#CREWNIVERSE DON'T LET ME DOWN

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but how has your opinion changed on Steven Universe now than when it first aired? Like I have fond memories of watching the show while it was airing but now I realize that it had a lot of problems that I feel like a lot of fans either flat out ignore or bend over backwards to make sure their rose tinted glasses stay on.

... okay, fair question. Let's talk about this.

I'll try not to wax poetic too long, but there are a lot of things to be said here.

First and foremost - how has my opinion changed since the show has ended?

Simply put - it hasn't.

When I started watching Steven Universe over 7 years ago, I didn't have much knowledge of it. I sat down, saw a few of episodes and went 'well, this is a silly show for kids with a goofy but loveable protagonist... but it seems like it's also incredibly charming with its delivery and has some nice, more complex themes about loss and healing and grief throughout.'

And if you ask me what Steven Universe is now... I would probably say that exact same thing.

Am I wearing rose tinted lenses? Interesting question.

What ARE 'rose tinted lenses' in this context anyway?

What do these lenses represent? What do they obscure?

Since you didn't go into specifics, I can only assume what you're referring to when you say that many fans ignore the show's problems.

There have been many discussions surrounding various aspects of the show and how it might be read as 'problematic' (ahhh how I've come to despise that word.... without context, it has all the descriptive power of the word 'icky' - none of the critical details and all of the emotional punch of scrunching up your face like a cat that just sniffed a lemon...)

Is this about something as simple as the 'SU doesn't have a consistent size for its characters' debate?

Because that has been gone back to, over and over again, and proven to be a point of opinion. SU favored allowing storyboarders to show off their personal flourish, and even though Peridot was 30% hair in that one episode, it did not overall take away from the plotline being told, which was their goal. If you wanted to watch a show with consistent styling throughout, you can always watch a 3D modeled show, but keeping that up was simply never one of SU's main pillars. And I feel like it didn't have to be.

Is this about something more complex such as the way Rose was presented?

...and how her arc was shown backwards instead of forwards - showing first the person she became in the end, and afterwards revealing all the growth she had to have to get there?

That was on purpose! And I don't think this is a problem. It's a feature, not a bug. Rose was never meant to be an ideal character - she was meant to be complicated and messy, and I think the fact that the fandom is so split in their opinions of her shows that the Crewniverse pulled that off really well!

She fucked over Bismuth! She forced Pearl to be silent! Those are both parts of her character arc that were never resolved because she died before she could resolve it - that's BY DESIGN. Sometimes, you just do something absolutely stupid and cruel, and you cannot go back to fix it.

Is this about the Diamonds? The fact that they were not put in space jail, after being put on trial for space crimes, and then publicly executed for space eco-genocide?

Here's the thing - most people I know who watched and loved SU are fully aware of that. But simply put - Steven Universe was not a story about Revenge.

Steven Universe was a story about love. A story about family. A story about truth, and lies, and hurt, and healing. About how sometimes healing doesn't happen. And how sometimes it will, but you won't be around to see it.

But it's not a story that can be all things for all people.

That is the thesis of my reply: It is a story.

It is not a manifesto. It is not a bible. It is not a Complete Truth.

It is a single story. Made by a group of very talented people, who cared about these characters, who did their best. They made a funny, emotional, well-drawn and complex cartoon show about the things THEY personally wanted to tell stories about.

Does it answer all questions the way everyone wants them answered? No. That's impossible.

Everyone wants a different story. Everyone wants a different solution, a different resolution. A different ending.

Steven Universe is one story. It cannot satisfy all people.

So when you ask me 'has your opinion of Steven Universe changed'? The answer is 'no'.

I went in, expecting to see a story. I saw a lot of what I liked! I saw some parts which I thought were interesting. I saw some parts which, yes, I disagreed with a little.

But overall, it's a good story. And that's what I expected, and that's what I got, which means I'm pretty satisfied. I love that story.

I feel like recently, there's this expectation of media, to be Everything For All People. And it's a bit unrealistic. No one call tell the perfect story. We are all simply telling the stories we want to tell. And people will vibe with that, more or less.

A single story, made by a small group of people, will never be that for you. There will never be an Unproblematic Cartoon that you watch that will be devoid of things you disagree with.

Being critical of media doesn't mean 'Criticize the FUCK outta that media, and the one with the least criticisms is the best one'.

Critical thinking is about evaluating things critically - that means being critical of YOURSELF. Being critical of your OWN reactions. Asking 'why did I like this?' and 'why did I dislike this?'. Asking 'this doesn't mesh with me, but who WOULD it mesh with? It isn't for me, but who is it for? Who would it hurt, but also who would it help?'

Some people HATED how SU: Future ended. They beat their fists on the wall and cried about how Steven was leaving his family behind, and how THEY could never imagine doing something like that, and how he was running away from his problems just like Rose had.

Me? I loved it. I think it was the right choice, and I COULD imagine it and thought it was in character. I thought he needed to be his own person, instead of shouldering everyone else's responsibilities for once. Was one of us more right than the other? Maybe not? Maybe that was the whole point?

Loving things is not about putting on rose colored glasses. Sometimes, choosing to love something with flaws is an act of rebellion. It's about knowing you have differences, but understanding that there is value in the things you DO agree on, and knowing you can consume that.

Healthy consumption of media does not mean throwing the whole cartoon away as soon as you notice something is wrong with it, like a bruise on an apple.

Healthy consumption of media involves critical thinking AND feeding yourself. Acknowledging you may disagree with parts of it, but not starving yourself just because your apples all have small imperfections.

Eat, for fuck's sake. Feed yourself. You'll feel better.

Thassit.

