#ruby replace him in that role would be the most logical choice

[meikostan]

in the writing mood rn so i'll share this since it may well come into existence but because oshi no ko is fundamentally a revenge story i think the most interesting road an Ai Lives AU could take is if somebody else died in her stead and unfortunately i think the most interesting path thereafter would be if aqua was the one that died. i dont know that someone has written it already but i am playing with this idea in my google docs as we speak

[anonthenullifier]

An Awakening

Vision learns the truth of his life prior to Westview which leads to an honest conversation with Wanda.

Ao3 link

There is nothingness and then there is a calliope, it’s jaunty little ditty shocking his mind enough that Vision’s eyes snap open. Blades of grass tickle his cheek and an aura of flashing lights draws him up, palms pressed firmly onto the ground as he hoists himself up into a seated position. His body aches, a faint echo in his mind of being violently torn apart, but it is a feeling that fades the faster he thinks about it. Since it seems important, he tries to move his mind away, hoping that if he doesn’t explicitly focus on it that it will not be forgotten.

Vision nods, goes to stand up, but finds his legs not responding fully, knees buckling under the weight of a fleeting memory of immense pain. A hand loops under his right bicep, the woman’s other hand coming to rest on his back as she helps him up with an aggrieved, “Why can men never admit when they’re hurt?” The snark behind the comment feels forced, the same underlying terror on her face as all the other residents here.

That’s when he remembers, most of it at least. He was on his own reconnaissance patrol, inching ever more methodically toward the edge of town to see how far Wanda’s influence reached. The horror of his findings, their frozen, crying faces, almost knocks him back to the ground, but luckily the woman’s hands are still there to steady him. “Thank you.”

“Did you go in the funhouse?” It’s not really a question the way her voice falls, more of a statement with a rhetorical uptick at the end. “Heard it’s really disorienting with all the clowns.”

Vision doesn’t recall such an attraction anywhere in Westview but then he looks up, following the still present music in the air, and finds an entire carnival before him. Red and white striped tents tower out of the ground, stalls for food send plumes of greasy smoke into the air, and numerous game stalls are lined up where stuffed animals and blowup hammers hang joyfully from the walls. This is new. What is also new is that there are houses and roads beyond Ellis Avenue, which seems right, as if it was always like that, but there is a niggle of unease that tells him this isn’t true, if only he could access the information that makes him feel that way.

“Oh, um , thank you.” His costume is, at least by his understanding of how Billy and Tommy reacted, not sick by any means. Regardless, he finds his hand moving on its own accord to grip the cape, wanting to feel the object of her jealousy. It feels different, slicker and more aerodynamic than the one Wanda left in the closet. He yanks it a bit farther forward and notes that it is also a much more subdued gold with flecks of crimson in parts. A glance down also confirms that his green and yellow ensemble is gone, replaced by teals and reds, no athletic shorts covering the skin tight ensemble.

This is all wrong.

Vision knows the town never had a circus, nor the rows of houses beyond Ellis, he knows that he was not in this outfit and that everything feels just a bit off.

“Do you want some coffee or a ride back home?” The concern in her voice goes deeper than one would expect, even though she did find him injured on the ground, something more wavers in her words. Vision decides that he needs more answers than questions and, even though he hates taking away people’s autonomy, he reaches towards her temple. “Woah,” the woman swats his hands away, “I have pepper spray.”

“I will not harm you.” Oddly her face softens and she drops the threat, allowing him to send a pulse of golden energy into her head.

The change is instantaneous, the woman’s face becoming far more animated, “Vision?! Oh my God, you’re okay!” This is now the second awakened person to recognize him, to be excited at the prospect that he is there to help. “Oh what the hell!” Vision watches the woman’s hand run along her gaudy canary and ruby diner uniform, one that is common in little run down diners on the highway, a thought that he doesn’t quite know how to substantiate since he doesn’t seem to have a memory of such a stop and yet the knowledge is there. As she inspects her clothes, grunting in disbelief and irritation built into every movement, she confuses him further, “I’m an astrophysicist and this is what I get? So disrespectful.”

Neither Norm nor Agnes responded in such a...laid back way to be awakened, both in immeasurable pain that this woman seems to show no signs of. “Miss, are you okay?”

“Doctor, not Miss.”

“My apologies.”

She turns a bright, closed lip smile towards him, reaching out her hand as she says, “I’m Darcy.”

