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wickedcriminal · 4 years

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Earth.

~~~

"What's your favorite thing about Earth?" Five year old Steven Universe asked his father one afternoon, watching Greg pick idly at his guitar.

Greg was a little surprised at the question, chuckling. "Feelin philosophical today, Schtu-ball?"

Steven shrugged, casting his eyes down to his tiny ukelele as he plucked in tune with his father.

Greg hummed and pressed his lips together, thinking. As he thought, his eyes drifted to his new copy of Kerry Moonbeam, the remastered 2000s version that wasn't quite the original but still held the same charm. He smiled, and looked back at his son.

"Music," He answered fondly. "I don't beleive my life would have been the same without it."

☆

What's your favorite thing about Earth?" Seven year old Steven Universe asked Pearl while watching her train on the beach, swinging her spear with all the grace of a trained dancer. He didn't see the gems very much, so he was sort of shy talking to them at all, let alone asking them questions, but Pearl seemed to take interest in his query, pausing to hold the spear upright in front of her face and think for a moment.

"There are many things I admire about this planet," She answered at last. "I wouldn't have settled here if it had no redeeming qualities."

"What's your favorite?" Steven cocked his head, giving her his baby eyes until she relented.

"Flowers." Pearl sighed. She got a bit of a faraway look in her eyes, and she even seemed to smile. "A Rose can only grow so beautifully on a planet like Earth."

☆

"What's your favorite thing about Earth?" Nine year old Steven Universe asked Garnet while she carried beams of wood up to the temple, finishing up Steven's brand new home at long last. They'd move in the furniture next week after the plumbing was sorted out. Steven was elated, but he tried to seem professional around the gems. Mostly around Garnet, though. She was so mysterious.

As he scuttled up the stairs behind her, she stopped, shapeshifted an extra hand, and picked him up, plopping her on top of her head. He giggled and grabbed her hair as she started walking again, a keen, knowing look on her face.

"Love," Garnet replied, simple and easy. Her visor seemed to flash two different colors then, red and blue. "Love."

☆

"What's your favorite thing about Earth?" Eleven year old Steven Universe asked Amethyst on one of their runs to the Big Donut. After Steven dug out two donuts for himself, Amethyst downed the rest of them, bag and all, in one entire gulp. She burped loudly, and Steven laughed loudly in response.

"Hmm," She tapped her chin, sticking out her tongue. "My favorite. Thing. About. The. Earth. Eh?"

Steven nodded. Amethyst snorted and jabbed a finger into Steven's side so that he let out a tickled squeal. They both laughed.

"Fun." Amethyst crossed her arms behind her head casually, as though it were the most obvious answer in the world. "What's life if you ain't having a lil fun?"

☆

"What's your favorite thing about Earth?" Thirteen year old Steven Universe asked Connie Maheswaran, looking at her sideways on the picnic blanket, watching her read. She looked up in surprise, her eyes seeming much bigger behind the lenses of her glasses. She frowned a bit as she thought, gnawing at her lip, until finally, she lit up.

"Knowledge!" She leaned forward enthusiastically, grinning with all her teeth. She looked so pretty when she was excited. "Earth has such a big and complex story to tell! From the highest mountain to the deepest ocean, all its geology and biology and chemistry-- there's so much it can teach us! So much to do and see!!" She sighed. "One day, Steven, I'm going to see it all."

☆

"What's your favorite thing about Earth?" Fourteen year old Steven Universe asked Bismuth, setting up folding chairs. With Garnet's wedding mere hours away and Bismuth's debubbling mere hours before, it seemed only appropriate to get to know her better before... well, whatever happened next. There was so much he never got to ask her, especially since they weren't really able to talk much last time.

Bismuth clicked her tongue, stopping to tie her colorful dreds up in a ponytail.

"Endurance." She said at last. "This planet's been put through the wringer time and time again. The kindergartens, the war, the cluster. But she always endures. She bounces right back, greener and brighter than ever." Bismuth looked out at the sun over the sea. "What a spunky little planet Earth turned out to be."

☆

"My favorite thing about Earth?" Peridot turned to give fifteen year old Steven Universe a grin, pulling something from her gem. When it formed in her cradled hands, Steven had to lean forward to see it, small and fragile, handled with the utmost care.

Peridot held the small potted plant up to his face, brandishing the tiny sprout like it was her very own newborn child.

"Life." She whispered excitedly. "Like technology, but organic! A network without wires or gears. This plant. Animals. Humans. You!" She poked him in the forehead. "So strange. So enticing... the magic of living and growing."

☆

"Change." Answered Lapis Lazuli, gazing out over the horizon from the top of the lighthouse.

Steven reclined against the shingles, arms behind his head, listening as Lapis spoke again. "You told me once that nothing ever 'stays' on Earth. That everything is always moving, changing. On Homeworld, you had one job; one purpose you were created for, that you would fulfill for thousands and thousands of years, and nothing would ever ever change-- but here!"

She stretched her arms out, feeling the wind across her skin.

"Everything moves forward."

☆

Jasper didn't seem to like him very much.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Steven dismantled everything she's ever known, throwing thousands of years of loyal service as a soldier into the grinder. And now he was out here expecting her to teach him to control his powers? It was surprising enough she was actually going through with it, but expecting her to make conversation? That was pushing it.

In any case, sixteen year old Steven Universe sat across from her campfire, working up the nerve to ask her anyway. After all, there had to be a reason she didn't leave this planet; especially when she had a whole universe waiting for her just a galaxy warp away.

"What's your favorite thing about Earth?" He asked it so offhandedly, he didn't think she'd give him a proper answer. Favorite? Yeah right. Maybe she had her reasons to stay but she certainly didn't seem to harbor any love for this planet.

She reacted about as well as Steven expected; a sneer on her face and a glare in her eyes. He began desperately trying to decide how to take the words back when suddenly, unexpectedly, Jasper answered, "Rain."

Steven paused, his mouth still open. Jasper avoided looking at his face, tossing another log into the flames. The light flickered across the facets of her gem.

"I like the smell of it." She mumbled. "That's all."

☆

"My favorite thing about Earth?" Spinel asked curiously, swinging from the low hanging branch of one of Homeworld's brand new trees. As amazing as it was that Homeworld was able to support plant life, Steven was just happy to see how much the gems were enjoying it, too. Spinel herself seemed to particularly enjoy the jungle-gym potential of it all, scampering along the canopies like an excited monkey.

"Yeah!" Steven floated up to join her in the branches. She sat upright so she could sit next to him on the limb. "I know you were only there for a day, but I was wondering if there was anything you found special about it?"

Spinel snorted. "I'll be honest, Universe. That place isn't my favorite at all. To me, that'll always be... Pink's planet."

Steven exhaled. Oh, geez. For just a moment, he'd forgotten all about that. He really shouldn't have asked.

But Spinel surprised him by hitting him on the shoulder good naturedly, nearly throwing him out of the tree.

"Lighten up, Steven!" She chuckled. "If I had to choose? My favorite thing about Earth is you."

Steven blinked, taken aback. "Me?"

"Earth was Pink's colony. But it's your home. The home planet of Steven Universe!" She leaned over and ruffled his hair, making him laugh. "And if you're there, then maybe it's not so bad."

☆

Steven sat alone under the stars, cross-legged on top of the dondai. He was parked in the middle of the woods somewhere, far away from the lights of Beach City. He could make out constellations Pearl and Connie taught him, the Milky Way-- even Homeworld's galaxy, so bright in clusters of sparkles above him. It was quiet. Too quiet. Out loud, to himself, Steven asked,

"What's my favorite thing about Earth?"

Earth. The planet his mother loved, the planet he was born and raised on, the planet the gems worked so hard to preserve. The planet with music and flowers and love and fun, knowledge and endurance and life and change and rain. The home planet of Steven Universe.

What's my favorite thing about Earth?

Only a few years ago, Steven had sat down in the grass and played a song for Peridot on his ukelele, teaching her about the meaning of life, death, love, birth, peace and war on the planet Earth. When he sang it to himself now, though, it almost meant nothing. He knew all about that, but it wasn't personal.

He was born here. He was raised here. Then why didn't he feel connected to it?

Did he even love it at all?

He could always say with certain the things he loved when he was younger. It was easy for an eight year old to say he loved Crying Breakfast Friends and NC Bear Bear, to say he loved to sing and dance and eat funny foods. Dogcopter and the Spirit Morph Saga were hyperfixations and easy to rave about at the time, but they didn't define Earth.

What was his answer? Did he have one?

He fell asleep in the back of his car, dreams fretful with the fear he didn't deserve the Earth. He was an ungrateful, pathetic, cowardly pink diamond. And if he didn't love his planet then maybe he shouldn't be here at all.

☆

Everything was quiet after the monster.

They reached out to someone who knew what they were doing; a professional who was actually trained to deal with the trauma Steven hid just beneath the surface of his bright pink skin. The first few visits were a bit of a mess. But the man refused to give up on Steven. And he made sure to drive the point home that Steven shouldn't give up on himself either.

It was hard. But it was progress. And Steven had never felt more relief in his own progress than when he'd finish a session feeling like he could make it through another day.

And now...

Steven turned seventeen tomorrow. His room was packed up in various bags and boxes, most of which were already stacked neatly in the storage unit while his more transportable possessions were stuffed in the trunk of the dondai. The place seemed eerily empty without his various knickknacks lying around, and it ate at the back of his mind... but that was okay. This kind of change required baby steps, and Steven had plenty of time. He would always be welcome back home.

Outside, he joined Connie at the beach, looking out over the water.

"You're really leaving Beach City?" Connie asked, not quite looking at him. He dug his hands in his pockets.

"It feels right." He admitted. "The gems can all take care of themselves, now. They're all living life to ther fullest. Now its time I lived mine."

Connie chuckled, so he did too. He sighed. "I told you not to come all this way."

"I thought it would be best to see you off in person. This kind of change needs a little more than a supportive video call." To emphasize her point, she closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. This time, he hugged back.

"I'm proud of you, you know?" Connie whispered, nuzzling into his shoulder. "You've come so far."

"I'm still working." Steven felt a burn in his eyes, and he viciously blinked back the tears. "I'm still not better. I think... I think it'll be a while before I'm better again."

"That's okay." She gave him a squeeze. "It's going to take time, and patience. Just promise me you'll be patient with yourself."

A quiet laugh. "I think you worry too much."

"Maybe you just downplay everything." She smiled softly into his neck. "But hey. We're only human."

The click came just then, so quiet that he barely noticed it. But it was there, and he realized; that was it. The missing peice.

And it was warm. A weight that seemed to disappear from his shoulders as pure love filled a slot in his heart that hadn't been there before.

"Steven?" Connie must've noticed how tense he suddenly got, pulling back in concern. "Are you okay?"

Steven shook his head quickly, taking her hands in his. "Oh, its okay, I'm fine... I'm more than fine." He felt his eyes begin to burn. His body felt just a little lighter. "I think I finally know my favorite thing about Earth."

Surprised, and even a little excited, Connie gripped his hands in hers. "Really? That's great!" She grinned so wide her cheeks must've hurt. "What is it?"

He chuckled and leaned in to steal a kiss. Not their first, and definitely not their last.

"Humanity." He whispered. "It's humanity.

#suf spoilers? potentially #steven universe future is over so have a bittersweet fic #goodbye steven universe #my ficlets #my fic #sorry for long post #suf spoilers

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andrewmoocow · 3 years

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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 4: Bluebird (originally published on December 28, 2020)

Author's note: We're at the halfway point of Part 1 here, two antagonists return for vengeance on Steven, but is there more to this than just screwing with him? We'll just have to wait and see!

Synopsis: A pair of old foes return, and Steven learns that he can't change everyone.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Larissa Gallagher as Bluebird Azurite

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Michelle Maryk as Larimar

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz

Martha Higerada as Topaz

Ted Leo as Steg

"Hello there, all you Gems out there in the universe!" Steven announced as he warped into Little Homeworld as part of a commercial for Little Homeschool. "Has this new era for our universe gotten you all lost and confused? Well, come on down to Little Homeschool!"

"Are you used to destroying things?" Steven continued speaking as he walked in on Lapis making a sculpture, and Lapis just turned her head to him. "Then try learning to be constructive instead!"

Next, Steven stood with Peridot in a cornfield. "Are you used to plotting? Then come tend to this big plot of land!"

Finally, the camera closed in on Steven's face. "Feeling lost without the Diamonds telling you what to do?" he asked as the camera zoomed out to show him doing a yoga pose with Garnet. "Then we can help you find your inner center!"

As the ad concluded, Steven posed with Peridot, Little Larimar, and Angel Aura Quartz at Little Homeworld. "Everyone deserves an opportunity to grow, so come on down to Little Homeschool today!" he exclaimed. "And cut! Thanks for helping out everyone."

