#she’s giving rose quartz and also blue diamond at the same time

[doctorsiren]

Day 16 of Sirentober / Doctober

Sunshine / Moon

Very reminiscent of my “Dr. Sunshine is Dead” piece but this time I actually know more lore (I had made the other one before I had even played AA4 and now I’m on AA5)

[amaryllidae]

redesigns for pink diamond and rose quartz!!

pink diamond was created when white cast away most of her magenta light and her legs. pink diamond incubated in homeworld, conceived at the same time as blue and yellow but she emerged late and overcooked, lending to her small size and extreme, condensed power. she is the only other diamond aside from white with pure white pupils.

what appear to be white tights are actually white diamond's legs. as rose quartz, she shapeshifted away the six fingers that identified her as a diamond and while she could not hide the marks white left on her body, she changed their appearance to be thorns. i personally love pink/rose's forms in canon but i wanted to give them something extra; with pink, i love her clown theme and wanted to push into it more. and with rose, i wanted her to look more war-ready and messier, hence the messy curls and flowers in her hair. her feet also look dirty, although they aren't- that's how she reformed.

also, pink's halo is broken and uneven.

[rosenotactuallyquartz]

What are your thoughts on Rosenet? They’re honestly so cute but unfortunately they’re super underrated, and show doesn’t really delve much into their relationship either, which means most people often leave out Garnet from their Rose analysises and vice versa 😓

a post about rose & garnet’s dynamic

“Rose wanted to give everybody the kind of environment she didn’t have, but everything about her is about who she didn’t want to be.” —Rebecca Sugar, Rebecca Sugar Says Goodbye to Steven Universe

“Your mother had healing tears that flowed from her gem. She felt real love for those around her. She felt real sorrow when they were hurt.” —Garnet, Indirect Kiss

throughout her time with rose, garnet always perceived rose as caring and accepting. what she didn’t realize was just how much rose understood her.

rose’s care did not only come from a place of kindness; she related to her.

she never looked at homeworld the way she was expected to. no gem was inferior to her; every life was worth protecting in her eyes, as seen in now we’re only falling apart when she wanted to stop the colony she fought for because she learned that it would harm humans.

whenever she was herself, her genuine self, she endured significant pain through a variety of different punishments. she lived in fear and she hated homeworld. as rose, living on earth, she could finally be herself and work toward everything she believed in.

at the same time, she lived in fear that the diamonds would eventually find her. she lived in guilt because no one other than (a very concerned) pearl knew about this secret. she was thinking about it. a lot. homeworld had such a harmful and unfair structure, and to live as a crystal gem meant not only a physical escape, but also an entire mental escape from the memories and the society.

“No more questions. Don’t ever question this. You already are the answer.” —Rose, The Answer

in the scene prior to this, rose was worried about garnet’s physical safety. she didn’t want her to be punished for existing. she knew, in a different sense, what that felt like.

once she knew that she was physically safe, rose focused on garnet’s mind.

garnet was unaware that rose’s mind was not a great place to be. the truth was, rose never wanted garnet to feel the way that she felt.

(rose was made to feel guilty, made to feel bad and wrong, long before she had anything to truly feel guilty about)

she saw the way that the crowd looked at her from the moment she first opened her eyes. after years of being out of place in homeworld and then being told things like, “you only make things worse” from white diamond, she never wanted that crowd to have a lasting impact on garnet. she wanted garnet to love and accept herself.

this also demonstrated that rose wanted garnet to be part of the new life she was building on earth. this was her way of saying, “let’s live how we want to live, together, and never look back.”

in rose’s eyes, only cruel gems from homeworld could make garnet question something that makes her feel happy and secure. & rose wanted to be different. she was different.

this scene showed just how much she cared about her and related to her, on an incredibly deep level.

[Image Description: This image depicts Rose Quartz, Pearl, and Garnet as they meet in “The Answer.” In the center, Rose Quartz is holding the hands of Garnet. To the left of Rose Quartz, Pearl stands, watching the interaction. The background is a vibrant forest with purple, pink, and blue hues, along with flower petals and bushes on the ground. End of Image Description.]

admiration.

“This whole time, we thought we were following her, but she was following us. How could she not after you swept her off her feet?” —Sapphire, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

“One thing I find really interesting is that the way she idolized everyone around her was very sincere. She thought everyone around her was so much better than she was. So people would be drawn to her, Gems would be drawn to her, and I don’t know if they would necessarily realize that she was worshiping them, which was compounding her own sadness at the feeling that she couldn’t connect with them.” — Rebecca Sugar, Rebecca Sugar Says Goodbye to Steven Universe

all of the crystal gems perceived rose differently, and all of them never really knew just how much they meant to rose.

amethyst saw rose as a hero and looked up to her when she was actually a hero to rose. a true quartz, from earth, who became a crystal gem. she was everything rose wished she could have been; genuine, living without this sense of guilt that rose always had. pearl saw rose as someone she needed to constantly protect, and she could never quite understand why that caused so many arguments during the war. seeing steven & connie in sworn to the sword, she learned that the only reason for the argument was because she wanted to protect pearl, too (hence the little, “she made me feel like i was everything” epiphany).

of course, garnet never questioned rose’s choices. the first choice she saw rose make …saved her life. it involved literally leaving the battlefield when she could have hurt a very confused garnet, and then later on, protecting garnet and wanting to live with her despite the fact that they were initially on different sides (she taught her that they actually were on the same side).

she loved being garnet, and rose was always there to love that garnet was being garnet.

garnet felt a sense of security with rose as a leader, while rose felt a sense of security with her. yes, her title was the leader, but she barely saw herself as one. the truth is, she didn’t know what she would do without them. she admired amethyst’s warmth & sincerity, pearl’s intelligence & courage, and garnet’s wisdom & power, really. not just her physical strength, but how comfortable and sure of herself she became once she began living as herself. she was also fascinated with garnet’s ability to see the future; garnet’s abilities in general, as a fusion of two different gems.

i always thought that rose felt like garnet held them all together. the same way that a fusion is held together, she kept everyone close, she kept this sense of stability even as they all went through difficult situations.

[Image Description: This image depicts Rose holding Pearl and Garnet. One of her arms is around Pearl while the other is around Garnet, and they lean against her as she protects them, her eyes shut tight. Behind them is Rose’s pink shield, and behind the shield is the starry night sky. In the sky are three bright lights, as the diamonds are about to attack Earth. End of Image Description.]

love.

“But I am even more than the two of them. Everything they care about is what I am. I am their fury, I am their patience/ I am a conversation… I am made of love!” — Garnet, lyrics to Stronger Than You

something that is very special about the song love like you is that it is not about any character in particular. sugar gives us room to associate the song with different relationships and characters because it’s simultaneously about no one and everyone. it can be about all kinds of love: platonic, romantic, family.

i’ve already written an analysis on how it fits for pearl from rose’s perspective. my other favourite ways to listen to the song ? connie from steven’s perspective, ruby from sapphire’s perspective, and after now we’re only falling apart, garnet from rose’s perspective, too.

in her old environment, while she lived as a diamond, rose was never able to properly love and be loved. those choices were made for her.

the diamonds had rules about everything. these gems are supposed to serve these gems. pink, interact with this gem THIS way. these gems are inferior, these gems are superior. no one could connect on an emotional level and nothing was ever about choosing to be around someone. it was incredibly isolating.

but then, pearl taught rose what love felt like, while garnet taught rose what love looked like.

she gave pearl a choice to stay with her & fight or leave & be safe, and pearl argued with this (“but i want to!”). pearl was the first to teach rose about what love felt like. but it was all very new and perplexing and difficult to understand.

garnet literally demonstrated love for rose. she helped rose identify what love looked like, reinforced the fact that it’s something worth fighting for. and you don’t have to understand it, you don’t have to question it, love is simply both powerful and pure.

& then they built their own dynamic, all because they chose to do so.

garnet was everything she believed in. not only did fusion between two different gems go against homeworld’s beliefs and system, fusions before were only between such gems as, for example, the rubies before a fight. this fusion was different; it was the result of care and protection.

garnet was made of love.

this is something that garnet remembers whenever she needs encouragement, and i have a feeling that rose said this to her quite often.

rose said this (adorable) line to pearl after witnessing garnet’s fusion:

“A fusion between two completely different gems! Can all gems do that? How have I never heard of this? I’ve only ever heard that it’s… unheard of.” — Rose, Now We’re Only Falling Apart.

this was followed by pearl attempting to fuse with her. along with nearly fusing for the first time, they had a conversation about how they felt. the fusion was a big deal, for obvious reasons, but so was the conversation. because of rose’s trauma and history of isolation, she struggled with communication. because of pearl’s trauma, she was, at the time, nervous about communication.

garnet didn’t merely show rose fusion as the ultimate connection between gems… she demonstrated that it requires trust and communication. as she said, “i am a conversation.”

we all know that rose continued to struggle with communication and accepting love. she struggled with relationships but she did learn, however, about what love was and how to recognize love.

(sugar said she “couldn’t stand herself,” so unfortunately, despite constantly encouraging garnet & other gems & humans to love themselves, she couldn’t love herself and she didn’t think she was worthy of love a lot of the time because of complex guilt and trauma.)

rose’s personal pain aside, garnet was clearly a significant part of rose’s understanding of something so vital, special, and complicated. as much as it could be, it was healing, too, considering her past.

[Image Description: This image is completely blue, as it is Pearl’s hologram of a memory of Rose, Pearl, and Garnet. Rose has lifted Garnet up and her other hand is in a fist, and it appears that she is cheering. She looks up at Garnet, one of her eyes closed like a wink. Pearl stands beside them, and they are all laughing.]

grief.

garnet is an incredible part of steven’s support system.

we didn’t see her grief very often, following rose’s death. she knew that she held the group together, and she knew that rose would have wanted her to continue to do this at a time when it was needed most: after she died.

she knew that amethyst had trouble making sense of everything that happened along with what she was feeling as she grieved. she knew that pearl was… well, being incredibly strong. it was kind of amazing that she was still living with them and going on missions despite the fact that 10-20 years is a very early stage of grief for gems who live for thousands of years. she knew that steven was a new crystal gem, and she worked on building this very new bond between the gems all while she went through her own grief.

she absolutely did this for rose. i wouldn’t be surprised if rose told her to take care of them, to keep the love between the crystal gems alive and to help steven be part of it. and he absolutely was. they all formed beautiful individual bonds with steven, and they all stayed close as a group.

of course, garnet was upset when she learned that rose lied to her and was actually pink diamond. for the first time, after years of stability, she began to question everything again.

but she learned that rose was honest about her feelings toward her. rose meant it when she said that garnet was made of love. the lie was all about issues that were related to rose.

instead of following a dishonest leader, garnet felt comfortable after she learned that instead, rose had her own personal flaws but she felt inspired by her and followed her. the pain came from the war and the fact that she felt so sure of how everything was. at the end of the day, she understood that she couldn’t have known. rose was dishonest about herself, but she was always honest about garnet. again, she had good intentions and she loved others but she couldn’t love herself.

& lastly…

i love asks, so thank you so much for this question 🩷🩷🩷

you are so welcome to send me asks anytime !!

if you ship rose with garnet romantically, and you were wondering what i thought of the ship…

i always saw garnet & rose as being one of my favourite platonic ships. the current fic i’m writing has a moment where they’re one-on-one, but they bond platonically.

but i need you folks to all know that i am the type of pearlrose lover who does not hate the other ships and characters.

in fact, i find that i understand so many of rose and pearl’s other ships ! i love so much of the fanart and i can see the unique ways as to why a certain ship would be cute. hey, i know what it’s like to have your favourite ship be misunderstood and unnecessarily hated on !!

i am curious to hear what you like about rosenet, in any way you love them !

something i love about steven universe is that the creators give us room for interpretation. it’s fiction, so we can all make the stories our own and bond with others about what we love and headcanons we have and it’s all incredibly comforting. 🩷🩷🩷

[fandomstars]

If Steven Universe had a twin brother from Pink Diamond

Name - Oliver Universe

Fandom(s): SU + DBZ

Looks:

Same as Steven, only differences are blue eyes, paler skin, pink hair (though he gets really insecure once Buu happens, but Gohan quickly assures him otherwise.), and overall more muscle tone due to training more.

Can be seen wearing a gi that looks depending on which said teacher he is going to be training with at the time.

Got freckles due to training in the sun a lot.

Personality:

Shy, reserved, and usually quiet

Determined and protective of those he cares about, and will fight till the end to make sure of their safety.

Big bookworm

Powers:

Healing tears rather than spit like Steven

Bubble shield

Enhanced strength

Ki

Skills:

Gem powers

Singing

Dancing

Marital Arts / Ki

Flower crowns

Languages

Gem weapon: Shield (his has a brighter pink shade than Steven’s shield and has a diamond symbol on rather than quartz.)

Family:

Same as Steven but with the addition of the Ruby squadron (Oliver is still wary of Eyeball, but if Steven can forgive her, so can he���eventually)

Backstory:

Rose never knew she was expecting twins. It came as a shock to Greg once Steven was born, with Oliver right next to him.

Steven and Oliver share Pink’s diamond, both same placement and size.

Due to her being a diamond, she was powerful enough to give each boy a separate but the same version of her gem.

The two were inseparable, many Beach City citizens knew that if they spot one twin, the other isn’t far behind.

The two bonded well with Kiki and Jennie, becoming childhood friends, so the two knew of Sour Cream and Buck Dewey before canon.

Canon happens as usual, but due to Oliver being by Steven’s side majority of the time, Steven doesn’t get traumatized/hurt as much. If anything, Oliver gets the most due to his protectiveness over Steven. Not that Steven isn’t any better, being extremely protective of Oliver.

Oliver is the shy twin, would rather be training, reading a book, or drawing rather than chat with anyone.

He wasn’t as naive of Lar’s behavior, especially towards Steven. In fact, when Steven wanted to give up himself to Aquamarine, Oliver was by his side, but not before seeing Lars out of the corner of his eye, and dumping him into the ocean near Sadie. Yes he did so with a deadpan look towards him.

He hates Ronaldo, like he might not like Kevin, but at least to him, Kevin has some goodness in him. Ronaldo creeped him out, and when Steven got kidnapped by him, that was the final straw.

He and Steven trained earlier than canon. Not of gem stuff (not till they both release their shields in said canon episode), but of marital arts.

They also learned of the training of Ki, and it was around the time of the androids appearing, that they meet the gang.

Oliver indeed had a “love at first sight” of Gohan.

He actually manages to save the day instead of Goku in the end, with just trapping Cell in a bubble until he explodes. Vegeta and Piccolo may of secretly laughed at their enemy in such a state.

And Steven was able to use his shield to block the kill attack towards Trunks.

Vegeta secretly respects the twins, and is as protective of them as he is with his own kids.

Plus Oliver helped Gohan keep training after Cell, so that’s a plus to him.

Meanwhile, Gohan helped the twins get their GED before Steven travels with Connie to college.

Vegeta wishes he got to see Steven “corrupt form”, if only to see how strong it would be compared to an Oozaru.

Oliver and Gohan began dating a year after the Cell games.

Chi-chi, despite wishing Gohan to focus solely on his studies, is glad her son has found someone amazing to love.

The fact the two meet and fought alongside one another against Cell (yes Oliver wasn’t going to let Goku’s plan get in the way) reminded her of her and Goku.

And when Goten was born, she couldn’t help but give her blessings (which Oliver is certain Garnet knew if her smile when said was anything to come by.).

They married after Gohan completed his first year in college and made themselves a house -temple in the forest area a couple of miles from Chi-Chi and Goku’s place.

Because Goku never died, he was able to start the whole driving lesson and farming thing in Super earlier than canon. Yes, Peridot helped with the farming.

Jasper respects Gohan, mainly cause of how he fought Cell. She also might have some respect for Oliver, but only shows her respect to Steven post shattering.

Buu and other enemies never stood a chance, and you better believe Oliver wasn’t going to let Gohan, Goku, nor Vegeta die in canon like they did.

Vegeta got mind controlled by Buu? Honestly, tired of everything Oliver just punched Buu right out of him.

Oliver due to training with Sayians, managed to make his and Steven’s “pink glow stage” into a super Sayian like form that rivals blue Sayian mode.

