this AU I am usually thinking about this Old Man Yaoi. The great bulk of it is very NSFW themed though, so y'all getting the cliff notes.

The MOST important thing to know though, is that Astra both makes intense leaps and strides in once again allowing himself to be vulnerable with this man, and ALSO kinda intensely fucks their whole mutually agreed situationship up. It's messy. I am crying and wailing at these two old dumbasses. Jesus fucking christ.

But then, it's in the aftermath of this whole deal that an individual named Orion comes into the picture.

Orion quite literally falls into Astra's world by complete accident, but it's a very lucky accident- because she is a diamond hybrid version of Connie from another universe who- beyond a few differences- has a strikingly similar history to his. The big difference, though? She never found a means to create new Gems without Kindergartens, so she was the last of just a few thousand Gems who existed in her entire line. Part of a deeply endangered species.

This version of Connie arrives in some very deep mental turmoil, and so Astra does his best to give them a stable home and a place to heal. And while a past version of him might've been tempted to throw way too much of himself into the slow building rapport they have, he's blessedly Learned a thing or two from the past few major relationship experiences he's had... and chooses to like, ease up. Just offer himself as a friend first and foremost, should they care for one. Man learns restraint, lol.

And it's a damn GOOD thing that he does, because out of the genuine friendship they foster, Orion is the one who ultimately falls in love with him first. The relationship that's established here is one that's balanced, a true partnership where they simply make each other better people. It's through Orion's encouragement that Astra eventually reconnects and makes up with that last person he had an intense relationship with, even.

In time, Astra truly grows to thrive with Orion in his life. He becomes a far more open, vulnerable person, someone who feels safe to truly exist as who he is, to bare every complicated, battered facet of his past to those he trusts. While he may have taken the LONG road to get here, he too heals. And as a result...

One day, Astra simply stops glowing entirely. Shrinks down to more reasonable proportions. He stops hovering around on automatic, stops subconsciously scrubbing the memory of his face or name from people's minds. He stops denying his truest, deepest self- the reality that he was born an organic being, and raised as a human.

The burred reality that all he's ever truly wanted since the day his first lover died is to be a father.

To live a quiet, simple life with the people he loves.

For so long it was a mirage of a future he thought he'd never chase down, but for how much he made all the wrong choices the first time around, now he has a second chance.

And so in my brain, that's exactly what happens. Astra and Orion start a family together and continue to act as guardians over this universe for many years to come, until- after they are satisfied with the long life they've lived together, and their children have moved on to start forging their own paths- they eventually pass Beyond at their own will in each other's arms, ending their impossibly long godhood at peace.

I really don't know how to end this post lmafo, so I will simply say: if you somehow read all of this, holy shit you are so brave. Thank you for engaging with my insane ramblings. Have a nice day LOL FUIHSNUFSJG

This man haunts my brain so much I missed two off ramp turns on the highway the other day while thinking about him. Help me.

[xshindaaix]

I'm taking this with a grain of salt. Might be just me coping, cuz' I really want to see them, especially Viktor in the future spin-offs, but Linke's inconsistency is supporting it for me. Also, this was rather "fun" video with the VAs, not very serious debate. In all kinds of interviews with him he's always not confirming or denying if they are dead or alive. If they are truly dead, why not be honest? That's what's sus to me. I also think they're planning and working on how to implement their story and them to the future projects. Especially Viktor. The guy's a big deal now! A goddamn demi-god! Plus he's getting all the new special skins from Riot!?!? Ain't no way they are done with my boy! And if V is alive, so must be Jayce. Linke even said in an interview with Necrit that Viktor is now "special" and will be explored in the future. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE CHRISTIAN!!!

Also, we can clearly see them being sucked into the crystal and disappearing. I personally support the "teleported into another/different dimension/timeline. He said himself that they plan to aim at bigger stuff like MCU, so this would make sense. Viktor and Jayce traveling through different universes and the LOL champions that may appear in the spin-offs meeting them to solve some problems. Just my guess. That would be cool.

ALSO! Linke literaly answered and said that the video was cut in a way to make it sound that way and him not even knowing about it. THE MULTIVERSE GAY ALLEGATIONS ARE REAL FELLAS

[vampiritea]

since my sister @werewolfsmile made me guess Leverage episodes based on their titles the other day (and the result was pretty funny), I decided to make her do the same for 9-1-1!

Me: Heartbreaker Her: Something to do with Eddie because he's a heart breaker. It's gonna totally be season 2. Me: sips tea

Me: Alright I'm gonna give you an easy one. Me: Chimney Begins. Her: Gee wow I wonder what that could be about! It's where Chimney begins!! We get backstory, Kevin, it's beautiful. Isn't he also bleeding out at the same time? Me: Yep Her: Beautiful

Me: Fight or Flight Her: Ohhh I know that title. It's totally something to do with Eddie. Me: lol. No. Her: Dammit. So it's not a tsunami episode then? That would be like sink or swim, wouldn't it? … idk then. Me: It's an episode that you're always surprised by how early on in the series it happens. Her: Shannon dies?? Me: No, but someone dies. Her: Who else is there? Me: It happens in the snow Her: When are they in the snow?? All I can see is TK falling into that frozen pond now but that's not the right show. Me: There's BLOOD on the snow. Her: Oooh, I like that. Blood on snow... MADDIE!!! Me: Yes! Her: Yeah that is surprising it happens that early.