[lukamoonvibe]

Chapter Eleven: The Space Cadets Of Chaos [Next Gen AU 2]

Summary: 

Medalling with time has a consequence, the consequence of his choice is to be a slave to it until Fate decides he's no fun anymore or he escapes...but does he really want to escape anymore? It's been so long, what would even be the point of going back anymore? Would anyone still remember him? Probably not. No one escapes Fate and lives to tell the tale. Not even a traveller of time.

Fandoms: Crewniverse, Crewfu/Morning Lobby, Chaos Crew/Derp Crew

Characters: Anthony | ChilledChaos, Max Gamble | APlatypuss, Steven | ZeRoyalViking , Taylor | TayderTot, Zach | CheesyBlueNips, Lucas | KYRSP33DY, Apollo Willems | Dumdog, Albi | SideArms4Reason, Skadj, Steven Suptic, 5up, Madi | Kruzadar, Shelby Grace | Shubble [Updated as I add more]

Rating: Mature

Chapter Index

The two glared at him, cold and unwelcoming, "Alright, I'm sorry. I was trying to help, but it was a shitty way to do it." he was met with silence.

"You think? You think it was a shitty way to do it!" the boy finally broke the silence, his words coming out in a burst of anger, "Let us know you were alive, we had seen you, and then you just kept vanishing. Left us to do this alone when it would've been helpful if you were both there."

"I know Luka," did Ze even mention his name? "I understand you're mad, and I don't expect you to forgive me or be happy. I just wanted to let you know I was sorry," fuck me, why is apologising for actions that aren't my own so hard? He looked hopefully between the two.

"No." Eclipse said through gritted teeth, dropping her brother's hand, "You left note's for us to find instead of showing up to help. You left Ze alone to comfort us instead of being there. You were right; it was a shitty thing to do." she crossed her arms, avoiding Chilled's gaze.

Luka took a step closer to him, "You could've helped save Sylas. You could've helped us be done quicker. Sylas is gone, and you left us a fucking note!" his words weren't harsh; they were full of a feeling he knew too well, losing someone you love with no way to know if you'll ever see them again.

These poor kids, "I know. But I did help you guys with that fight. Who do you think made the people leave before taking anyone else?" Fake it till you make it…maybe that's what happened, " Who do you think led you guys straight to Hafu?"

The twins glanced at each other, exchanging words no one would ever hear. Luka turned back to him, staring him directly, "Train helped us more." 

Train…he trained a fleet of child soldiers. That's sadistic at best.

"We don't hate you. We don't necessarily want to talk to you." 

Chilled let out a sigh of understanding; with a curt nod, he reached out, pressing the button; he turned around and left the two silently. Once out in the hall, he took a moment to take in his surroundings. Which way did Ze take me? This isn't very clear. He glanced down and noticed he also wore a suit; it was white, and on his wrist was one of the watches Ze had been checking, and a red light flashed in the corner of the screen.

"He'll forgive you one day, you know?" 

He turned to face the shorter man, "Why does she keep sending you?" 

5up smirked, "This was my home timeline before; she placed me back here. Recreated the universe, if you will."

His brows furrowed, "How? You told us you were born of dying timelines. The scripters say it's impossible to bring it all back. That once it's dead, it's dead forever."

5up shrugged, "I wish I could tell you more, but even I don't know. Although now I have both sets of memories, which is trippy. I remember splitting up and slowly dying on that planet after the crash. But I also remember being reborn and meeting you, killing you. Now I remember being saved by our kids. Your kid is the commander, and my kid…" he trailed off, looking away.

"A life for a life." the words sent chills down his spine. 

"Sylas is dead?" 

With another shrug, the shorter man stayed silent; he swore he could almost see the cogs turning in his head for how he'd respond. 

"No. But they must think that, or they won't try to save him."

"Shubble showed you the future of the timeline? I didn't know she was allowed to do that to someone she was placed in it."

"Shubble didn't; someone named Onyx-"

"Onyx?" a girl said from behind 5up.

The girl looked familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on where he knew her. 

"Listen, I need to go and have a chat with Mavis; if you're looking for Ze, he'll probably be in the med bay; just go straight up and to your left, first door in the hallway on your left, scan your watch in front of the access pad." the shorter man was guiding the girl away.

Chilled looked down at the watch and backed up the corridor again; he shook his head and made his way towards the next doorway. The room was huge, tables scattered around it, the table in the middle more significant than the others with a giant red button encased in what he assumed was the glass; on the far side of the room was a window; out it stretched a vast black void. Absently he wandered over to it, reaching his hand out.

"It's pretty cold out there, you know?" 

He glanced at Ze, a smile graced his lips, "Yeah, I know." his gaze fixed back on the void, and closing his eyes, he let the silence engulf him; for a moment, he felt free.

Freedom is not my choice anymore.

[smokysteventheories-blog]

Lion 4: Alternate Ending Speculation

At this point, we know practically nothing about the episode, except, of course, it’s the sequel to the famed Lion series. (Lion 2: The Movie, Lion 3: Straight to Video, etc.) Knowing anything about the episodes, we can make a reasonable guess that this episode is going to involve Lion in some way, and we can also assume we’ll learn something about Rose.

This would make logical sense, as the whole “Rose shattered Pink Diamond” problem has barely been explained. It would be the ideal thing to do for the show to confirm or deny the event happening in this episode.

If I had to guess how this is done, I think, like a lot of people, that Steven is finally going to look in the treasure chest in Lion’s mane. Whatever is in the chest, (I’m hoping for another tape, personally,) is going to explain what happened with Pink Diamond to Steven, so he can get some closure.

However, if this does happen, I think the title would be interesting to note.

Lion 4: Alternate Ending.

Alternate ending (British English: alternative ending) is a term used (usually in movies) to describe the ending of a story that was planned or debated but ultimately unused in favor of the actual ending.