He may or may not have swoon when he saw Gohan go Beast Mode (once he got control of it).

Trunks and Goten adore the twins, and constantly ask stories from the pair. Gem stories, travel stories (Steven), they can’t get enough.

Bulla was cheerfully held third by Oliver, followed by her parents.

Oliver didn’t like the God of Destruction taunting and ordering Vegeta, so the two had a little “chat”.

Let’s just say, no gods of any universe will mess with Oliver if they want to live.

Competes in marital art tournaments alongside working as a remote translator.

Languages came easy to him, inspired by learning gem and Sayian languages.

He also talked Gohan down of naming himself “Sayian Man”, which gained even more respect points from Vegeta. He also made sure Gohan wore a different outfit, with less flashy colors so he doesn’t stand out and get recognized.

Future Trunks has no idea what to think of the twins, let alone any gems as none were in his timeline.

Garnet just shrugs at him, before walking away with Trunks in disbelief.

Gohan also works as a remote translator, wanting to stay close to family, as well as train more / spend time with his husband.

Oliver doesn’t like Satan, and still wonders how people thought he of all people “defeated Cell”. Sure, looks aren’t everything, but Oliver can’t say the same for Satan’s ego.

He shrugged it off eventually, but if Satan were to ever mention said event ever in the future, they will have a “talk”.

Trivia:

The two can literally read each other’s emotions, so it was a struggle when they were babies. Greg would be holding Steven who’s crying (maybe a nightmare or just cause), and despite Oliver just be chilling, suddenly cries cause Steven as well was.

Oliver and Steven learned Ki from Pearl at first, more history, physics, and fundamentals. Then was taught by a mix of Goku, Piccolo, and Vegeta.

Oliver continued his training beyond compared to Steven, but the latter twin still trained occasionally, thanks to Connie, also learning Ki and wishing to spar with him as she attends college.

Distance isn’t an issue once Oliver asks Goku to teach Steven the teleportation technique so he and Connie can travel to Beach City and Bulma’s place (a regular hangout due to Vegeta training the twins + Trunks) without issue.

[tricobicoart]

steven universe half-gem self insert 2

Rothena! I started calling her that to differentiate her from su athena, but it ended up sticking so that's her name now! She was originally gonna be a half gem like steven & mae, but i changed it so she was born to a human father and a human mother. The origin of this was inspired by a fic i read where(spoilers for the fic, written just-post-pink-diamond-reveal) "connie thought she was pink diamond bc when she was younger, she got really ill & her parents tried an experimental treatment made of pink diamond's fake shards ground up & put in her blood or something, and so she had some gem abilities/endurances. and she told steven she was pink diamond the same time steven told her abt rose being pink diamond which was a rly fun read tbh BUT i'm going with this being half-rose-quarz-athena's origin story. She got rly fucking sick & her parents were desperate so they were like 'sure we'll augment her with this rose quartz gem, we want her to live' and now she's a half gem." Rothena's powers take more concentration to use when she's calm than they do when she's nervous or in a state of adrenaline, and they'll probably cap at some point instead of growing and expanding like steven's or pink diamond's or mae's, althought she may find more creative ways to use what she's got, like steven in s1.

She has healing powers (not healing tears, nor spit, just kind of will-power-focus-towards-the-body-part-closest-to-the-wound) slower than the medigun, but definitely faster than the wound healing on its own. She can sacrifice some of her energy to speed up the healing as well. She cannot summon her own weapon, but can summon objects from her gem and has way more storage than a quartz has, but still less than a pearl--i'd say about one 7/11 or two storage wars sized storage units' worth! She also has that sword, custom made by Bismuth, that she uses as her main weapon. I'm also considering giving her a shield that she used pre-bismuth & pre-wedding/cym/connie's sword breaking.

Since she hasn't had her gem since before birth, Rothena is more of a fusion. Her halves can separate without any negative effects to either of them besides momentary weakness to the human component and aching loneliness(which worsens the more they are separated & away from each other) to both of them. She named her human half "Thena" and her gem half "Rosa"(pronounced with a soft 'S'). Creative, i know. Also for each half-gem i try to give them a non-human physical attribute--for mae it's her unnaturally purpley blue eyes, for steven i color his hair pink-tinted, and for rothena her skin is tinted pink (but her human half's skin tone is identical to su athena's).

[pearlplusau]

Pearlplusau animatic #1: The Great Divide (By Tripixle)

I believe this was the first animatic that introduced the AU.

Full video description and brief analysis below:

So in the beginning, we were given a glimpse of Pearl's original position, which most of us believed to be White Diamond's pearl. (This was before the canon origin of Pearl was released.)

Pearl had a brief eye contact with Pink Diamond's pearl while they passed by. There we can tell they probably weren't super close or anything, just Pink Pearl (who I will be calling her Coral from this point on) casually waving at another pearl like they were acquaintances in the same office.

After Pearl was assigned or "given" to Pink Diamond (without Coral getting hurt and replaced), she found her new diamond panicking over her burning throne while Coral was doing her best. Pearl realized right then and there what she was getting into for the rest of her gem life. She activated the sprinkler system and accepted her new role and post.

The next scene showed how Coral was a bit nervous around the new pearl. Her quick glances were noticed by the aloof-looking Pearl but her friendly handshake was finally started their relationship. (This is most likely how the two introduced each other similar to the short comic.)

We see Pink balancing on a giant ball with Coral by her side. Pearl came in, flipped out, and rushed to her now wobbling diamond. Coral was less worried but she joined in on the mayhem. Pink fell down and both pearls caught her. The trio, now laying on the floor, was stunned for a moment. Pearl got up and checked if her diamond was hurt in any way, but the diamond couldn't help herself and burst into laughter with Coral. It looked like Pearl was able to finally let herself go from her own strict codes and officially join the two as a group.

After Pink got her first colony, Earth, from Yellow and Blue, she had fun adventures with her pearls but found out how it was damaging the planet. She formed the rebellion starting with her two loyal friends.

After their encounter with the permafusion at the sky arena, the trio came to a rest and discussed their excitement. The trio accidentally fused from their shared excitement and startled the passing permafusion, who later joined in as Garnet.

The next scene cut to a battle with Homeworld gems, where we saw the Crystal Gems had the upper hand from the battle. Unfortunately, it was also the last battle as three diamonds launched a direct attack on the planet Earth. Rose realized what was truly going on and grabbed the closest gems to her, Coral and Garnet. The other closest member, Pearl, was too far for the leader to reach, but Coral was not one to give up on her companion. She screamed at Pearl, urging her to come over. She was finally within reach and into safety as the light shone bright green.

Skipping a few storylines, we see Rainbow Quartz being shown off to Greg the human. Coral looking a bit upset seeing Greg (or RQ?). We then move on to the talk of Greg and the leader of the Crystal Gems. Coral was found to be just as worried as the rest.

As Rose gave out her big announcement to the gems, Coral forced out a smile, trying to be happy for her leader while Garnet and Pearl took a different turn. Coral tried to keep the group together but failed to do so as everyone wanted to be alone.

Pearl was found weeping behind a stone hand by Coral. The two pearls wasn't sure whats going to happen, but they know they'll get through it when they have each other.

After that its a sequence of major events in rapid pace, from Steven joining the team, to Opals appearance, to the fight with Sugilite, to Coral's fusions with the gems, to Stevonnie, to the arrival, to the Malachite arch, to Coral's confrontation with Pink (Story for another time), to the Sardonyx arch, to Coral and Garnet's fusion, to the Rupphire wedding, and finally, to the Diamond days arch.

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.

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Aw man, I haven't seen this animatic for a super long time. So glad I was able to find it on youtube, which was re-uploaded by someone else after the original got deleted.

I'll be posting another animatic I found online, but the other two animatics are still nowhere to be found. To whoever's reading this, please take a look at your downloaded folder and see if you have the following animatics downloaded:

1. Listen before I go

2. Coral's part in "Here we are in the future"

If you've read to the end, I really appreciate it and hope you can help to spread the word about the missing animatics above. It will be a great help to me and the rest of the pearlplusau fans!

[toyota12]

Steven Universe Parallels: Blue and Yellow Diamond (Personality Types)

Much like White and Pink, Blue and Yellow Diamond’s appearances also give away how the two compare and contrast. To start off, factually, Yellow is a warm primary color, while Blue is cool primary color. Yellow Diamond also has sharper angles in her designs, symbolizing her initial rigidness and cruelty, while Blue Diamond has rounder angles in her design, symbolizing her kindness and more flexible side. Yellow also appears to look like a general, while Blue appears to look like more like a diplomat.

Compare

Both of these Diamonds are of equal standing on the Diamond hierarchy, and designed specifically to represent the emotional and logical sides of one's own ego. Both are overruled by and heavily fear White Diamond and are put off about how she favors Pink Diamond, who they both overrule, for her constant "screw ups." Both also serve as mediators to Pink and White Diamond, both adoring Pink and demanding that she followed the mandates of Homeworld, which is done to avoid upsetting White. Both were also affected by Pink and White's actions that served as the catalyst to Era 2 (Pink faking her shattering, which caused both to grieve for her and White secluding herself in her ship, forcing both to serve as de facto rulers of Homeworld). Both also seem to be weaker than White and Pink as both are easily incapacitated by White's identity beam and Pink's aura abilities seem to supersede that of their own powers. Both are also equally alien and human when it comes to their personality types.

Contrast

Blue Diamond

However, Blue seems more gentle and outgoing than Yellow. She is the first of the Diamonds to realize how unhappy the Diamonds were making Pink feel on Homeworld. In general, Blue seems more patient as she was willing to hear out "Rose's" case in The Trial before making a final verdict and even gets angry with Yellow for not having the same restraint. Another example would be shown in Together Alone, with the way that she allows Blue Pearl to express herself through drawing, something she knows Blue Pearl likes to do. She also deals with Pink Diamond's death by becoming depressed and holding onto everything Pink had to avoid forgetting her. Blue is known to emotional manipulate gems to her favor, tricking into feel guilty about their actions. She is also inconsiderate of others feelings, as she did not attempt to help Yellow with the gempire once White locked herself away, but is also considerate as well as she is somehow able to figure out that the gems were just as miserable appealing to White's standards as the other Diamonds are. Her personality is that of a an older sister or mother figure, who both orders Pink around, but at the same time shows off her gentle side when around her.

Yellow Diamond

Yellow however, follows in White's footsteps and rules with an iron fist. She is very spiteful and vindictive towards others, first seen in The Trial as she was willing to shatter "Rose Quartz," attempts to rush the whole court session, and poofs both Zircons when she loses her temper. Yellow also believes expressing yourself or showing any form of emotion is unnecessary and only gets in the way, encouraging her gems to think the same way, especially Yellow Pearl, as seen in Together Alone. She believes the best way to deal grief is to avoid her emotions entirely and destroy everything that belonged Pink Diamond in order to move on as quickly as possible. Yellow is also known to use physical violence and logical fallacies in order to perpetuate the toxic environment that is Homeworld. She only stops doing both once she sees the damage it does to Blue and how it pushed Pink away from them. Her personality is that of an older sister or father figure, as she seems to discipline Pink more so than Blue, and is a workaholic but at the same time, bonds with Pink like that of an older sibling, as seen when she talks to Steven in her extraction chamber in the episode, Familiar.

[dimonds456]

Steven Universe theory:

This screenshot was taken from A Single Pale Rose. Notice anything peculiar about it?

The gem is rotated upside-down.

Now, I’m the person who went off on a huge tangent about this EXACT THING with @spudinacup’s Gone Wrong AU (you can read their comic here, or you can read my meta post here), so my theorist brain went off IMMEDIATELY.

I need to keep using the Gone Wrong AU as an example, so if you haven’t read it, I apologize. I’ll try my best to make sure we’re all on the same page.

Medium-long post under the cut!

Basically, Gem Steven’s here because his human half Did the Die (hence “Gone Wrong”), and when he appears, it’s normal. But, after spending some time along in the bathroom, it rotates so that the pentagon is facing downwards. In my theory, I speculated that this meant that he felt that he wasn’t Steven anymore, and is now trying to figure out who he is aside from him. He and his human half together = Steven, but who is he without the other half? That’s the main question for him in the AU at the moment.

Keep that in mind.

With Rose, she is about to make the biggest decision of her life. By deciding to become Rose forever, she’s killing her old self (honestly quite literally) and moving on. So it makes sense for her gem to rotate.

But, here’s the thing; it was already upside-down as she chose this, meaning that she herself must have been having some kind of crisis beforehand to make it upside-down in the first place.

This means that she’s been thinking about herself as Pink Diamond and herself as Rose Quartz for a long time.

Blue telling her that”as long as you are there to rule, this colony would be completed” was the final thing to get her to decide once and for all that this is something she wants to do.

When she reforms again, permanently as Rose, the pentagon is upside-right.

Because she’s found her identity.

Spud, if you knew all of this, I APPLAUDE YOU.

She is more comfortable as Rose Quartz. Pink Diamond was a b*tch she wanted to leave in the past. She says it herself. “If this is really my world, then I want to give it to the Crystal Gems. I want to live here with human beings. I want to live here with you [Pearl]!” By assuming Rose Quartz, she is leaving Pink behind forever.

That’s not an easy decision to make. She must have been thinking about it for a while. After all, what happens when the Crystal Gems win or lose, and Homeworld leaves? Does Rose reveal her identity and go home? Or does she stay on Earth? How would she stay on Earth? So, becoming Rose Quartz must have become a stressor regarding her persona’s future, the persona she loves being.

Hence, the gem is flipped.

But once she decides to fake her shattering, it becomes normal again, facets flipped, the pentagon pointing up.

We know this is a recent development because in The Answer, Rose’s gem looks like this:

And in Rose’s Scabbard, it looks like this (though this is also a memory, so maybe Pearl never noticed!):

Rose Quartz knew that she wouldn’t be able to stay Rose after the war was over (and this scene in Rose’s Scabbard might have been the beginning of that realization). So, once she realized that faking her death would allow her to continue to exist as she wanted, of course she leaped at the chance. She was so excited in A Single Pale Rose.

Wouldn’t you be, too, if you realized you knew a way to live how you wanted instead of a life you were forced into?

Food for thought.

[flame-cat]

i saw someone mention the reason pink/rose feels like a fall from grace is because we're seeing her character arc backwards, when in reality she was already redeemed. i decided to try to put her story in order to get a better look.

-pink is created from white. she is the smallest and youngest diamond

-acts as a court jester, provides the other diamonds with fun and levity

-is fawned over, given special gifts and generally spoiled

-is otherwise confined to her room, alone, purposeless

-begins to bond with her pearl and the pebbles

-learns what the other diamonds do, wants to do the same

-asks for more responsibility, is either laughed at or ignored

-acts out by messing with the other diamonds' work, trying to make her own creatures, etc

-gets punished by being totally isolated in a small, dark room, sometimes for thousands of years, for "acting out"

-starts to feel unloved, ignored, trivialized

-begins venting her frustrations with destructive tantrums, continuing to demand recognition

-gets denied by yellow and blue over and over

-Jungle Moon

-goes to white directly, denied again

-damages her pearl irrepairably in her rage

-filled with regret and horror at her actions, decides to conceal her emotions now

-given spinel and the garden as bribery to behave

-after some time spent behaving, provided with a small colony of her own and a new pearl, being told by white: "dont break this one."

-pink barely associates with her new pearl if she can help it

-hates the colony, hates spinel, hates the garden: it all represents her biggest regrets and flaws

-pearl suggests visiting the colony disguised as a rose quartz

-pinks spark is lit. she sees beauty, love, freedom, things she thought she could never have

-she cant destroy this innocent, pure thing

-not again

-she and pearl begin to organize an elaborate rebellion

-at some point before or during this, pink abandons spinel, most likely not thinking of the consequences

-during this time also meets bismuth, is forged her sword

-meets garnet

-starts the crystal gems

-at some point bubbles bismuth, unwilling to confront her about the breaking point

-fakes pink diamond's death, becomes rose quartz

-the planet is blasted, and garnet, pearl, and rose are the only survivors

-spends the next few thousand-odd years on earth, leading a new life, meeting amethyst, helping humans, fighting corrupted gems, having flings with human men

-lion is revived, bismuth is stored in his mane

-rose meets greg and is taught what love and respect really mean

-rose gives her life to become half of steven, knowing she could never truly be a human being and change her ways, but still wanting to spread love and faith and hoping, one day, things will work out, even if without her

and thats why i love rose

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

The Pink Diamond, Rose Quartz and Tallest Miyuki Theory

 okay we know that Rose (Pink Diamond) gave up her physical form to give birth to Steven, but what if that isn’t the whole truth.

some of you might of read already, about my theory that Pink/Rose had another Rose Quartz to carry Steven for 9 Months,

and the Pink Diamond was already fused with him while in the womb,

but it wasn’t Rose’s Diamond, but a newly created Pink Diamond,

that Rose took a fragment of herself, that made up her consciousness manifestation of light, and placed into the newly created Pink Diamond that would become Half of Steven.

the reason why Steven saw fragments of his Mom’s Memories,

is because they are copies that were imprinted on to Pink-Steven.