Me: Capsized Her: Oh gee I wonder! (If I get this wrong now…) That's where Bobby and Athena are on a cruise and the ship goes 'whoopsie'!

Me: Careful What You Wish For Her: singing 'cause you just might get it'. Is THIS the one where Shannon dies? Me: Yes Her: YES!! ... Now I'm sad for Christopher Me: As you should be

Me: Hero Complex Her: ….. Is that the one with the guy – steals the firetruck? And Eddie has to talk him down? Me: No. Her: No, cause that's Jinx isn't it?? Cause we watch that one all the time!! Ughh. [later] Her: Um. All I can think now is Izzy Chains. Can't think of anyone else who has a hero complex – aside from all the main cast. So it's Buck-centric then!! Me: 😂 No. Her: Are you sure?? Me: I'm positive. Her: Give me another clue! Me: It focuses on a character who doesn't stick around. Her: ... OH MONDAY!! He would hate me so much cause I don't remember his real name 😅

Me: The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1 Her: Oh that's when Josh's nasty ex boyfriend comes in and is like 'surprise bitch I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me'

Me: Red Flag Her: ?? Nope, the bull is in lone star as well... It's not like an online dating one or something? What season? Me: 6 Her: I don't remember what happens in season 6... Me: It's a Bobby episode Her: A Bobby episode? 😍 The only Bobby episode I'm thinking of is when he gets high on brownies… Is it the one where he and Michael are spying on the neighbours through the telescope?? Me: No. Her: Damn. That's a good one. [later] Her: OH MY GOSH WENDELL!!

Me: The One That Got Away Her: Ummmmm. Is this like where Buck gets concerned about his sexual performance and so he calls up all his exes? Me: 😂🤣 Her: If I'm right I'm gonna be shook. Me: YOU'RE NOT 🤣 Her: Is it an Abby episode? Me: No. Her: Okay yeah cause I thought I'd remember the train episode title. [later] Me: It's one of the episodes where an old man dies to teach Buck something. Her: Not Red?? Me: Yes 😢

Me: What's Next? Her: Me: That's the title of an episode. Her: oH! Is this where Buck is suing the city or something and Eddie gets all grumpy cause 'Chris can't even see you 😭'? Me: No. [later] Me: smugly It's the train episode. Her: WHAT!!! Isn't it called something really cliché like derailed?? My life is a lie 😭

Me: Future Tense Her: ….. is that the episode title? Me: Yes Her: Oh boy. [later] Me: It has a funny Eddie scene. Her: Is this where Eddie's dating Ana and he has a panic attack? Me: YOU THINK THAT'S FUNNY???????? 😂 Her: NO BUT HE'S THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE AND PANICKING. Me: Think less about the distant future and more 'the future is now'. Her: The Hildy episode!! 'We got him'! 😊

Me: Alright are you ready for the next one? Her: Probs not but let's go Me: There Goes the Neighbourhood Her: dramatically drops phone and frowns into distance Athena says that at one point. Is it s4? Me: Yep Her: There goes the neighbourhood... Like, I know it but I can't remember it. Me: It's one of your favourites. Her: Wow. Great. Me: ... You mentioned it earlier. Her: panicked laugh [later] Her: Something to do with Buck and Eddie Me: Incorrect [later] Her: You're gonna have to give me more clues. Me: There goes the NEIGHBOURhood. NEIGHBOURS. Her: I AM AWARE! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO THINK! [later] Her: OHHH IT'S BOBBY AND MICHAEL. I LOVE THAT ONE Me: I KNOW YOU DO! 😂

Me: Alright I'm gonna give you an easy one. Me: Treasure Hunt Her: Ravi! Gets there first! And then he's like, I'm not even with these guys. And they're all like 'probie say WHAT?'

Me: Under Pressure Her: Episode 1 of season 2 where Eddie arrives 😎

Me: You Don't Know Me Her: All I can see is that vine 'you don't know ME. You don't know ME!!' and that's not helpful T_T

Me: Defend in Place Her: That's what you do when there's a bushfire and you're like naurr I got this. Me: 💀

Me: May Day Her: A plane. Me: Hehe, no. Her: ...but??? What?? That's what you call if the plane's going down!! Mayday mayday!! Me: lol no. [later] Her: Another clue please. Me: May Day is two separate words. Her: oHHHH THEN IT'S ABOUT MAY. GRRRR Her: The one where the call centre is on fire and Bobby and May have that beautiful "I'll protect you my daughter" scene?? Me: Yep! Her: It's a good title for that episode!

