#steven universe fractured paths

[aalikazam]

A big sketch page! :)

90% au stuff, 9% canon stuff, 1% Harper

(For the people at night, sorry for the flashbang!)

PLEASE reblog my art if you can, notes aren't enough to get my art out there, unfortunately ^^" Though, I do appreciate them!

[maybeebeee]

Won't You Stay With Me, My Darling?

weeeee i'm writing again? i started writing this like two months ago and finished it at 1am so...do with that information as you will haha but I've been thinking about this au for aaaages and am glad that i finally finished writing something for it! hope you love it like i do :)

Pairing: Layla El-Faouly/Marc Spector, implied Layla El-Faouly/Steven Grant

Rating: G

Characters: Layla El-Faouly, Marc Spector, Steven Grant, Jake Lockley (mentioned), Khonshu (mentioned)

Tags: AU - Star Wars universe, Jedi Layla El-Faouly, bounty hunter Marc Spector, mutual pining, fluff, first kiss, idiots in love

Word count: 2301

Summary: A Jedi and a bounty hunter face a moral conundrum. In other words...Jedha is a cold planet, and Layla doesn't do well in the cold.

Read on AO3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite being a desert moon, Jedha is freezing all the time, which Layla had not been expecting the first time she had stepped out of her ship onto the planet’s surface. It’s been six months since then, and every time she’s come back it’s been just as much of a shock — and yet she still finds herself coming back again and again.

Of course, that’s mostly thanks to Marc. Or more specifically, Khonshu demanding that Marc keep coming back. The skeletal avian creature keeps promising just one more contract, and then the bounty hunter will be free, but there’s always something else, and Marc is bound until Khonshu decides to withdraw whatever hold he has on his already-fractured mind.

Layla still feels uneasy around the alien — ever since their first meeting when she had sensed the way the very air around him was almost stained with the dark side, she hasn’t trusted him. She trusts Marc, and Steven, and even Jake now that she’s met him a few more times, but not their…employer. Anyone who uses the dark side to indenture people can’t be trusted, no matter how “beneficial” the work they send them to do is.

And it’s true that Marc’s work is generally for good, it’s why Layla joined him on his travels in the first place. Taking down Imperial cells across the galaxy — especially those operating their own further very illegal and unethical programs within — is what she had already been doing herself, as a way to honour all of her fellow Jedi that had given their lives trying to do the same before the purge took them away. 

It’s nice to have someone else to fight alongside again, even if his employer is an untrustworthy bird creature who fell off the Jedi path centuries ago and has been using the dark side to bring people back from near-death and force them to serve him as his own personal bounty hunters until he feels like letting them go. 

It’s not like that’s Marc’s fault. 

In any case, Layla doesn’t mind coming back to Jedha regularly. It’s one of the few places in the galaxy she feels truly safe as a Jedi these days, and the hum of the Force through her veins when she’s here is always a source of comfort.

She’s trying to focus on it now, sitting on the floor of the small, draughty room she and Marc are staying in this time, but the cold nips at her even through her layers of clothes and makes it hard to keep her mind fixed on her meditation. It’s been hard enough to meditate since Master Taweret was killed — though Layla had been a fully-fledged Jedi Knight for several years before the purge, the loss of her old master had left a hole in her heart that she’s still not sure will ever fully heal, and reaching out with the Force had been almost impossible for weeks after Taweret’s death. She’s still getting used to it now, though it’s been nearly three years. 

People always spoke of how hard it could be to reconnect to the Force after the loss of their master, but nothing could have ever prepared her for how hard it would be after the loss of her entire Order. Not only is Taweret gone, but so is anyone else who could have helped her through this.

And then there’s the Marc issue. 

Her whole life, Layla had been taught detachment. Never letting her feelings compromise her work as a Jedi. Loving people and being compassionate but never allowing deep attachment to one person to occur. Even her very familial-like relationship with Taweret was on a knife’s edge of being too attached in the Council’s view, which was partly why she had been pushed through her Trials at only nineteen. And romance was absolutely off the cards.

Now though…the Order is gone, and Marc is here. Marc, and Steven, and Jake. But mostly Marc.

Layla’s been drawn to him from the first moment they had crossed paths, and it seems fateful to her that they’ve stayed together this long since then. The Force drew her to him, she’s sure of it, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still conflict in her mind about it. 

She loves him, she has for some time now. She hasn’t admitted it out loud, but she senses that he knows, and it’s clear that he feels the same too. And although she’s made her peace with it, it’s something she’s still unsure of navigating, something that brings…not fear, per se, but an uncertainty that she’s not used to.

The Jedi had tried to keep everything so black and white. Light side and dark side. Since the fall of the Order she’s seen so many ways that it can co-exist and intersect — like in Khonshu even, someone who is so far into the dark side the Jedi would have written him off a long time ago if they’d known he was still alive, and yet he wants the Empire gone as much as anyone Layla would see as more typically light would. Granted, he has very questionable ways of going about his work, and she’s certain it’s more out of self-interest than the greater good, but…he’s still helping, in some strange way.

Layla’s grown less afraid of her feelings in the past months. She knows she’s doing work that the Jedi would be proud of, even if she’s not necessarily doing it the way they would’ve wanted her to. She’s confident, not afraid of igniting her lightsabers and fighting in the name of peace and justice; and not afraid of admitting, at least to herself, that her feelings for Marc are there. 

That doesn’t make it any easier to act on them, although her own hesitation is starting to drive her mad. It’s like she just can’t shake the hands of the Council on her shoulders, warning her that acting on her feelings could be a path to the dark side. She knows it won’t be — if losing Master Taweret taught her anything it’s that love has only made her more determined to stay on the path of the light, but…maybe it’s just that this kind of love feels like a violation of rules she’d been directly instructed not to break.

“You’re thinking so loud,” Marc comments from the doorway, where Layla knows he’s been standing for at least a few minutes, “I thought meditating was supposed to stop the thoughts.”

“It’s supposed to clear the mind,” She corrects, not opening her eyes, “But I can’t concentrate when it’s so cold.”

He finally moves toward the makeshift bed they’d set up in the corner when they’d arrived — it’s his turn to sleep on the floor, and thankfully he’s not complained as much as usual this time — and plops down on the pillows. He’s quiet for long enough that Layla finally gives up and peeps open one eye, enough to catch him staring at her.

She sighs and leans back to lay on the cold floor before she can think better of it, and a shiver runs up her spine immediately, “Alright, I give up. How long has it been anyway?”

Marc shrugs and holds up a tracking fob before just as quickly tossing it into his bag. “Long enough to debrief the bird and get my next job. We can go in a few days. Steven wants to get some supplies from the markets, which probably means he wants new clothes—” 

His gaze shifts towards the window for a moment, where Layla can sense Steven’s presence and almost picture his indignant expression, “Yeah, I’m onto you, no more ponchos…” Marc shakes his head, “Fine, but it better not be on me when I come in, ever. Anyway,” He glances back at her, “I think we’re all overdue for a good sleep. So…let’s do that first.”

Layla stands up and stretches out her stiff limbs — sitting down for that long really doesn’t do wonders for the joints, she thinks. “Good idea. Meditation is rest, in a way, but it’s still…taxing on the mind and spirit.”

“Again, thought the point was to clear the mind.” Marc imitates her with a half-smile, to which she shoots him a withering stare as she sheds her outer layers of clothing and climbs into the bed, “Sorry. Yeah, you get this look when you’ve been meditating, like you’re awake but you’re not really there again until you’ve slept. I do notice things sometimes.”

She purses her lips at him, fighting the heat rising to her cheeks at the notion of being so known by someone. By Marc. “So you do.” She muses and drops her head to the pillow, “Good night.”

“Sleep well.”

Layla tries, she really does, but it’s so cold. There’s several blankets piled on top of her and she’s still shivering despite her best efforts to stay perfectly still in the spot she’s already warmed with her own body heat. Thoughts of warmer planets swirl in her mind, of deserts with actual desert heat, or jungle planets with humidity that makes her hair frizz up something terrible but at least keeps her cocooned in warmth and relative comfort — at least compared to the bone-biting chill of Jedha.

It’s probably been twenty minutes by the time Marc speaks up again from his spot on the floor.

“Layla, I can hear you shivering.”

“I’m fine.”

Layla hears the telltale rustle of blankets and knows that Marc is standing, staring. She pointedly keeps her own gaze fixed on the ceiling. A beat longer, and another pile of blankets is dropped on top of her, on which she can faintly smell Marc’s familiar metallic, smoky scent. The man himself is still standing beside the bed, so she finally turns her gaze towards him. Even in the dark she can see how earnestly he’s looking at her, and it makes her heart leap up into her throat. Neither of them say a word. 

Layla is a little shaky as she lifts up the covers in silent invitation, never mind the cold air it lets into the bed with her, if only for a brief moment. Any hesitation she had been dwelling on before is gone, throwing caution to the wind and deciding for once in her life to follow her heart. Stars, the Council would be so disappointed in her. But it’s now or never.

Marc nods, wasting no time slipping in beside her and pulling the blankets tight around them both. Layla finds herself drawing close to his warmth immediately, curling an arm around his waist as his own hand presses tentatively into the centre of her back. They’re chest to chest, sharing the same breath in the almost nonexistent gap between them, and it’s so warm. 

Layla can sense his nerves — although she doesn’t need the Force to tell her that, with the rabbiting of his heartbeat thrumming through her so clearly she might’ve thought he’d pressed his own heart right into her chest in silent offering. It’s clear that their unspoken line has been crossed, they’ve gone beyond the threshold without even having to say out loud, “Come in.”

She reaches up with her other hand to trace her fingers over his cheekbone, and he lets out a long breath as he leans into her gentle touch.

“How long have you—” He starts hoarsely.

“Since the beginning,” She breathes, “Always.”

Marc leans in to press his forehead against hers, bumps their noses together with a quiet, disbelieving laugh, “The whole time. I was thinking this whole time that I was the galaxy’s biggest idiot, falling for…well, anyone really, but especially a Jedi who wouldn’t love me back. Hell, even Steven’s been telling me that. He’s…sort of in on this too, but it’s not like he would’ve done this, right? Honestly, I’m surprised I did it.”

