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honestlyhufflepuff · 5 years

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The Hole

In the aftermath of Together Forever/Growing Pains, Connie finds Steven’s pit of despair. 2,102 words.

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Connie sat on the city bus going into Beach City. She brought her slimmest textbook with her, with the intent to study during the 30 minute ride. The tome lay open on her lap, but the letters all blurred together the second her eyes took them in and her highlighter was limp in her clammy hand.

Twice. Twice Connie hugged Steven after he proposed to her. She should have known right then that he wasn’t ok, because that was the first time ever he didn’t hug her back. It had been days since she’d brought Steven to see her mom at the hospital. She’d said she would be there when he was ready, but would he ever be? What if he was ready, just wanting to call her, but still hung up on not “worrying” her? At some point, she would just have to make an executive decision and go over there, like she did when she called Greg. That’s why she found herself on a bus, on the way to check in on her best friend.

She hoped he was still her best friend.

Steven’s affection was overwhelming to her when they first became friends. It used to make her blush and wonder what her mother would think when he would tackle her in warm, squishy embraces. In fact, the time after they decided to run away together on a bus, he hugged her right in front of her mom. Connie had gotten “the talk” much sooner than she’d anticipated that night. In her tween mind, the thought of doing anything with Steven that needed a different kind of “protection” than their sword and shield seemed weird, but as she got older she wondered.

She wondered about marriage, and the activities that accompanied cohabitation, in brief moments when her and Steven sat together and no words passed between them. She didn’t just wonder about physical intimacy, but about the practical side of things. Buying groceries. Getting jobs. Dividing up chores. Being domestic. She was already pretty sure Steven would want kids, and she wasn’t sure that was something they would be on the same page about.

With how Steven fawned over weddings, she knew he’d bring it up to her someday. At Garnet’s wedding she remembered how he stared at her with those starry eyes on the dance floor, and although she couldn’t read his mind she was certain he was picturing exactly how their wedding would look. She wasn’t sure if she should shirk away from his gaze or kiss him. She’d come close to kissing him so many times, but she’d always held back, afraid of things escalating exactly to where they’d escalated to anyway.

All that cautioned restraint she’d had, he threw out the window in fifteen minutes. If she thought he knew any better, she might have gotten angry at him, but what was age to the aliens who raised him? Did they even understand that it was a bad idea for a fifteen-year-old human to get engaged?

Connie didn’t realize just how much Steven lacked in human social skills until recently. To her, he was just Steven. He was charismatic, brave, and funny, and it seemed like he could make friends with anyone. It was only in the context of seeing him around humans that weren’t already used to him and the gems that she saw how much he struggled to connect.

Was the proposal just that? A failed attempt to connect in a human way?

The Beach City Boardwalk came into view as her bus turned the corner. Connie put away her book and took a deep breath to steel herself for whatever conversation would come.

Several of the locals she’d gotten to know over the years through Steven waved hello with pleasant smiles. A few of them asked how Steven was doing, and she wished she had an honest answer for them.

He was probably fine, she told herself. Greg was there for him, and he had all the gems and Little Homeworld to keep him busy, right? Maybe he just felt awkward. Maybe he would open the door and be happy to see her and-

Her train of thought stopped as she turned the corner on the beach, and a small cry escaped her mouth.

The spot that he’d proposed in was in front of her. It was where he didn’t hug her back. It was where he gave her that sweet smile and insisted he was fine. And now it was totally destroyed.

How soon after she left did it take for him to create that massive crater? She skirted around the gaping wound in the earth, and tears blurred her vision as she saw the remnants from the hastily tidied incident. There were splintered strips of lacquered wood from the guitar. Green pieces of whicker and shattered white ceramic stuck up from the sand. Crumpled flower stems dried in the sun.

Connie’s vision swam with tears and she slid down into the hole Steven had created, shutting her eyes and trying to focus on the consistent hush of the calm ocean waves.

She couldn’t have said yes. He knew that now, right? There was no reason for her to feel guilty.

Her hand burrowed in the sand, and she let it run through her fingers as she lifted it off the ground. Sand was just tiny pieces of glass, she mused. It rained from her grasp like it rained from the ceiling at the hospital when Steven screamed “I can’t be around you right now!” She didn’t think he was mad at her. He was just afraid of hurting her, and afraid of hurting more himself. How did she really know what he felt, though? It was impossible for Steven to hide when he was happy or excited, but “negative” emotions? He’d always been a little too good at hiding those.

How did a friendship bounce back from a scene like that? She’d rarely heard Steven scream, and that was the first time it was ever directed at her. How did they just go back to being carefree jam buds?

She flippantly wondered if running away on a bus was still an option.

He might never want to speak to her again, she thought. Although she knew this wasn’t true, just the thought of life without Steven made a new wave of sobs wash over her.

Connie wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, trying to will herself into a standing position. Part of her wanted to just turn around and go home, but she needed to at least check on Steven. She needed to at least see if he was open to continuing the conversation that so abruptly ended the last time they were in this spot.

Several minutes passed, and Connie still sat in the hole, waiting to regain her composure before walking to the beach house.

“Connie?”

She startled at Steven’s voice behind her. It was not the glass-shattering, screaming voice of pain. It was small and gentle, like when he thanked her for calling his dad.

“Steven!” She jumped up, wiping her red, puffy eyes as best she could before looking at him, “What are you doing here?”

“I live here,” he said flatly.

“No, I mean here. I thought this part of the beach was the last place you’d want to come.”

“Well, Garnet suggested I take a walk,” he sighed, “I realize now that was probably a future vision thing. I hate when she manipulates me into doing things with information I don’t have.”

He hadn’t looked up from his shoes since she’d turned around.

“Do you want me to go?” She asked.

“Don’t you want to?”

"What?"

“I mean, look at the kind of stuff I do,” he stared off at the wreckage of his picnic, “why wouldn’t you?”

“What, no Steven I came here to-” her voice cracked as fresh tears welled out of her eyes. It was enough for Steven to finally look at her.

“Connie? Oh no, don’t cry! What’s wrong?”

He ran towards her and slid into the hole, pulling her into his arms.

“What’s wrong?” She choked out a laugh as she clutched onto him. “Well for one thing, we’re standing in a hole that came from me breaking your heart, and now you’re the one comforting me!”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” He whispered.

“I know I didn’t! How could I possibly say yes to getting married at 15?”

“I know. I’m sorry I put that on you.”

“No, wait Steven,” she pulled back, placing a hand on his cheek so she could look at him, “What I was going to say is, I know I didn’t do anything wrong, but it still hurts. It hurts knowing that you’re hurting from something I can’t protect you from. You’re hurting from something that’s made worse by me being around.”

“You protected me by calling my dad. He’s done so much for me. It’s my own fault for being so rash. For not reaching out for help sooner.”

“I didn’t come here to hear you blame yourself more, Steven! You’re obviously processing a lot and-”

“No, wait,” he backed away from her, gripping his elbows and averting his gaze again, “let me say this please.”

Connie nodded and reached towards him, but let her hand fall when he flinched away.

“There’s a lot I haven’t told you,” his shoulders crept up towards his ears as he held himself tighter, “about how I’ve been doing. I never thought the future would be so scary. I thought I would just be lucky to have one at all.”

“That’s understandable. You don’t have to figure it out right away.”

“You know me turning pink?”

“Not easy to forget.”

“Well, the swelling was new, but not the pink thing. That’s been happening for months now.”

“What? Steven, why didn’t you-”

“I don’t know!” he clutched his head and started pacing, “I don’t know why I didn’t tell you, but I’m telling you now. And it’s really screwed up that I didn’t tell you before I proposed to you. You should have been informed about what I was asking you to commit to.”

Connie stood frozen, unsure how to process what she heard, as she watched Steven stop and struggle to look her in the eyes.

“The truth is, I hate myself, Connie. I hate that I’m so needy. I hate that I tried to rush us into marriage before we even had our first kiss. I hate that I was trying to use marriage to escape being me. To just lose myself in being Stevonnie with you. And you deserve more out of a partner than that. You deserve more than someone who just wants to leech off your sense of direction in life.”

Connie grabbed him in another hug and he tensed, not uncrossing his arms.

“Hate’s a strong word.” She muttered, remembering when Greg reprimanded him for saying he hated Kevin.

“It’s a strong feeling, too.”

He seemed to become smaller in her arms, his frame buckling a bit.

“Do you know what’s a stronger word, Steven?”

“Hmm?”

“Love. I love you, Steven. What you’re going through right now doesn’t change that. It’s ok to need people. To struggle. To make mistakes. Stars, you’ve been through so much, and I used to just think that you were untouchable. Like nothing could phase you. But you’ve just been holding all of-” she backed up and gestured to the destruction around them- “all of this inside.”

“I- I-” Steven stuttered, eyes wide as he looked at her “You love me?”

“I do.”

The smallest smile cracked at the corner of his mouth, “‘I do,’ really? Too soon, Connie.”

She snickered, feeling the relief of seeing a real smile on him, no matter how fleeting and small it was.

“Do you want to maybe head inside? My dad and the gems are there, but we can talk in my room, if you want. We don’t have to spend all day in my depression hole.”

“Yeah, if you’re sure that’s ok. Is it still painful to be around me?”

“Yes,” the answer stung, but she was relieved at his honesty, “but it hurts being alone, too. It hurts just being.”

“I know it’s painful, but I don’t think this will last forever.”

“No,” he looked away with a sad smile as they climbed out of the pit, “no I don’t think it will last forever, either.”

Connie could not help but wonder if he was referring to the pain or to her love for him.

#suf spoilers #steven universe fanfic #lizzywrites #su fanfic #together forever #growing pains #connverse #angst #hurt/comfort

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dogcopter · 4 years

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read kbcs... huh... the author is onion isnt it? and the rest of his weird kid friends I guess? since they refer to an "organization". the writing has a child-like quality to it. onion regularly breaks into the beach house, is hiding in places. in onion gang theyre taking pictures of people for no reason? 1/2

in the movie when steven and spinel are looking for ame with lions warps hes in every location? he doesn't age. no ears. all the theories about how he's an alien were right except he (and yellowtail) are some kind of interdimensional beings? i have been forcefully assigned ronaldokin 2/2

YEAH, preeeeeetty sure it’s Onion!!! Anon i love everything you’re saying & I’m right there ronaldoing with you. Kinda funny that the weirdest character who doesn’t speak is secretly the conspiracy and he’s chatty on his blog. And it kinda explains his voyeuristic love of introducing chaos into Steven’s life, right? He’s an audience member too. I think him appearing to teleport in the movie was an Easter egg about the timelines/his ability to cross dimensions.

In fact, (in line with Steven’s parting gifts to the Crystal Gem A and B teams) pretty sure that’s what this shot in The Future was a nod to, deeplore enthusiasts:

The human characters used here at a glance are all related to the lore/kbcs stuff, including Jane (key to rose/dogcopter/koala princess conspiracy) ppearing for the first time since the end of SU, and the shots shown after as Steven drives away also seem to place it in a particular timeline via Jeff’s Crab, (maybe the car wash?) although idk enough yet to make a definite claim

But yeeeeahhh I agree I think it’s Onion. Fascination with Steven, etc. In the Message Received post the observer also mentions having a motor scooter, which Onion has in Onion Trade.

But still have some questions. There’s a narrator who becomes self aware partly through the blog, and I’m not sure who that is. There are also a few slips - Nightmare Hospital they mistakenly call Priyanka and possibly Rose “mom”, and Gem Hunt they talk about having been on a mission, which makes me wonder if it could also be an alternate timeline Steven or possibly Stevonnie? Idk tho

in Onion Gang, it appears he and his friends are from different dimensions - he whistles to them and it shows the dark mindscape screen, then the kids show up...there’s more once you start poking at KBCS, like there’s a recurring theme of 3s and 4s that I think is about the different timelines we see in the show, but I suspect they were taking pictures of people’s doppelgangers in different dimensions or something lol. I think the posts probably have puzzles in them, but I’ve never been good at that stuff. I’m really curious about the story.

The last post also says to leave Tumblr, and KBCS has a few defunct profiles on other sites, but I’m almost positive that there’s more to KBCS on the SU Wiki in addition to other places - I think Ronaldo describing himself as a “user/editor of” a wiki was actually referring to the IRL su wiki, since the writers referred to Ronaldo as a real person when promoting his book, and KBCS knows about holidays and interacts with Ronaldo. I have a couple more reasons to think this but it’s just speculation without more lore.

Sorry for the rant, I’d love to hear your thoughts! I don’t have the stamina to keep it up nonstop but this blog blows my mind and I want to pick at it for as long as it takes lol.

I made a discord for KBCS speculation a little bit ago, edit here is the link. Feel free to come by! Tiny and quiet, just kinda toss stuff in once in a while. but i copy and pasted the full text of KBCS and some KBCW so it’s easier to search and compare things, including the Greg the Babysitter post they deleted after we came looking for it.

#kbcs lore #observer saw dr stromberg do we know if dr stromberg is a pediatrician

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i-lost-my-heart-in-republic-city · 4 years

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answer all the questions in that ask thing, or go through it and just answer all the ones u rlly rlly want to

Sorry this took so long, but you asked for all of them and Iam very emotional.

1. What episode of Steven Universe got you hooked on the show?

I started watching shortly after Jailbreak came out so I’m not sure if I can pinpoint exactly where I got hooked, but I think it was around Coach Steven of Mirror Gem/Ocean Gem when it really got me. Although, I will say when Sworn to the Sword came out, that’s really when I knew this was it for me.

2. Are you the type to watch episodes as they air, or do you just get your fill of Steven Universe online?

I tried to live watch episode premieres as much as I could, or watch them the day they were posted online by CN. I really tried to make an event out of them, and I’m glad I did.

3. What’s your favorite quote out of the entire show?

It’s really hard to pick just one. Maybe “You have to be honest about how bad it feels, so that you can move on.” - Connie in Mindful Education. Really feeling that one right now.

4.In what ways has Steven Universe inspired you?

I really feel like it has inspired me to live. I havestruggled with depression and anxiety since a young age, so it can be hard todo that. Steven Universe gave me something to look forward to, made the world abetter place. When I was hurting it provided me with comfort and happiness. Thereisn’t another show out there that’s like it for me.

5. Has Steven Universe actually taught you lessons?

Yes, oh god yes. It has helped me to be more honest withmyself and with others. I don’t think I would’ve come out to my family if itweren’t for this show. Over the years, it has really helped me to learn to letgo of shame, and guilt, and self-hatred I had carried around for so long. I wouldn’tbe the person I am today without this show.

6. Favorite character design and why?

I really liked Garnet’s wedding outfit, mixing both the gownand tux. I’m a big Garnet/Rupphire stan and it was just great to see them embracethe queerness of the whole situation, and that it was love, something to becelebrated.

7. Has the show ever gotten an intense emotional reactionout of you? (ex - crying, fear, anger)

I’m crying right now about it, does that answer yourquestion?

8. Do you associate any songs with any characters in StevenUniverse?

I associate Can’t Hold Me by Emily King with Stevonnie becauseit was used in that episode, and I love Stevonnie.

9. Gush about your all-time favorite episode real quick.Just go on a long, rambling tangent about how much you love it. Do it. We’relistening.