He takes the proffered hand and gives it a polite shake. Even though it is clearly unnecessary he adds, “And I’m Vision.” What he says next is a bit of a surprise to him, mainly because he doesn’t feel like he has a basis for the assumption that she will know the answer, but for some reason he has full faith she can help him, that she wants to help him. “Who am I? What,” he surveys the carnival around him, “what is happening here?”

“Straight to the big questions.” It is not derisively or caustically stated, in fact there is far more affection than one would expect from a stranger. Darcy glances around, nervous for the first time, “I’ll try to be quick, I’m sure your wife’ll be here soon.” This fear is not new, sadly, the same insinuation made by Norm about Wanda’s involvement. “Let’s see, you’re Vision, obviously,” a small, self conscious chuckle goes along with the statement. “You’re an Avenger,” luckily, she senses his desire for more, quickly adding, “group of super powered people, well, not all of them have super powers, some just have really amazing tech, but anyway you’re a team that fights bad guys and saves the universe.”

“Wanda and myself, we were-“

“Yep, joined at the same time and then fell in love, really cute.”

This confirms what Agnes said, which suggests that perhaps her other words were true as well. “Am I...dead?” All joy leeches from Darcy’s face, a deflated nod going along with the tightening of her lips. “How?”

Darcy looks around again and Vision can’t help but join her in the action, can’t help but feel a little bit nervous about who doesn’t want him to know this. “Shortened version - big purple angry grape named Thanos was collecting all the infinity stones, this includes the Mindstone,” Vision’s fingers rise up to brush the gem. “Wanda had to kill you to try and stop him.”

“She killed me?”

Quickly context is added, “Only because you,” she levels a finger at his chest to emphasize his role and take blame off his wife, “insisted she do it.”

None of what she says makes sense. “Why would I do that?”

The next statement is said in a way that typically is coupled with a playful fist against the shoulder that leads into a jovial shove. “Being all self-sacrificial’s kinda your thing. Which is super noble, don’t get me wrong, but a bit rough on the people around you, like asking them to kill you for the greater good.”

Which is a fair point and one he will need to cogitate on at a later time, “Why did Wanda, specifically, have to kill me?”

“Oh because she was the only one strong enough to destroy the Mindstone.”

A logical assessment that he can easily believe his former self to have made. “Was she successful?”

Darcy’s voice quiets somewhat, a slight tremble in her words, “She was. But then Thanos reversed time, brought you back, and murdered you right in front of her.”

Suddenly his worldview shifts, new meaning and understanding emerging as to some of Wanda’s actions and her strong reaction to his accusations the other night. Despite this dawning of understanding, there is still a major question he feels hasn’t been answered. “But then how are we here? How am I,” he falters on the next word, as early as this evening not thinking it was something that could be false, “alive?”

“That’s the million dollar question. No one knows.” A high pitched whizzing vibrates in the air, punctuated by calls of Vision! “I gotta go,” she begins to walk away, but turns back with an anger not yet present in her words, “Quick FYI, if you meet a guy named Hayward, don’t trust him, he’s a dick.”

“I um, will not, thank you.”

She starts to leave again and then stops, “Also, we don’t have proof it’s all Wanda. Food for thought.”

Vision appreciates the comment, “Thank you.” It is when she actually walks away that he is the one that has a realization of not re-invoking whatever trance the people of the town are in. “Darcy!” She turns expectedly towards him as he approaches with his hands out and ready to take the pain from her, except she swats his hands away, yet again.

“Stop it, I’m a better ally awake.”

Based on the prior two people he has spoken to in their awakened state, this seems a poor choice for her. “Does it not hurt?”

“I mean, yeah, feels like I went on a tequila bender last night and haven’t had water in weeks.” How she remains so lighthearted is beyond him, but he admires it immensely, “but I can’t help you if I’ve forgotten.”

Though he isn’t sure it is in her best interest to remain in such a state, the idea of a confidant is appealing. “Very well.”

Seconds after she walks away, blue streaks materialize around Vision, both his sons and his wife appearing suddenly in front of him. This is unusual but he doesn’t get a chance to inquire about their speedy entrance, Billy rushing towards him first with a relieved, “Dad!” Vision catches him, using the momentum of his son’s leap to lift him and hold him close, Billy’s arm wrapping protectively around Vision’s neck. Tommy follows shortly after, his run far more powerful as he slams into Vision’s torso with a tight hug.

It is Wanda who hesitates, her eyes faintly glowing red, a deep, concerned frown on her lips. “Vizh,” her voice cracks and his heart breaks at the pain she tries so valiantly to mask. Vision manages to get one of his hands free enough to motion Wanda closer. She accepts the offer, one arm winding around his waist and the other laying on Tommy’s shoulders.