[randomnameless]

Sorry I need to send this about the "children of the goddess should not be allowed to rule" thing. Cause like, why shouldn't they. We, as humans generally appreciate the guidance of someone older and wiser. Wouldn't a nabatean's lifespan and experience make them the most "fit" to rule? Like, yeah, I trust someone with a millenia life experience to lead more than I trust someone with under 3 decades. And maybe it can be argued that Rhea didn't do a good enough job, but that doesn't actually disqualify the rest of them? Like, either they're truly godlike and should lead due to their inherent experience and wisdom, or they're just like any other person, in which case why shouldn't they get the CHANCE to lead. Like, is the situation that they live in fodlan, but have no rights to play a role in the future that they'll have to live in? They're not allowed to be in a position of leadership due to their race? Cause that's like. Pretty bad. But this is a question the game cannot answer because it might make homegirl look slightly morally questionable.

Go ahead anon, rant!

I think this issue could have also been raised in FE10 - but that game and "racism" is like... you believe you're eating a chocolate flavored peanut, and only realise you're actually eating a peanut flavored chocolate.

For all of the focus, in both games of the duology, Daien got as the laguz hating country, there's no line/zilch about them being happy - or not - with having a heron branded queen? Miccy will age slower than regular beorcs, will Daein peeps be okay with that? We don't know, but we sure know that legends will remember Ikey-poo fondly, just, don't give a fuck about the world or the other characters from the verse please.

As for Nabateans not being allow to do either X or Y based on their race... well, it was basically raised early in the fandom days by some people, myself included, but I guess being able to drink tea with Freezer overwrote that issue.

We could argue using headcanons all day long, for 5 years lol about what Rhea did or didn't - since the game loves to tell and show different things, but the fact that Nopes had to add Yuri and Dimitri discussing about common sense, like feeding people first before giving them education, I'm pretty sure the devs never believed people would seriously wonder what would Clout/Supreme Leader/Dimi's policies about "making a better world" would entail : both Yuri and Ferdie's supports are just here to, in a typical Fodlan fashion, sprinkle peanuts on your ice cream to make you believe you're really eating a snickers.

"We're a very serious game about having three political powers discussing about the future of the world and what should be done to reach this ideal !"

"And no one thought about food? People needing food to survive? Before doing anything else like getting a proper education or wishing to have a say in the politics of their respective states?"

"... Well, we also tackle very serious themes like isolationism and its effect of society and prejudices!"

"By depicting the foreign neighbours as MENA inspired people being bloodthirsty and deadset on pillaging or rampaging in cities? They attack for fun and let their orphans die as canon fodder? And the main lead who wants to talk about opening the borders and isolationsim never mentions this? At all? Especially since he's a prince of this MENA inspired country?"

"... but we hammer in 3 routes how this lady is evil incarnate, and in the 4 others, we say she sus!"

"Your point being? One person hearsaid to be wrong doesn't suddenly make the rest of your cast likeable, especially if their writing has glaring holes like the ones I pointed!"

"... we can sell super rad umbrellas?"

And you know what, it's a damn shame the devs didn't believe in their "homegirl" as you said it, because Freezer is somehow super popular, and that was even before the DBS retcons!

[romchat]

following up on my prior ask! i found the luyang arc pivotal for xff and xh (i mean, who wouldnt? we got that beautiful rain scene!), but so much of their conversations confused me because of the way they use metaphors and dance around answers! i apologize if i come off as spamming ur inbox, lol!

some things i wanted to understand more:

-ep 16 tearoom: when xff talks about him inviting her over after every "show" and how what he says is apathetic but always hits the mark and makes her in debt. but now hes showing his cards and asks him if he wants to join?

ep 17 in the rain: when she says "you never tell the truth" and he says "what about you? even after drinking you havent told the truth once" what is she referring to? him i can kinda guess but her? idk!

-ep 17 eating dumplings: when xff offers to invite him to watch a play (her helping the ye family) and he says "i dont watch plays" why is he mad?! lol and why does she respond "if you like these buns and want them in the future, ill settle everything" when he says that when its found out to be a "misunderstanding" who does she think has to take the blame (referring to himself as he would tip them off)

-ep 18 eating dumplings (again): when she asks about how he tried cases in the past and he tells her she doesnt have to make him put up an act before she confesses? where did this come from? did i forget something in the past?? and then even more... "today onward, i am once again despised by everyone" what does he mean? when wasnt he? why does she respond with luyang is beautiful and the night duty is coming??

idk theres so much i think i grasp but then i relisten to it and confuse myself lmao! theres definitely more (like the huixiang pawn speech she had with him) but the luyang parts im most interested in! so sorry that this is so long and such word vomit!! thank you so much if u do take the time to respond! i think you have such a good comprehension and a way with words that seriously has added to my enjoyment of this show SO much more. thank you!!!!!