Okay, so this can mean one of two things, depending on what you believe about Rose shattering Pink Diamond. The alternate ending could be Pink Diamond not being shattered, and the actual shattering could be an accident. I could see this being a possibility, especially considering how distressed the crystal gems seem when Eyeball brings up Pink Diamond’s shattering in Back to the Moon. Pearl’s face definitely seems like one of guilt.

(look at that guilt)

(just look at it)

That, or if you believe Rose didn’t do it, the alternate ending could be Rose shattering Pink Diamond, and she actually didn’t do it. The guilt of the crystal gems could be for having to lie and say that she did. It doesn’t make as much sense as the other theory, but you can believe what you want to believe.

Or, you know, the episode is going to just be a Beach City episode. Nothing wrong with those. It would be disappointing, but I would live.

i might cry a little though

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

That was supposed to crack everything open and show that there was something really strange about Rose’s motivations. And that Bismuth got a raw deal. That Bismuth was this tragedy swept up in something that suddenly becomes very confusing.

[...]

The main thing, and this is something that we never really get to show, but it’s hinted, it’s even in the game (which is canon). Bismuth loved Rose. Really looked up to Rose. And the thing to know about Rose is that Rose was saying awful things about the Diamonds, especially Pink Diamond, a hundred percent of the time. The reason that Bismuth considers herself to be like this ultimate Crystal Gem is because she was following Rose’s vitriol more to the letter than anybody else. Which is why she got so confused. Because she was like... hey, everything you’re saying leads to this very, very logical conclusion, which is that we have to do this, I have to be your ultimate champion in this - and then all of a sudden she gets struck down. 

[...]

We write her kind of like a soldier who is trying to figure out that the war is over, who has been put through a lot and has this way of thinking that was given to her, and now she’s at loose ends and it makes things tough for her.

She’s a champion for this cause and the person who betrayed her, which is complicated. Ultimately Bismuth’s thing is that she cares about her friends more than anyone. She cares about protecting and defending and fighting for these people that she loves - including Rose, which is why the whole thing was so confusing. And now that she’s back she can defend them again.

Some Bismuth insights from the latest episode of the SU podcast. Ties nicely into the last podcast episode that dealt with Bismuth (and Rose!), where they brought up how with the Breaking Point she thought she was presenting Rose with everything Rose seemed to want (aka an actual way to get rid of the Diamonds - Pink in particular - which we’ve seen now is a pretty tall order), only to get very confusingly denied, and then “screwed over” - by being imprisoned and isolated in a very extreme way from her friends and comrades for whom she cares so deeply and for whose sake she is so passionate about fighting. It’s very much a core thing for her, as is highlighted in that astral projection bit in Reunited - her main fear during the fight against the Diamonds is losing everyone just when she’d managed to get at least some of them back. Or this entire scene in Made of Honor. So yeah, that tearfully broken “You didn’t even tell them.” has some very... “personal hell” vibes. And being denied that 5000 year period of adjustment to relative peacetime certainly isn’t helping.

And if anyone was wondering, looks like there really is a giant almost finished lovingly carved statue of Rose Quartz in the backroom of the Forge, that Bismuth was working on just before she got the ol’ pink sword through the torso special. “At least if I were in pieces, I wouldn't have to know how little I mattered to you.” gets more painful by the day, doesn’t it?

Also just… everything in this post, honestly.

[weedle-testaburger]

ok i wanna say something a bit more sentimental about su's anniversary than 'OMG I JUST REMEMBERED', so here we go. I honestly think it's the show that's most important to me and that I'm most glad I got into. I still remember starting the first few episodes four years ago and binging it like almost nothing I've watched since, loving how much cuter and more fun it felt than anything else I'd ever seen, finding myself getting super invested in the cast and wanting to see them find their happiness and grow, and getting to enjoy seeing amazing episodes and twists as the show went on, almost never feeling let down by it like a lot of other shows have. it was a show so good it made me love things I don't like in almost anything else, like serious musical numbers and optimistic morality. the way it dealt with subjects like emotional abuse, trauma and personal growth was some of the best I've seen not just in kid's tv but tv in general. so 7 years on from that pilot where pearl had pointy hair and earrings, garnet didn’t have an afro and amethyst had a fanny pack- the first bit of su I ever watched- I just wanna say, thanks again, crewniverse. thanks for creating one of the most mature yet optimistic shows ever put on tv at a really awful time in history (and my life personally for that matter), and I hope all of you go on to create more awesome stuff because if su is anything to go by, you've all got it in you

[journal-three]

It's weird to me how many people are legit angry about the leak, given how a good chunk of the fandom was eagerly theorizing Steven would actually physically harm Connie just a couple months ago. Like, I understand. I can't say I'm not also kinda concerned. But still??? We don't even know how it's all gonna go down yet.

Seriously! To be fair I am one of the people theorizing that, so I’m maybe biased. But I have faith in however the Crewniverse ends up portraying their relationships. They haven’t let us down so far, and frankly showing a relationship recovering from a bad decision wouldn’t be... bad. 

To assume Steven’s going to corrupt himself while also making no obviously poor choices is really silly. He’s FUCKED UP fucked up babes.

[thesaroinehero]

Honestly I can't even go that far into the SU tag in peace anymore like.....there literally isn't all that much content for Tiger Philanthropist on here most likely bc the toxic ass SU fandom is like "oh this is just fucking filler I ain't watching this shit" and that's why the further I go down the episode title's tag it's fucking hate for it and not that much content for such a good Steven and Ame episode it makes me sick....like none of these people realize AT ALL that Ronaldo and Lars are supposed to represent how bad this fucking fandom has become goddammit and Steven trying to tell you guys to shut up and that's it's none of your damn business!!! Leave the fucking show alone and let it have some fucking fun for once and actually like the human characters and fun less plot filled episodes for a change and not have your head stuck up your ass and think no fun is allowed!!! Leave the Crewniverse be and open your damn heart for once!!!