They have only been home for three hours and yet this is the tenth Wanda has found herself standing in the doorway, hand propped along the wooden frame. In the room Vision lies in bed, eyes closed and resting, Billy is wrapped around him, his arm thrown across his father’s chest and head buried just under the vibranium dot of Vision’s chin, and Tommy is curled snuggly into Vision’s other side. The boys are still in their costumes, Billy’s cape sprawled behind him on their mattress and Tommy’s now flat hair looking a bit crusty from the spray dye. It’s an idyllic scene and yet Wanda fights back tears, shoving the drops away from her eyes as if they are an enemy that needs to be thwarted.

She almost lost Vision...again. The boys almost lost their father at ten years old, an age for which grief is overwhelming and confusing, can shape a life forever, or so she intimately knows.

Reluctantly her body pulls away from the door, arms crossing over her chest as she walks back downstairs, not once considering peeking in on her brother in the guest room. That is a problem she is still trying to figure out, the man a stranger, an antagonist, but with her brother’s name. There are too many inconsistencies in his behavior, too many contradictions in his words, half of them true to her brother and the other far too knowing of events that occurred after his death. Unsurprisingly he and Vision clash, a thought that briefly makes her mouth perk up, always having a belief that if her brother lived he would have begrudgingly accepted her relationship while also making it his personal duty to make jabs at Vision, who Wanda always knew would take it with a silent dignity that was then removed late at night when he’d insist on lengthy conversations with her to figure out the insults. That’s what life was supposed to be. What life is now, technically.

The gurgle of water washes away these thoughts, her focus now solely on filling the kettle and getting it on a burner to boil. Except the distraction is short lived as she sits down at the kitchen table to wait, fingers interwoven and glowing faintly of the residual scarlet energy she had to use tonight. Wanda fixates on her fingers, bending and straightening them, unsure how she knew what to do or even had the power to expand the town. But that’s not the most troubling incident of the night. No, what pesters at her resolve is a simple thought: Why did Vision want to leave? They have everything here - a house, Billy and Tommy, each other, and the time they always tried so hard to find.

Wanda startles at the creak of the kitchen cabinet, heart still racing as she takes in the curve of Vision’s shoulders and the vibranium band along the back of his head. Silently he makes her a cup of tea, hands moving calmly through the ritual he created, the cup always the same distance from the kettle, bag placed at the bottom with the string hanging out precisely two inches, both hands holding the kettle (one on the handle and one at the base) as a perfect arc of water fills the cup, and finally one and a third spoonfuls of sugar. The sequence completed, Vision walks the cup to the table, placing it gently down with barely a clink from the porcelain. She expects him to sit down across from her, to silently stare for a minute or so before bringing up the town again, reopening the wounds of their last fight because they never actually resolved anything other than to try and act normal around the boys. But he doesn’t, instead he takes her hand, tugging it until she stands, and then he hugs her, engulfing her entire being in his presence. The firmness of his chest and the tinny waft of vibranium are just as soothing as the kisses he peppers along the top of her head, each one more doting than the last. “Vizh,” Wanda reluctantly pulls back a few inches, hand squeezing between their bodies until she can cup his face, “are you…”

“I know,” he kisses her properly now, not like the emotionless peck earlier in the day, this one imbued with all of his love and all of his concern. “I know enough.”

A chill moves through her body, limbs growing rigid and heart almost coming to a complete stop. “What do you mean?”

Vision’s fingers move up to trace lines through her hair, palm coming to rest on her cheek. The surety of his prior statement lessens, mouth sinking lower until it’s a shallow frown. “I know that I am,” it is unlike him to pause like this, to seem to want to avoid a conversation he himself brought up, “that I was dead.”

Her denial is immediate and viscera, “What are you talking about, why would you…” but then his doleful gaze meets hers, the ridges of his synthetic skin bunched together in a show of deep, aching pain, though it is clear from the way he holds her, the way he places a far too gentle kiss to her forehead, as if the action itself might knock her over, that he is more concerned for her than himself, which is the epitome of who he was...who he is. If there is anything she can offer that matches this unerring compassion, it has to be honesty because clearly hiding the truth from him will not stop his incessant march towards the truth. But that is easier to think about than it is to actually commit to doing. Wanda swallows down a sob and fights to keep her voice calm. “You were.” The confirmation is too much, her chest heaving as all the memories rush to the forefront of her mind--her hands erupting in red at the feel of the Mindstone fracturing, at the almost silent I love you , and then having to watch him come back only to die in a far more brutal way.