I welcome all word vomits but oh boy you're really stretching my memory here 😂

Ep. 16 Tearoom

Fangfei is still annoyed at Duke Su because of her jealousy over seeing him with another woman at the brothel in Episode 15. In that episode, she had assumed he was following her to Luyang but then thought differently once she saw him with Wu Lan. I think her calling out his sudden "apathy" is essentially her implicitly asking if their odd little relationship has changed (i.e., why are you acting differently?). Which is why he asks:

Duke Su: Are you getting angry at me? Fangfei: Can't I? Duke Su: Your words are really pleasant then. (smiles)

He just confirmed that she's behaving the way she is because she's jealous, which is why he finds her words "pleasant". So he reassures her by telling her who Wu Lan is even though she has nothing to do with Fangfei's dealings with the Ye family--he's like a husband keeping his wife informed about his struggles at work lol

Ep. 17 In the Rain

He's referring to her real identity as Fangfei (which he's known about for a while but wants to hear directly from her about) and I believe she's referring more generally to all his private dealings, which keeps entangling him in her plots (e.g., General Biao, who they had that drinking competition with).

Ep. 17 Dumplings

This was the day after Fangfei's drunken flirtatiousness in the rain so my guess is that he was fishing for her to reveal her true feelings about him ("does that mean you remember what happened that night?") and he gets frustrated when she friend-zones him by wanting his help for her scheming versus talking about this shift in their relationship. Especially since one of the last times they talked about theater, it was when he tricked her into being his cover during the theater attack and she told that him that she now clearly sees what their relationship actually is. Her talking about the theater after their almost kiss probably feels like taking one step forward and two steps back for him!

But Fangfei's "If you like these buns, I'll settle everything" is ultimately her asking for his help to execute her plan and trying to settle the score. Remember, at this point in the drama, she's always counting how much he helps her so she can pay him back and not have to owe him. (Which is why one of my favorite flirting moments of theirs is in Episode 16 when he swoops in during her drinking competition and tells her that his help won't be put on her tab.)

Ep. 18 Dumplings Part Deux

Oh that's just another flirtatious way of giving Duke Su permission to ask her questions about her real identity! By this episode, he's interrogated her at the nunnery as well as his residence but they're always interrupted and/or she leaves when he gets too personal. She's telling him she's willing to share more about herself because of how much he has helped her up to this point.

I'm not quite sure what "today onward, I am once again despised by everyone" refers to (maybe if the palace finds out how he has helped Fangfei given that I think at this point he knows of Princess Wanning's involvement in Fangfei's death?) but I wonder if Fangfei's night duty comment is her reflecting on how even though she just experienced momentary success there is still a long road of challenges ahead of her. That's why Duke Su reassures her that she's strong and a survivor ("right now, all the lights in Luyang are on. If you were a restless spirit, you would have long been reduced to ashes") and she promises him that she "will live on well."

--

Hope these ramblings were helpful!

[land-of-holly]

Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 5 Liveblog

Ooh nice landscape shot over the Misty Mountains

The Seven!

Is all of King Durin's bling also gonna fall victim to the Ring's jealousy?

Narviiiiiiii

The King's just going mad with power, nothing to see here

He may have brought the light back, but it's still an OSHA violation

THE DOORS OF DURIN!

If this is all we get of the Celebrimbor/Narvi teamup I will be disappointed but LOOK ANNATAR!

Tyelpe is on to him!

Love the conflict over the rings for Men. This is the kind of development upon previous work I look for in an adaptation. It fits well into the previous themes.

Annatar had NO SENSE OF PERSONAL SPACE

Well obviously Annatar isn't just going to take no for an answer.

NO he's just going to make them himself?? Just disregard Celebrimbor entirely?

Ooh, here comes Pharazon's Elf envy

Damn this guy is hardcore, who says that to their own son?

I do see why people ship Miriel/Elendil, damn

Oh girl, you don't really believe not fighting back is the answer. I can see it. You wanna fight back so bad.

Mass resignation?

Oooh, nope

I love the father-daughter conflict! It's a role women don't get to play very often in this exact way

Political unrest in Numenor!

Just because Pharazon is anti-elf doesn't mean he's anti-power lol

Dead...fish?

Normally I'm against disparaging the wielding of a perfectly useful tool to attain valid goals as "cheating", but one, I can't contradict my wife Disa, and two, that ring is obviously super sus

New taxes??

An extended scene of ball chasing is a little silly but I am not immune to DISA LEGS

She has echolocation??

More dwarf extras!

Okay now King D's just getting nasty

I've made peace with Early Balrog. It's not like they have a 3rd age timeline to fuck up, after all

I guess not even a ring can separate a dwarf from his bling, it's still there

Forge is haunted.

