#He thinks the word cabbit is weird

[su-nioj]

He still uses rat

[officialleehadan]

Armed Disarmed

Hello darlings! I hope you're having a happy Spring so far. I certianly am!

Today's story was brought to you by Kat! Darling, you're an absolute joy. Thank you for all your support!

Prompt: Someone asking Vree "Is it true that...?" about humans.

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“Is it true that humans drink poison recreationally?”

Vree looked up from his food when someone sat across from him. It turned out to be a new arrival to the ship. An Ul’rac, if Vree was remembering right. The horns were… well they were reasonably distinctive, and added an interestingly haunting sort of ‘hoot’ to the Ul’rac’s voice as the horns were hollow, and amplified their speech.

“Sometimes, yes,” Vree said, since he had been asked a question, and it was only polite to answer. “I believe you’re thinking of alcohol, or perhaps caffeine?”

“The dark beverage I’ve seen many of the ship’s humans consuming in the mornings.”

“Human-Nerea, Human-Liara, and Human-Marsha prefer tea,” Vree supplied, since he doubted the Ul’rac knew the difference. “Human-Amir, Human-Gruk, and Human-Matti prefer coffee. They look similar in their most common presentations, but you may have noticed a difference in smell.”

“I did, although both beverages have a toxicity warning on the dispenser.”

Vree chuckled wryly. The warnings had been his suggestion after the third time his humans attempted to talk another crewmate into consuming something that was decidedly poisonous to anyone but their own species. “Yes, both beverages contain caffeine, which is the toxic element in question. It acts as a stimulant for many humans, although some report negative effects.”

The Ul’rac stared at him with an expression Vree knew well. That was the expression of one who had thought they understood just how strange humans were, and had abruptly realized just how much of that particularly fearsome beast was still buried under the sand. Vree understood the feeling all too well.

“My name is Cabbit, Zey/Zir” the Ul’rac introduced zirself and took the seat across from Vree, zir meal in hand. “I’ve read all your papers, and met several humans, but they’re…”

“Strange,” Vree told zir tiredly. “The word you’re looking for is strange, and yes, they are. Humans evolved very differently than any of our Galactic races, and are a culmination of a truly staggering variety of other beings, all of whom are cross-fertile with humans, and many of whom possess magic in varying flavors that may or may not have a profound effect on their appearance, diet, and ability.”

Ul’rac-Cabbit stared at Vree. Vree did his best not to look exhausted by the very thoughtof his humans, all of whom were…. Well, they were all even stranger than the standard variety of humans that the Alliance was generally used to. There was no explaining that with any degree of alacrity, however.

“You read my papers,” he tried again when Ul’rac-Cabbit continued to stare. “I imagine you saw the recorded presentations as well. Are you in the camp that believes me, or the camp that thinks I’m a relentless grandstander with some very sophisticated technology to fake it all?”

“I saw Human-Liara light on fire during a shouting match with Human-Nerea.”

“Ah. Yes, that does tend to be somewhat convincing,” Vree admitted with oddly fond memories of the time he threw Human-Amir at a group of pirates. It seemed like a long time ago, back before he had any idea what a djinn was, and had only seen Human-Nerea in her scales the once. Now he had seen a djinn appear as a nebula, heard a Wish spoken, somehow befriended the First Mermaid, and riddled with the First Dragon. He had been to Earth and seen the Great Library, and heard the truth of Magic from the only being who could possibly explain it well. “So, you believe me. What other questions do you have?”

“How do they…” Ul’rac-Cabbit waved one many-fingered hand through the air in a gesture to try and take in the group of humans, presently all gathered at their own table and having what sounded like a heated argument about something called ‘liars dice’. They had an ongoing arrangement for something called ‘game night’ that Vree still hadn’t dared to ask about. “They seem to pack up, but I’ve yet to see any serious predatory behaviors from any of them but Human-Gruk.”

“Humans will pack-bond with anything,” Vree said, much resigned to being one of the anythingsin question. He wasn’t particularly annoyed by it, all things considered. He did adore his humans, and his friendship with Lady Hoshi was one of the prouder events in his life. Who would have thought that he would craft a friendship with an ancient being who was somehow even more curious about the universe as he was? “On that note, you’re new to the ship. I understand that cleaning robots are intended to be disposable, but the humans have a habit of claiming them as packmates. If you see one painted with non-regulation colors, leave it be. Human-Gruk is very protective of them.”

“I saw two earlier that seem to have…” Ul’rac-Cabbit hesitated, and for good reason. “They seemed to have knives attached to the tops?”

“Great,” Vree muttered, since Human Weirdness was absolutely his problem to deal with. “I told him to stop arming them. Where did you see them?”

“Fifth deck rec room. They seemed to be having a disagreement with one of the crew. They were rather definitely in pursuit.”

“Yes,” Vree sighed, and finished off the last of his food in three quick bites. “They do that. Excuse me. It would be better if I disarmed the cleaning bots before someone gets annoyed enough to smash them. None of us want Human-Gruk to repeat the Bulkhead Incident.”

