#zuli rambles

[zuliuli]

I AM NOT OK

LITTLE BABY!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[zuliuli-main]

She's in her dustpan hehehe

[zuliuli]

*furiously taking notes* I'm loving this a lot 😊

Def going to make some changes to her character in the story now. Thank you :)

Also colored Maya!!!! 😩 she wonderful

Ok, I gotta know how you imagine Maya now 🤔

I haven't seen much about her besides how she acts in the games, so I sorta described her based on how I drew her. I really love to expand on how I see certain characters, so some incite would be great 🙏

HALLO HALLO im gonna assume this means little maya Because mmm

I was rambling abt her to my friend and i was EXTREMELY self projecting onto her because Im literally maya or smth

So i was thinking abt her all night or smth and just based on those little few drawings i kinda hced her as autistic ☹️ and she. Really loves cats and nature and flowers and stuff because shes a little kid and she loves to have fun…. she likes spending time with her friends!! outside having fun!!! shes just a girl!!!

that cat hoodie is her fav thing ever and she hates washing it But she also hates when its dirty

she becomes attached to flowers and pretty things she finds and will get all squealy and excited but if anything were to happen to them then ☹️☹️☹️☹️cries But she’s tough in front of others much like her stupid brother

This is totally fucking self projecting like a mfer so please excuse me i Love her

(aidens her protective twin brother btw!!! He will tell her he loves her but he will never say it in front of all his friends because hes a stubborn whiny little fag bitch (affectionate))

This is just my take sniffle i gotta calm down

also another colored baby

[moonfurthetemmie]

Some other tidbits about lucidity’s evil polycule from various places, because my notes are literally in three different places, not counting everything I shared with tumblr

From the discord server I rambled in a little:

Nightshade reminds Lucidity of Nightmare, some. They're both chaotic little shits. They know when to stop, but simply choose not to because going past that limit is usually more fun.

Lucidity is, much to his initial irritation, rather impressed by how much Shale’s accomplished with only a team of five people, before he and Nightshade came along.

The fact that there's still some morals that Lucidity clings to reminds Nightshade very much of Dark. Also once he calmed down some Lucidity started being kind a snarky little bitch, but they didn't even realize at first because he kept a perfectly straight face and sounded so serious. Nightshade is having so much fun

Shale will never admit it, but he's also really impressed with what Lucidity’s done. JR must've been incredibly powerful, especially with so many people. also unfortunately people being snarky with him with 0 fear of consequences is something he actually. kind of likes. he's only just realizing this and he's so mad about it

Nightshade was having a lot of fun watching Lucidity try (and succeed) to keep Shale from fucking with Jade and Zuli. Nightshade was having significantly less fun when Lucidity turned on him for being such a dick to Jade for no reason other than being jealous that Dark want to hang out with Jade and not him.

of course, his pushing Nightshade and Shale around doesn't go unpunished. they try to fuck with him once he mellows out a little, and it works. especially when they find out about JR's problem with corrupts.

Lucidity is at the point where he can (and will) admit that he was wrong about positivity and negativity, but Shale and Nightshade are still laughing at him about it. look at you now. you're almost as bad as us!

But the combination of Shale and Nightshade trying to worm their way into Lucidity’s brain to make him think he's exactly as bad as they are, plus the fact that Lucidity’s being a huge help with dealing with the resistance, ends up with them all starting to get along. which is even scarier to the rest of the manor than the emotionally raw Lucidity that seemed to consider slicing their heads off every time they even slightly irritated him.

...it was mostly paraiba and mercury who would get that look. paraiba because girl fam will not hush, and mercury because Mercury was doing his job as a doctor and told Lucidity to stop being a reckless idiot after coming into his office covered in bruises and cuts after returning from...whatever he was doing when he left.

but anyway.

Lucidity didn't really need them trying to manipulate him to settle into a comfortable "well. guess i'm evil now." stance on it. did i mention breaking him by obliterating jr. Nightshade and Shale just kinda helped him settle into it faster, and more comfortably.

Aside from being a good tactician, Lucidity's also got the advantage of flying. This is good for many things. in particular getting the lay of the land, so they can better prepare the team for shit, and dream has been figuring out how to get them more resources to be more efficient.

I was thinking about this and it may not be exactly what you meant but like. Hear me out

Nightshade and Lucidity (mostly Nightshade) pick on Shale just to irritate him. They also are 99.99% of his impulse control so they have to grab and be like ‘hey. Don’t be stupid, dude.’

Shale and Lucidity gang up on Nightshade to pick on HIM. Nightshade is so offended they’d do this to him (not really)

Despite him being able and willing to pick on the other two, Lucidity is really easy to bother with chaotic nonsense. And Shale and Nightshade have so much fun trying to make him mad because of it

Some stuff from notes app:

Shale and Nightshade are definitely still being evil bastards and are manipulating him to get what they want. He doesn’t notice. But they also don’t notice that he’s doing the same to them, which is hilarious because it’s obvious to everyone else.

