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sketch-shepherd-art · 4 years ago

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Inspiration for my stories

This is a reupload from a really old deviantART journal from 2017 that I regularly updated with each new original story idea I completed.

Since I’ve started sharing my original stories to Tumblr more, it only makes sense that I talk about their various inspirations from other works here too.

This is mostly going to be copy-pasted from my old DA journal but will also include some new inspiration for my recent stories. I’ll regularly reblog this and add more of my inspirations with every new story I complete.

Domestic Revolution: - Watership Down (an unconventional rabbit protagonist that’s not a cute fluffy stereotype) - The Secret of NIMH (animals getting enhanced intelligence due to genetic manipulation) - Felidae (the villains being abused animal test subjects who murdered their owners and went off to start an animal supremacy movement which involves murder of other innocent creatures. Their human owners [Preterius/Achmed] originally wanted to create a special substance that would cure/help animals in some way) - Avatar: the Legend of Korra (Joseph/Amon. Both are tragic villains starting a revolution to rid the world of a particular group) - Ginga Densetsu Weed (both Kaibutsu and Hougen influenced Joseph in some way. For Hougen, it involved a villain going insane and lashing out at his own followers. For Kaibutus, it was a villain who was a test subject for humans and gained a hatred for them because of it) - Mulan (the scene of Audrey discovering the forest full of human corpses is inspired by the burnt village scene) Wild Range: - Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (a horse story that takes place in the wild. Also both include a fight scene between a horse and mountain lion) - The Land Before Time (an simple plot of characters going through a journey facing predators and forces of nature with a moral of family and teamwork) - Watership Down (more based on the rabbits’ journey to a new home in the first half of the book/movie. Also both involve a smart character with quick thinking who helps the other characters with their brains) The Heart of Karis - The Last Unicorn (Quite obviously. I’ve had a story idea for a unicorn running away to look for someone/something since I was eight) - Moana (the idea of a character stealing the “heart” of a place causing it to wither and die out, and much of the story is centered around the protagonists trying to restore it) - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Yes really. The complex magic of the unicorns and a story arc involving a queen [Celestia/Theia] banishing a royal relative over their selfish actions [Luna/Zephyrus] and the banished individual becomes corrupted and possessed by dark forces [Nightmare Moon/Teryn] and comes back for revenge but gets redeemed at the end) - Avatar: The Legend of Korra (The Fog of Lost Souls/The Cannibal Desert. Both are creepy, misty areas inhabited by dark forces that make you go crazy and forget who you are, and a character manages to lift the fog and free themselves) - The Chronicles of Narnia (a huge final battle in the climax between mythological creatures) - Steven Universe (Iris is inspired by both Blue Diamond and Pearl: both characters constantly mourn the loss of someone close to them and desperately try to preserve everything that’s left of them, plus both tend to put emotion over reason at times. Iris and Theia are pretty analogous to Pearl and Rose) - Beauty and the Beast 2017 (minor characters and characters who were imprisoned in a place and separated for a long time are revealed to be family members and happily reunited) - Kung Fu Panda 2 (Zephyrus/Teryn’s backstory is inspired by Lord Shen, a character who was banished by misusing power for evil instead of good) War Hound - The Odyssey (Obviously. The whole story is just a futurustic animal-ized version of it) - Isle of Dogs (the main characters being a group of five dogs with differing personalities, and their leader is the mature and serious one. There's even a bird character that delivers messages) - Ginga Nagareboshi Gin (a one-eyed bear as a villain) - Watership Down (a minor villain who appears hospitable to the heroes at first, but turns out that they're only trying to lure them as bait for humans to spare their own lives) - The Secret of NIMH (a mysterious, aged bird character who gives the protagonist helpful answers [the Great Owl/the Old Raven]) - The Good Dinosaur (a character being killed in a flash flood) - RWBY (Adrian is partially inspired by Adam Taurus) Karis and the Secluded Kingdom - My Little Pony: The Movie 2017 (a ruler and her kingdom flees underwater when a big bad attacks her home, although @cartoon-and-animal-lover suggested this idea to me first drawing from the same inspiration so I can't take all the credit) - Atlantis: The Lost Empire (the underwater civilization) - Tangled (Circe and Ilias were heavily inspired by Mother Gothel and Rapunzel) - The Secret of NIMH (Circe is also inspired by Jenner, a villain who is against idealism and prefers to stay in the past) - Balto 2: Wolf Quest (Circe is also inspired by Niju for the same reasons above) - The Land Before Time (how the heroes took down the bunyip is similar to how Littlefoot and his friends killed the Sharptooth) - Avatar: The Last Airbender (the scene of Shirong and Ilias in the cave was inspired by Zuko and Jin's date) - The Road to El Dorado (a bad guy controlling a giant sentient puppet made of stone to destroy the heroes [Tzekel-Kan with the giant jaguar/Circe with the Leviathan]) - The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride (though not a scene actually in the film, the infamous deleted scene of Zira committing suicide inspired Circe's suicide at the end of the story. The uniting of Kryvo and Concordia was also inspired by the joining of the Outlander and the Pridelander lions, though in my story the two sides weren't enemies like how they were in TLK)

Magic of the Faun - A Troll in Central Park (Well, even though this story was originally written as a straight up improved remake of it, there are some very basic plot elements that stayed, including a certain type of magic being outlawed, a villainess who wants to petrify a kingdom, and the mythical protagonist being whisked away to our world and befriending a human) - Disney’s Fantasia (the home of the mythological creatures is inspired by the Pastoral Symphony segment) - Coraline (a child who feels constantly ignored by his parents but realizes that not being around him often doesn’t mean they don’t love him) - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (several magical elements, as well as Queen Chrysalis being one of the inspirations for Mortia) - Sleeping Beauty (Mortia’s character is also partially inspired by Maleficent. The fight between Caius and Mortia was also influenced by the final battle between Philip and Maleficent) - Ferngully (a villain associated with pollution and darkness who wants to destroy the protagonist’s natural resources [Hexus/Mortia])

Rudolf Okay so I don’t have to explain that this is obviously my own adaptation of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer but I took different inspiration from different versions - the 1964 Rankin Bass special (Much like Bumble, Denali is a non-talking giant monster of a villain. Vixen’s design is a direct homage to Clarice with the pale colors and the red bow. Rudolf and Aura bonding over both being outcast for their differences from other reindeer is similar to Rudolph and Hermey) - the 1998 Goodtimes Entertainment film (Blitzen being the father of Rudolf and the villain causing the storm on Christmas Eve that Rudolf eventually helps the team through) - Niko and the Way to the Stars/The Flight Before Christmas (a young reindeer trying to get to Santa’s village to meet his dad who’s part of Santa’s team) - Klaus (a less traditional take on an iconic Christmas character, all the way down to the similar one-word character title. The rivalry between the Luminos and Avios deer is is also inspired by that of the Ellingboes and the Krums) - Balto (outcast hybrid protagonist who earns respect from others after completing a heroic deed) - How to Train Your Dragon (the iconic Test Drive scene was in my mind when Blitzen and Rudolf were having their flight session together. The battle against Denali is inspired by the fight against the Red Death, including the scene of the protagonists leading the big bad away from everyone else and causing it to crash to its death mid-flight)

#sketch text #my ocs #my stories #domestic revolution #wild range #the heart of karis #war hound #magic of the faun #rudolf

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pennylogue · 5 years ago

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thoughts on “in dreams”

steven really went and made a self insert i can not beLIEVE

“alright, now that i’ve saved the universe, I CAN FINALLY PARTY!!!”--the delivery on that line oh my god i’m cackling.

hmmm so in that opening scene we have lars and the off colors, the gems, onion, and connie. i’m trying to decide if there’s kind of a common theme between. it could be that here’s most of the people he went through space with, i.e. some of his most stressful experiences, or maybe the characters he’s currently most worried about being left behind by

but onion

the gems and connie are there because he feels disconnected to them, lars and the off colors cause they’re leaving, and onion because onion is a mystery. that’s it that’s my final offer.

i really love how the dreams are portrayed throughout this episode? it’s a really nice mix of weird, with just enough creepy and symbolism thrown in to sort of get what they’re going for. the cookie cat clock temple was an inspired touch. i also love that while all the fanfic writers were right about the boy having nightmares, i don’t think anyone really foresaw how trippy they’d be!

“steven, no one needs your help, so why are you still here?” interesting how that question is posed by something that LOOMS. good visual

peridot ep my soul is soothed it’s been so long and these two are so cute together.

and "steven and peridot make a filk fix it”? i’m so amused. tho tbh i’m surprised that steven’s so okay with peridot seeing his dreams, lots of real personal stuff in there. i guess he could be partially relying on peridot not really getting how dreams work for humans, as well as her not being super great at reading people to begin with. (one oblivious gremlin, this is.) but ultimately i guess he was just desperate enough to hang out that he’d take any excuse, without really caring about the consequence--you can see that.

look on the look on his face when he said peridot. he really needed this. he really can’t be alone right now. like, steven is soooo excited to problem solve together with someone, it sorta hurts

do we even need to examine stefan. this is fandom. we all know how wish fulfillment works here. i’m more amused by how peridot immediately clocks what’s going on--maybe she’s a bit more aware than i’d thought

the things that bother steven are, quite literally, stopping him from helping others. but notice that these “others” are characters, and it’s problem without stakes, one that he caused to help solve the inter-personal conflicts of non-existant characters. up to his old tricks--but it all rings hollow, because it is. the only thing real in those dreams are steven and his memories, and that’s what they should be trying to fix.

aka steven’s self projecting into media to deal with real-life issues, so yes, we’re all fucking hypocrites.

dream symbolism--his childhood institutions are leaving him, the gems are leaving him, he’s still just a helpless infant who can’t do anything

and since steven’s subconscious has decided that these characters are real people, he’s treating them how he treats real people--he does whatever it takes to solve their problems, and wants to avoid hurting them

but that wonderfully subtle moment of her reaching for the door (paralleling the door in his first dream yo, but inverted--out there is the party, here it’s just him if she leaves)

in case you’re wondering, this is what steven looks like when he’s about to do something "selfish”--knowingly hurting “others” for his “own” sake. overlapping him with the other characters, he reminds me kinda of early pearl, who also had a lot of issues connecting with others. and also this entire conflict is weirdly reminiscent of cry for help. he’s willing to keep working on the problem, no matter what, just to spend a little more time with peridot.

that’s why i think it’s connie/obsidian attacking him--he’s guilty over what he’s doing, so he’s having two people he sees as forces for justice wrecking him. that plus more fuel for connverse. good on you, shippers

the entire next scene is so creepy and gorgeous but can i just talk about

look at her gem. dude i was so worried that he’d somehow possessed her through the tv, and the next scene was him going into her mind. compared to that, this is a lot better. steven’s continuing to manage to open up a bit.

steven’s speech about “always having something to fix” is interesting, because it gives a certain perspective to his behavior. literally all of their significant interactions after “hit the diamond”, the end of the show’s heavy focus on peridot, involve steven approaching their interaction with the goal of dealing with a gem problem, a diamond problem, or helping her work through lapis. even “too short to ride”? well, that was still part of the project of fixing peridot. because the show often has a laid back tone, i think it’s easy for the viewer to see steven and peridot doing things together as them just hanging out, but steven, the person who’s approaching every episode’s conflict as someone’s problem he needs to fix, doesn’t see it like that. and spending two years fixing the galaxy didn’t help that mindset.

aka this show literally goes “what if someone was the main character of an episodic series, how fucked up would that be?” i’m literally screaming.

i think this is the first time we’ve really seen peridot be there emotionally for steven. it’s a pretty standout scene for her character--calling herself a clod, crying, hugging, being sensitive to what steven needs, removing her VISOR, lord--it’s really a great culmination of her character arc, as well as hopefully a lead in to the rest of the gems being emotionally there for the boy.

this was a really cute indulgent episode with some great visuals and i liked it lots.

#su future #suf #steven universe future #su #su future meta #su meta #the pennylogue #su spoilers

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thebalancewentwrong · 5 years ago

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Why Steven Universe Future feels off (WARNING: BIG POST)

(This post was made when only the first 4 episodes were out)

Table of contents:

1. Intro and explanation

2. A new show

3. So much to do in such little time

4. The end of arcs

5. The plot?

6. Other little bits

7. Conclusion

1. Intro and explanation

So I want to make it clear before I dive into this right of the bat that I honestly truly love Steven Universe with all my heart. It is easily my favorite show of all time and has influenced and affected me in so many positive ways beyond just enjoyment of the show.

That being said I (and the person I was watching it with) felt that something just felt a little... off for Steven Universe Future. It just didn’t feel quite right, and didn’t grip me nearly as much as as the original show or the movie. Now maybe it’s because of my experience in both film and writing and my desire to understand what makes my favorite things tick, I couldn't just let it go and decided to really dig deep into what it is that makes it feel so different and I think I figured out some of the reasons as to why.

I haven't seen too many people talk about it on here and though that maybe it was just me. Most people on here seem to enjoy the show with no problems and if that's you then great! please don’t let me take that away from you, just ignore this post and move on if you don’t want to see me dig deep into it, I honestly hate being a fun killer/ buzz kill on these things but I asked a few days ago if I should make this post and a couple of people said they were interested so here we are.

And yes I know this post is excessive but I have a lot to say on the matter, also understand this is not a post bashing on the show or calling it “bad”, it’s just an insight into what makes the show tick and how it differs to the original show (and the movie)

With all that being said, let’s jump into the first major thing.

2. A new show

Ok, so this one kind of goes without saying, but yeah Steven Universe Future is a new show. It’s not season 6, it’s a new show and as a result I think it’s only natural for the creators to want to try and emphasize that fact by giving it a different feel.

They accomplish this with a lot of subtle things but I think that it’s likely done intentionally in order to differentiate itself from the original series. Now do I think it was a good idea to change the overall feel of the show in order to separate it form the original? ehhhh not exactly... It would make more sense if it really was a different show, but you literally can’t understand anything that happens in SUF without watching the original show in almost it’s entirety, so eh.