Layla smiles warmly, presses a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth, “I’m glad you did. I’ve been trying to work up the strength to tell you for so long, but you know it’s…complicated, with the lessons I had drilled into me by the Council for so long. But,” She punctuates with another soft kiss to his dimple, “This Jedi does love you back.”

His exhale is shaky, but he tilts his head to catch her lips with his own, and oh, Layla is well and truly done for. His hand is strong on her back, his mouth soft and warm and tasting vaguely minty — she never wants to taste anything else if she can help it — and all too soon he’s drawing back, though now his other hand is cupping her cheek just as she’s doing to him. She wonders vaguely if he can feel her blush under his fingertips, just as she can feel his. 

“You’ve stopped shivering.” Marc points out, but pulls her closer all the same.

She huffs out a laugh, “You’re warm.”

He sneaks another kiss before replying, “No more cold nights for you, hm? You let me in once and you’re probably not gonna get rid of me, or Steven when he finds out, just so you know.”

“I can live with that.” She smiles, “You’re all good company.”

Marc’s expression mirrors Layla’s, and it’s a while longer trading kisses and whispered stories of their many realisations of love for each other before they finally start dozing off, clinging to each other like they never want to be separated again. The galaxy is a tough place, and there’s still so much fighting to be done for the Jedi and bounty hunter pair before all this will truly get easier. But for now?

Layla is warm in Marc’s embrace. And that’s enough for her.

[forgottenfallen]

Verses

MAIN VERSE [ Verse Name: On The Road; ]

Izaic had left the people who had taken him in and has been traveling upwards of fifteen years. He is in search of his lost memories. With travel, the fallen has hopes that something will spark a forgotten point in time. Alas, all he has is his journal, which have fragments of memories he had written down. He has of yet gathered enough to cobble even a basic story together.

VERSE TAG

LEGEND OF ZELDA VERSE [ Verse Name: Fallen DemiGod; ]

Izaic awoke to find himself freed from his tiny staute prison, but his memories are fractured and hard to make sense of. The most he managed to gather is that his name is Izaic, and he is in fact, a forgotten Demi-God. With nothing else to do, the deity travels all over creation while trying to make sense of his broken memories.

VERSE TAG

STEVEN UNIVERSE VERSE [ Verse name: Corrupted Lab; ]

Labradorite, or simply ‘Izaic’ was made in the beta kindergarden on Earth. Though, after the war, Izaic had lost a great deal of himself. The most that Izaic knows is that he isn’t human, and that he had been ‘not well mentally’ for quite some time. He was corrupted; appearing as some sort of winged canine with cloven hooves instead of paws. Kindly human chlidren had taken him in as a pet; much to their parents dismay. However they did their best to take care of their new strange friend. Labradorite got the affectionate name of ‘Izaic’, and is one he often uses to introduce himself. They managed great progress in their short human lives. Izaic was capable of - rather broken human speech, and was cognitive enough to have rational thought. With this came a more human-like shape. Of course, he outlived his human companions. Before they passed; they told him that no matter what, he should be strong and not loose what was left of himself. With no where else to go, and finding it too painful to stay, Izaic set out to chart a path wherever the wind took him.

VERSE TAG

[novantinuum]

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: T

Words: 800~

Summary: His family’s not present, the third time he runs away.

Early corruption AU.

In which the Gems continue to muse about the mystery of the wrecked house and the missing teen.

If you read this and enjoy, I’d greatly appreciate your support through reblogs here, or kudos/comments on AO3 as well. Thank you! <3

____

Pearl can sense half the light drain from the extremities of her form as the harsh truth of what Amethyst is suggesting creeps over the morning horizon. Her fingers fidget with the lapels of her jacket, seeking some source of stability amidst all these unknowns.

“So... so you’re saying he came back?” she exclaims, desperately trying not to sound as panicked as she currently feels. “And we never noticed??”

The shorter Gem shrugs. “I’m just saying that he only has one pink jacket, and I’m pretty sure he was wearing it when he ditched us.”

“He was,” Garnet confirms in an even tone, blankly staring off into the distant ocean horizon, now plainly visible through the giant hole smashed through the side of the house.

Balling one of her hands against her chin, Pearl begins to rhythmically pace along the border between the destroyed living room and the smooth stone of the temple’s doorstep. Her steps are even, precise, her heel lightly touching the toes of her opposing foot with each stride. It’s every bit as much of a distraction as it is a calming technique, given the level of concentration she’s pouring in to this movement. She just needs to focus, she just needs to think. This isn’t the first time she’s had to search for a missing comrade, after all. The war provided plenty of opportunity for her to hone her search and rescue skills. And this situation is quite like that, isn’t it? A Crystal Gem is MIA, and there’s a few scattered clues left behind as to their whereabouts. Their job now is to locate all of these clues. This should be simple for a former rebellion strategist like her.

Except she’s not searching for merely a fellow comrade. She’s searching for Steven. She can’t help but fear she’ll be unable to distance her investigation from the strong affection she feels for him, and that is sure to make everything more complicated.

“So,” she says, a small tremble of emotion still evident in her voice. “I think we should propose a series of most likely possibilities, and then weigh the evidence we find against those.”

Amethyst nods, clutching Steven’s favorite jacket securely to her chest. “Sounds as good a place to start as any.”

“Possibility number one,” she continues, raising a single index finger as she spins 180 degrees on the balls of her feet. “A corrupted Gem, as I suggested earlier. Perhaps Steven returned from Homeworld to find a stray corrupted Gem on the beach, and attempted to contain it alone. This would account for the roar we heard from inside the temple, and the damage to the house.”

“Or maybe it was like, a kidnapping,” Amethyst shrugs, shifting a few steps to the side to allow Garnet room to crouch and examine the worst of the wreckage. “We all know there’s still Gems out there that hate our guts.”

She hums, both concepts equally troubling in their own ways. Regardless of what truly happened, the most important question of this mystery is clear: given that Steven must have been here at some point prior to his bedroom’s destruction, where is he now?

Until they find any more concrete clues, they genuinely have no leads on whether he’s alive somewhere, injured... or worse.

“Possibility three,” Garnet’s voice cuts in.

The two turn to face her, and watch as she pulls a thin phone from the rubble, an item no human or half-human teenager would normally dare be apart from, if they could so help it. Its screen is fractured beyond repair.

“It was Steven himself,” she says, holding it out to show them. “We’ve seen him crack the windows before.”

Pearl’s eyes widen, recent memories flooding through her core. “And I... I’ve seen him shatter the floors at the Reef with only his voice. But do you really think he’d—“

“It’s only a possibility, Pearl,” her friend says, standing to her feet. “Like you said, it’s wise of us to consider all options.”

Soul aching, she buries her face into her hands. Oh, how desperately she wishes to be anywhere but here, having this sobering conversation where she has to consider the harrowing possibility that the boy she’s long come to consider as her child was caught in the crossfire of some terribly destructive conflict, or worse- caused this.

“You’re right,” she murmurs in time, a faint shiver running along the path of her hard light veins. “But for his sake, I truly hope that isn’t the case.”

[fanfoolishness]

Comminuted (1/4)

SUF. Steven and Greg try to deal with the devastating revelations in “Growing Pains.”  Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4

(Comminuted: describing a skeletal fracture that breaks the bone into two or more pieces.)

***

The rest of the hospital visit was a blur.  Later, Steven could only remember fragments, snapshots.  It was probably better that way.

Fragment: Dr. Maheswaran asking if he was all right, asking if she had his permission to talk to Greg.  Steven didn’t understand why she was bringing it up. Couldn’t she just tell his dad?  Why did she need to ask? He mumbled yes.  Signed a paper, no star over the i in Universe, just a scribble. He thanked her, he thought, he hoped.

Fragment: getting dressed alone in the exam room, hoping his clothes would hold him, hoping he could get home before any of this happened again.  Maybe it won’t, he tried telling himself, but his skin flared pink at the thought, and it took what seemed an endless minute of breathing hard with his eyes closed before his gem quieted and he seemed human again.

Fragment: saying goodbye to Connie, ashamed of everything he’d done, every way he was messing up  She hugged him for only a second before she asked if she should stay. His skin felt electrified near her, zipping and sparking, the jolts sinking into muscle and bone and gem.  He was so glad she still cared about him.  He was so agonized to be near her. 

 “I don’t know,” he whispered. “Maybe it’ll be better tomorrow. I’m sorry.”  She kissed him on the top of his head (where the fractures are, he thought dazedly), and electricity arced through him.  He shuddered, and she held him, and haltingly he asked her to go.

Fragment: Greg bundling him out of the hospital room, tugging his jacket straight over his shoulders, leading him out through the front lobby.  “Where’d you park, kiddo?”  Steven gesturing, Greg walking him step by step to his car.  “I’ll drive.  Sadie and Shep are dropping off the van for me.”

Fragment: the streets of Beach City passing by, washed out blurs and houses in stark relief, the window open, the wind on his face.  His eyes watered.  The wind pulled the tears away, dried them from his cheeks.  Sadie Killer in the tape deck, his dad humming along, touching Steven’s shoulder at stoplights to check in.  

At least somebody knows, he thought, and he tried to breathe deeply through the blurring tears.

The car stopped, and Steven blinked in surprise.  “We’re home,” said Greg simply, giving him a small, worried smile.  His eyes looked puffy, dark circles under them.  

“Dad, are you okay?”

Greg went still.  Then his smile bloomed, a bigger brighter thing, and he chuckled warmly.  “Steven, don’t worry about me. I’m here for you.”  Steven closed his eyes, guilt shifting into something gentler.  Relief. Gratitude.

“If you say so,” he said jerkily, trying to remember how to be normal.  They got out of the Dondai and Greg handed the keys back to Steven. 

“Here ya go.  Thanks for letting me take her for a spin again.”

“Heh.  Right,” said Steven, the laugh forced.  They both looked away.

They took the path to the house, but as they strode into view of the front windows, Steven remembered the last few miserable days with a burst of horror.  “Oh, Dad — I’m sorry.  The place is a mess. I just… I didn’t feel like cleaning up.  You don’t have to come in --”

“Nice try, Steven,” said Greg, pushing the door open.  The open doorway revealed a living room full of empty ice cream containers, discarded food packages, and the freezer door still on the floor in the kitchen where he’d dropped it.  Everything inside was thawing.  A puddle spilled out onto the kitchen floor, and with a stab he saw the red glow bracelet still nestled among expired Cookie Cats, its color dimming.

