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mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune · 9 months

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Earth Angel In Wing & Sweater-Town (2024)

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Credit for Transformers goes to Hasbro

Credit for Steven Universe goes to Rebecca Sugar

Credit for Undertale goes to Toby Fox

Credit for Hazbin Hotel goes to VivziePop

Credit for Red Vs Blue Series goes to Burnie Burns & Rooster Teeth

Credit for Halo Game Series goes to Bungie

Credit for Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command goes to Disney

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in case some might not be able to read the words very well, I think clicking on the drawing to make it bigger might help...I'm saying this before I post this, in case it might not be big enough to read the words unless one clicks on it...

I also decided use the angelsona tag for this, because technically the Earth Angel in the drawing is suppose to be me, in both wing and sweater town.

I would of posted this on January 6, 2024….the day I drew it, but there was a bit of a problem with Tumblr it would appear…which the info about it says it was being worked on and trying to fix it.

I was feeling a bit in a sad mood some hours ago on January 6th, before I drew this drawing on the same day, but maybe I can talk about it another time.

and while I did check once more, a few minutes later…it appeared that Tumblr was back to normal again, but I decided to wait until January 7, 2024 to post this.

also there can be different reasons why some Humans and Humans who are Earth Angels, to fall under the 8th Sin…some of them being because of Other Humans and Eon-Boomer Angels/Fallen Angels. and even if I know I don't really have the power to, but if I had lost my second cat because they weren't taking to the vet on time or those who work at the vet messed up and I lost my fluffy baby because of it…

I would cause Omnigeddon…also my day was doing a little okay on January 6, 2024 and I had plan to play some video games as well, but then something had to put me in a not so great mood and so I had to go to bed to sleep it off…

well at least some other stuff that happen later after what put me in a poor mood, end up making me feel a little more better. and yeah, the one who is hiding in both wing & sweater town is suppose to be me…

ya can't really see me, only know that I'm hiding behind energy wings and a sweater because the drawing is suppose to match how I was feeling because of some some humans…

I think sleeping the 8th Sin off helped a bit, well that and some stuff that ended up making me feel better…at least I watched a few episodes of Ah My Goddess and some episodes of Sailor Moon before that thing that I saw that put me in a gloomy mood.

Alastor being able to use Earth Angel Magic, does seem like a interesting idea…the idea is that he uses the pendulum to find where I am, which is in wing & sweater town.

and I guess if I had to talk little bit of what made me feel unhappy and think as well feel like I'm under the 8th Sin during that time, it has to do with that bad mouthing about Alastor… hopefully things will work out….

and ya know, it be interesting if he could use a pendulum even in ways I may not be able to, even though it did freak me out at first when I was holding a pendulum for the first time and it started to move around like crazy…

the chance of Alastor also being RH Negative, is perhaps very VERY small…but I'm going to view him as being RH Negative in the Fanon… speaking of that, I am going to at least try to see if I can at long last, get to the whole checking my blood type again…and yeah I get your blood type is with you for the rest of your life.

but I guess it's freaky to have O RH D Negative Blood, and your own Mom has O RH Negative Blood, but where did the "D" part come from…?

and yeah I'm weird, one of my weird thoughts is that I don't want Jesus, Antichrist, and Archangel Samael to harm Mother than she was already…

and by "Mother" I mean the Omni-Mom, and by that I mean the Goddess. I can still believe in Jesus, but if he is a part of that mess along with Archangel Samael…

well I'm not going to agree with it, and he still needs to be saved from himself if some stuff I read that has to do with him turn out to be true.

also no one is gonna change my mind about believing in both God and Goddess, not even that Toxic-Religious jerk who should of just shut up when I pointed out how bad that they were making me feel. hopefully they aren't doing that to more people.

I'm going to hope other Earth Angels finally wake up to the truth, but it should be of their own free will. but in case not all Earth Angels wake up to the truth, I might as well go solo until more Earth Angels finally wake up to the truth.

even if things are a bit more better for most women and girls (even if it isn't at 100% and is likely around 99% or 98% or maybe around 95%)

but we still need to finally see that one of the problems…is that Omni-Mom was harmed as well as the Divine Feminine energy, and it took probably a super long time for her to get a bit more better.

I think when I can, I will do another drawing ship of Wasp x Lazuli (from Transformers Animated & Steven Universe), and another Mamtella drawing (Mammon x Stella's ship name), that ship name still seems like some kind of food ya eat.

even just talking/writing about that ship name Mamtella, it made me hungry…I can't help that their ship name reminds me of food. XD well me being my weird self is better than being gloomy and possibly going all 8th Sin at times…I could make a list as to what causes me to become under the influence of 8th Sin…

and once again the whole "Eveningstar" has to do with the weird thing with my Mom, and how she NEVER got Morning sickness with me, but instead got Evening sickness.

I rather be called a purple blood than a blue blood, cause at times blue blood can mean another thing…some might know very well if they had looked it up before.

so I'm glad that only some of my Ancestors were Royals and some weren't, I wouldn't be a purple blood if it weren't for both my royal and non-royal ancestors. :D

I'm a Weird Earth Angel Princess, even if I don't work 100% like Other Earth Angels and I know I'm a Defective Earth Angel.

anyway, I had to draw how I was feeling, like the feeling of wanting to go to both wing and sweater town and not come out of wing and sweater town for a while…or it could be called wing-sweater town…

and yes, I know that Flowey has pink eyes in this, it was on purpose. Sari is holding Andy from Red Vs Blue, and right next to her is Tucker's Son, who could have small bits of Human DNA even if he doesn't appear Human at all.

both Andy and Sari are right about Humans, some of them are Shisno but some of them aren't and don't act like a bunch of Shisno…

so in other words, for the Humans who don't act like a Shisno and aren't Shisno at all, it means there is still hope for Humans.

and hopefully some humans will try not to act like they are better than some who have a biracial or multiracial heritage, even if not all humans are like that…

but ya know it is still possible some are still out there, and are gonna insult some other humans and even humans who are earth angels who have a biracial or multiracial heritage.

and even if some humans don't mean to come off like it, like those who really mean it, they might not fully understand that they could insult and bring about not so great feelings to some.

I also think that even if I try to explain about it, it is likely my words will be misinterpreted…..

it wouldn't be the first time, though at least half of the time my words got misinterpreted, it wouldn't be as bad and I might be able to explain a bit better than how it first came out, so in other words some small misunderstandings are fine so long as they don't end up hurting someone's feelings in a very bad way.

but I know it is possible even if I try not to let some of my words get misinterpreted, it doesn't mean it wont still happen at times and the times that it does, there will be a chance my feelings will get hurt as well.

and yeah, it might be best that I don't get too into the whole why some are hating on Alastor, but I'm going to still hope that things work out the right way and he appears in many future episodes, well the future episodes he will appear in.

I know that in some shows, even some characters who are part of the main characters, will at times not appear in a episode but will in the next.

one of Alastor's powers is Radio Manipulation, and from the powerlisting fandom, there is a list of names that show what it is also called by…

like Radiofonokinesis, Radio Distortion, Radio Wave Manipulation/Control, Radio Frequency Manipulation/Control and just Radio Control.

even if I had that weird thing happen with one of the radios we have, which by the way I think it might only happen once in a while with me, so that might be a good thing.

and one of the other powers that Alastor has is being able to use tendrils, which is also listed in Darkness Manipulation, of course it says Applications and it has Darkness Solidification.

there is also something that says manipulate the properties of darkness/shadow.

and we could view in the episode Alastor first appears in, he was using both Radiofonokinesis and Umbrakinesis, which one of the other names of Darkness Manipulation would be Shadow Control/Manipulation, Erebokinesis, Dark Control/Manipulation, Sciakinesis and Achluokinesis and yeah also the Umbrakinesis.

and for all we know, the reason he could be so powerful is because in his human life, he was of the Nephilim Bloodline, even if not being a full Nephilim, but there are some Earth Angels who do come from the Nephilim Bloodline.

not like we can help that, we aren't our Nephilim Ancestors. and calling us (by me and others) who have RH Negative blood, and who have Nephilim Ancestors as just as evil and bad as them, is a foolish thing.

plus I can't help but wonder if Earth has been through a loop many times before, which has to do with what those Eon-Boomers and the harm it causes Omni-Mom.

like the whole "End of The World" may have happen many MANY like a lot of times before, and each time the Earth would go through a type of "rebirth" and go back to how it was before that mess happen. well hopefully that isn't true, well unless it happen in another timeline and we live in a new alternate branch of it…

I like this drawing, it might of help a bit more to get some feelings out, and yeah as weird as it might be, in the drawing, Alastor is using the pendulum to track and find a Earth Angel, which in Fanon (and Noncanon) could be seen as one of his abilities.

and even if it isn't a official title, I'm still gonna call myself The Embodiment of Weirdness. XD

well me being weird and silly is better than when I feel unhappy.

and I'm glad I feel better from how I felt yesterday, it sucked feeling like that...which I think when you have days when you feel a bit melancholy, that could be the 8th Sin for all we know...

and the best thing I think I can do when I get like that, is if maybe try to either sleep it off or maybe do some other stuff, like watching a movie or a show I like, or reading.

plus maybe gems can help with the feelings of melancholy, like you could feel that way at times but certain gems help heal it.

of course not everyone has to be open about the healing properties of gems. and I'm still keeping my gem bracelets on for the multi-purpose I use them for and only take them off when I truly need to.

I think the 8th Sin who is like the Embodiment of Melancholy, and the 8th Ring, would likely be Fanon and Not Canon in Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss.

so the 8th Ring and Embodiment Of Melancholy would be in like a Fanon AU version of the two shows.

Embodiment Of Melancholy, probably needs a nice and fluffy blanket around them, some comfort food, a nice movie to watch and if they want and give permission for it, a nice comforting hug.

even if I don't like to be touched sometimes, I don't mind getting a hug if that is truly what I want.

sometimes surprise hugs where I'm hug from behind, would likely startle me and I might not like it very much...even if some might not truly get why I might not like it but maybe some might get it if they feel the same about certain surprise hugs.

I think it was around last year/2023 or maybe it was 2022, that had one of my family members startle me when they hug me from behind...

anyway my angelsona in this drawing, mentioning about being under the 8th Sin's influence, just seem to fit because well I was feeling not great before but I think sleeping off and waking up to some stuff that made me a bit happy, may have helped.

anyway I hope some like this drawing, and understand why I put my angelsona self in wing-sweater town, because it was to express how I was feeling.

and yeah even if it isn't canon to Alastor's powers, I like the idea about him using Earth Angel Magic in the Fanon.

Viva La Weirdness, The Embodiment Of Weirdness Era! XD

#do not reblog without permission #earth angel #angelsona #crossover fanart #hazbin hotel fanart #steven universe fanart #undertale fanart #transformers animated #tfa fanart #red vs blue fanart #halo fanart #blosc fanart #alastor hazbin hotel #steven quartz universe #sari sumdac #junior rvb #flowey the flower

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 11 months

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By: John Barry

Published: Sep 6, 2023

Do you ever hear a new concept, and suddenly realise that it has tapped into an important truth that had already been floating around on the hinterlands of your consciousness for some time? Well, 2019 saw the birth of one such idea: the concept of luxury beliefs (explained below), which was launched in the New York Post by Dr Rob Henderson, a former student of Yale and recent PhD graduate of Cambridge. The concept struck a chord with many people, and academia suddenly became very interested in this wunderkind Henderson. Unexpectedly, this interest hasn’t been reciprocated, leaving the academic world somewhat perplexed.

As an interviewer, it’s hard for me to say which is more interesting - the story of why Rob Henderson turned his back on contemporary academia, what he is doing next, or indeed what it is about his background that helped him recognise the phenomenon of luxury beliefs before anyone else did. Read on and decide for yourself.

John Barry (JB): You are interested in a range of topics in psychology, sociology, and anthropology. What drew you to studying psychology?

Rob Henderson (RH): I suppose I’ve always been curious about human nature and social behaviour. What got me started on the academic track was when I was enlisted in the military – over 10 years ago now – I found a copy of How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker at an airport on my way to a deployment in Al Udeid. I picked up this book because I thought the cover and title were interesting. Hmmm… how does the mind work? So I picked it up on a whim, read the book, found it fascinating, and that just got me started in reading more psychology books, watching psychology lectures on YouTube, and that led me to decide to study psychology more formally. I applied to Yale and studied Psychology as an undergrad there. And while I was studying psychology, I was also experiencing a shift in the social environment, in the social class backgrounds of the people who were around me, and so naturally I connected what I was studying and these anecdotal observations. This contributed to my decision to keep studying psychology and get as much education as I could, and that led me to apply for a PhD in Cambridge which I finished in December of 2022.

JB: Was there any particular thing in Pinker’s book that hooked you?

RH: He talks about the desire for social esteem, recognition, respect. How well regarded we are by others is not a material reward, it lives in the minds of other people. Pinker links this to evolutionary psychology and how important social belonging and acceptance were in the human ancestral environment, and that was something I had never thought about at that point in my life in a conscious explicit way.

JB: Is this topic related to your PhD?

RH: I was a research assistant in Paul Bloom’s lab. He’s a developmental psychologist who studies the origins of morality in babies and young children, and that became interesting to me. I read Jonathan Haidt’s book The Righteous Mind and read about moral foundations theory, so those interests led me to study this for my PhD. It’s unrelated to my public writing, but I do still study status. One of the studies we published a couple of years ago found that social anxiety, which is a proxy for preoccupation with status, is heavily correlated with how morally objectionable people rate various transgressions. One interpretation of this is the more concerned people are with their status, the more harshly they condemn moral wrongdoers.