That being said you could argue they wanted to try a new feel just to mix it up after working on the original for so many years and I guess I can get that.

This is a fairly weak point overall, however I wanted to start with the lighter stuff before getting into the big bois.

3. So much to do in such little time

Again, this one may be kind of obvious for some but it honestly feels like that some of the episodes either really should have been longer or deserve to have a whole arc around them.

I’m talking especially about ‘Rose buds’ and ‘Volleyball’. Both of these episodes feature some pretty heavy themes and ideas that in the original show could easily be the focus of an entire 4 episode long arc each.

But here they have put everything into just the one episode, cramming it all in and constantly hitting us with big ideas and surprises. Not saying the episodes are paced badly, just that I think that these ideas really could have and perhaps even should have had way more time to be explored and expanded.

For example in ‘Rose buds’ there are so many moments that could easily be their own episodes if given the chance:

The ‘Zoomans’ learning to pilot the zoo

Greg and Steven reuniting with the Zoomans

Bringing the zoo to earth

The Zoomans reacting to earth

Freeing the Rose Quartzes

Greg reacting to the Quartzes

Pearl reacting to the Quartzes

Do you see what I mean? they could each be an episode in the original show, but here it’s all just one episode and as a result it feels like it goes by too fast, we don’t get as much time to react and take it all in, to absorb it all. Instead with it all being in one episode it weirdly devalues these moments as just an almost throw away one off episode.

It’s still a good episode, don’t get me wrong but I really do wish that the concepts within it were given more time to breathe.

4. The end of arcs

Ok, now we are getting into bigger stuff. So tell me, did Amethyst and Pearl seem a little different to you? Almost a little too... complacent? Like they didn’t quite react the way you would expect them to? Well that’s because of their character arcs.

In a story, character arcs are very important to making characters interesting and likable, It’s essentially the transformation from what the character was like at the beginning to what they become at the end. Typically through these arcs, characters confront their weaknesses and issues, they tackle their flaws and eventually overcome them.

Now the character arcs in Steven Universe are amazing and I love them, but they have one problem: they are done.

The things is, by the end of ‘Change your mind’ the main crystal gems and even Steven to an extent had been through so much and had confronted all of their biggest flaws and demons that they all just completed their arcs and ended the story as their best selves.

Then in the movie they do something super clever by reverting them all back to default and we get to see how far their arcs have taken them and how much they have changed, it’s simultaneously a brilliant way of addressing their arcs and tying into the theme of change and growing stronger, it’s honestly inspirational from a writing perspective for me.

But then we get to future... where they don’t get the novelty of being rest to zero here, instead they have continued on from where we left them as their perfect selves.

Now I’m happy for the characters, it’s really nice to see them all happy living their best lives, but having flaws as I said helps the characters be relatable and continually interesting, but they really don’t address them here, as... well they’re over it.

Again, in ‘Rose buds’ our old Pearl would have absolutely freaked out at the sight of the Roses, or probably be really mentally scared and messed up... but not here. Here she has gotten over Rose, and while she is still made uncomfortable by the Roses, she is nowhere near as messed up as she could have been once upon a time. It’s nice to see her change so much but it feels off to us now, that’s not how the Pearl we knew would react, and that’s why it feels weird.

5. The plot?

So this is the biggest bit that honestly bothers me the most because I’ve seen other media do the same things and it’s upsetting to see Steven Universe fall into it but, as of right now Steven Universe Future does not have a plot.

I know, I know, that’s a crazy statement to make but hear me out. A plot is an incredibly basic thing that helps bring everything together and to get audiences invested. A plot is essentially made by a goal, the goal does not need to be complicated, it just needs to be something that drives the story along.

In Star Wars, the plot is essentially for the heroes to stop the Empire, It’s pretty broad but it’s still a plot and a goal for the heroes.

In infinity train the main character wants to get off the train and get home.

In JJBA: Golden Wind, Giorno wants to become the boss of the mafia.

In Steven Universe (original series) Steven wants to learn about his gem powers and the crystal gems want to defeat and bubble all the corrupted gems.

And in Steven Universe Future, Steven uh he’s trying to uh... live.... life...?

See what I’m saying here? There is no goal, there is no plot, the story hasn't really started yet, we as an audience don’t have much to hold onto story wise to keep us invested.

“But what about Steven’s new pink powers?” I hear you say. While yes this will very likely tie into the main story at some point, as of right now it’s just a plot thread waiting to be picked up. The main thing is that none of the characters are really following that thread right now, it’s just a thing that’s kind of happening while other stuff is going on.

Imagine if instead of just going “huh cool a new power!” Steven actually went out of his way to pursue this now power and find out what it is, giving him a goal. Or hell even telling the crystal gems about it and giving them something to do, then you can say with confidence that:

‘Steven Universe Future is about Steven trying to find out about his new powers”

Simple as that, but unfortunately as of right now this is not the case.

Like the episodes wouldn’t even have to be all that different, it would just help to know that we had an overall goal in mind and the rest could carry on as usual, just like it has many times in the show.

I am 100% confident that it will become a plot point, but as of the first 4 episodes so far it hasn’t been properly established yet and as a result the episodes feel like they are missing something, it just feels like a slice of life story, but with really intense and interesting ideas, and ultimately, just feels off.

6. Other little bits

This next part is just a list of little random things that are ultimately inconsequential and don’t deserve their own points but might contribute into the overall ‘off’ feeling of the show.

The music does not quite feel to have that Steven Universe charm (Idk about this myself I’m not a music person as much as the person I watched it with who pointed it out.

No musical numbers yet (again a small thing but you think there would be one by now?)

Voice acting a bit off? (could just be me but that sound a little strange, as if they have a new voice director (maybe they do idk))

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl (they haven't really all been in a scene together yet which feels weird as they always used to be together)

Some character models seem off (probably just me but sometimes characters like Pearl just seem weird in some shots idk)

Steven isn’t quite as jovial? (this is likely intentional for where is character is going, but it’s important to point out as it’s intentionally made to make the viewer feel off about him)

There is likely more that I might add later.

7. Conclusion

So these are the reasons I’ve found that Steven Universe Future might feel a little off from the rest of the show (and movie) It’s entirely possible that you won’t agree with me on anything here and that's fine, these were just my findings and an attempt to rationalize why I feel this way about the show.

Please believe me when I say I want nothing more than for this show to be just as good as the original show if not even better because I honestly love the SU franchise so much. That’s why I made this post, because I want it to be the best that it can be and these are the things that I feel might be holding it back.

Honestly so many of these things are easily addressable and very likely will be! Although my personal prediction is that the actual ‘plot’ won’t properly start until the end of episode 10 as the description for these episodes seem like they are going to be along the same lines as the first 4 eps.

Either way I will be happily watching as the new episodes come out as nothing can stop me from loving Steven Universe at this point, the show has already done so much for me and I will forever love it for that <3

#steven universe future #suf #steven universe #SU #little homeschool #guidance #rose buds #volleyball #jasper #garnet #amethest #pearl #rose quartz #pink pearl

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kittyprincessofcats · 6 years ago

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Thoughts on SU - Together Alone

Wow! That was one HELL of an episode. That was everything I wanted to see and more. 10/10, let’s get right into it!

- So, the episode already starts off with a bang: White Pearl used to be Pink Pearl theory confirmed!!

- Also, Steven coughing up Rose’s hair in his dream is interesting and I wonder what it means. My first interpretation was that Steven’s seeing things through Pink Diamond’s eyes and she’s coughing up Rose’s hair because she doesn’t want to be a Diamond anymore and Rose is who she is on the inside. My sister had a different interpretation: She saw it as Steven coughing up Rose’s hair because he’s tired of everyone seeing him as his mom and wanting to get rid of that side of him. Either way, I’m curious to find out how the writers intended it.

- Pearl’s watching Steven sleep again. She is his mom.

- “Pink’s moving again!” The pebbles continue to be adorable. Also love how they’re taking care of Connie.

- “Come on, party Pearls!” Steven, I love you.

- “unprecedented and therefore out of the question” - that does sum up homeworld mentality pretty well, doesn’t it?

- “Yikes, that sounds pretty dry.” “Liquids are forbidden in the ballroom.” I’m starting to really love Yellow Pearl. She’s so literal-minded :D

- Steven: “Well... is there something you really like to do?” Yellow Pearl: “Oh... of course not! My feelings are irrelevant!” Blue Pearl: “I like to draw.”

... Holy hell, do people realize how huge that is? I just fell in love with Blue Pearl. Last episode, I wasn’t sure if her “welcome back” to Pearl was a sign of her secretly agreeing with the Crystal Gems, but how I’m starting to feel more and more like it was. She didn’t even try the whole “I’m a Pearl, I’m not supposed to have hobbies” thing. The moment Yellow Pearl started to talk like that, Blue Pearl proclaimed she likes to draw and got out her drawings as soon as Steven asked. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that she wouldn’t have done that if she hadn’t known that the Crystal Gems would support her. And she wouldn’t have known that if it wasn’t for our Pearl.

- And even with Yellow Pearl, it took Steven less than a minute to figure out what she likes to do and get her to relax and laugh about it. That’s huge, too. And I don’t think it’s just Steven. I think these Pearls have wanted to be themselves for a while now.

- “Are you really going to look like this? Even at the ball?” “I can’t really help it.” I totally see why people are reading this as a trans metaphor.

- Amethyst’s face during the entire confrontation with Blue Diamond is such a mood. Seriously, watch that scene again and pay attention to Amethyst’s expressions. They’re amazing.

- “But my friends are super inspiring!” Hell yes, they are.

- Blue Diamond: “You can bring your Pearl of course, and your... pet.” Steven: “Uh... pet?” Connie: “I think she means me.”

I mean the whole “gems seeing humans as beneath them” thing can be seen as a racism metaphor, and imo Connie not being white just made that metaphor stronger in this scene. Both Steven and Connie’s uncomfortable expressions really sell that moment.

- Steven standing up for Garnet warms my heart.

- “I won’t go.” “At least the Sapphire in there has some sense.” Funny how Blue Diamond automatically assumes that was Sapphire. And by funny, I mean awful.

- Garnet’s angry growl at Blue Diamond... if they didn’t need her to heal the corrupted gems, Garnet would have murdered that bitch right then and there. I feel ya, Garnet.

(Also, Ruby and Sapphire being allowed to go to the ball separately, but not fused? When we know fusions stand for relationships? How are there STILL people in my notes who don’t get the homophobia metaphor? It’s SO obvious you barely have to read between the lines.)

- Garnet: “Steven, this is your chance to talk to White. She’s not gonna listen to me, but she might listen to Pink.” Steven: “Then... she’ll listen when I tell her about you.” Steven, you’re too pure 😭 And the way he looks at everyone when he says “Once I talk to White Diamond, I’ll change everything. I promise.” 😭 😭 😭 My baby means so well!

- “Yo! Mah Diamond!” I love you, Amethyst. Never change.

- “When I told Garnet I still wanted her to come, I hope she didn’t think I meant I wanted her to split.” Can we talk about how well Steven has come to understand Garnet? In season 2 he was still asking to see Ruby and Sapphire, but how he understands how important being fused is for Garnet.

- Now that you can hear her in direct comparison to the other Pearls, White Pearl having a different voice is even creepier than before. Someone free her, please.

- Honestly, I think the party going “wrong” like this was a good thing. White Diamond didn’t come. If Steven had done everything perfectly, she’d have kept ignoring him forever. Remember last episode when Yellow complained about White ignoring her and Steven said “Maybe you should just fail?” I think he was exactly right.

- “Unfuse or I’ll make you!” “You’ll have to go through me.” GARNET!!! That’s my wife, everyone!! God, I love Garnet. She didn’t even hesitate! Ruby and Sapphire took one look at each other, knew they were on the same page, and didn’t hesitate to fuse in front of all the Diamonds’ courts, stand in front of Stevonnie, look Blue and Yellow Diamond right in the eye and say “You’ll have to go through me.” Listen... I love her. Garnet continues to be SO FUCKING BRAVE and protective of Steven and... I can’t. This moment killed me. I love my wife.

- “And me!” Hell yes, you tell ‘em, Pearl! She’s been putting up with all this bullshit in these last few episodes and her getting to tell the Diamonds off felt super satisfying. Also, I think this moment proves that despite her past with Pink, she still is the terrifying renegade people thought she was. That part was not a lie.

- “I knew it! I knew I couldn’t be the only one!” Okay first of all, she’s adorable. Second of all, I repeat: how are some people STILL not getting the LGBT-metaphor??? “I knew I couldn’t be the only one”? If that’s not a common reaction to a closeted person meeting other gay people for the first time, I don’t know what is.

- And that dramatic ending... hell yes. The Diamonds are not redeemed in any way, hallelujah!

10/10

#SU #Steven Universe #su spoilers #Together Alone #Diamond Days #long post #vicky watches su

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 6 years ago

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Bismuth

Steven Universe is a show about solving problems with healthy communication instead of violence. It’s also a show so centered around fighting that our main characters have signature weapons that act as literal extensions of themselves.

Not every episode has an action sequence, and not every action sequence is a fight, but this series is no stranger to glamorizing combat. For all its talk about how true strength means more than physical might, the use of physical might to hurt others isn’t always frowned upon, even by our peaceful hero. To compensate for this dissonance, fights that would normally leave fatal wounds instead end in a process so harmless that they called it “poofing.”

Our ninety-eighth episode begins not with a title card, but a dramatic-looking scene that’s soon revealed to have no stakes, capped with Steven bemoaning that “dying a bunch in video games is emotionally exhausting.” The temporary nature of death is ingrained in his life—his very existence involved his mother not quite dying, but becoming half of him—and while the show at this point has acknowledged that violence can scar the body and soul, the only permanent consequences we’ve seen precede Steven’s existence. Shattering, the Cluster, and Corruption are ancient history, and were actions taken by the villains our heroes rebelled against. We’ve never had to deal with the moral implications of ending a life, and because this is a kid’s show there’s a chance we never would have, because the game isn’t quite as fun once permanent consequences are in play.