That sensation, now all too familiar. He shivered, hands flashing pink, a foot swelling up and shrinking back down just as quickly.  He kicked off his shoes.

“Steven, it’s okay!” Greg said sharply.  He took Steven by the elbow and led him to the couch, and Steven sagged against his father, letting him guide him.  “Come on.  Take a seat.” 

Numbly Steven followed him, sitting down hard enough on the couch he felt the cushion deform under his enhanced weight.  He took a deep breath, struggling.  “I can’t do anything right,” he whispered.  “I messed up the fridge -- I messed up the house -- I messed up things with Connie --”

Greg hugged him, hard.  The pink beneath his skin faded, leaving something that looked like human hands again.  He gulped, his breathing ragged.

“Listen to me,” said Greg, still holding him.  Steven remembered when he was little, when a hug from his dad seemed to guard him against everything scary.  The hug still felt good.  But it was a thinner shield than it used to be.

“I know it feels like the end of the world,” Greg said softly.  “But it’s okay to make mistakes.  No one gets life right on the first try...  I certainly didn’t.  But that doesn’t make you a bad person.”

“Really?”  His voice was small, quiet enough that Greg seemed to strain to hear him.  

“It just makes you human, Schtu-ball.”

“Human,” Steven croaked.  “Huh.”  The word felt foreign, fuzzy, wrong in his mouth.  Like it didn’t apply to him anymore.

“Yeah.  You might be a Crystal Gem, but you’re also still a Universe.”

“DeMayo Universe,” said Steven tiredly, and this time he smiled.  It was small and clumsy, but it was better than the tensed expression his face had seemed stuck in.  He leaned against his dad, trying to focus on how heavy Greg’s arm was on his shoulders, how warm he was, how he was solid enough to lean on.  It helped.

“See?  Spoken like a true human,” said Greg.  He gave Steven’s shoulders a squeeze, and lifted his arm away.  “Now... you need to rest.  Things have been really hard for you, and I need you to take it easy.  Are you hungry?”

“I dunno,” said Steven, trying to think of when the last time he had eaten was.  His face burned, remembering ice cream spilled on the floor.

“Well, let me know when you are, I’ll make something.  And then I’ll just do a little tidying up in the meantime.  No big deal.  Want me to bring the TV down here?  We can hang.”

“Don’t go up there!” Steven pleaded.  “I’m sorry, it’s such a mess --”

Greg swallowed, looking Steven in the eyes.  “There’s nothing up there that could make me think less of you, Steven.  Let me give you a hand.”

Steven hesitated.  If his dad insisted…  “Okay.  But let me carry the TV for you.  It’s really heavy.”

“Deal.”

They walked up the stairs together, Steven’s stomach twisting.  If Greg was disappointed in him for the mess he’d left, he didn’t show it.  He just cheerfully gathered some of Steven’s movie collection while Steven unplugged the TV and carried it downstairs.  He set it up on the coffee table while Greg laid out the videos.

“Anything sound good in particular?  We can put something on while I clean up a little.  There’s always Dogcopter --”

Steven winced, remembering what he’d watched that morning.  Everyone’s getting married but me!  It sounded so childish, looking back.  What had he been thinking?  Tears pricked at the edges of his eyes again.  He was getting sick of them.  

“No, I don’t feel like Dogcopter,” he managed.  “Maybe Koala Princess.  It’s been a while.”  He rummaged in the tapes and DVDs until he found a season of Koala Princess.  He never did wind up giving it back to Ronaldo.  He loaded it up and it sparkled cheerfully from the screen in pink and sparkles and giggles.  Fine.

Steven pulled up his legs and curled up on the couch.  He crossed his arms over his middle and rested his head on a pillow, burrowing into the couch cushions.  He was almost comfortable, like that.  

“Steven?” Greg asked, but he’d already fallen asleep.

[mimik-u]

Multitudes

Summary: On the 6,242nd anniversary of Pink Diamond's shattering—nearly a year after the Diamonds discovered the existence of Steven—Yellow Diamond, as she always does, searches for Blue. Pre-movie.

Note: It has been far too long since I've written Bellow Diamond, and I've needed this very story lately—something about allowing yourself to feel your emotions while also continuing to move forward.

AO3

—

It is with a studied rhythm that Homeworld’s twin suns pull each other up through the darkness, blanketing the sky in a soft pink glow as they ascend, going slowly, all gentleness. Yellow Diamond watches the familiar spectacle from her latticed window, hand beneath her chin, mind elsewhere as the fractured light glances off the angular planes of her face.

To a being who has lived ten thousands of years upon years, the emergence and passing of a new cycle is but a blink of the eye, a meaningless unit in the long linearity of her given lifetime. And yet, as she has learned so viscerally in even just the past six thousand years alone, the surest, and perhaps only way to measure time is to judge it by the movements of the other gems around her.

And by other gems, she means Blue Diamond.

For she always means Blue.

Her strength, her weakness, her light, her darkness, her partner, her monomaniac fixation, her fellow goddess, her friend.

(The dichotomies and multitudes of their relationship have always stunned Yellow Diamond at best and scared her at worst.)

For six thousand years, she scheduled her entire existence around knowing exactly where the other matriarch was at all times. In-between court sessions and trials and all of the various other councils Yellow convened alone, she sent Pearls to inform her of where Blue Diamond was and what exactly she was doing. The trail of her mourning was as readily available to her as reports on potassium deposits in faraway colonies.

She learned, intimately, that Blue rotated between haunts every so often like an organic beast migrating between seasons. Each spatial relic of Pink Diamond’s past were but pastures to graze in prolonged misery.

Against her own volition, Yellow came to understand that some cycles, by the sheer fact of what they once were, were harder for Blue Diamond than others.

The anniversary of Pink’s emergence into the world.

The day they decided to bequeath her her own colony.

The remembrance, the haunting, the sadistic exhibition of her shattering.

Before they laid eyes on what they had thought to be her shards, the Diamonds had never truly known pain, the sharp dimensions of it, the astonishing depths. 

When Blue Diamond’s screams rent the air for the first time, the entire Earth seemed to scream with her, wailing an unholy, feral song to which the three deities did not know the lyrics, though they sang along anyway. With their hands outstretched towards the colony Pink Diamond had once called home, they tried to fill in the melody the best that they could.

And they corrupted hundreds upon hundreds of gems.

And they shattered thousands more.

Because they had never lost anything before then.

And they wanted to make someone else and everything else feel the extent of their loss, too.

It is not an excuse.

A justification either.

It is only history, raw and unsanitized.

Yellow Diamond abruptly closes her eyes against the rosy sunrise as though stung, her fingers spidering against her tall nose.

Today would have been the 6,242nd anniversary of the shattering. 

Nearly a year ago, they learned that everything they had ever assumed about their beloved Pink Diamond was a lie—including this very date.

Still, the old memories come unbidden—the shards, the terror, the ungodly screaming. 

And yet, the familiar is now tempered by the newer sensations that have surfaced to foreign planes in her mind ever since she has met, loved, and wanted to do better for Steven Universe: the guilt, the helplessness, the fragility of everything, of it all.

When Yellow Diamond snaps her eyes open again, the images still burn the backs of her retinas, and it all comes together in one jangling, dissonant, clashing symphony—lights and noises, echoes and pale ghosts: the shards, the guilt, the terror, the helplessness, the ungodly screaming, the fragility of everything, of it all.

She is naked.

Fifty foot tall, the fragments of thousands of gems all over her hands, she is exposed.

With a violence that startles Pearl—who’d been running algorithms on her screens—Yellow stands up from her alcove, stretching her long limbs extensively, as though trying to excise something out along with the stiffness, too. 

“Sorry,” she says gruffly, glancing away. (She’s working on it—she is—but apologies still don’t come easily to the matriarch.)  “Just have somewhere I need to be.”

With a few quick taps of a nearby panel, Pearl pulls up and enlarges a video feed of the throne room. A snatch of heavy blue fabric dragging against the floor is all she needs to see.

“... that wouldn’t happen to be the throne room, my—I mean, your—um, Yellow Diamond, would it?” (Pearl is working on it—she is—but thousands of years of ingrained slavery are hard to completely forget, too.)

Relief mixed with gratitude mixed with awkwardness darkens the gold around Yellow Diamond’s sharp cheekbones.

“Thank you, Pearl.” 

A similar blush scribbles itself across the bridge of the smaller gem’s nose. 

“Of course.”

(They’re both working on it—they are—Diamond and Pearl alike, trying to figure out what it means to be companions in Era Three. Equals. Maybe one day, friends, if such an unstudied phenomenon can happen between them after all these unchanging cycles of mastery and slavery.)

(But she wonders to herself—she wonders this every day—is there grace enough in this universe for the Diamonds?)

(Is there such a thing as absolution and reprieve?)

Brow furrowed above her eyes, Yellow finally sweeps out of her chamber, heels clicking reliably against the marble veined floor. 

(She doesn’t know.)

(She isn’t sure she wants to know.)

The passage between her chamber and the throne room is a covered bridge, the path intricately laid, sunlight slanting through the arches and onto her handsome armor in patches. 

She doesn’t stop to look below—doesn’t have time to spare even though she has all the time in the world—but even as she walks, she can hear all the many ways that Homeworld is changing, the echoes of the reforming city drifting up to the palace like sacrificial smoke. There is the humdrum of communication—talking and conversing, snatches of loud laughter. And there is the steady thrum of ship traffic zooming through the brightening sky. 

She knows, without looking, that there are flashing colors and newly constructed infrastructures. Councils are being formed, the judicial system overhauled independently of the Diamonds' oversight. Representatives for the various Gem types are elected fairly and democratically. An economy based on rare rocks—locally sourced from Homeworld’s own Kindergarten—is slowly but surely being constructed by business minded Peridots. Gems from all eras and cuts and cabochons are cohabiting side by side, communing and learning to coexist without prejudice and fear.

Their world, for the first time in millions of cycles, is evolving.

For good and for the best.

With a pang that tightens her diamond as she finally approaches the intricately carved double doors leading into the throne room, Yellow Diamond wonders what it means that she is falling into the same pattern she has threaded year after year for 6,242 years.

Do Diamonds ever change their facets?

Or are their hardnesses immutable, unchanging?