“I dread to ask…?”

“One of the Emmrak,” Vree named a species of large, powerful, heavily-armored beings who liked to fight almost as much as Human-Gruk did, “Destroyed one of Human-Gruk’s cleaning bots. Human-Gruk threw him through a plate-metal bulkhead. I understand they’re close friends now, but I would still prefer to avoid the damage inflicted upon the ship that might come with another such incident. Do enjoy your meal, Ul’rac-Cabbit, and search me out if you have any future questions.”

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MASTERLIST

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[drewwwbydoobydoo]

If you're feeling up to it, why not just answer all of the 65 questions from the ask list?

Ok here goes haha

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you? Yeah for sure, but at this point I just figure I can’t do a whole lot about it so I’m just rolling with whatever is the truth (basically the same thing as us maybe being in a simulation, I don’t think the answer really matters)

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you? Like 4 or 5, I’m very scared of the dark tbh I get super paranoid sometimes

3. The person you would never want to meet? Mike Pence

4. What is your favorite word? Exuberance or effulgent

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be? A maple tree

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought? Bleh

7. What shirt are you wearing? A gray shirt from a hackathon I did last year

8. What do you label yourself as? A creative, a student, a future teacher, a lesbian, a human

9. Bright room or dark room? Bright room

10. What were you doing at midnight last night? Talking to my dad about child psychology

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far? 18

12. Who told you they loved you last? My mom

13. Your worst enemy? The US government

14. What is your current desktop picture? A drawing that someone did of a mountain landscape

15. Do you like someone? Yeee my partner!

16. The last song you listened to? Rollercoaster by The Orion Experience

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up? The dictator of the US

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? Same as #17

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do? Same as #17, and I would just try to fix as many things that he’s done as I could lol

20. What is your best physical attribute? I really like my eyes! They’re gray and I think that’s pretty cool

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do? I feel like honestly I would look approximately the same, or like my brother lol though we already look pretty similar. I’d just continue existing, idk I don’t think I’d do anything differently cause gender is funky

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it? Yes! I can write in a whole bunch of different fonts by hand really easily (like I can switch between fonts without having to write slower or think too much about it)

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of? Ok so like I’m really afraid of small heights but not big heights. For some reason heights like doing a ropes course or trapeze absolutely terrify me but I’m totally fine like on a tall mountain or in a plane

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal. Maple tempeh with hummus, avocado, tomato and lettuce on wheat bread sounds 10/10 rn

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it? I’d donate it to the Transgender Law Center

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go? Hmmmmm I wouldn’t go on a plane because we’re still in a pandemic but theoretically if this were a normal time I’d probably go somewhere in Canada

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? I don’t drink alcohol so I’m good!

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? Freedom of speech (with the exception of hate speech)

29. What is your favorite expletive? Asshat, mainly cause I think it’s kinda funny

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno? My laptop, I have too many photos and files that I don’t want to lose

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? Getting blackmailed by my brother

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Canada here we come!

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back? My cat, Clara. She was the absolute sweetest being that has ever graced this planet, and she was my only true friend for many years

34. What was your last dream about? The commune that I lived at last summer

35. Are you a good listener? I think so? I try to be, especially since I took some workshops in nonviolent communication and how to be a better listener and I think those were really helpful!

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital? No but I probably should have been

37. Have you ever built a snowman? Yeah

38. What is the color of your socks? Light blue

39. What type of music do you like? Idk a lot of stuff I guess? Musical soundtracks, indie rock, pop-rock, etc.

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? Sunsets!!!

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor? Vanilla (boring, I know lol)

42. What football team do you support? Idk any sports teams :/

43. Do you have any scars? Yeah, many

44. What do you want to be when you graduate? I mean like theoretically I would love to be a painter but realistically I’m gonna become an elementary school teacher

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Bruh how tf do I choose just one??? Uhhhhhh honestly I would get rid of my uterus I don’t want it and it just causes pain

46. Are you reliable? Yeah, very

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be? Which career path do I end up on?

48. Do you hold grudges? Yeah, only about big things though

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create? I’d breed cats and rabbits together to create: cabbits

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had? One time me and one of my friends were laying on the floor of our dorm’s common room and we were talking about a bunch of fucked up stuff we’ve done (like not necessarily bad things, but just like those weird, “are you ok?” kind of things)

51. Are you a good liar? Yeah actually! I don’t know how, but I'm a really good liar if I genuinely want to lie about something. 