After a comedic foray into Lion’s mane, Steven pops a mysterious bubble we saw all the way back in Lion 3, flies back into his room, and shouts that he’s made a horrible mistake. And after the initial reaction from the other Crystal Gems, we linger in the room to get one last message from his television screen before he jumps back in:

Game Over.

“We are the Crystal Gems!”

I love everything about the title reveal of this episode. I love that we have to wait for it, so we’re forced to pay extra attention when it arrives. I love the not-quite-still shot of our two leads sizing each other up as the name of our episode and new character slowly fades in. And I love the chill but chilling music that sets the stage for the life-changing story ahead of our hero.

Aivi and Surasshu give characters distinct instrumentation, Peter and the Wolf style, but folks like Rose, Greg, Connie, Lapis, Peridot, and even Lion also have distinct motifs (sometimes a few, in the case of Rose and Lapis) using these instruments. The four main Crystal Gems are unique in that they’re defined mainly by their sound: Garnet is the bass holding everything together, Amethyst is the drumkit keeping up the tempo, Pearl is the piano accompanying others, and Steven subs out a traditional main instrument for chiptunes (many people have pointed this out, but I think this video does the best job of exploring it). Garnet as a concept eventually gets a motif that largely appears when fusion is involved, but the principle of associating these four main characters primarily through instruments holds true throughout the series.

Bismuth is a Crystal Gem, too. And whether it’s intentional or not, I love that this is shown by her lack of a distinct theme song, leaving her represented by her instrument in the same way as our big four. And the instrument we get for a heavy metal stuck in the past is a reverse electric guitar.

On the subject of sound, we just started and I've already waited too long to talk about Uzo Aduba. Bismuth is beautifully animated and has a stunning design, and the extra large crew for this two-parter did wonders on her facial expressions and body language to breathe life into the character, but all of it would've fallen short without a magnificent voice actor tying it together. This is a complicated and ambiguous figure, who laughs hard and burns hot but knows how to keep quiet, and Aduba hits every emotional beat with ease.

Aduba is especially talented in humanizing Bismuth’s rage, balancing loud shouts with twinges of sadness and jolly war stories with drops of venom. Her monologue in the Forge is one of many examples of Aduba’s greatness: after building up fervent momentum as she works with burning lava, she lowers her voice to a triumphant but menacing whisper when revealing that she chose to create weaponry. Aduba made a splash by finding a real person in a character reduced to the nickname “Crazy Eyes” on Orange is the New Black, and while Bismuth might not be as extreme of a role, she’s made great by an actress who refuses to dumb down angry women.

Bismuth is a zealot, but why wouldn’t she be? She faced the same oppression that drove the other Crystal Gems to rebel, and is mentally right in the thick of it while Garnet and Pearl have had thousands of years to move on. The leader that inspired and encouraged her to build weapons not only refused to use the Breaking Point, but fought her, bubbled her, and lied about it. We see it in Bismuth’s face the moment Rose is first mentioned around her, and even though this could be read as concern over her leader’s whereabouts, our knowledge that Rose’s version of events clashes with Bismuth’s hiding place sets off early warning bells.

Bismuth’s wordplay here is perfect for a character who often means multiple things at once: “Rose really is something else” works as a commentary on how strange Rose was, as a reference to her physically becoming something else, and as another hint of Bismuth’s true feelings about her leader’s betrayal. Her clever use of language soon becomes ingrained as a character trait: we obviously get the triple pun on her name (not three puns, but the same pun three times), but I’m a bigger sucker for the phrase “upper crust” playing off her disdain of Gem elites with geological terminology. It’s great to see such cleverness when characters with massive frames and aggressive attitudes are so rarely graced with wit.

Bismuth is angry, but she’s more than her anger. It’s balanced by (and caused by) her huge heart. She gets along famously with Garnet and Pearl, and cares deeply for her fallen friends, but she’s just as warm with Amethyst and Steven. An underrated element of Bismuth is that it doesn’t forget that Amethyst is in the middle of a major arc: even though she’s not the focus of the episode, she’s still reeling from her fight with Jasper and is uncomfortable around another huge interloper in her life, this time someone whose existence furthers the notion that Amethyst isn’t a “proper” Crystal Gem. So Amethyst is awkward at first, then sows seeds of suspicion when Steven is entranced. It speaks well of Bismuth that she treats Amethyst as an equal worthy of respect without question, and Amethyst soon comes around when Bismuth praises and upgrades her whip. This giant-sized episode is the clear product of long-term planning and collaboration, but it still remembers to tell a quick Amethyst story to keep us invested in her ongoing development.

But it’s Bismuth’s relationship with Steven that makes up the bulk of the plot, and as dumb as it might sound, the character she reminds me of most is Tim Curry’s version of Long John Silver from legitimate classic film Muppet Treasure Island; yes, Long John Silver in general works for this analogy, but Tim Curry is the definitive version, fight me. Bismuth isn’t as treacherous as old Long John, but they share the tightrope act of being at odds with young protagonists that they earnestly like. There’s nothing fake about their moments of bonding and pseudo-parental advice, and while both are angling to convert a child hero to a questionable cause, it’s done in part to maintain a friendly relationship. Again, Silver is more of an outright villain—his lust for gold lacks the nuance of Bismuth’s well-intentioned justification of extreme violence—but these are gregarious antagonists that our heroes build meaningful connections with, and ultimately learn lasting lessons from.

Steven is all in on Bismuth’s ardor at first, grinning with shared passion after she rallies the team to keep fighting Homeworld. He’s a little less on board upon seeing Amethyst’s weapon upgrade, and his unease grows during the sparring session, but for all her intensity, Bismuth is fine with him not wanting to fight. She welcomes his own “rituals” with glee, and even though our first look at this sees her spiking a birdie into the sand so hard that the beach explodes, the montage otherwise shows her fitting right in. Even the foreshadowing of Bismuth’s views on weapon lethality during Lonely Blade is lighthearted, with the bonus of showing us how far Pearl has come in regards to fiction since Steven the Sword Fighter.

It all comes together in a poignant discussion about Rose. This is the last time she’s ever spoken of in a purely positive light before the story of her shattering Pink Diamond comes out; not every conversation about her is negative after this reveal, it’s never quite the same. We focus on Rose as a champion of differences: this is the Rose who said a servile pearl could be a warrior, who accepted a new fusion when nobody else would, who told a runty amethyst she was perfect the way she was. Bismuth is telling us what we already know, but personalizes it, showing how inspired she was by it, and Steven reacts to this umpteenth version of the Rose Was Great speech by admitting his fears of not measuring up for the second episode in a row.

Bismuth’s response sums up the entire lesson of Steven’s original series arc, and it’s such a moving affirmation when paired with Change Your Mind:

“You are different. That’s what’s so exciting. You don’t have to be like Rose Quartz, you can be someone even better. You can be you.”

The tragedy is that this hopeful message is undercut by Bismuth’s idea that a “better” Steven is one who uses deadly force. And the speech as a whole is further marred by a subtle hint of Rose’s mendacity: Bismuth mentions that she was “just another quartz soldier, made right here in the dirt,” but even before the Pink Diamond reveal, we already know Rose is from Homeworld from earlier episodes like Rose’s Scabbard. Retrospect enhances the sensation, tinging the uplifting speech with the kind of gray that we’re going to see a lot more of in the future.

There’s an awful inevitability to the ensuing fight as our heroes descend into the Forge, coming right of the heels of Bismuth telling Steven they need an alternative to fighting fair. Steven repeats his progression of reactions towards Bismuth all at once: first confused, then super excited, then gradually realizing something isn’t sitting right. But this time we can’t end with a day at the beach.

(The mood is ruined a little by the adorable commercial transition, and the summarization of the scene upon cutting back from commercials in a way this eleven minute show has never dealt with, but fortunately the bulk of the scene goes uninterrupted.)

Steven obviously isn’t going to use the Breaking Point, and we get a prolonged shot of them standing at odds in mirrored positions from their title card encounter before Bismuth’s hand tightens into a fist. To her, this isn’t a fight with Steven, but a continuation of her fight with Rose, and her anger at her deception is fueled further by the not unreasonable assumption that Rose is still lying as Steven. In Bismuth’s mind she isn’t attacking a child, but a veteran warrior who for some reason took the form of a small human, so she goes all-out.

Steven has been called “Rose” plenty of times by Jasper, and this will continue in our very next episodes, but it’s gotta sting harder when the person doing it just told him that Steven was enough. And the fight itself is no joke, which is a relief after the brawl in Steven vs. Amethyst was all joke. The hits land just as hard, and we get the same awesome choreography showcasing Steven’s floaty powers and spiky bubble in action, but Bismuth isn’t kidding and Steven is on the ropes. His sandal melting away is as graphic as we’re gonna get, but it’s still a great sign of what will happen to him if he falls. His shoelessness also allows for a neat reversal of Bismuth closing her fist to begin the fight: after limping on the other foot to avoid the heat, the first we see of him after the second bubble of the episode pops is a close-up of his bare foot steaming on the ground. He’s forced to hurt both himself and Bismuth to end the fight.

We’re on the cusp of learning the “truth” about Pink Diamond, but the beginning of Rose’s souring portrayal is right here. If you squint hard enough, Rose’s actions in the past could have been justified by her not wanting to shatter anybody, and by Bismuth being an extremist who left her with no choice. But as she stands impaled by the sword she once forged, Bismuth’s rage can no longer hide her grief. Even if Rose was right, and that’s hardly a sure thing, it’s twisted and terrible that she never told the other Crystal Gems the truth. It doesn’t matter that we eventually learn that this was a lot more complicated than it seemed because Rose was Pink Diamond, because in the moment, the person who just tried to kill Steven is saying that Steven’s mother did an awful thing, and despite everything the show has told us until this moment, she’s making a good point. Steven has no time to dwell on it before the other shoe drops (hopefully not into more lava), but it’s telling that Bismuth only acknowledges Steven as himself again when he says he’ll be honest.

When Bismuth gave Steven his pep talk in the living room, the audience didn’t know her full story, but she did, so she still loved Rose despite everything. She was hurt by her, and was willing to fight her, but she looked up to her leader despite it all. So it’s a real turn when she uses same language that encouraged Steven moments ago to make a new point: he could be better than her because of his potential to be spectacular, but also because she set the bar low by doing horrible things. Bismuth is all about that wordplay.

I’ve got a lot to say about my problems with Bismuth’s story after Bismuth (or rather the lack of one) that I’m including in my giant-sized features section below, because a giant-sized episode merits giant-sized features. But within the episode itself, I think silence after the fight is the right choice. Steven has been in danger before, but this is the hardest a person has ever tried to kill him, and it was one of his friends. A new friend, but a friend.

Bismuth marks the beginning of the end of this era of the show, an era when Steven’s series-long arc to fulfill his mother’s legacy was relatively straightforward. In yet another example of Bismuth’s wordplay, his life story swivels around a Breaking Point. The core of Steven Universe may not change in the way it does in Bubble Buddies and Mirror Gem and Catch and Release, but the core of Steven Universe is forever affected. His imminent guilt complex begins with stabbing Bismuth, and despite the hardships to come, he becomes a better person for surviving it.

But at least he doesn’t shatter her. That would really do a number on the guy. Can’t imagine how guilty he’d be if he one day did shatter an imposing zealot from the Gem War days with a history of confusing him for Rose Quartz...

Future Vision!

This is normally a section that lists small bits Fragments of foreshadowing, but because Bismuth is a double episode with tremendous impact on the shape of things to come in ways I already talked about in the review proper, I want to use this space to talk about the elegance of Steven Universe’s structure. I’ve referred to the fifty-odd episode chunks that make up the story on numerous occasions, but I think it’s about time I buck up and call them Acts.

Act I of Steven Universe is the first season, Act II is the second and third season, and Act III is the fourth and fifth season (with the movie and Steven Universe Future as epilogues), and I think viewing the series through this lens really makes the structure shine. There are many examples of repeating themes and moments that this interpretation makes clear, and as an example, I want to talk about how a recurring phrase signifies a turning point towards the endgame of each act.

In Act I, the slow-burning mystery of where the Gems came from begins at the midpoint, Mirror Gem, and escalates in Warp Tour with the introduction of Peridot. But we’re still doing regular episodes throughout, because Steven’s life is bigger than his past and there’s no pressing need to address his alien heritage when it isn’t directly affecting his life. It’s not until Marble Madness when this story ramps up, with Peridot's discovery of our heroes hurtling us towards a finale that sees Steven come into his own to defend his friends against old foes from beyond the stars who thought them long dead. The turning point is marked by Pearl taking a stand to proudly declare:

“We are the Crystal Gems! We're still alive, and we're still the guardians of this planet and all its living creatures!”

Jumping to Act III, the slow-burning mystery of what Rose did to Pink Diamond is actually solved with some time to spare. Things seem to be wrapping up at Garnet’s wedding in Reunited, especially because we’ve reached the same episode count of the other two acts. But then Blue and Yellow Diamond crash the party, bringing together the entire main cast in opposition. As in Act I, this shifts us onto the path towards the finale, this time one that sees Steven bringing the Diamonds together to heal the damage they did on Earth. This turning point was a bit less subtle:

“This is our home! Our planet! Our friends and family! We are the Crystal Gems!”

Act II is more stable than I or III, chronicling the period after Steven becomes a competent Crystal Gem but before everything is turned upside-down. He has adventures befitting his role and helps his friends and family as he grows more comfortable with his mother’s legacy, but unbeknownst to him, it’s the calm before the storm. Through it all, that legacy and that group are the bedrock of Steven’s life, and Bismuth begins to unravel his sense of security, leading to a finale that destroys our hero’s comfort zone. The turning point comes as Bismuth shatters not an elite Gem, but the fake image of one, and roars a battle cry that shows that there are some missing pages in the story of Steven’s happy family:

“Listen up, you Homeworld upper crusts...”