Lucidity spends one week in the manor and suddenly knows how to convince Shale’s stubborn ass to do something he didn’t want to do. In like, ten minutes, tops. Everyone is in awe.

And he also managed to get Nightshade to leave Jade alone almost entirely? No one’s more confused about that one than Jade.

Shale and Nightshade ask Lucidity about those three that showed up and asked wtf happened to him. Lucidity very hesitantly says that they were once his organization’s most wanted, solely because Nightmare was the negative spirit and the other two were associating with and helping him.

“…how long did you say you were running that place again”

“If Nightmare dies, so will l. And if I die, he will too. We never found a way to break the destiny bond, and so Nightmare was never executed. We captured him a few times, yes, but he always managed to escape. Especially once he met Cross and Error.”

“It sounds like you have regrets about it now.”

“…without my delusions about positivity and negativity clouding my judgement, I… We were friends, once. A long time ago. And I miss him.”

“You could try to get him to join us, yknow.”

“He wouldn’t. Not without a great deal of torment and manipulation. I won’t do that to him, and I won’t let either of you do it, either.”

Shale rolls his eyes but drops it.

Nightshade shrugs. “Well…torment may not be necessary. But I can’t say I don’t understand your concerns. I wouldn’t let Dark join, either. As much as I love him, he couldn’t do it. He cares about people too much to help anyone achieve world domination, even if he didn’t already have a personal vendetta against one of us.”

Nightshade tries to convince Lucidity to at least get Nightmare to stay with them, as like a housemate, but Lucidity won’t even do that. Nightmare is quick and clever, and almost as stubborn as Shale, at best, so unless they can be very subtle about it over a long period of time, it won’t work. Besides, the chances of him agreeing to come before that point so he can try and mess stuff up from inside are pretty high.

Nightshade and Shale decide that they maybe should leave Nightmare alone.

but there is a chance they actually do it. That the Meme Squad end up living in the manor and being in a position similar to Dark’s, where they trust Lucidity entirely and can’t imagine he’d ever do anything wrong. Nightmare in particular.

Lucidity isn’t so far gone that he’ll let even Shale or Nightshade fuck with them (except probably Cross, but he can’t turn a blind eye every single time or the other two will get pissed). He is, however, going to gaslight them about him and his boyfriends being murderers. ‘You three have no idea what you’re talking about, you know I’d never do that,’ etc etc.

He won’t let Shale or Nightshade try to ‘help.’ Which means they’re going to end up being very dependent on Lucidity emotionally, to their detriment.

this is uh. This is one of the other things that Lucidity picked up from them. Manipulative tendencies. It’s mostly Nightshade’s thing, but Shale’s not innocent of it either. Lucidity would be perfectly happy if Error and Cross vanished and left Nightmare behind; it’d make it easier for him to keep Nightmare with him, and keep him safe.

[kiksniko]

pleas infodump abt your ocs to us........

anon i don't think you realize what you've just unleashed BUT HERE WE GOO

i got a little excited so my rambling is going under the cut

so the basic premise is that nova is a literal star ( a protostar to be exact) and likes to take different forms that allows them to travel between different planets. their one dream was to travel to as many planets as possible before they undergo metamorphosis and become a main sequence star (fancy way of saying they need to explode and undergo rebirth etc etc) which will happen when they turn 20

i say that they want to go as many planets as possible BUT the only exception was earth, because in between traveling between planets they made friends with other interstellar travelers and they all said how earth is the worst and their customs are so odd and aren't these beings aware that war isn't gonna solve all their problems?? so yeah, Earth was on Nova's blacklist

now picture this, Nova is 19 and wants to undertake their most ambitious voyage yet before they explode (the process takes a surprisingly long time) , traveling millions of light years from where their home constellation is. Their companion (the tiny ball of gases called kyle) is advising them to NOT go dude this trek is gonna be virtually impossible with your current equipment but nova is like no no trust we will make it with the power of my ideals.

and so nova embarks on this journey, but it goes rocky towards the very end and they lose control of their trajectory. one thing leads to the other and... this doesn't look like what the brochures advertised? you can see where this is going...

so now nova is on earth, and they can't leave coz most of their equipment got burned to a crisp when they landed and making new gadgets will take them months if not years without added assistance. yipee !!

the rest is basically history from there. nova hates every single second of being on earth for a while but eventually they meet this guy called leo who is the most intriguing human being they have ever met, and decides to bother stay with him for the rest of their duration on the planet (much to leo's annoyance) here's what he looks like :) he also has a twin brother called lucius but i am yet to draw him fully orz

nova gets to meet zuli through leo since they go to the same uni and have been childhood friends :D this story is so dear to my heart since it's got found family, hurt/comfort, fluff, MAJOR angst especially with the laika family and overall good summer vibes

there are a bunch of other characters that i could talk about for forever but that requires several google docs HELEPDSHJB if you made it all the way here i am literally in love with you btw

[cathy-pso2]