[amicable-alex]

Change Your Mind

I don't usually post. Like. Ever.

However.

This was such a breathtaking episode. I just need to,,,, let it out. This special was fucking gorgeous, absolutely stunning. Thank you so much Crewniverse, thank you so much Rebecca Sugar. I've never felt more passionate about something, other than art.

Change Your Mind, the song.. it's like an LGBT+ person talking to someone who's homophobic/transphobic or just someone who is struggling to understand someone else in general.

It's moved me so much I'm going to start reminding myself, whenever I'm misgendered, whenever I'm being brought down by someone or my own dysphoria.. You don't have to love me, I love me. You don't have to respect me, I respect me.

[stevenuniversecriticisms]

I feel like the Bismuth episode could have been better had they 1. made it clearer that the problem with the Breaking Point is that it's a CRUEL and INHUMANE method of killing rather than just "it kills", 2. made it clearer that the point was "Don't let the revolution devolve into a Reign of Terror" (there's a difference between "kill all Diamonds" and "kill all Homeworld gems" AKA civilians), and 3. picked ANYONE OTHER THAN BISMUTH to be the antagonist to avoid Bad Implications. (1/2)

Like once you sit down and think about the message the SU crew was actually on the right track, it's just that the delivery was so TRUNCATED it came out as "Killing is wrong and if you punch nazis you're just as bad". They really should have given Bismuth a whole arc in order to explore the problems with her behavior properly and explain why Rose disagreed, the short time slot kinda ruined it all. And the fact that it's Bismuth specifically is just... Yikes. (2/2)

I mean I understood that message the first time I saw the episode. The episode was extremely clear on it. It’s well established in the show that there are two ways to incapacitate a Gem. You poof them, which simply destroys their physical form and they can recover from that, or you shatter them, which permanently kills them. Steven even brings this up. Bismuth draws the distinction between the two methods when comparing Rose’s sword to the Breaking Point. She says that she designed the sword to slice through Gem bodies but leave the gem itself unharmed. The Breaking Point was designed to destroy the gem in a single hit. It’s made even more clear when Bismuth demonstrates the Breaking Point by putting it right against the gem of the dummy. I thought that was a nice way to give a physical representation of each method, driven home when Steven fights with the sword and Bismuth fights with the Breaking Point. And when Steven ultimately refuses to shatter Bismuth even though she tried to kill him.

Gems function entirely differently than humans. A Gem can only be killed by shattering them. Rose’s sword wasn’t designed for that. Which was the point of Bismuth creating the Breaking Point. She wanted to put a Gem down permanently rather than simply poofing them.

I thought it was totally clear that the whole reason Bismuth was wrong was that she was becoming exactly like Homeworld. Simply shattering anyone who gets in your way makes her no different than the people she fought. For all of Bismuth’s hatred of Homeworld she had become so extreme in her methods to fight that she had become the very monster she fought. It’s an old trope where a former hero had lost their way and resorted to methods that make them a villain. Rose didn’t agree with that for the same reason Steven doesn’t. They’re not heartless killers. While the episode didn’t spend a lot of time on it it’s clear that Bismuth took to heart what Rose said about choosing your own path in life and distorted it. Rose didn’t agree with wanting to shatter everyone they fought so Bismuth tried to kill her. It’s sad but Bismuth is one of those characters who became corrupted morally. In a lot of ways she reminds me of Master Asia from Mobile Suit G Gundam, who became corrupted and ultimately a villain despite teaching Dommon.

There aren’t any unfortunate implications with Bismuth. She’s a former hero who fell from grace. If you’re talking about the racial implications that people attached to the episode despite them not being there, then I disagree with that perspective. I don’t support the idea that any Gems are “race coded”. Bismuth isn’t coded in any way. And even if she was that wouldn’t change the core moral of her character or what the episode was about. Bismuth resorted to cruel and violent methods that made her no different than Homeworld. If both Homeworld and the Crystal Gems are going to just slaughter their way to victory then what’s the point? If Bismuth has the right to slaughter any Homeworld Gem she fights then what makes her different than the Diamonds who heartlessly destroyed almost the entire Crystal Gem army during the war? There may be a strategic victory, but there wouldn’t be any winners in that war. Bismuth would sit atop a pile of corpses. She becomes the enemy she swore to fight. It’s a sad state that a war hero like her and former friend of Pearl and Garnet is in. If there’s any character who deserves to ultimately be redeemed it’s Bismuth. I’d love if some way she got to talk to Rose one last time and reconcile their conflict. She’s someone I definitely feel a lot of sympathy for and did feel sad seeing Steven poof her. The ultimately problem was that the Crewniverse tried to cram her entire story into a single episode.

I agree that Bismuth needed an entire arc to her. I made a whole post about it. There’s so much to do with her character that you can’t do even a tenth of it in a single episode. You could fill a season with just the conflict between the Crystal Gems and Bismuth. And even more with her after that. I would love to see her conflict and ultimate redemption. Have her truly see how far she had fallen and come around to wanting to fight along side her former friends and new allies like Steven.

The problem honestly has nothing to do with any of the characters. It has to do with the writers not wanting to do any plot. The conflict with Homeworld has been in the forefront since late season 1....but nothing has happened. Hell in four seasons we’ve only had two real appearances of the Diamonds, who are the ultimate villains of the show at this point. The entire plot has stalled. The reason a lot of Bismuth’s episode feels off and feels like Steven doesn’t want to fight is because the show overall has totally ignored the main conflict of the show. I rewatched Bismuth right after finishing season 1 and, keeping in mind stuff that happened in between (such as Lapis and Peridot living on earth), the episode felt more thematically appropriate. Discussing HOW to fight is actually a good topic to bring up after Steven learns about the full scale of the conflict. But since it was only done in a single episode that had a dozen other things going on it doesn’t have time to actually go in depth on anything.