"I'm an actor." Larimar said.

"I'll get home and get some editing done." Steven said, preparing to walk away with the camera when Peridot stepped up from behind. "Anything you need now, Peri?"

"Steven, you smell good." Peridot innocently complimented Steven with two thumbs up, much to his confusion.

"I'm sorry, what?" Steven asked the green Gem.

"That's what your back told me to do." Peridot explained before she took a crudely written note with that exact message off Steven's back. "See, you wrote this yourself!"

"No, I didn't." Steven claimed as he took a sip from a box, but realized too late what he was drinking. "Tomato soup?!" he gagged.

"I thought you loved that stuff!" Peridot assumed.

"Yeah but, where did my juice go?" Steven wondered. Suddenly, a roll of toilet paper rolled away from the Dondai Supremo, and it was covered in more rolls. "Oh no!" Steven yelled in surprise. "The Dondai's been….covered in toilet paper?"

The mystery prankster was nowhere to be seen, with only their cheeky laughter as a calling card.

"Okay, whoever's pranking me, you got a really weird idea of how to do it!" Steven called out for his new opponent. "Where did they even get this much toilet paper?"

A little while later, Steven drove his now toilet paper-free car back home, where he noticed the front porch all decorated and music coming from inside.

"Another welcome party?" Steven muttered while noticing the welcome banner above his front door. "Oh, a new Gem must've come!"

As Steven walked inside, another banner saying 'Welcome Bluebird' hung over him and a piñata in his image were not too far away. Speaking with Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl was an unknown Gem with a burgundy bowl-cut, four legs, a pair of wings, and a suit jacket that was red on one side & blue on the other.

"Oh, hello Steven, our new friend here really wants to meet you." Pearl greeted Steven.

"Yeah, come over here and introduce yourself!" Amethyst added.

"Welcome to Earth." Steven greeted the new Gem politely. "My name's-"

"Of course I know who you are. Everyone does!" the new Gem interrupted him in a Cockney accent as she turned around to reveal that she was a fusion and had both her components' gems on her face. But they were two Gems that Steven recognized a little too well. In place of the fusion's left eye was a Ruby, and beneath it was an Aquamarine. "The old Gem savior himself, Steven Universe. Bluebird Azurite at your service." she declared before hugging him. "Come on now, give us a hug!"

"Cute." Garnet grinned.

"Oh, you like food, yes?" Bluebird asked a very unnerved Steven.

"Uh, yeah?" Steven replied sheepishly.

"Well sit tight then, I'll be right back!" Bluebird said before she flew away.

"What?!" Steven yelled.

"Yeah, she's just got here and already knows what she wants to do in life." Topaz said as she appeared next to Steven. "Isn't that great?"

"Don't you find this weird that the Gem who treated you like trash is suddenly all nice now?" Steven asked the big yellow fusion. "Why are you so chill?!"

"That was the past, Steven." Topaz assured Steven. "This is now, all thanks to you."

Just then, Bluebird returned to Steven with a plate of food. However, all of them were known to cause allergic reactions in people, as he observed.

"What's all this?" Steven asked.

"Why, it's food, of course!" Bluebird said as she presented the platter. "Clams, peanut butter, with a side of grass! Go on, try it."

"Yeah, don't wanna keep her waiting." Amethyst convinced Steven to try the dish.

"S-sure, I'll just dip this here." Steven reluctantly obliged, and took a bite of the grass. "Mmm!"

"Is it good?" Bluebird asked him.

"Yeah, I love it!" Steven fibbed in an attempt to keep their guest happy.

"Brilliant." Bluebird added with a cheeky grin.

"Can I see you guys in the bathroom?" Steven asked the Crystal Gems.

Greg was busy combing his hair in the bathroom when his son knocked on the door.

"Dad, it's Steven." Steven called for his dad. "We're gonna need you to let us in, emergency meeting."

After Greg let his son and friends in, Steven sat the Gems down to tell them what he thought of Bluebird. "Gems, I don't want to alarm you, but I think Bluebird may be a fusion of Aquamarine and Eyeball!"

"Uh, duh!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"It was incredibly obvious." Garnet added.

"Well, why are you guys so blasé about this?" Steven asked his guardians. "Did you suddenly forget when Aquamarine & Topaz came down to capture all my friends, and I had to surrender myself to save them? Or what about when Eyeball tried to kill me when we were stuck in space together? She also ratted me out during my trial!"

"Like Topaz said, that was then, and this is now." Pearl calmly assured him. "Besides, aren't you contradicting yourself a bit right now? I mean-"

"But I'm pretty sure they pranked me earlier at Little Homeworld." Steven explained. "They put a sign on my back saying I smelled good, switched my drink with tomato soup, and covered my car with neatly-stacked toilet paper."

"None of that seems particularly malicious," Garnet said. "Heck, Amethyst probably did one of those things at some point."

"It's true!" Amethyst responded. "There was this one time before you were born where Rose and I threw toilet paper all over town because Greg told us about it!"

"Besides, don't you like tomato soup?" Greg asked his son.

"Yeah, but don't you find it weird that she knew where I lived?" Steven asked.

"Steven, you've literally invited all problematic Gems across the universe to come to Earth and learn a better way of living." Pearl bluntly said.

"Listen Schtu-ball, if you don't like this new Gem, that's perfectly okay." Greg stated. "Just don't be so upfront about it and hurt her feelings."

"No, you're right guys." Steven agreed. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

"But if she really is more than she seems," Garnet declared. "we'll come in and squash her!"

"Thanks Garnet." Steven smiled at his favorite fusion before returning to the living room.

As Steven walked out of the bathroom, while the other Gems and Greg poked their heads outside, he found Bluebird chatting it up with Topaz by the couch. "Hey Bluebird!"

"Oh, hello Steven!" Bluebird cheerfully greeted him. "I was just reconnecting with an old chum and thought 'Hey, I should've given him something to wash all that food down with!' Want a drink?" she asked, offering him a soda.

"I'd love one." Steven accepted Bluebird's offer. "Y'know, maybe you two have changed." Just as Steven opened the can, soda squirted back in his face.

"Oh my, how did that happen?" Bluebird cheekily asked.

"YOU obviously shook it!" Steven accused the fusion of his old foes, when Garnet cleared her throat behind him.

"Chance to change." Garnet told Steven.

"You obviously shook it," Steven grumpily corrected himself. "By accident."

A while later, the party was over and everyone had left the beach house. As Steven walked downstairs to the living room, he discovered Bluebird holding a knife while Pearl was looking for something in the fridge.

"Pearl, watch out!" Steven cautioned Pearl. "Bluebird's got a knife!"

"Of course I did." Bluebird menacingly answered, but then immediately changed her tune. "Because I wanted to help cut this cake Pearl made for you!"

"Surprise!" Pearl exclaimed, presenting a cake with vanilla frosting that she got out of the fridge. On top of the cake was Steven's portrait, but his facial features were replaced with a butt. "Bluebird chose the design for me. You like it?"

Steven glared suspiciously at Bluebird as he stuck his finger in the cake, and licked the frosting off it.

Later on at Little Homeworld, Steven walked around to collect his thoughts when he discovered Bluebird grabbing Garnet and putting her in a wrestling hold. "Oh no, someone help! Bluebird's got Garnet!" he shrieked. "You let Garnet go this instant!"

"Don't fret Steven." Garnet calmed Steven's nerves as she was let go. "Bluebird was helping me do some stretches before I could teach her some yoga."

"Always important to stretch." The other fusion informed, eliciting an angry moan from Steven.

Back at home; Steven was angrily eating some Chaaaaps when he felt something that wasn't a chip inside the bag in his lap. In the bag, Steven discovered a poorly-drawn purple sketch of him with stink-lines surrounding him. "Ugh."

"What's up dude?" Amethyst asked him.

"Bluebird's really getting to me!" Steven complained as he showed the drawing to Amethyst. "I mean, look at this terrible drawing of me!"

"Steven, I-" Amethyst recognized the drawing as Steven scooped out more of them from his jacket.

"All of these too!" Steven cut Amethyst off. "I've been finding these awful scribbles all over!"

"Steven, these were all my drawings of you!" Amethyst began sobbing, and she ran away in tears.

"Amethyst, I'm sorry!" Steven tried apologizing to his Gem sister when Bluebird walked into the house.

"Aw, dry those tears, love, and tell me what's wrong." Bluebird comforted the bawling Quartz.

"Steven killed my art career before I could even get it off the ground!" Amethyst cried while Bluebird picked up her drawings.

"I don't know what art is," Bluebird said as she examined Amethyst's art. "but these are really good! They do need a little work, but I can help."

"Awww, thanks Bluebird!" Amethyst immediately cheered up. "In fact, I'm gonna do some more art right now! Wanna come?"

"Lead the way Amethyst!" Bluebird agreed, and the two left the house while Steven dropped his bag of Chaaaaps to the floor and angrily crushed it flat.

"Come on you flying rat; you can't be far." Steven growled as he searched Beach City for Bluebird, looking for something that would expose her components for being more than they seem, when he came across his father's car wash. "Oh, hey Dad!"

"AAAAAH!" Greg screamed from his Mister Universe van, catching Steven off-guard as he raced to the van.

"Dad, are you okay?!" Steven cried, finding the source of Greg's screaming to be him and Bluebird watching movies together.

"Hey Steven." Greg calmly greeted him. "I was just showing Bluebird my old-timey sci-fi horror flick collection."

"It's hilarious how poorly made they are!" Bluebird cackled at the flick she was currently watching. "Some of these 'special effects,' as he calls them, are so old-fashioned!"

"So what's going on, son?" Greg asked Steven, who forced a fake smile on his face. "And what's with your face? You're kind of creeping me out."

"I'm fine, Dad." Steven assured him as he walked away with creepy fake smile and all. "Everything's fine."

"And to make matters worse, they think those two have changed even after all the horrible things they did to us!" Steven later vented his feelings on Bluebird to Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth at Little Homeworld. "Please, you guys, I need someone to be on my side for once!"

"Oh, we're on your side Steven." Lapis assured her half-human pal, much to his relief. "After what Navy pulled, I don't really trust those Rubies all that much, especially her and Eyeball! Those other three working for the mayor, they're just meh."

"I don't trust Aquamarine either." Peridot added. "That blue runt's high and mighty attitude just keeps rubbing me incorrectly!"

"Don't you also hate Aquamarine because it's basically because of her we separated for a bit?" Lapis asked Peridot, who was just silent as she nervously looked away. "It's okay, you can open up to me."

"No way, she's not that petty!" Peridot said as she tried to hide her distress. Despite what the little Gem was saying, her body language told a whole different story.

"I just find Bluebird really creepy." Bismuth stated. "There's just something about that voice combined with her facial expressions that really give me chills."

Just then, a very loud clanging came straight from Bismuth's forge, and Cherry Quartz rushed out to see the four. "Bismuth, it's your forge! Someone's made a huge mess of the place!"

"Oh no!" Bismuth cried as she rushed to her forge to discover that the whole floor was now covered in all the weapons she helped build. "How could this have happened?! I was so careful to organize everything today!"

"Maybe Bluebird didn't like that you called her creepy." Peridot guessed.

"Well, I know something I hope they really won't like." Bismuth growled with determination. "Of course those little runts realize, this means war!"

Later that day, Bluebird had returned to Little Homeworld and was currently being given a tour of the town by Lapis, yet the fusion was unaware she was being led into a trap.

"Y'know, I'm feeling pretty parched." Lapis remarked sneakily. "You want a drink too?"

"Golly, I thought Gems didn't need sustenance." Bluebird wondered aloud.

"They don't really need to, but some Gems on Earth just like to eat." Lapis answered as they walked up to a conspicuous cooler filled with soft drinks. "Now then, which would you like? We got soda, OJ, purple stuff, two kinds of this other type of orange juice."

"I'll have the purple stuff!" Bluebird cheerily answered. Lapis took a purple soda can from the cooler and gave it a good shake, giggling all the way, before handing it to Bluebird and then turning away from her while plugging her ears.

After a few seconds, nothing happened, and Bluebird didn't drink the purple stuff. "Where's the kaboom?" Lapis wondered as she turned back to Bluebird. "There was supposed to be a big carbonated kaboom!"

"Oh, there seems to be something wrong." Bluebird observed the can slyly before handing it back to the terraformer. "Do you think you can help?"

But as Lapis realized, Bluebird didn't even open the can at all. "What the?!" she stuttered while taking the can from the small fusion. "You didn't even open-" When Lapis opened the can of purple stuff herself; she got a face full of the drink squirting directly in her face instead. As Bluebird laughed heartily, Lapis angrily crushed the can and glared back as Bluebird flew away.

"I already tried that trick Lazuli!" Bluebird cackled. "Try something original next time!"