It's not exactly AI, it's just a really good text to speech program that I pay 5€ for monthly. I still write my video scripts myself and have to manually input inflections/voice effects and pauses to make the Speech sound less robotic (also the TTS fails to properly pronounce most PSO2 terminology anyway). It's arguably more work than if I used a Mic but I really don't like my voice so much to the point that If I had to stop using the TTS program I'd just do mute videos like the ones from Zulie The Witch. I also have a rather thick European accent which doesn't help the matter much. I understand it would feel more genuine though and I fully agree that it would. I'm glad you enjoy the videos though~ ❤️ I'm honestly surprised there aren't more people with the ability to give non-overtly negative criticism since I know Classic PSO2 wasn't a homerun during its first years either and I've seen YT comment sections years prior to Global PSO2's launch berating PSO2 with the same kind of rhetoric you see used against NGS, except it was from PSU players. Which is funny because from what i heard the weapon grinding system in that game was extremely punishing. I wonder if being a hater on the internet has just became too normalized these days... I'd rather share good vibes than bad ones. Sorry for rambling though 😅

Haven't used this account in a while... Wonder if I should dust it off...

[dbssh]

Wake up, surprise, there's a reason to keep playing this game

I jump out of my hiding spot to reignite our flame

I'll keep it cozy inside so we can stay the same

We have similar stories, but know that no one here's to blame.

[daefsoulmate-blog]

if ts decides to release mv for daehyun’s shadow consider i’m dead

[zuliuli]

Aww, does That mean Little Mode Jesse has a cute widdle kid crush on Lukas? If so, then that's adorable.

Maaaayyybeee

That's for him to know and us to find out :)

[zuliuli-main]

Id like to show off the creature from the creature feature....

She sleeps on top of our dustpan

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 12: Eye in the Sky (originally published April 5, 2021)

AN: Now here's a chapter I'm sure you all will find interesting. Out of everything I've heard people declare to be super underutilized in Steven Universe Future, a lot of them say Nephrite shouldn't have been borderline erased from existence. Okay, I'm being a little dramatic there, but you get my point. In fact, none of the other corrupted Gems get anything important to do after Guidance. Well, I plan on changing that right now!

Synopsis: Nephrite needs help coping with corruption trauma, so Steven sets up a therapy group for formerly corrupted Gems.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Aparna Nancherla as Nephrite, Nephrite's crew

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz

Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli, Zuli

Featuring Auli'I Cravalho as Orange Spodumene

Kimiko Glenn as Blue Chalcedony

Tara Platt as Heaven and Earth Beetles

Tara Strong as Grossular Diopside

Phillipa Soo as Chrysocolla

Anika Noni Rose as Watermelon Tourmaline

And Aimee Carrero as Moonstone

--

Steven took a deep breath in as his Dondai Supremo wheeled into Little Homeworld while "I'm Looking Forward" played on his radio. "It's just a quick visit, Steven." He muttered to himself. "No need to get so uncomfortable, everyone is just fine."

As Steven stepped out of his car and looked around the Gem village, he found many of its residents minding their business. In particular, he found Cherry Quartz at Lapis's sculpturing class, partnered up with Zuli for an assignment.

"Oh, hey Steven." Cherry greeted Steven and motioned him over to check out the clay pumpkin she and Zuli were working on. "Lapis gave us an assignment to mold a vegetable out of clay, so Zuli and I chose a pumpkin. You like what we got so far?"

"Actually, I think pumpkins are fruits." Steven stated while observing the in-progress gourd model.

"Are you sure?" Zuli wondered, picking up the sculpture she and the Quartz were making. "Then why are they put next to carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, and other foods?"

"That's a pretty loaded question," Lapis said as she turned to the quizzical trio. "Pumpkins do have seeds inside of them like a fruit, but the nutrition is when they're most like-"

"Hi, Steven!" Nephrite interrupted Lapis to greet Steven.

"Hi there Nephrite, been a while since we talked." Steven said to Nephrite. "How are things with you and your crew?"

"Everything's been going good." Nephrite answered while stretching her arms. "Hey, sorry to interrupt you guys, but I came here because I got a little problem in Peridot's class."

"Oh, anything to help you guys." Steven stated, and then he turned to Lapis's students. "Sorry to leave so soon, but I got other things to do."

"It's alright Steven, I think we can manage." Cherry Quartz said before getting back to the pumpkin.

"Alright Nephrite, what are we dealing with?" Steven asked the former Centipeedle mother as they walked over to the greenhouse.

--

Inside the greenhouse, a small group of Gems was huddled around Peridot as she info-dumped about azaleas.

"Although the azalea is very beautiful, it can be very dangerous to humans as well." Peridot explained to her pupils. "The leaves and nectar contain grayanotoxins that can mix with honey to create mad honey, hello Steven, and can cause many symptoms, particularly those related to the heart."

As Peridot continued rambling, Nephrite brought Steven over to a sunflower in a pot that had a little bug-like creature skittering around the soil and stem. "See, that's what I'm talking about." Nephrite said. "Is this little bug bad for my sunflower in any way?"