Pink-Steven that makes up the Gem-Half of Steven, understands that both parts of himself are not Pink or Rose, and Pink-Steven knows the full truth about how both his halves were created.

and the truth that not only Pink Diamond/Rose was gone,

but she also faked her death once again, and ran away.

if she did have a Rose Quartz that looked 100% like her in her new Rose form,

she would of had to have to keep her secret, even from Pearl.

we know that Pink Diamond had destructive powers, which Steven had inherited, but what if his healing powers came from his Other Mother

(not a Coraline reference, lol.)

who was given the task from Rose/Pink, to be a Surrogate Mother

for both the human half and newly created pink diamond half of Steven.

that Rose Quartz could of been one of the First Rose Quartz to be created,

but she was not created by Pink Diamond, but by Red Diamond.

at some point Rose and Pink met and Rose joined Pink’s Crystal Gems

and would even switch places with her from time to time,

it would also turn out it was Rose’s tears that could heal, not Rose/Pink’s.

it could turn out that it was Rose (Not Rose/Pink) who brought Lion back to life.

after Pink’s destructive Powers had accidentally harmed Lion.

if the theory about there being Two Rose Quartz are true,

that would mean that Steven has Two Moms, that he had inherited his powers from.

the super speed coming from Pink Diamond, and she used that super speed

to grab the Rose Quartz Gem after Steven was born, and took it and possibly hid it either on Moon Base in a Bubble so that Other Rose wouldn’t tell anyone the truth, or she hid the Rose Quartz Gem in Lion’s Mane, possibly in the Chest.

long before Rose/Pink met Greg, she wanted to make Rose Quartz

just like Red Diamond’s Rose Quartz.

so with Rose Quartz’s permission as well as Red Diamond’s,

Pink Diamond used Rose as a Template to created all of the other Rose Quartz that would later become Steven’s Big Sisters (and I guess technically Sans’s big sisters too, because of that whole Steven Quartz Universe and Sans being one in the same theory....)

so technically both the Original Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond,

would of both created Steven’s Sisters, and both being the Mothers of both him and The Rose Quartz Sisters.

the reason why Red Diamond didn’t create anymore Rose Quartz after creating the Original Rose Quartz, is because she might of been ashamed of how her Rose Quartz turned out, and was going to shatter her if Pink Diamond hadn’t stop her and asked if Rose Quartz could serve as her Bodyguard,

to which Red Diamond agreed.

if there were other Diamonds, they possibly don’t live on Homeworld

but live in different planets, as they couldn’t live on the same planet as White Diamond after the whole Pink Diamond Incident.

so it left only White, Yellow and Blue to rule.

in Fanon, Green Diamond could of ended up creating the Irken Race

but abandon them after they didn’t seem to understand that they were created to conquer planets so they can be colonized by gems.

it be interesting if it turned out, that while Steven was born from Greg’s DNA

because Greg being the Genetic Template, and the gem half coming from both Pink and Rose....

but what if they had help in creating Steven, like from Wingdings Gaster.  

if it is true that the barrier doesn’t reach to the ruins, and if it did, no human child or even a full grown human, would of fell through and would be stop by a invisible force.

then Gaster who knew this, would of went through and ended up traveling and then end up meeting Pink’s Decoy Rose, who acted as her Body Double during the fight with Homeworld.

Gaster could of found Rose (not the Pink/Rose) and found her crying over Greg and Pink/Rose’s relationship, like her being in the same upset state as Pearl when she found out that Rose/Pink was going to have a Baby.

Rose had fell in love with Greg first, and it was her (Not Pink/Rose)

that was at his concert, but Pink/Rose could still see through her eyes and can hear what she hears, even if she is in her room or elsewhere.

and it was Pink/Rose who took Rose away before Greg could give her the shirt.

Pink/Rose found him interesting and entertaining, and like Rose, fell in love with him.

Greg was possibly more in love with Pink/Rose, than he was with Rose,

and the evidence could come from their first meeting, even if Greg has a thing for tall and beautiful women, he might of not fell in love with Rose when she was at his concert, even if she did fall for him when listening to his song.

but when going to look for her again, he ends up meeting Pink/Rose instead when he was going to be tossed back over the fence.

Pink/Rose having listen and saw through Rose’s eyes and “ears”,

was able to pretend to be the Rose he had met at his concert.

and it was Pink/Rose that Greg fell in love with, but the two Roses wanted to see who he would love more, and they decided to switch places and take turns dating him, until one day Greg mentions how Rose (not Pink/Rose) seems off and he feels different when he is with her.

he couldn’t figure out what it was he was feeling, but Rose (and Pink Rose who was listening and hearing everything) knew why he was feeling that way,

it was because he wasn’t in love with Rose, but Rose/Pink.

after that, Rose gave up on Greg and let Rose/Pink have him, and Greg never had that feeling again.

at some point after having her heart broken, Gaster comes into her life

and was able to comfort her when she needed it most, and at some point the two fell in love.

knowing that Rose/Pink and Greg were going to try to have a child,

and Rose/Pink was going to have Rose be the surrogate,

Gaster decided to add his own Magical Genetics, as he was the one who was asked to help be the Doctor for creating Greg and Rose/Pink’s child.

Gaster had used Greg’s DNA as part of the Genetic Template, but Gaster used part of his Genetics to created the skeleton for Steven or Nora.

 and since Gaster would be The Genetic Template for Steven’s creation,

he was also Steven’s Father as well.

meaning that Steven had Two Moms and Two Dads.

it be interesting that after Steven was born, and Rose/Pink used her super speed to grab the Rose Quartz Gem that had poofed in order to give birth to Steven, and then tried to hide Rose away in a bubble, she tried to throw her gem in Mount Ebott instead of taking her to Lion’s Mane or the Moon Base.

and because there was no barrier on the side where Chara would fall through,

the Rose Quartz Gem would keep falling, and if Gaster didn’t get there on time, there is a possibility she would of shattered.

Gaster had to comfort his beloved Rose, because they both knew that she couldn’t go back, even if she did want to hold her baby just once, because the human child was just much as hers as they were Rose/Pink’s.

knowing she couldn’t go back, she asked Gaster to use his magic to poof her,

which at first he was against, but she told him it was going to be okay and she will be back after he poofs her.

after finally agreeing and doing as she requested, Gaster poof her by using one of his magic attacks.

he then took her gem to his home, and waited for her to reform there,

the home being where Toriel ends up living at as soon as she leaves Asgore.

when Rose Quartz did reform, she didn’t appear like Rose/Pink does in her Rose Quartz form, but instead ended up appearing like a Female Skeleton Monster to Gaster.

with her pink hair being more ethereal/ecto-like. 

she then decided to go by the name Rosa, and married Gaster,

Rosa didn’t have to give up her physical form when both her and Gaster ended up having another child.

she just took a part of her manifestation of light, and gave it to Gaster,

and he took a part of a fragment from his own Soul, and it ended up creating Times New Roman Jr., who was not only made from the Magical Genetics

from Rosa and Gaster, but also from Gaster’s Late Lover, Times New Roman Sr.

when Steven left Beach City, he ended up falling into the Underground and was found by Gaster and Rosa, but sadly he had died when he fell, but he was brought back as a Magical Skeleton, Pink-Steven was no longer needed to keep him healthy, and Pink-Steven ended up changing their form to that of a girl who would then take the name “Nora” for herself.

after the Anomaly appeared and started to mess up the timeline,

and even causing both Gaster and Rosa to be lost in Time and Space,

Times New Roman Jr. had a accident that ended up causing him to go from the mean spirited personality to the sweet and cinnamon roll known as Papyrus.

how Papyrus got his new name, might of been from him asking his brother Sans, what he was holding, to which he replied it was a Paper, Papyrus.

and Papyrus mistakenly thought Sans was calling him Papyrus, and so it became his new name.

in one of the non-stop Geno-Timelines,

Sans was able to stop his little brother from having the accident,

and that version would then take himself, his little brother Times New Roman Jr. aka Romy, and other monsters, to the Deltarune Reality to get away from the up coming danger that is Hollow-Chara.

Hollow-Chara being the Evil Soulless Half of Chara, being made up of the Negative Energies of Chara, the Hollow-Soul would appear like a Heart Soul,

but it has no filling in the middle, and it looks like a heart shaped hole in the middle, hence the name “Hollow-Soul”, a Hollow-Soul can be made out of the negative energies from both a Human and Monster Soul, this means that it isn’t just Humans who can fall victim to it.

their Soul can be in their body, but whenever the Hollow-Soul takes over fully,

it will normally be when it’s at night and when the Soul is in a hibernated state.

another way for a Hollow-Soul to take control, is if the Player let’s it happen.

Noelle having dark thoughts about Kris, could be signs of her own Original Soul breaking into two parts, a newly good part that still is made up of a Soul,

and the other part being a Negative part, that is made up of the Negative Essence that would then become Hollow-Noelle, and will take control and work with Hollow-Kris.

if Sans took Romy to Deltarune during when Romy was around Kris, Susie, Noelle, Berdly’s age, this might mean that Romy is younger than his Counterpart Papyrus.

I do have a drawing I did of Romy, that I will post next after this.

not everyone has to agree that Steven Universe, Undertale and Deltrune might be connected, even if Undertale and Deltarune might be connected,

but the two have different outcomes and are two different realities, but even if the two realities have two different timelines, doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible for someone to travel between the two.

both Sans and Alphys in Deltarune, are possibly both from a Non-Stop Geno Route from a Undertale Timeline, and had escaped to Deltarune.

Hollow-Chara might takes the name “Frisk” and even if in other Timelines, Frisk is shown to be merciful, that is just the version of them that wasn’t originally Chara.

I mean if we do choose Frisk as the name in Undertale

the game has this message

 WARNING: This name will make your life hell. Proceed anyway? 

and where else do we see the word “Proceed”, Deltarune

when we go down the Snowgrave Route.

so a new meaning of You're The Devil In Disguise.

only it’s like Frisk is the Hollow-Chara in disguise, and I guess in theory

when they seem 100% good, it is the Proxy-Soul that fully reincarnates into the human body that is really the Original Chara’s Body.

when Toriel buried Chara, she placed magical bandages around them, that kept their body from aging.

plus I believe that when Chara’s Soul (before it split into a newly reborn soul and split off the negative energy half that would form a Soulless Heart known as a Hollow-Soul.)

when still being a part of the fused form they shared with Asriel,

Asriel’s Magic was imprinted onto Chara’s Soul and when they went back into their human body when Asriel was about to fully fall in the middle of the throne room, the magic from when Asriel and Chara were one in the same,

caused Chara’s body to come back to life when Chara’s Soul reentered their body, but it still gave off the signs of being dead, but Chara’s Soul ended up in a hibernation along with their body, when the King and Queen found them.        

the reason why Frisk looks like Chara, is because the body they inhabit is Chara’s body.

and it is possible the reflection of Frisk in the True Lab, isn’t really a reflection, but a Clone that Alphys made, to place the Player’s Proxy-Soul in, along with the good half of Chara’s Soul.

 it could turn out that Kris and the Clone are one in the same,

Alphys during the early stages of the Non-Stop Geno-Runs,

had created a Human Baby, by using the DNA from Chara’s body (before the body woke up and Hollow-Chara/Frisk took over.)

she then took the Good half of Chara, that was the Soul, and placed it in the Human Baby, she did this so Asgore would be happy and have one of his children back.

but she wasn’t able to do that, and was told by Sans that she needed to go to the other Reality before the Human gets there,

Alphys wasn’t able to place the Proxy-Soul in the clone, so she had to hurry and leave to the other reality that was known as Deltarune.

Alphys didn’t have a counterpart in that reality, so she could pretend she had moved from another town.

but when she left the human baby alone, to go check if anyone was around or saw her appearing out of nowhere....

the cries of the baby were caught by Deltarune’s Dreemurr Family,

and Alphys couldn’t just go over to them and say that the baby was hers.

so she let that world’s Dreemurr Family, adopt the clone of Chara,

and even let them name the baby clone, Kris.

Alphys watching the sibling bond forming between Kris and Delta-Asriel,

might make her silently wish to herself that history doesn’t repeat itself. 

if we do give Hollow-Chara our Proxy-Soul, they might end up giving it to the Knight who would then send it to the Deltarune World and place it in Kris’s body, who had a Hollow-Kris ended up being born from the Original Soul of Kris.

Kris’s negative side, formed into a Hollow-Soul, while the good half of them that still had a Soul, formed into the Kris we first see in Chapter 1.

Hollow-Kris takes full control at Night, and will pull the Proxy-Soul/Player out of Kris’s body and imprison it, while the good half of Kris’s Soul is in hibernation.

it might of seem like Kris was only going to use the knife for the pie,

when in truth, Hollow-Kris was using the knife to use to open up a new dark fountain, by breaking into the library late at night, and after doing that, they went back home and then ate all the pie.

 if we go down a “Geno Route” or like a No Mercy Route in Deltarune,

then we end up becoming a unknowingly a partner to Hollow-Kris and The Knight.

if we show Mercy, and help everyone, we are still fully on Kris and The Fun Gang’s Side.

it’s okay that not everyone agrees on this theory, but I believe Hollow-Kris is Real and they are the one who pulls out the Player’s Proxy-Soul out of Kris’s body in both Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.

anyway now to the Invader Zim Theory, we know that Gaz’s eyes were originally Blue, but what if they still were blue, but she wears contacts to hide her true eye color, and her blue eyes are the same color as Tallest Miyuki.

this is because both Dib and Gaz are mixed clones of Membrane and Miyuki.

Tallest Miyuki got bored of ruling, so she created a clone so she could run away to live on another planet, and that planet being Earth and she ended up meeting and falling in love with Membrane.

the reason why Zib appears like a Irken-Human Hybrid, is because the Pak had ended up making the Irken DNA more dominate, like having went from 89% to a equal 100% along with the Human DNA.

Miyuki and Membrane wanted their Genetic Splice Clone Offspring to live normal lives without anyone finding out they are half Irken.

so they made it so that the Irken DNA was less dominate by having it around 89% and the Human DNA being at maybe around 99%.

if it is true that Irkens have two souls, one in their organic synthetic hybrid bodies and the other being in the Pak.

I don’t think the Organic-Synthetic DNA would be in the Pak,

so the only thing that Zib would inherited from taking his Zim’s Pak,

would be Zim’s second Soul, in other words his Digital-Soul.

when Zib had placed the Pak on his head, it had activated the Irken DNA in him and made it go from 89% to 100%, well maybe it would be around 99%, so both the Human and Irken DNA would both be at 99% equally, but together they make up a perfect 100% hybridization.

if Zib thought him becoming a Irken in appearance was from Zim’s Pak,

he would be sadly wrong, as the Pak only fully activated the Irken DNA that was already a part of him since his creation.

if Tallest Miyuki was the Maternal Genetic Template, in the creation of both Dib and Gaz (and in another timeline, Dib who would then become Zib.)

the only ones who know this secret, would be Membrane and Miyuki.

and if Zim already knew about Miyuki, she would of order him as his Tallest not to tell anyone, same with when Pink Diamond gave her last orders as a Diamond to Pearl.

so if anyone brings up Miyuki, Zim could end up doing what Pearl did whenever someone brought up Tallest Miyuki.

Zim would slap his hands over his mouth, keeping him from speaking the truth that Tallest Miyuki was alive and had faked her death.

even if Tallest Miyuki was on another Planet, and she never told Zim what Planet she was living on now.

she could of still communicated with Zim, and gave him the order to kill the Tallest Miyuki Clone, but make it look like it was a accident.