Lapis's eye began to twitch as she dropped the can to the ground, fighting the urge to just launch Bluebird into space with a water fist.

"This is something humans like to do with their disposal units." Peridot explained to Bluebird as they stood by a metal trashcan atop the hill where the lighthouse sat. "You just insert yourself into the unit and just roll it down this hill. Now then, would you like to go first?"

"No, maybe you should go first." Bluebird suggested while offering Peridot a pair of rather unusual looking gloves from one of her gemstones. "And take these too. Safety first!"

"Where did you get these gloves?" Peridot asked as she put the gloves on. "They seem like old Homeworld equipment."

"Just found them lying around one day, nothing too important." Bluebird fibbed just as Peridot entered the trashcan. "Okay, are you ready chum?"

"Let 'er rip!" Peridot yelled from within the can before Bluebird kicked it, and it rolled down the hill with Peridot inside it. "ISN'T THIS FUN BLUEBIRD?!"

"Oh yes, plenty of fun." Bluebird snickered and walked away backwards from where the trashcan once stood.

"Wait, where are you going?" Peridot called as the can continued rolling. She tried to stop it with her ferrokinesis, but they didn't seem to work. "My stars, these old gloves are nullifying my powers!" she realized, and turned her attention to Bluebird in anger. "I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS YOU CLO-"

However, Peridot couldn't finish when the can finally collided with a wall, and her head poked out in a daze. "You're despicable." She hissed hatefully while stars danced around her head.

"Well, guess it's all up to me now." Bismuth declared to herself with Lapis and Peridot's failures to prank Bluebird. She now stood alone at the Warp Pad at the center of Little Homeworld where the barn once stood, in front of a mixer filled with lava. "She ain't ever gonna know what hit her."

"Who isn't going to know what hit her?" Bluebird asked rhetorically before she poured the lava in the mixer on Bismuth, though Bismuth barely felt a thing.

"You know this literally does nothing to Bismuths, right?" Bismuth asked as Bluebird took her leave.

"What happened to you guys?" Steven asked the soaked Lapis, dizzy Peridot, and mildly irritated Bismuth as they reported back to him on their efforts in the prank war.

"Bluebird saw my prank coming since she already tried it herself." Lapis answered.

"My mental powers were nullified by these old Homeworld gloves." Peridot added as she presented the gloves. "I think I'll keep them for further study."

"I barely got to do anything before Bluebird turned my own prank against me!" Bismuth whined in defeat.

"Oh, come now, put a smile on your face." Bluebird said as she landed behind the four. Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth turned around to see the little fusion before them, and immediately dropped to their knees with hands out and heads bowed. "Now, what's all this for?"

"We now recognize you as a superior prankster." Lapis declared.

"And now we must grovel in your presence!" Peridot theatrically added.

"We shall concede from this prank war, in recognition of the superior tricker." Bismuth stated.

"Guys, you can't just give up this easily!" Steven yelled angrily before he noticed his body taking on a slight pink hue. "That's four times now." He said to himself. "This can't be healthy."

"Oh, well, thank you all for the compliments!" Bluebird thanked the other three Gems. "Hopefully we can get up to more mischief together someday!"

As Bluebird flew away, Steven stomped to the Warp Pad and used it to return home with barely a word.

"Steven wait, we're sorry!" Peridot cried as Steven vanished from Little Homeworld.

"He's right. We gave up a little too easily." Lapis agreed with her Beach Summer Fun Buddy. "Maybe we should go apologize to him in the morning. You wanna come with Bismuth?"

"Sorry, I got a whole day of cleaning up the forge ahead of me." Bismuth rejected the chance. "But be sure to tell me if things turn out okay."

The next morning, Steven woke up in his room, the events of yesterday still fresh in his mind. From Bluebird's arrival, to almost no one believing him when he claimed that she was up to no good, and finally the help of the B-team proving pretty much useless, it was a very hectic day for him.

When Steven went downstairs to the bathroom, he discovered Bluebird's gemstones drawn on his face in the mirror. "Oh, haha." He muttered. "Very funny Bluebird."

Just then, the Warp Pad activated, followed by the sound of tires screeching. As Steven rushed out of the bathroom, he found Greg's van somehow in his living room, a trail of tire tracks left behind in its wake. "How did the van?" Steven asked himself in sheer confusion. "Oh, gotcha. I guess Bluebird and Dad must be having a ball." Just then, he heard someone cry out. "I guess they're watching another of his horror movies. I'm sure everything's fine."

Greg's cries for help proved otherwise, and Steven bolted outside to search for his human father. "It's okay Steven. Bluebird is cool." Steven assured himself. "Dad?"

"Up here son!" Greg screamed as Bluebird dangled him by the ankle on the roof.

"Are those screams of fun?!" Steven called.

"No they ain't!" Greg exclaimed. "Please help me, you were right!"

"An era ago, there were two Gems worshipped on Homeworld for their attempts on the life of their greatest traitor!" Bluebird declared. "But when he brainwashed everyone into worshipping him, those two were cast out and now have come to Earth for revenge!"

As Bluebird leaped into the air, she began to unfuse. "And now he shall rue the day he ever crossed-" To cap off her speech, Bluebird's components finally revealed herself.

"Aquamarine!"

"And Ruby!"

Steven and Greg didn't have anything to say to the two old foes.

"Well, it's us!" Aquamarine cried impatiently.

"Yeah, it was us all along, and no one ever knew!" Eyeball added.

"I always knew. Everybody knew." Steven replied. "You were really poor at hiding it."

"Well if you knew, why was everyone so nice to us?!" Eyeball yelled.

"Because we're nice!" Steven argued. "Something you don't know about!"

"Nice people, my facet!" Eyeball shouted. "You left me to rot in space!"

"And it's because of you that I'm a disgrace to our kind!" Aquamarine agreed. "Ugh, enough of this!" she groaned angrily before grabbing Greg again, this time by the hair, while Eyeball pulled her chisel from her gem.

"Hey, careful with my dad!" Steven cautioned the pair of angry Gems as he summoned his shield. "If this is another one of your pranks, then I'm not laughing, so you better cut it out!"

"That was just something to soften you up." Eyeball declared menacingly. "Now, the real torture begins!"

"We learned so much about you and your life Steven," Aquamarine taunted. "especially how you love My-Dad so much! But if you want him alive, you'll have to agree to our demands. Like destroying your home!"

"Yeah!" Eyeball added.

"Bubbling your friends and handing them over to us!" Aquamarine continued.

"YEAH!" Eyeball began getting more sadistically pumped up.

"And burning that silly Little Homeworld to ashes!" the little blue Gem stated.

"DO IT!" Eyeball shouted.

While Aquamarine and Eyeball were threatening Greg's life, they were caught off-guard by a few water droplets from above, coming from Lapis's wings as she and Peridot flew to see Steven.

"Oh crack, those two." Eyeball growled at the barn-mates while Lapis touched down to where Steven was standing.

"Hey Steven, we wanted to stop by because we didn't get a chance to apologize for yester-" Lapis began explaining to Steven, but immediately got distracted by the current situation. "Um, did we miss something?"

"It's Aquamarine and Eyeball!" Steven panicked. "They're out for revenge and they want me to do horrible things or else Dad gets killed!"

"Of course you'd sink that low, you filthy outcasts!" Peridot snarled at the other short Gems. "First, you took Steven away Aquamarine, and that led to some of the worst days of my life! Now, I'm gonna make you pay dearly!"

"Oh, here are some friends you can poof boy." Aquamarine told Steven. "Go on, listen to us for once."

"Never!" Steven rejected.

"Then My-Dad gets it!" Aquamarine threatened, but Eyeball was a little confused.

"Gets what?" the Ruby asked quizzically.

"Gets it!" Aquamarine scolded her partner. "It's like in those movies he showed us."

"Oh right!" Eyeball realized with a malicious laugh, and prepared to kill their human captive. However, Greg wasn't going to take this lying down.

"That's enough!" Greg yelled as he snatched Eyeball's chisel from her hand and used it to free himself by cutting his hair short, causing him to fall from Aquamarine's grasp.

"No!" Steven yelled.

"I got you!" Lapis exclaimed, summoning forth a water hand to catch Mr. Universe with. "Are you alright?"

"Just bereft of my glorious locks." Greg said mournfully when Aquamarine dropped the remainder of his hair next to him. "Oh my baby!" he cried before rushing to comfort the clump of hair.

"How could you let this happen, you meager soldier?!" Aquamarine yelled at Eyeball.

"You were distracting me!" Eyeball argued.

"I was directing you, My-Dad just caught us by surprise!" Aquamarine talked back.

As Steven, Peridot and Lapis watched the two enemy Gems bicker, Steven turned to his mourning dad. "Father, get inside."

"I'm sorry, Steven." Greg said boldly. "But after how they dangled me off the roof and made me lose my hair, I want in!" Just then, he got an idea. "In fact."

After whispering something into his son's ear, Greg fist bumped Steven, and it caused the two to glow right before everyone else's eyes. And as a result, the father and son fusion Steg was reborn, this time with a mullet in addition to his massive pompadour.

"He can fuse with humans?!" Aquamarine shrieked in surprise. "We were never told this!"

"Oh my stars!" Lapis and Peridot gasped in unison.

"This one goes out to all awesome hair across the stars." Steg boomed while summoning a double-necked guitar that he began playing. "I call this one, 'We Ain't Gonna Let You Get Away With This!'"

"Three against two?" Eyeball said nervously. "Y'know, I think maybe it's time we-" She was cut off by Steg braining her with his guitar while he turned pink.

"If you're saying we should run or surrender, you are sorely mistaken!" Aquamarine yelled while dodging attacks from Lapis. "They fused just now, somehow, so we must fuse in order to win!"

"Fine, whatever." Eyeball groaned as she noticed Peridot scampering into the house and racing back out with a kitchen knife to match the Ruby's chisel.

Eyeball raced away from the green Gem in fright and grabbed onto the fleeing Aquamarine's hand in an attempt to fuse, but it was cut short by the combined forces of their disharmony and Steg throwing Steven's shield between them that sent them flying face-first into the sand.

"What was that?" Eyeball asked.

"That was bad form you corun-dummy!" Aquamarine insulted. "Try again!"

The two of them attempted to fuse again, and again, and again, but every time resulted in failure. "That's it!" Eyeball yelled. "I've had it with you!"

"Tsk tsk tsk." Steg tutted smugly as he returned to his normal self and approached the arguing duo. "You guys only fused to get revenge on me, didn't you?"

"Yes, that's exactly it!" Aquamarine replied. "The only problem is she's too much of a moron to keep us together!"

"Me the moron?!" Eyeball shouted. "You're way too much of a bossy-boots!"

"If that's the reason, then I can see why you can't keep it together." Lapis stated from experience.

"What are you three talking about?!" Aquamarine asked scornfully.

"There are so many other reasons to fuse." Steg explained. "Like friendship, responsibility, maybe even love."

"Imagine how much better your lives would be if you fused to support each other instead of wanting to ruin someone's life." Peridot agreed with the massive fusion.

"She's right." Steg continued. "Your life would be filled with so much love and joy and friendship and warmth and-"

"Yes yes, blah blah blah!" Aquamarine rudely cut Steg off. "Ugh, love is so annoying!"

"I hate it as much as I hate Steven!" Eyeball agreed, but then the two realized something they had in common.

"Yeah, me too!" Aquamarine and Eyeball declared to each other as they fused back into Bluebird, much to Steg's irritation.

"This is bad comedy." Steg facepalmed as Bluebird triumphantly returned.

"Ah-ha, back in business!" Bluebird announced before summoning a cutlass made out of ice to attack Steg with, but he blocked the sword with his shield.

"En garde!" Bluebird cackled with a swing of her sword, spawning ice projectiles that turned into smaller cutlasses landing on the ground.

"Steven, why is the van inside the house?" Pearl asked while she, Garnet, and Amethyst emerged from the beach house as the fusion fight went on.

"Whatever Greg did, can you tell him to stop?" Amethyst asked before she let out a loud scream at what they were seeing. "Hey, is that Steg?!"

"We can explain everything, honest!" Peridot tried to apologize for everything that's happened.

"No need." Garnet boomed stoically while glaring daggers at Bluebird, continuing to swipe at Steg's shield.

"DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!" Bluebird shrieked violently when she noticed a certain group of three angry Gems. "Oh, if it isn't my favorite trio!" she exclaimed while innocently hiding her cutlass behind her back.

The Crystal Gems responded by fusing together into a very grouchy Alexandrite who towered over Bluebird Azurite and raised one hand forward.

"Oh no." the rogue fusion whimpered before she was squashed flat by Alexandrite. As Alexandrite un-fused back into Garnet, Amethyst & Pearl, Steven & Greg un-fused and gazed at the groaning Aquamarine & Ruby.