[girlonthelasttrain]

i admit i'm biased - i'm not a bismuth fan, i didn't feel much when she was bubbled. i don't have much of a problem with sugilite, however, because she just makes more sense when you look back and realize "oh, that was mostly ruby and amethyst". heck, even the writers said she isn't always like that, first time she got stranded and second time was during sardonyx drama... as for design, that's one complain i can't see, she just looks like a cool, unique monster girl to me, but again, i'm white

EDIT: I meant to answer privately (as I usually do) but I made a mistake while posting so now... here it is

(I’m going to answer both of your asks here)

First of all I’m sorry if I came across a bit… intense. Lately I’ve been feeling conflicted about SU so I want to clarify that my frustration has more to do with that than what you wrote.

And perhaps I’m not the best person to talk about these issues at all – I’m white too – but there is a trend in SU that I don’t like, and Bismuth and Sugilite, to me, represent the most glaring examples. I have nothing against their design, and they’re cool characters but, like. How come these two Gems that are supposedly allies in the end are “too violent”, “too stubborn”, “too much” for Steven to handle, and have to be defused/bubbled? Regardless of authorial intent (which I absolutely get! and the intended message wasn’t bad! but it’s how and which character were thrown under the bus that left me dissatisfied), these are the facts that we’ve been shown. And both characters are pretty clearly black-coded. I appreciate that the creators recognize that Sugilite can be much more but I’m one of those people who prefers to actually see things in the story rather than have outside confirmation. And I honestly think Bismuth will reappear, too, but I still feel kinda meh about the whole episode. It could have been so much better with just a few tweaks. I’m trying to keep an open mind and wait but I was let down. It didn’t feel at all like, idk, Centipeetle, who we knew was obviously coming back sooner or later. We know that the crewniverse can create tension very well, so I’m also a little bitter that Bismuth didn’t get the treatment that others have had. This is just my opinion thought.

In the end, you’re right, a lot of the criticism that SU gets here on tumblr is just shortsighted at best and sometimes even needlessly pedantic. I should also have read your tags before adding a wall of text! Sorry about that.

[lukamoonvibe]

All For Love and Love For All [Hanahaki AU pt 2]

Summary: 

To love with every fiber of your being, that's what he'd been taught. Never did he think this unconditional sentiment would lead to unrequited love, but that's where he was, surrounded by an array of different coloured flowers.

Fandoms: Crewniverse, Homies SMP, Chaos Crew/Derp Crew

Ships: Anthony | ChilledChaos/Max Gamble, Anthony | ChilledChaos/Jess Bubger, Max Gamble/Taryn Hillin

Characters: Anthony | ChilledChaos, Max Gamble | APlatypuss, Jess Bubger, Taryn Hillin, Zach | CheesyBlueNips, Lucas | KYRSP33DY, Kara Corvus, Courtney | Courtilly

Rating: Mature

Part 1

AO3 Link

“You can’t just keep avoiding them you know?” 

"I know. But they all know now. If they didn't before they do now. I don't want pity, they'll never look at me the same again."

 "Then don't stop being you. Max, you're one of the most genuine and caring people I've ever met. Don't let anyone or anything take that away from you. But you have to realise that your friends, they're worried. You haven't talked to anyone except me for three weeks and that's not great. You know what I'm probably not the best person to give you advice in this field."

He shook his head, "Don't put yourself down like that. Your illness, it's treatable. It doesn't define you as a person. I would take advice from you over anybody else. They don't know what it's like to live with something invisible. Something can't see."

She smiled, "Take a dose of your own medicine for once you goose."

He chuckled and shook his head, picking up his phone.

Zach

Max seriously. This isn't a joke anymore. We're really worried about you. Kara said…

He clicked the notification, punching in the code it opened up the messaging app.

Max seriously. This isn't a joke anymore. We're really worried about you. Kara said that if you don't start answering us now, she's going to come over and bust the door down. I don't want you to get in trouble with the landlord or whatever but radio silence normally isn't a good sign. Especially not with the condition you're in.

He rolled his eyes, “In your condition, you’d think I had something not curable.” he said taking a sip of his tea.

“Well, I mean. Science has cures for cancers and other ailments, but what you’ve got they don’t even know how to stop it without taking a fundamental part of human nature away. So in a way, they’re right. You could be dead by now, any normal person would be.”

He glanced down at his arms, stems remained where flowers used to be, “It’s getting better.” 

“What?”

He stuck his arm out for her to see, “It’s going away.”

She pulled his arm closer to her, prodding the stem. “You haven’t been leaving trails anymore, have you? I honestly just thought you were cleaning it before I managed to catch them.” 

He thought for a moment, “No. Not for a few days actually.” 

“You’ve been coughing them up less too, from the time we spend together. Maybe you’re moving past him .” she caught his eye, her grin wide like a Cheshire cat.

“Excuse me. I never said that I was caught up on a he. Where do you get that idea?” 

She laughed, “It doesn’t take a genius to piece the puzzle together sweetheart. You fall off the face of the earth, ghost your friends, stay locked up in here, only talk to me, all after that one clip started floating around of Cheesy absolutely owning Chilled with facts. A blind man could see you were in love with a him. If your friends can’t figure it out by now, maybe they’re just being blissfully ignorant.”

He stared dumbfounded, “I- was it really that obvious?”

“Maybe. I mean for me, someone who met you on that day yeah it was. For your friends, probably not, they probably had ideas for who it could be, maybe even bets. But I could be wrong. He seemed or seems pretty oblivious though. Does he flirt with everyone?”

Max snorted, placing his cup down, “Yeah. Especially with Ze, I think it’s their little bit y’know? Fan service or whatever.”