JB: So this is something you published from your PhD?

RH: Yes, in the journal Scientific Reports. During my doctoral program, I led another set of studies as well, and co-authored a commentary and a chapter, but otherwise I don’t really have a strong interest to publish academic texts. It was an interesting experience just to see how peer review works and how academic publishing works, but I find writing for a broader audience more interesting and fulfilling. But it’s not that I don’t appreciate it – I spend a lot of time reading these papers and trying to pull out interesting tidbits or writing about them or sharing them online, but as far as formal academic papers go, there are probably not that many left in me.

JB: Sure. When you are writing for a wider audience it doesn’t mean that academics can’t read those articles too. Going back to your experiences in Yale and Cambridge, did they teach anything about male psychology?

RH: There is some teaching on sex differences, and there isn’t that much controversy about it there, but there isn’t that much specifically about men. My impression is that if you were to highlight challenges that men face, and controversies around male behaviour, well then it does have to be framed in one specific way. If you were to cast men as victims of anything in any way I think that would be treated very unseriously. That’s just my general impression. Sex differences are probably still ok to talk about, at least in academic environments among peers, but male psychology I don’t think is taken particularly seriously.

JB: It’s sad to see that even in the most prestigious universities. If they were to teach male psychology, what do you think would be the most important topics to cover?

RH: It’s interesting that a lot of this stuff is discussed in academic research. I wrote a piece a couple of years ago, for Bari Weiss’ outlet Common Sense (now The Free Press), and for that piece I did quite a bit of research on developmental psychology which found that boys appear to be more sensitive to environmental and parental inputs than girls - not that girls are unresponsive to these inputs – but boys who are raised in single parent homes, or particularly unstable or harsh environments, are much more likely to have detrimental health consequences, so later are more likely to experience poverty and unemployment, addiction, criminality and so on, and I think these things might be worth focusing on, especially as we continue to see more and more boys and young men lose interest in education and attaining gainful employment and rates of incarceration per capita appear to be rising too, especially among men across all ethnic groups in the lower socioeconomic strata. Men with low levels of education and income are more likely to be incarcerated than they were in decades past which to me indicates that this isn’t entirely about income. Poor people existed 50 years ago, but a poor man today is much more likely to be arrested than a poor man 50 years ago.

JB: Poor families are less likely to have the stability of a father in the home. Warren Farrell described prisons as ‘institutes of dad deprivation’, or something like that. It’s interesting that you say boys are more sensitive to environmental inputs, whereas the impression we get is that boys are tougher than girls. I wonder if boys are raised to be more tough because we know that if we don’t raise them to be tough they will be more sensitive than girls.

RH: I’ve never heard that hypothesis before, that’s really interesting. So we have this social pressure for men to be tough to counteract their intrinsic sensitivity… that seems plausible. Joyce Benenson has research showing that boys are immunologically more compromised than girls, more likely to be sick and to die from illness. This was a big surprise during the peak of the covid pandemic, that boys and men were more likely to contract and fall seriously ill and die from this illness. I’ve talked to some women about this and they were shocked to hear these statistics. In the popular imagination, men are sturdier, and though we may be physically stronger, in other ways perhaps men aren’t quite as naturally resilient as we thought.

JB: And men tend to fall in love more quickly than-

RH: They are more likely to say ‘l love you’, and say it first, which surprises a lot of people-

JB: Putting themselves in a vulnerable position, demonstrating vulnerability… and suicide? Maybe there is something to this idea of the vulnerability of men…

RH: Something that just came to mind John is that it may be that the most disagreeable, hostile, aggressive and resilient people are men, but that’s just the fatter tail in the right side of the distribution, but these men become the mental model with which we compare everyone else, so we think that men in general behave that way, whereas in fact we are thinking of only the top 5% or 1% of men who act in that way, whereas most men aren’t like that.

JB: From a psychological point of view, sometimes the most aggressive men are fending off people who might hurt them, because they may have experienced severe hurt or abuse in their past. I think sometimes the idea of ‘fragile masculinity’ is just used to sneer at men, but there is something to the idea that sometimes men who are broken have to put themselves back together in a way that is harder to break again in the future. But it might be a very abrasive persona that they adopt.

RH: There was a great memoir a while back by Nora Vincent called Self Made Man. This was about a woman successfully impersonating a man for a year, and one of the things that surprised her was, she describes men as carrying this armour around them that signals strength and toughness to the world because they know that if they appear weak or vulnerable, other men will sense that and take advantage. So this was something that she had to learn to cultivate herself, because if she dressed as a man but expressed vulnerability and tenderness then other men would immediately sniff this out and sense how exploitable she – or in this sense he – was. And I found that insightful, something that only a woman who is impersonating a man would pick up on. I don’t think a man would necessarily understand in an explicit, verbalized way what they are doing when they project toughness.

JB: The armour is ok but dropping the armour is necessary sometimes too. My colleague Martin Seager described how in group therapy with men the dynamic is different that in mixed sex groups because male groups will have a lot of joking around, or banter as we call it here. But quite quicky the dynamic will go from banter to sharing serious experiences and comforting each other, and just as quickly again the dynamic can shift back again to banter. Getting back to universities teaching male psychology, this is the kind of thing that might be interesting, or on clinical training courses at least. But I don’t think that happens. Do you think there is enough diversity of thought on campus?

RH: No. There isn’t enough diversity of thought, and it seems to be shrinking. One of the reasons I decided to come to Cambridge was because of what was happening in America, with political correctness, and professors being targeted, with students and faculty uniting to try to fire academics. I saw it first hand at Yale, and at Cambridge I’ve seen it as well. Famously there was the case of Jordan Peterson having his invitation revoked. I’ve also seen behind the scenes to examples of people who were less well known academics who have been fired or had offers rescinded for basically disagreeing, for their ideas. Not for anything they had done or any behaviour they directed at any individual, but just ideas that they have expressed, either in writing or in podcasts etc. and people took issue with it. Generally my heuristic is that for every example we hear of where someone gets fired, there are probably 10 others that we don’t hear about, of people who aren’t famous or well known, who are just quietly let go. One reason I decided to relinquish continuing a traditional academic career path, and why I decided to get involved with the University of Austin, which is this new university – UATX – which is launching in Texas, because they made explicit their commitment to freedom of expression and academic inquiry, which is what I hoped that all universities would be like when I first matriculated to Yale. But instead, the place that people feel least free to speak their minds are oftentimes university, which I found absolutely stunning.

JB: Tell me more about the University of Austin. Is it a physical university?

RH: It’s in the process of being built. At the moment we are running summer programmes. I believe the inaugural date for the first official cohort of undergraduates is in the fall of 2024 and it will be a physical university. The aim is to be a traditional liberal arts education where students can feel free to explore novel ideas. There are a lot of high profile people involved, for example Pano Kanelos the former president of St John’s College in Annapolis, he’s now the president of UATX, Bari Weiss, Dorian Abbot from the University of Chicago, Glenn Loury from Brown, Peter Boghossian and many other notable academics. It’s still the early stages but I’m hoping we are building what a university should be.

JB: Is this the beginning of a trend?

RH: I hope so. Not that UATX should be cloned, but I hope more universities attempt to reform higher ed.

JB: I hope so too. There are some really questionable ideas doing the rounds in Social Sciences departments these days, such as negative views of masculinity, and ideas about male privilege and patriarchy theory. You came up with the idea of ‘luxury beliefs’ a few years ago. Would you say that ideas like patriarchy theory are examples of ‘luxury beliefs’?

RH: So luxury beliefs I’ve defined as ideas and opinions that confer status on the upper classes while often inflicting costs on the lower classes. The idea of patriarchy might be a luxury belief. A lot of things fall under the umbrella of patriarchy, for example a lot of people think marriage and monogamy are an outgrowth of patriarchy. A lot of highly educated and affluent people will publicly denigrate marriage, patriarchy, masculinity… all these things in their mind falls into the same broad category. And yet these people are the most likely to get married, the least likely to get divorced, they would be the last people to consider raising their kids without a father or strong male role model in their lives. And yet by broadcasting this belief and spreading it they have inadvertently created a situation where lower income people are less likely to get married – there’s more single mothers, single parents, more kids growing up fatherless. What’s interesting is that if you publicly discuss the challenges of kids who grow up fatherless, a lot of the anti-patriarchy people will cast an eye of suspicion upon you, like ‘Why would this be a problem?’, ‘What’s so special about fathers?’, ‘Maybe it’s a good thing’, ‘The real problem is that single mothers don’t have enough financial support, and if they just had enough money… a stack of cash can replace a father’, and all of this I think is associated with an anti-patriarchy ideology, and yes it could be considered a luxury belief. It’s interesting to think about it: if you asked on a scale of one to ten ‘Are men a problem?’ higher educated people and more affluent people would probably score on the higher end of that scale.

JB: We are both fans of The Sopranos (I co-authored an article about the relevance to men in therapy). Almost none of the characters are likable in the Sopranos, so why is it so popular?

RH: It’s like with any good story, when they take you into someone’s world, into their inner life, then someone who you wouldn’t ordinally sympathise with, you suddenly adopt their perspective and understand where they are coming from. The therapy sessions between Tony Soprano and Dr Melphi was an amazing device, so you could get a glimpse into his psyche. There were flashbacks to his severely unstable and dysfunctional childhood, with his father who was a gangster and a murderer and his mother who was clearly mentally unwell. So he was immersed in chaos and criminality from a very young age. And the show does a great job of depicting Tony outside of his criminal enterprise. You see him as a husband, a father, a regular guy going about his day wrestling with a lot of the same questions that everyone else wrestles with. So they are showing the humanity inside these characters.

JB: In a way you are saying that by walking in their shoes we are able to empathise with these characters. In male psychology we use the term ‘empathy gap’ and in The Sopranos there are a couple of times where Tony Soprano is the victim of domestic violence-

RH: I saw that in your piece. It’s so funny I’m so blind to it, that when you wrote that… I remember when I watched it about two years ago during the lockdown and it didn’t even occur to me that it was domestic violence when women are slapping him or throwing things at him. I just thought ‘Oh it’s Tony, it’s fine. He’s a man.’

JB: Exactly!

RH: David Chase [screenwriter of The Sopranos] was walking a fine line. I think for the first three or four seasons at least he was sort of on Tony’s side, so it was easy for the audience to forget who this guy really is, and what he is capable of and what he’s done. But especially when you get to the final couple of seasons, like when Tony murders his nephew, and he orders the death of Adrianna, he’s just getting more and more morally compromised. Finally towards the end you start to understand. There’s a great book on evil by Roy Baumeister called Evil: Inside Human Cruelty and Violence where he points out that if you want to understand evil, you have to suspend your judgement. You have to be willing to see things from the eyes of the perpetrator. But it’s even more important to remember that these people are evil and the rest of society needs to be protected from them. So it’s a tricky balance. They are still responsible for their acts even if you understand where they are coming from.

JB: I’ve sometimes said that one of the biggest challenges to forensic psychology is to be able to empathise with people who might have committed horrible crimes. I suspect some people are reluctant to because of the fear that if they empathise, they will then start to sympathise-

RH: And they don’t want to justify what the criminal has done. Yes. I think if someone made a mini-series about Hitler or Stalin or Mao, that might be very uncomfortable for a lot of people! Any villain, if you make them the main character, they just become an anti-hero.

JB: An interesting phenomenon. Maybe in a related way, military history is full of heroes, but we usually think of the military is being a cause of psychological damage to men, through combat stress or bullying etc. One of the surprising things I found when writing Perspectives in Male Psychology was finding out that the military could be good for mental health. How much was this your experience of the US Air Force?

RH: One thing is a selection effect. The military in the past century has perfected their screening method – standardised tests of physical health – and maybe mental health to a degree – and proxies for intelligence, and then multiple appointments, and then basic military training which selects for people who are fairly mentally adjusted. There are lots of hoops - it’s a long and extremely intense experience especially for 17 or 18 year olds. Lots of people don’t make it – they don’t make it through all of the hoops. So up front a lot of people are screened out. And then the experience of the military is unique. They are very good at creating communities out of strangers. They have learned, maybe through trial and error over the course of centuries, how to take a bunch of random men from all parts of the world or country, and make them feel like family members, getting them to feel connected. Even things like the uniform – immediately your identity is stripped. In basic training they shave your head, you are put in uniform, everyone is called by their last name, so immediately you feel like you are part of this group. So there is community, comradery, structure, predictability. When you are deployed and in the midst of severe conflict, there can be unpredictability introduced but day to day you know what the rules are, what’s expected of you, how to advance in the rank structure, who you are responsible for, who your superiors are, how to behave. All of these explicit guidelines make life easier, especially for young men. In the outside world there are all of these questions like ‘Who am I? What am I doing?’ All of these anxieties around identity. But in the military your identity is very clear. Success is clearly defined. You get regular feedback, performance reports. For a lot of guys it’s like a video game – success and failure are very clearly defined.

JB: Could it work as therapy? Could you take Christopher Moltisanti (The Sopranos) into the military and help him?

RH: He has a severe temper problem. I just don’t know if he could handle subjugating himself to the military. I had a cousin who tried to join the marines. At basic training he punched one of the recruits and then he tried to fight a drill instructor. They kicked him out. I think that might happen to Chris too. But maybe AJ (the son of Tony Soprano) could have been ok? Or maybe the young Tony Soprano. He was a high school athlete, with a high IQ, it could have worked for him, before he got too caught up in a life of crime.