Aw damn he nerdsniped Celebrimbor

Wonderful convo between Celebrimbor and Durin

So Mirdania did see Annatar's true form, and he admits it, but he convinced her not to tell an adult like a FUCKING CREEP

Oh THAT'S why everyone was talking about Annatar rizzing Mirdania up, JESUS

DON'T TOUCH HER

Damn, Kemen, you shouldn't have cultivated such a punchable face

And Valandil, unfortunately, shouldn't have let himself been named after a canon character's future canon kid

The dropping of 'Faithful' and 'King's Men' felt clunky to ME but it's possible I'm biased

Annatar once again proves to be made ENTIRELY out of red flags. Protip, kids: if someone is all "Well now we've been bad together, we have no choice but to never talk to anyone else about this or we'll be in trouble"--RUN

(Seriously)

Elf extras!

Oh no now he's just sinking more cost, trying to make things right. Poor Tyelpe.

Oh, right! What's Adar up to?

Oh the elf armies need help? Whoever could come to their aid?

Everyone wants Galadriel on their team!

Wow there was a bunch about this episode that I liked a lot. Annatar continued to be the absolute star of this show, the fucking creeper

[rhiannons-bird]

okay so I‘M FINALLY READING SWORD CATCHER AND I HAVE THOUGHTS

I‘m only about halfway through but I need to rant

- it‘s incredible how well cassie manages to lend a unique voice to each of her characters every single time. she just doesn’t miss does she?

- lin caster is the awesomest girl. i just love her because she reminds me of other cc girls in the way that she is kind of a very typical heroine on the surface but you can actually feel her emotions and she’s very believable & flawed & human and you just can’t help rooting for her + i love her friendship with mariam

- everyone is bisexual & it’s completely normalised i love it here

- lin & conor??? apparently they are the flagship which I know because I took a peek at the tag after they had two scenes together because the ENERGY OMG

- ahh yes, conor 😌 another pretty man with issues who’s in a lot of trouble and likes to cover it up with sarcasm, pompous behaviour, fancy clothes & vanity- you just can’t help but love it

- but also he‘s the biggest prick and i want him to have some sense beat into him by everyone around him

- like he qualifies for a huge growth arc but it could also go downhill and turn into sth ugly

- anyone had a weird sense of déjà vu about him and lin after that one little excerpt about adessa and suleman? like, she’s an ashkar with probably immense magical potential let’s be real i see where this is going and he‘s a prince (future king) with marivent blood 🤔🤔🤔

- conor‘s frat boy posse make my blood boil- especially with the way they talked about antonetta in that one scene 🤢🤮

- falconet is the nicest one by far but he‘s sus as hell i know he’s up to sth 🤨 but i rly wanna like him 😭

- the ragpicker king is just a cool dude who dresses emo and has people murdered on the regular i guess i love him. he’s hot. - kaz energy but also very different at the same time. can‘t wait to see more of him. and there’s def more to him.

- also no, andreyen, i don‘t understand either what people mean about ji-an having an off putting manner i‘m pretty convinced she‘s never done anything wrong in her entire life 💗except for the murder what murder

- kel can only be described as a calmly unhinged cinnamon roll. he reminds me a little of james (especially with his „mask“) but if you orphaned him & janked up the loyalty & sluttiness by a hundred

- like fr he is so confused just running around threatening and/or kissing people wtf 😭✋🏼 he just has chemistry with everyone he interacts with lol

- kel & conor remind me of matthew & james but if there was a big power imbalance and a everything is a little more fucked up 🙃

- generally the way power & power dynamics are portrayed and handled is very interesting i like it

- antonetta has my entire heart ❤️

- I need more of her but as an individual not just through kel‘s pov, so far i’m not very big on whatever is being hinted at with her and kel

- I adore merren just like everyone else, he‘s kind of giving a weird mix of christopher/matthew/wylan and I‘m here for it. plus: autism coded character yeass

- also nice to see some jewish rep. (i did not know cassie was jewish before lol) the ashkar are really interesting (& as far as their treatment by the rest of the world goes at times infuriating😤) to read about and add a lot of depth to the world building.

- i love how we see the complexities of their culture portrayed through lin who on the one hand is deeply ingrained in it and holds/has received a lot of love & care for/from her own people while also having been wronged & ostracised by them and how both can be true simultaneously

- as someone who‘s very familiar with multiple romance languages the languages in this book are incredibly entertaining to me

- SO MANY SECRETS & political intrigue hehehe rubbing my little hands together can’t wait for all this to escalate (because it most certainly will) 😈

bottom line

I’m really glad i finally started reading this.

it took me a while to get into it & I’m still holding out on a final judgement since it seems very slow but i’m a patient reader and i appreciate a good setup.

also I want a creepy black crocodile pool in my house now.

[springsheep]

War of Faith Notes Ep. 29 - 32

Ep 29 -> Wei Ruolai in the execution grounds.