“We are the Crystal Gems!”

If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have inconsistencies…

Likewise, this is normally a section that lists plot elements that don’t add up, and I can’t imagine reviewing Bismuth with addressing Bismuth’s treatment as the show continues. There aren’t many other places to write about it until Made of Honor, as the most notable element of this discussion is her absence, but it’s a flaw beyond this episode itself, so it’s going here.

First, I understand from a storytelling perspective why Bismuth is bubbled again. She’s a major new element that couldn’t realistically be sent to the barn like Peridot and Lapis, and is so at odds with our heroes that it would mess with the direction of the series. In particular, the reveal that Rose shattered Pink Diamond would go from being a story about Steven coping to a story about Steven and Bismuth coping, because Rose shattering someone goes against the whole reason she fought Bismuth in the first place. The simplest solution to not having Bismuth dominate the upcoming story is putting her away until the plot demands. And we do eventually get some lip service to why she was bubbled again for so long: she did, after all, try to shatter Steven with the Breaking Point at the end of their fight. She seems cool with it, and it’s not as if she was suffering in there, popping back out as if no time had passed and integrating well with the team afterwards.

But it is baffling that there isn’t any conversation about trying to talk with her instead of keeping her locked away. We don’t need a proper trial, but the idea that this team wouldn’t allow Bismuth to make her case and wouldn’t try to help her work towards a mutual understanding is not only cruel, but cruel in a way that makes no sense for these characters. I’ve called the underuse of Malachite the show’s greatest blunder, and I stand by it because Bismuth’s treatment is much more than a “whoops.” Communication is everything to this series, and the idea that Bismuth was too dangerous to be reasoned with is, to me, Steven Universe’s greatest sin.

Garnet and Pearl in particular never mention any alternatives, or even bring her up to a meaningful degree. This is supposed to be one of their best friends. And after we learn about Pink Diamond’s shattering, it’s bewildering that Steven doesn’t consider the Bismuth of it all outside of her factoring into his guilt complex in Mindful Education and a brief mention in Storm in the Room. On both an emotional and logical level there’s no reason to not include her more in Act III. Like, let’s say in the worst case scenario she’s freed and furiously attacks Steven: he already defended himself by himself against her, in a lava-filled arena where she had a huge advantage, so obviously with the other Gems he’d be safe. And let’s say Steven is traumatized by nearly getting killed. Understandable. Even if Pearl also nearly got him killed a few times, it was never with murderous intent. Except that if that’s the rationale, I feel like Bismuth deserves to have that explained by him at some point during her imprisonment. He could tell the Gems, he could confide in Connie, whatever, this is something that needs to be said out loud. If we’re going to have her locked away indefinitely, there needs to be more than stone cold silence about why the Crystal Gems came to such an extreme solution, seemingly without a second thought. There was more discussion about the ethics of bubbling Peridot than Bismuth, and Peridot was a full-blown opponent at the time. There was more discussion about the ethics of rehabilitating the Centipeetle, a being corrupted into what seemed to be an unthinking monster, than a fully sentient ally who did a bad thing.

I’m not gonna knock this episode down any pegs for this in my rankings, because it’s not really the fault of this episode. Yes, it could have included Steven’s conversation with the other Gems, but this story was already full to the gills and there was plenty of time in future episodes, particularly episodes after the shattering story comes to light, to address it. Bismuth works fine on its own, but demanded further stories that it never got. Made of Honor does a decent job of bringing Bismuth back, but that’s after over fifty episodes of a misguided but heroic and loyal friend being imprisoned without any attempt at mediation.

I get that it would’ve been a lot of work, and that the bubble method was more convenient. But making a character this great only to treat her this way is a disservice to both Bismuth and the Crystal Gems as a whole.

(Also, less importantly, this episode was marketed as 100 thanks to the inclusion of a few combined shorts as numbered episodes. But yeah this was totally episodes 98 and 99.)

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

I ended on a bummer note there, but like I said, Bismuth by itself shouldn’t be held culpable for not having a Too Short to Ride or Alone at Sea for Bismuth down the line. It still doesn’t make my top fifteen, but it does make my top twenty, which matters because the list is expanding next time to account for our actual hundredth episode.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

When It Rains

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Bismuth

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

No Thanks!

5. Horror Club 4. Fusion Cuisine 3. House Guest 2. Sadie’s Song 1. Island Adventure

#bismuth #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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elite-7 · 6 years ago

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Two worlds, One family

This oneshot is kinda inspired by Phil Collins song, Two Worlds, from Tarzan.

P.S: Its a songfic! PREPARE TO CRY!

The diamonds, Yellow and Blue were just starting their day as dictators of Homeworld. First it was reading the reports that the scouts on soon to be colony sent back. Second it was listening to the Zircons bashing each other about who was right and wrong in court. Then it was-

“YEEEEEELLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOWWWWW, BLLLLLUUUUUUUUEEEEE! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS!”

Then it was caring for a brat who doesn’t know why she is even here in the first place cute and pretty little daughter. Pink was certainly a handful some days.

Some days as in all the time.

“We are over here Pink!” Blue calls much to Yellow’s dismay. They were on their thrones and looked very bored as a Zircon finished the argument. Pink jumps into her own throne and kicks her legs in the air.

“So I would like to ask you guys something-”

“No.” Yellow responds dryly earning a small glare from Blue.

“But all i want is-”

“Nada.”

“to own my-”

“Nein!”

“own Pearl!” Pink finished with a satisfying grin as Yellow looks very very stunned. Blue cracks a smile and bends down to pick her daughter up.

“I do agree that you should have your own Pearl, after all you keep chasing ours around with your silliness. Yellow agrees with that plan.”

“Really? Your going to give me a Pearl right off the bat?” Pink was the stunned one now as Yellow sighs and ruffles her hair.

“Well, White did take your original Pearl away so she won’t know the difference.” Blue says rubbing her hands together with a sneaky smile.

“I am both amazed and terrified by how this will go.” Yellow mutters as Blue and Pink drags her with them to pick out a Pearl.

Put your faith in what you most believe in Two worlds, one family Trust your heart Let fate decide To guide these lies we see

“Steven watch out!” Pearl cries rushing to the baby as he attempts to walk towards Amethyst.

“Yo, chill-ax P. He needs to fall in order to learn.”

“I agree with Amethyst.” Garnet says as Steven looks up at her with a goofy grin. “Come to me cutie pie.”

A paradise untouched by gems Within this worlds blessed with love A simple life, they live in peace

“Your finally giving me a colony? Pearl, they are finally giving me a colony!” Pink Diamond shouted picking up her Pearl who would just smile and nod. “Lets go explore!”

“Pink no!” Yellow shouted running towards the warp pad but not in time as the two warp away.

“Pink yes.” Pink would say at the warp pad and glowing at the beautiful scene around her. The grass, trees, flowers! They were magnificent. It was breath taking.

Softly tread the sand below your feed now Two worlds, one family Trust your heart Let fate decide To guide these lives we see

“That’s it Steven! Your doing it!” Greg yells as Steven rides his bike for the very first time without training wheels. Garnet had to hold Pearl’s hand in order for her not to freak out after the boy fell on the soft sand trying to get off the bike. “Still a little too small for the big boy bike, buddy.”

“But you did great Steve-man.” Amethyst says giving her little brother a noogie.

Beneath the shelter of the trees Only love can enter here A simple life, they live in peace

Rose Quartz watched as the humans gathered their fruits and wood in the distance. Pearl was confused at the acts and shook her head saying she won’t understand humans. Rose smiles at this and they vanished back into the rain forest.

“Earth is amazing. Pearl would you like to protect it with me?”

“Anything for you my diamond.”

“Please just Rose Quartz. I am no longer going to be Pink Diamond.”

Raise your head up Lift high the load Take strength from those that need you

Pink Diamond was done with being a diamond. She shape shifts into Rose Quartz and throws the fake shattered diamonds on the floor. Pearl gives her the sword that faked her shattering and nods.

“Lets go to our new home.”

Build high the walls Build strong the beams A new life is waiting But danger's no stranger here

“Rose why are you crying?” Pearl asks laying a hand on the quartz’s arm.

Rose turns around holding a snake and pointing at its body.

“THEY DON’T HAVE ANY LIMBS PEARL!”

No words describe a mother's tears

“Blue, we need to let the Ruby’s find the gem who did this. We can’t stay here forever.” Yellow tries consoling the other diamond but too no effect. A stray tear was threatening to drop from her chin also.

No words can heal a broken heart

“Hey Pearl, I am sorry about Rose. I know you had feelings for her but i hope you see her in Steven also.” Greg says as he walks away to grieve in his van.

Garnet came over with a little baby in her arms. Her glasses were gone and eyes filled with tears. “He wants to see you.” She whispers holding him out to the pale gem.

A dream is gone, but where there's hope

“I will fight to protect this precious gift you brought us Rose.” Pearl whispers before laying the baby down in his crib and watching him from the warp pad.

Only for Garnet to pick her up and bring her to her room against her will.

Somewhere something is calling for you Two worlds, one family Trust your heart Let fate decide To guide these lives we see

Yellow, White and Blue Diamond stood on Earth with Steven and the new Crystal Gems. They were still figuring their emotions out but were finally starting to heal. Heal from heartbreak, regret, and pain.

They are from two words, two different ways of life, but one little special boy can make these two lives a family.

#SU Fanfic #Two worlds one family #phil collins #song fic #i am going to cry #Steven Universe

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kiran-wears-science-blues · 6 years ago

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Writing Questionnaire

I was tagged by @rawliverandcigarettes! Thank you!!

I’m tagging: @captainkirkmccoy, @nancydrevv, @womanaction, @animatedamerican, and @darkwingdukat.

Short stories, novels, or poems?

Short stories and novels. I’ve only written like two novel-length things, but those are the most rewarding pieces for me to write. Short stories are what I write normally. I don’t understand poetry and the scant few I’ve been inspired to write are so personal I would never post them for public viewing.

What genre do you prefer reading?

I prefer science fiction or fantasy with gayness, but anything that has strong characters really. I also love YA fiction.

What genre do you prefer writing?

By virtue of mostly writing fanfiction, largely science-fiction/fantasy. My favorite trope is found family, particularly where Parent Figure never expected to end up as a parent but just loves Child Figure so damn much (see: Varric & Cole, Pearl & Steven, Picard & Data). I also tend to write character studies or coming-of-age/coming-of-confidence stories for my favorite characters (Andrew Wells, Data, Tasha Yar).

Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

Definitely a planner. If I don’t have a plan, I burn out so fast. My plans might change as I go but I need a pretty solid outline.

What music do you listen to while writing?

Usually, Spotify’s playlist called “The Most Beautiful Songs in the World”. It changes if I feel like it, though.

Fave books/movies?

Movies: X-Men: First Class, Gattaca, Star Trek Beyond, and also in general just seeing movies in a theater. Theater-going is a guaranteed spiritual high for me.

Books: I’m gonna say the Martian, but there are so many others.

Any current WIPs?

Haha, always. The one I’ve most recently added anything to is a Steven Universe fic, which explores how Pearl’s maternal feelings toward Steven developed. There’s also a Mass Effect fic about how my Shepard develops a friendship with Mordin while mourning the loss of Liara’s innocence. It’s only a oneshot, and it just needs like one more paragraph but I can’t figure out what that should be and it’s been stuck like that for like six months.

Also, there’s the collab with @animatedamerican for Dragon Age with Cole learning about humor that I really need to work on. And I haven’t given up on my novel! But it needs some serious revamps; the brothers and the fairies are the only things that I know will stay, and everything else might need to be totally reworked.

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

Tight-fitting jeans or leggings, boots, geeky t-shirt, cardigan, and a messenger bag. Also, my Star Trek sciences necklace which I’ve taken off only like once in two years, for my mikvah.

Create a character description for yourself:

There’s a girl who sits in the hallway in front of the windows, her laptop and papers strewn around her in a semi-circle. She shuffles them out of the way whenever someone goes by -- which is not very often -- and then sprawls out again after they’ve passed. She’s there every day, working silently, like a fixture of the hallway. But she smiles at each person who passes by, and stickers plaster her laptop, little splashes of passion in the white hallway. She blossoms somewhere; just not here.

Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

On occasion I will be inspired by someone, but I never write someone into a story completely - just take one trait or one event.

Are you kill-happy with characters?

Never :( I don’t even think to kill characters. The only exception to this was Daybreak, but that’s because the Buffy comics really dropped the ball in addressing the fact that like half of Slayer Organization died in S8.

Coffee or tea while writing?

Tea. I can’t stand coffee.

Slow or fast writer?

Slow, I think.

Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

Two things: loving characters a lot, and being spiteful about how canon handled them. I write because I love the characters so much that I can’t not write. It’s all about the characters and who they are. If I didn’t love characters, I could put down the pen and never feel a loss.

If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

My whole life, I’ve dreamed of being a YA protagonist. I mean, literally, I’ve never had a nightmare; instead I unrealistically pull off saving the world like the thousands of YA protagonists I read so much it apparently affected my inner psyche. So... the heroine in a moderately dystopic fantasy world who didn’t set out to save the world but irritatedly does so when the world gets in her way.

Most fave book cliche? Least fave book cliche?

Favorite book cliche: found family mmmm yes please. Least favorite: love triangles. >:(

Fave scenes to write?

I don’t know if I have a particular favorite type of scene to write, so much as just scenes that flow are my favorite to write. Usually, these are scenes that really get inside a character’s head or delves into a relationship.

Most productive time of day for writing?

Morning.

Reason for writing?

Because I love the characters. Bastille put it great in their song “Poet”:

“Obsession it takes control, Obsession it eats me whole. I can't say the words out loud, So in a rhyme I wrote you down. Now you'll live through the ages, I can feel your pulse in the pages.”

#personal log #long post

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marshmeadow12 · 6 years ago

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sooooooo...

I haven’t kept up on a lot of things cause i was busy. Soooo here we go!