"Are you two okay?" Steven asked while Greg raced to collect his cut hair.

"Oh no, we have been defeated!" Aquamarine theatrically declared. "Now we'll be forcibly indoctrinated into your lifestyle like every Gem before us!"

"Yep." Eyeball replied as she rubbed her head.

"I've completely learned my lesson." Aquamarine stated. "I'm sorry Steven. Please accept my apology so that we may become defenseless pacifists just like you." When she extended a hand to Steven, Steven brought his out too, expecting to give her a handshake, but she childishly snatched her gloved hand away. "GOTCHA!"

"Don't you run away you runts!" Peridot yelled while Aquamarine took Eyeball's hand and they flew away.

"You rebels may have gotten us this time, but we'll be out there!" Aquamarine declared haughtily.

"Hating you!" her Ruby partner added.

"Forever!" Aquamarine concluded as they flew far away from the Gems, presumably never to be seen for a long time.

"You smell!" Eyeball jeered as loud as she could.

"Think we'll really see them again?" Lapis wondered.

"Who knows Lapis?" Garnet replied. "But if they pull off what they did just now, we'll be there."

"I guess there are Gems out there who still hate your guts." Amethyst contemplated.

"Well, I'm not the only one they wanted to hurt." Steven replied while looking at Greg, sitting by the ocean with his hair in his arms. "I'm really sorry, Dad." Steven apologized to his father while sitting by him. "I never should've given Bluebird a chance."

"I love how you believe in everyone." Greg sighed to his son while drying his tears. "You stuck to your principles, and that made me proud. But sometimes, some people don't want to change."

"Yeah." Steven sighed as well, before Greg let his hair drift in the water.

"See you around, old friend." Greg bid farewell to his locks. "You're finally free."

Later that day, Aquamarine and Eyeball continued giggling as they found somewhere safe to hide in the woods close to Beach City.

"You have to admit, it was hilarious how that My-Dad was so attached to his hair." Eyeball admitted to her blue cohort.

"I mean, it's just hair!" Aquamarine agreed. "But enough about mocking others' misfortune, give me the communicator."

"You got it." Eyeball obeyed and began searching around her person for what her new friend requested. "Uh, where is it again?"

"In your gem you dolt!" Aquamarine yelled.

"Oh, right." Eyeball realized, pulling a black, octahedral object from her gemstone and handing it to Aquamarine. After Aquamarine gave it a few turns, the object slowly rose above the two and transformed into a screen displaying a coded message.

"Your clarity, we have garnered some minor success on our espionage mission." Aquamarine announced to the screen while positing her arms in a rectangular salute. "Though our cover was blown, we now know that he can somehow perform fusion with humans. Tell us, do you have any further orders?"

The screen replied by giving a coded message to Aquamarine that Eyeball couldn't understand. "Uh, what's it saying?" Eyeball asked.

"It's saying we must return to headquarters and await further instructions." Aquamarine translated the message. "A craft is being sent to our current location to bring us back."

As Aquamarine declared, a small, orb-like white space pod with a single red window at the entrance instantly warped to Earth via lightspeed and opened its door for the two Gems to board.

"Haha, just you wait Steven!" Eyeball shouted to the sky. "Your precious little family will soon be done for!"

The two little Gems cackled evilly as they entered the pod, and it blasted off back into space. But they didn't realize that a certain orange Gem was watching close by, and had a disgruntled look on her face all the while.

And so ends Bluebird. Fun fact, Steg was completely last minute as I thought it would be cool if he fought Aquamarine and Eyeball. Speaking of which, if you couldn't tell by now, Aquamarine & Eyeball will have a much bigger role than in Regular Future going forward as they now answer directly to our mystery villain from Cracks and Buds. So first we had Holly Blue Agate, and now these two? What could this ne'er-do-well have planned with these old villains? We'll just have to wait and see. Speaking of which, I should really get back to a certain other Steven Universe fanfiction.

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #steven quartz universe #garnet #amethyst #pearl #bluebird azurite #eyeball ruby #aquamarine #lapis lazuli #peridot #bismuth #greg universe #steg

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rome5683 · 3 years

Text

My Secret Mate - Chapter Two

—-

It was the most boring day of school ever. For some reason, I could never find him anywhere I looked. We didn't have any classes together, not even the same lunch period. It was surprisingly frustrating. The tests results were in by the end of the day, and somehow Trent had gotten the highest. It was unbelievable, but I was also relieved I'd have an excuse to be drunk. Maybe then I could curb this attraction to my mate, that I didn't want.

I pushed Trent playfully, "You only scored high 'cause you cheated on that girl besides you."

"Sure, I did." Trent scoffed as I leaned against my truck. "So what time does the party start again?"

I shrugged, "The flyer says seven, but I'm prepping for it as soon as I get home. You got the alcohol?"

Trent grinned, "Heck yeah. I'll bring it around six, okay? The kegs can be tough to bring in."

I nodded and looked to Lindsay. "You coming to my house right now or later?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Can we swing by mine so I can get a change of clothes?"

"Yeah, for sure."

Bella pulled me to the side, "Hey. So, where did you run off to this morning?"

I pursued my lips, not really knowing how to answer. I decided honesty would be better, I didn't wanna hurt her. "I found my mate."

"Oh." Her eyes widened a bit, "Did you... reject them?"

I shook my head, "It's... complicated."

She nodded, "Um, so this thing between us..."

I felt guilt prickle at the edges of relief. After meeting him, the thought of being with her in that way somewhat repulsed me.

"I'm okay with it. As long as you're not... involved with them."

I looked at her incredulously. "Are you serious?"

She blushed, "Of course. I mean, as long as we aren't hurting anyone, it's fine."

It was hurting me! I was going to flat out refuse her, but then I thought about how I might reject him. I might need all the comfort I can get at one point in the future, so maybe I should utilize this. "Maybe, yeah. I'll let you know what happens with them, okay?"

She smiled, reaching up to peck my cheek. "See you at the party."

I gave her the fakest smile of my life, and went back to the car. I got into the driver's seat, shaking my head at Lindsay.

"I don't wanna hear it."

"You're gonna hear it, asshole." I reversed, then began to drive out of the lot. "You know you're just leading her on, right?"

"I told her I met my mate-"

"But you promised the possibility of being with her. You're giving her false hope-"

I felt myself burst, "It's not entirely false, okay? I just... my mate is human. And I can't exactly reject them without an explanation."

Lindsay huffed, "Sure. That's the reason. You know what-"

I turned the radio up, tuning her out as it played I Belong To You by Muse. It was a good song, and I loved it. But for some reason, it reminded me of the very thing I wanted to forget about. My hands clenched around the steering wheel, suddenly thinking of him, even though I didn't want to.

Lindsay shouted, "Hey! This sounds different!"

I smirked as I yelled over the music, "It's the New Moon remix!" I didn't wanna say much, but it was my favorite movie series to binge-watch, though it wasn't without its faults. The writer could be controversial, and so could the storyline, but the Twilight Saga just hit me different. It was like a weird coping mechanism, I'd watch it over and over whenever I could.

"It's good!" She smiled at me, knowing she's the one who dragged me into her twilight craze. I remember watching it with her every time a new movie came out. I even had the book collection, as well as the new one that just came out.

We pulled up to her house, Monsè and Lindsay running inside. I rested against the seat, turning off the car as I thought about what tonight would bring. What if he didn't feel anything for me? Didn't he? He had to have felt something for me. He did blush when I was flirting, so maybe he did.

I looked down at my hands, annoyed at my chipped and black nail polish. I started peeling them off, not wanting him to think it was trashy. Since when did I care what he thinks? I suddenly felt self-conscious about the way I looked. My somewhat wide shoulders, and I was muscular but I felt like I looked scrawny compared to my friends. My tan skin was sprinkled with freckles here and there, and the rings on my hand made my fingers look a little fat. Were my fingers too long? My hands were maybe too big too.

I looked in my driver's side mirror, and sighed as I tried to fix my hair. It was too unruly, and my eyebrows were a little too unkempt. My eyes weren't exactly rare, just a dark and shitty brown color. My lips were looking a little dry, I decided to add some chapstick. It was cherry, one of my favorite flavors, and it made my lips have a tint of red, or maybe just hydrated.

I still hated my appearance, and just slammed the mirror away as I listened to the next song on the radio more intently. I muttered along to the lyrics, my mind involuntary thinking about romantic situations between him and I.

"I miss you, Berlin..." I imagined him showing up to the party, flirty comments being exchange between us. "The taste still lingers on..."

I imagined us dancing, drinking, playing games together. Maybe during a certain song, during a certain dance, we'd get closer and closer. Our lips would meet, and it'd be a desperate but sweet kiss.

The car door slammed shut, scaring me out of my daydream. I looked to Lindsay and Monsè in surprise, lowering the radio. "Hey, you guys got everything you need?"

Lindsay nodded, and Monsè just pulled out her phone. I turned up the radio, the same song still playing. After a couple seconds, both Lindsay and I sang as loud as we can, really jamming out into it. "Our lips touched beneath the stars! The lights flashed from passing cars! Your face melted in my heart, and it showed me who you are!"

Even Monsè got into it.

"I feel my heart explode, I can't explain! The sky is falling down!"

We pulled up to my house in a screeching halt, and we kept singing to the so until it ended. I turned off the car, spent from singing as much as I could. We got off the car, talking about what we'd prepare for the party tonight, and how we'd prepare for it.

It was six thirty now, and everything was almost set up. My parents had left, and Trent and Bella were getting the kegs off their brother's car. The lights and sound system was being set up by Lindsay, lent to us by her uncle, with some help from Lance. Monsè was preparing the snacks, plates, cups, and dips. I was in my room, wondering what I should change into for tonight. I wanted to impress him. Them, I meant them, everyone at the party, I wanted to impress everyone at the party.

I decided on a white tank top, with a charcoal short sleeve button-up that was unbuttoned, and changed into light blue skinny jeans. I put a chain on the right side of my jeans, changing into some vans instead of the doc martens, and a silver chain around my neck as well. I wondered if I should leave my rings on, and I decided maybe earrings would look nice. Just simple diamond ones would do, I decided.

I looked in the mirror, deciding maybe a small application of orange lip tint would do. No, garnet was a better color on my tan skin. Besides, it wasn't matte, but it was just a slight lip tint.

I shook my head, annoyed how I could be so overwhelmed about impressing some stranger. My inner wolf practically growled, which means I growled under my breath at the mere thought of regarding him as a stranger. He was my mate. But I didn't want him to be. But I did want him.

This was confusing.

It was eight now. The girls were dancing with their friends, and I was in the kitchen with Trent, Grayson, Raul, and Ethan. Most of the pack had come, all the ones in high school or colleges nearby of course, and it was refreshing to just be with the guys for a bit. Lindsay has been talking my ear off about Bella before the party started, and I didn't need to hear it.

I chuckled at Grayson and Raul as they wrestled. Grayson was your standard football player with a heart of gold, and he had a huge sweet tooth. Raul was more into soccer, and was very vain, yet somewhat kind but always spoke his mind whether it was dumb or smart or rude or nice. Ethan was the most sarcastic, even above me, and the most cynical, unlike me. I considered myself realistic.

Trent laughed, "Come on, Grayson! Beat his ass!"

Ethan rolled his eyes, "Raul obviously has the upper hand."

I sipped at my iconic red party cup, it was filled with this fruit punch alcohol. I wanted to stop thinking about the fact he wasn't here yet, I wanted to stop watching the clock tick as time went by, as I waited for him to show. Thank god, I couldn't taste the alcohol over the sweet punch, because I didn't like anything bitter.

Raul pinned Grayson with a triumphant laugh, and stood up with both arms held high. Everyone in the kitchen with us cheered, and I shook my head at the stupidity of the whole thing. Trent reached up in the cabinets, pulling out a bunch of shot glasses.

"Now for the main event! Raul, go get Lindsay." He nodded and took off to the living room, amidst all the dancing swarm of teenagers. "The birthday boy, and my best friend Lindsay, are gonna have five shots. Anybody wanna join?"

The whole kitchen seemed to murmur about whether or not they'd want to. Bella appeared from the crowd with a grin, she seemed a little tipsy already, and stood across the island from me. Her eyes seemed to try to flirt with me, I looked away. I couldn't even think of trying to be with her right now.

"I'll do it."

Trent gave his sister a high five, "Heck yeah!"

Raul came back with Lindsay, her face etched with a scowl. She wasn't much of a team player, and hated losing at anything. Nevertheless, she marched next to me, raising a brow, "I can't believe we lost to him."

I snickered, "Neither can I."