Strong arms that shouldn’t exist continue to encase her, draw her deeper into the comfort of his embrace, the feel of his fingers running through her hair with the same gentle “Wanda” he always said when soothing her. Deep down she knows it is all a lie, this life, this man, this blissful existence. Because as a Maximoff there is only one constant in life and it is sorrow, biting, empty, unavoidable sorrow. Which begs the question of how, exactly he found out. A question that infuriates her and invokes the well know feeling of being caged in by the inevitability of her life.

Wanda steps out of his arms, trying her best not to show how much pain that simple movement creates, her body screaming to remain against his forever, but selfishly she needs answers more than anything, needs information to help her regain some level of control over her emotions, has to know why he put his family through so much just to find out this awful truth. “Why aren’t you happy here?”

A denial forms quickly, his body taut at the accusation, “I am happy Wanda, how could I not be?”

“Because you left, you...you abandoned us today,” Wanda knows she shouldn’t use the next part in anger or for gain, but she needs her husband to understand the severity of it all. “Did you know Billy can sense you?”

Vision’s “He can?” is hard to read, both concerned and in awe, with something else she can’t quite pinpoint.

“Yes, and his first experience of that was feeling you try to die because we apparently aren’t important enough to stay alive for.” The comment hits as intended, Vision stepping back, horror forming in the spasming muscles of his face as he looks up towards the ceiling, towards where he left their sons. “What are you trying to find out there?”

Vision’s simple, “The truth,” is aggravatingly vague, thankfully, or not depending on how this goes, he clarifies, “There is something wrong in Westview, Wanda. The people are in agony.”

A fed up laugh comes out with her “Aren’t we all?” Only Vision can’t find the humor, the gears in his eyes twisting clockwise and counterclockwise while he stares at her, face ladened with a suffocating sympathy.

He takes a step towards her and she steps back, not missing the way her reaction hurts him. “Wanda, it is not like you to inflict pain on innocent people.”

Since they started this new life, her memories have been hazy, coming in and out of consciousness, enough clarity to understand that whatever is happening in Westview is preferable to outside of it. After tonight, after Pietro’s comment about her dead husband, it’s all there and she realizes that she’s never gotten to say out loud what she did, what Thanos forced her to do, the Avengers too scattered with all that needed to be attended to after his defeat to focus on anyone but themselves. So she squares her shoulders, lifts her head and puts all of her self loathing into her next comment, “If that’s true, then why did I kill you?”

This time when Vision steps towards her she lets him grip her arms, let’s him guide her until her face is pressed into his chest, allowing her to hear the beating of his synthetic heart. “You were only doing what I had asked.”

“Well it wasn’t worth it,” her voice is muffled by the teal sweater he’s wearing, “and I can’t, I can’t forgive myself.”

His arms tighten around her, one hand gripping the fabric of her sweatshirt and the other holding her head to his sternum. “You did nothing wrong. If anyone is to blame-”

It doesn't take a telepath to know what empty words he is about to mutter. Wanda forces herself from his embrace and stares hard into his eyes, “Don’t, Vision, just don’t. It won’t change what happened.”

Reluctantly he accepts it, moving cautiously back to the original topic of their discord, “Is this,” he gestures vaguely around them, “the result of,” it is still hard for him to say, which she appreciates because she can’t say it easily either, “my death?”

“I don’t know,,” this time he seems to accept her ignorance, which allows her a chance to actually consider it more. All she can really recall is the crushing loneliness and the suffocating despair of losing the last person she loved in the world. It’s not a stretch to assume that had something to do with now. “Maybe?” If he knows about his death, she reasons that she might as well tell him the other nightmare she discovered upon her own rebirth, something she’s tried to block out as best she can. “It could also be from finding out some shady government organization was experimenting on your corpse.”

Shock is too gentle a word, hatred a tiny bit too strong for the tone of his voice, “That does not seem like an activity I would condone.”