JB: You joined the Air Force at age 17. What motivated you to join, and did it prepare you for the life you have led since?

RH: I joined because I grew up in foster homes and I wanted to flee as soon as I could to escape the complete chaos and disorder around me. My friends had similar upbringings. I barely passed high school, just getting into a lot of trouble, and I knew that I wasn’t on a good track, and I wasn’t really ready for college. I wouldn’t have been a good student anyway at that age, I was just so undisciplined and unfocused. So the military was a very appealing option because I knew that it would immediately get me out of the environment I was in, at that time in Red Bluff, California. I knew it would immediately get me out of there, put me on a completely different track, put me around new people, give me a different kind of structure. There were also older adults too. So one of my teachers was in the Air Force – he suggested it. My best friend’s dad also recommended I join. So these two older men that I respected, both of them could see there was some latent potential, and once I got there, all of the things I mentioned before – the discipline, respect, comradery, setting goals, building good habits – all of those things really helped me.

The other thing that I think people focus less on with the benefits of the military is… well you are well aware of the ‘young male syndrome’? 18, 19, 20 are the most volatile years of a young man’s life, most likely to commit crimes, acts of aggression, impulse, drugs, speeding, but because the military has such an overpowering structure where every aspect of your life is controlled, you can’t make mistakes. I mean you can, but they make it very clear that if you fail a drug test for example, you go to military prison. You can’t get away with anything. So it presses fast forward on the most volatile phase of your life, and then by the time you finish your enlistment in your early 20s, you have cooled off, you’ve matured, you are a bit less impulsive and full of anger and hormones. So even if you didn’t learn any lessons at all, it was a period of your life that you couldn’t screw up too badly.

JB: That’s a very good point. You mentioned ‘young male syndrome’, I read recently that young people are less likely to take risks now than youngsters in the past.

RH: They are still likely to be their most volatile years. I recently wrote an essay in The Free Press about why teenagers aren’t driving any more, and there are so many factors. As Jean Twenge says “The party’s on Instagram and Snapchat now”. I think social media is more appealing to girls, but video games are appealing to boys, as outlets for aggression and accomplishment. You can get your 5 buddies from class and go on a raid on World of Warcraft. Well, men used to go on raids, actual physical raids, which aren’t a good thing to do, but boys get excited about it still, online. And that’s how they spend their Friday nights instead of going out and getting drunk and speeding on the highway. Maybe that’s ok, but taking some risks, testing your limits, in some ways is actually a good thing. I’m curious as to where this is going to go, when you have this generation who are afraid or unwilling to take risks.

JB: I wonder how this generation would fare if a war broke out, not on Xbox, but in reality.

RH: The Pentagon said that 78% of adults wouldn’t qualify for enlisting in the military. That’s 8 out of 10 men aged 17 to 24, primarily due to issues of obesity, lack of education, and criminal records, tattoos, mental health issues - if you have repeated episodes of depression and anxiety. Jonathan Haidt has shown how anxiety and depression are increasing in teenagers and young adults in the last 15 years or so, which is alarming. Maybe some of these issues are intertwined: if you are never leaving your house, if you are always living your life online, this is contributing to issues of depression and anxiety to some extent.

JB: If you were to give advice to a guy aged 17 coming from a similar background as yourself who was considering options for their future…?

RH: My advice would be different to someone from a straight-A’s background, but a background similar to me… Look at your friends and say ask yourself if this is the kind of person you want to be like in five years time, or 10 years. Or look at people around you who are a little bit older. I worked at a restaurant when I was a teenager and I saw guys in their early 20s, or mid 20s, still working there, not making very much money. The highlight of their week was getting paid on Friday and drinking away the weekend, smoking, doing drugs, partying, it just didn’t seem like the kind of person I wanted to be when I was 25 years old. So consider getting a different peer group, whether that’s joining the military, getting involved in sports, volunteering… find a different crew to hang out with.

JB: Good advice. I know you have started Substack this year, and are with the University of Austin. Are there any other new projects coming up?

RH: I’m putting the final touches to my book. I recently did a book cover reveal on my newsletter and on Twitter/X and will say more about the publication date soon. The book elaborates on some of the things we have talked about, using my life and the lives of my childhood friends as a framework for understand what is going on with young men today, the ‘lost boys’ phenomenon that’s going on in the US and western countries in general. So most of my time is invested in my book and my Substack.

Final thoughts There is no doubt that academia needs more people like Dr Rob Henderson who can bring a fresh perspective to a culture that in recent years has started going stale. Some people say it’s a shame that he has left academia, but they are missing the point: he is helping rediscover – or reinvent - academia, and all of us left frozen on the deck need to take notice. A bit like the boy in the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes, Rob Henderson has seen right through the facade of highbrow elitism and the ivory-tower illusion of today’s academic world. His story is without doubt an interesting one, and definitely one to follow in the coming years.

#Rob Henderson #luxury beliefs #luxury goods #luxury items #status symbols #status seeking #social status #social standing #human psychology #psychology #male psychology #male vulnerability #domestic violence #domestic abuse #male victims of domestic violence #male victims of domestic abuse #violent women #religion is a mental illness #long post

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takosquid · 6 years

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More?

#steven universe #real home #fuchsia pearl #azore #obsidian #sunset sapphire #blue capri #pink tourmaline #rh!bismuth #law #w.d. gaster #spoilers #Platina

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logan-please-smile-speaks · 4 years

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Sitting on your bed watching Steven Universe thinking about cleaning counts as cleaning right? /rh

gdhgdgdhghdg that's such a vibe dude

#ask #hihello-what-are-you-doing-here

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daring-elm · 4 years

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i watched so so much steven universe today and i'm. so soft

i was missing out on SO MUCH good content who let me?? /rh

#i'm just over halfway through season 3 and i LOVE it #pearl is my favorite so far she's so good and her relationship with rose quartz is d e l i g h t f u l #she's just. such good angst yesss #🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍#casey's notes

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beyondthetemples · 5 years

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Tag a mun !

NAME/ALIAS: Zira, RHS, RWT, Blue

BIRTHDAY: March 30th

GENDER: mostly agender, sometimes a little demi-flux. I present way feminine because I love the Elegant Flowing Aesthetic.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: taken~

ZODIAC SIGN: - Greek: Aries sun, Cancer moon, Scorpio rising - Chinese: Water Rooster.

SIBLINGS: It’s fucking wild. Grew up oldest of 4, with one full-blood sister, one half-sister, and a stepbrother, but I’ve known them all since birth so they’re Basically Mine. Technically I also have two half brothers, one older and one younger.

PETS: ALSO WILD. Right now I have two chinchillas (a white mosaic named Dusty, and a touch-of-velvet ebony named Sisu!), four diamond doves (white-rump named Blue, red named Soda, and two of Blue’s progeny, Silver and Ametrine, who take quite after their mother who was named White for her very white coloring), and also a very talkative zebra finch named Danny (after the New Teen Titans character who also never stopped talking). Used to be more, with different counts peaking at 5 doves, 3 chinchillas, 2 finches, and 5 bettas. At one point I actually had 6 ring-neck doves too (They were my only pets at the time), but my parents decided I couldn’t keep them anymore. (Is my bias towards birds showing? what do you MEAN that was already obvious???)

I’m also the Favorite Person of the family’s gray tabby cat (Belle), she comes to greet me whenever I get off work or come home from errands or org stuff, or even if I’m just in my room for too long she’ll sit at my door and meow.

Here are some pictures!

Chins: [x]

Soda: [x]

Danny: [x]

Belle for good measure: [x]

TIME: 12:45pm

TYPE OF PHONE: Alcatel “Raven” model (yes really, I thought that was hilarious. it’s an obamaphone so it’s not like i intentionally picked it out, they just mailed it to me!)

LOVE OR LUST: Love, I’m 99.99999999% asexual guys.

LEMONADE OR ICED TEA: iced tea if it’s herbal or green. But lemonade if it’s that watermelon mint kind!~

CATS OR DOGS: cats?

COKE OR PEPSI: i can’t have either, actually.

DAY OR NIGHT: night over day, far and away~

MAKEUP OR AU NATURAL: usually natural, though i’m learning to love makeup when i’m in a situation with the org or the family where I know I don’t be judged for “doing it wrong”. (i’m a goth chick, guys. did you know they make blue eyeliner?! and kajal is so SILKY and SOFT!)

MET A CELEBRITY: does Marv Wolfman count? He created Raven who saved my life, so I’m gonna count him. He complimented the gloves on my Raven cosplay.

CHAPSTICK OR LIPSTICK: you know, until i discovered This Certain Brand, I never wore either. but then i discovered lipstick actually doesn’t have to be sticky?? lately i’m using that brand’s chapstick daily because my lips bleed otherwise, but i like the look of sheer lipstick.

LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO: Shining Through (Steven Universe song)

tagged by: @dixerolled tagging: Anyone who reads this far!

#dovemun ooc #tagged

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croxovergoddess · 8 years

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Ahhh sorry I missed half of the first week of Reaper High and Middleverse Gemsona week!

Here’s a fusion between Gold and Steven

Venus (because Steven’s all about Love and Gold is a Peacekeeper)

#gemsona #steven universe #metalsona #Gold #Fusion #rh gemsona

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beyondthetemples-ooc · 5 years

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"I should be feeling so GOOD these days. The Earth is safe, it's Era 3... but, I'm swelling up over these third era problems. What do I do? How do I move on from all the stuff I've been through? How do I live life if it always feels like I'm about to die?"

Excuse me, Crewniverse.

That just hits entirely too close to home.

#rhs su future #rhs steven universe #growing pains #suf spoilers

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sanctferum · 6 years

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Steven Universe – A Single Pale Rose reactions

Oh boy, time for what is undoubtably a really really interesting episode…

We start with a few things we’ve heard. Ruby’s testimony regarding Rose shattering Pink Diamond, Blue Zircon’s questions about how Rose got close to Pink, that dream flashback thing from last episode of Pearl drawing her sword. Steven’s eyes fly open and he’s on his living room couch.

Enter Pearl and Amethyst, talking about Pearl’s phone. She’s had it for a month, and she’s used it merely as a clock.

Amethyst IS the kinda person who would literally say the word “sigh” instead of sighing, yeah. That checks out.

Amethyst changes Pearl’s wallpaper to a selfie of the purble herself. Classy.

Meanwhile, Steven is about to burst at the seams with questions for Pearl. Amethyst dismisses him when he tries to interrupt her. Pearl learns how to send text messages, and immediately sends one to Steven.

Amethyst suggests getting a case for the phone. Pearl pulls a briefcase out of her gem. That’s a bit big for a phone, Pearl.

Amethyst leaves to get an actual phone case, and Steven seizes his chance.

Wow. That was awfully blunt.

Pearl’s conditioning or whatever it is that prevents her from talking about that particular subject kicks in and her hands cover her mouth and her phone drops to the floor. Good going Steven.

“It’s OK, you can just tell me!” It’s pretty clear she physically cannot tell you, Steven.

Amethyst comes back with the phone case. With the change of topic Pearl takes the opportunity to grab her phone, put it in her gem, and skedaddle, leaving behind Steven. And Amethyst, who didn’t get to give her the phone case and is very confused.

Later on, Steven is out for a walk, finishing off The Bits over at Peedee’s repurposed mayormobile stand thing. His phone makes an incoming text sound.

Wait shit, I just had an idea. Pearl can’t talk about the truth behind PD’s shattering. Could she communicate it via texting? Is that what this is gonna be?

“I want to tell you, but I can’t.” With a monkey covering its mouth emoji at the end.

Steven runs back home to ask Pearl about it. But…Pearl hasn’t used her phone since she put it away.

SO THEN WHO SENT THE TEXT????

Pearl tries to grab her phone and check it for herself, but keeps pulling random other objects out of her gem instead. As she gets frustrated at being unable to retrieve the right thing from her gem, Steven gets another text from her phone. Another emoji. A rose petal? I’m no flower expert but that doesn’t look like a rose petal to me, so maybe not.

Pearl freaks out and tells Steven to go inside her gem and find her phone. Something weird is going on with it, and Pearl has an idea of what’s going on, but physically cannot tell Steven the details…

Inside of Pearl’s gem is…Pearl?

“There’s a Pearl inside Pearl’s pearl?” Apparently…?

The Pearl within the pearl attempts to file Steven with other objects.

Can I just appreciate that giant Pearl Point for a moment? You know, the stickers from Steven vs Amethyst, but Steven has presumably been shrunken down enough to fit in Pearl’s gem that it’s the size of his head.

And here are…a bunch of papers with phone numbers, including Mystery Girl’s. Some of them have hearts and lipstick smooches and etc on them. Besides “S”/Mystery Girl’s, there’s one from “RH”. One from “Yeva”, one with an indecipherable gmail address…no phone. Pearl switches to another segment of the filing system, where the cellphone should be. And indeed, there’s an empty space exactly where it should be. Wait, what?

“Some other me”? Is Pearl a matryoshka doll of mini-Pearls…?

After warning Steven about wherever it is these other Pearls are, Pearl sucks Steven into her gem. Now Steven is two layers deep into Pearl’s mind.

This area takes the form of the beach in front of the Temple, which noticeably lacks the house Greg built for Steven and the Gems.

“This doesn’t look like a mess. This looks like…the past.”

Right after Steven says that, he sees a third Pearl crying behind some rocks. And she looks different somehow.