Wei Ruolai: Are you targeting Mr. Shen again??

Lin Qiaosong: Why are you doing this? Wei Ruolai: Then at that time, why did you join the dare-to-die corps? Lin Qiaosong: To protect the country! Wei Ruolai: I'm the same!

Shen Tunan rushes to save Wei Ruolai.

There's gunshots (someone is saving WRL?).

Shen Tunan: Congyun, drive forward! Wei Ruolai is in danger!! Huang Congyun: No sir, only your safety matters to me!

Shen Tunan jumps out of the car to save Ruolai, HCY follows.

Shen Tunan (when he sees the dead bodies): Ruolai is not there...

Niu Chunmiao and Shen Jinzhen are the shooters, saving WRL.

Shen Tunan saw Jinzhen(?).

(So, Wei Ruolai has no idea that Shen Tunan begged Mr. Yu to save him and that Shen Tunan risked his life to go to the execution grounds to save him.... WRL thanks Shen Jinzhen and Niu Chunmiao for saving him and agrees to go to Jiangxi Soviet).

Shen Tunan did, indeed see Jinzhen and he knows for sure she's a communist. He looks so hurt that she lied to him QAQ. Jinzhen denies everything, of course.

Shen Tunan: Thank you for saving Wei Ruolai.

Shen Jinzhen arranges for WRL and Niu Chunmiao to evacuate, but they missed each other fuck.

Hongfang shop is exposed and Mr. Xu blows up the place...

Shen Tunan and Shen Jinzhen's confrontation. (these two actors are so good damn the emotions are supercharged).

Wei Ruolai is caught by the Axe Gang:

Mr. Qian: You're a communist. Wei Ruolai: Well, technically, not yet. (he's such an innocent cutie pie i can't--) Mr. Qian: But in the future? Wei Ruolai: Uhh maybe uhh

Wei Ruolai and Niu Chunmiao are helped by the axe gang to leave.

Shen Tunan drives Shen Jinzhen (to run away?)

Ep 30 -> Shen Tunan drops of Shen Jinzhen in a gas station (lin qiaosong and his men are watching from the bushes).

Shen Tunan and Shen Jinzhen say their goodbyes.

Wei Ruolai's bus pass by and through the window Ruolai can see Shen Tunan and Shen Jinzhen hugging. AND GUESS WHAT Wei Ruolai's reaction is: Shen Xiansheng?!

His eyes are always automatically find his Xiansheng ah... tsk tsk

Shen Tunan leaves, and Lin Qiaosong and co attacke Shen Jinzhen. Shootout.

Wei Ruolai realizes there are people going to attack Shen Jinzhen and gets off the bus.

Shen Tunan hears gunshots and returns to save his sister (he's so cool damn it), he crashes the car into the gas station (the car explodes).

Shen Jinzhen is crying for her brother, Wei Ruolai and Niu Chunmiao have to drag her away. Shen Tunan is okay(?) I hope please please

Shen Jinzhen and Wei RUolai are crying (they're afraid Shen Tunan is dead).

Wei Ruolai: Xiansheng is a noble person, the heavens will protect him. Shen Jinzhen: I hope so.

Shen Jinzhen is crying because her brother was trying to protect her.

Poor Huang Congyun (I forgot this bro existed lol). He's worried and he's the one who tells Cishu that Shen Tunan is in the hospital, and that Shen Jinzhen and Wei RUolai are communists.

Shen Tunan is in the emergency room.

Aww Huang Congyun this precious boi is cryingggg (ignore the fact that hcy can be a jerk to wrl sometimes--)

ALSO, i'm seriously kinda shipping Su Cishu with Shen Jinzhen. I feel like her relationship with Shen Tunan is more... platonic?

Like, when she found out Shen Tunan was in the hospital, Su Cishu kept asking, what about Shen Jinzhen? Shen Jinzhen ne?? Shen Jinzhen?? Like, instead of asking about her husband (she is worried about him, ofc ) she's asking about Jinzhen...

Shen Tunan is in the hospital, his chances of waking up are slim.

Lin Qiaosong (to STN): I thought you were the smartest person I knew... I thought you were the most loyal to the Kuomintang... But turns out your sis is a Communist and you didn't notice? Are you stupid or blind? Wenbiao: Stupid and blind. Lin Qiaosong: ...

WRL, SJZ, and NCM travel together to Jiangxi Soviet.

Shen Tunan finally wakes up, chats with Su Cishu.

Shen Tunan: That's why I have to work harder for the country. Su Cishu: Mr. Song make you step down from you position... He also published your obituary...

Shen Tunan is angry and his head hurts. He goes home (from the hospital) and reunites with his daughter.

Huang Congyun and Chief Deng visit Shen Tunan.

WRL and co arrive in Jiangxi (they got caught but after verifying their identities they are welcomed there).

Niu Chunmiao's guy that she likes is dead, she's sad.