“It’s the exact opposite of what you requested.” Wanda thinks back to that day, and unlike Vision, pure, unabashed hatred flowed through her veins when she received an anonymous tip. Hatred at S.W.O.R.D, at the scientists going against Vision’s will, hatred at the world for being so awful, and hatred at her teammates who let it happen, who didn’t seem to consider that agencies like that lie, that they would never want the body only for “safe-keeping.” All Vision wanted was a burial and she was determined to provide him that, to allow herself the closure she needed. So she broke in, sickened at the way they’d disassembled him and had separate monitors attached to his limbs and head. “I broke in,” Vision holds his breath as she talks, “I took you from them and all I remember is flying away. I was going to bury you in the forest, like you wanted.” That’s where her memory stops and where Westview begins. “And then we were driving to our house after getting married.” Finally he releases his breath with a shuddering gasp. “That’s all I remember, you have to believe me that I have no idea what’s going on.” Unlike the other night, he wordlessly accepts her ignorance, mind likely still reeling from the revelations she shared. It is this lack of judgment that emboldens her to say what’s been swirling through her mind whenever the knowledge of reality sets in, a thought that should carry with it guilt but she can’t muster up guilt when she finally has what she has been denied over and over again. “But I’d be lying if I tried to convince you that I don’t prefer what we have in Westview.”

With a hand on her back, he leads her to the table, pulling out the chair in front of the barely steaming tea, and then he sits directly next to her, tenderly taking her left hand in his own, thumb rubbing absentmindedly along her wedding ring. “I cannot fault you in any way for that feeling. If not for being complicit in the pain of so many, I would wholly embrace this life we have now.”

His tacit disapproval is only slightly less painful than his yelling, but she has to begrudgingly accept that he may not be completely wrong. Whatever pain he has sensed in others was enough to make him tear through the barrier and risk losing his own family. “But what if,” still she fights against figuring it out, unsure she can handle what it might lead to, “what if fixing this means I lose you again,” which is already incomprehensible, but is made even more harrowing by the next possibility, “what if it means losing Billy and Tommy too?”

Tears lick at the corners of his eyes, a war waging on his lips of how to proceed. “It will be horrifying and it will be immensely difficult but you,” he grabs her other hand, his fingers forming a vice around her own and she isn’t sure if he is trying to convince her or himself more, “are so remarkably resilient.”

Sometimes she wishes his density manipulation applied beyond just his body. “Clearly not, Vizh. Look around us.”

Vision doesn’t, instead he looks down at their enjoined hands, a shaky breath recentering his thoughts. “I think we may be, as they say, putting the cart before the horse.” The verbal shift is so utterly ridiculous that she chuckles, an action that causes him to smile nervously. “Did I use it wrong?”

“No, it just, you always say it so academically.”

“I see.” Finally real, genuine amusement flits across his face. “Well, regardless, we don’t know what is happening, unless there is something you aren’t telling me.” It is not an accusation in the slightest, in fact it is said as an aside, almost hopeful that she’s waiting to surprise him with the solution.

There is a lot she hasn’t said, but none of it seems vital other than perhaps one observation. “I definitely have control here,” this itself is painful to admit. Where he is merely complicit if he remains here, she is actively continuing it, “but, I don’t, I don’t know how to explain it, but I don’t know how I’m doing this.” Vision takes in the admission, brow furrowing as he no doubts files it away in his future mysteries to solve mental folder. “Like tonight,” she thinks back to when Billy told her about the soldiers, to the moment she realized what Vision had done, “All I knew is that I needed to save you because I couldn’t lose you again. I didn’t have any idea of how or what to do, but I felt like if I just put all of my powers into it, that something would happen.”

It’s amazing how easily he transitions into his cool and clinical investigator voice, “Is this the first time you’ve felt that?”

“No. I mean sometimes I have an idea of what I’d like,” such as when she saw the beekeeper come out of the sewer and then vanquished it, “but other times I just have a hope it will be fixed.”

“That is a start.”

Wanda waits for more and when it doesn’t arrive,she pushes for it, “What does that mean?”

He releases her hands and pats his legs, an odd energy reinvigorating in him. “We must figure out the source of these alterations. Clearly it is not just you.” A fact she can’t say for certain but doesn’t have the heart to correct him on, enjoying how it feels like they’re a team again instead of bitter foes. “I met someone tonight who has knowledge of our prior lives.”

This is unexpected and terrifying. Perhaps the only good thing is that she knows it is not Pietro, because she is not willing to trust him, but to be fair, she isn’t sure she can trust whomever Vision found. “Who is it?”

“Her name is Darcy, she says she is an astrophysicist and has a seemingly strong grasp on what happens outside of Westview.”

Vision is not a very strong judge of character all the time, quick to trust and slow to lose hope in a person, as evidenced by his continued trust in her, yet she asks him anyway. “Are you sure we can trust her?”

“I believe so.”