The scent hit me, and my head snapped over to the front door. I could sense he was here now, but where? I caught sight of him down the hall, looking around for what I assumed was me. His hair was pushed back, and he was wearing a hoodie which was rolled up by its sleeves. His blue jeans and converse looked great, and the watch on his wrist made him look hotter somehow. He ran a hand through his hair before his eyes met mine, and a shy smile etched itself on his beautiful face. I walked over, placing my hand on his shoulder and leading him into the kitchen with us. It was like a small hum of electricity spread throughout my body when I touched him, and even when I let go, it was still there.

"We're doing shots, why don't you join us?" I placed him next to me, feeling giddy all of a sudden. "It's five of them, and it's not a race."

He raised an eyebrow, "Why? Scared you'll lose?"

Trent patted him on the back, "Don't challenge the master- you might just get schooled, dude."

I waved Trent off, grinning down at him. "You asked for it, pretty boy."

Trent set up the shots for all of us, including Lance, Grayson, Raul, and himself. Ethan and Monsè simply watched, for two reasons being that they didn't want to drink, and they made for good referees. In this case, they would shout who won.

Trent bellowed, "Ready?! Set! GO!"

I drank as fast as I could, the harsh but semisweet liquid of tequila going down my throat. I set the last shot down with a grunt, looking up as everyone shouted and laughed.

Trent looked at Ethan and Monsè expectantly, "So who won?"

Monsè chuckled and pointed, "The random guy next to Xavier."

Everyone started talking about how it had stung, or how it was rigged. Some even joked about how they had seen his jaw unhinge to drink faster. My mate had won.

I looked at him surprised, and he looked at me with a smirk. His face was flushed, which was a really cute look at him.

I leaned in, a little too close, but not close enough for my inner wolf to be satiated. "Hey, so I never got your name."

He cleared his throat, licking his lips, "It's Seth."

I nodded, "Xavier. Pronounced with an J, spelt with an X."

He nodded with a smile, "Cool." There was tension from the close proximity, but I didn't back away. He didn't either. "So, how's it feel to be a loser?"

"Well, it's a little bit of a bummer." I shrugged, "But I'm also in the presence of a winner, so. It's a win-win."

He laughed, shaking his head. "So what now?"

I looked around, seeing everyone talking amongst themselves, and everyone dancing to the music. I cocked my head towards the living room, "Let's go dance."

I grabbed my drink, along with Seth's wrist, leading him through the crowd of people. There was a couch in the back, filled with stoners and people who were entangled in hormones. Towards the front, there was music and different colored lights. I led him to the front, pulling him somewhat close as the music bumped. It was a mix of rock and alternative, and it was made up of my favorite music. We didn't necessarily dance together, but we didn't dance apart from each other either.

We danced for what seemed like ages, but was only forty minutes. I leaned in, putting my mouth against his ear. "Wanna get something to drink and maybe play some video games in my room?"

He nodded as I leaned away, and for a second we stood there before I led him away again. In the small lobby by the stairs, there was a table set up with the alcohol fruit punch and chips and other snacks.

I served us both, handing his cup and sipping from mine before pointing upstairs. My words slightly slurred, "I lied. There are no video games in my room. I mean, there are, but honestly I just wanted to get out of that crowd. It was sweaty, and I'm hot-"

Seth nodded, "Yeah, me too."

"Yeah." I chuckled, licking my lips to taste more of that fruit juice. "So, what are your classes? I didn't see you anywhere today."

His mouth formed a small 'o', "Oh. Yeah, I left early because I had a doctor's appointment. I think I have you for the second lunch period, fifth and sixth period."

I felt excited at the prospect of seeing him everyday. I bit my lip, "So wanna hang around here or..." I scratched the back of my neck, "...maybe I can give you a little tour of my room?"

He shrugged, looking around nonchalantly before leaning in with a wide smile. "I think a small break from the party wouldn't hurt."

I smirked, walking upstairs. I looked back as he stood there with a blush, and I cocked my head. "You coming or what?"

Seth took a deep breath, downing the rest of his drink before following me to my room. He walked quickly, slowing down when he caught up to me. I led him down the small hallway, motioning to the room at the end.

I opened the door for him, allowing him to walk into my room. "Make yourself at home."

My room wasn't super big, or super small. The walls were painted a dark garnet, with small pieces of graffiti here and there.

Seth had noticed a particular one about a girl's profile with a pained expression by my bed, looking at me with his eyes shining in awe, "You draw these?"

I nodded as I closed the door, feeling sheepish. My bed was slightly messy, the blanket crumpled at the bottom and the pillows were ruffled. It was a subtle gray theme with black in the form of pillows and stuffed animals. The posters on my wall were just some bands and movies I had taken interest in here and there. I cleaned it when I got home, so the desk looked semi-okay with my sketchbooks open with papers full of unfinished sketches. My tv was on the opposite wall of my bed, with the entertainment center semi-okay. My dresser had a bunch of little nic knacks and small toys from shows I watched.

He scoffed, "These are amazing." He then walked over to my desk, seeing the papers thrown around. He looked back at me with a smile, "I saw how good you were in art class... but I didn't know... You really have a gift."

I shrugged, "Thanks. I spent years trying to perfect my skills." I plopped down on my bed, slipping off my shoes. I gave him a serious look, leaning against my bed frame with my arms behind my head. "So, you bring me a birthday present?"

Seth chuckled as he sat beside me, kicking off his own shoes. "Maybe. Why?"

I shook my head with a smile, "Just wondering." I glanced at him nervously, before grabbing a rubix cube from my bedside table. Him being so close was so... intoxicating. The door being closed made it worse. I bit down on my lip hard, almost enough to make me bleed, to make myself focus. "Ever done one of these?"

He took it gingerly, looking at it with peculiar determination. "I've seen them around, just never got around to getting one."

I laughed as he started moving it around, "So tell me about yourself. All I know is your name's Seth, and you're in my grade."

He glanced at me before refocusing onto the cube, "Well, I'm a Taurus. Very chill, but my moon is a Leo. I'm prideful. Stubborn. I like a challenge, but if it's too much and too costly, I'll quit. I like writing." He passed me back the Rubix cube with one side completed, it was the white side. "Your turn."

I went at the cube too, "You know I like drawing. I like parties. I know I'm a Libra, but not about moons and shit. Um, what else?" I passed it back to him, the red and white side now completed. "I like rock and reggaeton. I can watch shitty movies all day, including the twilight saga. I'm a lazy bum, so lazy that even though I'm built like a god, I hate sports. Too much work, too much time spent away and not relaxing. I usually say what's on my mind, but sometimes I find myself keeping some things to myself. I'll eat junk food all day."

I looked at him in surprise, realizing I'd been droning on. He didn't seem bothered, just focused on the cube. I liked this banter, it was refreshing. The alcohol didn't seem able to curb the attraction like I thought, but it helped that I couldn't hear my inner wolf egging me on to jump him. Though, the smell was a nuisance. An attractive, fuckable nuisance.

"Well, my turn." I nodded, my mouth suddenly feeling dry. "I'm also lazy. My favorite snacks are hot chips or sweet chocolate. And..." He passed me back my rubix cube, all messed up suddenly. "Yeah."

I looked at him in confusion, his small smile and the way he went off topic threw me off. I don't know how we had gotten so close, shoulder to shoulder. I noticed the hum from his touch, it was annoyingly addictive, and everything seemed to fade away. I leaned in slowly, and it seemed that so did he. Our lips grazed slightly, and I involuntarily shivered at the sensation. I pressed forward, kissing him softly. I closed my eyes, and I felt him tense up at first, but give in after a moment of hesitance. This was it, we were kissing. He moved his mouth slightly against mine, and it was like the most sensational feeling I've ever felt in my life. I couldn't begin to describe the way it made me feel, and I quickly took back everything I ever thought or said about mates before. This was like a gift, an amazing gift that I never wanted to take for granted. My body felt like it was slowly burning from the inside, and I wanted more. I felt sober now, suddenly very aware of everything that was happening between us. I could hear his heartbeat, feel his body heat, and hear his breathing.

I suddenly made the kiss deeper with a groan, suddenly wanting more. I tasted the sweet punch and the faintest alcohol. I heard his breathing stutter though, and realized he was out of breath. I pulled away, our noses brushing softly, and I heard Seth make a small whimper, and I suddenly developed a goofy grin on my face. He looked up at me, as if coming out of a daze, and his face flushed with sudden realization. He looked away, "Sorry. That was... Sorry. I've never really made that noise before."

I gently cradled his cheek, making him face me. "I didn't mind." He rolled his eyes, and I chuckled, "It was a nice birthday present."

He cleared his throat, twiddling with the hem of his shirt in nervousness. "Would you mind keeping that... keeping our kiss between us?"

I grinned, giving him a sensual kiss. He made a surprise moan as he kissed back, and it stirred something in me that I didn't want stirred. Not right now, at least. I pulled away, my voice suddenly feeling a little tight and restrained. "Of course. I don't kiss and tell."

He shook his head with a laugh, still blushing. "So besides luring innocent young men into your room to seduce them, what else do you do in your free time?" I smiled at his comment, leaning away and onto the headboard again.

‘Xavi, where are you? I was hoping to give you your present early.’ Bella's slurred words rang in my head, and I restrained a groan of annoyance.

‘Not now.’ My harsh tone earned a growl from her, her beta wolf wanting to tear me to pieces for the disrespect no doubt, but I blocked her and the rest of the pack out again.

"Well, I like to read sometimes. It has to be really interesting and consuming though. If it doesn't have me hooked from the beginning, it's hard to really get into it."

He nodded, "Yeah, I get you. I mostly read fiction 'cause of that, but I get a little attached sometimes. Especially in romances."

I smiled, "Yeah. I know what you mean completely. It's like you're there with them, and you wish you could help or explain, but you can't and it's really..."

"Frustrating."

"Yeah."

We talked. We talked about the most minuscule and unimportant things, but we talked. It was the nicest conversation, full of snarky remarks and small battles of wit. There was a point where he almost got up and left because of how I felt about Jacob from Twilight, but after hearing my argument about how his behavior in eclipse and being mated to an infant, he accepted my point of view. Didn't entirely agree, but accepted.

"So what? You want me to say that I would do the same if I were Ellie?"

I scoffed, "I mean, I don't know! I don't agree with the last part of the game, though she did kind of help them, she lost everything she cared about."

"She was doing it to avenge her family! Joel suffered, and Abigail was a bitch! You can't just blame her when she was in grieving-"

"Nah. She was being stupid, and you know it."

"It's more complicated than that, and you know it." He narrowed his eyes, I shrugged.

"Maybe."

He tensed, as if suddenly remembering something. "Shit, what time is it?"

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, "Ten. Why?"

He winced, "My curfews in thirty minutes."

"Oh. Well, I guess we should do the cake then."

"There's cake, and you didn't tell me." He looked at me, almost aghast at the way I had withheld dessert from him.

I laughed, "I'll get you an extra big piece, okay?"

He seemed pleased at that, and followed me downstairs. I connected back into the mind link, slightly dazed as I walked towards the first floor of the house. ‘We're doing the cake, people. Trent, use your authority. Get everyone to the kitchen for the cake. Lindsay, get the knife.’

Trent's loud voice slurred in my mind, making me wince. ‘HOLY SHIT! It's cake time! It's cake time, bitches! Get ready now! Come on! Get the fuck to the kitchen! CAKE TIME! And ice cream, yum.’

"Cake time, people! Move your drunk, sexy asses!" His out loud voice was worse, more slurred and more obnoxious, but still authoritative.

Seth laughed beside me, "He's drunk." I laughed with him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Did you text him or something?"

"Oh, yeah." I nodded, cursing myself that I forgot how humans couldn't mind link like us. There was no other human way Trent would've known about cake time. I had to be more careful.

I walked in with a giddy feeling, and sat on the bar stool by the island and right in front of the cake. Seth was beside me, and Monsè lit the candles carefully. I glanced to see Bella staring at me from across the island, and I looked away. Lindsay giggled alongside the boys, (Grayson, Raul, and Ethan) and Lance was alongside her.

Trent laughed, loud. "One, two, three!"

On queue, everyone started to sing as the lights turned off. All I could was smile and laugh at the drunken slur of everyone's voices, and feel awkward at being sang at. I looked to Seth, his drunken grin and his cheeky dimples. How had I not noticed his dimples before? They were killing me.

The song was over, and Seth raised an eyebrow as he leaned in with a whisper. "Well? Make a wish."

I blew on the candles, thinking about him. Purely him. That was my wish.

We cut the cake in squares, it was red velvet and with Oreos on top. The cream on top was decorated with a bunch of badly drawn dicks and smiley faces, done by Monsè and Lance. It was obvious which one did what drawings. The ice cream, however, was rocky road.

I handed Seth his slice, and another cup of punch. I also got a slice and a drink, and we sat by the stairs eating and talking.

"Are you going to Uber? You shouldn't drink and drive."

Seth rolled his eyes, "I think I'll be fine."