P.S. The ending song has changed.

Ep. 31 -> Wei Ruolai and co are in Jiangxi, Wei Ruolai returns to his dad.

Wei Ruolai works as a small accountant in his village (not working for the Red Army's bank, no)

Wei Ruolai has flashbacks of his time with Shen Tunan (his brain is making tiktok edits of his beloved Xiansheng).

Life in Jiangxi: WRL is an accountant and teaches a girl (fang ling) to count; Shen Jinzhen works in the military (shooting guns etc); Niu Chunmiao's dad teaches her self defense(?).

Fang Ling died. WRL reflects on stuff and has a stronger resolve to join the Communists.

WRL joins the Red Army bank.

WRL: Someone... made me write a report (on your bank) once.

So... previously Shen Tunan wrote an essay on the encirclement of communists. The chairman read it, approves, and wants to send Shen Tunan to Jiangxi (to intercept the ore transfer or something). Actually Shen Tunan promised his wife he will stop doing politics and their family can move to England, but now...

Chairman: I'm helping Shen Tunan meet his darling sooner ah

Su Cishu is (obviously) angry because Shen Tunan is leaving.

Shen Tunan: In this life I'm destined to offer my life to the nation. Su Cishu: But you are my nation!

The song is different again?

Ep 32 -> Shen Tunan in the ferry spots his wife and daughter.

Su Cishu: You've pledged your life to the country. I've pledged my life to you. (seriously thats so romantic).

Su Cishu: Home is where you are.

Wei Ruolai gets the newspaper with Shen Tunan's obituary and shows it to Shen Jinzhen, the two of them cry and have flashbacks of Shen Tunan.

Shen Tunan and his family and Huang Congyun are in Jiangxi, Lin Qiaosong also goes there. Shen Tunan changes his name to Tu Nanshen.

Shen Tunan starts implementing stricter rules to catch communists and fight them through the economic field.

Shen Tunan: working hard to make counterfeit money and make the Soviet Bank lose credibility Wei Ruolai: Working hard to restore credibility and save the bank.

You know, every time I think this show can't get any gayer (and i think fuck this will be boring becuz they'll just talk about money and war and stuff i don't understand) a new gay line (Shenlai) pops out and I'm struck by how fucking gay and fucking sweet Shenlai is. It just hits me out of the blue.

Wei Ruolai tells Shen Jinzhen about the fake notes and he tells her this is an economic war, must be the Kuomintang who did it. AND THEN HE SAYS:

Wei Ruolai: If only Xiansheng was here. Shen Jinzhen: If he were here, you might have a headache. Wei Ruolai: I'd rather have him here and be troubled by him instead.

I'D RATHER HAVE HIM HERE AND BE TROUBLED BY HIM INSTEAD.

Okay Wei Ruolai, we all know you love him. Damn.

[accio-victuuri]

so i think a lot of turtles are cackling because of the recent ugg coincidence that happened. and i agree, this one is really sus and something that deserves a spot in cpn history. but i’m more interested as to the why of it all. why is it there. my first guess is they forgot to blur it out and thought it’s no big deal. we could leave it at that, but it’s xz studio we’re talking about here — and considering the events leading up to it, i guess one can’t help but wonder if there is anything more to this….

XZ & XZ STUDIO are notorious for blurring things out. not just faces of people close by or the staff, but also things around them. You even have a photo of GG with the window of the car blurred out, so people don’t know where he is — or the things on his car seats also blurred. This is understandable, it’s for his privacy. There are also times where certain items are covered in videos & photos because of ( the most likely ) certain contractual obligations. Also fact that the most random things people see him use gets sold out can be a factor, he doesn’t want to unintentionally endorse something that’s really more of a personal favorite.

It’s him wanting to keep certain aspects of his life private and that’s perfectly fine. Even if sometimes the guessing of what he has blurred out in some cases have been a game that turtles love to play. 😂😂😂

Now let’s review the video in question and why the shoes being left in the open seemed out of the ordinary.

you see they did cover up ( blue smileys ) some things on there and at some point the ugg slippers were sort of obscured. until that one frame where you can see everything clearly.

At this point, it’s not the first time that we saw one person having the other’s endorsement before it was announced. and the culprit was mostly ZZ. him having WYB’s endorsed products before it gets announced. Also it’s not usually THEM that you see using it ( well except for bottled joy lol ) but the staff. It’s like they were given a sizeable amount of that product and was shared to the crew — which only happens to an endorser/sponsor. I think this is the first that we saw from their videos. other incidents we have are from second pass photos so it’s why i’m overthinking it all. why does it seem intentional.

considering days ago there was the whole maison kitsune same style hot search and the same phone case is still fresh in people’s mind… shouldn’t he be more “careful” with these? not just with public opinion ( who mostly don’t mind ) but also his fans who get worked up about it.