For the series proper, it’s Reunited. I love that episode somuch and it makes me cry every time I watch it. Growing up I fell into the ‘notlike other girls’ phase because I was not interested in love and romance likeall my friends seemed to be, and I had no desire to go on dates with guys. Irealize now that I rejected these things because they didn’t fit me. I didn’t wantto be with a guy, and never saw myself in any of the traditional media. Ireally am a bit of a hopeless romantic though. Now that I am more confident inmyself, and understand my feelings better, I’ve really gotten to enjoy thispart of myself.

Ruby and Sapphire are the first couple I really got to experiencethis with, seeing them being cute and together and in love, and the wedding isthe accumulation of all of that. Getting to see these two women in love witheach other celebrate that love as the beautiful thing it truly is means theworld to me. After years of watching this show and growing with it, this episodewas the moment were I finally let go of all my self-hatred for being queer. I justknew in my soul that every hateful thing I had heard or been told about beingqueer was wrong, and that this was the truth, love was the truth. It wasn’tsomething instantaneous, it was something I had been working towards for years,but this episode marked the turning point for me.

10. Gush about your all-time favorite SU character realquick. Just go on a long, rambling tangent about how much you love them. Do it.We’re listening.

I already gushed about Ruby/Sapphire/Garnet a little, solets do Pearl. I just love how even after all she’s been through, she is stillsuch an independent spirit. I know her whole past with Pink/Rose wascomplicated but she still isn’t here to let anyone tell her what to do. She’ssmart, and creative, and resourceful, and goofy and she knows these things butshe also has a lot of self-doubt and seeks validation from others. I relate.But she worked through those things and is in a better state now. Even thoughshe still hurts and is still dealing with the trauma, she is so much better.

I also really relate to how she feels about loving someoneand them not feeling the same way/it not working out. As much as I love Rubyand Sapphire’s relationship, I also think I need Pearl. She defined herself forso long by her relationship but she is her own amazing person. Growing up, Isaw many messages about not letting a relationship with a boy define you. Butwhat about a relationship with a girl? I think there can be so much pressure toprove that you’re really gay by always being in that kind of relationship. ThatI’m not truly queer because of my lack of experiences with women. But that isn’ttrue. Being queer is a part of who I am and that doesn’t change just because Iam or am not in a relationship. My feelings can still be an important part ofme without having to define me by my relationship status, just like Pearl.

11. What fusions do you want to see in the show, and whowould you like them to be voiced by?

I would probably most like to see a fusion of Steven andLapis. Her only experience with fusion was her toxic relationship with Jasper.So I would really like her to have a positive experience with fusion, based ofthe friendship and love she and Steven have for each other. I have no idea whowould voice them though.

12. Which episode do you think has the best aesthetics?

I mean Steven’s fusion dance in Change Your Mind isabsolutely gorgeous. James Baxter ain’t a legend for nothing, and I’m gladRebecca held on to that favor from him. Just everything, Connie’s little walkback, the way White Diamonds eyes open, its all wonderful.

13. List any headcanons you have about any characters.

Pearl is in a happy polyamorous relationship with Bismuth,Volleyball, and Amethyst.

14. Favorite arc out of the show? Why?

The Wedding Arc for reasons I’ve already talked about above,but also Diamond Days because it was everything the whole series was buildingtowards. Just the whole message about how systems hurt people who are deemed ‘different’but that there is hope for a better future with compassion and love, and notbeing afraid to share your feelings is something I really needed.

15. Have you ever made any jokes based on the show? Whichones were the funniest?

So many. One of my most popular was this post from way backwhen in early 2016.

Want a joke for the final? Maybe the real treasure insideRose’s chest was the friends we made along the way.

16. Most misleading episode summary of all time?

I know people freaked out about Rocknaldo because cartoonnetwork promoted it by advertising the appearance of a new gem. I mean, youcould argue technically it was true because Ronaldo made a gemsona, but that isdefinitely not what people took it to mean. I wasn’t really buying it though,cause the title was Rocknaldo. People hate on that episode and I think it’sbecause of the false advertising. It’s really funny though and has one of thebest jokes. “Rock people. They’re putting fluoride in the water supply- Whatthe-They hate men?!”

17. Has Steven Universe inspired any creative ideas ofyours?

I rewrote sleeping beauty but with lesbians because of thisshow. Does that count?

18. If you are a fanartist, which SU character is theeasiest for you to draw?

Not a fanartist, but Amethyst is the easiest for me to drawbecause she’s basically just circles.

19. If you are a fanartist, which SU character is thehardest for you to draw?

Maybe White Diamond, because she’s so detailed. Also, I strugglewith Pearl’s nose lol.

20. If you are a fanfic writer, which SU character is theeasiest for you to write?

Not really a fanfic writer, but Ruby and Sapphire maybebecause I’m gushy like that.

21. If you are a fanfic writer, which SU character is thehardest for you to write?

Jasper. I have a complicated relationship with her, but Iloved her in Future.

22. Have ever practiced voice acting using SU characters? Ifso, which character can you do the most successful impression of?

I don’t practice voice acting, but I do mimic lines from theshow. I think I sound most like White Diamond, hoo boy.

23. Have you ever sang along to SU songs? Which one is theeasiest for you to sing along to?

All the time, in the car, in the shower, around my house. Myfavorite is Here Comes a Thought, because it just helps me so much with myanxiety. The Tale of Steven and Let Us Adore You are definitely in the sweetspot of my vocal range though.

24. Have you ever imagined any of the human characters asgems?

Not really, I’ve more so imagined the gems as humans.

25. Are you big on AUs? Have you created anyyourself?

I like human gem AUs and college AUs.

#Steven Universe #Steven Universe Future #Pearl #Ruby and Sapphire #su spoilers #Reunited #Change Your Mind #teakayblog #this some person shit for me to me talking about tho #for real

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seventeendeer · 5 years

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Top five SU episodes?

1. the movie

this is cheating a bit bc of course a full length movie with a higher budget than the series is going to be good, BUT WITH THAT SAID, the movie just really knocked it out of the park, in my opinion! the songs were fantastic, it was really well structured, the visuals were even prettier than normal, and of course ,, Spinel was there ,,, I just really connected with her and I absolutely adore how strong her presence is in the story. I got big big love for villains that are both funny and genuinely scary, she’s got so much flair! I feel like the movie also pulled off emotional moments that were more raw and painful than the rest of show has up until this point. I 100% respect that the series generally keeps the characters’ emotions relatively grounded, because there’s more space to address all the nuances in a problem when the characters get to talk things out properly most of the time, but the sheer drama of the movie was fantastic to watch and hurt in a completely different way. the climax especially felt like a punch in the gut. Steven finally snapping at Spinel, Spinel’s rage and violence, an uplifting song sung during a fierce one-on-one battle, and Spinel finally breaking down crying as she realizes that killing Steven isn’t going to make her feel better all came together to make such a painfully real image of conflict that totally killed my feelings. again, I appreciate that the original series wasn’t often like this, it’s good for different reasons, but the movie resonated with me in a completely different way because of it. I’m glad Future is leaning into this kind of drama more and I’m very excited to see where it goes!

2. Last One Out of Beach City

totally opposite my feelings about the movie, I love that Last One Out is so super low-stakes. it’s a really pleasant episode to watch. seeing the characters just hanging out and having fun is a great time, and I think this is one of the funniest episodes in the show. it also has a really great escapism-y feeling to it, like, who wouldn’t wanna hop in a car, put on a leather jacket and some cool music, run from the cops, have a meet-cute with a large pink-haired punk lady and then go to a party? I think part of my love for it is also that it contains so many little details that mirror my own experience as a lesbian. of course I love Ruby and Sapphire, but they’re Experienced Gays who have had each other for thousands of years and know exactly who they are in relation to their identity. Pearl is a mess who’s trying to put herself back together and take her first unsteady steps towards being a functioning gay, and that’s exactly where I’ve been in my life too for the last several years. trying to catch up on all the fun irresponsible stuff you missed out on previously because you had a full-time job just keeping yourself alive is hard. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a story that put that feeling into such accessible packaging before and it feels so validating.

3. Reunited

this episode is so good in so many ways! of course the big thing was Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding, and them getting to kiss. it was such a huge moment. I remember as a kid, I never thought I’d see something like this for at least another thirty years. what Rebecca Sugar and the rest of the crew have done for queer kids (and queer adults like me, who didn’t get to have this when we were little) can’t be praised enough, I am truly personally grateful to them for fighting this battle for us and sparking a wave of other media that is now allowed to follow her example. also the wedding was just beautifully and heartwarmingly executed, I love that it was allowed to be completed before the Diamonds came. the fight against the Diamonds is also super stellar, it was so cool to see all the characters fight in their formal wear! in general, this episode was just fantastic and I loved it.

4. Jailbreak

the original ‘make Sketcher cry because gays get to be on children’s television now’ episode! I remember I could barely believe it when this episode first came out and Ruby and Sapphire were as confirmed to be in love as they were allowed to be at the time. aside from that, I think it’s also Jasper’s best episode, and she was my favorite character for a while. I love how beautifully she’s drawn in this episode, and how genuinely threatening she gets to be. later episodes portraying her more as Lapis’ stalker ex and a pathetic brute was ... a little bit of a letdown when she started off as such an imposing villain (which seems to be intentional, but I reserve the right to be a lil sad about it) (also why is she drawn so unsettlingly detailed in later episodes? Jailbreak portrays her as super beautiful in a scary tiger woman kind of way, but in later episodes she’s rarely if ever drawn as pretty?). anyway, Jailbreak was awesome and really marked a turning point for the show where it went from great to fantastic storytelling, and I’ll always remember it fondly!

5. Jungle Moon

this one is just cool tbh. loved seeing a whole episode with Stevonnie, loved seeing another planet up close with alien life that weren’t gems, super loved seeing Pink Diamond for real for the first time. ‘stranded on an alien planet’ is such a fun story idea. also Rose/Pink has been one of my favorite characters since the beginning of the show and it was so interesting to learn more about her, even if I didn’t know they were the same person yet! just an overall excellent episode that I like to rewatch sometimes.

#sketchertalkssu #Anonymous #thesketcherasks

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bluekayanite · 4 years

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Comments/theories: In Dreams - Homeworld Bound

So I kind of missed the SU:F updates for a bit. ^_^; That said, I'm caught up now, and have some misc. comments that I figured I'd share... before the next eps or two comes out. XD;

...That said, I was actually working on this when I'd heard that Homeworld Bound was out already. -.-; It's on XFinity Stream, at least - and I suspect other streaming services - so I consider it "officially released." I've since adjusted to implement the new info. However, I'm making the comments in an ep-by-ep structure, so if you want to avoid spoilers, you can easily stop once you get here. =3

I'd also like to note that this one's more rambly than usual, so prepare yourself for rambles. XD

EDIT: Some adjustments, mostly additions. EDIT2: Couple more little deets. EDIT3: Few more MAJOR deets. XD;

Just a quick note: my current, primary theory is that, even with everything that seems to be glaringly obvious, White also has the power to alter Gems' memories and such, and Rose was not truly Pink Diamond (or at least, in a sense, not THE Pink Diamond). Lately, I basically think that she may be a sort of a hybrid, or at least that Pink put a lot of herself into Rose... lately I've even suspected that it might be even more literal than I've previously noted... as in, Pink may have prepped some healing tears and broken off a shard of herself... or something. ._.;;;

But yeah, I figured I'd note this in advance because, well... I realize it sounds crazy. It's going to be mentioned, so I ask for a bit of open-mindedness - or at least a willingness to entertain the idea, even if you think it's wrong (and I don't blame you if you do). Frankly, I wouldn't be surprized if a lot of people would have already closed this post before getting to this sentence. (That said, if you're still here, thank you!)

With that out of the way, let's get going!

In Dreams

Okay, so Crewniverse was definitely being self-aware, and using meta-humor. XD

I've commented here before that previous eps had a building feeling of listlessness and whatnot. My sister also has commented (not in a place I can link XD; ) that the opening theme gets more and more jarring with each episode. The both of us think that odds are pretty good that they'll switch to using something the reprise version of the theme. XD; ("Here we are in the future, and it's wrooooong!")

...That said, while things have been getting intense (not to mention REAL!), I do appreciate that we seem to be moving out of "boredom" eps. XD;

The dreams-being-broadcast thing is more-than-likely a bit of setup for later story points. I'm thinking "Emergency broadcast."

On an entirely different note, I like the confirmation that Peridot has green eyes. =3

Been sort of a headcanon of mine for awhile now. ^_^

Also, is it just me, or is Peridot getting taller? 83

Anyway, it's nice to have a bit of lighthearted funtimes in the midst of all the seriousness that has been going on. =3

Bismuth Casual

So... those toilet paper jokes certainly ended up being at an ironic time, right? XD;

Anyway, one of the things that stuck out to me is how increasingly obvious Pearl's obliviousness is.

One of my long-standing theories is that Rose saw Pearl more like a daughter, if anything... and didn't realize - or even have a clue that Pearl had a thing for her.

And I mean, really, if Pearl can't tell whether any human - or Gem - is into her, then how could she know for sure whether or not Rose did (or didn't)? Odds are she's just going by her memories... which I strongly believe to be unreliable, what with how many contradictions they have. ^_^;

Together Forever

(...Does anyone else keep hearing the old Pokémon song by the same name in their head? ^_^; )

...Okay, I'm gonna confess: it actually didn't occur to me that either Steven or Ruby was supposed to be "cute" until it was mentioned in Hit the Diamond and Sadie Killer. (I didn't count Andy saying it in Gem Harvest because I figured he had a family bias. ^_^; I mean, he did make a complete and abrupt 180 about the parts of his plane being recycled, once it was Steven who started using them.)

...Cuteness is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. XD;

I guess I can see how Crewniverse was going for "cute" with Steven... Still, about the only time I've considered "Steven" to be cute - visually or otherwise - was after that last bout of Ultimate Steven tag.

...Yeah, I think that the Gems did the puppy-dog eyes better than Steven did. ^_^; I mean, I would call Steven "sweet," "silly," and a number of other things. Just... "cute" isn't typically one of them for me. ^_^;

That said, there are moments when I think that Ruby is being cute. =3 One of them is when she RAEGING.

Another one is when she's being happy... especially when she's super-excited.

So yeah. =3 For me, it was pretty nice to see Ruby spazzing like that. It's also kind of nice to see Steven eating sweets again... even if it's for unfortunate reasons.

...yeah.

It's also nice to see R+S's new forms. =3

The headband is back! 83

(...Why hasn't there been a mention of Sapphire being cute? She seems like the most obvious choice. XD; )

On another topic... So it’s not just Pearls that can store stuff in their gems? o.O

Anyway, part of my theory is that [Pink is really trapped in the moon base's observation orb], which she can use to see some of what's going on. When Pink is watching, the moon might show up, and/or the sky might turn pink (usually around dawn/dusk) - the more intense either of these things are, the more intensely she's watching.

Looking back at when either of these happen, I've noticed that:

She seems to be a 'shipper

She particularly 'ships Steven + Connie

This ep certainly continues with that pattern. 83 Heck, I think that the extra lights on the horizon might even be from Pink - maybe even intentional on her part.