Steven examined the critter as Nephrite held the pot to his face, allowing him a better look at it. "No, it's nothing to be scared of." He assured Nephrite. "And that's not a bug, it's an anthropod. A centipede to be exact."

Although Steven meant well, the reveal of the creature's name brought chills down Nephrite's spine. She began breathing rapidly, trembling uncontrollably as she dropped the flowerpot in fright and finally, letting out a loud shriek as she dropped to her knees, catching the attention of the rest of the class.

"Is something the matter?" Peridot asked gently while trying to console the formerly corrupted Gem.

"I was just telling her about the little guy that crawled into his sunflower, and then she started having a panic attack!" Steven exclaimed, almost just as lost as everyone else is.

"Maybe she doesn't like that thing." Teal Zircon guessed when she spotted the offending centipede and let it crawl onto her hand. "Aw, look at the little guy. Hey, Steven, you said it was a centipede, ri-"

"DON'T!" Nephrite yelled at TZ. "Don't ever say that word again!"

"Teal, can you stop being so insensitive towards others?" Steven scolded the Zircon.

"Sorry Steven, this was kinda my fault." Teal said remorsefully. "Hey, no hard feelings Nephrite?"

However, Nephrite was still too panicked to respond. She had gone from screaming like crazy to cradling her legs to her chest in front of the other Gems though, but Steven still felt worried for the one-eyed green Gem.

"You are aware that she was a corrupted Gem much like all of you, correct?" Steven said to the other Gems in the class, and they silently nodded before Steven turned to TZ.

"Nephrite, in particular, felt really lost when the Diamonds corrupted most of the Gems unlucky enough to remain on Earth, since she was separated from her crew." He explained. "Thankfully, I was able to reunite them all, but was unable to heal them until I got help from the Diamonds." That was when he got an idea. "That's it!"

--

"Thank you all for coming!" Steven announced to a group of formerly corrupted Gems sitting in a circle of folding chairs. "Now, it's come to my attention that at least one of you is still reeling from having been corrupted for thousands of years. This is a term I call PCSD, or post-corruption stress disorder." He began explaining. "It's kinda like PTSD, but I'm sure you get why it's so different."

Teal Zircon raised her hand, wanting to ask a question.

"Yes TZ?" Steven asked.

"So, where did you get the idea from exactly?" TZ asked Steven. "I mean, you could've just had a one-to-one sesh with Nephrite and you'd kinda get the same effect."

"Well, there are groups like this on TV shows I've heard of." Steven answered. "One guy would sit down with other people suffering the same problem as him, and they'd all take turns telling their stories in the hopes that they would get help. Now, anyone want to go first?"

"Us, us!" the Heaven Beetle exclaimed. "Hello, we're the Heaven and Earth Beetles."

"And we were corrupted." The Earth Beetle added.

"Hi, Heaven and Earth Beetles." The other ex-monsters greeted monotonously.

"See, you're already getting the hang of it!" Steven exclaimed happily. "Now, tell us your story you two."

"Unlike all of you guys, I think our corruption ran the deepest." The Heaven Beetle declared sadly.

"I'm pretty sure we even forgot what kinds of Gems we were." The Earth Beetle added before she took a look at her gem. "I mean, we certainly aren't Diamonds, but what could we be?"

"I think I may have a decent idea of what you could be." Teal Zircon answered before she used her monocle to project a holographic image of Gems that looked similar to the Beetles. "I think you might be Cubic Zirconias. You may be little, but you got a big influence over Homeworld."

"Though I'm curious," Steven responded. "why exactly did you ditch those guys for us when you live such a charmed life?"

"Well, those charmed lives were so drab." The Earth Beetle said. "Would it be oh so wrong to have a little excitement in your lives?"

"That is a good point." TZ muttered, prompting the other Gems seated to applaud the pair of Cubic Zirconias for opening up.

"Thanks you two for coming clean." Steven thanked the tiny twosome. "Now, who wants to go next?"

"I'll go." Orange Spodumene replied as she stood up. "Hello everyone, I'm Orange Spodumene and I was corrupted."

"Hi Orange Spodumene." The Gems greeted Orange Spodumene.

"Back in the old days, I went on many deep-sea adventures to collect life forms in places that no other Gem would dare to go!" Orange Spodumene began telling her story. "You all should've been there, the ocean life was beautiful. One of my favorite adventures was when I collected coral so that there'd be room for this Sea Shrine where tons of time things are stored. I'd be so happy to show you all my collection someday!"

"I never knew you were so into coral." Steven said to the deep sea Gem.

"I don't think you ever asked." Orange Spodumene replied before she continued. "Anyways, I didn't get the message to flee back to Homeworld and hid in the ocean when they pointed right at Earth. I thought that I would be safe from the Diamonds since the ocean is so dark and they couldn't see me, but I thought wrong. For the next couple thousand years, I just kept roaming around the ocean floor until I found Steven and then got bubbled."