SO STEVEN UNIVERSE!

Warning! Spoilers! but that never stopped anyone.

Spoilers of episodes and Predictions regarding the next episode!

Steven Universe just showed “Together Alone” the third episode of the Diamond Days Arc. and it. was. so. good!

I love how you can predict how things go in a cartoon. well for part just fragments of an episode. like how Steven will throw a ball. we knew that because of the last episode.

but in this one. it was so amazing. because we got to see homeworld as it is. its very cultured and is centered around the diamonds. white diamond not showing up was not that much of a shock because throwing an era 3 ball to get white diamond to listen would be too easy.

stevonnie returns. yes! in a pink diamond outfit too. she looks similar to pink on that form. But now i’m beginning to think that there is more to the story than just saving the corrupted gems. there is always more to the story.

in the beginning there was a scene of steven with white pearl. many predicted that white pearl was the original pink pearl that our pearl replaced.

we also saw that the extent of what we thought how long yellow’s neck can be isn't just enough apparently. no. we know that a gem can manipulate its form. but yellow was weird in that dream. why did she have to stick her neck into her room like that...

so back to pearl. if our pearl replaced the former pink pearl, why did white make former pink pearl into her own white pearl. also their voices sound creepy. but its a really cool effect.

we also know now that there is more to the diamonds than just monarchs. the diamonds in the past episodes are showing that they truly care for pink. but i still have to ask. i know that pink was cheeky even as a diamond. but was she really that bad that they had to make a tower for her as a time out.

predictions: Who will steven contact, as said in the synopsis of the next episode, to save them? On the cards that we have been shown especially since a new fusion of two green gems was introduced. There are many choices and options that can be risky or trustworthy at the same time.

there are the Diamonds which isn't helpful because they were the ones who put steven and connie in that dark room. so they can’t be the one to bust them out. unless steven tries to explain the situation to them mentally. mind powers.

there are the pearls. our pearl was poofed. the other two (Blue and Yellow pearl) won’t be much help. since they're by the diamond side always. maybe they might be. i just want to see more of them in later episodes. white pearl is still as creepy as ever. but there is a possibility of steven going into her mind to do...something!?! I don't know...

the crystal gems were poofed. and assuming they're being branded as traitors or whatever. they are probably being held in separate cells. just like in jasper’s ship. probably the same fate for those two new green gems who fused at the ball.

then we have lars and his crew members. they are in space on a ship. so its possible that lars can come back seeing as he and his crew owe steven so much. but then steven might go further away from his goal if he is seen in public with the off colors.

bismuth, peridot, and lapis. i don’t know how they’ll get to space. but since they have a technician, a builder, and whatever role lapis takes in the series. there is a possibility of them rebuilding the diamonds ship. but that will take too long. probably.

hmmmmm who else...lion? maybe.

i feel like I'm forgetting something. but for now any means of escape steven has with connie is are: through a dream of how pink escapes back in her day. someone new comes. a familiar face is seen. or gems on homeworld saw the fusions in the era 3 ball as a means of inspirations and they saw it as some opportunity to make some alliance. i’m getting too ahead of myself.

Next episode is called escapism i think. which will have a song. Assuming its in that episode. but who will sing it? pink diamond? well maybe seeing as she looked like some free bird in a really big cage. she's free to do almost anything she wants as long as its within the scope of the diamonds. anything out of place is seen as weird.

yellow pearl brought up the fact that she forgot how silly pink diamond can be during the part in the episode when they were preparing for the ball. that means she had to lecture her on a lot of things before. was there some kind of incident that happened before that we have yet to know?

I still want to see how connie fits into the equation. because she has yet to get another sword and she was called a pet in the current episode. these are my reviews and theories on the upcoming episodes that the me in the present has yet to see. they are just opinions. i hope you can get something out of them.

Bye for now - Meow

#steven universe #theories #predictions #reviews #i'm new at this #hi #followme #follow me #su #the diamonds #diamond days #together alone #escapism #spoilers #relatable #options #writing

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elizadoolittlethings · 6 years ago

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Mark Gatiss on the Unquiet Dead

June 4, 2016

We were delighted when Mark Gatiss recently agreed to take time out of his incredibly busy schedule to look back on his very first episode of Doctor Who. Mark’s episode, The Unquiet Dead, was the third episode of Series One of the relaunched series. It caused a number of complaints about Doctor Who being too scary for children. Hurrah!

WhoSFX: What was the original brief from RTD?

Mark: Russell emailed an outline for the series. I’m sure it’s been reproduced now but what I remember best were the (sort of) remake of Spearhead from Space kicking things off, the farting aliens, Captain Jaxx (as he was then called) and that episode three was labelled ‘The name’s Dickens. Charles Dickens!’ Dickens in Cardiff, seances and gas creatures living in the walls. I crossed my fingers that that was the one he wanted me to do!

WhoSFX: Being a Victorian ghost story, surely RTD had you in mind for this one from the start?

Mark: Russell and I met at the BAFTAs in 2000 when The League of Gentlemen won. I suppose he knew where my tastes lay but, of course, when the series was announced as returning, who knew which writers would be asked? I’d just had a series (The Ministry of Time) turned down and I remember the email from Jane Tranter, saying no, ended with ‘Perhaps Mark could write for the new Doctor Who? That would be exciting!’ So I was very hopeful.

WhoSFX: If you’d been given a blank sheet of paper would we still have had a Victorian ghost story?

Mark: The blank sheet of paper is what writers fear most. It’s almost always nicer to have a least something to go on. A bit of grit to make the (hopeful) pearl! But I suppose I’d have gone for something in the same area, yes. I’ve always loved historical settings, Victoriana and ghost stories are my favourite things of all so I suppose it might have been similar in tone. But RTD effectively invented the ‘celebrity historical’ for Doctor Who (hardly touched before except for Marco Polo and…um…Timelash!) I was wary of the Dickens element at first but A Christmas Carol is one of my favourite stories and I fell in love with the idea of making it a Dickens story about Dickens.

WhoSFX: Was this like the story you’d had in your mind for 30 years?

Mark: I knew I wanted it to be scary. That was very important. And I remember at the first meeting I had about it with RTD, Julie and Phil I waxed lyrical about the (to me) magical idea of time travel. That’s where the footprint in the snow came from and the ‘hundred thousand sunsets’ line. I’ve always found the notion of time travel so spine-tinglingly wonderful. But was it the story I’d had in mind for 30 years? Probably not. Elements of it, certainly. But the Dickens framework that Russell gave me let me play with all the sorts of things I love best!

WhoSFX: As it was your first episode, and the first series, was this the hardest of your Doctor Who scripts to write?

Mark: I suppose so in the sense that an awful lot had to be unlearnt. It seems so natural now (as I write my ninth episode – ten if you count the un-produced one!) but the forty five minute format took some getting used to. Growing up with four and six parters and cliffhanger endings was how Doctor Who worked so that was a challenge. Also just the sheer speed of a new episode. I remember in an early draft I had the Doctor and Rose coming out of the TARDIS and then going back in again for several scenes. Russell said ‘why do they do that?” And the answer was, because that’s what used to happen! There was a lot more time to fill in the old days. I do recall thinking that what might be sacrificed for speed was suspense but it rapidly became clear that this new pace of storytelling would breathe fantastic new life into the format. And that the pre-titles would essentially be the old ‘part one’ in condensed form. There’s your cliffhanger – before the titles!

WhoSFX: Was it hard not being fully ‘in control’?

Mark: Yes it was but I believed very strongly that the reason the show might work was that Russell was doing it his way. The BBC trusted his vision and the results are obvious to this day. Doing The League of Gentlemen and now running Sherlock with Steven Moffat makes you realise the importance of a ‘vision’ for a show. There were disagreements about the tone or the odd line but it was all very friendly and I was hugely happy with the end result. Now the show is a proven phenomenon again, it’s easy to forget what a risk it all was. But everyone was so determined to help Russell reinvent the show. It was a very heady and very exciting time.

WhoSFX:How did you balance the lighter elements with the incredibly dark themes?

Mark: Well, I suppose that’s my speciality. The League of Gentlemen always had a great deal of pathos amidst the grosser or darker elements and ‘bitter sweet’ is my favourite form in comedy and drama. I’ve always been obsessed with the paraphernalia of death and find the world of fake mediums and funeral parlours intrinsically funny! The idea of aliens ‘occupying’ corpses is very grim as is the Doctor’s insistence that it’s a viable idea. I found that very interesting to explore.

WhoSFX: Did you want it be classic ‘behind-the-sofa’ material?

Mark: Oh very much so! I went on Radio 4’s ‘PM’ after it went out as there’d been a lot of complaints. Eddie Mair asked me how I felt about terrifying the nation’s children and I said ‘I’m thrilled!’ That, to me, was always so much of Doctor Who‘s appeal. It scared the life out of me when I was a kid but in a delightful way. Like being on a rollercoaster. ‘The Daemons’ scared the pants off me (especially Bok the gargoyle) but the Doctor’s presence reassured me. I was over the moon about the ‘sting’ into the titles with the zombified Mrs Peace walking into the camera. Those eyes! That face! That awful groan. It was genuinely scary.

WhoSFX: Could it have been darker or were you told to rein it in a little?

Mark: I remember discussing at the tone meeting what kind of zombies they’d be and there was a consensus that we needed to err on the side of ‘family friendly’. But, as ever, Doctor Whopushes the envelope! I think the themes were sufficiently dark and I certainly had no interest in trying to push the new show into overtly horrific areas. As I say, children love to be scared but you have to aware of the parameters of the time slot, of the tone of the show, of your audience’s expectations.

WhoSFX: Were you given much guidance about budget and how ‘big’ the episode could be?

Mark: Something happened which has never happened to me before or since in TV. I was asked to spend more money!! I think with my producer’s hat on I was trying to make the episode very ‘do-able’ and the early drafts were very much confined to the house. The team then asked me to do a big ‘Victorian Cardiff’ scene to really establish the thrill of time travel and add some scale.

WhoSFX: What did you think when Christopher Eccleston was cast?

I thought it was a very exciting and interesting choice, not the obvious one at all. I’d worked with Chris on the third series of The League of Gentlemen and remember him saying ‘Thanks for asking me to do this. Everyone thinks I’m a miserable bastard!’ So I suppose I wasn’t surprised that he wanted to do something so different and outside his comfort zone. His casting also sent a very clear message that the new show meant business. I think he was a wonderful Doctor.

WhoSFX: What point in the writing process did the casting take place, and did you make any changes because of it?

Mark: I can’t actually remember. I’m pretty sure I wrote at least the first draft (it was called The Crippingwell Horror originally) without a Doctor cast, based on Russell’s thoughts on what kind of person the new man might be. After that, I do what i always do which is to try and get the actor’s speech patterns and mannerisms in my head. Chris’ ‘bluntness’ and his northernness were the immediate obvious differences as was Russell’s insistence that the new Doctor not be ‘a posh boy’!

WhoSFX: Were the Gelth part of RTD’s original brief?

Mark: I think it mentioned ‘gas monsters being drawn out of he walls by a machine’ but I’ve always had a thing about possession and ‘non-corproeal’ aliens so that’s what they became! I remember well sitting down and thinking ‘This is it. I’m naming a Doctor Who monster!’ Happily, as with Terry Nation, the name just sorted of ‘rolled off the laptop’! I wanted them to appear pathetic and rather sad but then turn when the true nature of their plan was revealed. Are there any ‘Pity the Gelth’ T shirts? There should be!

WhoSFX: Where did your inspiration come from for the creatures? Were the Gelth on screen how you envisaged them?

Mark: I wanted them to be classically ghostly in form but also (reflecting their gaseousness) sort of formless and intangible. The ‘turn’ into evil Gelth is obviously knicked from Raiders of the Lost Ark but, you know, always steal from the best! I was thrilled by the final result. I think everyone was taken aback by the slickness and impact of the FX. The one thing I remember being very specific about was that the Gelth should briefly ‘occupy’ a lion ‘s head door knocker a la Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol.

WhoSFX: What was it like when you attended the recording of your episode?

Mark: It was a dream come true, of course. I couldn’t quite believe it was happening. And, of course, none of us knew that the show would take off like it did. That might have been the first and last new season! So I was determined to lap up every minute. It was where I first met Simon Callow (a good friend to this day) and the wonderful Alan David (whose casting was my suggestion. I’d loved him since The Squirrels!) Euros Lynn did a brilliant job and I found him an immensely sympathetic and inventive director.

Thank you Mark Gatiss.