Wait. Are all these Pearls…different regenerations? Which would make Pearl the current version, Pearl 2 the version that got poofed in Steven the Swordfighter, and Pearl 3 a Pearl from before the show began. I’m gonna have to check whether Pearl 2 has Pearl’s design from the original episodes…

OK, well in between that last sentence and this one, I had two doctor’s appointments as well as lunch. But I’m back! So, looking back on the episode so far…Pearl 2 has the same design as Pearl 1. Pearl 3’s design is definitely a Pearl from before the show began, though – I specifically recognize it as her design from “Story for Steven”.

So why is Pearl sobbing? It’s because of Rose, of course.

“What was she thinking?! She can’t have a baby…” Yeah, about that. Have you noticed you’re sitting next to Steven? As in, Rose quite definitely did make the decision to have a baby, and the boy next to you is the living proof that she did.

Yeah, this particular Pearl is from the past all right. After Rose’s decision, but before Steven’s birth. Those awkward nine months where it’s clear that Rose is perfectly fine for the time being, alive and well, and also clear that when those nine months end she is going to die, for good.

“I’m going to lose her. Just like I lost my…what was it you said?” Oh, nothing, Pearl 3. Cellphones haven’t even been invented yet from your frame of reference.

“I think I know where it is.” Is it…inside of your gem, by any chance? Being used by yet another of the matryoshka doll Pearls? Are we gonna have to go even deeper inside?

Where’s the Pearl with a Myspace titled “Welcome to my twisted mind”, I wonder?

Here we go!

Pearl 4’s environs are the Strawberry Battlefields. But strawberries won’t be growing there for thousands of years. This battlefield has just been recently decimated. It glows in a blood-red light, Bismuth’s abandoned weaponry and the remnants of the Diamonds’ army’s technology being all that is left.

No, that isn’t right, actually. There’s gems, too. Gems, lying everywhere. Whole gems, not shattered ones, but broken nevertheless – when they reform, it will be into the first corrupted gem monsters.

Pearl 4’s design is a new one. Well, OK, it was leaked a while back, along with stuff like Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding outfits, but in-show, I’m not sure we’ve ever seen it. We might have gotten a glimpse of it in Your Mother And Mine, possibly? That’s the only war flashback I can think of that hasn’t been shown in a stylized fashion.

“Is this really about your phone or what?!” Obviously not, Steven

Do WHAT, Pearl? Are you allowed to tell us yet, or do we need to talk to Pearl 5 to get the details?

Pearl 5 it is!

Those sure are flowers that look like the emoji sent from Pearl’s phone. And shards of what appear to be a pink gem. Is this…the moment immediately after PD was shattered?

And there’s Rose, or at least someone who has Rose’s appearance, in a cloud of pink dust, with PD’s death cry still echoing…

Rose? stands up, tears streaming down her face, as PD’s screams continue to echo. Steven approaches where she stands next to the palanquin, only to stop as Rose’s eyes open, revealing what are unmistakably Pearl’s pupils.

OK, so that seems to confirm that Pearl shattered PD, but…why is she crying? Why is she shapeshifted to be Rose? Does this mean the sword she used to shatter PD was part of the disguise, and as such didn’t have whatever adjustments Bismuth made to the real thing that prevented shattering? Was the sword a fake, is what I’m asking? Both the sword and Rose herself?

OK who is screaming? PD’s been dead for at least half a minute, this can’t still be her death cry…right?

“Rose” opens her hand to reveal…to reveal…

Pink Diamond’s gem. Huh?

Then…whose gem is on the ground? Pink Pearl’s, perhaps?

Steven begs for answers, but gets sucked into Rose/Pearl 5’s gem instead. Um. OK.

Pearl 6’s memory places Steven on PD’s throne, within the palanquin. Strange whispers echo off the walls Behind the throne, Rose and Pearl are talking.

“…And then it’ll be done. It’s going to be easy.” So…did Rose plan the assassination, and Pearl carried it out? But why not just have Rose do it herself?

And Pearl is clearly uncomfortable with the whole thing. Rose is pressuring her into it, in the belief that this will end it all, that Blue and Yellow care little enough about what happens on Pink’s colony that killing Pink will cause them to just give up the colony without a fight. Cut their losses and scram.

Well, that worked out great for you and your army, didn’t it, Rose.

“Your status…my purpose…none of it will matter anymore. This…will change everything.” “I know. Isn’t it exciting?!” “…It is.”

Sure, Pink might’ve been an awful brutal authoritarian brat who wouldn’t have cared a damn if the planet and its people died, but…there’s something unsettling about seeing Rose and Pearl get so hyped over a plan to kill someone.

“We can leave our old lives behind. If this is really my world, I want to give it to the Crystal Gems. I want to live here with human beings! I want to live here, with you! We’ll both finally be free…” But…you already are living here with human beings, Rose. And what do you mean, if this is really “your” world? It’s either Pink Diamond’s world, or everyone’s world. Why would it be yours, in particular? And aren’t you part of the Crystal Gems? Their leader, and founder, and…? This isn’t leading to some “Rose was Pink Diamond all along” kinda twist, is it? Cause that wouldn’t make sense, would it? I thought we already went over that particular fan theory with a fine-toothed comb.

“I can’t exactly shatter myself…” ??????

Rose shapeshifts into PD. Or…PD shapeshifts out of Rose? At this point, I…I don’t know.

Can…can she do that? Shapeshift her own gem? Huh?

That flower again…

She…changed the dirt into broken shards. The shards Steven found in the last memory.

“Wait…there’s one last thing I need to do. No one can ever find out we did this…I never wanna look back. So…for my last order to you as a Diamond…please…let’s never speak of this again. No one can know.”

I am so confused right now. My current thought process is something like this, though:

Pink did used to be a brat. But Earth changed her. Changed her, to the point where she wished to abandon the responsibility of her position. To the point where she fell in love with Earth and its people. Disenchanted with the gem empire and her fellow Diamonds and their plans to hollow out the planets they used as colonies until nothing but an empty shell was left, she staged an elaborate production, with both the heroine and villain played by herself. All to fake her own death and become able to live freely.

And if that’s true, the Rose Quartz who we all know and love never existed. The person who started the rebellion against Pink Diamond was…Pink Diamond. Pink Diamond, shapeshifted into the form of a Rose Quartz, creating what was essentially a façade that would stop Blue and Yellow from searching for her after she disappeared.

That’s why Pink Diamond never managed to track Rose down via last episode’s lunar base orb, in case that wasn’t clear.

And. If all this is true, Steven was right back in Your Mother and Mine. Pink Diamond, in a very real sense, is still out there, under a different name. The name “Steven Quartz Universe”.

Also, that explains how Rose’s sword could have been the “fatal” weapon. As a sword unable to shatter gems, it was the perfect weapon to use to “shatter” PD while actually leaving her gem intact. Not only does it now make sense for it to be the weapon, this revelation means that it HAD to be the weapon, due to being unable to actually shatter her.

Holy fucking shit. Of all the fan theories to turn out to be right…and even those fan theories didn’t go far enough to claim that both PD and “Rose” were the same person.

Oh, and um. Here’s Pearl’s phone. Thanks Pearl 6.

And now to go back! Pearl shapeshifts into Rose, takes the sword and leaves. “Rose” “shatters” Pink Diamond, keeping her intact gem hidden within her hand. Garnet and Pearl fight on the battlefield, as the sky suddenly lights up with the corruption blast. Pearl sadly places her hand on Rose’s pregnant belly. Pearl sits outside the temple crying as Amethyst and Garnet attempt to comfort her. All this happens in a blur, and then Steven lands on the floor of his house.

Steven and Pearl share a moment. A moment which doesn’t last very long at all. Because, well. Garnet and Amethyst are standing right there, and they just heard Steven say Rose was really Pink Diamond, and this can only end poorly.

The episode ends with a preview of the fallout. Amethyst freaks out, but in a similar way to the way I am freaking out. That is to say, she takes this a lot better than some others, namely Sapphire, who defuses from Ruby in an ice-cold rage that quickly melts into a puddle of betrayal and, tears streaming down her face from her one eye, makes for the warp pad and fucks the hell off, leaving Ruby behind.

Yeah, that’s right. The reason Garnet exists in the first place is Rose Quartz. It was an attack by Rose on Blue Diamond that lead to their first fusion, and Rose’s advice that lead them to decide to live the rest of their lives as Garnet. w e l p

And that’s that for this special, I guess? More SU episodes coming this summer.

I…suppose I need some more time to gather my thoughts before I can say anything on what just happened.

#Steven Universe #SU #Steven Universe spoilers #SU spoilers #A Single Pale Rose #spoilers #seriously there are fucking ginormous spoilers in this post

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hihello-what-is-chaos-doing · 3 years

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hmmmm,,, top 5 fictional characters?

The order has been changing a bunch rn it's

1 - Lapis Lazuli from Steven Universe

2 - Garnet from Steven Universe

3 - Peridot from Steven Universe

4 - Patton Sanders from Sanders Sides

5 - Opal from Steven Universe

(Can you tell I'm hyperfixated on Steven Universe /rh)

#Beta speaks #Beta got asked something

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mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune · 11 months

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Weird Dream About Husk From Hazbin Hotel (He Was Being Weird...)

[Note: Mature Audience Readers Only, for now I will have this be under "for everyone" but I might change it later. also reading this is optional so only read this if you want to but you don't have to read this if you don't want to. also besides this going to talk about the weird dream I had about Husk, this will also talk about how Megatron was carrying or like went through the budding in TFA...]

ya know how weird dreams can be when they make no sense at all, also before I start on this talk about that weird dream...

there were reasons as to why I didn't sign back on Monday or Tuesday on September, and some of it isn't just because of the not so great feelings, there were other reason...

but I was able to write one of the Crossover fan fics...

like that one that has to do with Sari Sumdac at the human age of 23 but also the cybertronian age of 23 hundred...it might be a bit confusing.

but anyway the weird dream I had about Husk, was really weird and possibly out of character for him.

and I'm pretty sure he might of been drunk in that dream, cause no way he would willing say what he said in that dream.

the weird dream happen around October 5, 2023...

Husk for some reason placed his head on one of my shoulders and told me I smelled good....so it is possible he wasn't in his right mind, so why would he tell a Defective Earth Angel who's blood type is O RH D Negative that she smelled good.

and who is the same Defective Earth Angel who had found out that weird stuff happens with the modern radio at times when they either pick it up or just have their fingers pointing at it......which once again, luckily doesn't happen much but only once in a while, I can check to see if it acts weird once in a while but it might depend on the signal...

but yeah, the dream was weird and for me having weird and random dreams are normal for me.

oh yeah, and Alastor was in the dream as well, I think I wanted to tell him about Husk being weird, but it didn't turn out that way.

I know that Alastor said he didn't like me, which I think I told him in a sassy way that I didn't care.

for all I know, Husk in that dream might of mistook me for Angel Dust, and I guess it could be possible in that dream I was in the form of Angel Dust but was still me.....would also explain why Alastor said he didn't like me, of course we don't know if he would truly dislike Angel in canon.

my favorite fanon Crossover OTP ship will of course be Blitzhusk, which is Husk from Hazbin Hotel and Blitzwing from Transformers Animated.

I think I want to ship Lapis Lazuli from Steven Universe, with either Bulkhead from Transformers Animated or Waspinator from the same show...

both Lapis and Bulkhead might get along because of their love for art.

but their ship might end up being more of a "I bud it" meaning it will be friend zone.

the reason why I would OTP ship Lapis and Waspinator, because they have a bit more in common even if their bad experiences are still different.

they were both wrongfully trapped for many years and cycles.

and they were both hurt by both the Crystal Gems, Homeworld, Autobots and Decepticons.

the ship name of Lapis Lazuli x Waspinator would probably need work.

Lazulinator is just one idea, and there is WaspLazuli.

if those two fused, their ship name could also be the name of their fusion.

also I have a new favorite parody phrase....

"Decepticons Have Their Fun, But Crystal Gems Do It Better."

and yes it references the song "Brunettes Do It Better" by KIDFORCE.

if one could troll Megatron with a crossover music video, with the Decepticons being the blondes and the Crystal Gems being the Brunettes......that would be interesting, and it be funny to watch Megatron's reaction, along with other Decepticons and Autobots who watch it.

it does make sense that Megatron from TFA is Sari's Carrier-Sire.

just like how it makes sense that Optimus from the Shattered Glass version of it, is the Carrier-Sire of the Sari of that universe and timeline.

also I have learned about the whole sparked-up word, which seems to be a counterpart of the word knocked-up.

so yeah my fan theory is that Optimus had accidentally sparked-up Megatron when they were fighting and it being help along thanks to the Allspark, or the Allmatrix as I'm gonna call it...

for all we know the Allspark in that show, might not of been the real Allspark, but was still infused with some of it's power.

would explain that key and it bringing Megatron out of that stasis coma, and possibly being the reason why Sari in her upgrade form, had no control...that key has been chaotic neutral this whole time. O_O

I still think it is possible Megatron wasn't really dead when he was still in Sumdac's lab, but he would of been if the limit was up that had to do with how long his head and body can stay separated.

the time limit could be 50 to 51 stellar-cycles, so if Sari hadn't been born, and didn't end up with the key....during either the 50th stellar cycle in that lab, and in a stasis-coma, it would end up having Megatron going offline in his stasis-coma.

yeah as weird as it might seem, I think it could be possible that Megatron was either going to budding stage or he was carrying, and if he was carrying, the sparkling/hatchling possibly moved from his spark chamber and end up pulling a Athena.

so Megatron would be Zeus, and Sari would be Athena.

he is still long overdue for that Hatchling Shower.

picture if Alastor was told about that dark secret that Megatron isn't aware of, he might enjoy seeing the look on Megatron's face.

like picture him having a cake and gifts and everything, and having "It's A Girl & Techno-Organic!" on a banner.