(She wonders—she wonders this every day—if one day the universe will pronounce judgment on the three of them for their crimes against Gemkind?)

(Will doing better be enough to lighten the sentence?)

(Is doing better the same as being better?)

She curls her fingers tightly around one of the quartz handles and pulls outwards, her nerves suddenly electrified as the square of light from the door slowly pools into the throne room and across the floor, inching and seeping until it touches the hem of a heavy, dark robe. 

“Yellow.” Blue Diamond looks up, awed. “You remembered.”

As has been the Diamonds' shared habit lately, she's kneeling in front of the warp pad, cerulean fingers neatly templed on her lap, her posture reminiscent of the weeping statues in the Saturnal Spire, many of them immortalized in prostration. Yellow can see the traces of wetness beneath her grooved eyes, a telltale and familiar sign of what has already passed and what is yet to come. 

“Did you think I would forget?” She asks, immediately loathing that the question sounds so vulnerable and needy, as though she’s dependent—and maybe she is—on a negative answer.

“Truthfully?” 

“Yes”—she interjects impatiently—“I always want to know your truth.”

But, to Yellow’s surprise, Blue laughs quietly, the edges of her plump, blue lifted along the contours of her smile.

“Stars above, you still never wait for someone to finish their thought, do you?” 

“I didn’t intend to interrupt! I just—“

“Yes, I know, Yellow. Come.” Blue Diamond extricates her hands from one another and pats the empty space next to her. “Be with me, please.”

It is an irresistible request, an invitation that Yellow could never refuse (though she has never fully tried). With a few, stiff strides, she join the other matriarch on the floor, sitting crosslegged, even as her armored spine is ramrod straight. 

Appropriately chastised, her cheeks are dark with golden flush.

“Are you happy now?” Yellow mutters beneath her breath.

“Yes,” comes the quiet reply that very nearly paralyzes her. Perhaps realizing this, Blue Diamond extends the same hand she used to gesture towards the floor and places the tips of her fingertips on the spines of Yellow’s gloved knuckles. “I am…. in my own small way—happy and also undeniably sad. It is a curious contradiction.”

“Oh,” Yellow Diamond can only say, swallowing hard. 

“Oh,” Blue Diamond agrees, leaning—softly, very gently—against her, so that their shoulders touch. Her silvery hair falls to the side at the movement, the light from above crowning her head in liquid amber.

In gold.

“I didn’t wish to be alone today,” she admits, frowning, “but for the last six thousand and sundry years, you have unfailingly ensured that I never was alone on this date... even when I thought that I wanted to be, even all the times I pushed you away.”

Yellow‘s breath hitches, shallow of air.

They’ve scarcely talked so openly before, even now, and perhaps especially now that the Diamonds are trying their damnedest to amend the wrongs of their pasts.

Even beyond that, intimacy is hard.

Indeed, it is one of the few lessons that the resilient general has yet to master for all of her focus and control.

She still doesn’t have all the steps in order yet... if there are even quantifiable steps to intimacy at all.

“You pushed me away often,” she finally says, and try though she does, she can’t quite keep an accusatory tone out of her voice. 

(Even if the Diamonds don’t wear their wounds, that doesn’t mean they were never inflicted.)

“I know,” Blue confesses, closing her eyes tightly against what Yellow knows to be a deluge of memories. “I knew all along most likely. I wanted to hurt you as were hurting me. If I could make you feel even a fraction of the misery that I did... if I could make any gems who crossed my path understand... I was quick, injudiciously so, to do as much.”

The matriarch is precise when it comes to identifying and analyzing her own emotions—incisive—another ability which Yellow never quite learned in thousands of millennia.

“We don’t have to talk about this now,” she says quickly, “if it’s too much.”

(It's always too much for Yellow.)

“But I want to.” Blue abruptly opens her eyes, and Yellow is startled to see that they’ve hardened, her expression pinched. “I mean, I suppose I need to... for there is this feeling in my chest, Yellow. It pulses in my very diamond and has expanded with each passing second that I have been up today. And I want to get rid of it—I must.”

Her fingers tense where they rest upon her hand, and the space between palm and knuckles, blue and gold, is electric with energy, pulsating.

The column of Yellow Diamond’s throat is thick, sticky with feeling.

“I have a feeling, too,” she admits, her voice surly. “When I awoke... and recalled what day it was... I couldn’t shake it.”

Blue’s eyes are wide and tired, weary with six thousand cycles of mourning. The carnage is pooled all over her face. It scarred both of them. It nearly maddened White. 

“Name it, Yellow,” she whispers, and it is almost a supplication, desperate and reverent on the Diamond’s lilting tongue. “Please.”

What is there to do but comply?

What stands between her and a handful of words except her own sheathe of an ego of a personality?

Yellow Diamond flinches before she ever opens her mouth, half-hating and entirely fearing what she is about to make their reality.

“I miss her, Blue.”

“And?” Because Blue Diamond knows—she always seems to know—when her sentences are unfinished, when words remain unspoken. 

Yellow’s eyes burn, the leakage threatening to spill out.

“And I feel guilty about it, for missing her now… after what we did to her... after what we have done to so many other gems.”

To ourselves, too.

To each other.

More unspoken aches, though the merciful Blue Diamond is kind enough not to call her out on them.

A single tear glances down her long, oval face, collecting calmly on the point of her chin.

“How can we be moving on,” Yellow continues, wiping roughly at her eyes with her other hand, “if we are here again? The same place we have been every year for the last six thousand years? On the floor, broken. Our world is turning, Blue! Evolving! Transforming! Do we not revolve with it?”

If this is the pattern and the routine to which they inevitably return, does this not mean that they will one day become stagnations and calcifications?

Monuments and monoliths to their own shattered pasts?

What is all their progress, their actions and their actions and their atonements and their actions, if they cannot ever abstain from this vicious ceremony?

Will they still be here, six thousand years more from now, missing a gem who will never come home to them again?

Will there never not be a day when a rosy, pink sky doesn’t evoke her name on their tongues?

Pink Diamond.

She used to sing flowers into full bloom.

When Blue isn’t immediately forthcoming with an answer—her dark lips parted slightly in silence—for the first time in the entirety of her existence, Yellow feels no triumph in being right.

There is no pleasure in the conception and epiphany of their eternal damnation.

There is only acceptance, she thinks, glancing down at the warp pad, dull and empty. 

(Steven hasn’t visited in twenty-one cycles now.)

Stoic and unceasing resignation.

“Yellow Diamond...” A tall hand cups her chin gently and draws the general’s gaze upwards until all the goddess sees is blue. Her eyes. Her complexion. Her alice blue hair. Her lips. Blue Diamond looks at her all over, and there is an ancient sadness engraved in all the geometric lines of her face. “Do you really believe that multiple things cannot be true at the same time?”

“I—“

“No,” Blue cuts her off firmly. “Let me finish, please. We have done horrible things, and we are trying, every day, to do better. We hurt Pink immeasurably... and we are hurt—stars, we will be devastated—by her loss forever. Those sentiments are not mutually exclusive.” Blue’s voice hitches, her warm breath so close that Yellow can feel it on her skin. “They can’t be... or else, what do we have to look forward to for the next thousands of years of our lifetimes? How can we deal with the enormities of our lives if we do not allow our lives to be enormous—both an exemplar and a testament to complexity?”

Yellow stares at her companion incredulously, wanting to believe in the grandiosity of their existences (again) but not quite daring to (as she had once so easily done before).

Dichotomies and multitudes and holistic systems of so many moving, working parts—Yellow Diamond, for all of her intelligence and logic and ratios and statistics, does not know how to compute them. Her morality has always been a straight line that favors extremes, tilting like an unbalanced scale, from one weighted end to the other.

“But you feel it, too,” she argues hoarsely. “You have a feeling in your chest as well.”

Her gaze unwittingly travels down to Blue’s gem, gleaming brightly against her cerulean complexion.

But the other Diamond, fingertips still captured beneath her chin, doesn’t allow the moment to linger, insisting, with a gentle nudge, that Yellow Diamond holds her head up high.

“And so this just means we have a final pair of questions to ask ourselves, yes?” Blue smiles lightly, all tenderness and sadness, all warmth and terrible grief.

Dichotomies and multitudes.

They stun Yellow Diamond, and they perplex her, and they frustrate her to no conceivable end.

Even now, she isn’t sure that she’s following, and yet, as the two of them sit here—linked by touch and millennia and memories—she knows, without ever being able to articulate the sentiment into words that would matter or make sense, she would follow this gem to the ends of their world, conceivable or otherwise.

“What do we do with this feeling now that we have it?" Blue’s smile only deepens, becoming more felt, arctic eyes melting. "And how do we make sure it doesn’t go to waste?”

Her face shines in the brilliance of the warp pad’s newly glowing light.

“Today,” she says, “we allow ourselves to feel the pain of losing Pink... and we play with Steven Universe... and we not only love him, but show him that we do.”

“And tomorrow?” Yellow dares to ask.

A concentrated beam whooshes downwards from the ceiling of the palatial hall.

“Tomorrow”—Blue Diamond squeezes her hand—“we can move forward again... hand in hand.”

There are colonies to continue dismantling and long corroded infrastructure to repair. Homeworld’s grid system needs to be replotted, and a Kindergarten on Iphigenia would be a meaningful location to repurpose as an organic life conservation facility. Transportation services between Homeworld and Earth are still being configured, especially given Earth’s less than spaceship friendly atmospheres and surfaces. Former gem experiments require a delicate unraveling and a reckoning both for Yellow Diamond who ordered them to be carried out in the first place. Blue and White and Yellow Diamond alike, all three of them in harmonious union and sync for the first time in thousands of years, want to build a memorial spire in Sector 9 for the Rose Quartzes to inhabit if they should so choose—a place of rest and healing, circled all throughout with restorative waters.

“I... like the sound of that.” 

The tentative beginnings of hope creep into her low voice.

“I thought you would,” Blue teases as particulate matter and atoms and long reclaimed stardust begin to arrange themselves into the boy named Steven Universe.

“We start now.”