#MG #mark gatiss #doctor who #the unquiet dead #whosfx #wordpress #interview #the man behind the genius #all things MG

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philthevaliant-stuff · 7 years ago

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Steven Universe So Far: One Sentence Summaries For Each Episode! [The Way I Saw It At Least] (Post-April and Pre-May Episodes Edition)

Thankfully, my Crohn’s flare-up hasn’t truly stopped me from updating the one-sentence summary episode guide to Steven Universe before next week! But it’s gotten so long that I’ve had to put a ‘Read More’ link to save your dashboard from overloading! :P

Gem Glow: His first episode. Laser Light Cannon: Amethyst loves being used as ammo. Cheeseburger Backpack: Now available to buy online! Together Breakfast: His first Memetic Mutation. Frybo: Steven defies Broadcast Standards and Practices. Cat Fingers: WOMP WOMP. Bubble Buddies: A ship sails. Serious Steven: Strawberry Fields Forever. Tiger Millionaire: Better than John Cena, that’s for sure. Steven’s Lion: A companionship is formed. Arcade Mania: Meat Beat Mania too much for the UK, apparently. Giant Woman: His first encounter with a fusion. So Many Birthdays: In which Rebecca Sugar reveals her diabolical plan to make everyone watching cry their eyes out for the first time. Lars and the Cool Kids: Whatever you do, DON’T insult Steven’s mum! Onion Trade: In which everyone begins making theories about Onion being the actual Big Bad of the franchise. Steven the Sword Fighter: “Where there’s life, there’s…..” Lion 2: The Movie: Lion is a well-behaved movie patron. Beach Party: Garnet fails at telling lies. Rose’s Room: Nightmare fuel comes as standard. Coach Steven: The song will never get out of your head. Joking Victim: His first work experience session. Steven and the Stevens: Steven makes the Time Lords cry. Monster Buddies: Sponsored by CHAAAAPS potato crisps. An Indirect Kiss: The ship travels at a fine lick. Mirror Gem: Where the franchise changes course and becomes a drama. Ocean Gem: His first close encounter with other Gems. House Guest: Healing spit, we hardly knew ye. Space Race: Ground control to Major Tom, your circuits’ dead, there’s something wrong. Secret Team: Sssh, Secret Team! Island Adventure: Makes the Steven/Connie ship look like a raft. Keep Beach City Weird: At least we got to talk with Ronaldo afterwards, even though he wasn’t prepared for it in hindsight. Fusion Cuisine: Steven gets into the biggest amount of trouble yet. Garnet’s Universe: Estelle works that microphone for ten minutes. Watermelon Steven: His first business deal. Lion 3: Straight to Video: Pass the tissues. Warp Tour: The Dorito debuts. Alone Together: The ship reaches maximum speed. The Test: Time to cry your eyes out again, fans! Future Vision: Wild Beedrill appeared! On the Run: Amethyst makes the Crystal Gems guilty and the fanbase cry. Horror Club: Or ‘Do You Want Fries With That Doughnut?’ Winter Forecast: The ship gains an icebreaker. Maximum Capacity: Amethyst unintentionally causes controversy. Marble Madness: The Dorito debates with Steven. Rose’s Scabbard: You can fit any piece of music with the final scene. Open Book: Cartoon Network buggers up continuity and Rose’s Room makes the situation worse. Shirt Club: Steven gets away with referencing the Kennedy assassination. Story for Steven: His origin story. The Message: Steven inspires a Youtube musician. Political Power: MAY-OR DEW-EY! Say Uncle: Uncle Grandpa tries to inject one last bout of comedy into the show before it all goes down, only to divide the fanbase in his attempt. The Return: “It’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for…” Jail Break: His final stand.

Full Disclosure: The ship steers through jagged rocks. Joy Ride: The Dorito’s driving vehicle is discovered. Love Letters: A mailman wishes to become Garnet’s American Boy. Reformed: “Physician, heal thyself.” Sworn to the Sword: The ship gets equipped. Rising Tides, Crashing Skies: Or ‘Keep Beach City Weird: The Animated Series’. Keeping it Together: The Dorito disturbs Garnet. We Need to Talk: Pearl’s salty 90s period. Chille Tid: So disturbing a Hiatus had to be reinstated. We Are the Crystal Gems [1/6]: The National Anthem of Steven Universe Lovers. What Are Gems? [2/6]: In which Steven becomes even more cuter in chibi form. How Are Gems Made? [3/6]: Amethyst debunks dozens of fan theories in one lecture. Fusion [4/6]: "The Answer" in ballet form. Unboxing [5/6]: His first TubeTube video. Lion Loves to Fit in a Box [6/6]: Beach City gets hit by the cat video bug. Cry for Help: The Dorito distributes dissension in the ranks….or does she? Keystone Motel: A handy guide to understanding an autistic person’s mindset, so I discovered. Onion Friend: In which everyone begins making MORE theories about Onion being the actual Big Bad of the franchise. Historical Friction: Jamie provides the fanbase with ideas on how to make an “Ember Island Players” version of the show. Friend Ship: The Dorito dislikes dusty old Gem tech. Nightmare Hospital: The ship’s secrets are brought to light. Sadie’s Song: Steven becomes increasingly popular on Tumblr for a week, and makes Cartoon Network history at the same time. Catch and Release: The Dorito comes out of her chip-based shell. When it Rains: Peridot panics over precarious precipitation. Back to the Barn: Peridot and Pearl pettifog, pummel, and pacify. Too Far: Peridot practically plows predicaments into a Hiatus. The Answer: Ruby, Sapphire, and Garnet's origin stories. Steven's Birthday: The ship departs after refueling [OR: The reason Steven had his own week-long event]. It Could've Been Great: The Turning Point of Steven Quartz Universe. Message Received: Steven rocks the hoodie look. Log Date 7 15 2: Peridot's player gets pawned and perused.

Super Watermelon Island: In which Cartoon Network UK cocks up big time and completely spoils the episode for everyone else. Gem Drill: Our cinnamon roll journeys to the center of the Earth. Same Old World: Steven can show you the world...! Barn Mates: I always wear a leak on St. David's Day! Hit the Diamond: Romance in the Outfield. Steven Floats: It does exactly what it says on the tin. Drop Beat Dad: Such an important event, even the Crewniverse had to check it out! Mr. Greg: His first musical [OR: Pearl's salty-tearful reconciliation]. Too Short to Ride: If you know where to look, you can actually Cheep Peridot right now! The New Lars: Matthew Moy makes up for lost time. Beach City Drift: The ship gains the ability to run on land [OR: Ronaldo auditions for Top Gear]. Restaurant Wars: Ronaldo is finally accepted by (a vast majority of) the fanbase. Kiki's Pizza Delivery Service: Steven uses up his pun quota for the season. Monster Reunion: Leaked from the servers, still sponsored by CHAAAAPS potato crisps. Alone at Sea: No fish were harmed during the making of this episode. Greg the Babysitter: "Meh." Gem Hunt: The ship survives the wilderness. Crack the Whip: "Stop, you're making me giddy...!" Steven vs. Amethyst: Pearl makes good use of traditional seaside shops. Bismuth, Part 1: Rainbow is the new Gem. [OR: His 100th episode!] Bismuth, Part 2: Vengeance is an old vice. Beta: Bow ties are cool! Earthlings: Two heads are better than one, but all bets are off when you and your co-worker's jobs are to protect episodes from being leaked. Back to the Moon: On the moon, no one can hear a thousand Tumblr moms scream. Bubbled: In space, no one can hear a thousand Tumblr moms cry.

Kindergarten Kid: Corruptius Geminius vs. Doritus Clodius Know Your Fusion: Smoky Quartz and Sardonyx take over the Network from the Titans for 11 minutes. Buddy's Book: Jamie's fledgling theatrical career begins to pay off. Mindful Education: Two months' worth of summer adventures finally take their toll on the ship. Future Boy Zoltron: Featuring Neil Gaiman in a role you won't see coming! Last One Out of Beach City: Pearl attempts to roleplay a popular AU version of herself. [OR: Pearl's salty night out] Onion Gang: We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun, but the wine and the song, like the seasons, have all gone. Cooking With Lion [1/5]: "But, Your Honor, he stole my act!" - Francis Gem Karaoke [2/5]: All singing, no crying. Steven Reacts [3/5]: Even Steven can't stand Hiatuses! Video Chat [4/5]: Skype Chats Between Gems. Steven Song Time [5/5]: Or "Summer of Steven: Epilogue" Gem Harvest, Part 1: Steven ditches his Knife for a common or garden Trowel. Gem Harvest, Part 2: Steven and Lapis take to the air and some Steventhusiasts take to petitioning Mr. Enter for an Animated Atrocity entry. Three Gems & a Baby: Peace and goodwill to all Steventhusiasts, and love for the cinnamon roll... Steven's Dream: Three days into 2017 and the entire Stevenbomb gets leaked - that's gotta be a record! Adventures in Light Distortion: The Shorty Squad gets two new members. Gem Heist: Steven is obviously a Mysterious Cities of Gold fan. The Zoo: Ronaldo's not so stupid now, is he, Steventhusiasts!? That Will Be All: Blue and Yellow make Green melodies. The New Crystal Gems: Connie helps to promote the second wave of Funko Pop vinyl figures. Storm in the Room: "Why don't you ask her yourself?" Rocknaldo: In which it's beddy-bye-bo's time for (a vast majority of) Ronaldo's fanbase. Tiger Philanthropist: Tiger Millionaire raises his fists, Purple Puma raises the roof, and Lars raises up a stink! Room for Ruby: Lapis and Peridot regret not watching "The Wrong Trousers" the night before. Lion 4: Alternate Ending: This episode not being leaked in the first place is the actual alternate ending! Doug Out: In which the thoughts of a Super Mario/Steven Universe crossover game that never will be make this blogger cry to sleep. The Good Lars: Jenny plays a mean melodia. Are You My Dad?: We love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all we love each other! I Am My Mom: There's nothing I could do, a total eclipse of the heart.

Stuck Together: Forever's gonna start tonight. The Trial: TEAR DOWN THE WALL!!! Off Colors: Every now and then Lars gets a little bit tired of listening to the sound of his tears. Lars' Head: Every now and then we get a little bit terrified of Hiatuses, and then we see the look in the show's eyes! Dewey Wins: As the ship sinks, Steven learns the definition of the word 'Repercussion'. [OR: Not actually a repeat of 'Off Colors' this time!] Raising the Barn: Onion sets his stakes high by cornering the agricultural market. Gemcation: Steven projects his angst, Pearl projects her hatred of reptiles, and Ronaldo projects his voice. Back to the Kindergarten: The Shorty Squad get their Ground Force on! Sadie Killer: Steven is a bad, bad boy, apparently. Kevin Party: Rebecca Sugar finds some inspiration for her next story meeting, but can the ship be salvaged in time? [OR: I don't care what you say, Steven doesn't look anything like that boy from Aberdale!] Steven's Secret Rap Career: His first official/unofficial fan video. [OR: The franchise transcends cultdom, thanks to MKatwood.] Lars of the Stars: In which the next Gem to debut has a little Chaos in her. [OR: As 2018 gets under way, the fans petition for a Captain Lars miniseries.] Jungle Moon: Stevonnie gets caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom. Your Mother and Mine: Garnet wipes out the canonicity of every Steventhusiast's theories and fan media in a matter of minutes. The Big Show: Pearl misses an opportunity to visit Empire City with Steven. Pool Hopping: Square Mom spends some quality time with her favourite cinnamon roll. Letters to Lars: It may be all change, but the next batch of episodes will still be released the good ol' fashioned Stevenbomb way!

#steven universe #all in good jest i assure you #look how far we've come

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love-takes-work · 7 years ago

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SDCC Steven Universe Panel Highlights

I thought I’d summarize some details on the San Diego Comic Con panel for anyone who wants it.

The panel at SDCC opened with a live singing of the theme song.

Zach Callison is the moderator. He introduced the guests: Michaela Dietz (Amethyst), Deedee Magno Hall (Pearl), Estelle (Garnet), AJ Michalka (Stevonnie), and of course Rebecca Sugar. He gives her congrats on the Emmy nomination (which is for "Mr. Greg" if you didn't know). Then he asks the other cast members some questions. This is all paraphrased, not direct quoting.

Zach to Michaela: What Amethyst quotes do you use most in daily life?

Michaela says that when she wakes up, she makes noises that sound like her Gem is cracked. Then she says maybe she should change her answer to "womp womp."

Zach breaks in with "Which way to the baby war?" as his favorite.

Zach to Deedee: What songs do you sing around the house?

She responds "Which do I NOT sing?" She likes "Love Like You" in the shower. "Steven and the Stevens" when she's doing dishes, and "Peace and Love" a lot lately. Her kids are learning the songs on piano and ukulele, so there's lots of SU tunes happening in her house.

Zach to Estelle: How has the popularity of the show affected your music career?

Estelle basically says a new generation of people are noticing her music and realizing she is the singer on songs they encounter in the wild. Zach says he grew up on "American Boy." ;)

Zach to AJ: How has Stevonnie changed since their first appearance?

She says Stevonnie has learned a lot, and has more confidence now.

Then the cast does a great little line read of the scene when Stevonnie first appears, beginning with them barging in with "Pretty cool right?" The voice actors all say their parts and perform it slightly differently, which is cute. Then they do a version of "Here Comes a Thought" with Estelle and AJ!

Zach to Rebecca: What's next on Steven Universe?

(Of course she laughs.)

Rebecca says the show has recently had so many huge events, so there will be lots of fallout, like a roller coaster from here on out. Then they show a clip. It's sort of like a trailer. It's all about Lapis's conflictedness not wanting to get caught in another war, Homeworld's future actions, Pearl being unable to properly explain the context of everything even though she wants to, and Greg not knowing his place in all this.

Zach says he hadn't seen it yet.

Then they talk a bit about the Save the Light game coming out. A trailer for the game pops up and it includes footage that hasn't been seen. Including a new character: Squaridot, a Peridot from Homeworld.

Rebecca was very involved in the making of the game. She says having a console game is a dream come true because they could do so much more than with the small mobile game, Attack the Light. There are Fusions and original characters, and the mechanics are relationship-based, and Greg is a player character who can play guitar. She likes that Squaridot is a Peridot who hasn't made the kind of progress that Peridot has made. They segue to say Shelby Rabara (Peridot's voice actor) is taking over social media for the week.

Then they talk about the Art and Origins book being out, and how there's a SDCC-exclusive version. Launching also is the podcast, a 10-episode production, about the production of the show. McKenzie Atwood is the host. Rebecca and Steven were Episode 1--I've already heard this (and I seem to recall there wasn't really a lot of new info except that the Gem writing in the Kindergarten will say who each section belongs to if you can read it, and that a lot of Ishtar imagery was used, including the 7 lions and the stars). Rebecca did episode 1 of the podcast with her brother, and says she wishes she could do everything with Steven. Zach and Grace are Episode 2.

They talk about how the soundtrack Volume 1 is out, and announce that a vinyl version is out in fall! A limited-run Stronger than You and Love Like You vinyl single is out for SDCC.

Then they play a name-the-song game with SU cosplayers. They complimented a Pearl cosplayer's cool spear too. They read lyrics, tell what song it's from, and if the player gets it right, they win a vinyl single. Quiz songs included "Love Like You," "Wailing Stone," "Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart," "Steven and the Stevens," "It's Over, Isn't It," "What's the Use of Feeling (Blue)," and "Comet." Most people got them right, but if they got it wrong they got to try another one.