52. How long could you go without talking? A very long time. Singing would be a drastically different answer though

53. What has been you worst haircut/style? When I first cut my hair short when I was 16, it was just a very awkward length and I didn’t know what was happening

54. Have you ever baked your own cake? Yeah I actually baked one yesterday

55. Can you do any accents other than your own? I can kinda do a southern accent

56. What do you like on your toast? Vegan butter and roasted garlic mmmmm

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of? Roman Sanders lol

58. What would be you dream car? I’ve always wanted a light blue convertible, like as long as I can remember I’ve had this very specific car in mind that I know I’d never actually buy but in theory would be very cool

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain. Sometimes I sing in the shower, also I used to sit down while showering lol

60. Do you believe in aliens? Yeah, I don’t have any specific theories but I think there’s probably some other intelligent life out there

61. Do you often read your horoscope? Not really

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? E

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons? Dragons

64. What do you think about babies? Amazing, I was one once

This was fun! Kinda therapeutic tbh lol

[love-takes-work]

Steven Selects: Episode 6 Recap

Steven Universe podcast “Steven Selects: Episode 6: Steven’s Dream,” hosted by McKenzie Atwood, is the sixth of an eight-part series of spotlights on fan favorite episodes. The guests are Matt Burnett and Ben Levin. The official description:

Blue Diamond was introduced in "Steven's Dream," and promptly kidnapped Greg! It was a huge storyline that involved big collaboration among the crewniverse! Writers Matt Burnett and Ben Levin remember details from the planning stages, what was changed during the boarding process, and why this episode is home to one of the most meta jokes of the entire series!

Outline:

McKenzie opens by discussing Blue Diamond's debut, wanting to know about how you go about revealing a character like this. Matt and Ben said the character reveal really took shape in the storyboarding stage. Colin Howard was in charge of that part. We'd seen Blue Diamond before as a shadowy figure in "The Answer," dishing out orders to shatter a major character, but when you actually see her in the show, she's in mourning. The arc was intended to make the fans see the Diamonds differently.

McKenzie asked why they chose to have Steven go to Korea, and they said they have a special kinship with Korea because it's where the show is animated. Rebecca's been there several times and they wanted to bring some of their contribution into the show itself, the way Crew members in the US get to. They bring up the meta jokes about Greg seeing his own character model.

Then McKenzie asks about why Greg was chosen to get kidnapped, and they mentioned how they had this idea for the human zoo arc and thought it'd be appropriate to start with Greg, especially since Rebecca Sugar likes upsetting tropes and arranged for "damseling" Greg. It's also kind of a joke because Greg seems to have this supernatural ability to get attention from giant alien women and here he is doing it again. 

They specifically mention Tenchi Muyo! as a reference for how this keeps happening to Greg the way it happens in Tenchi's various shows. Greg flashback episodes are called "No Need For Greg" episodes because of this anime reference.

(Chronicler's note: I spent a chunk of the late 90s obsessed with Tenchi Muyo! I still have my "cabbit" plushies on my bed. This is awesome.)

McKenzie asks for a description of how this episode changed from conception to completion. They said it changed a lot. Originally they were not planning to bring Steven to Korea in that episode, and they were planning a "Steven Abroad" episode that took place entirely in Korea, while "Steven's Dream" was supposed to have elements in it that actually ended up taking place in "Storm in the Room." Steven was initially supposed to run into his room and talk with "Rose" about his dreams instead of going right to his dad, but of course Rose can only tell him things he already knows.

Looking back, they know it would have taken a ton of extra design work to set an entire episode in Korea, and overall the way they finalized it created a much stronger launching point for the zoo arc. The Korea episode was originally going to have more specific scenes instead of the montage that was finally included. Searching for the site of the palanquin was more of a plot point in the original, with humans in Korea knowing there was something weird over there up on the mountain where they just don't go.

McKenzie asks for more about Steven's feelings regarding feeling like the Gems are keeping things from him. Matt and Ben say that Steven's been chewing on these revelations about Rose shattering a Diamond and this frustration over the Gems’ refusal to be forthcoming, and these interactions give those feelings a vehicle. Nowadays he wants to know ahead of time if aliens are coming to fight him so he can prepare, instead of being kept in the dark. Rose wanted him to be protected from it, thinking nobody will find them on Earth, but Steven feels like he needs to be informed, and they're too stuck in their promise to Rose to really understand that.

McKenzie asks the writers to clarify what Garnet saw when she kept saying Steven couldn't go to Korea because of what she's seen. Garnet was afraid that Steven would be compelled to go see Blue Diamond no matter what she told him, no matter how she described the danger, and that he would find a way to go see her, especially since he perceives that she has answers to why he's having a bizarre dream that's making him cry.

Fan Questions:

Question: Can you discuss the pros and cons of a script-driven show versus a board-driven show?

Answer: Board-driven shows allow for discovery as you work, while script-driven is stricter from the beginning. Board-driven shows can be more visually interesting, more cinematic and less sitcom-like, in their opinion. The down side of that is that as boarders are drawing, they sometimes come up against problems in the writing that require restructuring, and that means they've done drawings already that have to be scrapped. Script-driven shows have the ability to get right at the meat of what a story is about and finalize it before drawings are done, but might rely more on words and "telling." Boarders in board-driven shows must be prepared to discard work and redo scenes. It's all up to what kind of show you're doing; they both have pros and cons.

Next week will have Matt and Ben back again to discuss "I Am My Mom."

[Archive of Steven Universe Podcast Summaries]

[su-nioj]

Zi-Zi says his species is a rat until he met Mickey