Even after the turn-down, the moon still showed, BRIGHTLY - at least until Garnet got there.

I also noticed the moon at the end of Little Graduation - in general, I'm getting an impression that Pink has been wanting to help Steven... but obviously, she wouldn't be able to.

However, that said, with the way things are looking, I think that she's going to get her chance, shortly... more on that farther down. =3

Side note: The glowstick-bracelet “ring” is a nice touch. =3

Other side note: JAM BUDS REFERENCE! 83

Also: Strawberry. =3

Also-also: it seems like Garnet actually does tend to give some pretty good love advice.

"Your soulmate is your compliment, not your missing piece. [...] Whatever hole there is in your life, Steven, I want you to understand that Connie - Stevonnie - won't be able to fill it." - Garnet, Together Forever

...Also-also, my suspicions about Garnet sorta being three people keep growing. XD;

...Incidentally, I’ve mentioned before that I think that Connie is probably ace and/or aro (though I didn’t know the latter term at the time).

Growing Pains

On the funny (at least to me) side, I noticed that Dr. Maheswaren checked for Steven’s heartbeat on his right side (which, ironically, would be the wrong side XD).

There actually is a genetic condition that can flip the positioning of the internal organs, though I’m pretty sure that it’s simply an oversight in this case. For one, Dr. Maheswaren shouldn’t think to check there unless she’d checked the usual positioning, first. For another... it’s actually not the only slip up in that shot; Steven’s gem has a hexagonal crown instead of the usual pentagonal one. (This happens a lot, especially on Quartzes.) The biggest thing, however, is that Steven actually does grab the left side of his chest later on.

But yeah, just some stuff that I thought maybe some other people might consider interesting. =3

Anyway...

So it's FINALLY established that Steven has PTSD... and appears to be having panic attacks. Frankly, for a long time, I was under the impression that nothing like this would ever come up. XD;;; Call me crazy, but in a weird way, this is kind of a relief for me. It makes things feel more genuine to me.

...Hmm... I wonder if part of why we haven't seen panic in other characters is because they're hiding their own PTSD? Maybe the reason why so many are just carrying on is as a sort of coping mechanism. Maybe the also don't want anyone to worry.

...Or maybe this is an effect of this being a cartoon. >.>; I mean, as much as I can see that Crewniverse is trying to touch on a lot of hard topics (and I appreciate that), we can only expect it to be so realistic. Plus, a good story needs a bit of balance to it - as nice as it is to see the worrying stuff, it needs a good balance, or else it tends to be overwhelming.

In particular, I've been reminded that SU:F does have a number of much-younger viewers - I think we need to bear in mind that they probably aren't likely to handle this stuff as well as the older audiences. ^_^;

But yeah, I'm definitely glad that at least there's something, and the reaction seems fairly realistic (at least as far as having a half-Gem character goes). Even the fact that there was a delay is fairly realistic... maybe a bit more of a delay than usual, but... I guess Steven is half-Gem?

Also: cartoon. XD;

And of course, it's really fascinating to see the medical aspect of Gems (or a lack thereof).

And of course, the sneaking in of an Amethyst-behavior joke. X3

Also: you can see Steven's chart in two of the transitions. 83

(Assuming Dr. Maheswaren got his height right... I’m actually admittedly jealous that he’s actually taller than me - especially since it looks to me like he should be shorter. XD; )

Also-also: I noticed that a lot of things that had nothing to do with Steven's life being in danger got referenced. ^_^; Granted, I'm sure they're still important to him, but I thought I'd still bring it up.

I also couldn't help but notice there being a direct reference to Adverse Childhood Experiences, which is an actual term. I suppose Steven's are unusual... but whatever the form, ACEs can still be pretty impactful. =/

...I do wonder if Crewniverse knows anything about Childhood Emotional Neglect. It's supposedly an even bigger impact than abuse and whether one recovers from it. That said, AFAIK it's lesser-known - even the term was coined less than a decade ago (2012, if I've got my dates right). It's mentioned on the list of ACEs... I think? But it's not very well defined there, so... it's hard to know.

At any rate, it definitely seems like a thing that could be a factor... more on that farther down.

Mr. Universe

It was nice to see Steven and Greg getting some bonding time in... even if it was short-lived. ^_^;

Can't help but wonder whether or not Steven's eating a veggie burger. XD;

Steven drooling in his sleep... it's been a headcanon/theory of mine that maybe Pink does that. X3

Okay, so maybe this is a cute picture of Steven... now that he's more grown-up. X3

Anyway, It's nice to learn some more about Greg's side of the family. Especially since - aside from the strictness - they really do seem like they're probably nice people.

I mean, for one, they still kept reminders of Greg - his stuff, pictures of the whole fam, and even his letters... even if they never opened them.

(...Is it just me, or does Greg's mom look an awful lot like Connie's?)

And based on their stuff, I think it's pretty likely that they at least have a gentle side... even if maybe they didn't know how to properly use it with Greg. XD; (Or maybe they're simply an appearance-conscious family. ^_^; ...Which is apparently considered a gaslighting type of parenting-style. =/)

In any case, I hope we meet them, later. =3 Maybe they've mellowed out... or maybe they will as soon as they meet Steven. X3

My sis pointed out that Dear Old Dad plays - as in, the song from the last ep Steven and Greg fought in. Only this time, it didn't end out well. ^_^; Quoth her, "That's some next-generation foreshadowing!"

But yeah, I can see why Greg might be so frustrated at his parents that he would want to change his surname. ^_^; ...And I can also see why Steven would be upset at Greg going as far as he did. =/ Pendulum effect: being so upset by one extreme that you go just as far into the other extreme, and it sounds like Steven paid for it. -.-;

This is part of what I mean by Childhood Emotional Neglect potentially being a factor... though in general, Greg's hands-off parenting style could very well fit in as a form of emotional neglect - parents who are just kind of buddies and try to give comfort on everything kind of avoid a lot of the issues, instead of teaching their kids how to deal with them, including on an emotional level. ^_^;

But yeah, the fact that Greg apparently didn't consider whether Steven might still want some of the usual aspects of childhood seems like it could also count. ^_^; At the very least, it's common for Well-Meaning-But-Emotionally-Neglected-Themselves parents to give their kids what they wish they had in childhood, without actually considering whether it's what the children themselves want.

It's also common for emotional neglect to be passed on through families in ways such as this, so... seems like it could be a thing.

Oh, and you know how Steven also had to be "the adult" for the Gems a lot? That also counts as CEN. XD; Heck, that link even mentions the need to care for others that Steven continues to struggle with.

The parts about Steven trying to hide his struggles would also fit in with CEN, though his knowledge of emotions - and vocabulary thereof - does seem to be pretty big. I can't help but wonder if CEN is something that's being inserted in more as a retcon, but wasn't planned at the beginning. I mean... CEN was just being figured out around the time that the original SU series came out, so it seems pretty unlikely that it was the original plan. I could see Crewniverse trying to work it in now, though.

...It's also possible that it's not really what they're going for and that it's sort of included by accident. XD; I mean, there's often more than one way to arrive at the same conclusion, even coming from the same set of information, at times.

But yeah, CEN is important to me, and it's nice to see that it might be a part of the show. =3

Fragments

Okay, so that first convo was chock-full of examples on what NOT to say to someone who’s panicking. ^_^;

And those are just a few of them. ^_^;

I think that this is probably foreshadowing, and/or a setup for something coming shortly. More on this farther down.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only one who was thinking back to Why So Blue? XD;

(Or, belatedly, Strong in the Real Way.)

I do think Jasper has kind of a point about learning to control anger by using it. All-in-all, though, I think she's only about half-right. ^_^; The parts about using it solely in violence... yeah

I see Steven’s eating fish, again. =3

It’s also neat to see him chopping wood with his hands. X3

...Not to mention Jasper’s new helmet. 83

It looks to me like Pink might have noticed some training, or at least may have been looking around the area.

...I suspect that she doesn't know about all the details, though. ^_^;

Homeworld Bound

Okay, first off, I think that Garnet may have said the family thing for Future Vision reasons - probably related to what the Diamonds said, even if she doesn't know that.

And now that that's out of the way, I was really glad to see Spinel again. =3

It does seem a bit weird that she's around as tall as Steven when she was shorter than him in the movie.

And I'm pretty sure that Steven's gotten even taller since the movie. XD; Though maybe Yellow made Spinel taller...?

EDIT: I remembered that she probably wouldn’t be the first. Could be a pattern.

Anyway, I also like the confirmation that Yellow's and Blue's powers seem to be about affecting the forms of Gems, and their emotions, in general - I've made a little spreadsheet (vaguely) touching on stuff like that, before.

Also, Blue getting a full song of her own. Plus, the implications that Blue's powers are probably water-related. =3

(Who wants to try one of Blue's happy clouds? *raises hand* =D)

Not to mention Spinel doing the hammock hair thing. X3

*ahem* However... this is the second time one of the eps has felt like it's been full of Gems that are more-or-less hypnotised (the first one being Familiar). A little too happy and/or nonchalant, and a little too conclusion-jump-ish. =/ (Especially Yellow for that last one. XD; ) Steven's even pointed stuff like this this out.

Which... White acted also that way. If she really does have mind control powers, I think that this might be a sign that she's still using them, even on Blue and Yellow. ^_^;

Another thing that I think is odd is that the Diamonds were all taking initiative in doing good stuff. In the movie, it seemed pretty clearly like they were only doing good things in order to try and please Steven and get him to stay with them.

White in particular was still disgusted at the idea of thinking of others as “equal.” XD;

They were even willing to move to Earth, leaving all those hurt Gems behind, instead of trying to do anything for them. =/

And yet, despite all that, Spinel in particular felt a little too weird to me (somehow XD; ). A little too unconcerned about Steven's feelings, a little too relaxed and... blissful? ^_^; She actually handwaved the "embarrassing" issue of having tried to kill Steven.

This is the second time we've seen something like this. =/

In a way, maybe Spinel's a little too close to her original personality, in general - as in, maybe less "healed" and more "reverted." =/

I mean, it's only been... a few months? If I understand correctly? Difficult thoughts and such do not just evaporate like that - ESPECIALLY if they're more-or-less intrusive ones. =/

And a lot of the time, it seems like her voice and intonation is closer to what she had with her original personality. ...It does seem kind ambiguous, though I suspect that that’s on purpose. XD;

Here's what I think to be the kicker, though: you know the song she started singing when Steven asked how she stopped having vengeful thoughts?

It's the same song that Spinel said had said would NOT make everything better. XD;

"Just can it, won't ya?! You can't just make everything better by singing some STUPID SONG!" - Spinel, SU Movie

(Incidentally, I noticed that the moon actually did show up - rather obviously - during said song. Whoops. ^_^; It looks like Pink has probably seen Spinel’s “evil” form, after all.)

Also... Quite honestly, the way Spinel mentions not getting vengeful thoughts anymore makes her seem... "drugged" to me. ^_^;

Possibly-similarly... this line seems odd to me.

For Spinel to tell Steven that White's powers work in reverse, she'd have to know:

How White's powers worked in the first place

That Steven knows how White's powers worked in the first place

I mean, I guess it's not impossible that White's powers are/were common knowledge, but... I dunno. XD; It would have to mean letting Gems know that White could control them outright... and that White had used her powers on Steven's friends. ^_^; I guess it's also possible that this was told to Spinel as a way of trying to bond over/help with the "tried to kill Steven" thing but... yeah, again, I dunno. ^_^; If that were the case, it's possible that Spinel would mention it, rather than bursting out into song.

At any rate, I'm not ruling out mind-affecting as a possible reason for her knowledge.

So... yeah. I suspected that White acted the way she did when seeing Spinel because Spinel knew (or otherwise had) something that White wanted to be kept hidden. I kind of suspected that poor Spinel would get hit by White's powers pretty much right away, and to me, it looks like she did, and was placated a la mind-control. =(

Speaking of White... I'm guessing that the "pink-colored White" in the intro was actually Steven controlling her, or something. ^_^;

If so, then that's interesting twist on what's considered a "danger"...

...though that said, it looks like White managed to shed the pinkish tinge she had in the movie.

Now it seems to depend on the lighting, and is a fair bit fainter.

(Upper pic: purple. Lower pic: brown.)

So... that said, I wouldn't rule out that maybe she found a way to keep the pink from getting worse - heck, maybe that's even one of the reasons why she's letting Gems control her, briefly. Maybe it somehow keeps the pink from growing more saturated, or something.

So... yeah, while I think there's a good chance that the foreshadowed "Pink White" is already touched on, I'm not entirely ruling out that it might still be coming. I mean, the theory that I was going with was that [Rose's gemstone had a virus in it], that Pink made specifically for White. Possible circumstances to trigger the virus include:

Removing Rose's gemstone from whoever Rose’s child would be

Touching Rose's gemstone, in general

Trying to remove Rose from her gemstone - especially if from her child

Mind- and memory-manipulation on Rose's gemstone, in general

It's also possible that more than one trigger was programmed in.

Possible reasons for a virus include:

Trying to force White to learn empathy

Exposing White

In case the worst more-or-less happened

Prankage

Though yeah, if Rose's/Steven's gemstone really does have a virus in it, or something, I think odds are that White letting Steven control her is going to accelerate it. XD;

Also thought I'd note: while Spinel!White accurately reflects the colors of Spinel, Steven!White seems to better resemble Pink Steven than Pink Diamond, or Rose.

...Don't wanna dig up comparison pics, but I still thought I'd bring it up. XD;

Anyway, I can't help but wonder if there's some sort of deeper meaning to the scene with giant!Steven controlling little!White - like if there's something from Pink slipping in there, and her frustrations with whatever White did to her in the past.

I mean... Steven mentioned "everything" she did to him, and there were only flashbacks of stuff from Change Your Mind. Which... yeah, sure, a lot happened in a short period of time, but... I still wonder. ^_^;

Aaaand it's becoming pretty evident that whatever traces of Pink are in Steven are coming out pretty strongly.

...On another note, the softer "Pink" hairstyle that Steven is getting might be a hint that the more-solid, five-lump "Steven" style that Pink is sometimes shown with is not her actual style. ;3

(My personal belief is that her appearance in Jungle Moon accurately reflects what she looks like - everything else is probably tainted by memory-alteration a la White.)

...anyway...

My guess(es) on what's next

Okay, I was previously assuming that Steven would first fight the worm-thing (which I thought might have been a mutated Jasper, after getting all that essence-of-Diamond in one dose XD; ). I was also speculating about White having turned a much-more-intense shade of pink, accusing Steven of it, and a fight breaking out between the two (with a note that it might be a good thing that Steven's learned to better control his Diamond powers =D; ).

Now it’s looking like the “Pink White” may have already been covered... or maybe it’s still being foreshadowed. Hard to say at this point.

That said, I think there's still a good chance that White will still try to follow Steven for one reason or another, despite his plea not to. I mean, it looks like she may have genuinely been impacted by what happened with Steven controlling her... or at least terrified. XD;

She still asked him to wait, despite that.