Alastor congratulating Megatron on the birth of his daughter, could confuse the leader of the Decepticons.

and well if others can come to the whole fan headcanon theory about Megatron pulling a Zeus and him giving birth to Sari and Sari herself being like a Athena....

then some fans can believe that Optimus Prime is the Other Sire, just not the Carrier, well unless we are talking about TFA Shattered Glass Optimus....

for a Womech (a new way to call a Female Transformer who is also called a Femme...) I think they should be called Carers.

if a hatchling/sparkling has two Womechs as parents/creators, it would make sense if they are called Carers, but one of them would be the Carrier-Carer....

Sari could call Megatron, Dad-2....like how Twitch calls Wheeljack by the title Dad-2.

and if in Earthspark, Wheeljack and Ratchet made the Dinobots.

that would possibly mean that if Twitch ever found this out, she might start calling Grimlock and even viewing him as "big brother."

well Wheeljack had sons, now he has a daughter.

he isn't the only Mech who has a daughter that was born on Earth and is technically a Terran.

Sari may have started out as 100% Cybertronian, but she was technically born on Earth, and she had become half-human thanks to human DNA, plus it would mean she wouldn't just have the metal from her cybertronian half but also her human half as well.

because it turns out humans do have some form of metal in their bodies.

it's called Magnesium.....and for all we know the Cybertronians could be made up of some percent of Magnesium or something that is kind of like it.

so anyway, Sari is a Terran by not just her being made up of human elements but also because she was born on Earth.

so while she might have the same metal as any other Cybertronian, she may also have the Magnesium that is thanks to her human half.

anyway we know that some fans do OTP ship Megatron and Optimus together, so it being possible that Sari is both of their own daughter.

could be a surprise to some fans and who knows how it will make the OTP shippers feel.

those two might act like a old married couple already in Earthspark.

Optimus is still a bit of a Himbo Prime, well not everyone has to agree about that but that is how I had viewed him in Earthspark.

Soundwave from Earthspark, he still looks like he has Mom-Hips...

I still want to view Soundwave from TFA as being more of a Soundwave Jr., and Megatron based him off of a Soundwave he knew that could look like Soundwave from Transformers Prime but in TFA form.....which makes me view Megatron as a Simp.

so we could call Soundwave Sr. by his other name, Soundblaster if he and Soundwave Jr. (that Megatron created) are in the same room.

Soundwave Sr. can go by "Soundblaster" while the younger Soundwave Jr. can still be called Soundwave.

I wouldn't be surprised if Starscream called Megatron a Simp.

because he based Soundwave Jr. off of Soundwave Sr...

also technically, Soundwave Jr. and Sari share the same birthday.

and I'm still gonna view those two as siblings, and Sari being the big sister who regrets how she treated him before but becomes a very dangerously protective big sister if anyone dares to harm or try to make unwanted advances on her baby brother.

I don't care, I sib it.

once again when it comes to the different type of ships, there are some that you don't use the word "ship" in it because it will give the wrong idea.

for romantic ships, you use "I ship it"

but for platonic friendships and family, it is "I fam it" and even "I bud it"...

for Sari & Her Autobot friends who are like family, it would be "I fam it."

Shockwave from TFA being like a adoptive sire to Soundwave Jr. (or like better known as just Soundwave in TFA.)

would be the "I fam it."

Blitzwing and Husk being a Crossover ship....

would be a "I ship it."

I still want to ship Amethyst x Alastor, I'm weird for wanting to ship those two, they cannot be any more opposite. XD

well besides Amethyst being a Crystal Gem and Alastor being the Radio Demon.

I still feel like punching Samael.....he probably knows why I want to punch him but he knows I can't....I would probably hiss at him like a cat, or maybe like Husk if anyone tries to take away his booze.

I think it could be possible if someone tries to take his booze way from him, he might hiss...

and well besides wanting to punch him, even if I know it isn't possible...is it weird to have thoughts of wanting to flip him the double bird....?

even if it turns out he is Cain's Bio-Dad, he ain't the fraging boss of me....even if Cain (along with Seth) is my Ancestor.

I want to go live with Omni-Mom/Earthly Mother Goddess.

yeah me being weird when the weirdness causes me to have the very strange and weird thoughts of referring the Heavenly Father & Earthly Mother as "Omni-Dad and Omni-Mom"....

I was born weird, I might of been a accident (well not by my human parents choice to have me.) but it doesn't mean Archangel Samael is the boss of me.

I still want to give Lucifer the cold hands to face punishment, if he had waited until the balance between the Feminine and Masculine energies were fixed properly...

not saying he should of still done that rebellion thing, only he picked the worse slagging time to do that...

even if not everyone has to agree about it...

I'm still not a big fan of Toxic-Religious people, and there are some lines that can be crossed when a Toxic-Religious person becomes a Toxic Hazardous type....

it can be when the Toxic-Religious person becomes far worse than they were before.

anyway it is possible that Megatron was carrying in TFA, and the sparkling that was starting to grow, had moved from Megatron's spark chamber to his head....

thus, making Megatron the Zeus and Sari the Athena.

and it could be possible that Optimus is the Other Sire, and the "Allspark" had shot a light at the two in the middle when they were fighting on the ship, and caused a small part of Optimus's spark, a fragment to be transferred to Megatron.

so Sari's spark is made up of a fusion of fragment of those two's sparks.....which I guess I may have spoiled one of the chapters of my fan fics by saying that, but I'm pretty sure I already posted that chapter.

maybe Bumblebee was foreshadowing when he said Megatron eats protoforms, only I don't think that is true but it could still act as a foreshadowing from Sari being born from Megatron.

like how Athena from born from Zeus, so was Sari born the same way from Megatron. XD

I guess I never thought about it like that before until now.

anyway, I don't know if I have much to say about that weird dream.

it was just weird, and I guess interesting.

well at least it was different from that one dream I had about seeing Alastor and behind him was a Red Moon.

well at least we didn't end up like Star and Marco from SVTFOE.

still love the show, even though I don't agree about the scapegoating the magic for the mistakes that Star's Family had done, you know since Star and her Mom and their side of the family were the ones that misused it....well them and Solaria, who might turn out to be Star's distant aunt if it turns out Star and her side of the family are descendants of Solaria's older brother.

if Husk and Blitzwing dance during that Red Moon, and the lights hit them....it would bond their spark and soul.

I think it could be possible that humans might have sparks, but they are also called souls.

so we could view that Husk does have a spark, and like most former humans, who become sinner demons....they had magnesium in them.

so for all we know, in Transformers.....Humans, are descendants of Cybertronians that came to Earth....during the age which the Watcher Angels were suppose to have fallen for the Human Women and ended up having kids with them.

I'm going to view that as fan headcanon, that humans in Transformers are descendants of Cybertronians that ended up on Earth and even stayed there...

I'm weird and sometimes fan headcanons and theories will be weird.

weird idea that is coming to mind, is Husk being the descendant of Tigatron and Airazor, or like it turning out Husk is like Sari...

that Husk was born from Tigatron & Airazor's fusion form Tigerhawk, which once again makes them the first fusion relationship before Garnet of Steven Universe.

and while Tigerhawk was on Earth, they had ended up having a sparkling, and it was either Tigatron or Airazor who was carrying, and when they were in their fused form that is known as Tigerhawk...

their fusion form Tigerhawk ended up having the sparkling, that looks like how Sari look when she was a baby protoform.

the said sparkling of Tigerhawk, would then be found by a human couple, and one of them or both ends up touching the liquid metal body that was the size of a human baby...

one of them or both would touch it at the same time, get a shock and be out cold for a while before waking up to see the liquid metal body is replace by a human baby, which would later become Husk and end up meeting Alastor.

even if that idea is Fanon and Crossover type Fanon, the idea is just interesting to me.

I might add it in the story I'm writing that has to do with Sari.

I already am shipping Solus with Megatron's Mentor, which means Megatron has Two Moms.

I kind of want to view Solus as Megatron's Carrier...

which means that Megatronus Sr. is the Sire and Solus's Ex, while Megatron's Mentor is Solus's new Junxie.

Megatron has two Womechs as his Carers, and Megatronus Sr. isn't allowed to see his son.

and even if it is in a Crossover Fanon Timeline, Husk being the son of Tigatron and Airazor.

Tigatron, being like a cat, and Airazor being like a bird....

and Husk is a Anthropomorphic Cat with Wings, so of course I'm going to have the weird idea that in a Fanon Timeline he is Tigatron and Airazor's son.

well if a human couple found Husk's protoform self, and he got his DNA from them.....that means Husk has four parents.

even if they might not appear in the story where Blitzhusk started,

but if Tigatron and Airazor ended up in Sinner forms, Tigatron would be a Anthropomorphic Tiger and Airazor would be a Anthropomorphic Falcon or Hawk.

like they could willingly leave the well of all sparks, so they can go find and be at the same place as their son, who became half-human when a human couple found him when he was just born on Earth.

picture Airazor being so happy to see Husk that she hugs him to her chest, which might confuse Blitzwing, Angel and Alastor.

and Tigatron, her Junxie would have to tell her to let him go and stop treating him like a hatchling. XD

I think that weird crossover idea about Husk being born techno-organic and having died and never finding out he is half-human and he technically has four parents...

well who knows how Alastor will process that, or what Angel would say about it...

that idea about Tigatron and Airazor being Husk's parents, might be weirder than that dream I had about Husk.

it be funny and interesting if Airazor and Tigatron gave Blitzwing their blessing to become Junxies with Husk.

I know that might be a weird and strange idea of Husk being Airazor & Tigatron's parents, but it isn't canon and it is fanon...

and well, I don't know if I really do have much to say about that weird dream I had about Husk, it was just weird.

but it was the okay type of weird, plus it could be possible he had mistaken me for someone else and he might of had too much to drink.

some times dreams make no sense, even that one where I saw Alastor and a Red Moon was behind him.

who knows how he would react if he found out Husk's parents are Alien Robots, well only two of them, while the other two are humans.

Sari might have to explain to Angel how that works, if Angel and Blitzwing are the first to find out about Husk having both Cybertronian Parents and Human Parents. XD

I know it is possibly not likely that will happen in the story by Blitzy-Blitzwing, that is called Becoming a Demon.

but I still like the weird idea about Husk being a techno-organic like Sari, and he started out like a baby sparkling like her before his human parents found him and he absorbed their DNA and transformed into a baby human.

anyway in the next post after this, I'm going to talk about a FNAF theory.

and I rather not talk about the stuff that made me feel not great, even if not everyone might understand it.

anyway maybe sometime I will do a ship drawing of WaspLazuli.

and sorry if I really don't have much to say about that weird dream I had about Husk.

if Megatron x Optimus Prime became canon in one of the Transformers Timeline, it might make some fans happy.

just like how some fans were happy about Fizz x Ozzie being canon.

I know I was happy and still am, that Fizz x Ozzie is canon.

Ozzie reminded me of the whole my talking about how my ethereal wings going into flame mode when I get really mad.

well apparently they are suppose to hug around me when I get upset or nervous, so there is that too...can't really see them though.

and there were some stuff that Ozzie said in that new episode, that reminded me of some stuff that I believe is going on.

like possibly being on some kind of spell, but the way he talks about how he doesn't do artificial love.....it is still freaky how that reminded me of that.....

one of the things I notice, is that Ozzie seems to be a beef-cake, like for all we know Charlie's Dad could be hiding muscles and a beef-cake body as well.

I can't be the only one who notice that, right...?

anyway we all have weird dreams, and well when it comes to scary dreams or the type of dreams where you end up dream-walking because of the toxic-lust energy of someone else...

it's best to have a dream-catcher...

well, hope some like the crossover fanon idea about Husk being the son of Tigatron & Airazor...

I wish I could talk more about that weird dream about Husk, like what else that happen in it but I don't really remember much of it.

#do not reblog without permission #not for kids #husk hazbin hotel #alastor hazbin hotel #weird dreams #mature audiences only #megatron x optimus prime #sari sumdac #soundwave #transformers animated #steven universe #lapis lazuli #waspinator #one true pairing #i ship it #simping #talking about feelings #my thoughts

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lefemmerougewriter · 5 years

Text

Bonnie and Marcy’s Unnecessary Melee with the Off Colors

This Teen and Up fan fic brings together characters from Steven Universe, Adventure Time, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and Revolutionary Girl Utena. This story is part 20 of “An Unlikely Alliance Against Evildoers,” my multifaceted crossover fan fiction. For the locations of places like the Great Scandinavian Republic, Western Russia, Eastern Russia, the Galaxy Warp, Empire City, the Empire State, the Floridian Archipelago, and Rizalia (present-day Philippines), please see the map at the beginning of this post, or here.

See the master list for An Unlikely Alliance Against Evildoers here.