Then there's a Q&A, which I'm paraphrasing the 12 questions:

1. Audience member: Fluorite is a polyamorous relationship, right? What inspired it?

Rebecca said she went to an LGBTQ center in Long Beach and chatted about what stuff they really wanted to see. Poly relationships came up. (So yes, that's confirmed, though in my opinion it really didn't have to be since they were pretty clear about it!)

2. Audience member: Fan theories--do they influence you or do you have a master plan?

Rebecca says she loves fan theories, but they work way further in the future, so no, they really don't influence what the story does. She has loved reading the theories about the trial, because some are onto something, and some are like way off. Zach says the good stuff gets downvoted a lot.

3. Audience member: Says a favorite character of theirs is Rainbow Quartz, and wants to know will we see a version of her with Steven?

Rebecca says of course she can't give spoilers, but that Rainbow Quartz 2.0 would inevitably be different. Then she quickly says, "Forget I said that."

4. Audience member: How old is Lion? Have we seen all his powers?

Rebecca says it's a good question and can't say exactly. The episode "Buddy's Book" gives a hint at the general time when Rose was spending time with seven lions. That's a gauge for how old Lion is. She implies that Lion does have more to show us about what he can do.

5. Audience member: Regarding the "Off Colors" episode, which Off Color do you relate to?

Rebecca immediately says "Rhodonite, the neurotic." Then Zach says he relates to Padparadscha because he'll trail off in the middle of a sentence. Deedee says she relates to that too.

6. Audience member: On writing music for the show--any challenges?

Rebecca says it's very challenging--they're given no extra time to work on the songs. "Mr. Greg" was most challenging of course. Zach is glad the Emmys recognized Rebecca's extra hours. He said he had a hard time when his voice changed. "Puberty is a thing," he says, while talking about some songs he struggled with.

7. Audience member: Will there be a Blu-Ray?

Rebecca would like it. Making it happen will take more moments like this (the panel, people showing up for the show).

8. Audience member: Did Yellow Diamond shatter Pink Diamond?

Dude.

Zach: "We won't tell anyone what you say Rebecca."

Rebecca just says she's really excited about the next run because it was a chance to do a real murder mystery.

9. Audience member: What inspired you to use gems/rocks?

Rebecca: "Aesthetic! It'd look cool!" But she learned a lot about myths. Smoky Quartz was fun to learn about gem trivia for, building important symbolism into their character. Estelle said gems are just really pretty, that's enough of a reason.

10. Audience member: How often do you write a song and then build an episode around it or vice versa?

Rebecca says it depends. Character stories will need a song when dialogue just isn't enough. "Here Comes a Thought" was unusual since it came before the episode. She wanted it to be a tool to teach kids about mindfulness meditation.

11. Audience member: Do you anticipate what's going to be popular on your show?

Rebecca says on the inside they focus on loving what they're making. Team ideas that are spur of the moment seem to catch on most with the fans too. They discuss Padparadscha's immense popularity. Sapphires are sort of Zelda-like, Rebecca says, and she wanted one who reminded her of Peach. Lamar Abrams came up with the idea of making her hair kinda look like a crown to increase the feeling that she has a matching vibe.

12. Audience member: On Lars' development: was it planned initially?

Rebecca says it happened naturally. He's one of the oldest characters in the show, and she was drawing him in college. Lars-n-Sadie comics are older than SU. (This was already known but apparently some people didn't know they predate the show.) So of course they were always going to be important. (Zach says Lars was important in the pilot for calling Steven names.)

#steven universe #sdcc #steven universe sdcc #save the light #su spoilers #myblog

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firewallofstanix · 7 years ago

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GETTING TO KNOW YOU

NAME : Katie M. NICKNAME : Katie, Galaxy Girl (on DeviantArt), Sharkbait FACECLAIM : Still searching. Sisters say I look like Pearl from Steven Universe but I disagree PRONOUNS : She/her HEIGHT : 5′ 3.5″ BIRTHDAY : Oct. 5 AESTHETIC : Autumn decorations in a small town; a cozy couch to relax on; techno music; color schemes of soft blues and purples; fluorite; hydrangeas; cinnamon; multi-colored nebulae; neatly organized desks (and probably more that I can’t remember) LAST SONG YOU LISTENED TO : Embraced by Paul Cardall FAVORITE MUSE (S) YOU’VE WRITTEN : No real favorite

GETTING TO KNOW THE ACCOUNT :

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE ON THIS MUSE : I started watching TF Cybertron in about...Octorber ‘16, and I made an OC for it pretty early on in the show, because I saw a lot of potential for character interaction. At first, Firewall was just a self-insert, but she quickly grew into her own person. Very quickly. As the TF obsession grew, I made @guardmyspark, a side blog to reblog TF stuff. It wasn’t till later that I officially make it an rp blog, because there were TF Cybertron muses out there and they looked really cool. So, it was even more potential for character interaction that made me do it.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ASPECTS OF YOUR CURRENT MUSE : For one, I love how different, yet similar, Firewall is to me. She has her own feelings, aspirations, opinions, traumas, and hardships. A lot of my OCs were once personas/self-inserts, but I think Firewall has branched out more as her own person than the others. Also, I like how deep she’s becoming. There are some behaviors that she has because of something in her past, or a personal belief, and I’m never able to get that far with OC or muses for some reason; probably because I’ve spent a lot of close attention to her for a long time, as a muse and as an OC. The continuing threads make me want to solidify her character more, and if whatever developing parts don’t overwhelm and confuse me, she ends up becoming a lot more 3-dimensional and realistic, and I just feel so relieved when it all works out. ...Did I answer this question right? Yeah, yeah, it’s how 3-dimensional she is. It even surprises me sometimes, when I make logical connections to things she does.

WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATION WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING : Okay, I’ve only been seriously roleplaying for about 2 years now, so I’m still a newb to this. But when it comes to anything artistic, be it drawing, writing, roleplaying, anything-- there are three things that are an inspiration to me. 1: Watching the source material (since I always rp in fandoms). Imaging how Firewall acts in response to this one scene here, or what she would think of this mech, gets my creative juices flowing; it helps me see the possibilities (and yes, I’m the kind of person who can’t get ideas on their own. XD). 2: Music. There’s not much explaining to do there; many people are the same way. And yes, I’m still building Firewall’s Spotify playlist. And 3: Other people’s writing, whether it be my rp partners, or others I come across (but mostly the former). Even though I’ve been writing almost as long as I’ve been drawing, I admit writing doesn’t come as naturally; I end up falling back on familiar phrases and not exploring enough with my wording. reading other people’s works gives me ideas on how I can improve my own writing; and when I can improve, I feel like writing more.

FAVORITE TYPES OF THREADS : As long as I’m confident in writing that particular subject/theme, I’m down for nearly anything, as long as I’ve had a chance to plot. I really like doing the emotional/dramatic/angsty stuff, and also lighthearted things. Oh, and random meme situations are always fun. Like, crack conversations; I’ve never actually done one of those yet, but it looks like fun (if I can make myself keep it unrelated to any threads). Do meme answers count as a type? It’s not one genre, but I enjoy doing them, since there are a lot of cool ideas.

BIGGEST STRUGGLE IN REGARDS TO YOUR CURRENT MUSE : (I apologize if this turns into a rant.) It’s the fact that she’s an OC, and thus needs every part of her story made from scratch. At least with a canon, you have stuff to build off of to create headcanons, and some even have parts of their past already explored. Firewall has none of that; I’ve had to make up everything all by myself-- doing research, creating more bots, just trying to write something that makes sense. It is slowly feeling more like work and less like something fun. Heck, I don’t even have all her frames drawn out yet! That, and the fact that she’s an ESTJ and not an ISFJ like me. The less a character thinks like me, the harder it’s gonna be for me to write them. :T

Tagged by: @sparkofcombination (it won’t let me tag you??)

Tagging: You know...I don’t know what it makes me look like by tagging the same few people every time, whether it’s alone, or annoying, or whatever. So, if you wanna do this, go ahead..

#tag meme #about the mun #about firewall

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beyondthetemples-ooc · 8 years ago

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“Valentine Fandom Ask Meme”

Disclaimer: It’s a shipping meme, and I’m blunt and honest; there are going to be some anti-ship mentions here. NOTPs mentioned [vehemently] include BBRae, Ja//s//pis, and Terraven.

You have been warned.

Your favourite non-canon ship? ...mmmh, this depends: define "canon". ;}P Canon as in, not CANON-canon, but canon in my fanfictions?~ SECERTSHIPPING. Dove and Srentha are my forever favorite. Their relationship is incredible and they're genuinely a romantic inspiration to me. ...however... As for "not a canon romantic couple in the actual canon universe"? I have to say RobRae. I can't help it, it just... feels like if they canonically felt that way for each other, it would work. Really, really well.

Is there a ship you didn’t like at first but ultimately started shipping? ....Not that I can remember.......

Name a popular ship you don’t get the appeal of. BBRae. Ever. At all. Never have. Probably never will. (People have... nice thoughts about them. In theory. But when things related to what they've thought happen in canon, it's.... either detrimentally badly done (re: comics), or it ENDS badly in the show. I just sense absolutely no romance about them.

What is your most fluffy + happy ship? .....SecretShipping... although I get a very intense case of the softer, quieter cousin to Warm+Fuzzies from my canonical OTP, JeriRae. Even when things are terrible and painful and destroying me (and then), their relationship is just... so powerful. (I always think about that scene where Something is Very Wrong with Raven, pre-Tarror-of-Trigon. and Joey knocks on her door. she tells him to go away-- then, realizes it's him.. and still tells him, not to come to her. Not to disturb her. And she ends up collapsing against the door, and you don't see it but it is HEAVILY implied that she's crying, and Joey's sitting on the other side, despite everything. And I just....................azar, it takes my breath away.

What is your most angsty ship? ...Well... See the above answer. JeriRae is angsty because of circumstance, more than the people themselves. In Arella's words (after Joe dies, I believe?), she said Raven could never have LET herself love him, "not then" (before Terror of Trigon). And that... my friends, is something you like to call "angst" and I like to call "too painfully fucking relateable". So the depth of personal rapport in the angst: That one. Buuut, there was this book series I liked for, well, the first three anyways, and a show made from it called Legend of the Seeker. The show made the ship far more palatable to me, Richard and Kahlan. (The books got waaay too sexual and FAR too repetitive with it after the fourth book. Just, ew.) But the show was always... encouraging. I liked their relationship and its endurance and complexities, a lot.

A non-canon ship that should be canon? ...I feel really weird about the thing that happened between Raven and Dick in the comics? Like... I'm not saying Dick SHOULD have loved her back. But there was set of issues where Raven was "in love with" Dick. And here's the thing: Kory steps in. Not in a "Get away from my man" sort of moment, but more like... "I don't think you love him romantically". And what bothers me about this is that... How would Starfire know? Starfire isn't in Raven's head. Yes, she's far more familiar with emotions than the girl whose only education on it was Never Ever Have Them. But... perspective, Kory. What if Ravne DID love him romantically? She KISSED him, for godsake. (Also, Wally and Raven. For the first few, dozen or so issues, anyways. We don't talk about Wally and Raven.)

Your oldest ship; the one you’ve shipped for the longest time? ......honestly, on a REAL level, it had to have been secretshipping. I didn't do the whole "shipper" internally, mindset... fandgasming... thing..... for RobStar, although I've always liked them as a couple. SecretShipping was the first one that introduced me to Feeling Feels for Their Relationship. (Of course, they're my own, so I'm not so sure if it counts. ;P But it was there.)

What ship represents the kind of relationship you’d love to have? JeriRae. Absolutely. And, well, secretshipping-- and lapidot, SORT of? (but the whole "healing from a terrible abusive situation" thing can be left at the door... problem is, that's like of like 95 of Lapis's angle in the 'ship. not to say I haven’t.... been where lapis is. it just hasn't been so... cut and dry for me...........)

Is there a ship that makes your skin crawl? bbraaaae. (Most of the time. Recently I've found... let's see, TWO authors that don't make it... completely and totally OOC and abhorrent to me. There were a couple of fanfictions I enjoyed because it was as subtle and just SLIGHTLY more successful than their interactions in canon, so it wasn't horribly misshapen. But even in the canonical comics, it was just... SO sloppily done. Clumsy and forced. My friend Teri over there is RPing the ship with depth and sincerity and development, not suddenly going "!! SHE KISS". Out of nowhere. Like.... ....???? johns, why. (well besides the fact that your favorite was beast boy and your wife's favorite was raven and you thought it'd be cute to shove them together because of your own relationship.)

What is a character you can only imagine in one particular ship? ...........this is........ hard. I'm not sure I have one. Cyborg, maybe? With Sara?

What is your favourite canon ship? JeriRae is absolutely my canonical OTP, and it always has been, and I think it will be very hard for anything to usurp it as my Genuine Sincerest Favorite Ship.

Name a ship that deserved more content. JERICHO. AND. RAVEN. HOLYGOD ^ Now, ^^^this^^^ reaction is mainly @ the fandom? But canonically.... Marv Wolfman once said that his singular regret in his entire history of writing comic books was killing off Joey Wilson. (and no small wonder because he didn't deserve it and it didn't add to the story where like seven other people died anyways, and it wasn't fair, it wasn't what he deserved, it wasn't... what anyone wanted to see.) Point is, their relationship never, really... had a CHANCE to go anywhere. It was well established, I think-- as well as you can canonically, blatantly establish someone who doesn't talk about her feelings and someone else who can't speak his. But it was there. It was in interviews. And it was... absolutely gorgeous, in its subtlety, gentleness, and development. But.... ahhhh, it was forcedly over far, far too soon.... damn you, 90's gimmicks.