Steven did leave his shoe behind, a la Cinderella. This could be a hint about someone following him and returning it to him. Maybe there'll be something about it fitting after he's calmed down? =3

Though... yeah. Maybe letting Steven puppet her will result in her turning pink and coming after him for it. Or maybe White will still try to follow out of more a compassionate reason - or just to “fix him, like she’s apparently done with so many other Gems XD - and Steven will try to keep her away.

In any case, I’m thinking that odds are that Steven will end up getting in a fight with What, and that it will end up being on Earth, at least at some point during the struggle. If so, I tend to imagine something like this happening:

If Pink observes a fight between the two, it might be enough for the moon + sky thing to trigger in broad daylight. If so, then the fact that there's someone on the moon who can turn the sky pink will be impossible to miss. XD Even if it's not a fight that does it, I think odds are good that something like that will be how Pink being up there would be revealed, as well as working as a quick explanation that the moon + sky color are actually important.

If something like that does happen, then I think that White will finally fess up about messing with Gems' memories + thoughts and imprisoning Pink in the orb. I mean... she'd basically be backed into a corner. It also seems like she's getting to a point where she'd consider telling Steven anyway - just maybe she'd freak out and back out first, and/or the sky would beat her to it. XD;

I've also considered that maybe Steven's powers would get strong enough that he could be contacted by Pink in his dreams, anyway - they're not mutually-exclusive, so maybe both will happen?

But yeah. There's plenty of evidence of a moon prisoner, and plenty of that evidence highly suggests that it's Pink. I know I always say this, but I think it's time - maybe even well-past-time XD; - for Pink to be released.

A few possible roles of Pink (plus rambles)

Think about it: just about everyone that Steven knows - or is close to, at least - has been failing him in one way or another. No one seems to know what's the best way to help him, or even fully understand just what exactly he might be going through - even White said that no one would be able to relate to him... but I don't think that's fully true.

Sure, maybe nobody could easily, and/or fully relate to the half-human thing, but I think there's a chance that, say, Lapis, Peridot and Bismuth could at least help with the "vengeful thoughts" thing.

But Pink, Pink could probably help with the powers, and maybe a few other things. I mean, they're probably her powers - or at least a variation of them. Heck, she may be even more powerful than Steven is. XD If anyone could help Steven get things under control, Pink can.

Heck, maybe Pink even knows how to help calm down somebody who’s having a panic attack - or at least knows how to help Steven with his panic. Given that nobody else seems to know about this, it seems pretty likely that it might be what Crewniverse is going for. =3 And hey... if nothing else, maybe it’s something she picked up just from watching the Earth for so long. (I mean... if she’s really been stuck for 5,000 years, odds are that she’s picked up on a few things. Not like she’d have an awful lot else to do, anyway. XD; )

I admit... it’d be a little extra cool to me since I’ve had the idea that it might be something that Pink would do. 83 Sort of a headcanon/fanfic idea that I never really got to or anything. XD;

But yeah, at this point, I think odds are good that Steven will more-or-less beg Pink to stay with him for awhile. XD

I mean... maybe they could ask Pink Pearl (I really don't like the name "Volleyball," sorry XD; ) about Steven’s powers, but I think she might still have too much trauma of her own over Pink's powers to really be able to help. ^_^;

...Though that said, I've suspected that White placated her, too. If her traumas can still show through... I think odds are good that others' traumas will end up resurfacing - and thus being addressed - too. =3

...But yeah, it seems like White's MO involved making everyone just forget about things, and/or suddenly become happy. ^_^; ...Another form of emotional neglect, I suppose.

I also it's possible that part of the reason why Steven is having trouble is because White did something to him. =/ I mean, if White really did remove whatever was left of Rose, then she may have removed an important part of Steven... and if she added something to him, it might be a big part of why he's so... unstable. -.-;

...Heck, maybe the reason why Steven's been getting white Diamond-pupils is because White did something to him. o.O Maybe that why Steven!White has them, too, despite Spinel!White having black pupils.

At any rate, maybe the real Pink could shed some light on that, too. ...And/or maybe White will fess up. XD; I think the latter is much, much more likely in this case, though.

I do think that, once Pink is released, it's likely to result in a lot of chaos, on account of Gems learning that things aren't how they thought they were - just one of many reasons why I think that White has still left her in there. ^_^; However, that said, maybe Pink could end up being a catalyst in bringing those problems to the surface, so that they can be addressed. XD;

But yeah. Overall, I think one of her roles would be in healing... just like with Rose, Steven, and their powers. I think she'd also be good for helping uncover the truth of what really happened, along with other things.

Could be ironic; it's Steven Universe: Future, but there might end up being a lot of looking at the past. Granted, maybe that's the point: look to the past to better understand the future. =3

#su:f #su:f theories #suf theories #rose quartz wasn't pink diamond #white diamond's mind control #theories

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kittyprincessofcats · 6 years

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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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dasha-aibo · 5 years

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funny,last I watched,the closest to thing to them being "sexualized" was a guy crushing on them briefly in their first appearance because he thought they were the same age. Seems y'all like to use your bias against a show to insult it's fans and enbies. Stevonnie isn't the problem here, it's whiny bitches trying to throw an unwanted shit fit in our stead who aren't even a part of our group, especially the ones who seem to think intersex is the only nonbinary identity.

They're sexualized because the act of fusion is a very thinly-veiled sex meta-

Hold the fuck up, did you just say intersex is a nonbinary identity?

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isaackuo · 5 years

Text

Starco Week5 Wrap-up!

This week was really fun! It was nice for someone to actually see the silly comics I draw! Normally, hardly anyone even notices so I rarely put in the effort of a multi-panel comic.

Here are links and explanations to my Starco Week 5 comics:

https://isaackuo.tumblr.com/post/185176588866/awkward

The one that started it all for me! I actually didn’t even notice there was a Wedding prompt later in the week. I just saw a post about “Awkward Dating Moments” and the Kellco shipper in me thought of a cute little comic that MAXIMIZED STARCO AWKWARDNESS.

So I thought, why not? It was only 3 little panels, and it mostly involved me drawing Kelly - who I find easy to draw. And I thought it was freaking hilarious.

EXPLANATION:

This comic refers to Booth Buddies, a “memorable” episode among us Starco shippers. In it, Kelly and Marco are on a wedding date, until Star Butterfly yoinks Marco away to the infamous photo booth. Then things get a little weird. In this comic, Kelly gets back by yoinking Marco to be her breakup buddy “booth buddy”, when Marco and Star are on a “wedding date” ...

https://isaackuo.tumblr.com/post/185223809716/yeah-im-a-bad-boy-princess

This one was the toughest for me, and also the weakest. I don’t follow AUs and I’m not used to thinking in terms of AUs. I tried to study the Bad Boy AU a bit, but I couldn’t think of any funny jokes for it. Honestly, I just went with the first idea I finally thought of which was vaguely funny.

EXPLANATION:

This comic references a few of the “bad” things canon Star actually did:

1) Trash a cop car in Star vs Echo Creek

2) Shoot a cop chopper out of the sky in Sad Teen Hotline

3) Murder the MHC in Cleaved

But “nice” AU Star wouldn’t do that stuff, right? So Bad Boy Marco picks up the slack for her. So ... it’s funny? I dunno, I think my sense of humor is too obtuse a lot of the time. You really need to be in deep with the show to even remember the stuff I’m referencing and make the connections?

I guess either you “get it” or ... oh well.

https://isaackuo.tumblr.com/post/185220760531/starco-snugs

Haha, this one was “controversial”. I mean ... if you read my stuff then you know I think Star was addicted to the thrill of having both Marco and Tom, the same way Marco was addicted to the thrill of two timing with Star and Hekapoo (in Night Life). I think this was cute and tragi-comic, and it’s one of my favorite parts of Star Butterfly’s character. Let her have her distinctive flaws, okay?

But apparently this also cuts a bit too close to home, since it’s one of the things hardcore Tom stans criticize Star for (both the character and the show).

Anyways ... while everyone else was going sweet lovey-dovey, I went a bit freaky. I mean ... I think of this as romantic, but maybe I’m just weird that way. Like ... just imagine. Marco Diaz consoling Star every night for breaking up with Tom, and then he gets hit by “Mind Eraser” so he gets to do it again tomorrow. Isn’t that romantic?

EXPLANATION:

This comic is based on the “Mind Eraser” spell Eclipsa teaches Moon in Total Eclipsa the Moon. It’s one of my favorite spells to make jokes around, because it’s basically the flashy thing from Men in Black.

So I ponder ... what if Star really went all out using “Mind Eraser” and she went completely nuts taking advantage of it on Marco Diaz? Okay, in Here to Help, Star rushed to skip the awkward talky talky stuff and went straight for a kiss first. Maybe she’s used to it because she’s had the confession talk with Marco dozens of times already?

Oh, I also snuck in a joke referring to how Tom didn’t let Star kiss him on the lips after they broke up. As such, the only actual Tomstar kiss shown was the Lava Lake Beach kiss Marco saw from a distance. A bit mean to the Tomstar shippers, don’t you think?

https://isaackuo.tumblr.com/post/185256268271/when-is-this-state-going-to-end-starco-road

Road Trip was a challenge for me. I wanted to minimize drawing effort since my arm was sore, but I also wanted to depict a long amount of time. So I was thinking of them taking turns driving, but I switched to a bicycle based on Honey and Clover. Using a bicycle also allowed posing them in cute ways not available with a car, so it all worked out!

I was also thinking to try and cram in a joke about Star not being able to just use magic - using the Thor reaction gif to Steve Rogers not having the internet to look up the weather meme ... but ultimately it just didn’t fit. Also, I wanted to minimize drawing effort.

EXPLANATION:

Not much going on here - there’s really only one joke. But the cuteness of Star slumping on Marco really sells this one. Apparently, everyone else also thought so, since this ended up being pretty popular.

Oh, I suppose the sheer absurdity of doing an interstate bicycle trip eastward from the California coast is also a bit funny.

https://isaackuo.tumblr.com/post/185303660951/isaackuo-sword-fight-club-xover-double-fight

I initially struggled with this prompt. I mean ... crossover double date? It’s just weird to me. How do they even know each other? How did they meet? It makes no sense?

Well, a classic Douglas Adams writing trick is to take what you’re stuck on and turn it around. And so I did. How do they even know each other? THEY DON’T. It’s just some random “Fight Club App” meetup. Once I had that epiphany, it was a matter of figuring out what couple would be the funniest to fight ...

EXPLANATION:

I’m proud of all the jokes I packed in here. Of course, we start off with the fact that this “date” is a random “Fight Club App” thing. Not only that, but it’s a Sword Fight Club. Like that’s a thing. You’re just going to randomly fight some strangers with swords. Like you’re in freaking Highlander except there’s no Prize or whatever.

But it’s funny because getting into some random fights is indeed the sort of thing Star and Marco would do for a fun date! Same with Steven and Connie, really (although this is more along the lines of Steven and Amethyst wrt Tiger Millionaire).

Then there’s the fact that Marco Diaz wore baby Mariposa to a sword fight. Who even does that? Oh right ... Queen Solaria and Queen Eclipsa. Which fandom didn’t question at all ... we just thought it was cute.

Star’s “We’re fighting kids?” is a reference to Alone Together, when Kevin freaks out that Stevonnie is actually two kids.

Marco is okay with fighting a kid, since his Season 1 karate nemesis was 8 year old Jeremy Birnbaum (remember him?).

The slit eyes Mariposa give Steven are based on the way baby Meteora looks at Marco.

Connie’s right - Star and Marco are 15 ... not all that much older than she is. But Star has been through a lot of serious stuff making her grow up young. She has lost touch with what teenagers even do (as she noted in Cornonation).

Star’s shocked at Steven’s age the same way Connie was shocked when she learned Steven’s age.

Even though Steven’s age disconnect is caused by wibbly wobbly gem hybrid growth rates, Marco assumes it’s because he “Did time in the Neverzone”. I had fun rewording that phrase until it implied something like doing a prison sentence.

The final kicker is baby Mariposa revealing she’s almost as old as Connie. This calls up fandom mixed feelings about Neverzone age ambiguity and what the heck this implies after Gone Baby Gone. And I mean ... you all saw it coming, right? You knew baby Mariposa had to be there for a reason, right? It’s funny because you see it coming a mile away.

Needless to say, this one is the one I’m most proud of. I had so much fun writing and rewriting it in my head until it was perfect! The only bad thing is that you need to be pretty familiar with both Star vs the Forces of Evil and Steven Universe to get all the jokes. But hey ... my sense of humor is obtuse like that.

https://isaackuo.tumblr.com/post/185295564211/the-honey-moon-ball-starco-wedding-prompt

This was another tough one. I already blew my best wedding joke on Day 1, and I didn’t even notice there was a Wedding Day prompt at the time!

I struggled and struggled to come up with anything. So I just latched onto the first joke I came up with. In lieu of good jokes, I tried to sell this one with sweet cute character art showing Tom being dashing and Starco being lovey dovey. Still ... this is one of my weaker ones.

EXPLANATION:

Obviously this is based on the Blood Moon Ball/Curse, but this time Tom’s hitting them with a different curse - the Honey Moon Curse.

As we find out in Curse of the Blood Moon, Star didn’t pay attention to the MC and she thought the Blood Moon light was just a fun party light. So in this comic, she’s just obliviously caressing Marco while he questions what Tom means.

I initially thought of Tom explaining that he was confused about what Marco had previously meant when he said he wanted a “honeymoon”. But then, I thought it would be funnier if it’s simply ambiguous whether or not Tom is being spiteful or a silly practical joker or what. Sometimes it’s funnier when there’s a psychological tension - you don’t know what Tom’s thinking/feeling.

https://isaackuo.tumblr.com/post/185313724836/toy-star-starco-week-5-prompt-au-of-choice

Another one which was initially tough for me. I’m just not familiar with AUs, so I knew I’d have to make up my own. But what? Nothing clicked until ... TOY STORY! After that stroke of brilliance, there were too many ideas. The hard part was paring things down into a manageable short comic.

I’m most proud of the INSANE look of Princess Star tapping her Wand at Diaz. And also the Pony Head box for Princess Star.

Anyway, the great thing about Toy Star is that I didn’t need to fill in much detail in order for the reader to imagine a whole world around it. I mean ... we all know and love Toy Story. It’s part of our cultural consciousness. So it’s really easy to imagine some fun enemies-to-buddies story just from a few suggestions.

EXPLANATION:

The boxed Princess Star bonking Diaz off the bed is actually not quite how it happened in Toy Story. But close enough! (We don’t actually get to see the majesty of a boxed Buzz Lightyear until Toy Story 2.)

Princess Star has ball jointed arms similar to Buzz Lightyear while Diaz is a flexible stuffed doll like Woody. I left off “Butterfly” because “Princess Star” feels more self centered and self important.

Diaz is named “Diaz” just to make Jackie’s line sound more intimate and personal.

Mermaid Jackie is, of course, a reference to the popular fan theory that Jackie was a mermaid. This “Sunny Atlantis” mermaid is a reference to the Pixar short Knick Knack. She’s an aquarium decoration, rather than a toy. This is a reference to how Woody’s girlfriend Bo Peep was also not a toy (she was a lamp).

The mermaid in Knick Knack has shades rather than eyes. So that’s why mermaid Jackie is lifting up shades to look down toward Diaz.