[crimson-host]

Introducting my Evil!Steven AU idea

Credit to @wiltingpierrot the mad lad who made the art

Backstory:

Okay, basically it's a Steven that has....mentally shattered, in his timeline he did almost everything like in the show and movie, but when he got older, the stress of being a diamond of homeworld slowly weighed heavier and heavier, so he decided to use the magical hourglass to visit his past to live the simpler days.....but after visiting his past, he had a deep desire, for his current future to disappear, so he can live without the stress and pain, and the hourglass tried it's best to grant that kind of future....but something went wrong, and he ended up trapped between the different flows of time, 5 whole years unable to age, nor die, in pure isolation, unable to go home due to hourglass becoming partly broken, allowing him to visit parallel timelines but never go back home, due to all of this he has mentally fractured, thinking of other Stevens' as "fakes" and tries to kill them to replace them and find a home in that universe.....as you suspect, this goes horribly wrong and the crystal gems of said universe tries to get revenge, causing him to shatter the "fake" gems, because in his messed up mind "those weren't my friends, the crystal gems would never hurt me", so he wonders timeline to timeline, killing Stevens and Crystal Gems, consuming their gem shards, which grants him the gems' powers and weapons, but he lost his ability to fuse, use bubbles, heal, and finally his shield....but also the gem shards fuse to his body and after consuming so many some of those shards have fused together and now his body and mind is in constant threat of being torn from the inside out, to put it simply, he's an insane gem consumer on a path of self destruction unless someone manages to get through to him and bring him back to the light

Archetype:

His story arc is that of a fallen hero, he can become good again but his mind will never fully become whole again, but he isn't insane, out of all the timelines he always never harms nor kill Greg, feeling absolute love and respect for him, but on that same note he feels blind rage towards Pink Diamond for all the horrible things she ever did

Description:

he wears a half-tragedy half-comedy mask, his body is more lean and lanky than normal Stevens, wears a sort of red circus ringmaster outfit with a red top hat, and his gem is more rainbow colored, bigger, more jagged and sharp

mental issues:

1. mental conflict between his heart and mind, sort of a Jekyll and Hyde-ish in the sense he's afraid of what he has become and rejects his other killer half

2. sort of PTSD, similar to how some AUs have it so that Spinel is terrified of being left alone or told to stay somewhere, Evil Steven is horrified of complete silence due to his 5+ years isolation in the timeless void between timelines

I'm putting this out because I don't plan on doing much with him so I rather lay him out for others to have fun with, as a cameo, for fun, or just an excuse to have a AU crossover without the massive plot hole

Age: 27 (varsity au to au)

Height: 7’3”-ish

More art done by @wiltingpierrot

[honestlyhufflepuff]

Mr. Universe Breakdown

I just had a lot of feelings about tonight’s episodes, so come with me while I attempt to process them.

Ice cream and pie for dinner is great, but you can kind of tell Steven is eating it more for his dad’s sake than his own.

The entire "Dear Old Dad" callback is so sweet, imma cry.

I love how Steven is this nearly adult drool-snoring with his mouth wide open in Greg's van and Greg still looks at him like he's the cutest child ever.

Alright, this expression with that weak laugh was the first hint we get that Steven is not totally into this. He's trying, but it's getting wearing.

Trying on tacky convenience store sunglasses and Greg noping out of the bathroom were peak moments.

Matching icons, anyone??

Greg, you live in a van, how are your standards that high?

Also, I wasn’t expecting Guacola to have a callback. No redemption arc for that abomination of a beverage.

“Dad, you’re rich, you don’t have to steal!”

I love how Steven just immediately assumes his dad is taking him to steal stuff. I’m doing this react on my second watch through, but I immediately knew this was the house Greg grew up in.

There’s a picture of the barn in the hallway! And a “Love Lives Here” sign. Oh no, is that this Universe’s equivalent to “Live, Laugh, Love?” Here I thought Greg avoided his parents because they were toxic or abusive, but it turns out they’re probably just super lame and cramped his style.

“Sorry for breaking into your lovely home. You seem like such nice people, with excellent tastes.”

First watch through, I totally thought this was a sarcastic little teen snark comment. Because come on. This decor is the quintessential representation of dated-grandparent-mild-hoarder-chic. On my second watch through, this seems utterly genuine. This house represents a peaceful, happy, stable life that Steven’s never known, and that he thinks he never will. He has so much longing to take in every single detail, before he even knows the people who live in that house are related to him. I had to take a break after writing that sentence because I got emotional.

He is more than strong enough to forcibly stop his dad from “stealing,” or to demand an explanation from him, but instead he goes off to write an “i’m srry we broke into ur house lol” note. Seems like he wanted a justifiable reason to explore this house.

Steven thinks later in the ep that Greg rejected a perfect life, but why would the parents not open any of Greg’s letters? Do they know about Steven? Do they care? It seems like they would care quite a bit, given that all of Greg’s memories have been preserved throughout the house, and yet no pictures of Steven, which tells me they don’t know about him. It’s not lost on me that Greg uses a PO box so they can’t find him (also because he still lives in a van). Is Greg repeatedly sending them checks so he feels he doesn’t owe them anything, and they are just refusing to cash them? I have so many questions.

Alright, so Steven is SO EXCITED to see Greg’s childhood memories. So excited to see his roots. To see his own connection to his human heritage. And Greg just shuts it down.

Way back in “Gem Harvest,” Greg saw how desperate Steven was to make a relationship with Uncle Andy work. And yet Greg did nothing to expose him to other human relatives.

In his attempt to grant Steven “freedom,” he just bound him and lived through him in a different way than his own parents did. If Steven’s upbringing was really about freedom more than Greg projecting his own issues, then Steven would have been given the option to have grandparents in his life. He would have gotten to decide if he liked meatloaf every Thursday and been given the chance to take road trips to their warm, lived in little house. It is a huge, glaring mistake that Greg never gave Steven that chance, especially after seeing how much he loved Andy.

“Leave that junk behind.”

Greg found the one memory he was looking for, and paid no attention to what Steven was drawn to.

“I get it, Steven. When I was just little Gregory Demayo I was going through the motions. Doing what everybody else wanted.”

And yet that’s exactly what he’s having Steven do. He’s literally having Steven walk in his footsteps to find himself in the same way he did, and he’s so lost in his own nostalgia that he’s not understanding that the reason that path worked for him was because he chose it. Steven’s way of breaking free and finding himself might end up being horribly boring and domestic to Greg, since that was something he never knew growing up.

This song is pretty tight, but Steven is not feeling it. Read the room, Greg. It’s like that “who wants to go a ROAAAAD TRIPPP??” line all over again.

“I don’t need this song, I need what you had...they can’t have been worse than mom’s family. I went half way across the galaxy for them, and THIS was right here??”

PREACH, Steven! He has always been so desperate for family. I’m getting so frustrated with Greg for denying him that choice because of his own hangups with authority figures.

Steven: You’re just like mom!

Greg: You grew up with actual freedom!

Steven: I grew up in a van!

Oh geez, stuff is about to go down. The leak did not prepare me for this moment.

“My problem isn’t that I’m a gem! My problem is that I’m a UNIVERSE!”

And here we see Steven shift from blaming his mom for everything, to blaming his dad for everything. And it’s so cathartic, honestly. It’s hard to be mad at Greg because he’s just so sweet and gentle, and rarely gets angry back at someone even when they are angry at him. And he genuinely loves the crap out of Steven. Even with all that, however, he is not blameless. And Steven has a right to call him out on that.

Scene breakdown: The driver’s side is totally crushed. The impact is enough that Steven was unconscious while Greg pulled him out of the car, and while he called for a tow truck. Think of all the impacts Steven hasn’t been knocked unconscious for, including all those hits from Jasper in the very next episode. If he was a normal human, Steven would have died on impact here. His gem probably was working overtime rapidly healing multiple fractures and internal bleeding in his brain.

And here’s where Steven starts to tune Greg out. I can’t help but see a parallel to when Aquamarine/Bluebird gets so annoyed with Steven’s relentless positivity.

I guess the talent of delivering all those cheesy motivational pep talks came from Greg. You know what, though? Forced positivity is just widening the divide between them at this point. Steven is not in a positive place right now, and he did his best to express why, but instead of owning up to anything Greg is just chalking it up to him “going through a hard time right now.” On the surface he appears sympathetic, but his response is ultimately condescending and invalidating.

And in the background he just talks about eating ice cream for more meals, like that’s going to fix everything. Like Steven didn’t just tell him that was the opposite of what he needed.

Even at this moment Greg never offers to connect him with his human family, when Steven has very clearly stated that’s what he wants.

I never would have thought a simple scene deleting a photo would be so tense. The building music, continuing to make Greg seem further away. The tired, bitter look in Steven’s eyes. This is like a villain origin story wtf.

Steven is slowly running out of people who he feels he can connect with. At the start of SUF it was the gems, and then it was Connie, and now it’s Greg. With that deleted photo he’s decided that Greg is no longer worth confiding in. He’s just another person who won’t listen.

I thought this scene would be the most painful one I saw tonight, until I saw Fragments...

[hugthesquids]

So I’ve been meaning to write my opinion on the last 3 episodes of SUF. It’s mostly my issues with it, so please just skip this post if you don't want to hear it, since I don't want make you uncomfortable or impact your enjoyment of the finale if you read this. I'm mostly mentioning the negatives here, but there are still many positive aspects in these episodes that I don't mention, since I just needed to vent my criticism somewhere.

I don’t think these episodes are at all bad, but I was disappointed in how it played out. I still love SU and all that it has contributed in doing, though I also wanted to be honest with my opinion on the finale.

Everything's Fine

I really did like seeing Steven's horror at seeing his Diamond self. But while I liked the concept of Steven acting crazy in denial, the actual pacing of his antics were off, especially for this episode being a part of the finale. Steven's breakdown in the end was so good though, and I wish there had been more time for that.

I Am My Monster

I have wanted Steven to corrupt (though I’m not 100% sure if this actually is corruption or just transformation), but I didn't like how they handled the climax of his issues at all.

I find the mood of this episode to be off or done poorly. In general there was a lacking sense of urgency and seriousness. There wasn’t that much of a reaction to Steven being a monster other than them being very casual about it or campy crying from the gems (which made it feel not serious and ruins the mood that Steven is a monster). It made the characters come off as bland. And it feels like their character development was put on hold, when the gems didnt know how to deal with this issue without Steven (as Amethyst pointed out) and it felt like only Connie could act mature here.