Miyuki’s clone was perhaps flawed and wasn’t made to live very long anyway, like most clone born Irkens, who are able to have long lifespans.

and if the clone died, and Irken Scientist look it over, they would find out the clone was NOT the original Tallest Miyuki.

so Miyuki had to call Zim and have him assassinate the clone and make it look like a accident, if the Clone-Miyuki died in another way, the Irken Scientist would reveal the truth and possibly have some Irkens go find and retrieve the Real Tallest Miyuki.

Dib and Gaz being clones of both Membrane and Tallest Miyuki,

is a interesting theory, but not everyone has to agree that is possibly true.

it be interesting if that turned out to be true in Irken Outcast,

I love that fan series.

I also love the fan series Invader Zim: A Very Tall Problem.

 the first episode was awesome, and I can’t wait to see the second episode.

anyway I hope some of you like the theories and the possibilities that involve Tallest Miyuki, Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz.                                                      ��                                                                                        

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

I don’t need you to love me, I love me

I’m gonna miss writing about Pearl.

As the loneliest Crystal Gem, a loyal servant who became a fierce ally, then a spurned lover, then a grieving survivor, Pearl’s story is about discovering who she can be on her own terms. Like Steven, she believes that her value comes from being valued, but unlike Steven, she was literally programmed this way and has an even harder time breaking loose, so she starts off at the toxic level of selfish selflessness that threatens to consume him, directed towards someone who’s been dead for years. She defines herself by her relationships, but struggles with all of them because she only understands a dynamic where one person is superior and the other is inferior; as such, her life is an endless evaluation of whether she’s worse or better than the people around her, thus whether she should be deferential or condescending. Her problem goes beyond not knowing how to develop loving relationships with equals: she doesn’t know how to love herself.

But she changes her mind.

“We need to talk about us.”

The first act of Change Your Mind (which lines up nicely with its first quarter) sets the stage with Blue and Yellow both converting to Steven’s cause, and while compelling, it’s appropriately intense. That intensity gets even higher as the episode continues, but this is still a big finale, so it’s about damn time for some fanservice.

After a quick “go to your rooms” to reinforce that White Diamond is the Diamonds’ mother more than their older sister, Connie gets the body part pun train rolling: “face-off” will soon be followed by “did you have a hand in this?” and “lend me a hand” (which earns a chuckle from Blue), Pink’s legs succumb when Steven takes a knee, and getting into White’s head becomes the primary goal of the second act (so all of this second quarter and most of the third). Still, the levity seems fleeting before two glints in the sky bring us the one-two punch of Bismuth leading the charge and Lapis and Peridot showing off their threads.

Bismuth fits right in as the leader of the B-Team, as beyond her seniority she’s clearly more competent at running a show than the other two (see: The New Crystal Gems). But her reverse electric guitar soon cedes to a glorious harmony of Lapis and Peridot’s themes as we see their new forms: Lapis gets pants and sandals, and Peridot gets ridiculous shades and a trashcan lid, the perfect adaptation of Static’s saucer for the Crystal Gems’ resident raccoon. Peridot goes ham with three stars, while Lapis wears a subtle dark blue variant that includes all five points if we count her legs. For a moment, everything is right in the world.

Their timing couldn’t be better, and not just because we need some stress relief. Steven begins the finale with one friend on his side, then he gets two Diamonds on his side, and now he has three reinforcements on his side, and this growing group of allies all represent what the Big Three Crystal Gems can’t: the family that Steven has chosen, rather than the family he grew up with. These relationships are all a result of his effort, whether going out of his way to befriend Connie or winning over the five former enemies that now stand at his side, and together they‘re one huge reminder that you can reach people if they’re willing to be reached. White Diamond isn’t a villain because she’s cruel, she’s a villain because she quashes any effort to change her mind.

Furthermore, seeing Lapis and Peridot  in particular next to a pale, prejudiced, recently-discovered member of Steven’s extended family who disagrees with a parent’s name change evokes that other long episode where Steven went out on a limb to change someone’s mind, and the comparison does wonders for putting White Diamond’s bigotry in perspective.

I’ve already made my defense of Andy, but in short, his irritable first impression masks how open-minded he ends up being. Sure, he has some lousy beliefs, but he’s willing to sit down with folks he disagrees with and try and look for ways to either compromise or straight-up be convinced that those beliefs might be wrong. On its own, Gem Harvest could be read as a little too hopeful, especially as it came out weeks after the 2016 election gave proud bigots the White House, but next to Change Your Mind it expands on the finale’s message: keep an open heart and mind, because people can surprise you if you give them a chance, but don’t let yourself be a doormat in the process.

White Diamond would never have come to the Crystal Gems’ table. She still hasn’t even shown up in person since Legs From Here to Homeworld, using a warped version of the same delegation Steven practices in his talks with the Diamonds: he helps others bring their individual experiences to light, showing that his position isn’t unique, while she blots out their individuality and replaces them with her. Blue and Yellow’s contrast has been a plot point for far longer, but Pink and White (and now Steven and White) are an even starker pair of foils, divided not only by personality but by size and age.

Knowing how hard it will be to reach White, Yellow and Blue again suggest that Steven and the Crystal Gems bail, offering their own ships now that Pink’s is unavailable. While this shows how profoundly they believe in him, it again reveals how unfamiliar these two are with being “good.” Beyond the plan only delaying the inevitable (White Diamond for sure could send more troops to Earth in this scenario), Steven points out that his mother failed in both of her identities to confront the problem in a healthy way, and continuing to avoid it will mean it never gets solved. Rose is still a progression from Pink and Yellow and Blue, as fighting for your beliefs addresses the issue more directly than running away, but Steven in turn is a progression from Rose.

Then Connie’s opening words in Blue and Yellow’s conversions pay off. This time she’s the one ending the conversation, and she’s gained enough of their attention that they don’t write her off as a blathering human. Steven never got to meet Rose, rank-and-file Gems don’t have parents, and White Diamond seems to be the root of it all, so Connie is the ideal voice to reach the Diamond Sisters: she’s the only other person on the planet with a living mother. Where Dr. Maheswaran at her worst once stood in for Yellow Diamond, she can now represent the bigger fish, both in her similar brand of maternal tyranny and in the hope that her attitude can change after a good talk.

And just as Connie takes over Steven’s role as the big finisher for Blue and Yellow, Steven takes over Connie’s role as the voice introducing bigger voices now that it’s time to face White. He works with his aunts to bring his grandmother to a standstill—not by beating her statue-like ship into submission, but by joining the arm-ships to the body and completing the picture—and says his piece briefly before ceding the floor to a pair that White has victimized for far longer than the past week or so.

I love that Yellow is the first to speak, flipping the Diamonds’ conversion order and subverting the notion that the more emotionally open Blue might take the lead. This isn’t just a matter of clarity, but bravery, and Yellow has always been the more confrontational of the pair. It’s also that much more impactful to see Yellow push past her fear and allow herself to be vulnerable, given how hard she’s worked to maintain her air of stoicism. Patti LuPone’s raw power has served the character well, and she keeps up the same petulant energy that saw Yellow dishing about White in Familiar, but now she funnels all of it into a stirring argument against the exacting nature of Homeworld society. And because Yellow helps pave the way, Blue can deepen their point by defending Pink’s role in the quartet and detailing how White’s orders have caused the whole family to suffer.

Steven bookends the Diamonds by suggesting that White can start helping everyone by helping her daughters. Then White shows what kind of “help” she’s willing to provide.

Pink’s former pearl was already proof that White Diamond has the power to possess others, but it’s another thing to see it in action. The whole episode so far has been about building up hope again after Steven is knocked down by Homeworld, but all it takes is one agonizing glare to send everything backwards. Blue and Yellow are even worse off than they were before, and as they’re brought into White’s fold, their arms follow suit. White drops the Crystal Gems and lets them fall, then Steven drops the Crystal Gems and dives after them.

As he slides down alien architecture on his shield, the soundtrack gives a nod to the theme song to prepare us for more fanservice. Now that White has made it clear that talking isn’t going to get us anywhere, it’s time for more action. Now that we’ve established the importance of Steven’s chosen family, it’s time to reconnect with the family he was born into.

Amethyst is first, because of course she is. She’s usually the quickest to reform, and she’s the only Gem that Steven has fused with, so Smoky Quartz is the best start if the goal is reeling off three fusions in a row with a growing sense of excitement. Smoky’s theme heralds this new development with glee, evoking the pure joy of seeing a new fusion from Earthlings as it becomes clear what the show is doing. Fusion has recently featured as a stand-in for marriage and an act of rebellion, but now it represents familial love, and doubles as an elegant plot device to get the poofed crew back in action. The wonder of fusion has always been that beyond whatever metaphor it currently serves, it’s also just a really neat piece of magic that lends itself to awesome visuals, and this whole sequence revels in the glorious spectacle.

Pearl is second, because we’ve already seen another version of Rainbow Quartz, so the biggest reveal is bound to be the Garnet fusion. Rainbow Quartz 2.0 blends the old with the new, immediately showing off the latest clever fusion of weapons (a shield and a spear into a parasol) and introducing a blue jacket that will soon belong to Pearl. The drumkit/chiptune mashup of Smoky’s theme is replaced by a piano/chiptune mashup, and then this new fusion opens their mouth.

Of all of Steven’s fusions with a female or female-presenting partner, this is the one with a male voice actor, and it couldn’t be more perfect. Rainbow Quartz was the only one of Rose’s fusions that we saw, and Now We’re Only Falling Apart shows that she was the second-ever cross-Gem fusion after Garnet (that we know of), so she was clearly something special. Pearl’s romantic interest in Rose complicates matters further, as Rainbow Quartz is an embodiment of a deeply imperfect relationship. This is a character with a lot of baggage, but casting Alastair James puts a hard stop to the idea that this is the same Rainbow Quartz, even before we hear them refer to themself as “2.0.” After the literal nightmare that begins Change Your Mind and the figurative nightmare to come, it’s wonderful to have one more piece of evidence that Steven and Rose are different people.

Amethyst and Pearl, like Lapis and Peridot, get great new looks, and they’ll soon be followed by Garnet (after the commercial break). If this was just for the sake of fanservice, it’d be more than enough: it’s always fun to get outfit changes, and between that and the fusions (including Sunstone and Obsidian; again, after the commercial break!) we get a pleasant treat to sate us between the drama. But as always, the show finds a way to create deeper meaning in the magic.

The Diamonds look the same now as they did thousands of years ago, and one of the reasons why is that they’re unbreakable. Creating a new form requires poofing, which is a very silly way to say that the Crystal Gems have found a way to grow through pain.

Life will always have its share of pain. Part of growing up, maybe the biggest part, is figuring out what you’re going to do about it. The Diamonds react to pain by closing themselves off and letting their problems fester rather than addressing them head-on. But over the course of the series, Lapis and Peridot and Amethyst and Pearl and Garnet have put in the work to learn from their pain and heal, and because they’re literal projections of their true selves, they get a physical manifestation of that growth that can only come after weathering one more blow.

To be clear, pain itself shouldn’t be glamorized. It sucks, and it’s okay if your reaction is to take care of yourself rather than use it for Creative Fuel. But the Crystal Gems are what happens when you deal with your pain, and the Diamonds are what happens when you don’t. And because Steven shares the legacy of both, Steven Universe is about him helping others through their pain and Steven Universe Future is about finally confronting his own.

We end with the most frustrating commercial break of the three, coming right in the middle of the second act, so we’ll just keep on going with fusions and new outfits next time. But if we have to stop partway through a scene, at least we get a Monty Python Foot to stamp out the first half of Change Your Mind.

I Can’t Believe We’ve Come So Far

Hilary Florido is the only storyboarder with their own recurring segment in Steven, Universally. But every other storyboarder had plenty of opportunities to make a fully realized High School AU in their promo art, and none of them did, so that’s on them.

Florido is obviously more than her promo art, but it speaks to a specific level of nerdy passion that made her and longtime coboarder Jesse Zuke so dang good at Peridot episodes, starting with just their second collaboration, the iconic Catch and Release. From there they gave us Too Far and Log Date 7 15 2 and Barn Mates and Too Short to Ride and Beta and Gem Harvest, and Florido kept the ride going with Raising the Barn. Peridot would not be Peridot without Hilary Florido.

In terms of more serious clods, Florido is the only person to board all three Kevin appearances (Alone Together with Rebecca Sugar and first regular coboarder Katie Mitroff, Beach City Drift with Zuke, and Kevin Party with final regular coboarder Danny Cragg, who also stopped boarding after the movie). She gave us as Ronaldo at his worst in Rocknaldo and Aquamarine at her worst in I Am My Mom. And as if she needed further proof of her prowess with harrowing material, she gave us Alone at Sea and A Single Pale Rose.

It’s weird to attribute good Steven writing to any one boarder, given he’s in every episode but Jungle Moon and he’s generally pretty great, but Florido worked on some of the most important moments of Steven letting us into his deeper thoughts: she’s behind him getting real with the Cool Kids in Joy Ride, with Amethyst in Steven vs. Amethyst, and with himself in a rare monologue in Lion 4. His ability to discuss the uncomfortable subtext of Mystery Girl’s visual similarity to Rose is key to the magnificent tone of Last One Out of Beach City, and his introspection about his mother’s older identity is just as important to Familiar.

In short, Hilary Florido rocked at characters with rough edges, whether it was Peridot’s ornery id, a bevy of outright villains ruining everyone’s day, normally sympathetic characters doing dubious things, or Steven giving himself enough of a break to complain. She stepped up as a storyboard supervisor for Steven Universe Future, but even if she hadn’t, her legacy would be secure.

(Frankly it’d be secure even if the only thing she gave us was this.)

[rosenotactuallyquartz]

What is your favourite Steven Universe fusion?

my favourite fusions

the answer, no pun intended, is garnet.

also rainbow quartz. they’re both really special.

fusions as relationships

on homeworld, fusion only happened between gems who were equals, because they’re the same gems. this is what made fusion between a ruby + a sapphire & a diamond + a pearl such a significant symbol of the rebellion. it was also important that ruby, the gem who is supposed to be “inferior” to sapphire, initiated the fusion. like ruby, pearl initiated her fusion with rose. they made their own decisions based on their personal feelings. just as sapphire was frozen & felt she had been saved, pearl swept rose off her feet.

garnet’s line from stronger than you, “but i think you’re just mad ‘cause you’re single!” is funny, but it also reflects her sympathy for homeworld gems who don’t understand this kind of love. if fusion represents relationships, homeworld gems only experience coworker-like connections. ruby chose to stay with sapphire because she loved her and not because of rules, just as pearl did with rose.

as pearl + rose fell in love, their intense emotions were frightening, unheard of, new. the turning point happened after rose saw garnet, so beautiful & unique, embodying something rose had been confused & apprehensive about. with an understanding, she had that epiphany. how could anyone question something so amazing? an important part of the rebellion is fighting for freedom to be who you genuinely are. being who you are means loving who you love. falling in love forms relationships with endless possibilities, as it is based on who you are instead of who you’re expected to be, decisions instead of rules. of course true love is perplexing, but it's also sincere, strong, pure, & beautiful.

then it happened: a fusion between a diamond and a pearl, creating a new individual and therefore helping build a relationship between two individuals.

it helped them stop questioning their gems, & both fusions went from being hesitant to proud. steven learns about love because of garnet, just as his mother did. pearl apologizes the first time (much like “i’m so sorry,” “no, no, don’t be!”) but in we need to talk she interrupts rose so that they can dance in front of the camera, showing off their fusion & therefore the connection they have.

fusions as individuals

garnet holds the group together, just as a fusion is held together as a stable relationship. even in the most difficult circumstances. she’s wise, calming, & gives good advice. she doesn’t show her emotions much because she often focuses on maintaining the bonds between the crystal gems. her pain is often surprising to people, because she is constantly trying to keep it together. she also has amazing, often overlooked character development. being traumatized by blue diamond the first time ruby + sapphire fused, to being afraid of going near blue, to shamelessly saying, “you’ll have to go through me!” after fusing at the ball when steven visits homeworld.

here’s something i wrote about rainbow quartz. since garnet & rainbow would really be able to understand each other, it’s likely that garnet spoke to her about personal things such as her trauma with blue. who knows, maybe it was rainbow who first told garnet she was made of love. maybe it was an affirmation in their early days, as they were becoming comfortable as themselves. i like to think of them as best friends.