"I'll go now." Watermelon Tourmaline said as she got up from her seat. "Hey, I'm Watermelon Tourmaline, and I was corrupted."

"Hi Watermelon Tourmaline." The other Gems said just as monotonously as before.

"Now, you may be wondering, weren't you a single Gem once upon a time? Why are you a fusion all of the sudden?" Watermelon Tourmaline asked rhetorically. "Well, I'm a different Watermelon Tourmaline than the one the Crystal Gems beat. I still find it super weird that there's two of me, but we learned to get along and even smash watermelons from time to time."

"Hey." The other Watermelon Tourmaline waved from her chair.

"Anyways, my components were brought together because Homeworld believed that fusing two Gems of the same type would give them an edge on the battlefield." The primary Watermelon Tourmaline continued speaking. "However, all they got was a big bouncy ball, so they just tossed me out. Didn't stop me from "bouncing back" though!"

The Gems began laughing at the Tourmaline's pun before Chrysocolla stood up. But even among the chucking, Nephrite refused to speak up.

"Hello, I am Chrysocolla." Chrysocolla introduced herself. "And I was corrupted."

"Hi, Chrysocolla."

"I once used my whips to uproot trees, but when I was that silly Slinker, I used them to be a real pain in the neck for the Crystal Gems." Chrysocolla explained. "But now, I can use my powers to not annoy others, but instead just have fun with them."

"Anything else you'd like to share with the group?" Steven asked Chrysocolla.

"I also have a bit of a fondness for history too." The former Slinker answered. "Particularly that one guy. What was his name again, Anderson Harold? Alexei Hammer?"

"You're probably thinking of Alexander Hamilton." Steven chuckled. "Hey Nephrite, you want to go next?" Nephrite just curled up on her chair and shook her head, much to Steven's disappointment. "Never mind." He muttered. "Uh, Grossular Diopside, how about you?"

"Gladly!" the little Gem exclaimed and stood up on her chair. "Hi, I'm Grossular Diopside, and I was corrupted!"

"Hi, Grossular Diopside."

"I had just emerged in the Alpha Kindergarten when the corrupting light hit, and I just wandered around with no idea what to do." Grossular explained. "But now that I'm here, I don't care what I was originally made for! All I want to do now is just enjoy life here on Earth."

"Hello, I am Blue Chalcedony." Blue Chalcedony said robotically. "And I was corrupted."

"Hi, Blue Chalcedony."

"I was heavily involved with helping to create new Kindergartens with my drills." Blue Chalcedony said, turning her hand into a drill as an example. "My drills were top of the line, so much that they impossibly kick reason to the curb, which was why Rose recruited me into the Crystal Gems."

"Howdy, I'm Moonstone." Moonstone said last. "And I was corrupted."

"Hi, Moonstone."

"My type of Gem was specifically made for stealth operations." Moonstone revealed. "Heck, we even got more than one weapon for the jobs we got!" As a demonstration, Moonstone began altering various parts of her body into various tools she would've used for her infiltration missions, to everyone's amazement. All except one.

"Hey, I don't think Nephrite over there has said anything yet." Moonstone realized as she gazed at the one-eyed Gem, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat before sadly getting up.

"I'm sorry." Nephrite apologized and began to leave. "I can see you all moved on, but I just can't."

"Nephrite, wait!" Steven cried as she ran after her before turning back to the group. "Uh, you guys go on without us!"

As Steven left, Snowflake Obsidian and Larimar turned to Teal Zircon, who was all too eager to tell her story. "Howdy, I'm Teal Zircon, and I was corrupted!"

"Hi, Teal Zircon."

--

Nephrite strolled sadly back to where it all began at Peridot's greenhouse and gazed down at the flowerpot she had dropped to the ground earlier that day. As it turned out, the centipede that started this whole mess was still there, and she wasn't happy to see it. "This is all your fault." She said angrily to the anthropod and raised a foot, ready to squish it, when someone stopped her in her tracks.

"Nephy!" Steven exclaimed, racing up to Nephrite and hugging her while shooing the centipede away. "I only wanted to help you! But why did you just run away like that?"

"Steven, I'm thankful for the kindness," Nephrite replied. "but sometimes, there are things you can never recover from in seconds flat. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, kinda." Steven admitted. "If it makes you feel any better, I brought along some friends who could help you."

"Captain?" another Nephrite asked for her leader as she and six other Nephrites entered the greenhouse with concern.

"We heard what happened from Steven." Another one of the Nephrites revealed. "How come you never told us about this PC-whatever you were suffering from?"

"Well for one, Steven just made that term up." Nephrite answered. "And second of all, he set up this support group for other corrupted Gems, but I just couldn't bring myself to talk about my experiences no matter how much the other members of the group wanted me to."

"Well don't worry cap, we were here for you back in the Rebellion and we'll be sticking by you now!" a third Nephrite cheered, bringing a smile to their leader's face as she shed a few tears of joy.

"Thanks you guys." Nephrite said as she joined her teammates in a big group hug. "I think I'm ready now."