Connie kind of became the new Steven in having to be the adult in the group. It made it seem like the gems haven’t learned their mistake of acting irresponsibly, and the problem repeats itself with Connie having to do what Steven does of being the only mature one. And then after Connie’s speech, suddenly everyone has it together and know how to fix Steven, which felt a bit too quick of a turn around.

As for the “hugging scene”, I do think the concept of ending it on a hug is okay, but I feel like they needed to do way more than that. I do feel like it could've still worked better for me if they had framed the mood of the episode differently. The only thing I really liked about that episode was how Steven cried after becoming himself again. That moment was perfect and Zach’s voice acting is amazing.

The Future

Steven has been struggling to find a future for so long and now he suddenly has it together. I know in-universe there has been a timeskip, but after all that SUF has been building up to, this didn't feel cathartic to me at all.

While it's great he has a therapist, it's not enough to simply mention it once off-hand, and not show what this means. Rebecca said in an interview that she didn’t want to show it because Steven deserves “privacy”. But I disagree with this notion, because they showed a lot of private stuff that’s viscerally uncomfortable, like the intrusive thoughts of shattering WD, or going to a doctor and showing his fractured bones and explaining he has PTSD because of everything that happened in the original SU. Showing the ugly in his spiral downwards but not showing his steps to recovery, makes seem like “everything is fine now”, and for me it makes the previous episode less enjoyable because it frames it as “you just need hugs” even if the hug is not supposed to be framed that way (like it was to show he got support, but when they don’t really show the support part, it just makes it hard to buy into/feels a bit poorly executed).

It’s also a sudden shift in tone with everything being fine now. And while I wanted and expected there to be a happy ending, they needed to actually bridge that gap in the serious tone that they had build up and not spend the last 3 episodes being too campy and brushing aside the implications of all that’s going on.

Also, people say it’s ok that SUF doesn’t explore everything and leaves many things open with the gem-lore and other characters, since this is supposed Steven’s arc. But the thing is, I feel like they rushed and even skipped over major parts of the resolution to his arc too, and that is exactly why I feel disappointed by the finale. So these things still go unaddressed:

Steven not liking his Diamond half and afraid of hurting people

The fact that he has spiraled out of control and has hurt people (shattering Jasper)

Steven feeling disconnected from his humanity

Steven’s feelings about those who have traumatized him

Steven feeling like he doesn’t deserve happiness or to be forgiven

There is also his feelings on his mother (but here I’m kind of 50/50 on whether they should bring it up, because I do like the argument that his mother shouldn’t hang over him throughout the show. On the other hand it still is a topic with an unsatisfying conclusion that had a lot of build up throughout the whole series, but has no payoff)

The “hugging scene” only touched on Steven feeling pressured to live up to everyone’s standards, and when he failed to live up to that and made too many mistakes he thinks he is a monster. So I personally feel like there isn’t a conclusion to Steven’s arc as SUF promised other than he doesn’t have to be perfect and that his family loves him.

You could say that he got help off-screen from his therapist with the other stuff, and of course they don't have to address everything, but the more that they skip over or leave unanswered, the more unsatisfying the ending will be (for me at least). And SUF's focus has been on Steven's arc, so it does make sense why other characters and lore hasn't been getting attention, but when the conclusion to his arc also felt rushed that just leaves me disappointed.

So I wish they had shown a little bit of Steven's path to recovery instead, and also showing he still has some things he struggles with in relation to what has been explored in his character arc, but doing better now that he has help. Showing what therapy does and means to Steven would’ve been something groundbreaking to a TV cartoon show and actually help people understand the importance of that.

(Again this is all just my opinion. I’m still really happy about SUF and the fact that they put a lot of love and effort into creating these episodes and series. The series doesn’t need to be perfect or outstanding in every single way, or appease everyone, since people are bound to disagree with what they prefer)

[seam-the-shopkeeper]

*A strange looking shop seems to magically appear at the edge of Beach City, and after a bit, a path seems to appear, too, with strange button flowers growing out of the path.*

// @fractured-steven-universe @touch-starved-steven @steven-flipping-demayo @deaf-steven @poofable-mute-steven @that-cat-steven @pink-n-angry-stevphe-unvere @alyx-fucking-vance

[aalikazam]

Colored fractured Steven I probably won't finish :v

(He doesn't generally have a monster arm, more on that eventually) ;0

[deathsmallcaps]

Hey guys I have a dumb idea

I would like to write a 10,000 words of fan fiction during winter break, but I can’t decide on what to do. So here is twelve options. Either choose one for 10,000 OR 2 for 5000 each or 3 for 3333 each. Please let me know :).

1. ATLA AU: Some benders and non-benders can turn into the magical animals associated with their element, and the Gaang (season three edition) are being hunted by the most successful poachers in the world for roughly an episode. Aang: All of course. Katara: Magic fish possibly? Would have to workshop that one. Zuko: Dragon. Sokka: normal but excellent sword and boomerang fighter, of course. Toph: normal Bender, which makes her interactions with wild badgermoles and her innovations in metal bending all the more impressive. (DEFINITELY inspired by muffinlance’s wonderful work)

2. Umbrella Academy: What happened to the other kids? Mostly a description of Reginald being horrible and very quickly judgemental of the babies while gathering the Seven, and how/whether they grew up or not. (Have only seen the tv show but apparently in the comics Five and Luther are twins which may play into what I’m going to write.)

3. Batman: Peggy Sue AU for Alfred where he wakes up the day after the Waynes’ murders with memories of having witnessed his entire family die, and so resolved to make sure Gotham grows up safe, and so do Bruce and his little Robins, perhaps at the expense of them never living with him at all. It may or may not be difficult to make sure Damian is born lol. (It would be a big plot point)

4. I’ve been kind of working on this for a while but I have a choose your own adventure story (but you have to roll dice for unspecified paths) for each Disney princess. Have currently finished planning out most of Belle, just depending on what you guys want I would write up and post however many. The paths may depend on how much of the extended lore I’ve seen (For example, I’ve seen more of the Ariel extended canon stuff, so farther along you may meet Gabriella, or Melody, or so on.) it would be a Peggy sue au once again. I may also make a mini-one to ‘unlock’ with luck for Melody. Anna and Elsa are separate ones.

5. A continuation of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett. Maurice would once again be mostly the main character, and he would set up a kid to take over as Lord Mayor of Ankh-Morpork, and possibly get involved in the steamboat business. If we had time, we would meet more of the extended Ankh-Morpork cast.

6. The Nine Lives of the Marquis of Carabas: an exploration of Neverwhere, Coraline, the Graveyard Book, Good Omens, American Gods, Time Cat, Pan’s Labyrinth, the Neverending Story and Discworld. Basically how he lived one life and kind of ‘Forrest Gumped” his way around the stories.

7. A Phantom of the Opera/Over The Garden Wall crossover where a dead Eric decides to kill the Beast - at least he doesn’t try to suck the souls out of children! (Only young, beautiful women, of course). Wouldn’t be a very happy fic

8. Labyrinth (Jim Henson Movie): where after realizing that both she and Toby are too touched by the Fae to survive very long in this world, Sarah and her brother must rush to get back to the Labyrinth in time. (Small crossover with Pan’s labyrinth probablyy.)

9. Percy Jackson: and the extended pantheons crew all have a chill day and then do a murder mystery dinner party. I just want to mess around with all of them.

10. Dealing with Dragons and the Last Unicorn: Cimorene accidentally crosses over, meets the Last Unicorn, and invites her over for dessert. More plot to ensue, of course. Sort of a look at how a fractured fairy tale/aware of the fairy tale but unable to stop fate kind of story would mix.

11. (This one is likely to happen because I was recently talking to another user about this) The Boy Who Could Fly: after Max the dog dies, Eric appears with a puppy. Milky and Eric manage to then spend the day together, before he must go away again.

12. Peter Pan 2: Jane struggles to take care of her mother while raising her own daughters by herself. Desperate and in need of some time to mentally sort things out, she asks her children to call for Peter, despite being afraid they’ll stay away forever.

13. Wonder Woman and Captain America team up and are not shipped. They are just buddies who occasionally cross dimensions to hang out and punch fascists.

14. Steven Universe: The Pearls (along with a Steven who has seen a therapist) fuse into a time-travelling Mega Pearl and punch the Diamonds in their faces at the point where they have been the most oppressive in their lives. Rose Quartz does get treated as a separate entity, but instead of getting punched, she gets a HUGE talking-to.

15. The Princess and the Frog: When Naveen’s parents die shortly after WWII, they must choose between leaving her dreams and America behind forever or taking control of Maldonia. After the hardships of the Great Depression, the War

16. A Ghibli Fic: I want to write some some older Ghibli but would need a suggestion for that.

Sorry about the long post :)

[heartsteven-blog]

Open rp

*A boy falls through a portal in the sky and crashes into the ground, he laid in the sand for a few minutes and then gathered the power to get up*

Uugh, where am I?

*he looked around at the distorted and unfamiliar location, nothing made sense, there were duplicates and paths that leaded nowhere*

There aren't any symbols? I thought that would give me an idea of which house of cards this is...

*he looked around again, looking for anyone to help him*

//@shatteredpeicessteven @broken-steven @touch-starved-steven @steven-phantom @fractured-steven-universe @innocent-steven @steven-loves-everything @connie-loves-everything @aromantic-steven-universe @protective-steven-universe @anyone I just can't remember all....//

[aion-rsa]

Moon Knight: The History of Marvel's Next TV Star

https://ift.tt/2ZvMSpi

Moon Knight is joining the MCU with a TV series on Disney+. To say Marc Spector has a complicated history would be an understatement.

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Since Moon Knight was created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin in 1975’s Werewolf by Night #32, the Fist of Khonshu has been a fixture of the Marvel Universe. Through it all, Marc Spector has swapped identities, costumes, and supporting casts. But the one motif that has stayed constant with Moon Knight is the very thing that sets him apart from Batman and other caped avengers: he suffers from severe mental health issues but still fights for justice and it has made the character unique in Marvel’s pantheon. There have been a number of talented creators that tried to find the key to Moon Knight’s publishing success, but few have ever really managed to bring Moon Knight to mainstream success. 

That's all likely to change with the announcement that Moon Knight is joining the MCU with a TV series coming to Disney+. Here's a look at the character's history and long journey to the screen... 