The panel where Diaz is getting out from under Adam’s bed is directly based on a Toy Story screenshot. The original does have a cactus pictured on the bedspread. I thought it would be kinda funny if it’s ambiguous what sort of “cactuses” broke Diaz’s fall.

The “must be some mistake” panel is also directly based on a Toy Story screenshot.

Princess Star immediately trying to Narwhal Blast Diaz indicates she’s even crazier than Buzz Lightyear. Buzz merely shifted around pointing his laser arm at Woody. Oh - the “psycho” look in her face really sells this, I think.

The fact that Princess Star is somehow aware she has to tap the button on her wand to activate it is ... well I think it’s funny. (The button placement, of course, is plainly designed for human use.)

Princess Star requesting a nearby Quest Buy is a reference to Quest Buy, the episode where they go to Quest Buy to buy a wand charger. “Or do you still use Plutonium” is a reference to Buzz’s technobabble “distolic fusion” ... but I thought the use of real world “Plutonium” would give the joke a bit more kick (sort of a Back to the Future reference also).

Diaz answering “we’ve got double-A’s” is a reference to Toy Story where Woody says the same thing.

“Look, new friend,” is something Star Butterfly would say, but with a flat attitude more like Buzz Lightyear. This indicates Princess Star has a bit different personality than canon Star Butterfly. It fits in more with Toy Story, helping the reader imagine how this Starco relationship will play out.

“Multiverse High Command” is a mashup of “Magical High Commission” and “Star Command”. The threat of the multiverse being destroyed is something Queen Moon warns Star in Star Comes to Earth. The spiel where Princess Star explains her mission is similar to Buzz Lightyear explaining his mission. Presumably, it’s written on her Ponyhead box. Again, all this stuff helps the reader imagine how this Starco relationship will play out.

Diaz’s “You’re a toy” is, of course, a reference to Woody trying to explain to Buzz Lightyear that he’s just a toy.

“I believe the term you’re looking for is ‘Magical Princess from Another Dimension’“ refers to a similar Buzz Lightyear line, as well as how canon Star introduces herself to Marco Diaz in Star Comes to Earth.

But really ... there are SO many memorable Toy Story lines that cramming in references is like shooting fish in a barrel. Too easy! But still fun!

Of all the silly ideas I put out there for Starco Week 5, Toy Star is perhaps the one which has gotten some interest. It’s begging to be fleshed out. I welcome anyone to do whatever they want with it!

And again, a big thanks to everyone who read my stuff, followed, reblogged, and such! Especially, of course, @starco-week

#starcoweek5 #starco #svtfoe #star vs the forces of evil #Thoughts #myart

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lattetimes · 7 years

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thoughts on the special, if youve seen it? imho i thought it was really good, it reminded me of season 1 a bit actually, especially jungle moon

hey there, you’re back! and nice icon!

i’ll put my thoughts under the cut just in case!

i have to say that i thought the special was actually pretty okay. i did like it.

Lars of the Stars

my only issue would be with the first part of the special (Lars of the Stars), but i know they were trying to go for a more comedic route for that half of the special to show that Lars was okay in space. having Steven and Connie be distracted by Lion was kinda odd to have, and the Gems not being there at all to go with them? that was… why’d they let Steven go off into space again? even with Connie, i would wanna go with him.

and Lars having a moment of getting upset at Sadie for seemingly moving on was kind of unneeded at that moment as they were under fire, and seeing him completely take control as the captain does bother me (and him saying “Bingo Bongo” a lot, even if it was transcendent). but, i’m really glad that he’s safe! thank gods!

but, i’m glad to see the Off-Colors are back and they’re all safe! and Lars is trying to get back to Earth ASAP.

Jungle Moon

as for the second part (Jungle Moon), that was my favorite half. it was nice seeing Stevonnie as they tried to stay safe on a crashed planet. and seeing them shave using Rose’s scabbard was both fucking funny and adorable to me- like god dammit Stevonnie is so good.

now. the big part of the episode for me was the reveal of Pink Diamond. having Stevonnie have a mixed up dream (staring with Connie wondering what her mother was doing, ending with Pink Diamond’s reveal) was something i did not expect to happen.

i like the fact that the “king, caring” Pink Diamond headcannon is run into the ground officially, and she’s seen as the youngest annoying sister that wants to do what her older sisters are doing because “IT’S NOT FAIR IT’S NOT FAIR I WANT TO DO THAT TOO!”

overall, it was pretty good! i liked it! i would’ve liked to have seen some other things and the first part could’ve been improved, but overall pretty good!

#answered #stupid--kitty #su spoilers #su criticism #su critical #kinda crit #but not really tho

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 7 years

Text

Episode 61: We Need to Talk

“I’m…not…a real person.”

In Reformed, we see Amethyst’s discomfort with her physical state lead to self-destructive self-loathing, and that’s her arc until Earthlings. In Sworn to the Sword, we see Pearl’s lingering feelings for Rose enhance a sense of worthlessness that damages her friends and herself (usually in that order), and that’s her arc until Mr. Greg. In Keeping It Together, we see Garnet face the consequences of an outsider who misunderstands and perverts fusion, and that’s her arc until Log Date 7 15 2. And in We Need to Talk, we finally explicitly see that Rose Quartz wasn’t as flawless as she may have seemed, and that’s her arc for the rest of the series.

This is a watershed episode in a series that lives in Rose’s towering shadow. Hints of her more problematic traits go all the way back to the second episode, where the conflict hinges on her secrecy, and we get glimpses into the more negative effects she’s had on Pearl (and Garnet) in Rose’s Scabbard and Sworn to the Sword (and Keeping It Together, a little). But these clues are much easier to see in retrospect, when we know that despite her kindness and love of humans, there’s a certain cold distance that Pink Diamond maintained with even her closest allies that’s just as responsible for Steven’s existence. It may be a given these days that the hero (and villain) of the rebellion was far from perfect, but her humiliating condescension towards Greg is a lurching change of course for her character that hits like a slap in the face.

Crucially, the reveal that Rose has issues doesn’t take away from what makes her great. She likes and loves her friends. She’s funny, as seen in her banter with Greg (my favorite: countering ”I’m getting a little worried about the future” with “Oh, just ask Garnet!”). And despite her blithe spirit, which is the source of all the positives and negatives we see in this episode, she’s willing to take Greg seriously when he affirms his sincerity. Which makes sense, considering what makes her such a huge deal among Gems is her appreciation for change.

Rose Quartz is the savior of Earth, but Pink Diamond was the person who tried conquering it in the first place, and they were the same person. Rose and Pink were both liars, but Rose and Pink both loved humans. They both knew that they needed to change, and that’s how Pink became Rose and Rose became Steven. And it’s vital that this change comes when Greg demands to be treated as an equal, because Pink Diamond’s entire life was a desperate attempt to gain respect. It’s chilling to watch this episode after meeting White Diamond and seeing how closely Rose mirrors her belittling behavior: she treats Greg as a joke, but because she knows how that feels, she immediately recognizes that she’s gone White when she’s called out on it. It’s not shocking that Greg is the love interest that sticks, because Greg is more of a kindred spirit than even he knows.

It goes hand in hand with a more mature depiction of Rose that this is also the first time we focus on her as a sexual figure. It’s kid’s show level to be sure, but the camera’s attention to her eyes and lips during What Can I Do (and, y’know, the song itself) gives us a glimpse of how Greg, an adult who’s at the very least in lust at this point, sees her. And it doesn’t hurt that Susan Egan can go full Megara to inject a certain sultriness in lines as simple as “Oh, yes.” If we’re going to have an episode about seeing Rose for who she really is, well, this is part of who she really is.

youtube

What Can I Do is another big flashback number on the heels of Comet, and not just because we finally hear Rose Quartz sing (which, again, Megara). Scroll down to any of my episode rankings for the past thirty-nine reviews and you’ll see that my favorite is Steven and the Stevens; forget Greg and Rose, the most monumental reveal of this episode is the origins of the Crystal Gems, Backup Band! And, if you haven’t already, close your eyes and just listen to Greg’s Stemage’s guitar solo on its own. Heck, listen to that guitar the whole song. Kudos to Greg for keeping up while his girlfriend turns into an even huger woman.

Greg remains the focus character, and he’s grown since Story for Steven. I love the new lived-in relationships he has with the other three Crystal Gems, from open rivalry with Pearl to big brother friendship to Amethyst to chummy admiration of Garnet. It would make no sense for him to get to know Rose without getting to know her roommates, and seeing most of them hanging out happily and even starting a band of sorts is a testament to Greg as a likable novelty. It’s one thing for Rose to see him differently by the end of the episode, but the rest of Gems take him more seriously as well. He’s a keeper.

Still, it’s his relationship with Rose that’s at the forefront here, and although we know they end up together, it’s great to see the dramatic first steps. Greg wears his heart on his sleeve, and I love that we’re seeing a more mature side of that earnestness after a flashback that saw him abandon his dreams of stardom for a mystery woman. He’s given a lot for this relationship, and this episode respects him enough to acknowledge it. Rose wasn’t an escape route and Greg isn’t a flaky quitter, and We Need to Talk puts a hard stop to that potential interpretation of his impulsive actions in Story for Steven.

At the same time, Flashback Greg is still a huge romantic prone to huge gestures for huge women, which allows him to believably set up a shining dance floor on the beach just for the two of them (it’s just the backdrop of their stage laid flat!). He and Rose are both shown to be infatuated—Rose even goes starry-eyed—but sustainable relationships also need the sort of dependability and resolve that Greg shows in his words and actions. He proves himself someone that deserves respect, which is critical for their conversation to work.

The talk itself is nicely understated, touching on the fact that both characters have been in relationships before without dwelling on details, and selling Rose’s confusion and distress in regards to love without falling on hackneyed “human emotion does not compute” tropes. It’s just the start of the next step in their relationship, and we get just enough to understand that progress is being made.

Structurally, I appreciate that We Need to Talk spends less time outside of Greg’s perspective than Story for Steven; it’s not perfect (the final scene in the past involves the other Crystal Gems saying things Greg couldn’t have possibly heard) but it’s better! It’s also a much more immersive setting than the other flashback, using an eighties vibe (Rainbow Quartz’s appearance, Garnet’s keytar) as shorthand for the past even though this definitely happened in the late nineties at the earliest given Sour Cream’s age. And on a fantasy Earth with locations like Delmarva, Keystone, and Empire City, I’m so tickled by Greg’s offhand reference to the real-world Marx Brothers: for the record, I’m pretty sure taciturn Garnet is Harpo, talkative Pearl is Groucho, and clownish Amethyst is Chico.

If it’s interesting to see Rose diverge from what we’re used to, it’s downright fascinating to see Pearl so confident and sassy around Greg. Story for Steven only references the Pearl factor with a one-off joke, but she practically needs to be a major plot point in We Need to Talk if we’re going to take seriously the notion that she loved Rose. This is Pearl pre-grief, still fighting for Rose, and I love that she’s a giant brat about it, especially after Mr. Greg clarifies how accustomed she was to Rose’s other flings. We only see Pearl act like her modern iteration at the very end as she’s crushed by the realization that she has actual competition: after all those years, she never thought she’d lose. And the tragedy, for her, is that her nettling of Greg about fusion is what caused him and Rose to get closer.

(Amethyst and Garnet are more similar to their modern counterparts; Amethyst is a bit more feral in the past, but she drinks motor oil to this day so there you go.)

Present day once again bookends a Greg flashback, but unlike Story for Steven we get thematic mirroring between the two time periods. Connie’s on a roll in terms of bonding with non-Stevens, first with Pearl in Sworn to the Sword and now with Greg. We’ve witnessed the pair hang out a few times now, in situations as intense as Ocean Gem and mundane as Winter Forecast, but we haven’t seen anything close to the connection they share here. Which is a shame, because Connie and Greg’s wildly different personalities help hide what this episode finally makes obvious: they’re both regular humans who love magic and are lucky enough to be close with magical people. In fact, they’re the only members of that club on the planet. In that way, they’re alone together.

Stevonnie’s grand reappearance lasts all of ten seconds, but it’s enough to leave a major impression. Greg once again proves to be a fantastic parent, quickly shifting from his initial shock to warm reassurance when Connie panics. Even though his straight recitation of the episode’s moral is a little After School Special cliche, we get a surprisingly bittersweet ending out of his desire to help Connie.

It’s lovely to that these two make this new connection, and while it’s never spoken, their bond is strengthened in retrospect with the knowledge that Greg can see his own stressful childhood in Connie, and is trying to be the helping hand he never got as a kid. And Steven’s exclusion allows him to understand his mother better, holding his gem as he observes the others grow closer. But as we’ll see in Steven’s Birthday—and the entire back half of Steven Universe Future—it’s a somber thing to see him left out of the Human Beings club.

Future Vision!

Connie’s secrecy regarding magic finally reaches a turning point in Nightmare Hospital, which alongside Sworn to the Sword and We Need to Talk solidifies her new role as Deputy Crystal Gem.

Pearl’s confidence in fusion as the thing that puts her and Rose’s relationship at a higher level than Greg could ever achieve is given new layers after seeing the birth of Rainbow Quartz in Now We’re Only Falling Apart.

While the title of this episode is a common enough phrase that it might not be an intentional reference, Yellow Diamond telling White “we need to talk” begins a similar baring of her soul that Greg gives here, to a condescending figure similar to Rose. The difference being that Rose listens, while White zaps away Yellow’s personality, because Rose may be flawed but she’s not a villain, no matter how much some fans want her to be.

The movie’s rock show mirrors the small rock show here beautifully, this time making Greg the one whose new fusion prompts Pearl to change.

I’ve never been to this…how do you say…school?

It’s been a minute since we’ve seen Hilary Florido’s AU, and here’s another instance of it being the official promo art; like the lack of traditional promo art for Keeping It Together, this may be due to the Steven Bomb rushing things, but if that’s the case then I’m doubly grateful for the time she took to give us such a wonderful gaze into the Steven Universe Academy.

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

Definitely an upgrade compared to Story for Steven. There’s something to be said for love at first sight, but this is a great moment in developing both Greg and Rose as people in a real relationship.

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Winter Forecast

Keeping It Together

On the Run

Warp Tour

Maximum Capacity

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

The Test

Future Vision

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

We Need to Talk

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

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

No Thanks!

4. Horror Club 3. Fusion Cuisine 2. House Guest 1. Island Adventure

#we need to talk #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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agemintherough · 7 years

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Revisiting Chapters Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, and Twenty-Four of Gems Without Measure; A Pirate’s Treasure

Man, it's been awhile since I have done one of these. I have a lot to talk about with this batch, so let's jump right into it:

2) The gold exchange conversation is practically lifted word for word from canon. It was just too perfect of a Nami moment to change at all. If it isn't broken, don't fix it.

3) Okay, this was one of the hardest things for me to write: Connie and Steven on a date. I have mentioned before that I do not care to write or attempt romance, but this was important for me to do: the last perfect moment before Steven's world goes to hell. Steven and Connie have the potential to be one of the best couples in modern animation right now, but they are twelve and fourteen. I personally do not believe that you cannot have a real relationship that young, but they are definitely more than friends. They are the best of friends...jam buds, if you will.