Romantic pairings: Utena & Anthy, Marcy & Bonnie, Lapis & Peridot, Adora & Pearl

Friendships: Lars & Steven, Lars & Padparadscha, Lars & the Off Colors, Anthy & Utena & Lapis & Peridot

Words: 7.9k

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22403956

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/1254827741-an-unlikely-alliance-of-evildoers-bonnie-and

Quotev: https://www.quotev.com/story/12431180/Bonnie-Marcys-Unnecessary-Melee-with-the-Off-Colors

Asianfanfics: https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1429826/bonnie-and-marcy-s-unnecessary-melee-with-the-off-colors

Characters: Steven Universe, Lars Barriga, Fluorite, Rhodonite, Rutile Twins, Padparadscha, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, Utena Tenjou, Anthy Himemiya, Marceline Abadeer, Princess Bonnibel “Bonnie” Bubblegum, Adora, Pearl

The green energy signatures from the nova thrusters propelled the Off Colors Astral Cruiser, otherwise known as OCAC and formerly known as the Sun Incinerator, through the Earth’s atmosphere and into the planet's orbit. Ready to warp through the folds of space time, the ship’s video screen crackled. Everyone stood at attention, staring at the screen which covered the central window on the ship’s bridge.

“Lars! Thanks so much for agreeing to go to Homeworld and find out if the Diamonds were lying in that message to me…I’d like to ask you for a more important favor…we are forming this new world government thing…and it would be great if you and the Off Colors could visit other planets as ambassadors for Earth…so this planet isn’t alone in the universe.”

Captain Lars grinned widely. His eyes sparked from light emanating from the screen and sheer joy over such a responsibility. With a grand gesture, he responded forcefully to Steven.

“Steven, we would be delighted to visit planets as Earth’s ambassadors! Those upper crusty Diamonds on Homeworld can wait. What comes next is…ADVENTURE!”

The eyes of the technical advisor, Padparadscha, head of strategic operations, Rhodonite, and pilots, the Rutile Twins, lit up, glowing with inner light. Rhodonite and the Rutile Twins let out a gleeful shout, while the chief engineer, Fluorite, slowly formed a smile.

Steven beamed playfully, touching his fingertips together, tapping them softly.

“Lars, that’s wonderful! Have fun on your expedition!...it shall be a star…trek…Contact me if you need anything else! I’ll let you know if anything new happens here on Earth.”

The video screen went dark and disappeared with the click of a button. Everyone could see the vast expanse of Earth, a beautiful blue planet on the precipice of peace. Padparadscha, boomed boisterously, her voice echoing across the ship.

“Steven will give us a new mission…to explore the stars as ambassadors of Earth!...and Captain Lars will accept…what a miracle!”

The other crew members shaking their heads, Lars did what he could to reassure her, sweetly addressing her by her nickname:

“Thanks, Pappy. That’s the enthusiastic spirit we need as a crew!”

Fluorite, Rhodonite, and the Rutile Twins again shook their heads while Pappy’s cheeks began to be flushed with a light orange color, followed by some fidgeting. After Captain Lars ordered the Rutile Twins to activate the nova thrusters, allowing the ship to warp through space, she reported an anomaly which surprised everyone on board.

“I’m detecting a ship about to warp out of hyperspace…it will be arriving in Earth’s orbit within the next minute.”

Rhodonite shrieked, worrying that the Diamonds might have come back to Earth for “revenge.” Conversely, Lars approached it coolly, attempting to assuage fears of his fellow crew members.

“Whatever this ship is…it is our duty as Earth’s ambassadors to welcome it with open arms…and express our gratitude.”

This message calmed the fears of everyone but Rhodonite. She worried that they could be caught in another trap again like the space battle with Emerald’s Destiny Destroyer all those years ago. She implored Captain Lars to reconsider.

“Captain, if we do what you are requesting, how will we be ready if the ship ends up being unfriendly…and attacks us?”

Pondering her question, Lars nodded curtly. He then tightened his fist, thrusting it upward, while planting his feet widely, stepping out of the captain’s chair.

“We can do both! We will extend the olive branch…and will prepare ourselves for any possible hostility…as the adage goes, the best defense is a good offense!”

A pink warp appeared near the OCAC, revealing a small, sleek grayish-pink ship. It had no visible armaments, although that could be a way of deceiving the enemy. Lars ordered the Rutile Twins to establish contact with the other ship. He hoped to head off any possible confrontation.

The communications device emitted static, while the Off Colors broadcast a message telling the other ship to identify itself. The nearby ship either was unable to respond or unwilling to do so. Lars ordered Rhodonite to discharge the laser cannons in front of the unknown ship as a warning that the Off Colors meant "business." She complied. The green energy signatures emerged from the ship’s two yellow wings and detonated near the nearby spaceship.

The two women inside the mystery spaceship were perplexed. The one in the gunner’s seat had long midnight black hair that reached her feet, tiny fangs, and light blue-gray skin illuminated by the laser blast. As a demon-vampire hybrid, the light caused her to shriek in agony, as her dark gray tank top, blue pants, and red boots didn’t shield her from the bright green light. The ship’s pilot, one of the Candy People, wore a self-styled pilot’s uniform with her magenta-pink bubblegum hair tied up in a bun. She growled while the light illuminated her light pink skin.

“Marcy, I won’t let these rascals hurt you…it’s not right! I’m turning the ship around. Prepare the sound cannon. We need to show them who’s in charge!

“Thanks so much, Bonnie! I have the BEST…guitar…licks in this universe. They will regret the day they crossed the duo of Bonnie and Marcy…the…

“Bubbline Duo…I know you like that name.

BD away!”

As the ship spun about, Rhodonite stared in horror. She feared the worst. Trembling and her nostrils flaring, she demanded they launch a pre-emptive attack.

“Now, now, that wouldn’t be right. We should assume good intentions during our first encounter with a stranger, whether in a ship or someone we meet in person.”

Everyone else agreed with the Captain, while Rhodonite narrowed her eyes, biting the inside of her lip. She didn’t trust the other ship, continuing to weigh the situation’s danger level, preparing a plan of attack. While everyone else appeared to be tranquil, she began recharging the ship’s cannons in preparation for a possible dogfight.

The greyish-pink ship faced the OCAC, and a cannon revealed itself, aiming at their fuselage, shaped like a hexagonal prism. While Bonnie had never encountered a ship like the one commanded by Lars, she determined, based on her trips to the Library, where the ship kept its fuel. For many late nights, she had read old aerodynamics books in the library until the institution’s sole librarian, Turtle Princess, kicked her out for “staying too long.” While Turtle Princess tried to be gracious, letting her freely browse the vast bookshelves at her leisure, she told Bonnie to leave because she lived in the building’s upper room and wanted to go to sleep. Even so, she honored the requests of Bonnie, the ruler and princess of the Candy Kingdom, the most powerful kingdom in the Land of Ooo.

Marcy cackled wildly, passionately strumming her ax bass guitar. She couldn’t resist bringing it on a trip with her new girlfriend, Bonnie, eager to keep her company the best way she knew how: through music. Inside their ship, named the Bonnibel Research, Investigation, and Observation Ship, known as BRIOS for short, a set of colorful rings lit up, along a greyish shaft, almost like a set of neon lights. The shaft continued to the cannon's point, with the colorful rings outside the ship also illuminating with color. A boom of energy sprang from the cannon, projecting a concentrated sound wave toward the OCAC. Lars told his crew to “brace for impact!”, unable to contemplate their next move.

The energy pulsed through the ship. Any outside observer would have realized the was no logical reason for this battle to continue. If both ships had taken more time to try and communicate, it could have been avoided. The desire to show force as a way to show strength served as a go-to for far too many commanders, and managers, a characteristic which Lars and the Bubbline Duo both embodied, albeit in different ways. No one on the OCAC realized the effect of the energy blast until Fluorite reported it in her typical slow manner:

“Ship…has…minimal…damage…fuselage…unaffected…shields…at…80%.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Lars ordered an immediate response, ordering Rhodonite to charge up the ship’s guns. Trembling, he didn’t notice that the cannons were already fully charged, fearing for his own life and that of the crew. Lasers whizzed through space, coming from the two wings of the OCAC, hitting the greyish pink ship on the nose.

On the BRIOS, alert sirens went off. Bonnie’s anticipation that this mission would be one of “peace,” allowing them to visit sights of new candy colonies across the universe, had been dashed. Their muscles tense and posture rigid, Bonnie and Marcy’s eyes locked, unsure of what to do. An idea came to her: the candy rocket arsenal needed to be activated. Marcy raised her eyebrows, unsure if she’d like to go to that length.

“Bon-Bon, are you sure you want to fire missiles? Maybe they got the message already…we don’t want a dogfight in the sky. Even with the weapons we have aboard, we are no match…its clear…”

With her blue eyes staring ahead, Bonnie asserted that she needed to protect their “honor,” feeling confident that they would prevail no matter what. Shaking her head, Marcy remembered how such excessive pride had blinded her girlfriend to consequences of her actions in the past. She anticipated that the upcoming battle would remind her of that fact.

“Ok, Peebs…please be careful.”

Rhodonite turned to Lars, alerting him that the enemy ship had revealed a new set of weapons. He recognized they had only one option: the Autonomous Bialate Bomber, a small grey ship with two wings extending from the two engines on each side of the fuselage, and a vertical stabilizer behind the former cockpit. Also named ABB, it resembled the Star Skipper in appearance, but had a missile tracker and blasters, improved armor, an assortment of rockets, and other secret features. Unlike before, the ship could be controlled autonomously by Lars himself, without the need for another being. This ensured that the crew to didn't need to rely on Steven, Connie, Stevonnie, or another of their friends, for assistance, although those people, and many more, could be contacted by traveling through Lars’s pink dimension and into Lion’s dimension.

He ordered his fellow comrades to launch the craft as soon as possible. Rhodonite, the Rutile Twins, and Fluorite pressed the appropriate buttons. A countdown began, with ten seconds to launch. Like she had some huge revelation, Pappy spoke up.

“Captain Lars will give the order to launch the ABB!”

Everyone chuckled, glad that she was on top of her predictions. As the autonomous spacecraft shot out of the ship’s hull, its appearance astonished Bonnie and Marcy. Lars, maneuvering the ship from his small control panel and viewing screen accessible from his captain’s chair, discharged a barrage of laser bolts. Before the Bubbline Duo, a name Marcy enjoyed, could respond, the ABB’s bombardment hit the BRIOS’s left wing, causing it to smoke. Not wanting to die and desiring to get to the planet’s surface, Bonnie turned the ship in a sharp downward direction, throwing Marcy out of her gunner’s seat and onto Bonnie’s lap, making them both uncomfortable. Of course, they loved each other, but the suddenness of the action caught both off-guard. The warmth of Marcy’s body soothed Bonnie. She lovingly pecked the place on Marcy’s neck where her two marks, showing her vampire bite, resided. Marcy’s green eyes stared at Bonnie’s light pinkish face, which she smooched vigorously, exhilarated about what would come next.

Marcy’s affectionate feelings distracted Bonnie, causing the spacecraft to rapidly descend, heating up as it raced through the Earth’s atmosphere. Luckily, Marcy saw the danger, stabilizing the BRIOS, stopping any further ill effects. She clicked a few buttons, closing a panel, covering up the smoke on the ship’s left wing. Bonnie began whistling and singing, then complimented Marcy on saving her. Marcy nodded, acknowledging her admiration. Both returned to their seats, Bonnie to the pilot’s seat and Marcy to the gunner’s nest.

Lars snarled. He wasn’t going to let the BRIOS get away so easily. He gave Rhodonite and Fluorite the order to prepare their ship to attack the enemy ship at a moment’s notice. At the same time, he told the Rutile Twins to keep the ship in the “hover” position. He pressed a button and 10 missiles jettisoned out of a launcher, underneath the ABB’s left wing, speeding toward the enemy ship. Pappy made a wise crack about how the captain had launched projectiles to produce a display of “fireworks” in the sky. Everyone laughed. June 14, 2019 would go down in the history as a glorious day for the Off Colors, Lars gloated.

Meanwhile, in the BRIOS, Bonnie cringed and shook her head. She couldn’t believe skyrockets were heading toward their ship. She took a deep breath and sneered. There would be no way she would give up without a fight.

“Marcy, buckle yourself in, because we are taking evasive action…

Peebs, you’ve got it! Let’s take these fools down!”

Swirling through the air, the ship streaked through the atmosphere, descending near Empire City, within The Empire State, a neutral state on the east coast of the North American continent. Spotted by the radar, anti-aircraft guns surrounding the city let out a loud rat-a-tat-tat, sputtering to life, aiming at both ships. The ABB was unaffected because it was ray shielded. Rockets from the ship destroyed each anti-aircraft cannon, undoubtedly maiming some humans manning the weapons. Seeing this, Lars whispered “sorry,” little consolation to those on the ground. Meanwhile, Bonnie recklessly flew the BRIOS, through crowded city streets, trying to escape, with a smirk, while Marcy covered her face and clenched her jaw.

With one ship speeding past the skyscrapers, and rockets blowing up behind it, people fled in panic. The city streets soon became deserted. Bonnie got too cocky. The hiss of one missile made her shriek. It was too late. While the explosion did not affect the BRIOS directly, debris showered down upon the ship, causing some minor scratches. She grumbled and Marcy shook her head with a I-told-you-so look.

Lars glared at his screen and pounded his fists on the sides of his Captain’s chair. He shouted so furiously the fellow Off Colors shuttered in worry. While she often got stressed out and could be easily frightened, Rhodonite tried to be level-headed, attempting to assuage the Captain.