"No, really. I'll order you an Uber."

He contemplated for a bit, before someone stumbled on the stairs by us, almost falling on his cake. "Can we eat in your room?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Let's go." I grabbed a couple beers for the road, for myself mostly. Mostly was a funny word. Most. Lee. Mostly. We were upstairs in a hurry, and I went in first, placing the cans and plate on the desk. "So, wanna watch something before you go-"

I gasped, his mouth firm on mine as his hands cradled my cheeks. I kissed him back, with more fervor.

Deeper. More. I kissed him more. Sloppy, even. I sighed against his lips, this was blissful. My body was like fire, a small and spreading fire that sent shocks everywhere.

He straddled me on my bed, and I bit at his bottom lip teasingly. My hands drifted to his thighs, slightly squeezing and massaging them. He kissed me again, placing his hands on my neck. I pulled away, looking up at him in a daze. He looked at me confused, and I smiled.

"You're really pretty like this."

"Like what?" His voice was a little husky, and it made me want to mark him then and there.

"On top of me." I smiled, again, at his wide eyes before finding his lips again. I travelled down to his jaw, kissing harder, even suckling the skin lightly.

He panted, pulling away with a light moan. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be doing this."

Seth laid on the bed behind me, and I sat there in a lustful haze. I was very confused now. All I could think about were the fireworks that went off in my head, and that it wasn't there anymore. As quick as the make out session had started, it had ended. I was frustrated. I looked over, about to ask what was wrong, but saw that he was asleep now. I shook my head with a laugh, and laid down next to him. He was cute.

I closed my eyes, wishing for him again. Again, and again.

______

THANKS! Like, repost, and comment your thoughts~ 😘

#original character #original story #my writing #writers on tumblr #hot fiction #writers #writing #writeaway #soul mates #wolf mate #soulmate #wolf love #love story

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satoshi-mochida · 4 years

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The Final Fantasy Portal Site has published the first in a three-volume series of Final Fantasy IX interviews in celebration of the game’s 20th anniversary. Final Fantasy IX first launched for PlayStation on July 7, 2000.

The first interview is with Final Fantasy IX event design and scenario writer Kazuhiko Aoki. Volumes two and three will feature artist Toshiyuki Itahana and director Hiroyuki Ito.

Get the full interview with Aoki below.

―Final Fantasy IX is sometimes introduced with the phrase “returning to roots.” Where did Final Fantasy IX sit in the minds of the development team?

Aoki: “The slogans ‘returning to roots’ and ‘return of the crystal’ were there from the start. That’s why the setting of the game also has a medieval fantasy theme.”

―It is true that compared to the science fiction elements of FFVII and FFVIII, Final Fantasy IX made a sudden return to classic fantasy. There were even references to past FF titles, like character and vehicle names. Were those concepts also planned to be included from the beginning of development under the theme of “returning to roots”?

Aoki: “There were some things that were planned from the beginning, and then there were other elements that came about from those in charge of each part of the game during the creation process.

“The newborn chocobo, named Bobby Corwen…smash those names together and you get Boco.

“The foundation is 10 percent, and the remaining 90 percent comes from individual creators putting their own ideas and heart into a project. I think that’s the creation process of not only FF, but all games from Square Enix.”

―Each main character of Final Fantasy IX carries their own background story into the battles they face. Do you have a favorite character? Please tell us your reasons as well, if you have any.

Aoki: “I did my best not to have any favorites, so as not to be biased toward any specific character.

“There were backstories we wanted to elaborate on more, but sadly had to give up on due to time and data constraints.

“At the time I wished I could have developed how Zidane is afflicted by the difference in social status between him and Garnet a little more. Illustrating the breakdown of relations with the nobles in Treno due to their disapproval of Zidane and Garnet’s relationship, Zidane butting up against the social confines he faces and the incredible power Garnet holds as royalty, and how Zidane gets back up on his feet despite all of that—I felt that would have done a lot to help further portray him as a character.”

―The NPCs are also very well developed. What about them?

Aoki: “I don’t have any biases when it comes to NPC characters either. There actually wasn’t any differentiation in my mind between main characters and sub characters. Once the game’s story started to come to life on screen, my drive to develop each character even further – the steadfast reliability of Marcus or Garnet’s internal struggles, for example—only got stronger.”

―The Tantalus members Genero, Zenero, Benero and all their siblings are an unusual bunch. How did they come to be?

Aoki: “There wasn’t a trace of them until right before the game went gold. Not only limited to Final Fantasy IX, each FF series title has a period of about three to four months of quality improvements and brushing up after all elements that will be included in a game are implemented. How can we make it more interesting, what would make it easier to understand, what new discoveries can we find to add to the experience…as a creator you approach the process with a feeling similar to recreating something entirely. Those siblings came about suddenly right in the middle of that final tweaking for Final Fantasy IX.”

―The characters in Final Fantasy IX are built shorter than in previous FF games. Was there a reason for that?

Aoki: “I don’t know the reason for making the characters shorter in stature, but I did often hear that the cutscene team had a hard time making use of the know-how they gained working on Final Fantasy VIII. It was apparently a lot of trial and error.

“The characters in Final Fantasy IX excel at showing a certain sweetness or silliness, but even when they take on a totally different serious tone their expressions are so genuine. I feel that Final Fantasy IX had quite a good balance going in that sense.”

―Final Fantasy IX is known for its many popular and memorable lines. Whose idea was it to put together the loading screen of CG screenshots overlaid with words from the game and art?

Aoki: “The cutscene leader and event staff made that by picking out lines from the game. It was also the manifestation of a strong desire to show what kind of characters these were.”

―There were also many monsters with unique gimmicks, such as Ragtime Mouse’s quiz-style battle. Do you have a favorite monster or gimmick used by one?

Aoki: “I’m not sure if you could call it a unique monster, but my favorite are the black mages who appear in Cleyra. Your party characters don’t do a victory pose even if you win against them. That came from the battle system team’s consideration of the scene those battles take place in. You grow used to the characters celebrating when they win a battle, so I was really surprised the first time I saw that.

“I don’t know if this is still true, but development happened with next to no meetings between the event and battle design teams. Although that’s not to say that those teams didn’t get along.”

―Final Fantasy IX has a lot of mini games, many of which are quite difficult. Are there any you find particularly memorable?

Aoki: “Chocobo Hot and Cold. It came from the director wanting some contents that would allow traveling all over the game world. The concept came together in less than 30 minutes, but the actual creators who worked on the mini-game put a lot of time into it. Every last detail was done with such care.”

―Final Fantasy IX’s soundtrack was handled by Mr. Nobuo Uematsu. We feel that music is another important factor in expressing characters or story. If there are any songs from Final Fantasy IX that really stand out in your memory, please tell us about them.

Aoki: “That would be the song that Mr. Uematsu played for me the first time he worked at the Hawaii office.

“It was in response to me asking if he had any recommended songs from the new game—I got an idea for part of the story the second it came on. That song would eventually be titled ‘You’re Not Alone.’

“I asked, ‘Are there going to be any more changes to it?’ and he responded, ‘Yes, sorry… I’d like to tweak it a little more.’ It wasn’t finalized until the last minute, so I’m sure he really struggled with the composition of that piece.”

―Was there anything during development that was especially challenging or that sticks out in your mind?

Aoki: “The last few weeks were a battle with data restrictions. We had data increasing every day, having to think about where to divide the story so we’d end up with an amount that fit on each of the four discs. That fine-tuning took some real mental gymnastics.”

―If there’s anything else from your experiences during the development of Final Fantasy IX or messages for the many people who still love Final Fantasy IX you’d be willing to share, we would love to hear it.

Aoki: “There were about 300 people at the party celebrating Final Fantasy IX’s completion. It was developed by a team divided between Japan and Hawaii, so about one-third of the faces there I had never seen before…I was surprised all over again at how many people were involved in the project.

“I’m incredibly happy that Final Fantasy IX is loved by so many people; that’s been a huge motivator and confidence booster when facing jobs I’ve had since. I think that’s true not only for me, but also the many creators who worked on Final Fantasy IX as well. It would be nice to celebrate the game’s 20th anniversary with everyone who was at the post-launch party.

“Near the end of that party, there was a moment when the sound effect team went up on the venue’s stage. ‘In Final Fantasy X, there’s going to be this thing called Blitzball, and there will be a scene with the spectators cheering. We’d love if you would all be willing to help with that!’ they said. And I thought ‘…Oh, they’ve already started working on X.’ Just when I thought things were finished, they had already begun a new Final Fantasy. It really hit me being there, this is how the Final Fantasy series continues on forever.”

―Thank you for your time today!

Final Fantasy IX is available for PlayStation, PlayStation 3, PSP, and PS Vita via PSone Classics, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC via Steam, iOS, and Android.

#Final Fantasy IX #Final Fantasy 9 #Final Fantasy #Kazuhiko Aoki #Square Enix #Gematsu #I never did finish IX. ^^;

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junjosekaimangalover · 5 years

Text

Part 1: Meeting At The Beach ~ Male: Rose Quartz ~ Steven UniverseSteven Universe Genderbend Oneshot

( I do not own the characters of Steven Universe )

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Male: Rose Quartz's POV:

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I sat on the soft, warm, nice sand and felt the cool breeze of the wind through my long pink locks and the warm waters of the ocean up on my my feet. I sat on the sand watching the tidal waves washing on the shore calmly and the clouds covering the sun and making the background all blue and grey as if a storm was coming. I was thinking about how unique this world can be and how humans can be so simple and so complicated at the same time but they also can be so fascinating too. I loved how unique and wondrous they can be.

" You're the light~ You're the night~ You're the color of my blood~ "

" Huh? "

" You're the cure ~ You're the pain ~ You're the only thing I wanna touch ~ "

I heard a soft and smooth voice who was singing a song I haven't heard before, it was a female voice that sounded gentle, like a lullaby that would send you off into a dream. I stood up from the beach sand and walked towards the fence and I saw a woman with long flowing (H/C___ ) hair who was dancing like a ballerina as she danced on the sand and the waves washed up on her feet.

" And I never knew it could mean so much, so much ~ You're the fear, I don't care ~ Because I've never been so high ~ Follow Me ~ Through the dark~ Let me take you past our satellites~ You can see the world you brought to life~ To life~ "

I soon became hypnotized by the sound of her beautiful voice and her gentle dance moves across the sand and the sky. I walked over to my side of the fence and continued to stare at her gracefulness that surrounded her pure aura.

" So Love me like you do~ Lo-Lo-Love me like you do~ Love me like you do~ Lo-Lo-Love me like you do~ Touch me like you do~ To-To-Touch me like you do~ What are you waiting for? ~ "

I don't how it's possible but she grew more and more graceful and majestic as she sang the next word and danced to another beat.

* BUMP!! *

Huh....?

" Fading in~ Fading Out~ "

* BUMP!! BUMP!! *

What the?

" On the edge of paradise~ Every inch of your skin is a holy grail~ I've got to find~ Only you can set my heart on fire~ "

* BUMP!!! BUMP!!! BUMP!!! BUMP!!! BUMP!!! BUMP!!!!! *

This feeling it's......love?I opened the cage door and went to her side of the beach, not having any conscious of my actions I walked towards her direction and used my gem powers to make a pink rose behind my back and surprise her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Your POV:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I adored this song I've heard on the radio and no matter where I went I was always humming or singing the tune, you could say I was in love with song. Today I thought I would go to the beach since it was such a nice day and when I showed up there was no one here but me and since no one was around for at least a couple of miles then I thought " If there's no one here then why no sing my favorite tune ever! " and I did so. I waved my white, long flowing dress around with my hands and I twirled myself as I danced on the soft sand.

" Yeah, I'll let you set the pace~ Because I'm not thinking straight~ My head is spinning around and I can't see you no more~ What are you waiting for? ~ "

I finally gave in to the music and let myself go to the music the was playing inside of me, I could feel my soul spiraling and exploring new feelings and places to where it has never before and it felt like I was in music heaven.

" Love me like you do~ Lo-Lo-Love me like you do~ Love me like you do~ Lo-Lo-Love me like you do~ Touch me like you do~ To-To-Touch me like you do~ "

I twirled again and as I did I saw this pink flash before my eyes and then I stopped and took a few seconds to try and keep my balance. As I stood up I looked up to see a man with big, long, pink locks and a gem on his stomach. He looked kind and sweet but I slowly started to back away when I had realize what had just happened. And then he slowly clapped at me.

" Oh gosh...... " I blushed deeply and backed away further with an easy and careful step.

" Wait! "

He grabbed my wrist and also held my waist gently. I gazed into his sparkling, pink, starry eyed, cool eyes and I felt weak at my knees but I stood my ground. He gazed into my ( E/C ____ ) and he smiled gently, my heart raced fast as his hand started to intertwined with mine. I don't understand why my heart should be racing I mean.....I just met him and he seems to have taking a real liking to me, Is this moment what you call.....Love at first sight? I'm not saying I don't believe in that because I do, I really do. It's just I never expected it to happen to me.