The Early Days

Marc Spector was first introduced as a foil to Marvel’s Werewolf by Night. Moon Knight’s unique look made him popular with fans so Marvel gave the vigilante his own try out in the pages of Marvel Spotlight. To help distinguish the character from Batman, Doug Moench and Don Perlin tried to put some more distance between Marc Spector and Bruce Wayne. Yes, Moon Knight had the European man Friday in his right hand man Frenchie, the palatial mansion, the billions, the women, and the gadgets, but he also had a very different method of fighting crime. These early stories not only gave readers their first glimpse into the man behind the cowl, they revealed that Spector would also operate as a cab driver named Jake Lockley in order to get closer to the criminal elements Moon Knight was sworn to stop. Spector also masqueraded as Steven Grant, millionaire playboy. This playing with identities would become a Moon Knight staple as Spector would bounce around between the three, trying to find a balance and meaning through any of them. Soon, Frenchie would be fleshed out to much more than an Alfred clone and Moon Knight’s constant love, Marlene Alraune, would be introduced to give the hero a diverse cast of players for the dramas ahead.

read more: Complete Schedule of Upcoming MCU Phase 4 Marvel Movies

After Marvel Spotlight, Moon Knight popped around the Marvel Universe before settling into a solo feature in the back of Hulk! Magazine and his own black-and-white one shot feature in Marvel Preview. These issues’ claim to fame is the absolutely stunning art by some of the industry’s finest talents. The magazine appearances began the long association between Moon Knight and Bill Sienkiewicz, the artist that would visually inform the character for a long time to come.

The First Solo Series

The first Moon Knight solo series finally revealed Marc Spector's origin, further removing the character from accusations that the silver caped warrior was simply a Batman clone. The monthly revealed Spector’s background as a soldier of fortune in Egypt who was left to die at the hands of his brutal enemy, the Bushman. The god Khonshu promised to bring Spector back to life if the soldier would become an avatar of vengeance in Khonshu’s name. Spector agreed and, wrapped in Khonshu’s silver raiment, eventually found and defeated Bushman in single combat. The series also revealed that Spector was the son of a Rabbi, so now fans had a pagan god blessing the son of a Jewish holy man with magical life to serve as a sort of golem against crime. 

This series was a celebration of comic’s sheer insanity, a chaotic melding of concepts and worlds, mythological gods combined with real world religious dogma to create a hero like no other. At this point, Bill Sienkiewicz came into his own as an artist as the book built up some critical cache. Many of the adversaries in the book, such as Cyclone, Conquer Lord, Randall, the Hatchet Man, Midnight Man, and the Committee failed to become anything more than one-off antagonists, although the book did introduce Stained Glass Scarlet, a femme fatale that should have, could have, would have become Moon Knight’s Elektra. The historical importance of the title was the mood and tones that Moench, Sienkiewicz, and company set, a more mature and brooding book that targeted the adult comic buyers of the newly minted direct market.

read more: What's Next for Spider-Man Movies?

Moon Knight’s second, short lived title abandoned the multiple identity angle and instead, had the wealthy Marc Spector travel the world opening art galleries. While a roaming artistic vigilante does have a certain daring and originality, it wasn't the direction fans seemed to want. The new series also saw alterations to Moon Knight's perfectly designed costume adding busy visual elements such as gold braces, a belt, and a gigantic ankh.

Moon Knight soon popped up in the pages of the West Coast Avengers where the usually solo vigilante joined the team. Sadly, this alliance was marred by the fact that for most of his run with the team, Spector was possessed by the Spirit of Khonshu. This moment created a rift between Moon Knight and the Avengers and also defined the character of Khonshu for years to come. He was no longer a magnanimous god, but a cruel puppet master that saw Spector as a hapless servant. This violation further fractured Spector’s delicate psyche. Strangely, it was revealed that Khonshu possessed Spector because it was the god who wanted to join the team, not the hero.

start reading here!

Marc Spector: Moon Knight

Moon Knight’s longest series, Marc Spector: Moon Knight ran for five years with some amazing stores by writers like Chuck Dixon and J.M, DeMatteis that saw the urban hero interact with the rest of the Marvel Universe like never before. The book returned Spector to his vigilante roots, with a healthy dose of the street level mysticism that made him famous in the early 80s. The series saw the return of Bushman along with the introduction of a teen sidekick Midnight (probably not the best move for a character that was always being compared to Batman). The book fleshed out Spector, Frenchie, Marlene, and even Khonshu who was revealed to be a god of justice, not vengeance.

Dixon and DeMatteis penned some of the best stories to ever grace a Moon Knight comic. Sadly, the excesses of the '90s was soon to trump solid storytelling as the book was shoehorned into a number of crossovers like Acts of Vengeance and Infinity War (not that one), while countless guest-stars almost pushed Moon Knight out of his own feature. Oddly enough, it was at this time that Moon Knight would also experience its greatest sales success when newcomer Stephen Platt took over the art chores. The story was forgettable at best, but Platt’s anatomy bending style fit so perfectly into the Image generation of comics, that Moon Knight became one of the hottest titles on the market for a brief time. With Platt’s final issue, the series that started off as one of Marvel’s coolest titles devolved into a crossover laden guest-star fest that killed off Marc Spector. At this point, death was old hat for Moon Knight who would not stay in the cold grave for long.

read more - The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Who is John Walker?

Like all good mainstream superheroes, Moon Knight had to be resurrected at least once, and when he was it was by returning creator Doug Moench who brought the wonderful strangeness back to the character in two late '90 mini-series. Resurrection War and High Strangers were a return to Moon Knight’s roots, jettisoning the baggage of the '90s of sidekicks, adamantium suits, and guest star clutter, these stories were a breath of fresh air for fans wanting to get back to the pure and unapologetic weirdness that defined Moon Knight in the early days of the character.

The Bottom

The 2006 relaunch saw Marvel put a major marketing push behind the arrival of popular novelist Charlie Huston and mega-star penciller David Finch. Marvel seemed to be determined this time to force Moon Knight to work as more than just a periphery character, and boy, was it violent. While the book brought in many elements from the modern Marvel Universe it at times delved so much into gore and violence that it bordered on parody. Moon Knight had always been an edgy character, but in the first issue, he defeats a returned Bushman by carving his face off with one of his crescent moon darts. An increasingly broken and unstable Spector began to view the removed visage as a spiritual guide which he believed contained the spirit of Khonshu. So yes, Moon Knight carried around a hunk of rotting skin that he thought was a god. Makes the four personality thing seems like a Norman Rockwell painting, huh?

The series examined Moon Knight’s role as the most unstable member of Marvel’s pantheon of heroes and often brought in other Marvel heroes with the sole purpose of telling him he was batshit. Most importantly to Moon Knight history, the book retconned Marc Spector into a Gulf War soldier.

read Moon Knight: The Bottom on Amazon 

Vengeance

Vengeance of the Moon Knight saw the vigilante try to make amends for the face-ripping carnage of the previous series by swearing to stop killing his foes. The series returns the multiple personality shtick to the forefront as Moon Knight abandons his other civilian identities in favor of Jack Lockley. This is probably the most Marvel-centric of the many Moon Knight titles as almost every issue sees the hero team with a modern popular Marvel character. With guest spots from Deadpool, Spider-Man, and others, the series’ aim seemed to be to return Moon Knight to his original motivations while embedding him firmly in the contemporary Marvel Universe. The book’s main villain was Norman Osborn which went a long way to give the book a more mainstream Marvel feel.

read Vengeance of Moon Knight on Amazon

Shadowland

The Jake Lockley experiment didn't last long, as Moon Knight adopts the Spector personal once again to defeat the new villain, the Shadow Knight, who was revealed to be Mark Spector’s brother. Shadowland was a Daredevil driven event featuring Marvel’s street heroes, and the inclusion of Moon Knight solidified the character as a major player in the grittier street side of the Marvel Universe.

read Shadowland: Moon Knight on Amazon

The Big Push

No matter how hard Marvel had tried, Moon Knight had never been accepted as mainstream. So in 2011, the company took its biggest talent and allowed them to try to up Moon Knight’s cache in the eyes of many fans who dismissed him as a b-lister. Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev were as high a profile creative team as one could imagine. The book acted as a prelude to major events in the Marvel Universe (such as Age of Ultron) and had a different and twistedly commercial take on the multiple personality motifs. Gone were Lockley and Grant, instead, Spector had developed a new group of multiple personalities, notably taking on the identities of Spider-Man, Captain America, and Wolverine...men he fought beside and admired. This new wrinkle was just what the doctor ordered for a fresh batch of Moon Knight adventures as the book gave off the vibe that the hero was a truly disturbed, but well-meaning and heroic, individual.

The series also saw Spector become a Hollywood television executive, a perfect profession for a man who had such a delicate hold on sanity. When Echo, the book's romantic lead, is killed, Moon Knight’s Wolverine persona becomes dominant and "slaughters" the Cap and Spidey personas. The book only lasted about a year, though.

read Moon Knight by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev on Amazon.

Mister Knight

Listen, if you want to put a fresh, vibrant, and probably disturbing spin on a super hero, call Warren Ellis. In 2014, Ellis and artist Declan Shalvey leaned into the pulp noir of it all to create one of the darkest twists on Moon Knight yet. This series introduced a new personality for Marc Spector: the white suit-and-tie clad Mister Knight. As Mister Knight, Spector works with the New York City police to take down thugs, gangsters, and scumbags. But as Moon Knight, Spector battles the supernatural with high tech weapons. In this series, Ellis was able to balance the werewolf fighter of yore with the street level crime buster elements. Great creators followed Ellis and Shalvey on this volume of Moon Knight making it one of the most well received Moon Knight series in the character’s rich history. Don’t be shocked if Marvel Studios pulls from this dark gem for the upcoming Disney + series. 

read Moon Knight: From the Dead on Amazon.

Lunatic

Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood managed to take Marc Spector on his most insane journey yet. Marc Spector wakes up in a mental institution and learns that his entire life as Moon Knight has been a hallucination. All the Moon Knight supporting characters are residents of the institution and Spector must find the truth of his identity so he can finally leave. Lemire leads Moon Knight and readers on a fevered quest through the darkest corners of Spector’s mind in this wacked out volume. Hey, you ever notice that writers really, really bring the sick and twisted when it comes to Moon Knight? One really wonders how far the Disney + series will go, because you know, Disney +. 

read Moon Knight: Lunatic on Amazon

Legacy

In this series, Moon Knight villains Bushman and Sun King team up to kill Moon Knight. They discover that the Jake Lockley persona of Moon Knight has a child with Moonie’s longtime lover Marlene. This shocks all the other Spector personas as Moon Knight must come to terms with his place as the avatar of Khonshu in order to defeat his enemies and find peace. This series just underscores the fact that Moon Knight is many things: a street level hero, a weapon of the gods, a warrior, a soldier, and a hero.

read Moon Knight: Legacy on Amazon.