I wrote all of the Steven/ Connie material first and wrote everything else around it. As I was doing so, I kept sending CyanideOreo what I was working on for feedback, specifically making sure that this fit the characters without getting any form or real kid romance. I was assured that this read more as a "Disney Romance," which is a perfect fit.

I did, however, draw on the early dates and special moments that I shared with my wife to make it somewhat accurate (in the same way that I used my thoughts about relationships in the previous chapter with Greg). Walking around through the nearby historic village has always been a wonderful time for us, especially when they have art fairs or other activities.

4) I am sure most of you have seen this great artwork based on this moment made by @cyanideoreo, but did you pick up the significance of what Steven and Connie were eating? Raspberry ice and cake was the order Mary Poppins placed at the Penguin Cafe in the sidewalk chalk drawing world (in addition to some tea) during the song "Jolly Holiday." This, of course, is subtle foreshadowing of where this date is going to go by the end of this chapter.

5) The only comment I am going to make about the newspaper article (which has been a small, rarely mentioned subplot since the end of the Davy Back Fight is that it is important and that there is a major clue about what is going to happen in the somewhat near future.

6) A coworker of mine had students create masks for a project of “The Masque of the Red Death.” They have been hanging up in her room all year. While there are quite a few interesting designs, my favorite was the mask that was a pack of cards, glued together and fanned out with eye holes cut into it. I put it in the story as one of the masks seen in the "mask game."

7) Kaku calling the Straw Hats "youngsters" was my way of getting the gag where he has an older voice than the characters expected without it being random.

8) Eirney is a character that jmr46718 and I developed in our discussions about the story over a year ago. We thought that Kalifa could benefit from having a sister, especially since she doesn't do much in-universe except follow her job description...

However, Iceburg's reactions to having no idea who she was is supposed to lampshade that this is one of the only original characters in this story.

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9) Steven and Connie, of course, sing "Jolly Holiday" from Mary Poppins. The only thing worth mentioning is I changed one part of the lyrics. I removed "You'd never think of pressing your advantage. Forbearance is the hallmark of your creed" with "You always treat me right with proper kindness. You're goofy, funny, charming; yes, indeed." I did this because this date is too innocent for any kind of "advantage" that could be overtaken.

Also, I couldn't NOT make the AGITR connection.

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10) As several people guessed, the events of “Steven Floats” happen earlier than expected! Of course, nobody expected it to be because of a tiny kiss! I honestly imagined this scene to be like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer's reindeer games sequence where Clarice kisses Rudolph and he flies while yelling "She thinks I'm cute!"

11) Steven is witnessing the scene from next chapter where the Gems and Nami come across a battered Usopp.

12) When I first posted this chapter, I messed it up and forgot that Steven's fall correlated to his negative emotions and went straight to him needing to stop by using his positive thoughts of the Gems (but not Rose).

13) Oh look! Two new characters! Nero is...well, there is a character in One Piece named Nero! I wonder if they are the same character? The other one, Apollo, is a mink, which was only introduced properly in One Piece two years ago. I am sure that they served their purpose after catching Steven. Boy, wasn't it nice that they pointed the kids in the right direction after seeing Steven's gem?

14) I wonder why Eirney is so interested in what a Gem is. Maybe she likes gemology?

15) Remember that Amethyst is wearing a redesigned dress that I created for her back in AGITR. As such, she is better concealed than the canon outfit she would be wearing at this point. One of the first things that was decided was to have Paulie wish that the other characters would stop being so shameless and be more like Amethyst, who would pick up on that immediately and use it for laughs. This is the beginning of this gag.

16) Picking right up from Chapter Twenty-One, Peridot is leading the charge to figure out where Robin disappeared to. We are knee-deep in Peridot's story arc of figuring out who she is and where she belongs. Keep an eye on her throughout this section: she may yet have an important role to play.

17) Again, a lot of setup from this chapter is taken from canon. It is necessary to keep the emotional integrity from this section. However, the key new addition to this scenario is Amethyst. This is basically an extension of her character development that began in "Tiger Millionaire" and "Maximum Capacity" that did not conclude until "That Will Be All." She is feeling a major lack of self-respect and now sees Usopp as a kindred spirit. It honestly wasn't something I had planned initially, but it made a lot of sense and tied into the plot in an organic way that builds upon what came before and what will happen moving forward.

18) This is the first legitimate acknowledgement of the radically different levels of violence that both shows possess and I think it's important to acknowledge it. Obviously it makes people like Greg and Pearl uncomfortable, but that doesn't change the people. Luffy is an amazing guy, but he isn't afraid to beat the crap out of you if push comes to shove. Amethyst recognizes that and accepts it far easier than Pearl, who is still struggling with the radically different dimension (but not for lack of trying, as we all know change is HARD for Pearl).

19) Speaking of, I thought the point of giving Greg a Devil Fruit was to make him useful, not to just sit around and do nothing! What gives?

20) Since the first strike in the Franky House isn't necessarily considered a quintessential Luffy moment like, say, the storming of Arlong Park, and more of a Straw Hat moment, I felt comfortable with letting Pearl give the first strike.

21) Peridot beating the guy (who was already down since she did not engage in combat at all) is deliberately my Batman Begins "SWEAR TO ME!" moment. I initially had her say just that, but it took me out and made it too blatant. That being said, Peridot trying to be as intimidating as Batman is hilarious.

22) I debated on having Chapter Twenty-Three end with Usopp's declaration for the duel, but I felt it made Chapter Twenty-Four stronger by leading us to that through the loss of Steven's innocence as his perfect day gets shattered at the last moment. This is why Steven does not appear outside of the small mention of him floating.

23) Dramatic Irony is such a great literary device. Literally every scene with Steven and Connie is deliberately the happiest thing in the world solely because it has to end in tragedy.

24) The masks were designed by CyanideOreo two chapters ago. That's what I call great collaboration!

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26) The beat that Connie and Steven are marching to is "Colonel Hathi's March" from The Jungle Book.

27) I debated about Stevonnie appear in the first part of the date, but I decided that their appearance was the perfect final moment for the innocence of the kids to remain intact.

28) Peridot discussing objectivity is important as she truly believes in it, as shown in “Message Received.”

29) The whole emotional/ color power was first glimpsed back in Chapter Twelve when Steven found Noko. I wonder what that could be?

30) jmr46718 was the one to come up with the idea to have Steven have his own duel with the Gems which is the culmination of all of Pearl's attitude problems. Originally, Amethyst would have been involved too, but I decided to make her decidedly empathetic to Usopp, so I limited it to Garnet and Pearl.

31) Steven has quit the Crystal Gems! I wonder what the new status quo is going to be now?

#commentary #revisiting #steven universe #one piece #water seven #jm46718 #cyanideoreo #drillmaster #fanfiction

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prodigal-sunlight · 8 years

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Opal’s Day Off — A Gem Tale

Opal’s Day Off

Part of the “Gem Tales” series, a collection of fan–fictions written as “episodes” of Steven Universe. Gem Tales is entirely non–canon and based on interactions and events to explore the characters and world of the show. Requests can be made for characters and/or events you would like to see in Gem Tales. We will try our best to not diverge canon and keep each story in the style of an episode of the show. I hope you enjoy!

“Thanks for letting me borrow your game Steven!” Connie said brightly, tucking the colorful Golf Quest Mini case into her duffle bag with her free hand. Taking Rose’s sword, she handed it to Steven. He took it, turning to Lion, who lay fast asleep on the kitchen floor. He slid it carefully into the pink beast’s mane, doing his best not to wake him. Connie continued, smiling. “I’ll see you for training this weekend, right?”

“Right!” Steven said eagerly, opening the screen door for her. “Bye Connie! Oh, and tell me if you like the game’s twist ending when—”

“Steven!” she interrupted, poking him in the chest playfully. “You know it’s not a surprise if you tell me!”

He flushed a gentle shade of rose pink, laughing awkwardly. “Oops! Right, haha, sorry Connie. See you this weekend!”

Smiling, she gave him a quick hug before slipping out the door. Waving as she went, she ran lightly down the stairs. As she reached the beach, she turned back, waving to him again as she yelled back. “See you then!” Watching until she disappeared inside her parents car, Steven smiled, shutting the screen door as they puttered back up the uneven sand, back towards Beach City.

“Ugh. Why are you guys always training so hard?” Amethyst asked, sprawled out on the stairs up to Steven’s bed. She puffed her cheeks up, frowning. “It’s like, super lame.”

Steven sat next to her, folding his legs under himself, holding his ankles lightly as he offered her a smile. “Well, I like fusing with Connie. It’s fun! She’s really cool, and smart, and when we fuse, Stevonnie’s tall enough to ride everything in Funland by themselves!”

Amethyst shrugged at that, propping herself up on her elbows. “Eh. But it’s not like you have to train. Can’t you just, I don’t know, fuse for fun or something?”

“I... I dunno,” Steven said, swallowing slightly. He put a hand to his stomach, feeling the solid surface of his gem beneath his shirt, smooth and hard. “I guess, with everything that’s been happening lately with the Rubies and Jasper and—it just feels like a good idea to practice, right?”

Amethyst softened slightly at his nervousness, grinning in what she hoped was a comforting manner. “Aw, geez dude,” she said, elbowing him lightly. “I was just...” With a soft violet glow, she shape–shifted, taking the form of a small fluffy cat, the same color as her pale purple hair. “...kitten around. Just kitten around?”

“Well, I for one am proud of all their hard work,” Pearl said, walking over with a soft dancer–like stride, hands set lightly on her hips. Behind her, Amethyst shifted back into her normal form, rolling her eyes as Pearl continued. “Oh, did Connie leave already? I wanted to give her one last tip on her footwork first.”

“Yeah,” Steven said, visibly relieved by the change of topic. “She already left. We’re both super excited for fusion training this weekend. And, uh, speaking of fusion... how’s Opal doing?” he said, breaking into a cheeky smile. “I haven’t seen her in a while. Huh, huh?” he added on hopefully, raising his eyebrows.

Pearl sighed, folding her arms. “That’s because the problems we’ve had to deal with lately are either too simple to bother, or important enough to form Alexandrite. Fusion isn’t a toy, Steven,” she admonished calmly.

Even as she continued speaking, the warp pad lit up, and Garnet appeared in a burst of brilliant blue light. In her hands she held a corrupted gem that looked like some colorful jellyfish, a deep green with faded gray stripes cutting across it’s body. Jagged teeth and claws seemed to protrude from any open surface. “Fusion isn’t a weapon either,” she said, stepping off the warp pad calmly. “Fusion is about connection. Emotion. Amethyst, can you hold this?” She handed the gem to Amethyst. It began to screech like an angry cat, lashing at her irritably with it’s spined tentacles. With a slight shout, Amethyst fell to the ground, trying to keep it under control.

Turning her attention to Pearl and Steven, Garnet continued. “I need to go check something at one of the abandoned spires this weekend. I may not be back for a few days.” She paused for a moment, raising one hand to adjust her visor. “Steven, you’re in charge.”

Pearl reared back. “What!?”

Managing to pin the corrupted gem against the hardwood floor, a bedraggled Amethyst let out a cheerful whooping. “Yeah, way to go Ste–Man!”

Steven looked up to Garnet, his eyes bright and starry. “In charge?” he whispered, smiling hugely, his hands steepled together in front of his mouth as if to try and hide his excitement.

“Ha ha ha, you’re so funny Garnet!” Pearl said, the words fake and forced. She straightened up, concern clear in her eyes at this new idea. “I mean, Steven has grown a lot, but—”

“But he’s in charge until I get back,” she cut in, her gauntlets disappearing in a flash of light as she rested her hands on her thick, round hips. “Think you can handle that Steven?”

“Woohoohoo! Yeah!” Steven grinned, looking like a fizzling firework trying it’s best not to explode in a burst of happy color. “First, we’re all gonna go down to the Big Donut, and get three donuts each, except for Pearl, since she doesn’t like food, and then we’ll go to the barn to visit Lapis and Peridot, and then—”

“Heh.” Garnet smiled slightly, with a small nod of her head. “Looks like I’ll be missing out on all the fun. I’ll be back in two days,” she added, forming a small heart with her hands. “I promise.”

Steven dropped a slice of bread in each of the toaster slots, humming to himself as he pushed down the lever. He started singing under his breath, bouncing as he waited for the toast to pop. “Gonna have so much fun! Now that Steven’s number one. His first mornin’ on the job, Boss Steven’s gonna, uh, um. Hey Pearl, what rhymes with job?” he asked brightly.

Pearl stretched her arms out over her head, one leg up on the kitchen bar as she twisted and reached, like a ballerina warming up for a show. “Of course, Steven,” she said with a patient smile. “There are plenty of human words that rhyme with job. Why there’s cob, mob, lob, hob—”

“Shish–ka–bob!” interrupted Amethyst, flipping lazily through the pages of a local wrestling magazine, a bowl of snacks at her side. Pearl huffed irritably as she stood up straight, drumming her slender fingers on the counter. “He asked me, Amethyst,” she said pointedly.

Amethyst didn’t so much as bother glancing up for her magazine, popping a frozen microwave burrito in her mouth. “So?” she asked, mouth full. Steven paused nervously, speaking out to try and make some quick peace before things could start to spiral out of hand. “Uh, a–actually, I was just looking for any answer, I didn’t really care who—”

“So let me answer!” Pearl cut in icily, all her focus on the newly stirred argument as she turned to face Amethyst.

Huffing, Amethyst set down her magazine. “Oh, because you know so much better?” she snapped. She shapeshifted into a purple replica of Pearl, kicking her leg up on top of the television in a mock ballerina pose. “I’m Pearl,” she drawled in a mocking snobbish voice. “I’m so smart, and intelligent, and so heroic!”

“Guys, I thought you didn’t fight anymore!” Steven cried out, but it was clear he’d lost any vague semblance of control over the situation.

Pearl grimaced, putting a hand to her forehead. “Amethyst please—”

“I should be the one in charge, Garnet,” continued Amethyst, putting her hands to her chest with an overdramatic whine. “Garnet, put me in charge!”

“Really now! Just—

“I’m so perfect!” spat Amethyst, not even bothering with the mocking tone anymore. “So absolutely perfect! Everybody loves me! Why won’t Rose love me? I deserve her—”

“I said stop!” Pearl screamed, teeth clenched. Amethyst froze, instantly disappearing back into her old form, staring with eyes full of concern, looking worried, and maybe even a bit scared.

Pearl took a shaky deep breath, wiping away a small bloom of a tear in the corner of her eye. “Y–you,” she said unevenly, hands curled in tight fists. “You should behave yourself.”

Amethyst took a hesitant step forward, raising a hand as if to comfort the other gem, all the way across the room. “Hey, come on Pearlgi, you... you know I didn’t mean—”

She was cut off by a horrible ear grating screech, an echoing crash shaking the house. Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst ran out onto the house’s balcony, watching as a massive corrupted gem stood from where it crashed on the beach, lightly shaking off sand.