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Both POV'S:

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She was so beautiful and I wanted to more then just hold her. I wanted to kiss her, cuddle with her, hold her tight, whisper sweet nothings in her ear, make her heart pound and make her feel special....with both mind and body. Oh man.....I wanted her to be mine!

" Um.....? "

" Oh! Sorry... " He released my waist and wrist my was still close to me. I liked that....and I wanted that.

" My name is Rose Quartz and yours is? " He blushed.

" Oh my name is ( Y/N____ ), nice to meet you Rose. " I bowed.

" Aren't you a lady, Here. " He put one of his hands on his hips and game me a beautiful jewel pink rose.

" Oh thank you! I love roses....there my favorite kind of flowers. " I smiled as I held the beautiful jewel to my heart and closed my eyes and sighed out of happiness. I snapped back to reality and looked towards him.

" You have a very beautiful voice Miss ( Y/N___ ). " He flashed a smile that made my heart swell and pound hard.

" What?.....Oh no! You weren't supposed to hear it! Oh gosh I'm sorry if this is your beach it's just that no one was here and I didn't see a sign that said it was closed or anything so I thought I enjoy some time to myself- " I was freaking out so much right now, inside and out.

" It's okay, I don't own the beach and neither do any of my friends. " I smiled towards her because of how innocent she was.

" Oh okay, phew! I thought I was in trouble. So um.....thank you for saying that I have a nice voice. " I blushed even harder.

" I'm not saying it to be polite because it's the truth, I adore your voice. " I put one arm around her again. She starts to get nervous and I thought that was cute.

" Oh um.....again thank you..... I should go! " I escaped his embrace and ran away bacause I was nervous that he might come onto me, I've never experienced love before and I didn't want anyone to hurt me so I ran, I'm stupid I know but I was afraid.

" Wait! Why are you leaving?! I want you to stay..........please? " My voice softened and I saw her run away from me and getting smaller and smaller. I saw a pretty pink scarf with black butterflies and sequins.

As I ran away from the beach I could feel the cold air brush against my neck and I shivered a little only then to realized that my scarf that I was wearing had flowed up to the wind and back to the beach floating up and falling down to me and I caught and I figured it was hers. I returned back to the temple where Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst was, knowing that she was going to return.

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( What will happen next? Will they part or come even closer together then now? You'll find out tomorrow )

P.S - PLEASE DON’T STEAL MY WORK

#steven universe #steven universe x reader #romance #imagines #oneshots #rose quartz #rose quartz x reader

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mellowfilmmaker · 5 years

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Steven Universe “Change Your Mind” Review

A few days ago “Change Your Mind”, the big Season 5 finale of Steven Universe came out. My thoughts on the episode can be neatly summed up by Tyra Banks in this following gif.

Yeah, my followers might already know this, but I’m not that big of a fan of the episode. Not only did I think it was bad, but it pretty much deflated my interest in the series. A commenter on one my posts compared it to someone deflating a balloon, but I personally see it more as someone slowly deflating the air out of all of your tires of your car.

Let’s talk about the first major issue with this episode. The redemption of the diamonds was way too easy. All it took was a short speech from The Great Prophet Steven for Blue and Yellow Diamond to completely change their tunes. I’ll admit that I wasn’t a supporter of the idea of them redeeming the Diamonds, but I might have been ok with it if it was decently executed. I personally believe that having the redemption come off as rushed as it was is probably the worst mistake they could’ve made in their redemption. People usually don’t just completely change if you just talk to them. At least not abusers and facists which the diamonds are meant to represent. In real life, anything you have to say to a facist in order to change them, they’ve probably heard a 1,000 times before. Try to tell Donald Trump that he’s really hurting migrant children, and he’ll probably just blame the Democrats or get angry at you or ignore you. Hell a person doesn't even have to be abusive in order to not listen. It’s human nature to sometimes push back against changes that someone else is pushing on them. I forgot what it was called, but I read about that in a book about depression. That makes sense, if you want to change you want to feel like you’re doing it for you and you’re not being controlled by someone else. I’m just saying that the diamonds changing way too quickly is unrealistic, insulting, and I think potentially dangerous.

Now let’s go ahead and kill the most common and awful defense of this kind of bullshit. “It’s a kid show!” Ok let’s pretend that isn't an awful argument. Let’s pretend that kid shows are just immune from criticism. That argument doesn’t apply to Steven Universe. If this was a TV-Y show called The Adventures of Pretty Pink Princess & the Power of Love where the protagonist defeats the villain Mr. Meanie by hugging him and being his friend, then I could give this a pass. Steven Universe however is rated TV-PG (the same rating as Downton Abbey, The Office, The Good Place, and many other shows that aren’t called Kid shows) and tries to tackle real world topics. Just look at the dialogue between Steven and Blue Diamond. The dialogue is clearly meant to mirror dialogue spoken by an LGBT youth (specifically trans) and their bigoted parent. If you’re going to bring real world topics into your show, then you will be called out if you portray them badly. This episode actually made me realize that Steven Universe is actually kind of a confused show. It both wants to a fantasy show that takes place in its own little world detached from the baggage of our reality and it wants to also tackle real world topics. Maybe a writer can pull that off, but SU sure as hell can’t.

Now here’s my other major problem with this episode, there’s so much shit being thrown in this episode. Here’s the major stuff shown in this episode: Blue Diamond redeemed, Yellow Diamond redeemed, Lapis new outfit, Peridot new outfit, Garnet new outfit, Amethyst new outfit, Pearl new outfit, Rainbow Quartz 2.0 revealed, Sunstone revealed, Obsidian revealed, Steven’s gems get popped, Steven accepts himself, White Diamond redeemed, Pink Pearl gets her memories back, Lars comes back with the off colors, Lars and Sadie reconcile, the corrupted gems are healed, Jasper and Amethyst reconcile, end. That’s too much stuff. The problem with having so much stuff in this episode is that many of these moments lose their impact because they don’t have time to breathe or be given much attention. Smoky Quartz’s reveal had way more impact than both Rainbow Quartz’s and Sunstone’s reveal, because there was an episode dedicated to it. This special somehow made the reveal of the temple fusion A.K.A. Obsidian seem mundane. This is impressive since the Temple Fusion has been silently built up since the pilot. The reveal of Obsidian should have felt a lot bigger than it did. The gravity of the moment was partly diminished by the fact that the episode revealed two fusions right before her. Then they had the healing of the corrupted gems. It should have felt like one of the biggest moments of the show, but it was instead played in the background while a reprisal of the theme song was playing, greatly diminishing its impact. This episode just was filled with moments that were disappointing in its execution. It was a carousal of disappointment.

The other problem with all of these events losing their impact in this episode is that many of these events could’ve gotten their own episode and have been better for it. Revealing Obsidian in this episode makes sense, but Rainbow Quartz and Sunstone could’ve been revealed sometime during season 4 or 5. Think of all the awful filler episodes we got in those seasons that could have easily been cut out in favor of an episode about Rainbow Quartz or Sunstone or Lars coming home. Hell, Jasper being healed could have been a really interesting arc. This episode really is like a college student procrastinating till the last minute to doing their homework.

Now those were my two biggest problems with the episode, but there were a lot of other smaller problems too. A lot of the dialogue in the episode was pretty bad. It was clunky at times and there were many times characters explained the obvious. Everyone just seems to know exactly what to do with little to no explanation. Peridot is only slightly better in this episode than she was in Reunited. The designs of Rainbow Quartz and Sunstone were fine, but their personalities were way too gimmicky. They screamed “Not going to receive further character development”. The episode earns my personal ire that the reconciliation of Jasper and Amethyst, the epilogue to one of my favorite arcs of the show, is shown in a musical montage where we don’t even hear what they say. Meanwhile, we do get to see and hear Lars and Sadie reconcile, something that immediately earns my apathy. It’s the most out of touch moment in SU since the ending of Your Mother and Mine.

Now is there stuff I like about this episode, well yes. The scene where Steven connects to his Pink Diamond half was really well animated and emotionally satisfying. I also really liked the ending. It was nice and atmospheric. I just wish those moments got a better episode.

Overall this episode is pretty bad. I do eventually want to make a list of my least favorite episodes of Steven Universe ( also might make a favorite episode list), and this is destined for the top ( or bottom) three. This is not only bad, but it might be show killing bad. I lost most of my excitement for the show because of this episode. Like for the first time in a long time I’m happy for the show to go on hiatus. That Steven Universe movie better be damn good. It better set up some interesting new arcs and be completely satisfying. I overall give this an “Awful, Don’t Watch It” on my recommendation meter.

Maybe that’s a bit too harsh, but I’ve had the habit of going too easy on this show (like in hindsight, Familiar should’ve gotten a lower rating from me). Also just based on the impact the episode had on me personally, I cannot rate it any higher. There’s definitely worse stuff out there, but as far as SU is concerned, this is almost as bad as it gets.

#steven universe #su critical #change your mind #review

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 5 years

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Episode 114: Steven’s Dream

“But you don’t deserve that, do you?”

The dream is simple. We fade in to three flowers blowing in the wind. When Steven falls asleep again, we add a broken pink palanquin, and a trill of the signature Diamond music, but that’s it. None of the disorienting mix of the sleeping and waking worlds of Lion 3, none of the nightmares of Chille Tid, none of the lucid mastery of Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service, just a few calm moments before waking up in tears. But of all the episodes about our slumbering hero, this is the one that’s called Steven’s Dream.

To me, the initial sensation was similar to nearing the end of Order of the Phoenix and, after hearing Voldemort’s view of Dumbledore many times over the course of the series, seeing that the next chapter was called The Only One He Ever Feared. This episode uses our knowledge of the past to set the bar high from the title alone, but unlike the Harry Potter chapter, it pulls the rug out from under us by making the dream the catalyst instead of the subject.

In the same way Mirror Gem spends its entire ominous runtime preparing us to meet Lapis Lazuli, Steven’s Dream is an eleven minute introduction to Blue Diamond. Both episodes develop a sense of foreboding with little hint of what’s to come, both give us a little bit of fun to lull us into a sense of ease before jolting us back into the mystery, both pit the Crystal Gems as opponents of sorts to Steven, and both have that wonderful pacing where the third act takes up half the episode so we have room to breathe. Mirror Gem has the advantage of blindsiding us with our first new Gem (and has a slower, eerier burn), but Steven’s Dream uses characters with eighty-six extra episodes of development to sell a mystery that our hero is actively trying to solve.

The most obvious way Steven’s Dream builds dread are the tears. It’s a device that works again and again and again on this show, especially when Steven is the one affected: his face is rarely sad when they come, and they’re huge without devolving into silly water spurts, so despite the empathy tears might otherwise bring, it’s instead an unsettling omen of danger, like the crocodile’s clock. Combined with the brevity of the first dream, the stark opening of the episode thrusts us into the emotional space that fills the next arc.

But we also get Pearl and Garnet providing more explicit concern. Pearl tries changing the subject, but when push comes to shove she covers her mouth for the second time since we were first told that Rose shattered Pink. While this and other acts of self-censorship become clearer after A Single Pale Rose, at this point we still know it’s in character for her to be uncomfortable about certain elements of the war; even going back to Ocean Gem, she’s hesitant to reveal that not all Gems were “good.”

More surprising is Garnet, to the point where Steven mentions how unusual it is for her to so openly obfuscate. She has her mysterious streak, sure, but she’s been blunt and honest for a while now, and was the Crystal Gem who confirmed the story of Pink Diamond. Estelle gets a terrific showcase here, giving full weight to Garnet’s fear while providing levity as she gets frustrated for making the secret sound more enticing.

This is my favorite kind of hint: the one you could feasibly suss the truth out of if you pause the episode and think about it, but is clear as day in retrospect. We’ve seen Garnet freeze in Keeping It Together, and we’ve seen her afraid in the lead-up to The Return, and both incidents involve Homeworld. The “her” in question could be Yellow Diamond, but The Answer showed us Garnet’s relationship with Blue Diamond. It just doesn’t click until we see the blue palanquin, and Garnet’s explanation after Greg’s abduction makes her resignation to fate all the sadder on rewatch.

(The movie where cows are abducted is a clearer hint in a show that’s all about foreshadowing through television screens, but I still didn’t see Blue Diamond coming.)

Amethyst, who was born long after the war and has little to contribute besides a joke and a great reaction shot, sorta sides with Steven at first, but soon falls into the background to enjoy the show. That’s three for three in terms of Gems not helping Steven find the truth, and for the first time since the revelation, he finally gets mad at them. I appreciate so much that it’s not played as a childish temper tantrum but an airing of legitimate grievances: he was already lied to by omission for ages, which he managed to forgive the Gems for, but past deception makes this new secret too much to handle. As Amethyst says, he deserves to know the truth he’s asking for, but he doesn’t get it. The irony is that another character deserves something he doesn’t ask for, but he gets it anyway.