"That's the spirit." Steven declared and he took Nephrite's hand and led her out of the greenhouse. "Come on, let's get going. I don't know how long TZ can keep talking."

--

"And that was the story of how I realized Jasper would soon become my best friend!" Teal Zircon finished a story for her fellow Gems, and there was much clapping as Steven returned with the Nephrites alongside him. "Oh hey Steven, hey Nephrite! You guys should've seen it, I was telling them all about that fight with Jasper and-"

"I think that's enough TZ." Steven chuckled. "After all, Nephrite's finally ready to talk."

"Oh yeah, I'd love to hear your story." Teal said happily. "No hard feelings about that centipede Nephy?"

"Water under the bridge." Nephrite sighed wistfully. "But still, it pays to be a bit more sensitive of others." With that, she took her seat again and finally began to speak for the other formerly corrupted Gems. "Hello, my name's Nephrite, and I was corrupted."

"Hi, Nephrite."

Nephrite turned to Steven and her fellow Nephrites, who watched on happily. "My crew and I were sent down to Earth to fight for Homeworld in the Gem War. We fought with all our might, but when we were called back home because the Diamonds were about to launch their final attack, our team got separated. I was so scared about what was going on, but then we all got turned into monsters."

The other Gems gasped as Nephrite continued. "When I first met Steven, it wasn't on the best of terms. I think he threw some kind of container at me to poof me."

"That's true." Steven revealed jokingly.

"Anyways, the next times we met were a lot friendlier." Nephrite's story became on its way to a happy ending. "The third time around, he even almost healed me! But it didn't last long, though because of that, I was able to reunite with my crew. They were waiting for me in our old ship this whole time, and I'm pretty sure you know the rest."

The rest of the group aww'd while Nephrite sat down, and she gave her thanks to Steven with an earnest smile. Steven returned it in kind.

--

Sorry this chapter was a bit short compared to the rest, but I feel I did what I wanted to do. And speaking of which, next chapter we move onto Bismuth Casual, which will feature the grand return of a certain "mystery girl" that fans have been begging to see again.

[tigerdragon1001]

assassination victim hearing one-sided phone convo

Zuli: *about to kill someone* Okay this'll just hurt a bit so sit back and- *phone rings* hold on a sec

Zuli: *picks up* Hi dear, Mummy's a bit busy right n-

Zuli: oh I'm so sorry, I forgot!

Zuli: it's in the freezer

Zuli: yeah, to the left. 2 minutes in the microwave

Zuli: no that's the oven

Zuli: yes I know the full phrase is microwave oven but you know what I mean

Zuli: ok bye bye now *hangs up*

Zuli: Kids right? I swear, I have to resist the urge to high five him every time I get snark. He's gonna be a great comedian some day.

[moonfurthetemmie]

hello.

i come bearing fluff

please welcome

The Fruitverse

(or Wholesome!JMV and Wholesome!DINTIS. that's the official tag)

Obsidian: Cherry

Jade: Apricot

Koroit: Carambola (‘Cara’) ('carambola' is another name for star fruit)

Zircon: Pitaya ('pitaya' is another name for dragonfruit)

Paraiba: Pomegranate (‘Pom’)

Silver: Plum

Jasper: Strawberry

Mercury: Watermelon (‘Melon’)

Zuli: Kiwi

Amber: (N/A)

Quartz: (N/A)

Peony: Blossom (ref and lore non-existant, but she does exist)

Peridot: (N/A)

Jet: Lime

Dark: Lemon

Huge Plot Dump

Funnies & Fun facts

They’re as fruity as you can get, in every sense of the word. Kiwi and Pitaya live with their families, and not in the manor, but they visit a lot. Kiwi is so tired of babysitting his friends (half joking). Lime is mostly a ball of anxiety but he’s getting better. Apricot’s signature weapon is the metal folding chair. Lemon proposed to Apricot with a McDonald’s happy meal and Apricot said yes. Cherry is a magpie/labrador retriever hybrid. I could go on about them all day. Also they all wear appropriately fruit-themed outfits because we had to commit to the bit.

The original doc was very rambling (admittedly, all of the jmv/dintis ones me and Wheeze made were; most still are), but I've done my best to consolidate everything more; both here on tumblr, and in the doc.

[maxfreedmanwrites-blog]

MUSIC I LIKED IN 2017 THE MOST WRETCHED YEAR

It’s been a shit year for the world at large. Even when progressives gain more government seats, right-wing bullshit continues to enact hateful policies that expand the gap between the wealthy and everyone else. I truly mean it when I say that music, the conversations we have about it, and the many other people I know who care about it kept me going this year. This has always been true, but it felt even more true this year.

I’m not going to write about all of these at length like I did in my half-year post. Some might have comments like “wow, this aged well,” or “man, this didn’t age well,” or “I work with this band, and here’s how you can get to know them.” I’ll link to any ones I’ve written about. I’ll share listening links for all.