(here’s one really sweet rupphire detail, too)

there’s something really comforting about both of these ships & fusions. if you’ve ever been made to feel different from everyone and just out of place for a variety of reasons you’ll most likely feel seen and understood by at least one of these… six characters

[inbarfink]

I know I already made a post about the Rose Quartz-Greg Universe Backstory Parallels, but thinking about it... the fact that Greg’s backstory is just the Normal Human Earth Version of Pink Diamond’s Story is important... but it’s not the ONLY reason why Steven felt like Greg is “just like mom”. There’s also another factor here, the fact that Greg has never told him about his human family, the fact that he hid this information from him. He did that Thing Steven associates with Rose most of all, he lied. 

Well, ‘hiding’ and ‘lying’ is kind of heavy words here. I don’t think Greg saw himself as lying. or hiding anything. This is - like a lot of the issues brought up to the surface in Mr. Universe - this is a communication issue created by the wide difference in the perspectives and life experiences between Steven and Greg. 

Greg, in his POV, never divulged false information to Steven about his family. He never explicitly told Steven “I have always had the surname ‘Universe’, I was born with it”, or “No, you can’t visit your grandparents because..... they’re dead”, or “I did not run away from home”. He just... didn’t talk about his family a lot. He occusionally mentioned vauge stuff about his family when they subject gets brought up that foreshadowed this episode, but all in all, Greg just didn’t talk about it. 

(And you can totally understand why, these Family Issues are clearly still a sore spot for Greg. I think he’s been underplaying his own emotions even all through “Mr. Universe”. PLUS, discussing them with Steven in spesifics is gonna be extra-hard cause...well... at what age do you tell your child that his grandparents never answer your letters??? Especially since Steven already has so much on his plate!)

And Greg doesn’t view that as ‘lying’ or ‘hiding’ anything, if Steven actually directly ASKED him about his family at any point in his life, he’d probably would have explained his backstory in vauge, emotionally-disconnected terms and then he would have been like “oh whatever, YOU’RE the only family I care about anymore, schtu-ball!”. He clearly didn’t treat that backstory-revealing road trip, as... like... Revealing anything previously hidden to Steven. This is also consistent with the way he feels about Rose’s secrets and falsehoods:

Rose didn’t *lie* to Greg about Not Being a Diamond, she simply did not tell Greg that she was a Diamond - and there is a difference there. Well, for Greg, at least. For him, that level of ‘secretiveness’ comes off as normal and acceptable. Because he basically grew up with the Normal Human Version of Pink Diamond’s Upbringing! Overcontrolling parents raise oversecretive children, that’s a Theme in the Show!

But I think that Steven sees less of a distinction here. Greg might have grown up until the age of 20 having to Hide Everything from his parents, but Steven grew up constantly having to deal with the emotional fallout of his various parental figures Hiding Stuff from him! Rose’s many, many secrets are the most obvious examples, but the CGs and Greg also have their fair share of it. Steven starts the show knowing almost nothing about Gemkind because the CGs and Greg (who DO know a bunch of Stuff) chose to not tell him and he had to find out a lot of the Lore in the worst possible moments.

Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Greg never directly *lied* to Steven about the origins of the Crystal Gems, but they didn’t tell him any of the truth either and quietly allowed him to build a very inaccurate image of the situation in his head - which got knocked down one-by-one as the Gems were *forced* to tell Steven the truth. And I don’t think it would have made much of a difference for Steven if this inaccurate image was purely a result of Steven’s imagination running wild with the void of information that his parental figures chose to give him or if they directly told him false shit. The result for Steven was the same!

Either way he had to deal with Dramatic Big Revelations rather than being able to process stuff like the nature of Gemkind or Pink Diamond’s supposed shattering in a calm environment surronded by loved ones. Either way he had constantly put himself and his loved ones into dangerous situations because he has not been given enough information to know that This Is a Bad Idea. Either way he had his viewpoint shattered a million time. For Steven, who has directly experienced the very worst of this ‘sorta lying by omission’, it’s all bad and it’s lying!

And I think Steven had a similar sort of situation with the Gem-Stuff and with Greg’s family. Like, I guess it’s unclear how seriously we should take “I thought you said you grew up in a prison!”, but I can see Tiny Baby Steven hearing Greg talking about ‘sneaking past the warden’ and assuming his dad Literally Escaped From Prison and then Older Teen Steven just never really questioned that information because it’s just never got brought up a lot. At the very least Steven is VERY suprised that the DeMayos’ house is ‘beautiful’.

And we already know he’s sick of being lied too! It’s been a thing since Steven’s Dream! (at the very least!)

Steven thought he was done with all the Secrets to Supposedly Protect Him back when he found out that Rose ‘shattered’ Pink Diamond. He thought that his family was gonna share stuff with him and be open. So he was extremely mad when he thought that the Gems were keeping yet something ELSE from him (when actually Garnet was trying to avoid the confertation with Blue Diamond she kept future-visoning and Pearl was technically keeping a secret from him... but not necasserly out of her own will). And as he clearly states here, for him, the Gems were LYING to him. When they are not telling him any information, it’s the same as lying to him!

And just as I understand why Greg doesn’t like to talk about his family much, I understand why Steven feels like he’s got a right to know. If it was just Greg not telling a Friend everything about his backstory, it would have been different. But the DeMayos are Steven’s family too, doesn’t he has the right to know about them? Steven has angsted so long about Rose and what’s she like and how unknowable she is to him because he only got to know her through other people’s stories of her... maybe he doesn’t want his grandpa and grandma in this category too. He’s defos has some conflicting feelings about them now. Between being super-charmed by the decor of their house and feeling like he’d be better off raised in such a ‘normal’ situation and between his dad’s super-negative feelings about them.

And remember, “Growing Pains” has just gone over how Steven’s PTSD makes it hard for him to react to Issues in a porpotional manner. Steven has gotten yet ONE MORE THING his loved ones have ‘hidden from him’ or ‘lied about’ (even if it wasn’t Greg’s intentions), and his brain’s Emotional Reference Points are all the OTHER times where his family was keeping Shit hidden from him. Even if Greg’s backstory is technically small peanuts, Steven is processing the shock like he’s realizing the Gems are an Alien Invader race all over again. Like he heard that his mom had murdered someone for the greater good for the first time. Like he is once again seeing Rose Quartz transform into Pink Diamond. 

So as far as Steven, processing his Emotions behind the wheel of that car is concered... what Greg did *feels* like what Rose has done. It at least feels equivelent in a way that I don’t think Greg really understands. 

[honestlyhufflepuff]

Taking a closer look at “Why So Blue”

This episode was a lovely break from Steven’s “baggage,” instead focusing on the growth Lapis has had. It was visually beautiful, with a touching new song from Lapis, and an interesting contrast from gems that remind her of her old self.

However, I feel this episode has been a little neglected in the fandom as far as the things it tells us about Steven and the world around him. Remember, Future is primarily about Steven’s arc and anything revealed about another character is bound to reveal something about him as well. “Why So blue” has been overshadowed by more dramatic episodes that had Steven’s anger and negative feelings at the forefront. This is no surprise, as seeing Steven’s issues manifesting so intensely is still such a new thing for the fans to process. This episode has Steven acting closer to his lighthearted, optimistic “old self” than any other one in SUF, and I wanted to delve into the implications of that. Let’s break down some things the episode establishes…

1. Despite his “outbursts,” Steven is still a Pacifist at heart.

This look was all it took for Lapis to regain control of herself. In this episode- this moment- is when he really seemed the most like “Classic Steven.” He’s not shouting at her to stop, or joining in the fight. He is just believing in Lapis’s growth and giving her the space to come around on her own. I don’t think the Steven we saw in “Guidance” would have done that. Part of this shift is due to his personal growth, but it’s also probably because he is falling back into his old role of pacifying hostile gems, which is what he knows best and what he’s comfortable with. That isn’t healthy, especially considering how much we’ve seen him panic when he doesn’t have someone to fix in later eps. However, it’s still a relief to see that fighting is not his first recourse despite his new “pink” powers making an appearance almost every episode.

2. Our Lapis is far stronger than your average Lapis. It is unclear if she was designed to be this way or if it is a result of her trials. Regardless, the Crystal Gems should be very grateful she’s on their side. She has the potential to rival a Diamond in combat.

She fixin’ to mess y’all up.

3. Steven has had growth over the course of SUF.

I bring this up because I think even though Steven is facing a very real personal crisis regarding his growth, he’s still had positive changes since the original series, and since the start of Future.

Lapis: I wish I hadn’t done that. They just remind me so much of myself. It’s infuriating.

Steven: Give yourself a break. You’ve grown a lot. It’s not your fault they’re stuck in their ways.

Contrast Steven’s attitude in this scene with his attitude towards Jasper back in Little Homeschool, after agonizing about his inability to change her:

Are you just going to sit here…waiting for someone to give you a purpose? Because I’m TRYING to give you one!

There have been obvious parallels between Jasper and Steven in this series, as Jasper is possibly the only character almost as stuck in the past as Steven is. I don’t know if Steven is self aware enough to realize that Jasper set him off so easily because he saw himself in her, like Lapis did in the HW Lapises. What he has realized is that not all gems will change in the way he imagined they should, and that’s ok. Him and Jasper, as far as we know, are not exactly friends, but they have an understanding of each other. Jasper may always be stuck in her ways, and Steven has apparently made peace with the fact that her bitterness is not his burden. He even sees value in the fact that she sees the world differently from him, and wants to learn from her.

This was a huge point of growth for Steven. All he did through the main series was try to fix people, and it’s obviously taken a toll on him. The only problem is now that he’s let go of his need to fix others by leaving Little Homeschool, he doesn’t know how to do anything else.

Steven has moments of self awareness regarding his issues (in between all the repression, avoidance, and denial) throughout SUF. One is in this moment with with Lapis, where he articulates that you can’t blame yourself for someone else not wanting to change and grow. He admitted to the Rose Quartzes that he’s “not fine,” but vehemently says the opposite to anyone else. He admits to Pink Pearl that he has “baggage,” although he won’t elaborate. He admits to Amethyst that his need to control others is a problem. He admits to his friends- under extreme duress and prodding- that he is having a hard time coping with cange. He opens up to “Cactus Steven” more than anyone, but after how that turned out the next time he opens up won’t come very easily.

My point is, Steven is still growing as a person, but it is a slow process due to all the trauma he is processing, compounded with having powers just as volatile as his emotions are.

4. HW gems are having a hard time letting go of the old caste system.

He’s half Diamond. Maybe we should half listen.

If the Lapises were really listening to Steven in the first place, then their primary motivation for listening to him would not be him being “half diamond.” The whole point of him overthrowing the empire was to create an equal society where Diamonds wouldn’t dictate what everyone does anymore.

How can the thing we’ve always done just suddenly be wrong?

Everyone is having trouble adjusting to this new equality in practice, including Steven. This is a massive, ancient, complex dictatorship that is now adjusting to a new government created by a human teenager. A Diamond is the one teaching and leading the new way things work, so of course it’s a mixed message for HW gems who have him telling them everyone is equal, but also that they no longer can do what they want to if it impedes his vision. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in Steven’s position. It would make most people uncomfortable to tell someone that the thing they were created for- that they also take joy and pride in- is now not only obsolete but morally wrong. Hooray for minors dealing with the nuances of cultural sensitivity in their galactic imperialism!

“He’s smaller than I thought.

Funny that this was the same thing said by the Rose Quartzes. It’s probably hard for any gem to imagine a Diamond that is not massive and imposing, but Steven is still pretty small even for a human (and still shorter than Connie). I can imagine this is why Jasper was so quick to reject him as her Diamond. Steven does not project the towering picture of immortal and flawless power as the other Diamonds have, and this is inevitably disappointing to gems that have long valued that image.

You really expect us to dance and sing like Pearls?

Gem society was not lacking in the arts, but they were strictly reserved for the elite and those who served to perform for them.

It’s interesting that Peridot had no idea what music was, and I presume this is because she was in a lower status than Lapis. The problem is not that the HW Lapises were unaware of artistic expression, but that they found it beneath them. The Lapises take pride in being instruments of power and destruction, the opposite of how everyone perceives Pearls. It’s no surprise they perceived such a heartfelt song from a fellow Lapis as “pitiful.”

Despite the fact that Pearls were very close to those in power, they had none of their own, and even Peridot considered herself above them when she first arrived from Homeworld. Pearls were created to be objects. Status symbols. Pretty little ornaments. Music boxes. And gems created for more “practical” purposes than entertaining the elite and opening doors would see anything associated with Pearls as beneath them.

5. Hot take: Lapis’s approach wasn’t totally in the wrong.

Lapis: We’ve just got to force them to stop. They’re not nice like me.

Steven: Ummm *avoids eye contact*

Lapis: Exactly.

The HW Lapises- much like Jasper- valued physical power over other virtues. Lapis beat herself up a lot for her loss of restraint, but communicating a bit with a show of the type of power the Lapises valued was enough to get them to listen. Steven’s approach alone clearly wasn’t working.

Sometimes people think so differently from you that you have to meet them halfway to have any hope of getting through to them. Steven did this when he agreed to fight Jasper.

I think the main reason he feared Lapis taking this approach was because he knew her past. He knew how hard she was to reign in once she got started, and how drastic she could be in confrontation. I mean, that’s why we have the entire Malachite story arc.

Restraint takes strength! Patience takes strength! Ugh, I don’t have the strength to deal with you.

However, Lapis has grown past that stage of her life, where her trauma ruled all her interactions with others. She has friends- like Steven and Peridot- who keep her grounded. She has developed healthy coping skills and outlets for her processing her emotions. This is why is so concerning to see Steven doing the opposite. The more fragile his mental state becomes, the more he distances himself from his closest friends and interests.

Lapis had the self awareness to realize she was slipping into old habits and losing control, and removed herself from the situation to cool down. That is huge for her.

Not every gem is going to want to go to Little Homeschool, and there’s probably a lot of them that still like fighting and destruction- especially if that’s what they were made for. Era 3 is so bent on avoiding violence that there isn’t really an outlet for pent up aggression (which Steven could use as well, btw). I think starting up some kind of gem dojo would be a great alternative instead of just expecting every gem to like the “softer” things like dancing and making meep morp.

Also, just imagine Jasper as a dojo master. Hell yeah.

6. Most people probably do not realize that Steven is struggling.

Wow, Steven. It took you a whole 5 seconds to make a new friend. You’re getting rusty.

I found this quote from Lapis telling. She still sees Steven as being able to make and keep friends effortlessly. In “Room for Ruby,” she was actually relieved to hear Ruby’s immediate love for earth was all an act, laughing and saying “No one could be that well adjusted.” The only exception to this rule for her seems to be Steven. She looks to him for stability, just like she did in the fight with the other Lapises.

In reality, Steven is terrified of his friends moving on and changing, while also being resentful if they don’t recognize he has changed. He has unresolved trauma that is eating away at him and causing him to have emotions he doesn’t know how to handle. However, most people probably see Steven as he presented in “Why So Blue-” gentle, charismatic, and carefree. It is not uncommon with mental illness to be “high functioning” in public and then come undone the moment you are home around your immediate family.

Even after the very public display of his stress in “Little Graduation,” none of his friends were like “dude, you’re scaring me, please go to therapy.” They saw one incident, but not the whole picture, so none of them seemed to really grasp how bad things are going for him. This is because Steven is still pretty adept at putting up a positive front most of the time.

***

Anyways, I just wanted to revisit this episode and give it some love. Feel free to RB and tell me things you noticed about it that I may have missed!

[girlboss-molina]

Be Who You Are (No Compromise)

A Julie and the Phantoms Modern Royalty AU

Chapter 2: A Tale of Punches and Pancakes

AO3 Link

Words: 9389

-----

Alex POV

...

The jet ride was nice from a glance, but insufferable for Alex. His wish to leave his anxieties in Tambor? Yeah, he knew that was bullshit. As the miles passed, his stomach bubbled and knotted more and more until he had no room for the small wrapped chocolates in the dish at the back of the plane. The fluffy clouds seemed to taunt him with their serenity, making him feel out of place with his disgust, anxiety, and anger. 