“Okay.” For now she lets him hold on to that belief, knowing that she will be able to assess this person when they meet. Which also means she knows, deep down, that if this person ends up like Monica, one of S.W.O.R.D.'s cronies, that she’ll be forced to take control again.

The sincerity of his “Thank you,” and the tenderness with which he grabs her hand again, bringing it to his lips with a bit too much romantic melodrama, brings about a fluttering warmth in her chest she has so dearly missed, one that chases away all the disparaging thoughts of what is to come, “truly, for your honesty.” Wanda simply smiles in return, not entirely certain her honesty is worth much at the moment.

It is a relief when Vision maneuvers the conversation to a happier topic. “You said Billy could sense me tonight?”

Pride spreads her lips into a toothy grin, “He’s a natural telepath.”

Vision shares her feelings, sitting back with a satisfied smirk. “We shall have to see if he has your telekinesis as well.”

“We will. Also, Tommy has superspeed.”

Vision’s paternal delight perks up his entire body. “Remarkable.”

“They’re pretty impressive.” Wanda finally picks up the tea and takes a sip, not caring it no longer holds any warmth, far too enamored and distracted by Vision launching into a suggestion of a training regime for their sons, the Maximoff family seeming to be front and center in his mind. If there is any kindness in the world, they deserve at least one night to care about themselves and no one else.

[pixelpolaroid]

Let’s talk about Steven Universe

I’ve never done on of these blog review things before, but I really wanna talk about the most recent Steven bomb. I thought about doing it throughout the week, but this gives me more time to rewatch the episodes and get proper thoughts out. I’m deciding that I’ll go through each episode one by one and make some notes. Hope you enjoy and feel free to add your own thoughts. I’d love to get other opinions on this.

This is your last warning. SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT!!!!!

S05 E19 Now we’re only falling apart

After Steven tells Garnet and Amethyst, Pearl says that it was Pink diamond’s last order to not tell. She specifically said Pink, not Rose. I think that that’s very telling, it’s obvious from a lot of the last few episodes that Pink wasn’t a huge fan of being a diamond, probably because she wasn’t treated as one.

A small detail that I really like and I’m sure a lot of people have pointed out is that before Garnet unfuses, there’s a tear under her left eye; Sapphire's eye.

I like the fact that Sapphire says she never looked into Rose. Sapphire was clearly a very well respected gem, having 3 Ruby guards when visiting Earth. She probably would’ve been more suspicious on her own. But not after Rose was the first person to be okay with her as Garnet.

Pearl was given to Pink diamond. She wasn’t made for Pink, she was given. Interesting choice of words. That, along with her gem placement just makes me believe that our Pearl was specifically made for White, but then given to Pink.

Something that I don’t think anyone has pointed out yet, when Pink and Pearl go down to watch the Amethysts on the orb thing (whatever it’s called) the murals aren’t there yet. I wonder if they were made after Pink was shattered.

“We’re creating life from nothing,” So this shows that until she went down to explore Earth, Pink legit thought that she wasn’t hurting anything through her colonization.

I thought the Amethysts looked weird until I realized their wearing pink instead of blue, like from the last time we saw them.

Nice gemsona Pearl.

8XM! They were gonna wait for Amethyst! 

Pearl is obviously enthusiastic about the many resources for making gems, just like Peridot. SO Pearl wasn’t like Pink, she didn’t see the Earth the way Pink did, even after they explored. The only reason she joined the crystal gems was because she was following orders. AND THAT IS ALL!

Damn Pearl, is one thirsty gem. Immediately trying to fuse after finding out it’s possible. I would’ve loved to see the first Rainbow Quartz fusion, but I think it’s fitting that they didn’t. They probably weren’t expecting that to happen, mutually panicked and then started to unfuse.

Pearl so quick to saying that she needs to be replaced is interesting. After all the work from the revolution, she still thinks that. Maybe because it’s already happened before? 

Pearl talking about how Pink was selfish and probably wrong, and then that little detail where she’s about to stop herself. Very nice! It’s always the little details that you gotta appreciate.

Overall Episode Review:

This one does give a little more about Pink and why she did the things she did, but still never justifies her action completely. Even Pearl dissagrees with her, which says a lot. The biggest issue I have that came out of this episode. Lemme break it down:

Pink starts to complain to the other diamond that she doesn’t want to finish the colony, saying she wants to preserve live on Earth. Then Rose Quartz shows up out of no where telling Pink to stop the colony, to preserve life on Earth. Neither of them thought it a little too coincidental??? Really? Diamond, surprisingly not the sharpest gems on homeworld.