“Captain, we all want to get back at that ship too…but please don’t lose your cool”

Lars breathed deeply and sighed. He knew that she was right and accepted her counsel, glad she wasn’t losing her nerve this time, instead acting very kind toward him. He appreciated that, delightedly accepting the aid. While Lars could help those on his crew become grounded, they could also do the same for him.

“Rhodonite, thanks for putting me on the right track…I’ll approach this as coolly as I can…what do you think I should do?”

Such a question took her aback. In some ways the Captain had become immutable to her, able to make decisions and take risks on her behalf and that of Pappy, the Rutile Twins, and Fluorite. She stuttered, unsure of what to tell him, making sure that her unease or oft-paranoia didn’t get in the way of her job.

“Captain, you should engage in an action that isn’t too risky…draw the other ship away from Empire City…to minimize the destruction.”

Taking her advice to heart, he had the autonomous ship sneak up on the BRIOS, its blasters pulsating, almost striking the ship’s fuselage. Marcy yelped while Bonnie froze with indecision. She pulled Bonnie out of the pilot’s chair and took the ship’s wheel.

“Sorry P-Brains, but we need to get out of here. I love you, but I’m not gonna die on your watch…I won’t let us be sitting ducks.”

Turning the ship 360 degrees around, she activated the secret candy jets, jettisoning the craft outside the city streets, and skimming just above the water’s surface. Bonnie shook her head, puzzled. She had no idea how she arrived in the gunner’s seat, strapped in tightly, no longer piloting the ship. Marcy hollered at the top of her lungs, gunning the engine, like a person accelerating a car to an increasingly faster speed.

“Yee-haw! We’re in for some fancy flying, Bonnie…and we’ll beat those jerks!”

Skimming near the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, the pitter-patter of laser bolts splashed the water’s surface, striking close behind the BRIOS. Unlike Bonnie, Marcy treated this almost like a game, trying to have fun before her expected death. Back on the OCAC, Lars scowled, pressing a button which fired the autonomous ship’s machine gun. One bullet struck near the time dilator, causing it to crack slightly. Bonnie screeched in fright.

“One more laser burst, and that device will send us through time! Marcy, you are our only hope.”

Snickering at her comment, Marcy didn’t know what Bonnie meant by “that device.” Inquisitively she asked, “Uh, Bonnie, what is the “device”?

“Oh! It’s the Bonnibel Time Dilator 5000, patented in the Candy Kingdom, 3012 C.E. Pressing it sends you back in time five minutes exactly…

“Why…would you put this on the ship?

“I’m a scientist…and it was part of my experiment. I haven’t tested it yet on humans…only some small animals and citizens of the Candy Kingdom.

“That isn’t good…

“Don’t get angry! I only thought this would be a diplomatic mission!

“That’s why this ship is armed to the teeth…right?

“Those are for…protection! I can’t let someone I adore…get hurt…

“You mean me, right?

Uh…”

Bonnie’s cheeks turned bright pink as she fidgeted and remained speechless, her mouth gaping open. She didn’t think her affection for Marcy would be revealed like this. She had everything methodically planned out, but the battle with the spacecraft ruined it all. Although often caring, decent, and well-intentioned, she could be volatile, especially when people “crossed” her. There was a dark part of her personality with an occasionally loose moral code, coupled with authoritarian tendencies and paranoia. Some of these tendencies were the reason why she originally saw Marcy as vulgar and unpolished, while Marcy perceived her as snotty and dull. She began to care for Marcy more, starting as a dedicated friend and later as a girlfriend, assuring each other that they would always be safe. Both of these lovebirds shared a kiss in the middle of the fight against Golb. Since then much had changed. They were both exploring the ins-and-outs of their relationship.

Bonnie didn’t like spontaneity in her social interactions and preferred to plan everything beforehand. Marcy acted differently. Despite her occasional sentimentality, she struggled to express her emotions, except through music. She tried to be more empathetic and mature, especially after turning into a vampire the second time. Even so, she enjoyed mischief and could be sinister from time to time. As such, she could adapt better to spur-of-the-moment social interactions than Bonnie.

This tender moment didn’t last long. The ABB’s cannons crackled, rippling the water’s surface behind their ship, snapping Bonnie and Marcy back to reality. Excitedly she gunned the engine, speeding across the ocean, and into the upper reaches of the Great Scandinavian Republic and then the Union of Western Russia. The ABB followed in close pursuit. As they glided near the trees protruding from the landmass, covered with sparkling white snow, Bonnie played a sick guitar solo on the ax bass. It was so beautiful, Marcy cried with joy.

“Bonnie, that’s incredible! I didn’t know you could play the guitar like that! Why didn’t you tell me this when you managed my hella cool rock band, Marceline and the Scream Queens?

“I…wasn’t sure of my talent…and it was your time to shine…not mine…besides, you pushed me out as the band manager…don’t you remember?

“I’ve matured since then…times have changed…no matter what, I’ll encourage you no matter what…I can give you some guitar lessons sometime.

All right, it’s a deal! Let’s get out of this jam first!”

Unknowingly, Bonnie had activated the sound cannon through her guitar playing, sending shockwaves toward the ABB, rocking it, with the ship caught in a wind tunnel formed from a reverberating guitar. Jealous of Marcy’s abilities, Bonnie felt honored to be praised, although she was more of a bookworm who didn’t typically take as many risks as her girlfriend. This trip had changed that.

Lars laughed maniacally. He pressed a button on his keypad, having the autonomous ship fire off another volley of rockets. As Rhodonite watched him warily, he sneered.

“Those rascals won’t get away this time…we will catch them…and be heroes. Such rapscallions will rue the day they crossed the Off Colors!”

While Lars acted like a company CEO, those on the ship were not “yes women.” Some worried about the saneness of Lars. The Rutile Twins walked over and tried to make their views plain.

“Captain, I’m concerned…Are you really that vindictive?

“No, no, my dear RT…I’m only having fun during this depressing situation. What else can be done? I don’t expect the other craft to be destroyed, but I hope it will push them to the negotiating table…that’s my approach.

That’s a relief. Thanks for telling us, Captain!”

The rockets tracked the BRIOS, making Bonnie anxious. Marcy’s chuckle served as a source of comfort. The ship spun around so quickly it artificially produced a violent squall. As the rockets twirled into oblivion, trees blew in the wind, while some of the snow turned into a hail of ice pellets, denting the craft. Enduring this man-made weather anomaly, both ships entered the air above the Tunguska Sea. Marcy and Bonnie gazed down in awe at six huge crystalline rock formations sitting on top of a massive plateau in the middle of the sea. Neither had any idea this was the Galaxy Warp, formerly the central hub on the planet which allowed Gems to travel across the galaxy from one of the 16 Warp Pads, most of which were inactive.

Peri and Lapis waved, sending their greetings as they sipped their hemp seed drinks. Lapis wore a wide tan sunhat with a blue ribbon, which blew in the wind, beige shorts, and a white cotton tank top. Peri wore a light green t-shirt, with an alien symbol in the middle, and blue jeans. Not wearing a visor, her pale chartreuse hair was down. Marcy opened a ship window and bellowed, “I like your hat!” Lapis shouted back “thank you!”

Marcy proceeded to skyrocket the ship across the water, moving into the Republic of Eastern Russia. Projectiles continued to trace their ship. Peri groused and pulled out her remote controller, sending her attack drones to intercept the rockets, shooting each down one by one. The ABB followed.

“Some excitement for once! When I came to Earth the first time, arriving here, thanks to my Robonoids, it was boring. This hasn’t been as stimulating as I anticipated…and these drinks are…weird…La…pis!…can’t we go somewhere better?

“You cute green ball of joy…we could but…you don’t want to see those Crystal Gems again…do you? I thought this was supposed to be a vacation and a chance to get Anthy to work her magic on those zombie workers growing our hemp crop.

“Fine. I guess you’re right…when you’re right that means you’re always right. Okay, what place do you suggest we go, then?

“There’s the Floridian Archipelago, where Carmen and Adora had that date…back in early May…or the beautiful Oceanic Republic of Rizalia, a nation consisting of over 7,600 islands. with only about 2,000 currently inhabited…or any of those various Gem locations.

“That sounds fun!...I heard Maynilà, on the island of Luzon, is a vibrant place, serving as a main hub, economically and financially, for the island, with production of crops like rice, pineapples, coconuts, mangoes, and more…according to my research on KIMPALNET.

“KIMPALNET?

“It’s a beta version of my new search engine, also called CLODNET in the parts of the world which speak a language humans call “English.” Kimpal is apparently the equivalent of “clod” in one of the languages spoken in Rizalia, “Filipino,” although it can mean other things too.

“Ok…In any case, let’s get going!

“Alright! Everyone…jump in the Peri-Jet!

“Uh, I’m the only one here.

“…I wanted to make it sound better.

“And…you left the Peri-Jet back in Miura, where we have that hemp farm…

“I did…but this plane is powered by…LOVE!

“So, you’re saying you’d like me to fly you there…since your “jet” is invisible and non-existent.

“I…suppose…so.

“Why didn’t you just say that?

“You know, better than anyone, that I have trouble communicating…sometimes.

Whatever, Ms. Peri-scallion…”

Peri glared at Lapis adoringly, causing her cheeks to turn a lighter blue, caught off guard by her response. Her expression changed to a more relaxed one, as she began singing, humming, and whistling, followed by a squeal of joy. Fearlessly, Lapis outstretched her water wings, flapping to her heart’s delight, flying with her partner on her back, soaring to the edge of the horizon.

Back on the BRIOS, Bonnie brushed aside Marcy’s compliment to another girl’s hat ware. After all, she and Marcy were attracted toward men and women. Although she acted wild at times, she didn’t have girls flocking to her. This differed from some she had heard about, like one girl who traveled between worlds, manifested in books housed in a library, on a quest for their long-lost companion. Marcy could float through the air but was more grounded than any person she ever knew!

They hadn’t outrun the ABB yet, although each of the projectiles had been destroyed, some by the artificial wind Marcy created with her “fancy flying” and Bonnie with her guitar playing. Deciding to continue the chase, Marcy maneuvered the ship into the northern Pacific Ocean, alongside the State of Japan, dodging gunfire from the autonomous craft. Anthy and Utena spied this with a telescope, newly installed by Peri in their homestead. Utena recognized that the battle would soon be over, at least on the planet’s surface.

“I’d love to be back in the thick of it, Anthy. They are having so much fun.

“No, Miss Utena, you shouldn’t make a point you will regret. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt by those awful machines…

“FINE!...The least we can do is warn Lapis and Peri about it, to make sure neither one of them is hurt. After all, they are more than friends…forming the “L” and “P” of our “LUPA” companionship quartet…an unbreakable bond of dedication!

“That’s right! I’ll communicate telepathically with…

“Nah…I’ll send both a text. Plus, you don’t have that power, anyway.

You are right, Miss Utena…go right ahead.”

Utena sent Peri and Lapis a group text, about their observations:

Spotted two ships fighting in sea near Japan. Stay on lookout for possible danger. Utena out.

Peri responded with “got it!” and an alien symbol, making Utena giggle. She didn’t understand why Peri liked it so much, but it was cute like her, a thought she kept to herself.

As the two dueling ships approached the Oceanic Republic of Rizalia, they passed by the Eastern edge of the isle of Ruzon. Miles away, at a small restaurant in Maynilà, Peri enjoyed her June Bug drinks, spiced up with ginger and a little vodka. Lapis drank some minted mango tea, another one of the concoction juices. It hit the spot for a hot summer day in the city. Peri ignored the “hey!” shouted nearby. Lapis peeked over and spotted two familiar individuals who were more dressed down than usual. Pearl wore a jean jacket, blue jeans, and black sunglasses, while Adora sported a matching jean jacket along with brown slacks and a Hawaiian shirt.

“Pearl! Adora! What a pleasure to see you here! What brings you two to Maynilà?

“I was showing Adora the sights of this wonderful world, carrying my “piece” around with me.

“Why a shotgun? Wouldn’t a pistol or another weapon be more effective?

I need to make sure no one harms my blonde princess…”

Adora cackled. “I wouldn’t call myself a princess anymore, but Pearl did shoot me with something…the arrow of love…This trip is what you Earthlings call a “honeymoon.”

“So, you both got married? Why didn’t you tell us?

“My dear Adora is a bit rusty on Earth words…this is only a date.

Yeah, sure, my peach-haired goddess…in any case, it’s a special trip for both of us!”

Lapis, Peri, Adora, and Pearl were frightened when a spaceship zoomed overhead. Peri could notice, even without her visor, that the ship was unmanned. She stared in amazement, with a deep fascination. Suddenly, another one followed, with candy cannons buzzing to life, exerting energy in such successive discharges that it scared the daylights out of Adora. She slunk behind Pearl and examined the situation frightfully. Summoning her shotgun from her pearl, Pearl shouted “for the honor of Adora!” As the armor piercing shells flew out the two barrels, the power of the recoil threw Pearl back, splashing in the nearby stream, groaning in pain.

As Marcy continued to move the ship forward, she heard a crackling sound in another part of the ship, followed by a mechanical warning:

Time Dilator has been critically damaged. Please repair to optimum state…Time Dilator has been critically…

The message kept repeating over and over until Marcy pressed a button which stopped it. This puzzled her because the craft they were pursuing couldn’t have attacked them. She turned the ship around. She wouldn’t let this go down in vein. Using the targeting computer, she calculated the trajectory and determined who fired it: Pearl, who she knew only as a peach-haired woman on her viewscreen. About to order Bonnie to shoot the sound cannon at them, she demurred. She saw another woman, Adora, who only looked to be a blonde-haired woman from her point of view, shouting back at the ship, waving her arms wildly.