Why, why, did he have to be put in an arranged goddamn marriage when he was nineteen? The gods hated him, for sure. 

He was back to considering options in his fake-your-death-to-get-out-of-it plan when Luke finally broke the silence.

“Dude, you okay?”

“Have a guess.” The sarcasm in his voice was tangible. 

“Yes?”

“Have another guess.” Alex barely smiled at Luke’s laugh. “I just… I hate this. Julie’s awesome, dude, she’s one of my best friends. But I don’t want to marry her.”

“I feel you,” Luke responded. “I really, really want to get you out of it.”

“Thanks.” Alex went back to staring at the clouds.

…

As the plane touched down, the rumbling shook up the nerves in Alex’s stomach, and he had to shut his eyes and focus on his breathing and the feeling of Luke’s hand on his. He did his best not to crease his vest as he leaned over, holding on tight. 

When he felt the motion in his ears stop, he carefully opened his eyes, relieved when he wasn’t nauseous. Of course, he couldn’t get rid of the anxiety. 

They’d landed in the runway behind the Dahlia palace, and thankfully, the small amount of vision he had out his plane window only showed the back of the palace and, on the other side, the tall, forested mountains in which he and Julie had run around in many times when they were younger. The scene was calming, and settled his nerves. 

As the doors opened, sending a crisp blast of cold Dahlian air in his face, the familiar smell of petrichor and honey reminded him of when he and Julie would run for hours, climbing trees as high as they could, despite Ray’s constant warnings and pleas for them to be careful. How simple it would be, really, to run out the plane door and across the runway until he was back, surrounded by the branches. It would be a nightmare, of course; he barely knew how to make a fire, which was definitely a skill he would need if he were to survive on his own in the cool Dahlian climate. Surely he could figure it out, though. It couldn’t be that hard. And the motivation of not having to act straight for the rest of his life would certainly help. He wondered just how fast he could run-

He was jolted back to reality by Luke excitedly hitting his shoulder. 

“Your highness, as your Royal Best Dude™ I am legally required to get you up and moving so that you don’t start spiraling. Plus, I’m hungry.” Alex rolled his eyes and laughed despite himself. 

He wasn’t going through this alone.  

…

He should’ve expected the cameras, really. But the bright flashes startled him as soon as he stepped out of the plane, and he had to quickly struggle to compose himself. He gave small smiles and respectful waves, walking across the long runway to the limousine waiting for him. He would be making a round past the palace gates before formally entering the palace from the front. So he climbed into the lush leather seats, with Erik and Luke right behind him, and sat down, squeezing his hands into fists and then running his fingertips over the indents from his nails. 

He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped together as he tapped his foot. He wouldn’t admit it, but the feeling of Luke’s and Erik’s hands on his shoulders helped. A lot. Tension melted away from him, and while he was still nervous, he somehow managed to stand and steadily walk out of the limo, a smile breaking out on his face as he saw Julie. 

Alex wasn’t sure why he was surprised at how beautiful Julie was, there really was no paralleling her beauty. And yet, his heart swelled with pride at seeing her elegant violet dress, embroidered with dahlias. 

“Alex, why the hell do you walk so fast?” asked Luke, breathing heavily and trying to keep up. 

“I’m gay. Next question.” 

“That’s fair.” 

As he ran to Julie, Alex was so caught up in the euphoria of seeing his friend in person that, for a moment, he lived in a world where the paparazzi wasn’t a thing. But he didn’t care. Julie saw him and ran through the gardens, a huge grin visible from hundreds of feet away. She ran to him, her gown flowing in the breeze, and as soon as they were within a few feet of each other, Julie jumped and Alex let out an “oof” as he caught her in a hug, spinning around and laughing.

“It’s so good to see you!” she exclaimed, and Alex nodded.

“Yeah, you too! Even though we, you know, FaceTimed last night.”

“Eh, details. Besides, the press wants a happy reunion.”

“Fair.”

“How was the plane ride?” 

“Amazing,” Alex said. “Nothing better than being on the edge of a panic attack while you’re thousands of feet in the air.”

“I’ll fight your anxiety,” Julie decided. “Tell it to meet me behind the Denny’s tonight.” Alex snorted. 

“I’d rather you didn’t punch my brain. I kinda need it.”

“Do you?” Alex gasped in mock offense.

“Okay, rudeness aside, I think this is the part where we walk around the garden and pretend we don’t know there are photojournalists hiding behind the bushes.” Julie nodded and took his arm.

As they strolled around the gardens, the aroma of flowers settled some of Alex’s nerves. He never turned around to make sure Luke was there, but he somehow knew. It was the Royal Best Dude™ telepathy, probably. And Erik was probably bringing his suitcase up to wherever he would be staying. So, Alex did his best to relax and hang out with his friend.

“Ava’s going to be ascending soon,” he noted. “She’s pumped. Though I’m not sure how good of an idea it is to let a twenty-three year old run a country.” Julie laughed.

“I’m happy for her! And I’m sure she’ll be fine. She knows how to party, for sure, but she’s also responsible. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I’ll let my anxiety know.” Julie burst out laughing, and Alex soon followed. 

“Her Royal Majesty, Queen Ava Mercer of Tambor,” Julie said. “It has a nice ring to it.” Alex nodded. 

“Yeah. I’m excited for her, too. All jokes aside, I think she’ll make a great queen.”

“Definitely.”

A few moments passed, including Julie gently picking a rose from the garden, one with a pale pink coloring, and sticking it behind Alex’s ear. When it wouldn’t stay, she scrunched her nose and carefully tucked it into the breast pocket of his vest. 

“You look absolutely dashing, your highness,” she said with a fake, posh accent. Alex giggled and rolled his eyes. 

“You’re a dork.”

“I know.” 

…

His room was really something. 

After he and Julie had finished their walk around the gardens, they’d given each other cordial bows (of course tied with a friendly wink, because they were just Like That), and Erik had shown him up to his quarters. Luke followed, and Alex noticed his cheeks were considerably red. 

It was chillier in Dahlia than it was in Tambor, though, and Luke had never been Plus, a breeze had flown in during the last ten minutes of their walk, on which Luke was shadowing. He was probably flushed from the cold air. 

He was down the hall from Julie’s room, in one of the guest rooms he’d used when playing hide-and-seek with Julie when they were kids. But it had been completely refurbished, since he would be staying there for a few months.

The soft carpet was a creamy tan, and the large, full-length mirrors let in sunlight that cast gentle shadows from the posters on the giant bed, which was adorned with blue sheets and pillows, with gold and pink accents. The dark, forest green walls gave the room a soothing effect, and the twinkling fairy lights were like fireflies in a meadow. A crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling, glittering with diamonds and gold. A mahogany record player sat on a media table, along with wireless chargers for his phone and laptop, next to the sliding door that led to a huge bathroom. The tiles were light tan and grey, peppered with flecks of quartz that shimmered in the light. A giant tub sat near a tinted window, as well as a vanity with a majestic painted mirror. The shower could’ve fit his entire bed.

Even though he wasn’t keen on marrying Julie, he wouldn’t dislike his stay here. 

“Dude,” Luke whispered. “Your room is awesome.” 

“I know, right? Definitely nicer than my room in Tambor.” 

As Alex went to his giant suitcase full of neatly folded clothes, beginning to tuck them into drawers and onto hangers, Luke helped out. 

“So,” Alex began, breaking the silence. “How are you liking Dahlia so far?”

“It’s great! Kinda cold, but I’ll get used to it. And… Julie seems really nice.”

Alex definitely didn’t miss Luke’s blush when he mentioned the princess, and his lips raised into a smirk.

“Yeah, she is. You should get to know her at dinner tonight.” Luke cleared his throat.

“Uh, yeah. Definitely.”

“You good?”

“Totally,” he insisted, though his voice rose an octave and Alex couldn’t suppress his laugh. 

“Sure.”

…

The dinner was incredible. Platters of roast beef sat next to giant bowls of mashed potatoes, and the bread appetizers were soft and delicious. And, even though he was legally allowed to have alcohol based on Dahlian laws, he thought better of it, instead filling his glass with water. He noticed that Julie did the same. 

“Not a fan of wine?” he asked. 

“Nah, not really. It always gives me a stomachache.” 

“Same.”

Alex went back to his food, before noticing a man around his age eyeing him. He had dark hair and was dressed in a red vest and dark grey shirt. He seemed quite kind, if the small smile on his face had any say.

“That’s your brother, Reggie, right? I think I’ve only met him once.”

Julie followed Alex’s gaze. “Oh yeah! You would get along great, I think.”

“Cool.”

…

Before dessert was brought up, everyone in the grand hall got to mingle for about twenty minutes and let their food settle. Alex let Julie introduce him to Reggie, with whom he immediately hit it off. 

“No way, you play the drums?” Reggie asked. “I’ve always wanted to learn, but I’m no good.”

“Yeah, I do! You said you play bass?”

“Yep!”

“That’s awesome, dude.”

Their conversation lasted a bit longer, and Alex felt confident that he and Reggie would be good friends, especially because of his lighthearted demeanor, and their bro-hug before Alex was pulled away to talk to another nobleman. 

He was bounced around like a ping-pong ball, being chatted up by guest after guest. Soon, though, he needed some air, so he searched to room for King Ray.

“Your majesty?” he asked, jogging over. Ray turned to him and gave a warm smile, shaking his hand.

“Hello, Alex. You can call me Ray. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, thanks. I was just wondering if I could sneak out the back for a moment? I need some air.” Ray laughed.

“Of course, son. I told them to give you some space,” he noted, guestering to the nobles, “but I doubt they were able to contain their excitement.” Alex nodded, grateful for Ray’s chill vibes. “Try to be back in ten minutes?”

“Of course.”

Ray nodded and patted his shoulder, and Alex stepped through the back door of the grand hall, grateful when he didn’t see anyone. He took a deep breath, fiddling with the hem of his vest. 

A voice caught his ear. 

“-yeah, don’t worry, Alyssa. The mousse is in the refrigerator-” 

Alex whirled around, searching for whoever had spoken, but before he could…

WHAM. 

A cold rush of air blew from behind him as a door opened, and someone ran into him.

Hard.

Alex stumbled forward, trying to catch himself but to no avail. His momentum swung him forward, leaving him on the ground. 

“Whoa!” he started, looking at the person who’d ran him over, and…

Oh fuck, he thought. He’s hot. 

“Agh, sorry, I really need to watch where I’m-” the man cut off, his cheeks flushing. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, your highness.” He scrambled into a bow, and Alex blushed. 

“No, you’re good, bro.” 

Alex got a good look at him, and felt his cheeks flush. He had long, silky brown hair that fell over his shoulders in waves, and smooth brown skin that had darkened in a blush. His dark eyes were kind and playful, adorned with long eyelashes. 

Alex inhaled slowly, trying to ignore the rising gay panic. 

“Are you okay?” the man asked. 

“I’m fine, yeah. Thanks. Just trying to clear my head. Until you, you know, tried to crack it open.” To Alex’s surprise, the man giggled, and holy fuck, if he wasn’t already adorable, that would’ve been the tipping point. Creases folded at the corners of his eyes, and his perfect smile turned lopsided as he laughed. 

“I did pancake you, huh?” Alex tried to laugh, and the man cleared his throat. “Sorry. Oh, uh, I’m Willie. It’s nice to meet you.”

Alex reached for his hand. “Alex,” he greeted, still hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt. 

“Well, I’d better make sure we’re clear to bring up dessert. But I’ll see you around, your royal pancakeness,” Willie said with a grin, spinning on his heel and going back to the kitchens. Alex nodded, even though he was already gone. 

-----

Julie POV

...

As soon as Alex’s plane touched down, Julie couldn’t hide her excitement. She rushed through her photos, and as soon as she could see him, she took off running, a huge grin on her face. The silky fabric of her dress flapped against her shins, and she sprinted even faster, ignoring the goosebumps on her arms. 

As soon as she reached him, she jumped into the hug, laughing as he spun her around. They might have FaceTimed the day before, but it just wasn’t the same as seeing him in person. He was one of her best friends, and the fact that they hadn’t seen each other in so long was frankly biphobic. 

But as she spun around, finally opening her eyes, Julie caught sight of Alex’s guard. She’d never formally met him, and she’d always thought he was cute, but wow. 

He had deep hazel eyes and pale skin, cheeks flushed from the cold, his wavy brown hair neatly styled, with a touch of personal flair. His chiseled jawline cast a shadow on his neck, and his biceps were visible through his dark jacket. Julie tried to look away and focus on her friend, because now was the literal worst time to develop a crush on someone she barely knew. 

Not that she had a crush on him, or anything. 

Julie forced those thoughts out of her head, and scolded her stupid heart for fluttering when she caught his gaze. She turned back to Alex, laughing when he insinuated that photojournalists would be hiding behind the bushes. 

“Ava’s going to be ascending soon,” Alex told her. “She’s pumped. Though I’m not sure how good of an idea it is to let a twenty-three year old run a country.” Julie laughed, silently agreeing.

“I’m happy for her! And I’m sure she’ll be fine. She knows how to party, for sure, but she’s also responsible. I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I’ll let my anxiety know.” Julie burst out laughing, soon followed by Alex.

“Her Royal Majesty, Queen Ava Mercer of Tambor,” she said, letting the words flow off her tongue. “It has a nice ring to it.” 

“Yeah. I’m excited for her, too. All jokes aside, I think she’ll make a great queen.”

“Definitely.” There wasn’t a doubt in her voice, either. 

Julie had met Ava when she was eight. Ava had been thirteen, and was the coolest thirteen-year-old ever, in little Julie’s opinion. She vaguely remembered hanging out in her room with her, and thinking she was just the coolest ever. Then again, she was an eight year old. To an eight year old, all thirteen-year-olds are cool (or gross, but we don’t talk about that).

Julie walked with Alex, chatting about random things, including plans to get out of the arranged marriage, each more complicated than the next. Julie couldn’t stop herself from laughing when Alex brought up his temptation to just run into the woods with no supplies or survival skills, and just be a gay forest cryptid. She was quite fond of it, to be honest. 

Unfortunately, they didn’t have any plans that didn’t involve either faking their deaths, or something treasonous, neither of which would be good. At least, not in anyone else’s opinions. 

…

After Alex went up to his room, Julie did the same, and immediately flopped on her bed, finally allowing herself to process her thoughts about, well, everything.

God, she wanted out of this marriage. She knew Alex did as well. They’d talked about it endlessly over FaceTime, texting, and just now, in person. But neither of them could come up with an actual plan or a good enough reason to halt it. Because, you know, the people actually getting married never get a say. 

Plus, it did not help that Alex’s guard, who she’d learned was named Luke, was really cute. She furrowed her brow. She’d never even had a real conversation with the guy. Not that it mattered, of course. She remembered when she was fifteen and had already decided that Nick Danforth-Evans was a sweetheart, even though she’d only had one real conversation with him. 

But this felt different somehow. She couldn’t help but feel like Luke was actually really nice. She just got those vibes from him. She cursed her stupid heart for making her feel things. No, Molina. There’s no such thing as liking a cute guard. 

It didn’t work. 

She stared at her ceiling, watching flecks of dust float around the air, and jumped when Flynn and Carrie walked into her room without knocking. It wasn’t like she actually expected them to knock, but she’d zoned out and the sudden sound took her by surprise. 

“I know that look,” Flynn said matter-of-factly. “What’s the crisis about?”

“What isn’t it about?”

“Uh uh, don’t try to deflect by answering my question with another question,” Flynn scolded, and Carrie bit back a laugh. 

“I just…” she searched for an excuse. “I love that Alex is here, but I don’t want to marry him,” she said, remembering that the best lies were based on the truth. “And he’s gay, so I know for a fact he doesn’t want to marry me. Plus, you know. We’ve expressed that multiple times. And I know there’s really nothing I can do about it, because it’s all arranged, and bitching about it does nothing to help, but honestly? I’m just feeling bitchy.” 