S05 E20 What’s your Problem

Okay first issue. Both Sapphire and Ruby left. Sapphire left crying saying how her relationship was a lie, irrational, and crying. Ruby took the time to write a note and said she needs time to think. Then they all freak out cause they think its the end of Garnet? Bitch if Sapphire can see the flawed logic in her action when she’s trying to be angry, Ruby will be back. I don’t need to know it’s a kid show to know that.

Why would she be cowboy? Love it

Garnet is Pearl’s OTP

You’re saying Ruby is pretty literal? Steven all gems are pretty literal! Besdies Amethyst, most gems don’t seem to understand sarcasm or when something is just a phrase.

Steven and Amethyst are both doing the very well known tool of “Worrying way more about the needs of others and ignoring their own,” I think a lot of people can probably relate to this, and I’m really glad Rebecca Sugar put this in.

Kiki is literally the cutest person ever. I want her as a best friend.

Amethyst and Steven are literally the best pairing. This is why their fusion works so well. They understand each other in ways that other gems and human can’t. I love Smokey Quartz because of this fact. Amethyst is slowly becoming my favorite character. 

Finally!! Someone said it! I’m so glad that they’re finally making it clear that no one is responsible for what Rose did. She was rash and selfish and Amethyst was like the quickest to accept that, but what she didn’t accept was they had to deal with her mess. 

I think I made my finally overall review in that last comment. Onto the next one!

S05 E21 The Question

So Greg is basically the love doctor at this point, and it’s very obvious. I love him so much. The fact that he’s so chill with Rose being Pink is amazing. He loved Rose, not Pink. 

Ruby is literally a college freshmen on their first day of being on their own. She wants to experience things for her own in order to figure out what she wants. It’s great seeing Greg be so supportive, I think he probably sees a lot of himself in her. He wanted to do his own thing and make music, so he did even though not everyone thought he should.

Ruby Rider is such a good song. It’s so fitting, but also just has good lyrics.

This episode shows the difference between being alone and feeling lonely really well.  Being alone means that you don’t have anyone around, while being lonely is that empty feeling when you don’t have anyone close. 

S05 E22 Made of Honor

This episode is probably my favorite in this Steven bomb. 

The fact that Steven is breaking gender roles by planning a wedding his entire life is the best thing next to a gay wedding in a children’s TV show. Love it!

I’m really glad that they brought Peri back in advance instead of having her show up at the wedding because then it feels like she’s been there longer. I still think it’s funny that all while they were talking about Pink and Garnet unfused and all that, she was just hiding out in the bathroom. 

Ok I saw a lot of things coming for this Steven bomb, but I was legit shocked when Steven went to bring back Bismuth! Which I love btw. She says, “I just tried to shatter you,’ Which, for her, yeah that just happened. But it’s been months for everyone else. 

Seeing Bismuth’s legit shock and confusion after seeing a friend corrupted is so genuine. She’s lost for words, completely frozen with fear and denial. By the time she does snap out of it, it’s because her life is endanger, but she’s crying. Full of regret and sadness.She can’t even watch as she fights and eventually puffs her, its really quite sad. I think a lot of us missed that in the excitement of seeing Bismuth again.

I’m fine. *sticks head in lava* *screams* OH MY GOD!! So relateble Bismuth.

Bismuth jokes about how absurd she must have sounded to Rose, but here’s something that I really wish would’ve happened. Imagine what Bismuth said to Steven, that she would’ve taken the fight to homeworld, shattering the Diamonds. It would be nice to think that Pink would’ve not only been worried about herself, but the other diamonds as well. However, considering that she didn’t consider how they, and her armies would’ve felt after she herself was shattered, it’s probably very unlikely that she’d be worried about them. It is taking all of my willpower not to rant about Pink Diamond but I’ll save that for another day.

Garnet is Bismuth’s OTP

Ok another little detail I love. Ruby lights the grill then is like “look bae! I did a thing!” Ruby is literally about to get married to this gem but is still trying to impress her with how hot she is. That’s so precious!

Steven, buddy. I love you, but do you really not see the problem Bismuth has with just showing up like this? Even I thought it was a horrible idea to bring her at first. However I do appreciate this scene because it further shows that he is JUST A KID!!!

Small detail, when Steven calls the gems around, why is Peri about to pour soda on the grill? Honey, what do you think that will do?