“I can’t do it, Bonnie. We can’t hurt those women…we must be better.

“Why? Didn’t that woman cause MY time dilator to crack?

She did, but only out of love…she is injured down there…and in pain…we can’t ignore those who truly care about each other. You taught me that, Bonnie.”

This comment flabbergasted Bonnie. She almost fell out of her chair. Unsure of what Marcy meant, she asked to peer through the view screen. The images shocked her. The peach-haired woman was being comforted by the blonde-haired one, with tears streaming down her cheeks. If the other woman was further wounded by them, it could cause lasting trauma. As a person who had lived for over 827 years, she understood what this meant. She teared up and hugged Marcy, about 179 years older, a full age of about 1006, for support.

“You old sap. I’ll keep the ship in hover while you prepare the medical kit and use one of the auxiliary cannons to fire it toward them.

Can do, my sweet Marcy!”

Making her way to the other side of the BRIOS, she prepared one small first aid kit. Wanting to make a personal connection, she stuck in one of the many pictures of her and Marcy laughing and having a good time, accompanied with a note written in beautiful cursive:

Dear Peach-Haired Woman and Blonde-Haired Companion,

I’m sorry to have caused you any trouble. A ship is chasing us, but we don’t want to harm anyone, whether here or in space. We are from a far-flung planet…and came to this blue planet of wonder to check on one of the colonies of my people from the great Candy Kingdom which landed on your planet surface. We wish you both the best. As a small act of gratitude, we are sending you this first aid kit accompanied by a photo of me (with the pink hair) and my girlfriend, Marceline (with the nightshade black hair) and a cool guitar. We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused you.

Yours truly,

Princess Bubblegum

P.S. Marceline sends her love.

After stuffing it into the tube, aiming the cannon at a diagonal upward trajectory, it bellowed with a deep guttural sound. The first aid kit made a slow descent to the ground, Adora pulling it down. She opened it, finding an assortment of medical equipment and a handwritten note, which she read aloud. It astonished Lapis, Peri, and Pearl, especially after she saw their silly picture together.

“So, they are like me and Adora or you and Lapis? Loving a person of their own “gender,” as humans call it?...Amazing!

Pearl, it’s not uncommon. Female humans call themselves lesbians if they have such relationships, and male humans call themselves gay. There are so many types of identities which excite me…I know that Earth is a place where people can truly express themselves. The community of people who love people in that manner is strong…and I’m glad to be a part of it with my girlfriend, Lapis. Through the wonderful REZU network, we have met so many wonderful people, comparable to these two “Gems.””

Adora’s tears dried and she fixed her eyes on the ship, hollering the words “THANK YOU!” Bonnie reached for the window, about to open it, ready to offer her kind words in person, but a computer alert interrupted this act of kindness:

Enemy ship approaching at SSW direction. Evasive action recommended.

Marcy scoffed at the alert, adding, “Ok, computer, I’ll punch it!”

The ship sped quickly across the ocean’s surface, heading out of Rizalia and into the Union of Indonesia. Marcy thought that going through the islands would make the craft following them get lost, allowing them to escape. Unfortunately, the resounding buzz of laser armaments continued to follow them like a snake wanting to capture its prey.

The dogfight continued for some time, Marcy and Bonnie were both tired from the fight.

Unsure of what else to do, Marcy violently steered the ship straight upward, causing the whole ship to shake. She thought that the automated ship tailing them would be unable to make the descent, breaking apart in the atmosphere. As their ship whizzed through the atmosphere at unbelievable speed, the ABB began to falter, its engines sputtering.

Lars slammed his fist down, like he had before, annoyed that a newcomer ship had bested the Off Colors, who had hobbled Emerald, faced down the armies of the Diamonds, and stood together as a unit against all adversity. Rhodonite suggested that he rig their autonomous ship to drift toward the enemy craft and explode, after which they would release a barrage of lasers. He gave his consent to their plan, telling Fluorite to prepare the ship for battle. Pappy piped up, once again, as she often did, showing her value as the ship’s technical advisor.

“I predict Captain Lars will rig the ABB to blow up. Oh my!”

Nodding, Lars tussled her hair and expressed his gratitude.

“Thanks, Pappy.”

Bonnie and Marcy breathed a sigh of relief. The Bubbline Duo, or the “B.D. Gang” as Marcy sometimes labeled it, thought the battle had been won. The ship which had been chasing them drifted aimlessly through space. Their reprieve was dashed when the engines of the automated ship suddenly reactivated, with the ship hurtling toward them at a staggering pace. Sensing immense danger, she warned Marcy to prepare for an explosion, as she tried to move the BRIOS away from the kamikaze craft. Her efforts were somewhat successful, but not enough. The autonomous ship burst into thousands of pieces, in a beautiful panoply of orange, red, yellow, and a hint of green. The shockwaves shook the BRIOS, while the wreckage battered the ship, now hobbling through space.

The OCAC opened fire as Lars yelled “BINGO, BONGO!” The green lasers streaked across the sky. The ship began to rattle and pop, terrifying Bonnie and Marcy. The fuselage remained unaffected, but the time dilator cracked, emitting a shining bright light. A wormhole opened, alarming Lars and his crew, who backed up their ship, and shot lasers inside the anomaly, in hopes of quieting it down. This only made it fiercer and more erratic, rumbling like a thunderstorm. Marcy attempted to pilot the ship in reverse, but this failed, and she accepted their fate. Lars commanded Rhodonite to stop, ending their hasty plan of shooting into the black hole. He told the Rutile Twins to move them away from the growing space storm, working with Fluorite who calibrated the ship’s engines. As the cannons grew silent, Pappy’s utterance amazed those on the spaceship. She recognized that her role was more than announcing events which had already occurred, resulting in her often relying on her predictions.

“I foresee that Captain Lars will release a probe to track the enemy ship. What a wonder!”

Cheery and gentle as always, she beamed while Lars scratched his head. He didn’t remember giving such a command. But he appreciated her swift thinking.

“Pappy, that’s a great idea! I hadn’t even considered it as an option. Rhodonite, aim the BB-T for the ship’s hull.

Aye, shorty!”

The BB-T, a technology Lars constructed while Steven and the Crystal Gems were on Etheria, had the full name of the Bingo Bongo Tracker. This would be its first real test.

Bonnie and Marcy were in utter panic mode. This ripple in the fabric of space time wasn’t an event either had prepared for. Fearing their death in the vacuum of space, their lips touched as they hugged each other, and the ship continued to spiral out of control. The whirs and whooshes outside the ship were so loud neither heard the BB-T attach to their hull. As the black hole fully encircled their ship, both screamed. No one would come to help them in this time of need. BMO, Jake, and Finn could do nothing, light-years away in the Land of Ooo.

The jaws of space time had swallowed them whole. As the ship moved deeper inside the black hole, it began to close, pulling in some chunks of the former autonomous ship.

The wormhole opened and Marcy took a deep breath. She could see that Bonnie still looked tense, so she unbuckled her seat belt, floating toward her. She proceeded to nibble her neck, then licked under her ear with her tongue. Bonnie went into a state of ecstasy, since the area under her ear and neck was one of her most sensitive areas. More importantly, her arms relaxed as her tenseness faded away. Marcy floated away and moved back into her seat, re-buckling her seat belt. Bonnie grinned.

“Thanks, Marcy. I really appreciate that…You made me feel so much better! Are you ok?

“I am. That nasty ship is gone…but where are we now?

Examining the measurements is key.”

Bonnie examined the ship’s records and discovered they were three days in the past. Using Earth calendars, it was June 9, 2019. Somehow, the dilator hadn’t been destroyed completely and had minimal functionality. Pressing a few buttons, she programmed the dilator to send them five days into the future: June 14, 2019. Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan. As soon as the button had been pressed, a bright glow surrounded the ship, causing the dilator to malfunction, twisting into a wormhole, moving like water swirling down a drain.

The situation left Bonnie immobilized. Marcy tried to snap Bonnie back to reality, as the ship began to crack and clatter. As a last-ditch effort, she jettisoned one of the ship’s heaviest items, a probe filled with candy beings for colonization, aiming it at the Moon. This probe would, thanks to the distortion from the crossing of the warp stream and time dilator, land on the Moon earlier that day. In one of their inspections of Gem locations, the probe would be encountered by the Crystal Gems, none of whom were aware Bonnie or Marcy existed.

Wailing as loud as possible, Marcy and Bonnie watched the time counter with alarm as it advanced quickly, in batches of 73 days at a time. After doing this five times in a row, the movement stopped. Bonnie did the calculations and made a startling finding: they had gone one year in the future. If they had been using Earth time, the day would have been June 9, 2020. Marcy flew their ship toward the planet below, picking up the signal from the Candy Kingdom colony in Yokohama, Japan, flying toward it at an unbelievable pace. Their transmitter received a message both heard loud and clear:

Warning, you are entering Earth space. Please transmit your authorization codes now.

Unsure of what this meant, Marcy continued into the atmosphere. Another message blared out of the ship speakers:

We are happy your enthusiasm for this planet remains unabated, but your presence is unauthorized. Under Chapter 9, Article 32 of the Charter of the World Parliamentary Assembly, the Earth Defense Force is authorized to defend the planet from threats from within and outside the solar system. All necessary force shall be used including but not limited to missiles and other Earth-defense systems as allowed under Chapter 9, Article 35 of the Charter. Lethal force shall be used to protect those on this planet from threat. You are ordered to…

The recording cut off as the transmitter exploded from excess pressure. The computer system on the BRIOS warned Marcy of incoming anti-aircraft fire. She tried to make sure the flak didn’t affect the ship. Distracted by that, she didn’t realize a rocket was coming toward them until it was less than half-a-mile away, since the rocket had cloaked itself from radar detection. Panicking, she used her power to move objects with her mind to pick up Bonnie and hold her in her lap. As the projectile approached, she winced, listening to the computer system:

Impact from missile in 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…detonation!

The resulting blast, obliterating the ship’s engines, lurched Marcy frontward, tightly holding Bonnie. She was rendered unconscious after hitting her head on the metal bulkhead. The ship continued to descend like a fireball toward the Earth’s surface, with the batteries of the Earth Defense Force standing by. An alert went out on the military radio, crackling:

EDF units, move to the Yokohama sector. Examine the crash site. If there are any survivors…take them into custody. We want to know why that ship arrived near Earth. Learn all you can.

The fate of Marcy and Bonnie appeared uncertain to the soldiers on the ground and those watching at home on their television sets. A few groups had no knowledge of these events: Captain Lars, the Off Colors, and the Crystal Gems. Since Marcy and Bonnie had traveled through time, they had disappeared from the radar and scanners of those on June 14, 2019.

Lars paced across the OCAC, contemplating the events the events that day, delaying the beginning of their space trek. As he began typing in the number of Steven’s video phone, he received a call…from Steven.

“Lars…Pearl and Adora showed me this medical kit they received from some spacecraft…the picture within it…and a handwritten message…we need to talk…come to Maynilà, the capital of the Oceanic Republic of Rizalia instantly…coordinates are as follows.”

After receiving the coordinates, he put his hand to his forehead and gave a military salute.

“Sir, yes sir! It will be done, sir!”

The OCAC moved from their orbit around Earth, descending to Maynilà, unsure of what Steven and the Gems had in store for the Off Colors.

*******

End Note: I chose Rizalia because Shelby Rabara, who voices Peri, and Jennifer Paz-Fedorov, who voices Lapis, have Filipino roots. Rabara was born in the U.S. and with Filipino parentage while Paz was born in Manila (called Maynilà, in this story, which is the Filipino name for the city). Additionally, Deedee Magno Hall, who voices Pearl, and Charlyne Yi, who voices the Rubies, also have Filipino parentage. Also, Lars, canonically, has Filipino heritage. The phrase “she didn’t have girls flocking to her immediately like those who traveled between worlds manifested in the books housed in a library on a quest for their long-lost companion” is a reference toward Hazumi searching for Hatsumi in the anime, Yami, the Hat, and the Travelers of Books. Alternatively, the anime is known as Yami to Bōshi to Hon no Tabibito. The pages on the Steven Universe fandom for the Sun Incinerator, Galaxy Warp, Star Skipper, Rhodonite, and Padparadscha, along with those on the Adventure Time fandom for Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, Princess Bubblegum’s Relationships, and the Library were helpful in this story. I used Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi’s book, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, as a reference for various words and feelings. The Reddit discussion “What color are Princess Bubblegum's eyes?” was used to inform this story, with that discussion concluding that Bonnie’s eyes are blue. The fight between the starfighters in this story is an homage to the spacefight scene between Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress in Chapter 11 in Genndy Tartakovsky’s series, Star Wars: Clone Wars, one of my favorite animated shows as a kid. Some of the scenes are also undoubtedly inspired by scenes of the Millennium Falcon in the original Star Wars trilogy or scenes within the new Star Wars movies. I also used https://atchronology.com/ as a source for the date Bonnie mentioned. When Peri says “I guess you’re right and…when you’re right that means you’re always right” is a reference to Spaceballs where Barf says “Oh, you’re right, and when you’re right, you’re right, and you, you’re always right.” I took inspiration from the anime, Matross Frontier and reference the show, Tactical Roar when Pappy says “Aye, shorty!” The whole interaction at the end of the story between the Bonnie and Marcy's ship and the Earth defenses was inspired by a similar interaction between the defense system of Magrethea and the Heart of Gold in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

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