A key incident also was earlier the day, there was an HS about him and his WDB co-star. It was a video “leak” from when they were shooting the drama. It looked very sweet and cp material — but they were shooting. I personally don’t have any bad blood with LQ. I genuinely think that they are friends and he’s comfortable to joke with her like that.

It stayed up for some time on the HS, and it’s okay to have it up considering it’s promotion for the drama. It’s normal. You would expect stuff like this to pop up since they are the main pairing in the drama.

THEN LATER IN THE EVENING XZS DECIDES TO DROP THIS ON US. While I do think a very small amount of candies are intentional, this one seems to be ZZ hammering us. I still remember how he spoiled us when OOL was out so this is really nothing compared to that. He could have gone for something more in your face but what they did was actually perfect. Only those who pay special attention will notice what’s going on. The casual fan will be distracted by him doing push ups and leave it at that— but not us ( and well other wfs who seem to be better at noticing stuff than us lol ). It’s like him comforting us after that HS and all the cp stuff in his drama ( which i’m not mad about cause the love stories between him and the two girls is well written so far ; i wanna do a proper post about it in the future ).

So there you go. It’s not just because we saw Ugg shoes on his video clearly. It’s the endorsement incidents before, his acts of subtle comfort to cpfs, the events that lead up to the release of the video and ZZ’s penchant for giving candies you can’t wash. CPNs that become popular like this are usually not only because of what get at face value. You have to look at the bigger picture to make it sweeter. 💛

-END.

[miyamiwu]

Not so much a theory but just me trying to make sense of everything that's happened so far. This will be a stream-of-consciousness dump.

LINK CLICK S2E8 SPOILERS!!!

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

So remember how, in season 1, when CXS changed something in the past, it would later reflect in their present? In the kidnapped child case, kid!CXS and adult!CXS had appeared at the same time. In the Xu Shanshan case, the gang received a mysterious call, which turned out to be because an alt!CXS had issued a challenged to red-eyes in the past.

So with that in mind, we can just focus on one timeline—the one being shown to us. Any changes made in alternate timelines would reflect in the present that the audience sees.

Our current present is LG saving CXS from being kidnapped, resulting in him taking his place.

Qiao Ling had hypothesized that maybe that wasn't Lu Guang but an alt-timeline!CXS because LG seemed more physically strong.

For this hypothesis to be true, CXS has to dive into the past as Lu Guang and rescue the past!CXS in one go. (A photo can only be used once.)

The chances of this going correctly is slim. Without Lu Guang, Cheng Xiaoshi has no idea what's gonna happen while in the dive. He didn't even know what object Lu Guang used to break the window (it was definitely not the kettle!). Also, does he even know where to find a speedboat? How about driving one? And if you had looked closely in the LG and LTC fight, you can see that LG was always trying to avoid being touched by LTC. That means he already knows how his ability is activated. On the off-chance CXS manages to reach past!CXS on time, it will all be for naught anyway coz he won't able to defend against LTC.

That's why I think Qiao Ling is wrong. It was never an alt!LG. It was the real Lu Guang all along.

As for how to explain his improved physical state... well, that's something I don't have an answer yet for. I do believe in the alt-timeline/future Lu Guang theories, though. If LG is from the future, maybe he's had some time to train.

Another theory of mine is that LG didn't actually suddenly got better at martial arts. He just knew how Li Tianchen would move, so he was able to defend against him. (Maybe LG can see the future).

Or maybe Lu Guang had relived this rescue many times and only now did he finally get it right. (Time loop maybe?)

As for him being able to resist the pain of his injury... idk man, adrenaline, I guess? Love can make you desperate lol.

Anyways, writing-wise, it's so easy to just dump everything on Lu Guang coz he's still shrouded in mystery. He's always seemed like he knows a lot about their abilities, and who knows what the true extent of his abilities is.

If Cheng Xiaoshi can't do the rescue right in one go, then how are they gonna explain him diving a second time?

Also, I find it hard to believe that CXS would want to endanger Lu Guang many times while he's acting as him. If he just doesn't dive, won't Lu Guang be saved?

What's sus here is the photo LG left. Did he know CXS can open his phone, or was that a save point he had actually left for himself in case he fails to save CXS?

But why would he not bring his phone? Was he afraid the enemy would get ahold of it?

But without his phone, and by extension, the photo, how can he go back in time?

Maybe his time-travel ability doesn't require a photo? (LTC definitely didn't have a photo when he was controlling WJ and CXS. His ability was just activated by touch)

Come to think of it, CXS's ability is also activated by touch (clapping). What about Lu Guang? Maybe he has a touch-based ability, too. After all, they can have more than one abilities.

LG can see what happens in a photo, and thru CXS diving, he can also record it. If it's a CCTV, he can hijack it and make it his eyes.

LTC can possess someone directly, but he can also just bewitch them through touch.

CXS can go back in time, and he can also possess people

I have no idea where I'm going here... Still confused as ever