It looked like a massive dragonfly, smooth black horns curving lightly down the back of it’s serpentine neck. It had no eyes, and instead a smooth rounded gem was embedded above it’s jaw, canvasing most it’s face. As it moved, it’s very skin seemed to shift in the light like a child’s marble, mixtures of blues and grayish reds, separated by curls of near black. It’s thousands of patchwork wings glittered like stained glass as it moved, snarling as it struggled to get it’s footing in the hard sand.

“I don’t think it’s—” before Amethyst so much as finish her sentence, the corrupted gem turned towards the sound of her voice, screeching, spit flying from it’s sharp maw. Wings flapping, it weaved through the air like a snake through water, looking ready to strike.

Pearl summoned her spear, leaping lightly off the balcony. She managed to catch herself on one of the monster’s paper thin wings, driving her spear through to try and help her keep her grasp.

“Aw crap!” Amethyst pulled her whip from her gem, throwing herself into the fight. She shape shifted into the Purple Puma, holding on tight to the gem’s snake–like skin, hitting it fiercely. When it became evident that was doing nothing but enrage it further, she swung her whip around, pulling tightly, hoping to maybe poof the gem like that.

Pearl pulled her spear free, swinging herself up onto the monster’s back. She wobbled slightly, trying her best to keep her balance. She dragged herself across, pulling herself slowly towards the monsters head. Locking her legs around it’s neck, she raised her spear, trying to jab it beneath the gemstone and pry it free, but the corrupted gem only screamed. It hurled itself at the beach, smashing itself into the sand again and again until Pearl lost her grip. It raised itself again for another smashing blow.

Just before it dropped, Steven leaped over, wrapping his arms around Pearl as a pink bubble rose around them, just barely managing to hold back the beast’s immense weight.

Hissing in anger at it’s failed attack, the beast leaped back into the sky, circling overhead, Amethyst still clinging on as she fought.

“My spear didn’t even hurt it! It only got angrier!” Pearl said in frustrated disbelief, grimacing.

“You can do it,” Steven encouraged. “We’ve fought stronger gems before, right?” he said, dropping the bubble as Pearl bent her knees looking for some way back up to the corrupted gem.

She winced slightly. “Not without Garnet.” Spinning her spear, she ran back beneath the creature’s shadow, wondering if there were some way to get it to hit the beach hard enough to poof itself.

Overhead, Amethyst clung to one of it’s wings, pulling at it’s leg with shapeshifted muscles. “Come on,” she grunted. “Just—poof already!” Gritting her teeth, she instead swung her whip, trying to find some kind of weak spot.

The corrupted gem let out a freakish cry as the whip slashed against it’s throat, writhing fiercely. It dropped nearly a hundred feet before catching itself. Suddenly, it shot straight up at a speed that had to be somewhere near it’s limit, flailing. It flipped quickly, sharply, and before she could so much as realize it, Amethyst lost her grip.

“Amethyst!” Steven yelled. “Pearl, she’ll be fine, right? She falls a lot, a–and even if she cracks, I can fix cracks, right?”

Pearl watched, frozen. Her eyes were wide. Afraid.

Only a heartbeat passed before she was running. She leapt into the air, higher than any human could ever manage, slamming into Amethyst midair as she wrapped her arms around the smaller gem. A bright glow enveloped them both, followed by a flash.

Opal rolled as she hit the ground. Standing, she seemed less at ease than usual, her chest heaving, hands shaking. Steven watched for a moment, hesitant as she summoned her bow, drawing it back carefully. Without so much as a glance in the corrupted gem’s direction, Opal let loose an arrow of light into the creature’s neck. It’s gem, as big as Steven’s hand, landed in the shallow of the water with a loud splash.

“That was amazing! You were amazing!” shouted Steven, running over to grab her by the legs in a tight hug. “You poofed it with just one arrow! And when Pearl saved Amethyst—wow! Giant woman!”

Opal offered a small patient smile, one of her lower arms patting his curly hair gently. “Want to help me bubble it?” she asked in her calm throaty voice, a light in her eyes.

Steven grinned. “Yeah! It fell down over this way.” They waded into the shallows, Steven’s small hand in Opal’s large slender ones as they looked for the gem. After finding a few pretty shells, Steven tripped over the gem, and Opal bubbled it, sending it back into the temple.

“It was nice to see you again Steven,” Opal said gently, looking out across the ocean.

Steven paused, eyes widened. “Wait, you say that like you’re leaving!” he accused, folding his arms and pouting.

“Well,” she said shrugging slightly. “Pearl and Amethyst probably won’t want to keep together much longer either way. Might as well unfuse now.”

She started to glow, but before she could split, Steven suddenly grabbed her by the waist. “Waaaaait!” he said, squeezing tightly, as if he could hold together. “I wanna spend time with you! I get to spend lots of time with Garnet, and I’ve spent time with Sardonyx and even Alexandrite—but I feel like I barely know you!” he insisted. To his surprise, she actually ceased to glow, looking down at him with surprise in her pale blue eyes. He continued, smiling. “As gem–in–charge for the weekend, I order you to stay fused and spend the day with me! Please?” he asked, using his biggest best puppy dog eyes.

Opal sighed, but a tiny smile escaped onto her lips. “I’ll stay fused for as long as Pearl and Amethyst can manage it, okay?” she said. She lightly picked him up in all four arms before tucking him under one. “Where to?”

Steven grinned. “We’re gonna do everything! Opal, away!”

He showed her all his favorite spots around town; at the Big Donut, she tried to decide whether or not she wanted to eat. In the end she decided just to have a juice box—but she couldn’t bring herself to drink it.

They visited the T-Shirt Shop and bought matching shirts; Steven chose a bright orange shirt with the flashy words printed across his stomach spelling out, “WILD ONE”. After finding a shirt big enough for four arms to fit through the sleeves, he found a turquoise shirt written in careful cursive, “Mild One”.

As the sun started setting over the ocean, Opal carried Steven up the cliff to the lighthouse. While the light slowly stained the sky a sweet pink and orange, they folded paper airplanes and dropped them over the edge, watching them spiral down to the beach below—that was Steven’s idea too.

“Look!” he said, laughing as he leaned over the fence, pointing. “That one landed on the balcony of the house!”

“That’s nice Steven,” Opal said softly, watching the sunset with an absent expression, resting her chin in one pair of arms, the other pair resting on the fence.

Steven looked up at her, pausing. “Hey, Opal. Is... is everything okay?” he asked hesitantly.

She straightened, her cheeks flushing violet. “Sorry. Everything’s... fine,” she said, picking up a piece of paper and folding it quietly. They were quiet for a while, the only sound the call of the seagulls and the folding of paper. “Please tell me,” Steven said, putting a hand on her arm, looking up at her with worry in his eyes.

Opal sighed, turning the paper airplane over in her hands. “We’ve... I’ve barely been keeping together today. They’re still upset with each other. I just...” she lifted her head, the wind playing with her hair lightly. “I want them to get along. Garnet is happy and at peace and loves herself... but I constantly feel on the edge of falling apart. They care about each other, I can feel it, but sometimes it feels like…”

There was a pause, and Steven tipped his head slightly to the side. “Feels like what?”

“Feels like maybe I shouldn’t even exist.” Looking away, she gently let the airplane. It swooped lightly downward, floating through the air. It slid down onto the banister of the house’s porch—and lightly nudged the other airplane off the edge, and into the sand below.

“I just want to love myself,” Opal said softly. “Like Garnet does. ...Garnet.” Eyes widening, there was a sudden pulse of light as she fell apart, Pearl and Amethyst falling onto the ground. Opal’s t–shirt dropped to the ground between them, forgotten.

Amethyst sat up quickly, hair flopping in her eyes. “Steven! Garnet said she’d be back by yesterday!” she said, looking like she was trying to hide her nervousness. But for once, she couldn’t hide it under a casual uncaring facade.

“What?” Steven yelped, taking a step back. “I was having so much fun with Opal I forgot! She promised to be back by now!”

“Calm down Steven,” Pearl said, a slight coldness in her voice. “I’m sure Garnet’s fine. She’s a very capable gem.”

“Seriously!” yelled Amethyst. “Some of those corrupted gems are super tough P! Don’t you even want to check in on her?”

Pearl looked away, folding her arms. “She’s stronger than all of us, she’s probably just a little held up.”

“G–guys, please don’t fight—”

“Would it shatter you to care?” Amethyst snapped angrily, tightening her hands into fists. “I know she’s strong, but she said she’d be back by now!” Pearl turned to look at Amethyst, leaning over her. “And if she was in danger, you think I’d be any help? I’m just some high and might Pearl who thinks she deserves everything, right? That’s what you said, isn’t it?”

Amethyst glared up at her, teeth grit. “Fine! I’ll go find Garnet without you!” Pushing away, she ran off, headed back for the temple.

Steven paused, scared and upset. Hesitantly, he reached out to hold her hand. “Pearl? Are you okay?”

She pulled her hand away, not looking him in the eyes. “It’s getting late, Steven. Humans need to sleep,” she said quietly, wiping at her eyes as she started walking away.

“Pssst. Pssst! Steven!”

Steven blinked, rubbing his eyes as he sat up with a yawn. “Amethyst?” he asked, sitting up. “It’s the middle of the night—whoaa!”

She grabbed him by the hand, pulling him out of bed. “Come on, we’ve got to go find Garnet!”

“I thought you’d already left?” he asked cocking his head to the side as he straightened his jammies.

She shook her head. “No way. If whatever it was is stopping Garnet from getting back, I can’t beat it on my own. That’s why you’ve gotta come with me!”

Steven hesitated, pausing. “I dunno Amethyst. It’s really late, and Pearl said I needed to go to bed.”

Amethyst stepped back, folding her arms. “Come on, who did Garnet say was in charge? You, or Pearl?”

Moments later, the warp pad lit in a beam of light, and they were off, floating to who knows where. “Um, where exactly are we going?” Steven asked as he floated in the light.

Casually grabbing Steven by the ankle so he wouldn’t float away, Amethyst explained. “She said something was attacking the Geode, and that it shouldn’t be a problem. I figure we can just pop in, probably see Ruby and Sapphire being embarrassing, and then head back, easy as that.”

“Alright,” Steven said cautiously as the light flashed out. No longer floating through the air, he flopped flat on the ground. Not bothering to get up, he stared up at the starry sky. “Is she fine? Can we go home now?” he asked, yawning.

“This... might take a little longer than I thought,” Amethyst said, pulling Steven to his feet.

A massive creature clawed at the geode, lashing at it with massive spined tentacles. It looked like some horrible massive jellyfish, a dark shade of green with faded gray stripes. It’s huge toothy maw screamed as it grabbed a distant figure standing on top of the geode, whacking them into the ground again and again.

It was just like the gem Garnet had brought home only days before, but countless times more massive.

“I think it has Garnet!” Steven said, eyes going wide. “We have to go get Pearl!”

Amethyst reached into her gem, drawing out her whip in a flash of light. “I can do this without her help!” Leaping forward, she started rolling in a blur of right, shooting off towards the gem like a ball being rolled down a gutter.

“Amethyst, wait!” he yelled, reaching out after. She didn’t look back, leaping at the giant gem in a blur of light and energy.

The gem monster swung one of it’s tentacles at her, sending her flying in the air. Before she got far, she threw her whip. It wrapped around the base of the tentacle, and when she pulled hard, it pulled her back onto the creature’s stoney body. A second tentacle swung down, and this one made heavy contact, smashing her against the creature’s back.

Grimacing, she forced herself to roll out of the way as it swung back for a second attack. She ran across it’s back to where it held Garnet in it’s tentacle, high and out of reach. Before she was so much as halfway there, the monster screamed and shook it’s entire body, throwing Amethyst to the ground so hard the earth beneath her cracked.

Breathing heavily, she forced herself to stand. She’d only barely made it to her feet when a tentacle smashed into her side, sending her flying back into the ground. It brought another spiney arm down on her, then another, and another, a relentless attack.

She could feel the light of her body pulsing, struggling, fighting to hold together. She panted, her weapon disappearing as she lost the energy to sustain it. It was obvious she couldn’t stand another hit like that. Shapeshifting into the Purple Puma, she managed to catch the next tentacle as it swung down, barely holding it high enough to keep from being crushed. Closing her eyes, she grunted, trying her best to hold it in place. She couldn’t hold out much longer.

“Get off!” She managed to lift her head just in time to see a spiral spear flying through the air, lodging itself in the skin of the tentacle. The creature pulled back in pain, and Amethyst found herself back in her last form, breathing heavily.

“Amethyst!” she couldn’t even stand before a pair of arms wrapped around her, pulling close, tears falling on her shoulder. “Are you alright? Did it crack you?”

She lifted her head, looking up into a familiar pair of eyes. “Pearl?” she asked, blinking with a forced smile. “What are you doing here? I thought you hated me?”

“How many times do I have to tell you I don’t feel that way?” Pearl said, holding Amethyst in a close embrace.

“Did it hurt you?” Amethyst asked, wiping tears from her eyes, leaning closer into the hug.

“No, I’m fine. Did it hurt you?”

Amethyst grinned, eyes welling up. “Who even cares?” she asked, her voice cracking.

“I do!” Pearl said, wiping at her eyes with the palm of her hand.

“Uh, guys!” yelled a muffled voice. They both looked up to see a bright pink bubble in one of the creature’s tentacles, Steven standing inside. “I think it’s mad!”

Pearl moved to stand, but Amethyst grabbed her hand. “Wait,” she said, looking cautious as she spoke. “This thing is mega tough. I couldn’t even scratch it.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Pearl said. She stretched out her hand, offering a slight smile. Amethyst looked up at her with wide eyes, blinking back tears. Grinning, she lunged forward, ignoring Pearl’s outstretched hand and grabbing her around the waist.

As they embraced, they were enveloped in a pure warm light, their gems shifting as a massive woman straightened from where they stood. Clear blue eyes opened as she gently brushed the hair from her eyes. Lifting her head, she rested her hands on each of her gems, drew out each of her weapons, and formed her bow. With a small grin, she pulled back on the string, a bolt of light forming as she lined up her sights. With a deep breath, Opal whispered, “We got this.”

She let loose one arrow into the arm that held Steven, and when that had no effect, she unleashed another three into the one holding back Garnet. The corrupted gem scream as it dropped it’s captives. Steven dropped his bubble shield and managed to scramble back to safety, and Garnet leapt over, landing lightly next to Opal. Grinning, the magenta gem adjusted her visor. “Good to see you again.”

Drawing back her bow again, Opal glanced at the other gem with a small nod. “You too.” Releasing an arrow, Garnet took off at top speed. Jumping, she kicked off the arrow, and leapt into the air. Right as Garnet dropped towards the massive gem monster, Opal unleashed another barrage of arrows. After a pause, the monster rippled, then exploded in a flash of light, unable to hold up under both fusions attacks.

Garnet and Opal walked back, and Steven ran over, grabbing them in an excited hug. “You did it! You both did it!”

Opal flushed slightly, still unused to all the attention, but she seemed to relax when Garnet set a hand on her shoulder. “You did some great work, Opal. I guess you’ll be leaving soon?” she asked, cocking her head to the side, almost as if she already knew the answer.

Pausing, Opal bent down and picked Steven up, setting him lightly on the shoulders. “So long as I’m here, I think I can stay around for, say, one episode of Crying Breakfast Friends?”