This year was quite good musically (but it’s no 2014, a year that still feels mythical):

Throughout, * means I work with the artist

SONGS

HONORABLE MENTION, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

Arca - "Desafío" | from Arca

Balún - "Teletransporte" | single

Big Thief - "Shark Smile" | from Capacity

Blanck Mass - "Silent Treatment" | from World Eater

Blessed - "Headache" | from II (review at Post-Trash)

Fufanu - "Liability" * (we do their media, more love for them in Albums) | from Sports

Jay Som - "Baybee" | from Everybody Works

LCD Soundsystem - “how do you sleep” | from american dream

Leyya - "Zoo" ^ (used to work with these folks) | single

Makthaverskan - "in my dreams" | from III

Mozart's Sister - "My Heart Is Wild" | from Field of Love (feature at FLOOD)

Odonis Odonis - “Vision” | from No Pop

Shilpa Ray - “EMT Police and the Fire Department” | from Door Girl (review at Post-Trash)

TORRES - "Righteous Woman" | from Three Futures

“I am not a righteous woman/I’m more of an ass man”

Yoke Lore - "Only You" * (we do his radio, good interview at Atwood Magazine) | from Goodpain

Zola Jesus - "Veka” | from Okovi

Zula - “City World” | from 6 Passes (review at Post-Trash)

TOP 20, RANKED:

20. ​Palm - "Walkie Talkie" | from Shadow Expert

Though I’m iffy on the EP, I’m excited for the new album next year, and this song slays.

19. Omni - “Equestrian” | from Multi-task (review at Paste)

If all post-punk was this jerky and minimal, I wouldn’t complain.

18. ​Högni - “Crash” | from Two Trains

I saw this guy on a whim at Iceland Airwaves and haven’t been able to stop listening since then. The synth that comes in at 2:45 completes me.

17. ​Gabriel Garzón-Montano - "The Game" | from Jardín

16. ​Julien Baker - “Turn Out the Lights” | from Turn Out the Lights

Can we get more of Julien Baker doing the quiet-to-loud burst?

15. Hundred Waters - “Blanket Me” | from Communicating

This song is borderline melodramatic, and I really like it.

14. Lorde - “Green Light” | from Melodrama

Pop perfection, as we all know.

13. ​yaeji - “raingurl” | from EP2

12. Vince Staples - “Yeah Right” | from Big Fish Theory

boy yeah right yeah right yeah right. BOY YEAH RIGHT YEAH RIGHT YEAH RIGHT

11. zuli - “kubadiver” * (we do his radio, Rolling Stone says you should listen) | from on human freakout mountain

10. ​Mammút - "Kinder Versions" | from Kinder Versions

I don’t work directly with this band, but I work with Iceland Airwaves, which they play every year, and the Reykjavik Calling concert series, which they played this year. In their Stereogum interview, they talk about how this song came together, and it’s really interesting and a testament to what makes this song amazing.

9. ​Perfume Genius - "Wreath” | from No Shape

8. Kelela - “Frontline” | from Take Me Apart

This is the most straightforward song on the album. It’s weird that it’s my favorite.

7. Run the Jewels ft. Kamasi Washington - “Thursday in the Danger Room” | from RTJ3

I’m still not over the whole “Run the Jewels made a sad song” thing.

6. Dream Wife - “Somebody” | from Dream Wife

This song is so sticky and vicious in all the right ways. I’m having a bit of trouble getting into the couple of other songs from the self-titled debut LP coming out next year, but this song is awesome.

5. Kelly Lee Owens ft. Jenny Hval - “Anxi” | from Kelly Lee Owens (feature at FLOOD)

“CBM” is a bit better, but since the version on the album is no different than the version on last year’s Oleic, I’m not counting it here. Also, “Throwing Lines” is worth mentioning here too as a therapeutic slice of heaven.

4. (Sandy) Alex G - “Brick” | from Rocket

3. Moses Sumney - “Lonely World” | from Aromanticism

The 2017 version is produced differently than the 2016 version, so it’s on here. What a killer song.

2. St. Vincent - “Los Ageless” | from MASSEDUCTION (review at Paste)

This has been a St. Vincent classic since the very first time I heard it.

1. Priests - “JJ” | from Nothing Feels Natural

Okay, technically, it came out in October 2016 when the album was announced, but the album came out this year, and it’s amazing. So it’s on here. (Pitchfork said “Oblivion” was the best song of 2012, but it came out in 2011. This has precedent.)