“As you should,” Carrie agreed, to Julie’s surprise. “If anyone deserves to be a little bitchy, it’s you. I mean, come on. You’re a teenage girl who never actually got a normal life because you’re frickin’ Princess Julie Molina, heiress to the throne of Dahlia. And you’re stuck in an arranged marriage with one of your best friends, and neither of you want it, but you can’t actually change it. I’d be bitchy too.”

“Thank you for summing that up,” Julie deadpanned. “But… it helps. Thanks.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“She’s right, Jules,” Flynn agreed. “Be the bitchy bisexual you deserve to be.” That elicited a laugh, and Julie couldn’t help but leave the smile resting on her face. 

“Alright,” she decided. “We have self-defense in half an hour, so we should get ready.” Flynn nodded and pulled Julie off of her bed, leading her to the giant walk-in closet, searching the hundreds of options, but steering clear from the gowns. 

Flynn and Carrie must’ve known she needed cheering up, because they sarcastically suggested the biggest, poofiest gowns Julie owned, tied with a tight shawl and the wobbliest heels imaginable. Julie laughed despite herself, especially since she could barely walk in the shoes they’d picked. She was also taller than six feet, which was a plus, but she would pick stability over height any day, especially when she was going to practice kicking people’s asses. 

Eventually, she settled on flexible black leggings with a purple stripe going down the outside of each leg, and a simple white tunic that starkly contrasted her dark skin. It was fitted but she could move easily in it, stretching into a backbend to make sure. 

She sighed and allowed Flynn and Carrie to take either arm and lead her downstairs to the training arena. 

…

The training arena was a huge room, the floors completely covered in mats, aside from the giant gymnastic trampolines at the far corner and the running track that traversed the perimeter. On the far side opposite the trampolines were sets of weights and treadmills, as well as other equipment like bars and benches. Punching bags were hung sporadically around the martial arts area, which was also used for tumbling and floor routines. 

Lady Athena gave a smile as they walked in, soon followed by Reggie and Mira. Lady Athena was a tall, muscular woman with silky black hair that was always in a high ponytail. Her bronze skin glittered with sweat, and her two-piece athleisure outfit left her chiseled abs on display. 

“Alright,” she said, clapping her hands. “Reggie, since you’re bigger, you’re with me. You four, pair up and practice your hand-to-hand skills. Remember the blocks we learned last week.” Julie nodded and paired with Flynn, immediately getting into position.

“Head’s up,” she warned with a smirk, before lunging with a punch that would’ve hit Flynn square in the chest if not for her catlike reflexes. She knocked Julie’s hand out of the way, and Julie had to twist to avoid Flynn’s counterattack, letting herself lean backwards. But when she almost fell, she used it to her advantage, hopping backwards onto one hand and spinning, tripping Flynn by kicking her feet out from under her. Before Flynn could recover, Julie pounced over her, grabbing her shirt collar and pulling her fist back, ready to attack. She didn’t follow through, obviously, but she knew she had good form. 

“Well done, your highness,” praised Lady Athena. Julie blushed.

“Thanks.”

“Whatever,” Flynn grumbled, and Julie laughed. “Rematch?”

“You’re on.”

…

Julie had defeated Flynn four times to two, and was feeling very confident. It must’ve helped, exercising, because her worries about Alex and Luke were far away as she battled Carrie and then Mira. Or, they were until a certain brunette guard walked in the room in a sleeveless shirt and shorts that showed off his muscles. 

She shouldn’t have let herself get distracted, though, because in her haze, Mira managed to throw her off balance and win their round. 

“Hah! That’s two each!” She outstretched her hand, which Julie gratefully accepted, pulling her up. 

“Good job,” she said, still distracted but keeping her eyes far away from Luke. 

“Hi, is this the self-defense lesson?” Luke asked, and Julie could no longer ignore him. 

“It is,” Lady Athena confirmed. “You’re Prince Alexander’s guard, correct?”

“And certified Royal Best Dude™,” he added with a grin that was so adorable it made Julie flush. By some miracle, nobody noticed. 

“Alright, why don’t you train with Reggie? He can show you what we’re working on. I need to go make sure nobody’s going to throw out their back at the weights.” With that, Lady Athena stalked off, her ponytail swaying behind her. 

Luke walked over to Reggie, and Julie did her best not to stare as Reggie guided Luke, and they began sparring. Luke was surprisingly agile, but he was too enthusiastic, reaching for every possible blow, not realizing where he left himself vulnerable. But his puppy eyes when Reggie defeated him were too cute. 

Julie cleared her throat and turned away. 

“Tiebreaker?” Mira nodded, and they went to sparring. Julie ducked and dodged every hit of Mira’s, even getting in a few herself, but she was thrown off when she heard Luke laugh, a musical, joyful sound, and Mira took advantage of her momentary slip, finally beating her. 

“Yes!” Mira jumped and pumped her fist, then helped Julie up. 

“Nice job!” Julie grinned with the words, high-fiving Mira. 

“Alright, break time.”

Julie walked to the edge of the wall where she’d left her water bottle and towel, almost choking on her water when she heard Luke’s voice behind her. 

“Your highness?” he asked shyly. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met.” Julie smiled and outstretched her hand, shaking Luke’s. “I’m Alex’s guard, Luke.”

“Hi! You can call me Julie,” she said with a smile, hoping her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too! Oh, by the way, great job during your fights. I saw your takedown on the other girl, the one with the braids.”

“Oh, that’s Flynn.”

“Cool. But yeah, I saw your fight, and that was really impressive. I doubt I could spin on one hand like you did.” 

Well.

If Julie hadn’t been blushing before, she certainly was now. At least Luke’s cheeks were only red because of the intense workouts. 

“It took me forever to get that move right,” she admitted. “I only just got it down, if I’m being honest. I still slip up sometimes, too.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he complimented. And oh, his smile really was a beautiful thing. 

“Alright, break time’s over,” called Lady Athena. “No more flirting.” Julie’s stomach dropped, and she inhaled, a denial already on her tongue, before she realized that her coach was looking at Flynn and Carrie, who were chatting animatedly, both blushing. 

She practiced a bit more with Carrie, doing her best to ignore the boy next to her. When the class finally ended, she hurriedly thanked Lady Athena before rushing up to shower.

Letting the hot water wash over her, she pondered how the hell Luke had wiggled his way into her heart so quickly within one conversation. 

Was she being brainwashed into liking a guy she barely knew?

Was this some elaborate trick that whatever higher being existed had orchestrated as a ploy to get her out of the arranged marriage?

… And more importantly, would it work? 

The thought made her laugh. Not that she didn’t slightly believe this was all some sort of elaborate trick to get her to commit treason and fall in love with someone she wasn’t supposed to, but it was funny nonetheless.

…

After she’d done her best to set the record for hottest, soapiest shower possible, Julie wrapped herself in a towel, massaging peach lotion into her skin, the scent matching her shampoo. As she rubbed it into her hands, she imagined what it would feel like holding Luke’s hand, before quickly banishing the thought away to the depths of simpy hell.

This was worse than she thought. 

She changed into her evening gown for the dinner, allowing Mira to lace up the back. It was all navy blue, a long strapless dress that reached her ankles, with a see-through tulle layer over top that went up to a sleeveless halter neckline, leaving the rest of the tulle layer to flow down neatly over the rest of the silky dress, which tightened at the waist. Tiny diamonds had been sewn into the tulle at her waist, high in concentration before gently tapering off the lower in the skirt they went.

“Okay,” Carrie said, walking in with Flynn beside her. “I think I speak for everyone when I say, damn. That dress is fine.” Flynn nodded enthusiastically. 

“I know, right?” Mira said excitedly. “I actually helped tailor this one! It was one of my favorites to make.”

“And for a good reason,” Julie agreed. “Mira, you’ve outdone yourself.”

“Not quite,” she said, turning Julie towards the vanity. “I’m thinking we do something simple but elegant for your hair?”

“I vote for that,” Flynn interjected. 

“Sure!”

Mira set to work, combing through Julie’s hair with her fingers. Julie closed her eyes. She’d always loved the feeling of people playing with her hair, and as Mira wove her dark locks into two thick braids that soon joined together, letting the rest of her hair poof at the base of her neck, Julie was transported back to her mother’s room when she was five. She remembered the feeling of her mother braiding her hair like it was yesterday, the gentle tugs and nimble fingers on her scalp. It wasn’t the same with Mira, of course, but it was refreshing and comforting at the same time. 

“Hey, Jules?” Flynn called from her closet.

“Mm?”

“Mind if I steal that asymmetrical dress for tonight? The jade one,” she clarified. 

“Feel free!”

The dress in mind was a slim-fitting jade green dress that reached her knees, but the hem was cut asymmetrically, leaving one side longer than the other. It had golden ribbon-like threads spun around it with no particular rhyme or reason, and a built-in sash made of pale, spring green tulle roses. The thin straps showed off her shoulders, and when Flynn walked out with it on, Julie noticed Carrie blush.

“Dude, you look awesome,” Julie complimented. Flynn twirled, letting the light play off of the shimmery fabric.

“Thanks!”

Mira finished doing Julie’s hair, and held up a mirror for her to see. Julie admired the thick, smooth braids that gently rejoined at the base of her neck, letting the rest of her dark curls loose in an elegant fashion.

“It’s amazing, Mira! Thank you so much.”

“Of course! And thank you for letting me do it,” she said with a giggle. “Your hair is so fun to style.” Julie blushed. 

…

The dinner was rather uneventful, thankfully. Julie wasn’t sure if she would’ve had the energy to constantly be answering questions. Instead, though, she got to introduce people to each other, and relax and eat, and try to keep her eyes away from a certain hazel-eyed guard.

She was grateful for the relatively simple task.

-----

Luke POV

...

Luke had heard about the self-defense classes in the training arena, and he was itching to get moving, so he changed into workout clothes and headed down there. 

The spiral staircase was wide and glittered with colored glass, the silver banisters gleaming in the light. He trailed his hand down it as he made his way down.

When he reached the training arena, he closed the door behind him and went to set down his water bottle and towel- but not before noticing Julie.

At the self-defense class.

Thankfully, she didn’t see him. He hung back for a moment, watching as she sparred with another girl with long braids. The way she moved was incredible, like water flowing in a current, unpredictable and smooth. Of course, if anyone asked, he was most certainly not admiring it. He could silently appreciate her skills, though.

As she dodged hit after hit, throwing her own blocks and blows, it looked like the girl with braids had gotten the better of her, but as Julie leaned backwards, she hopped and - holy fuck - caught herself on one hand, spinning around in the air like some sort of ethereal breakdancer, and knocking the other girl’s feet out from under her, before pouncing, grabbing her shirt collar, and pulling back her fist, before freezing and laughing. 

Whoa. 

So not only was she a wicked beauty, Luke realized, she was a human wrecking ball, too. 

He cleared his throat, tearing his eyes away from the beautiful badass in front of him, tuning out Lady Athena’s praise in favor of clearing his head before approaching to join. Not that it worked. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of Julie. The other three girls (and the guy, if he was being honest) were all stunningly fit and agile, but there was something about Julie that enchanted him. The way she was always smiling even in the middle of a training fight, how, even when she was defeated, she brushed it off with a laugh, how she was light on her feet like a cat as she dodged and spun, how she was needlessly extravagant with her self-defense and yet somehow always made it work. Maybe that’s just what princesses were like; even when defending themselves against possible attackers, they had to be as beautiful as ever. 

Of course, right now, Luke knew she didn’t look how she normally would, in her silky gowns and expertly styled hair. Now, she wore matching athletic clothes and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail, with some strands coming out in a sweaty frizz. And yet, that somehow just made her even more breathtaking. Even when she was sweaty and working out, she managed to look like an angel.

An angel who could easily kick his ass, he remembered as she pulled the upside-down-one-handed-breakdancer move again, this time on a redheaded girl he didn’t recognize. 

Before he could stop himself, he approached Lady Athena. 

“Hi, is this the self-defense lesson?” He asked the woman.  

“It is,” Lady Athena confirmed, and he nodded.. “You’re Prince Alexander’s guard, correct?”

“And certified Royal Best Dude™,” he added with a grin. He would never let go of that title.

“Alright, why don’t you train with Reggie? He can show you what we’re working on. I need to go make sure nobody’s going to throw out their back at the weights.” Luke nodded again as Lady Athena walked away.

He walked over to Reggie, shaking his hand.

“Hey, I’m Luke,” he introduced with a smile. Reggie shot one back.

“Reggie!”

“Nice to meet you! So, do we just… fight? I’m not sure how this is run here compared to in Tambor.” Reggie laughed. 

“Yeah, pretty much. You good at hand-to-hand?”

“I’m not bad,” he admitted. “But I’m no expert.” He couldn’t help looking at Julie. “Is she always that much of a badass?” Reggie followed his eyes to Julie. 

“Pretty much,” he said with a laugh, and Luke dearly hoped he wasn’t blushing.

“Good to know. In that case, if I introduce myself to her, how scared should I be?” He asked it with a smile and a joking tone, but he was actually a bit nervous. But, you know, just because he now knew that she could kick his ass seven ways to Sunday.

No other reason.

“Oh, don’t worry!” Reggie assured him. “She’s actually really nice. I’ve known her since she was eight,” he explained. Luke nodded, grateful for the reassurance.

“Alrighty then,” he said, hopping into a fighting stance. “Let’s get cracking.” 

…

By “let’s get cracking,” he was hoping he wouldn’t be cracking his ego, but he was sorely mistaken. Reggie didn’t seem like it, but he was really strong, and really good at fighting. Luke was more agile than him, and strength-wise he could compare, but the Dahlian style of fighting was so different from the Tamborian style. They were similar in many ways, of course; they had the same moves and strategies. But the ways they moved were so different, the ways they executed their moves had an uncanny grace and deadliness.

He did his best, reaching for every blow he could, trying to get the upper hand. And, to his credit, he won a few rounds. But he accidentally left himself vulnerable most of the time, leaving perfect opportunities for his opponent to strike, because Of Course He Did. 

When they called for a break, Luke wiped his forehead with a towel, grabbing a drink of water. Then, he swallowed the lump in his throat and approached Julie.

“Your highness?” he asked shyly. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met.” Luke tried not to blush when she smiled and shook his hand. “I’m Alex’s guard, Luke.”

“Hi! You can call me Julie,” she said with a gorgeous grin, and Luke knew he was a goner. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too! Oh, by the way, great job during your fights. I saw your takedown on the other girl, the one with the braids.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and he mentally kicked himself. Not smooth, Patterson. What if she thought he was creepy? 

Thankfully, though, she smiled.

“Oh, that’s Flynn!”

“Cool,” he said, relieved. Nice and smooth, Patterson. “But yeah, I saw your fight, and that was really impressive. I doubt I could spin on one hand like you did.” He reached up and scratched the back of his neck nervously, and he couldn’t help but feel accomplished when Julie’s cheeks flushed. Of course, his were probably just as red, but hopefully he could blame it on the workout.

“It took me forever to get that move right,” she admitted. “I only just got it down, if I’m being honest. I still slip up sometimes, too.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” he complimented with a smile. And it wasn’t a lie, either. 

“Alright, break time’s over,” called Lady Athena. “No more flirting.” Luke cleared his throat, getting ready to insist that he wasn’t flirting, before he realized that Lady Athen was looking at Flynn and another redheaded girl, who were chatting animatedly, both blushing. He sighed in relief. 

As he went back to sparring with Reggie, zoned out but fighting just as well as he was before, maybe even better, he pondered Julie’s abilities. How did she manage to be so beautiful, so graceful, and yet so kind and badass? It shouldn’t have been possible for any one human to do that all, much less a teenage girl who was already juggling the responsibilities of being a princess. 

Julie was, Luke realized, even more incredible than he’d ever thought possible.

…

All throughout the dinner, he was trying not to stare at Julie. Her dress was absolutely gorgeous, and the way she flitted around the room like a butterfly was absolutely ethereal. Tie that with the diamonds sewn into her navy blue dress that looked like fading stars and twinkled in the light, and she looked like she was wrapped in starlight. He knew it was appropriate for that star of a woman, but still, he thought it should’ve been illegal for anyone to have that effect on him. 

His cheeks were red, and he stared at his plate, inhaling the scent of roast beef and mashed potatoes, along with the aroma of warm bread from his appetizer. 

Even with the cool air of Dahlia and his thin shirt and suit vest, he was still sweating. He was absolutely gone for a girl he’d only had one conversation with, a girl he’d only known for a maximum of five hours. 