I honestly would’ve loved to see Peri and Bismuth’s first interaction. I think it would’ve been pretty funny.

S05 E23 The Reunion

Firstly the Song: Steven’s opening song is the definition of ignore your problems until they go away. Actually though I think the song is really beautiful.  I love Pearl in her Mr. Greg suit, especially with the hat. Peridot’s always been the one to worry, doing calculations and determining the problems and possible bad outcomes, so the fact that we first see her in this episode thinking about what Lapis said is extremely fitting. Her little spring dress makes her look so cute too.

5750 years and 8 months. That is a long hecking time together. It’s also a long time since the revolution, which I always thought was only like 2000 years ago.

“By the power invested in me and by the state of Delmarva,” nice one Sugar. Nice

I really love Garnet’ wedding outfit. It’s super cool looking.

Ok Ok Ok, shit gets real. The battle with Blue Diamond is just super cool. I’m really glad that it was it’s own entire episode because the diamonds are a big deal. Seeing them actually holding pretty strongly against everyone is pretty impressive and really shows that they’re the leaders for a reason. 

So Garnet steps up to the plate, and while she doesn’t actually do much more than distract Blue, this scene really shows so much. First off, I’m just now noticing that Garnet didn’t unfuse when Alexandrite did, which is pretty awesome. Her power walk to Blue is super cool and so is the music. I know everyone has already praised Garnet for how strong her relationship is, but this just shows it so well. All the others are struggling to stand, but Garnet knows that she has to do this right now so Lapis can (literally) get the drop of her. Awesome moments.

Lapis drops the  barn on Blue like how I drop ansty stories on my followers ;)

So Lapis and Peridot didn’t hug. Which is fitting for their characters and their relationship. they’re not the huggy, touchy kind of friends, they’re the watch TV until we see the sun and make stupid art together friends. Them hugging would’ve been awkward and forced.

 Ok back to Blue Diamond. It’s impressive that they knocked her down, but Lapis literlly chucked them all right at her and she just stood there and took it like a champ! I’m still not over how freaking powerful these gems are! God I really wish we could’ve seen her fight Alexandrite. 

Lapis having trouble against Yellow, yeah sorry. Water/Flying is 4x weak to Electric. All she had to do was rub her feet on the carpet then poke you.

Amethyst’s main thought just being “don’t die, don’t die, don’t die,” such a mood.

Okay I know it’s pretty bad that Peridot and Lapis got poofed but I really hope that at least Peri reforms with a star. I need a new form change, that’ll be awesome! 

Ok hearing their thoughts followed by their auras getting stronger and pushing steven back shows a lot about them psychologically. Yellow blames herself for Pink’s shattering, she always has. Yes she’s upset, but her way of projecting that lose is harsher, more sturdy, like lightning. While Blue just misses her and thinks about how she could still see her again. Her aura is much more smooth, effecting people emotionally, just like how she is more emotional. Yellow emotes with action more than emotions. Their responses match their attack styles which I find so cool.

Overall Episode Review:

What I love about this episode is that you think it’s gonna be about Ruby and Sapphire getting a back together. But they aren’t having a reunion, they’re having a wedding. The reunion is Homeworld with Earth; the Diamond authority with the Crystal gems; Blue and Yellow with Pink. The fact that they had to feel Pink before actually seeing her feels similar to how we’ve seen gems in the past. Gems are very literally, but the most extreme actions happen when they’re extremely emotional. Pink became Rose because the Diamonds wouldn’t listen to her, and she got angry. Garnet stayed Garnet because they were in live. Bismuth attacked Rose because she wouldn’t listen, and later attacked Steven because she felt betrayed. Gems have very strong feelings.

Hopes and predictions for the next Steven bomb:

Well as a lot of people want, I really hope we finally get to see White Diamond, like she seems like an important character but we haven’t even heard mention of her. We’ve seen her hand and that’s it. Also I want the off colors to show up, the new Lars and the twins back on Earth would be sweet!

As far as plot wise, I think that Yellow and Blue are going to want Steven to come back to Homeworld with them. I know they’re not going to be okay with the crystal gems just staying there, so I’m super interested to see what becomes of that.

Well that took a lot longer than I thought. If you made it this far, good job. And comment “Topaz” so I know you did (It’s my birth stone). A little Easter egg for the go getters. I’d like to do more of these types of things. Maybe about more specific characters or something. I don’t know. This was a lot of fun and like I said if you have any other thoughts or something you’d like to add/ discus 

I’ll end it here since this has been going on for a while

-Pixel