ALBUMS

HONORABLE MENTION, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:

All Our Exes Live in Texas - When We Fall * (we do their radio and are pretty much their US/Canada spiritual guides) | Listen: “Tell Me”

Arca - Arca | Listen: “Reverie”

Big Thief - Capacity | Listen: “Mythological Beauty”

Blanck Mass - World Eater | Listen: “The Rat”

The Districts - Popular Manipulations (review at Paste) | Listen: “Salt”

Feist - Pleasure | Listen: “Century”

FOAM - Coping Mechanisms * (we did media outreach for them, New Noise Mag has more) | Listen: “Get on Board”

Hand Habits - Wildly Idle (Humble Before the Void) | Listen: “Actress”

Högni - Two Trains | Listen: “Komdu með”

Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. | everyone has listened to this, come on

Kllo - Backwater (review at Paste) | Listen: “Downfall”

Mozart's Sister - Field of Love (feature at FLOOD) | Listen: “Moment 2 Moment”

Omni - Multi-task (review at Paste) | Listen: “Southbound Station”

Palm - Shadow Expert EP | Listen: “Shadow Expert”

Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent | Listen: “Don’t Go to Anacita”

Soley - Endless Summer (review at Paste) | Listen: “Grow”

Sylvan Esso - What Now | Listen: “Kick Jump Twist”

This Is The Kit - Moonshine Freeze (review at Paste) | Listen: “Hotter Colder”

Yoke Lore - Goodpain * | Listen: “Goodpain”

Zola Jesus - Okovi | Listen: “Exhumed”

Zula - 6 Passes (review at Post-Trash)  | Listen: “All Except”

TOP 20, RANKED:

20. LCD Soundsystem - american dream | Listen: “tonite”

I thought I was over this band. I’m not. This may be my favorite album of theirs, but I don’t often make it through albums this long. “how do you sleep” is perfect.

19. Lorde - Melodrama | again, everyone has listened to this

18. Yaeji - yaeji EP/EP2 | Listen: “Feel It Out”

I’ve combined two EPs into an album! Yaeji is that good. Her debut album, whenever that comes, is going to be incredible.

17. Kelela - Take Me Apart​ | Listen: “LMK”

16. Julien Baker - Turn Out the Lights | Listen: “Appointments”

15. ​Gabriel Garzón-Montano - Jardín | Listen: “Sour Mango”

This album dropped a good deal from my half-year rankings. The great songs are still brilliant, but the others haven’t aged perfectly. Regardless, he’s a fantastic live performer.

14. Run the Jewels - RTJ3 | Listen: “Stay Gold”

Another case of “many songs still slay, others aged imperfectly.”

13. ​Mammút - Kinder Versions | Listen: “Breathe Into Me”

12. TORRES - Three Futures | Listen: “Three Futures”

It’s a St. Vincent album. I love St. Vincent. (TORRES has the words STRANGE MERCY tattooed on her forearm.)

11. Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory | Listen: “745″

10. Perfume Genius - No Shape | Listen: “Slip Away”

This is one of two albums ever about which I can say, “This sounds like nothing else I’ve ever heard, and it’s amazing.” The other is Portishead’s Third, which I listened to more this year than I listened to most of the albums on this list.

9. Zuli - on human freakout mountain * | Listen: “blaze”

Such a brilliant songwriter and dogmatic performer. Think Weezer plus Beach Boys, with Bitte Orca worship (aka me in the club) tossed in.

8. Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens | Listen: “CBM” (feature at FLOOD)

I was surprised at the more pastoral moments on the album at first, which is why it was lower on my half-year list. Those moments have aged brilliantly. I’d rank it even higher if I hadn’t already submitted my list to like three other places before publishing this.

7. Alvvays - Antisocialites | Listen: “Saved by a Waif”

Still the best pop band around. Simple songs, but not obvious, and so pristinely produced.

6. Moses Sumney - Aromanticism | Listen: “Plastic”

These songs never leave my head. What a weird and fascinating sound.

5. Fufanu - Sports * (we do media outreach for them, Stereogum has more) | Listen: “Sports”

Fufanu and Mammút are Iceland’s best rock bands, both live and on record. Sports is a brilliant mesh of rock and techno. I love working with these dudes.

4. (Sandy) Alex G - Rocket | Listen: “Proud”

I’ve gone from “Alex G is overrated as fuck” to “damn, Rocket is amazing.”

3. Jay Som - Everybody Works | Listen: “The Bus Song”

Most of the time, the cliche of a “record to get lost in” makes me roll my eyes. This is a record to get lost in.

2. St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION (review at Paste) | Listen: “Pills”

My favorite artist of all time has a new album! It’s amazing! For the first time, it’s a grower, not an instant hit. It’s no Strange Mercy, but I prefer it a bit more than the always fantastic Actor. I definitely like it more than the weird and lovable St. Vincent and the precious but still solid Marry Me.

1. Priests - Nothing Feels Natural | Listen: “Nothing Feels Natural”

I expect this album to make my top ten of the decade. I’ve already rambled enough about how much I love it. I promise you it’s worth a listen. Hell, I ranked it higher than a St. Vincent album. That should tell you everything.

[zuliuli]

This is the only thing I have to offer today..

I've been on campus for 13 hours, and I'm exhausted 🥲

[zuliuli]

Ivor was not happy about Jesse dying XD I can imagine Ivor shaking Romeo, Lukas, or Jack screaming "HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN!?!?"

Nurm gets a free pass in my eyes idk

Lol, yeah, he's furious

Once they got their stories straight, Romeo took the majority of Ivor's rage