“So if you knew he jokes about this often, what changed in you for you to take it the other way.”

He looked down, he could clearly see the memory in front of him but he shook it away, “I don’t want to think about it anymore. Actually, I don’t want to think about him anymore.”

She lifted his head by his chin, “Hey I didn’t mean to pry. Don’t be sad, sometimes a new begining is needed.” her phone dinged and she glanced at it, “Shit, I was meant to meet Jess 10 minutes ago. Uh, continue this later yeah?”

He chuckled, “Of curse.” the door slammed a couple of second later and he let out a sigh.

Jess. Wait Jess? Must be a coincidence, I’m sure it’s not his Jess. What are the chances?

--------

Dude the stems are all gone, what happened over your break?” the curly-haired man engulfed Max in a hug.

“I just took some time to myself, sat alone with my thoughts a lot, reconciled them. Boring shit y’know?” 

“Right, you didn’t meet someone and move on or anything right?” Kara taunted, patting him on the shoulder and heading over to the couch.

Max laughed.

“What’s that? Jealous he clearly wasn’t hung up on you eh Kara?”

Kara scoffed, throwing a pillow at him.

“Hey, those aren’t mine. Don’t ruin them.” Max called from the kitchen area.

“Ooo, mystery person that we don’t know about?” she said, shielding her face as Speedy chucked the pillow back at her.

Max rolled his eyes, taking some drinks over to the, sitting beside Cheesy, “First of all, her name is Taryn. You guys might get to meet her today actually. Second, she moved in two months ago, the landlord's choice. Not mine.”

The others sighed collectively. 

“You haven’t found new friends you’re hiding from us have you?” 

“Nobody could replace you guys-” the lock clicked and they all looked across the room.

“So I said- oh hey Max, didn’t realise that your friends were gonna be here.” 

“Is all good, was hoping to introduce you all eventually anyway.”

“Are we able to come in or are we gonna be hallway goblins?”

“Right, sorry.” Taryn moved towards the group, behind her followed by a woman.

Their eyes met and Max felt sick, What are the odds?

“This is Jess. Jess this is-” 

“When you said your roommate's name was Max, I never thought.” he assumed Jess said that.

Kara, Speedy and Kara shot quick glances between the new comers and Max.

“This can’t be real,” Max mumbled, breaking eye contact with the stranger, “Taryn you aren’t playing some sort of prank on me right?”

Taryn stood clueless about the situation at hand, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I told you I was going out to meet Jess and she’d something about her partner being with her. Can someone please tell me what’s going on, I’m so lost.”

He stared hopelessly at his roommate and just shook his head, he stood and made his way across the room to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He lent over the sink his heart felt heavy, what were the chances? One in a million. 

His lungs seized, and a tidal wave of petals poured out of his mouth and into the basin, he started banging on his chest, trying to force them out, but it was no use. Why bother, you don’t want pity and no one understands it anyway. Just let go. Blood pumped in his ears as the petals spilt over the basin onto the floor. Screams were muffled by the door and he wasn't sure if they were trying to get to him or arguing with each other. 

Why did it have to be him? Out of all the Jess' and their partners in the world it had to be them. His chest seized again but nothing came up. I guess she did say her friend was in town visiting for a week. His legs felt like jelly, he gripped the sink tighter in hopes of holding himself up. He looked up at the mirror, examining his face. The first thing he noticed, his lips were clear, not a stem, petal or flower in sight. They're gone. He glanced at his arms and hands. Clear. 

"YOU DID WHAT?" Kara's voice was clear through the others and his head snapped towards the locked door.

He heard a muffled male voice. He couldn't make out the words.

"You toyed with his emotions, Anthony. What the fuck is wrong with you?" In her two months of living with him, he'd never heard Taryn yell, but he made a mental note to never get on her bad side.

He stood, taking shaky steps towards the door. He opened it quietly, leaning on it for support. The scene in front of him, his friends arguing with each other across the living area. He noticed Jess was standing away from it all, she looked ashamed and disappointed. Their eyes met and he gave her a little smile. 

'It's not your fault.' he mouthed.

She shook her head, quietly making her way over to him, unbeknownst to the others. "Hi Max. I'm so sorry." Her voice was quiet and laced with regret.

"You didn't know. Nobody did." His voice was hoarse.

She helped him over to the breakfast bar. 

"So what happened. Because he said he kissed you, but that's all he remembers."

Max looked down at the bench, "I don't. I don't want to think about that night anymore. I want to put what happened in the past, move on." He looked at her, "But if you're worried he cheated on you, he didn't, that happened at the party you guys met at. I shouldn't have let him do anything. I wasn't drunk, he was. I am just as much at fault as he is, if not more."

"That's okay, I won't pry. I'm just glad you're okay. He was really worried about you, you know? Genuinely, I don't know what he'd do without you or Ze. I don't think he'd be very happy."

He smiled, "Yeah. In some timeline we worked out but I guess this isn't then and you know what-" he felt something tickling the back of his throat, he coughed and out fell a small sunflower into hi hand.

She raised an eyebrow as they both glanced across the room at the others who'd noticed Max was no longer locked away.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He smiled fondly and Jess gave his shoulder a pat.

[lukamoonvibe]

Chapter Six: A Traveller, A Writh and Fate's Anomaly

Chapter Index

Summary: 

Medalling with time has a consequence, the consequence of his choice is to be a slave to it until Fate decides he's no fun anymore or he escapes...but does he really want to escape anymore? It's been so long, what would even be the point of going back anymore? Would anyone still remember him? Probably not. No one escapes Fate and lives to tell the tale. Not even a traveller of time.