Is there a ship you feel gets undeserved hate in fandom? ......RobRae? Like... I get that people don’t' have to agree with things. But, like: some of the things people SAY. (And the hypocrisy; so many of their arguments are ironically exactly what could be turned right about to THEIR ships!) Oh, and also Lapidot.

What is the first ship you had? ...see answer, re: Oldest Ship.

Is there a ship that made you realise something about yourself? .....oh. Not... that I can remember.... (Characters, moments........ that fucking thing with Malchior; I just-- okay. Well. A lot of the things he said really RESONATED with me, and I still recant some of them like mantras, because they're things I genuinely NEEDED to hear, in all my struggles and isolation. Things that made me think, for once: Isn't it OKAY to be a little darker? Is it, then, not WRONG to be misunderstood? look, people, I relate to raven on levels no human being should ever be allowed to relate to a fictional half-demon. But what he said CHANGED my outlook, and that was something I needed. Problem is: If you ship Raven and Malchior after everything he did to her, there will be no mercy in my verbal assault of your understanding of love and betrayal.)

Is there a type of ship you always go for? ...Emotional rapport, above all else. I'm demi-gray sexual and romantic; I can't even feel any sort of romantic attraction between others, or see any evidence of it existing, without emotional closeness. The ships that mean the most to me, are often the ships with someone I relate to most, and their partner being someone that treats them well. Raven and Jericho, someone who's quiet and reticent and someone who's expressive and forcedly silent but able to say so much in action. Both so strong, so vulnerable. It's a beautiful dynamic. And never once is the whole "oh, your father's evil too? Hey I know that feel" thing played as a REASON for them to have built this relationship. And then we have Lapidot, where the shift in dynamics may have been a bit meddled in by Steven, but even so, we see Lapis is healing from this deep trauma, and Peridot is protecting her in such little, subtle ways. They're working together to create something they both want.

Is there a ship the writers have ruined for you? If it can mean a ship I already so strongly opposed but they ONLY made it WORSE, then yes, BBRae. All the way.

Is there a ship the fandom has ruined for you? Well, I don't go into the Lapidot tags.... and it's safe to say I'm minorly disappointed in the lack of JeriRae art and stories and such.

Have you ever created fan created content for a ship? SecretShipping. I mean, I write the damn things. /X3 But also pictures, moments, playlists... you know. I'M a legit fan of my babies, too... 8P

Favourite thing you’ve ever created for a ship? Does Leyla count? ;D (she's their daughter.)

Is there a ship you’ll never admit you have? ....If I did have such a ship, it wouldn't be written on this post.

Have you ever started shipping a ship because of the fans? Lapidot was introduced to me through fanfics, and I realized: ohyes if they are both stuck on Earth, how interesting would it be to see them interacting?

What is one scene you want to see happen for all your ships? ...Okay, okay, okay okay okay. I don’t do the whole "day-dreaming fluffly romantic" thing. But I have...

Secrestipping: I have already seen it. (Dove allowing her self to be HONEST towards her conflict with him, and instead of running away from it, accepting it, allowing herself to love him, and taking a stand against everything she doesn’t want, and what he needs to know. Letting him IN!

For JeriRae? I cannot tell you how much I cherish those little moments. I don't know what I would have WANTED to happen with them..... but wouldn't it be cool to have seen Arella and Joey interact?

Lapidot: I don't even know I just want to know how they're doing with the whole "No More Homeworld for Us" thing.

I there a ship you wish you didn’t know existed? bb....r.ae..... and, uhh. lapis and jasper. how the FUCK do you ship an ABUSIVE relationship like that with GLEE? (I'm not talking, "explore the dynamics of an abusive relationship in the way that psychologically-inclined authors do", I'm talking, "actually think that work wELL together".)

And THEN there's Terra and Raven. Just. Don't even. Fucking. It's blacklisted, get it out of my face, don't so much as MENTION it near me, I don't understand how ANYONE Can ship them and MEAN it; it's fucking PAINFUL. You SAW how they spat acid at each other and just fucking... ? ?? ????? HOW IS THAT ROMANTIC IN THE *SLIGHTEST*. (Terra and Raven is a much more deeply-set viscerally-responsive NoTP to me than BBRae ever was. THAT, my friends, canonically anyways? THAT is entirely abusive.)

Name a ship that ended like you wanted it to. SecretShipping... and, I had no idea I needed it until I saw it happening, Leyla and Toby in their QPR-- queer PLATONIC relationship! What a weird situation that was; I had no idea if they were romantic or what, but it was obviously something deep and special. but I just. Found out about QPRs and suddenly-- OH. That's what Leyla and Toby are!!!

Name a ship that deserved better in the end. JeriRae.

Is there a character you have several ships for? ...nnnot that I'm aware of? I like multiple ships with Lapis honestly, but only just slightly, and in the "that's an interesting dynamic but I don't see them working out romantically" sort of way.

What is the ship you ignore 98% of canon for? ...b...b.....ra...e..... (The comic canon. I don’t have to ignore much honestly; it was in, like, seven issues, total, in the entire history of their team. but canonically as a ship? Gods I'm happiest when it forget that ever happened)

Is there a ship you like but you dislike the fandom? The fandom as in the franchise it's from, or The Fandom, as in the people shipping it? Or the fandom OF the franchise? Because Lapidot and Steven Universe is borderline for me. (I prefer my quiet, maybe-involving-friends shipping to the mob mentality this fandom seems to love.)

#rhs makes yet another post about teen titans #rhs steven universe #random fun #shipping #ship hate ?

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 6 years ago

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Episode 106: Buddy’s Book

“We imagined him way off.”

As a children's librarian, I feel there are some things I should clear up before getting started. First, we don't read at the front desk as patrons come in (and we certainly wouldn't be reading something as smutty as Passions of Xanxor); our job is helping people, not sating our own love of books, and there’s tons of other work to do when patrons aren’t in immediate need. Second, we might tell noisy patrons to be quiet at times, but we don't loudly and nonverbally shoosh, because that’s rude as hell and would justifiably result in louder backlash. Third, we weed our collections regularly, meaning a journal that's hundreds of years old would've been trashed, donated, or (most likely in this case) moved to special collections long before it could've been left uncatalogued on the ground for a patron to find (and yeah, we are capable of checking beneath the shelves).

None of these misconceptions matter that much, but what is a little annoying is the stereotype that libraries are book repositories, rather than information centers. Yes, we carry books, but we also carry digital media to fit a modern world, and more importantly, we're staffed with information specialists who teach digital literacy to all ages. If you're a Connie, getting your information from the internet and citing erroneous sources, come to the library and we'll teach you how to research properly using every tool at your disposal, including your smartphone. Smartphones aren’t the problem. The internet isn’t the problem. Shoddy methodology is the problem, and it’s still a problem if you’re only researching with books, because books can be erroneous as well. Pick a world history book from as late as the 80s and it’ll tell you the USSR still exists. Pick a book written by a racist and you might walk away thinking some very biased information is factual, depending on your critical thinking skills.

Libraries have always been at the forefront of literacy, research, and community outreach, so don't let anyone in charge of budgets tell you that we're a relic of the past despite what portrayals of libraries so often amount to in media.

(Also, and as much as I loathe the Dewey Decimal System, which is outdated and nonadjustable and prejudiced and not at all structured well from a consumer-facing standpoint, which is crucial to kids especially: how did they not make a single reference to Dewey also being the last name of Beach City’s mayor and Buddy’s buddy?)

Okay, professional duties out of the way. Let's talk about stories.

Buddy's Book is about history, but more specifically, about the way we perceive history when we weren't there to live it. Nothing we see of the past looks the way it actually looked, because Steven and Connie are conflating a person who died centuries ago with Jamie. And it doesn’t stop at the visual level: unless we're to believe that the glorious line "I shall not disappear! I shan't die a lowly first mate! I shwill do something great with my life!" is actually written in the journal, the kids are allowing the idea of Jamie to seep into the narration as well. It’s reminiscent of one of my favorite Simpsons gags, where the ghost of Cesar Chavez explains that he appears as Cesar Romero to Homer because Homer doesn’t know what Cesar Chavez looked like.

The kids say outright that they’re picturing Buddy as Jamie, so we’re aware from the start that reality is being altered. This sensation is enhanced when the Crystal Gems' appearances shift from their modern outfits to the way they looked in the old photo from So Many Birthdays as soon as the kids think to do so (complete with Amethyst's long hair, which was sorta retconned into being inspired by Greg's). Amethyst speaks using modern slang, and Garnet and Pearl exit their scene on a penny-farthing bicycle, which wouldn't be invented until the 1870s, because to a kid “the past” is a single nebulous unit of time where everything can mix together.

This is mostly played for laughs, and to great effect, but the timing of this episode forces us to confront the downside of nudging history to fit a better story. As silly as it is to insert modern concepts to fill in gaps from long ago, Steven has also had to fill the gaps for his mother's story, combining all the great things he’s heard about her from his family to create an impossible ideal of an imperfect figure. Learning that Buddy didn’t look anything like Jamie at the end of the episode is another joke, but learning that Rose wasn’t who Steven thought she was is the driving force behind Act III of the original series (a.k.a. the final two seasons).

And, of course, this is the first time we see Rose after the reveal. In a bubble, Steven’s lack of reaction to her appearance in the book seems like a misfire, but Mindful Education is coming right up to show how Steven is repressing his emotions (which also retroactively makes me enjoy his childish behavior here, such as not controlling the volume of his voice and playing with the rolling stool).

More than any other flashback so far, Rose is an enigma. She’s a mystery to Buddy, a normal human encountering a giant woman in the desert. She’s a mystery to her friends, all by herself in the desert with a small pride of lions that the other Crystal Gems don’t know about, judging by their reaction to Lion a few hundred years later. And she’s a mystery to us, because we’ve been told that she killed someone and are thirsty for answers.

Instead, she acts like she always has. She’s as empathetic and silly and encouraging as ever, but why wouldn’t she be? The most we’ve seen of her is in Greg’s flashbacks, so we already know what she acted like after the shattering. Read one way, this episode confirms that her behavior wasn’t a front, because she’s just as lovely with this random human hundreds of years earlier.

But remember, we aren’t actually seeing Rose here. We’re seeing Steven’s interpretation of Rose from the writings of a stranger’s journal, and he’s been embellishing this journal the entire time. I’m not saying that Rose didn’t do what the book purports, or that there’s any reason for us to think she didn’t act this way, but it’s up to Steven to show us, and when given the opportunity to present any character any way he likes, he still sees Rose the way he always has. We’re an episode away from his confronting those feelings, but it’s important to see that for now he’s still clinging to the stories he’s familiar with even after a new story has come to light.

Then, of course, there’s Lion. This is the first time in ages we’ve gotten a new hint at his backstory (it’s been on the back burner since Rose’s Scabbard), but as always, his origin remains shrouded. The connection to Rose is clearer than ever, but she’s with seven lions, not one, and none of them are pink.

This is an area where I’m a little more frustrated by Steven not wondering aloud what’s up with the lions, but I’m not frustrated with Steven, if that makes sense. Steven has never been as interested in the lore of the show as the fans; magic is his normal, so digging deep into where Lion came from would be like tracking down the family tree of a pet cat. Plus it would ruin the pacing of the episode for us to focus too hard on the lions, and it probably wouldn’t be great for the mystery. My frustration is from wanting a puzzle solved, which speaks to how effective this little side story has been. If we aren’t compelled enough to remember these details, Lars’s eventual resurrection has no oomph, so a little annoyance is worth it.

The coolest aspect of the episode by far is revisiting old haunts; Rose may praise Buddy’s writing, but his drawings are nothing to scoff at, and seeing the locations themselves is a delight. It’s a nice review of the show’s own history through the eyes of someone else (and then back again through the eyes of our heroes looking through the eyes of someone else). This is our second episode in a row with musical cues from past episodes, which I sadly can’t link to because we’ve reached the era where Aivi and Surasshu had to stop posting their background tracks online. Know Your Fusion and Buddy’s Book have a nifty through-line of looking into the show’s past, just as Buddy’s Book and Mindful Education have a through-line of Steven hanging out with Connie as she begins a new school year. It’s cool to see light structuring in the serialization after so many episodes in a row that were more directly connected.

Even though Jamie himself doesn’t actually appear in it, this is probably my favorite Jamie episode. Eugene Cordero has proven himself an expert ham many times over, and because the mailman is already larger than life, he’s even more melodramatic in the kids’ imaginations. Cordero sells that “shwill” with ease, but his best read is the desert monologue that goes an even deeper layer and has Steven and Connie imagining Jamie as Buddy imagining what other people would think of his quest: “‘Ha ha ha,’ they’d say. ‘What a fool,’ they’d continue.”

The Gems get to be goofy as well, with Pearl speaking in mangled old-timey parlance, Garnet going big in her not-too-subtle pep talk, and Amethyst swinging from accommodating and annoyed. And it’s not as if Steven and Connie are serious, either. The lightheartedness is abundant, but unlike Kindergarten Kid or Know Your Fusion, it just feels wholesome. Sure, there’s snark here and there, but this is essentially two friends having fun at the library, which I’m all about.

I’ll repeat a third time that Mindful Education is incoming, and with it comes the reality of Steven’s situation. Stories are fun, but distractions only last so long, and Buddy’s Book is a wonderful way to give us a little more joy while priming us for a bigger story about when the stories we live by aren’t true.

Future Vision!

It’s perfect foreshadowing to slip the Palanquin in with all the portrayals of places we’ve already been. Especially because Stephen’s Dream actually uses the journal as a reference point. (Also: did Connie steal that book? Because she certainly couldn’t have checked it out if it wasn’t catalogued.)

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Does it get things wrong about libraries? Sure. But this is still a fun and funny episode about research and narratives, so it’s burrowed its way into my heart regardless.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

No Thanks!

5. Horror Club 4. Fusion Cuisine 3. House Guest 2. Sadie’s Song 1. Island Adventure

(Not sure why this one lacks promo art, considering it’s our first episode after the huge release rush of the Summer of Steven, but I love the True Buddy art from Tench.)

#buddy's book #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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