Steven gasped, eyes bright as he wrapped his arms around her head in a tight excited hug. “Thanks Opal!”

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bluekayanite · 6 years

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So I did enjoy the latest SU episode. Still, there were some things I found odd or interesting that I wanted to comment on.

Followers of mine might be able to guess it: even with all that, I still think that Rose and Pink were most likely separate. XD The latest ep doesn’t cancel all the contradictions - in fact, it creates a number of contradictions - and I think it might ties in to some of my old theories. There’s a LOT of speculation involved, but if you can deal with that, feel free to look.

Spoilers for the latest arc AND the preview for the next ep below. The part for the preview is at the very bottom, and clearly marked, so hopefully you can easily avoid it if you want.

EDIT(s): Added a couple links, GIFs (for clarity), some smaller segments, plus a few small wording changes. EDIT pt. 2: Swapped a link for a more-appropriate one. Fixed a GIF.

First, a summary for context: I think that Pink DID want to save the Earth, but knew that outright doing so was risky. So she made Rose - modeling her strongly after herself - to lead the Rebellion while secretly doing her own work. White Diamond found out - recently I speculated that she looked at the specs for Rose Quartzes (possibly to see if there was a flaw), and found out what they were really for.

White probably has powers that affect the minds of Gems, with Pink being the only one who’s immune. So since White couldn’t control Pink, she instead took Pink down, used her mind powers to alter the memory of everyone else involved, and stuck Pink in the (probably Gem-powered) observation orb, with a field around it that I think might let in anyone that just wants to use the orb, but blocks anyone who’s thinking of doing a rescue attempt. I believe that White was even able to affect the minds of the CGs because, as shown in Off-Colors, some things apparently can still get to a Gem through Rose’s shield.

And I’d think if anyone could get through Rose’s shield, it’d be White.

(More details here.)

Pearl’s story creates a LOT of contradictions - I won’t list them all here, but a big, quick one is this:

“I’ll have us warped into the Kindergarten at once, My Diamond.” - Pearl, in the moon base with Pink; Now We’re Only Falling Apart “There's a Diamond base[...] but getting there is going to be difficult[...] because it's not accessible by warp pad.” - Pearl; It Could’ve Been Great

Yep. There are even places where Pearl contradicts herself, but I guess she doesn’t realize it. I don’t think we can take much anything from Pearl’s memories at face value, other than maybe the bits with Garnet.

The contradiction that got me thinking about all this in the first place, over a year ago, is that, when Steven first visits the palanquin, it’s placement suggests that Pink was standing on a ledge behind the palanquin when she was taken down.

This is so far removed from anyone’s memories that it seems like it can only be explained by implanted memories, and we know Centi’s memories were impacted by the Diamond Attack, and it looks like neither Yellow nor Blue have any clue about such a power.

Anyway, I’m going to try to tackle the aura: It has long seemed to me that while Rose and Pink had to be separate, they mostly likely had a few very similar powers - namely, plant-growing powers, and I think probably the empathy and the healing tears. For example, most of the flowers sometimes shown on Earth are pink, but the jungle moon is FILLED with pink flowers when none are shown through the window when Pink looks at her reflection - in fact, they disappear for that part of the dream, so I think they weren’t really there at the time and are only dreamed about in the first place because the dream is mixed-up.

(And by the way, she looks different than in Pearl’s memories. ;3)

Kind of like I mentioned in this post, this seems to me like Pink may have affected the jungle moon with a massive explosion of power, long before she came to the Earth. Meaning she probably discovered organics - and her powers - well before the colony happened, and that she wouldn’t have had to disguise herself to discover organic life.

But if the plants were grown by Pink, and the two of them are separate, then why does one of the flowers still react to Stevonnie’s presence?

My theory? Because their powers are just that similar - at least, on the surface. I suspect it would seem different if you looked deeper. I mean, visually, Steven clearly gives off a Rose-aura, without a hint of Diamond-iness to be seen.

So yes, if Stevonnie’s aura can fool flowers, I think it’s possible that Steven’s aura could fool Yellow and Blue. (But maybe not White, who I suspect is especially good with magic.) Also, it’s been awhile since Blue and Yellow have seen Pink, Steven honestly believes that he’s Pink, and there may be some wishful thinking on the part of Yellow and Blue; so I think those may be influencing factors.

(That said, I have still kind of wanted Steven to befriend at least Blue over the ‘Steven = Pink” thing. So I still really like that part. ^_^)

Okay, so I can kind of understand why Yellow might come to Earth, but the idea of Blue being there seems out of place to me. She wouldn’t want to see the Earth destroyed by the Cluster (and there’s no clear sign of her helping to release it), I doubt either of them would suspect that Yellow would need backup, I doubt that Blue thought she’d have time to collect humans (and it looks like she didn’t even try to), it doesn’t sound like she knew Steven was there... and you remember what happened near the end of the trial?

Zircon’s accusation definitely had an impact on Blue. Between that, and how much Blue wanted to find the truth about Pink, I was convinced that she’d launch her own secret investigation. And yet, if anything, it seems like Blue dropped the matter. She even seems just fine fighting alongside Yellow - who would probably be a suspect, as far as she knew.

Heck, in The Trial, she wanted to hear everything that Steven had to say, and in Reunited, she doesn’t seem to care to listen. She even tells Steven to “Answer for what you’ve done, when suspicion had been cast on her fellow Diamonds not that long ago. She even identifies Rose’s sword as the one used to shatter Pink when Zircon had cast suspicion on whether it could have been Rose.

And I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure if Blue would even know that Rose’s sword was the sword (supposedly) used, because it doesn’t look like Blue had seen what happened, and I don’t know if it was ever specified by the witnesses. (Granted, it was Rose’s signature sword, and Blue may have been acting out of emotion.)

But really, it’s like Blue completely forgot what happened at the trial, and even some of her own motives. But how would she do that so easily?

You might have guessed it: I think that Blue really did investigate, and either she wasn’t careful enough about being found out, or she asked White about things outright. White, intent on covering things up, would’ve altered her memory. Maybe Yellow’s, too, just for safe measure.

On a related note, I think the timing of when the Diamonds coming for the Cluster isn’t a coincidence - we don’t know how long ‘shortly’ is in this case of how soon the Cluster would emerge, but I’d think Yellow wouldn’t suspect that it was in a bubble, or that it would need a little ‘encouragement.’ And again, Blue’s there when it seems odd that she would come.

But I noticed that this happened during the ceremony:

I think the lizards may be drones of sorts that White uses to spy on things, and Lion seen was eating one (with a very serious face, I might add). Considering everything that’s been going on, I think there’s a good chance that White noticed some things she didn’t like, realizing that Pearl’s memories were out in the open. Maybe she even heard, at some point (say, through Steven’s song just then), that the Cluster had been bubbled, and maybe that it considered itself victim. Or at least, maybe she figured that the wedding would be a time when the CGs would have their guard down.

At any rate, I think she thought that it was time to act, and so she ‘influenced’ Yellow and Blue to come for the Cluster. Maybe she even bumped up Blue and Yellow’s anguish so they’d be more prone to attacking Steven.

It might even explain why their thoughts were so strong that Steven was having trouble getting through them. Maybe it’s even tied to why Yellow didn’t recognize Peridot.

(I’m don’t know if that last bit is really important, but I think it’s kind of a funny potential-side-effect, at least. XD)

So... Where are Yellow Pearl and Blue Pearl?

I mentioned in my post about Made of Honor that I think it’s possible that they’ll play a major part before too long - that they probably know something about Pink Diamond’s Pearl that could point everyone in the right direction. I thought they’d show up in Reunited, but I guess I mispredicted.

That said, I do wonder why we haven’t seen them with their Diamonds. It seems a bit strange that the Diamonds would be without their Pearls. It doesn’t look like the Pearls are ever left behind to handle things while their Diamonds are away, which makes me think that maybe they were asked to wait while their owners handled things outside, and they might just waiting in the wrecked arm ships. ^_^;

I do wonder what Blue and Yellow might do about being stranded on Earth... maybe Steven will try to heal the Galaxy Warp. Or maybe they’ll try to salvage something from the ships.

At any rate, I’m pretty much waiting for everyone to start comparing notes and realize that things don’t make sense, one way or another.

This isn’t a contradiction, but I thought I’d note: I think it’s possible that, because she’s stuck in the observation orb, Pink can see what’s going on on the Earth, and that the moon in the sky could usually mean that she’s watching at that point.

You can see the moon quite a bit during the wedding ceremony (during the day), but not at all during the reception, or the fights (at sunset/night).

And you know how the stars usually look like diamonds in SU? In What’s Your Problem? and The Question, some of them look like encapsulated pink diamonds.

This isn’t the first time effects like this shown up, but it does seem to have only started more-recently. Even then, they’ve usually been pretty subtle - nowhere near as prominent as at the beginning of The Question. This kind of seems like a hint about Pink, or maybe even an effect of her powers - whether intentionally, or instinctively, she might be subtly influencing the skies and effecting the look of the stars.

Also, I think hot-pink suns may be another celestial sign of Pink - usually, the sunsets are more of a more subtle pink, or an orange color, or a gradient of the two fading to a dark blue. But then in, What’s Your Problem? and Made of Honor, the sunsets are more noticeably bold than usual.

So far as I’ve noticed, the only other ep where the sky is that boldly pink is Raising the Barn, where Lapis - the Gem who may have been stuck in a similar situation to Pink - was leaving forever. You don’t see the moon during all that, but it does show up shortly after the fact.

So during the arc, the moons shows quite a bit during the day, some of the stars look strange, and the sunsets are unusually bold. But then once the reception starts - after the ceremony itself - these things disappear, and the skies are much more normal.

Backing up a bit, the moon DID show up at the beginning of Now We’re Only Falling Apart - rather brightly, I might add - so it seems like Pink may have been really paying attention when the Gems were discussing what Pearl had just shown Steven.

Basically, I’ve been thinking that maybe Pink saw what was going on, started freaking out (especially with how hard Garnet took the info), and desperately started stretching her power to try and give a hint that she’s really stranded on the moon, and that she wasn’t Rose Quartz - a lot like how Lapis stretched her power to give Steven instructions, and to help him free her from the mirror.

But when she noticed that Ruby and Sapphire were getting together again and that the CGs weren’t going to fall apart, she started to calm down. She made sure to catch the wedding, and she decided to take the advice that Steven sang and just relax for awhile - I would guess she even fell asleep, or something. But that meant that she ended up missing all the stuff with the other Diamonds. XD; (Something that it would seem she does a lot of, actually, if the moon is any indication.)

Just something where I’d like to see if it’s true or not. I kind of hope the moon bit is, at least, because I like the idea of Pink making sure to watch Garnet’s wedding. Among other events. =3

Something about Yellow’s thoughts caught my attention:

"How miserable. I knew Pink couldn't handle her own colony, but I gave in. And now, I'm to blame for her fate.”

I’ve often thought that the Diamonds would put matters that effected all of them to a vote (though they’d otherwise have free reign over their own planets). I think Yellow’s thoughts confirm this (or at least lend credence to it), and it looks like one of the things that they might vote on is who gets which planet. I’m guessing Blue had long supported Pink in this, and if it took Yellow caving to make it official, then maybe White never voted for a planet Pink to have a colony.

But why? Did she have a reason to suspect that things would go wrong if Pink took a colony? Maybe she had reason to suspect that Pink might side with organics. That said, if she did, I wonder what tipped her off?

Also, we have yet another story for Blue’s and Yellow’s mindsets on Pink and her colony: Yellow figured that Pink couldn’t handle her own colony, when the dream in Can’t Go Back suggests that they thought she didn’t need any assistance - heck, Blue was even shown saying that all Pink needed to do was smile and wave. Also, Garnet implied that Yellow and Blue came to give Pink help, while Pearl pretty much said that those two denied Pink any real assistance.

I’d like to find out for sure what happened. Personally, I always thought that Pink probably tried to keep them from getting involved, but it only worked for so long, and I still think that scenario is pretty likely.

Small bit: I do love Peridot’s “flower girl” dress, but I find it odd that it destabilizes and poofs with her, suggesting that it’s part of her form. I thought that changing one’s outfit would count as shapeshifting (which Peri said that she couldn’t do at all), but this suggests that it doesn’t - or at the very least, maybe it’s a minor form. I’d kind of like to hear some clarification on this, personally.

Also, I’m interested in seeing Lapis and Peridot reform with CG-based outfits. And in seeing what they look like. =3

Now this part really caught my attention: In seasons 1-3, the end credits played snippets of Rose’s farewell song, Love Like You, gradually progressing through the lyrics until it was wrapped up at the end of Bubbled. But for every episode after that, there’s been ominous-sounding sound clips, moving into an instrumental tune that includes the instrument used for the Diamonds.

UNTIL Reunited... where they started playing a bit of Love Like You again. =3

Interestingly, it seems to be a different recording. Also interestingly, they started about halfway through the song, with the lyrics “I always thought I might be bad, now I’m sure that it’s true, ‘cause I think you’re so good...” (It fades out before “and I’m nothing like you.”)

Though why I really find this interesting, is because of the lyrics that come shortly after that part: “Look at you go. I just adore you. I wish that I knew... what makes you think I’m so special?”

Love Like You, in general, is about Rose not thinking much about herself. But if she really were a Diamond, I don’t think it would be hard for her to imagine why others might think of her as special.

And personally, I think if Crewniverse really is setting up for a reveal that Rose wasn’t Pink after all, those lyrics would be the perfect line to end the episode with.

Maybe this is a clue that such a reveal is close after all. 83

THIS PART IS RELATED TO THE PREVIEW FOR THE NEXT EPISODE - AVOID IF YOU WISH.

So Blue and Yellow thought that they obliterated Gems instead of just corrupting them. But how would that be? I would think that they would know what they were doing with their powers. And heck, Bismuth knew right away that the corruption had to have been a Diamond thing.

“Only a Diamond could do damage like this.” - Bismuth, Made of Honor

If Blue and Yellow didn’t know what was going on, then that only leaves White as someone who would know. I’ve been saying for a long time time that she’s been using manipulating the two Diamonds - it may or may not be with mind control, but it’s possible that she did that when it came to what the Diamond Attack did.

I’m guessing she wanted remaining Gems to be corrupted in order to try and get rid of any remaining organics - and at least torment any remaining CGs - but I’m less certain why she would mislead the other Diamonds (or, to a lesser extent, Homeworld). My only guess so far is that she wasn’t sure how anyone else would take the information, and so she figured she should cover up what really happened, just to be on the safe side.

But yeah, I think White is the real liar, as far as the plot is involved.

And I think learning about the corruption might be a good reason for the other Diamonds to start suspecting that White may be involved.

Also, Steven says that he doesn’t have any of Pink’s or Rose’s memories, suggesting that they’re may still be some skepticism (on Yellow’s part, most likely) over whether Rose was truly Pink - and frankly, if so, I find that understandable.

(Also, it just hit me on how heavily involved White probably is. Seems I way underestimated that factor.)

#steven universe #su reunited #heart of the crystal gems #su pink diamond #rose quartz wasn't pink diamond #rose wasn't pink #theory #theories #Speculation #su #white diamond #su white diamond #pink diamond

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