Fandoms: Crewniverse, Crewfu/Morning Lobby, Chaos Crew/Derp Crew

Characters: Anthony | ChilledChaos, Max Gamble | APlatypuss, Steven | ZeRoyalViking , Taylor | TayderTot, Zach | CheesyBlueNips, Lucas | KYRSP33DY, Apollo Willems | Dumdog, Albi | SideArms4Reason, Skadj, Steven Suptic, 5up, Madi | Kruzadar, Shelby Grace | Shubble [Updated as I add more]

Rating: Mature

Status: On Going

A laugh echoed through the void, and everything around the man and the writh shook. The orb crackled and the image fizzled out, leaving an inky blur.

"He was not meant to be here." 

Their voice echoed, softer than the laugh.

"There should only be one. He will be returned once the writh sorts him out." 

He saw a faint glow from the corner of his eye, a door. He turned to face the light. His door. Why was his door glowing?

"Not for you, traveller. For your friend. He will be here soon." the writh seemed to have read his mind.

Chilled sighed, "Will I ever get a chance to see them again? You know, when I read about this place and learnt the spells to access the door, nowhere did it tell me that the door would be locked forever. I knew I'd be here forever, but I don't know how much longer I can do this." he wasn't really talking to the writh, more reconciling his own thoughts.

"You may, you just have to prove to me you deserve to." There was a familiar kind of mischief in their voice. 

He paced towards the door, reaching towards it, "And what if I just walked through now?" 

"You can try if you like." 

He grabbed the knob, retracting his hand almost immediately, shaking it off, "You're a bitch. Gender regardless." he muttered, observing his hand to see the damage. His fingertips and palm glowed white from blisters and his entire hand felt like it was on fire. He stalked back over to the orb, sitting by it.

"I did warn you it was for your friend, not you." the writh stated, still staring at the inky orb.

"Come my creature. It's time to return to the universe and start again." 

The writh looked over at Chilled, "Steve will be here soon; tell him that I'll see him next time around, yeah?" With a curt nod, it wandered off in a direction, eventually disappearing into the inky purple distance. 

The orb kept fizzling and he saw bits and pieces of what was going on. Speedy and 'Steve' in a police shop. A cell. A juvi centre. Then Speedy back with everyone again. 

How fast does time move here? That would have to be more than three months over in a few minutes. Why did she decide to talk finally? Why can't I access my door? Why did it burn me? What did she mean by I have to earn my right to see my real friends? What-

"Chilled! Thank god. I thought they actually managed to kill you." 

He blinked, noticing the orb was inky again. He felt arms wrap around him, and he just let it happen.

"Yeah. 5up- the time writh, wriths, they were tasked with removing you from the dimension, they were just struggling, so they sent me through knowing it would draw you out. Neither of us was injured." he rambled, losing himself in his thoughts again.

Speedy let him go, sitting beside him, "What are time wriths anyway?"

"They're born from dying timelines. They're reaping spirits I guess, sent to make a timeline right." Chilled looked around, trying to locate the other writh, "Hey did the other one come back with you or?"

"Nah. Actually, I don't know what happened to him. I hope he's somewhere and happy though."

"The door over there, our door. It's here for you, by the way," he looked down at his blistered hands, "it's been here for months, I'd be guessing. I guess she didn't expect you to take so long to get back here." Or maybe she just wanted to torture me more.

Speedy looked over at the door, shaking his head, "Absolutely not. I'm not leaving unless we go together. I didn’t study up on this art just to go back empty-handed.”

A chill went down his spine, “You devoted years to find me. Speedy, what if you had failed? What if you’d died on your way through? Did anyone know about it? How did you figure out this is where I was? Were you told? But no one knew; I didn’t tell anyone.” his brain ran haywire going over all the possibilities.

Speedy placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to ground him, “Chilled, listen. I chose to do this. Nobody told me where you’d gone. Tay was loyal till the end with your secret. I only know because I saw you leave. I didn’t attempt to come through until I was certain I’d make it alive. And I devoted around two years to learning the theory with help from Tay.” he pointed at the door again, “No matter what Fate does to try bribe me, I’ve told her straight I’m not leaving without you when I got here. She did everything in her power to stop us from running into each other but I never stopped fighting to find you.”

Drawing in a breath, Chilled met Speedy’s eyes, “But was it worth it?” I don’t think I’m personally worth getting trapped in a pocket dimension. Honestly, if I was in Speedy’s shoes I’d have just gone on with my life and lived it. Forgot about my stupid friend who got himself in too deep.

“She puts clones out for sure or maybe it’s a writh you. Regardless, I noticed over the first couple of years after you left that “you” were acting weird. Less of the playful banter, less of the bits where you’d pretend flirt, but the biggest glaring red flag was that according to Platy and Ze you started ignoring them both. They just assumed you forgot to answer them or were busy, y’know, but doubted it. So I asked Tay and she reluctantly said she’d help me; she wants her friend back.” 

“You didn’t answer my question. Was it worth giving up your life to come to get me?” 

Speedy laughed, “You really are dense. Of course, it was worth it. I’m not here to only save your life. I’m not even here to save your life, really, I’m here to learn about this place.”

Chilled glanced around the inky void again, “I don’t think there’s much to know about the pocket dimension other than it operates outside all space and time. You don’t age, or maybe you do at a very slow rate. I’m not completely sure. Wriths wander around in the depths, so stay away from there, they may try to drag you wherever it leads,” he pointed at the dark area behind them, “they don’t tend to come up here to the doors and orbs area I’ve noticed, maybe she doesn’t allow it. I don’t know.”

Speedy nodded, taking in the new information, “Other than now, has there ever been a door that sticks around for long periods of time?” 

Chilled shrugged, running his finger along the ground, creating little patterns in the purple sand, “Wait. Backtrack. You’ve met Fate, face to face?” 

“I mean. I wouldn’t say face to face. I was pulled into a dark room and she communicated through what I’d assume now to be a writh. But if that counts, then yeah, I’ve met her.” 