A girl who his best friend was being forced to marry. 

That was the worst part of all of this. His best friend, who would never be in love with Julie no matter how good of friends they were, had to marry her because of goddamn international relations, and there was nothing he could do about it. And, a selfish part of him thought, it means you never had a chance. He shoved the thoughts out of his head, hating the lingering ache they left in his heart. 

Not that he would’ve ever had a chance anyway. She was a beautiful, badass princess, and he was just a guard she didn’t even know. 

-----

Reggie POV

...

As soon as the plane landed on the runway behind the palace, Reggie smiled at Julie, letting go of her hand as she readied herself.

He understood her worry. No matter how close you are with someone, being set to marry them - especially when you didn’t want to - was daunting. Of course, he’d never been through the same thing, but he was always an empathetic person, and he could practically feel his own sister’s worry and ache.

He saw Prince Alexander walking to the gardens, and smiled when Julie broke into a grin, running to him. He twirled rose petals between his fingers, letting out a small laugh when she jumped into Alex’s arms. He didn’t want to seem like a helicopter brother, though, so he went back inside, leaving Jules with Prince Alexander. 

When he stepped inside, he nearly ran into Ray.

“Whoa, sorry!” Ray laughed. 

“You’re perfectly fine, mijo. Everything okay?” Reggie sighed.

“I’m just worried for Julie. I’ve never really gotten to know Prince Alexander, and-”

“I’ll stop you there,” Ray said. “Believe me, I know what you mean, and if I could stop it without huge consequences, I would. But Alex isn’t someone you need to worry about. That boy is one of the sweetest, kindest people I’ve ever met,” he assured him. “And while I know neither of them want to get married, I know that they’re both mature, and good friends.”

“Thanks,” Reggie sighed. “I just wish I could get her out of it, you know? I mean, that’s my little sister.”

“I understand,” the king agreed. “But unfortunately, there isn’t anything to be done other than let Alex settle in.” Reggie nodded glumly. “Hey, wasn’t there a progression you wanted to show me? On your bass?” Ray clarified. Reggie immediately lit up. 

“Yeah! Julie and I have been working on a song called Icarus, and she’s got a killer piano melody worked out. I went off of some of her chords and found a super cool progression on my bass that adds a really nice line underneath hers, and it sounds-” he did the chef’s kiss thing with his hand- “divine.”

“Alright, well now I’ve gotta see it!” Reggie’s grin lit up even more and he ran to his room, followed by Ray, who was jogging behind him. 

Reggie’s room was huge, the walls painted dark blue. He’d always found the color soothing. He snatched his red and white bass guitar from its stand, spinning on his heel as he ducked under the strap, letting it settle by his waist. 

When Ray met him there, Reggie grinned, plucking the strings animatedly until he remembered the notes. He didn’t bother grabbing his phone to try and find them from wherever he’d written them down in the endless scrolling of his notes app. Soon, though, his chaotic ADHD brain remembered, and he began excitedly plucking specific notes in a rhythmic pattern, his fingers stretching to reach each fret as he hopped from the E string to A, then G back to E and D. He smiled even brighter when he saw Ray grinning and tapping his foot to the beat.

“So, it kinda just goes like that, until we get to the chorus. Then, I come in with a little…” he slid his finger down the string, letting the note slide down before he hopped back into the rhythm, the same notes as before, but ordered differently, giving a new feel to the music. 

He hopped around, spinning as he played his bass, humming the lyrics under his breath.

“That sounds super cool, mijo!” Ray exclaimed, one eyebrow furrowed, as was custom for him whenever he was excited. Reggie hopped up and down happily, fixing the cuff of one of his sleeves. 

“Thanks! Julie and I are gonna try to record it. I’m trying to learn how to play the drums, to add a steady beat, but I can’t seem to figure it out.”

“I’m sure you’ll get it soon.” Reggie beamed. “I’m so sorry, mijo, I have to go. I’d love to hear more later or tomorrow, though!”

“Okay,” Reggie said. “Bye!” He continued playing marking down cool progressions he found, and just hopping around to get out his wiggles. 

…

At the self-defense class, he sparred with Lady Athena. Sometimes he would spar with Julie or Flynn, but even though she was no doubt better at fighting, he was also bigger, and she was paired with Flynn. 

Lady Athena was amazing at fighting, and Reggie got his ass kicked most of the time, but he was able to win a couple rounds, which he was quite proud of. Lady Athena complimented his form, and he had no doubt that he would be gathering serotonin from that compliment for weeks. Even then, though, he got plenty from seeing his badass little sister master her insane breakdance-style move, with which she completely demolished Flynn in a few seconds. His chest swelled with pride when she won.

Soon, though, a man named Luke entered the studio, and Reggie definitely didn’t miss Julie’s blush when she looked at him. She might’ve been supposed to marry Alex, but it wasn’t like either of them wanted it. Plus, he was always down for a little treason, especially if it was with Julie. 

Lady Athena paired Luke with Reggie, perfect timing for her to go check on some of the other people in the arena. 

“Hey, I’m Luke,” the man introduced with a smile. Reggie gave his trademark grin.

“Reggie!” He outstretched his hand, and Luke shook it. 

“Nice to meet you! So, do we just… fight?” Luke asked. “I’m not sure how this is run here compared to in Tambor.” Reggie laughed. He’d never sparred with anyone from Tambor before, so this would be fun.

“Yeah, pretty much.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You good at hand-to-hand?”

“I’m not bad, but I’m no expert.” Reggie followed his gaze as it shifted over to Julie. “Is she always that much of a badass?” He asked, clearly in awe.

“Pretty much,” Reggie replied with a laugh, grinning at Luke’s blush.

Simp.

“Good to know. In that case, if I introduce myself to her, how scared should I be?” Luke was fiddling with the hem of his shirt by that point. 

“Oh, don’t worry!” Reggie assured him. “She’s actually really nice. I’ve known her since she was eight,” he explained.

“Alrighty then,” he said, hopping into a fighting stance. “Let’s get cracking.” Reggie grinned and reciprocated, taking the first strike. 

The first thing he learned was that Luke was very opportunistic in his fighting style. He went for nearly every possible blow, even if it meant leaving himself vulnerable. Reggie, of course, took advantage of this. He had to make sure his new friend (and sister’s possible future treasonous boyfriend) knew he could protect people. 

Luke pouted, and Reggie couldn’t help but admit that he had adorable puppy eyes. 

He helped him up, laughing. A few more sparring rounds passed, and Luke turned out to be quite adaptable. He found ways to get past Reggie’s blocks, and even put some up himself. Soon, they were evenly matched, and Reggie was impressed. Although, he soon found that he could get in another blow by telling a horrible joke, then striking when Luke laughed.

He thought it was pretty genius.

…

The dinner was rather uneventful. He did, however, get to meet Prince Alexander, which he was very happy about - even more so now that he was confident in Ray’s assurance that he was a good person. They’d chatted about politics and whatnot, before both admitting that they were bored. Somehow, the conversation strayed to music.

“No way, you play the drums?” Reggie asked excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to learn, but I’m no good.”

“Yeah, I do! You said you play bass?”

“Yep!” He beamed, making a mental note to ask if he wanted to see, sometime later.

“That’s awesome, dude.”

“Thanks!” 

They talked for a little while longer, before Alex was pulled away to talk to some other Dahlian nobleman whose name Reggie kept forgetting. Plus, Alex seemed tired; unsurprising, given the long day he must’ve had. 

Reggie eventually settled down and ran through his thoughts.

He knew he couldn’t protect Julie, not like he wanted to. Plus, she didn’t need protecting, he’d come to realize after Luke’s “badass” comment at the training arena. Julie Molina wasn’t just a badass in self-defense, she was also a badass in every other sense of the word. She was a teenage girl, the heiress to the Dahlian throne, juggling her academic lessons and royal lessons, along with making time for her friends, free time, and she managed to (usually) get enough sleep. She was a complete badass who didn’t need protecting. 

She needed support, instead. That was something Reggie could do. He could be by her side every step of the way, no matter how hard it got. He was her brother, and he loved her more than life itself, loved every crooked smile, every curl of hair, every eye roll after one of his famously bad jokes. She didn’t deserve any of this, but by God, he’d do his best to make it bearable for her. 

-----

Willie POV

...

After lunch, the burn on Willie’s hand had calmed. Rather than the angry red mark it was earlier, it had shrunk into an annoyed red streak. Still a nuisance, but he didn’t really care.

As Willie whipped the mousse, his mind strayed to Prince Alexander. 

What was he like? Was he as cute in person as he was in photos? Probably, Willie decided. Photos never fully captured someone’s beauty unless they knew what they were looking for, and that was always more of an emotion. Photojournalists aimed for lighting and composition. There were always emotion in the photos, yes, but they never actually got to see the people in the photo. 

He wondered if he would get to meet him. Would it go well? Would he like the bread he’d so carefully baked? Would he enjoy the mousse cake he was whipping up right now? All of these questions whirled around in Willie’s brain as he whipped the mousse, letting it become airy and fluffy. Sprinkles of cocoa powder dusted the counter next to his mixing bowl, but it was fine. It would all get wiped up later. 

He grabbed a tub of fine cinnamon, sprinkling in a pinch for a little bit of kick. It was barely noticeable, but it gave the mousse an extra depth that it normally would’ve lacked. He’d never told anyone his secret, despite prying from Lilian. 

Sprinkling in a tiny bit more to account for the large batch, his thoughts wandered again.

How was Princess Julie dealing with all of this? Willie had never had a real conversation with her, but she seemed to be very well put-together. She managed everything so well, at least from the outside. Though he knew better than anyone that, no matter how organized someone may seem, there’s always a storm underneath. 

Willie finished up, putting plastic wrap over the mousse and sticking it in the giant refrigerator, before taking off his apron, washing his hands, and heading for the door.

“Willie?” Called Alyssa from behind him. He turned around, walking backwards. 

“Yeah? I’m just going on break.”

“Did you finish making the mousse?”

“Yeah, don’t worry, Alyssa,” he said, walking out the door. The mousse is in the refrigerator-” 

WHAM. 

Willie let out a slight “oof” as he ran into the person in the hallway.

He stumbled, catching himself before he fell, though not as gracefully as he would’ve liked. He’d fared better than the other person, though. 

“Whoa!” The man said.

“Agh, sorry, I really need to watch where I’m-” Willie cut himself off, his cheeks flushing as he realized he’d just ran into Prince Alexander.

Well, so much for making a good impression.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, your highness.” He scrambled into a bow, and blushed. 

“No, you’re good, bro.” Willie was taken aback by the casual response, but he wasn’t complaining. 

Willie finally got a good look at him, and wasn’t at all surprised when he found that he was even more stunning in person.Of course, it made it a whole lot harder to hide his gay panic.

He had blonde hair that was expertly styled, and a crisp, blue suit vest with minimalistic gold embroidery that brought out flecks of blue in his eyes and highlights in his hair. His muscles were defined and visible through the sleeves of his white dress shirt, and even when he was frazzled after just having been knocked over, he still looked as handsome as ever.

“Are you okay?” Willie asked, concerned. 

“I’m fine, yeah. Thanks. Just trying to clear my head. Until you, you know, tried to crack it open.” Willie couldn’t help himself from laughing, and dearly hoped it wasn’t the wrong move. But the prince had a small smile on his face and pink dusting his cheeks, so he had a feeling it was okay.

“I did pancake you, huh?” He tried to laugh, and Willie nervously cleared his throat. “Sorry. Oh, uh, I’m Willie. It’s nice to meet you.”

Willie outstretched his hand, delighted when the other man shook it. “Alex,” he greeted, still blushing a little bit, which could be chalked up to the embarrassment of being plowed over. Willie was worried things would get awkward soon, so he searched for an excuse, hating that he had to leave.

“Well, I’d better make sure we’re clear to bring up dessert,” he said. “But I’ll see you around, your royal pancakeness,” Willie added with a grin, spinning on his heel and going back to the kitchens, hoping Alex hadn’t noticed his internal gay panic.

…

“Well, that was a quick break,” Alyssa pointed out.

“Yeah, I guess it was,” Willie agreed, not fully listening. 

He’d fucking pancaked the prince. Prince Alexander Mercer of Tambor. And Willie, despite his constant hoping for a good impression, ran him over because he wasn’t even watching where he was going. 

How the hell was he such a mess? And even more, how would he ever be accepted by literal royalty who was way too cute to even exist? 

Willie shook his head, letting his hair fall over his shoulders, ignoring the feeling of Alyssa’s eyes on him as he walked into the giant refrigerated room, grabbing the huge bowl of chocolate mousse and scooping it into a piping bag, grabbing some of the chilled cakes.

His hands were steady and meticulous as he gently piped the mousse onto the cakes, making a thick layer on top of each, then lifting into a swirl that peaked in the center, adorning each cake with a bit of wafer and chocolate. He set each one on a tray, waiting for Alyssa to pick it up. Plating was her specialty, because according to Lilian, any time Willie did plating, it ended up “chaotic” and “messy” and “unorthodox.” Personally, he thought it was cool. But, not everyone could have taste, he supposed. 

…

Later that night, as he wandered into his small room in the chefs’ quarters, laying down on the soft bed, his mind wandered to Alex. Despite constantly being on the news, he was a mystery, an enigma, a puzzle Willie had the urge to solve. What were his interests? His desires? His hopes, his dreams? 

Of course, he would never be able to act on his feelings about the prince, how adorably awkward he was, how gorgeous he was in any outfit, no matter the style, how even in one simple conversation, Willie had become so enamoured that he wanted to know everything about him. Not in a creepy way, of course, but in the way one wishes to know someone they’ve just met, who intrigues them to no end. 

That night, his dreams were haunted by a familiar face, a shy smile, and a piercing set of bluish eyes.

[toyota12]

Steven Universe Parallels: Pink and White Diamond (Unique abilities)

Similar to how their personalities and appearances collide and correspond, White and Pink Diamond's unique powers are also able to collide and correspond with each other.

Correspond

Both of these diamonds seem to have the same purpose when it comes to their various powers, to manipulate those around them to their advantage and to let others manipulate them in return. As shown with Pink Pearl, both of their powers seem to have a level of permanence in them as both of them damaged a portion of her so badly that she is still unable to recover from it, even years after everything has been said and done. Both of these Diamonds' power exceed those of Yellow and Blue Diamond as both are unable match or resist the effects of Pink's or White's powers.

Collide

To start off, Pink's powers seem to be mostly defensive. She has a shield which can fend off attacks from others. She also has destructive screams, which can devastate her surroundings, and over time, can permanently psychologically damage a gem (as seen below). However, this doesn’t mean that she's dangerous as she is still unable to attack anyone outright and can only use her powers to benefit herself and nothing more. Pink is also influenced by the actions of others, seeing how even though she disliked Yellow's and Blue's standards, she still abided by them, and only disguises herself as Rose Quartz when Pearl gives her the idea to do so. In a literal sense, Blue's powers forced Pink to cry and Yellow was physically stronger than Pink herself, acting out in ways that mirrored not only them, but White at times when she calls Greg "hilarious", similar to how White called Amethyst "funny". Also any harm caused to others is due to self-destructive actions on Pink's part than that of calculated manipulation. Pink is also able to manipulate others to her advantage simply through talking to them and over time, can turn a gem over to her side. The difference is, gems are still able to retain their own personality and side with Pink of their own free will than that of force.

White's powers however are mostly offensive. She is able to blast beams from her eyes to bleach or "whitewash" a gem, turning them into a literal extension of herself. Prolonged exposure to this power can erase a gem's memories, the longer a gem stays like this, the more of their past they are likely to forget. This power can also remove a gem's consciousness, only allowing said gem to say and do what White wants them to (As seen below). She can also allow gems to possess her as well, but is still able to relinquish their control at any point. However, White is not all powerful as her attacks can still be fended off by Pink's shield and White herself has no defensive powers of her own. White's actions, unlike Pink's are of calculated manipulation, which itself is caused by ignorance. Much like Pink, White can also manipulate gems through her words, however instead of turning them to her side, can pick at their deepest insecurities until they break psychologically. The contrast is that gems don't retain their own personality when manipulated by White and only side with her out of fear or obligation than of their own free will.