Moon Knight is probably Marvel’s most complex hero, and we can’t wait to see him come to life in the MCU. 

Read and download the Den of Geek SDCC 2019 Special Edition Magazine right here!

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Feature

TV

Marc Buxton

Aug 25, 2019

Marvel

Moon Knight

from Books https://ift.tt/2Nxo9yu

[tomorrowedblog]

Friday Releases for March 26

Friday is the busiest day of the week for new releases, so we've decided to collect them all in one place. Friday Releases for March 26 include Nobody, Invincible, It Takes Two, and more.

Nobody

Nobody, the new movie from Ilya Naishuller, is out today.

Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk stars as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life’s indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody. When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe), is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen), seems to pull only further away.

The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary (famed Russian actor Aleksey Serebryakov)—and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.

The Vault

The Vault, the new movie from Jaume Balagueró, is out today.

When an engineer learns of a mysterious, impenetrable fortress hidden under The Bank of Spain, he joins a crew of master thieves who plan to steal the legendary lost treasure locked inside while the whole country is distracted by Spain’s World Cup Final. With thousands of soccer fans cheering in the streets, and security forces closing in, the crew have just minutes to pull off the score of a lifetime.

A Week Away

A Week Away, the new movie from Roman White, is out today.

Troubled teen Will Hawkins (Kevin Quinn) has a run-in with the law that puts him at an important crossroad: go to juvenile detention or attend a Christian summer camp. At first a fish-out-of-water, Will opens his heart, discovers love with a camp regular (Bailee Madison), and sense of belonging in the last place he expected to find it.

The Seventh Day

The Seventh Day, the new movie from Justin P. Lange, is out today.

A renowned exorcist who teams up with a rookie priest for his first day of training. As they plunge deeper into hell on earth, the lines between good and evil blur, and their own demons emerge.

Enhanced

Enhanced, the new movie from James Mark, is out today.

A young woman with enhanced abilities finds herself hunted down by a sinister government organization. But when an even stronger enhanced serial killer emerges on the scene, agents and mutants are forced to question their allegiances.

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, the new TV series from Steven Brill, Josh Goldsmith, and Cathy Yuspa, is out today.

In present day Minnesota, the Mighty Ducks have evolved from scrappy underdogs to an ultra-competitive, powerhouse youth hockey team. After 12-year-old Evan is unceremoniously cut from the Ducks, he and his mom Alex set out to build their own ragtag team of misfits to challenge the cutthroat, win-at-all-costs culture of competitive youth sports.

The Irregulars

The Irregulars, the new TV series from Tom Bidwell, is out today.

Meet The Irregulars: Bea, Jessie, Billy, Spike and Leo. Join this ragtag gang as they uncover the demonic and mysterious depths of Victorian London alongside the sinister Dr Watson and his enigmatic business partner, Sherlock Holmes.

Invincible

Invincible, the new TV series from Robert Kirkman, is out today.

INVINCIBLE is an Amazon Original series based on the groundbreaking comic book from Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead. The story revolves around 17-year-old Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), who’s just like every other guy his age — except his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet, Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons).

It Takes Two

It Takes Two, the new game from Hazelight and Electronic Arts, is out today.

Embark on the craziest journey of your life in It Takes Two, a genre-bending platform adventure created purely for co-op. Play as the clashing couple Cody and May, two humans turned into dolls by a magic spell. Together, trapped in a fantastical world where the unpredictable hides around every corner, they are reluctantly challenged with saving their fractured relationship.

Monster Hunter Rise

Monster Hunter Rise, the new game from Capcom, is out today.

Set in the ninja-inspired land of Kamura Village, explore lush ecosystems and battle fearsome monsters to become the ultimate hunter. It’s been half a century since the last calamity struck, but a terrifying new monster has reared its head and threatens to plunge the land into chaos once again.

Balan Wonderworld

Balan Wonderworld, the new game from ARZEST Corp. and Square Enix, is out today.

BALAN WONDERWORLD is a wondrous action platformer game themed around the Balan Theatre. Led by the enigmatic maestro named Balan, the stars of the show Emma and Leo will use special abilities from a multitude of characterful costumes as they adventure in the bizarre and imaginary land of Wonderworld. Here memories and vistas from the real world mix with the things that people hold dear. Twelve different tales await our stars in the Wonderworld, each with their own unique quirks. They will explore all corners of these labyrinthine stages, filled with a myriad of tricks and traps, to get to the heart of each story.

Genesis Noir

Genesis Noir, the new game from Feral Cat Den and Fellow Traveller, is out today.

A noir adventure spanning time and space. When a love triangle between cosmic beings becomes a bitter confrontation, you'll witness a gunshot fired by a jealous god—otherwise known as The Big Bang. Jump into the expanding universe and search for a way to destroy creation and save your love.

I TAPE

I TAPE, the new album from Vic Mensa, is out today.

[junker-town]

The Celtics are a year away, again

Kyrie Irving’s injury limits their chances, but the future is bright in Boston.

Kyrie Irving had surgery on Saturday to remove two screws in his left knee. That will keep him out 4-5 months, which means the playoffs. Irving should be back in time for training camp this fall. The timing is unfortunate, but as Celtics coach Brad Stevens said a half-dozen times on Friday night before a game against the Bulls, “It’s out of of our control.”

What now? Now we LIST.

The Celtics are a year away, but we already knew that. Irving’s surgery and recovery window simply clarifies their timetable. Even before the news, the general consensus was that the Celtics were not winning a title this season.

That consensus was reached the moment Gordon Hayward fractured his tibia mere moments into the season. That perception was further solidified after a rash of injuries left valuable big man Daniel Theis out for the season and Marcus Smart on the sidelines until later in the postseason.

If anything, Kyrie’s absence should put to rest any lingering speculation over a dramatic Hayward return. One never says never in this league, and there’s no doubt that Hayward would love to get back on the court as soon as possible. Really, though, what’s the rush?

The Celtics feel like they’re in excellent shape when a year away finally becomes the present. They expect Irving and Hayward to be back healthy in time for training camp, and they will return almost everyone from a team that won 55 games even without Kyrie for a quarter of the season.

Greg Monroe, Aron Baynes, and Shane Larkin will be unrestricted free agents this summer and Marcus Smart is heading for what could be an eventful restricted period. That’s four key contributors who won’t be under contract when the NBA calendar flips to 2018-19, but the remaining core is all safely under control.

The development path of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, along with Terry Rozier has accelerated. In that sense, this season has been a success.

Tatum won’t win Rookie of the Year, but there are some who feel like he has a chance to eventually become the top player in this class and a superstar in time. Brown has become a versatile and dependable starter with a high ceiling. (My favorite comp is Andre Iguodala, although that may be a tad optimistic. Whatever, don’t doubt Jaylen Brown.)

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Rozier is an enigma of an X-factor. He has taken the lead guard role and turned it into a nightly thrill ride full of explosive plays and disruptive defense. What he lacks is the experience and savvy that Irving brings to the equation, to say nothing of the shotmaking.

What we’ve learned this season is that Tatum, Brown, and Rozier are players in this league. We may have suspected that before the season started, but we know that now. All of that is crucial to the Celtics’ long-term development and planning.

Tatum, Brown, and Rozier are about to be thrown into the deep end of the postseason basketball pool, and that’s not a bad thing. Brown and Rozier have already gone through this to a degree, but not as starters. Tatum, of course, will be making his playoff debut.

You can learn about players in the postseason, but just as importantly, players can learn a lot about themselves. There is no better or tougher training ground than the postseason.

That’s kind of exciting, but whatever happens, this postseason will not define them. They have years ahead of them to make that happen.

This is still a 55-win team and there will be substantial pressure on Al Horford to perform during the postseason. Horford does so many things that don’t show up on the stat sheet and go under the radar. Primarily, he’s a phenomenal defender and a willing passer.

Both of those elements are crucial to the Celtics’ formula. Both are universally praised and also taken for granted. That’s what you get with Horford: He’s a phenomenal player, a fantastic teammate, and many people still want more from the big man.

If the Celtics are going to make any kind of headway in the postseason, Horford will also need to score and rebound at a high level. He can do both and he’ll need to do both, while also continuing to do all the little things that we’ve come to expect.

The best thing about Horford is that outside pressure doesn’t bother him. He’ll do what he thinks needs to be done. That should be enough, but it won’t keep his critics at bay. Again, none of that bothers him, so don’t let it stress you out.

Brad Stevens will come up with something, because that’s what Brad Stevens does. There may be no better in-game tactician at the moment than Stevens. That has been evident the last few months on a nightly basis. Expect to see the unexpected. Zones, four-and-five-guard lineups, Monroe playing the point … everything goes and nothing is off limits.

Make no mistake, Stevens would rather have all of his players available. The idea that he digs giving it the old college try is overblown. Still, his imagination is essential in times of turmoil.

It, also, will be kind of fun.

All bets are off on the Celtics now. They could lose in the first round or cobble together enough plays to sneak into the conference finals. That appears to be the ultimate ceiling, but they don’t look at it that way.

Marcus Morris, who has been a lifesaver, does not care about being a year away. Marcus Smart, who could return in time for the second round, absolutely does not care about being a year away. When healthy, Smart has been a game-changer for the C’s. Don’t discount his importance of he’s able to get back on the court.

This is their shot, and they’re going to take it. Over and over again. You want Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart on that 3-point line. It’s not like you have any choice.

The Celtics always seem to exist in a state of perpetual anticipation. Next year isn’t that far away, and next year means more chances to take big swings at even greater targets like Anthony Davis or hell, even Kawhi Leonard. That doesn’t seem likely this summer, but hey, you never know.

They are fortunate because Danny Ainge and his front office team have executed a strategy that allows for that kind of bold thinking. But next year is not now. Now is now. Maybe we should just see what they can do before waiting for next year. It will get here soon enough.