She didn’t pull me into anything when I got here. Maybe I am destined to be here. Maybe I doomed myself by studying the dark crafts. Maybe I should’ve listened to Tay. Maybe I should’ve tried letting someone come with me. Maybe Cheesy. Maybe they were right, maybe I should’ve just told them instead of running. Maybe- “You seemed to know who Madi and all that were. I also have memories I don’t remember making with them. I recognised their faces but I don’t know where from.” the words tumbled out of his mouth before he knew he was saying them.

“I mean, yeah. Kruz and all that play with us all the time. But-” he stopped.

When Chilled looked back at him, he could almost see the cogs turning in his brain. How do I have memories of people I’ve never met? Why do they feel like friends I never had?

“The clones share your conscience, Chilled. They share our conscience; any memories they make we pertain as well, but foggy. I was in the dimension for a while before you and you didn’t exist in the place. What if she’s throwing you into all the timelines where you didn’t meet any of us or you were never born? It would make sense. Maybe…maybe…” he trailed off, lost in his own thoughts.

But why? Why not send me into timelines a version of me exists in and just removed that version while I fix whatever sick quest she has me doing? Why am I only now gaining the memories of my clone? Why does she want Speedy gone so bad? 

“Maybe you should answer me, Chilled. Have there been any other doors that stuck around for considerable amounts of time?” Speedy’s voice cut through his thoughts.

Chilled shrugged, “Possibly, you start to lose track of, well, time in here. At some point my door even disappeared again, it only turned up again when you managed to find me the first time. I don’t really pay much attention around here anymore. I did for a while and almost sent myself mad.” Or maybe I am a crazy person and Speedy is someone I’ve made up to cure my loneliness…

“Chilled, Chilled. CHILLED SHE’S SPLITTING US AGAIN.”

[picturejasper20]

I feel pretty much the same about this negative perception on SU being popular. I do feel like the discourses and drama that happened, especially the 2015 incident, played a part in that in a big way even though at the same time i feel it's not entirely the show's nor Rebecca's fault those happened since that is unfair but it does seems people see SU in a unique way when it comes to the negative that people probably don't care

Well, yeah, i kinda agree on that. Some fans on this website were treating Zami070 like she was a dictator over her drawing style. But that's what happens when you lack zero awareness and don't reflect on your actions. For a show that was trying to teach "love and tolerance", many fans seemed to completely ignore these lessons and used it to push their own agenda:Ships,headcanons,bullying and harassing...

It's not suprising there was so much discourse when the episode "Bismuth" came out because some fans had the same type of mob mentality that Bismuth had. The difference was that at least with Bismuth you could understand why she acted the way she did. These people? There was almost no explanation. So, its no wonder why they missed the point of the episode and got angry when they were proved wrong.

It's not SU's fault or Rebecca Sugar's fault that for a long time this fanbase was considered one of the worst cartoon fandoms. She tried to stop it many times but the infighting and bullying went on and on.

As for the negative perception that Steven universe has: Many people were ready to tear down this show apart before it started airing back in 2013. I don't know if you haven't read Introvertceleste posts about Crewniverse members talking that there were already people complaining about Garnet's design and how she's was "an awful role model" or Steven being a "straight white male" despite being different from your classic stereotype and sometimes acting as a trans metaphor (see Diamond's days arc).

For a few years the series was well- received. Animation fans and reviewers liked Steven universe a lot. Then in 2016-2017, a few videos rants on youtube started to pop up. Some of them would get tons of views. This made other youtubers say "Hey, let's do this thing, it's going to gives us hundred thousands of views" and that's how SU hate train started.

SU youtube rants start getting recommended, each one more spreading false rumors and more missinformation than the last because they were desperate to "destroy" a children cartoon.

Then you have the "Steven universe critical" thing that while they started pointing some issues the show had over time it developed into nitpicking, harassment to other fans and writers over ships and right down making up bullsh*t to make SU or the creators look bad.

They started calling Rebecca Sugar every name under the sun and making look like she was the next Hitler. The funny thing is that Rebecca was actually nicer than most of these so called "SU critical" and probably she didn't have any idea that they existed in first place.

She didn't encouraged harassing, she didn't say that SU was only "for lesbians and women" (in fact she created this show for a boy demographic but those who wanted to gatekeep the show seemed to forget about that).

As why this happened i can think of two reasons:

1)Cartoon Network's horrible schedule: The haituses of SU were ridiculous.We only got 3 or 4 episodes every 6 months. This made fans become more and more frustrated or many just dropped the series.

2) The purity culture that this website has: It's pretty common for cartoon tumblr to put on a pedestal shows that have representation but in the moment it does something wrong,everyone stars hating on the show. It's always the same thing. I think the exception to this rule is Kipo and the Age of wonderbeasts as it didn't get very popular.

I swear, just wait half an year and people are going to start hating on The owl house which is only on its first season And calling the creators horrible things. Right now its happening the same thing that happened with RS and Noelle: She's being treated like a god and the moment she says or does something wrong,bang! She gets cancelled. That's how it works.

The issue is that creators that are LGBT and minorities often get more hate for putting representation on their shows than those who don't. Many are afraid of writing their own stories out of fear of being harassed and acussed of transphobia and homophobia. It's counterproductive and very bigoted.

The most frustrating thing about this for me is when i see cartoons fans putting SU on the same level as Voltron. You know? The show that did a "Bury your gays trope" by killing one of the few gays characters? All this while Steven universe being the show that really cared about putting LGBT couples in first place. And this is something that many cartoon fans fail to undestand: No, it wasn't She-ra 2018, Kipo, The owl house or Adventure time that started all this. It was Steven universe, yet they ignore its cultural impact most of the time. It's very frustrating.