In the words of Blue Diamond herself, Greg Universe should not be doomed on a dying world. True, the world isn’t actually dying, but given the information available, her judgment was sound. And part of the reason why is that, in stark contrast to the three Gems, the three named human characters we see in the episodes are helpers. Connie brings Buddy’s journal and is nothing but encouraging, and while the Universes could’ve afforded a plane ticket, Uncle Andy is the one who flies them to Korea. When the truth hits too close to home for the Gems, humans step up to the plate, and it’s such a powerful way to showcase the value of Steven’s mixed heritage.

But the more general reason Greg deserves to live is that he’s the best of us. Steven talks to him about Pink Diamond before we even get to the Gems, and to me it evokes that pivotal moment where it’s Greg, the human side of Steven’s family, who reveals that the Gems were invaders in The Return. In both conversations, Greg drives home that the past was a long time ago, and that he didn’t judge Rose or push her to talk about things she was uncomfortable with. It might not be helpful for Steven’s fact-finding hunt, but it shows that Greg’s priorities were straight and he values caring about others more than anything.

(I do wonder, though. Greg says here that Rose seemed to want to confess everything, but he said it didn’t matter. I guess we’ll never know just how much of the truth she was willing to confess.)

And of course, Greg is the one who accompanies Steven to Korea. This is a story that wouldn’t work without his wealth explaining their ability to take a tour, but goofy asides about watches aside, what’s more important is that Greg sticks up for his son and encourages his curiosity, even when it’s scary (and yeah, seeing an animator drawing you is probably pretty scary). He’s nervous about closing in on the secret, but trusts Steven enough to follow through. And it all leads to Greg meeting his sister-in-law.

The hints of our interloper’s identity grow more obvious as we close in; the “Please” sign in Pearl’s script shows us we’re close to something, but the blue palanquin raises more specific warning bells before we finally hear a new voice.

Lisa Hannigan is not like Susan Egan, Patti LuPone, or Christine Ebersole. For starters, she’s the only Diamond voice without an American accent. But something less noticeable from the episode alone is that she’s the only Diamond voice who hasn’t been on Broadway; Hannigan isn’t an actress of stage or screen, but a singer through and through, with just one voice acting role prior to Steven Universe (in the excellent Song of the Sea). This is is a different type of performer, but Blue is a different kind of Diamond: where her sisters each adapted in their own way in the aftermath of Rose’s rebellion, Blue never found a defense mechanism to distract herself, so she’s consumed at all times by grief.

Comparing Hannigan to LuPone in particular is inevitable, as they’re the first two Diamonds we meet (at least the first two that we know are Diamonds) and they’re such a stark contrast. Hannigan’s otherworldly voice, capable of soothing sorrow and icy rage, is a radical departure from LuPone’s sheer power. It’s something that becomes even clearer when they share the same screen, but for now, Blue’s melancholy sets her apart not only from Yellow but from Garnet’s depiction of the cruel overlord we saw in The Answer. We know at this point that the Diamonds have done horrible things, but Blue Diamond humanizes them in a way Yellow Diamond has only hinted at.

Greg and Blue’s exchange is a somber, touching, chilling affair. While there’s a certain level of comfort humans in this universe have with weird alien stuff compared to how we might act, Greg is especially tuned to be casual in this scenario; he may address this giant woman as “your highness,” but he’s otherwise speaking as a peer. As in Mr. Greg, we get a rare moment of him mourning Rose aloud, in a way that shows how often he really is thinking of her. But as we saw in Three Gems and a Baby, he’s able to work through it by pouring that love into Steven, and the person Blue Diamond was most likely to pour love into is the one she lost.

As the eerie Diamond harmonette drones, we see more and more of Blue beyond her hunched form. First her arm raises, then she straightens her back, then we see the bottom of her face, before she finally turns to face Greg (and us); each stage is brought about by conversation with Greg, and her wonder at his ability to relate with her. While the talk seems to be going well, the music erupts as Blue snatches Greg, rises to her full, terrifying height, and reveals her ship: not a hand, but an entire arm.

Even as she’s humanized, we see glimpses of the tyrant Garnet told us of, and that we’ll see more of in the future. Her soft bewilderment comes from a place of superiority, and she treats Greg as an animal to be saved even as he protests. She does care, but through the lens of absolute authority over her pearl and lesser races. It comes across as tolerance rather than true empathy, and that exact sort of cold half-affection was a major factor in Pink’s resentment of her older sisters.

And poor Steven, who tried to stop Greg from even approaching the situation, can’t do a thing to stop his only remaining parent from being taken. His floating is powered by happy feelings, and there just aren’t enough of those to reach a rocketing spaceship. Garnet’s rescue may seem convenient, but her frantic apology and explanation absolves her in my mind: on top of being scared out of her wits, she was trying to prevent a future where everyone got taken.

The cliffhanger is more of a call to action than a cut to black, and the episode does “resolve” in its own way: we wanted to know what Steven was dreaming about, and we certainly found out. The tragedy is that Steven was right to be curious, and Greg was right to be kind, and both are punished for it. Greg is mature enough to not assign blame for his abduction, but this is rocket fuel for Steven’s ever-growing martyr complex. One day Steven will be happy again, but he’s never quite the same after this nightmare of an encounter.

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

I compared this episode to Mirror Gem, which is my favorite lore episode of the series. While Steven’s Dream doesn’t rank quite as high due to the glut of other terrific episodes, it still squeezes into my top twenty for now.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

Steven’s Dream

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

When It Rains

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Gem Harvest

Three Gems and a Baby

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

No Thanks!

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

#steven's dream #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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trinitysyndrome · 5 years

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This is the last one I promise, but while I’m on this Steven universe the movie kick I’m just really blown away at the level of detail and influence Rebecca sugar puts in everything she makes. This is a person who has grown up loving animation from day one and boy howdy does it show!!!

The movie opens with that very obvious nod to classic Disney. The overture, the credits, and then the perfectly placed storybook on a bed of satin that comes straight out of Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. Rebecca herself has said that Steven’s story is heavily inspired by the story of briar rose and the three fairies, and rebecca continues to set up all the tell tale signs of a Disney movie as the movie progresses. We have talks of this being everyone’s happily ever after, just like how any good Disney movie ends. We start in a fairytale disguised as sci fi world (there’s royalty and magic powers and knights, in the same vein as how Star Wars is a fantasy story where the sword is simply replaced with a light saber. This entire post is inspired by garnet’s line in “happily ever after” where she sings — “you’re just in time for my favorite part of the story/once upon a time a sapphire came to earth with her ruby soldier” because the movie is fully aware of its place as a fairytale!!). Sugar is very intentionally setting up a Disney movie — one she is entirely prepared to turn on its head come the first call to action in the form of Spinel.

I, like every other su fan, love “other friends,” for a LOT of reasons. One being that spinel, again, like a lot of people have pointed out, jumps onto the screen as this demented hyperactive steamboat willie. It’s the Mickey mouse we would get if, say, he had been tossed aside and forgotten for some 6,000 years only to return hell bent on revenge. She sways like she’s a looney tune, talks like she’s Betty boop, and, especially when she gets rebooted, looks painfully like Mickey mouse, down to the bun placement, shoes, and gloves.

In steven’s new world, one where modern animation, ideas, and stories take center stage, there is no room for spinel anymore. Every part of her animation clues in the audience to the fact that she’s an absolute relic, and she knows it. “Other friends” not only perfectly addresses this idea, but does so while, intentionally or not, taking ques directly from “friend like me” from another classic (tho admittedly more recent), Disney film, Aladdin. I can’t say I know that much about music, so I can’t pinpoint exactly the similarities, but I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, as spinel and genie are both characters that enter the story to turn the plot on its head, introducing themselves through a mirage of fast-paced action, pop culture references, and jazzy showtune numbers about friendship. Again, sugar is twisting Disney’s storybook narrative, as the genie here (spinel) is plucked from her “10,000” years of solitude with less of a friendly demeanor and a crick in the neck, and more of an unmitigated desire for murder. (Rebecca has said that spinel’s appearance has to do with that anime trope of a new character entering a show and automatically becoming the most important character, but is that not what genie does also?)

As the movie progresses of course spinel changes. Now she looks more like the animation we’re used to on the show, more pearl-like with sharp corners and a long slim torso. (I’ve seen people make references to her looking like Jenny from My Life as a Teenage Robot and listen. Rebecca’s 90s/early 2000s animation references are also heavily influential in her work. And My Life as a Teenage Robot is a show that is essentially a love letter to classic b movie sci fi right down to the 50’s inspired Jetson’s aesthetic. Steven universe is completely about these references and this aesthetic, especially when it comes to the look and feel of homeworld, but that’s a different post for a different time!). The point is, she’s becoming someone now inspired by more modern animation, and through this she’s allowed to finally, at the very end, grow and change.

“There’s no such thing as happily ever after,” Steven says at the end. Rebecca sugar is inspired by Disney, she sets out to make a movie with all the elements of a classic Disney fairytale, but in the end she’s actively twisting the story. But that’s not a bad thing. Unlike every other “dark” Disney/fairytale parody, this is actually an optimistic ending. In animation, in storytelling, and in the show, we’ve grown out of the past. Animation isn’t what it was when steamboat Willie was around anymore, but we don’t have to leave what we love in the past, either. It can grow and change, and will continue to grow and change, to survive. Art can only move forward if it wants to change. A story never really ends. Etc and so on.

#steven universe movie #steven universe #spinel #idk guys im LIVID #rebecca wrote a disney movie!!!#but better!!#i wrote this entire post to say that part about genie #long post #spoilers??#my post

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ladyloveandjustice · 5 years

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Animazement 2019

It was pretty fun! I did a lot more than I normally do thanks to Bethany’s enthusiasm (her first con!), so I should always go to cons with her I guess haha. She drags me out of my introverted comfort zone.

I was kind of an anxious mess throughout in some ways though, need to really deal with my problem of fixating and obsessing over dumb things and learn how to live in the moment and have fun like my friend does but idk. therapy. someday.

BUT ANYWAY, we did a lot the first day! I saw a rakugo performance, heck yeah! I’ve seen it in video games, seen it in anime, AND NOW REAL LIFE. The guy, Someta Hayashiya, was pretty fun!

I went to a Kotono panel and autograph after that, then that night, tried out a Sailor Moon panel . It was not super fascinating and I was anxious about not having a wide toothed comb for my wig so I left early and got them. Then I went to a Class 1A “After Dark” panel, basically My Hero Academia cosplayers making a lot of raunchy jokes and having fun. Events: Kirishima proposed to Bakugo, Deku won a pressing contest against Bakugo and also swore for the first time in his life (”I WON FUCK YEAH”), cosplayer wrapped each other in TP, shenanigans.

Anyway, then we went to the thing where we watched weird clips and answered questions about them to win prizes (stuff in the vein of the He Man “what’s goin on” vid). If you answered wrong u had to do stuff like take a shot of hot sauce.

Next day! I got into my cosplay (complete with in-a-very-sorry-tangled-state wig) for the morning! And went to a maid cafe with Bethany!

It was really cute, they did a dance and everything.

I left early for the concert with Jennifer Cihi, though, which was also a lot of fun. She was very passionate about being there, gave some background about how Dic approached her (they specifically told her to sing “very young and very white” which uh. bout what I’d expect from Dic tbh). She had no idea Sailor Moon had gotten so big until a friend approached her years later, then got into going to the cons and stuff. She chose a bunch of Sailor Moon cosplayers to come on stage and dance with her, which included me because my friend pointed me out. I bought my Luna and glowstick from the Super Live, but had to drop them when we were asked to hold hands. She hugged us all but then got caught on my wig, which nearly claimed many lives the short time I wore it.

Anyway, after that was another Kotono panel, which I was surprised wasn’t as full as the concert one. But it was still lively and you can read more about it here. Her selfie with us from her twitter!

I’m the civilian Usagi with the Luna.

Then we went to the Fight Like a Girl: The Importance and Impact of the Magical Girl genre panel! It was pretty thorough, talking about the different perspectives surrounding magical girls and gender. She cited Akiko Shimada! It also talked common tropes regarding lady heroes magical girls subvert, talked about women in refrigerators and asked if anyone knew who Stephanie Brown was, at which point I yelled “I created a wiki!”. It was wild to see Steph bought up in a magical girl panel, I thought I was the only person who would ever cite her when talking about magical girls but APPARENTLY NOT.

But my favorite panel was definitely the La Soldier panel, about the Sailor Moon musicals. It was super informative- a lot of behind the scenes stuff about the early musicals and mentioning their connection to Saint Seiya of all things- told me a lot of things I didn’t know, and the guy who ran it was great! He even griped about the scandal with Mercury being replaced for the most recent SuperS musical cuz fanboys whined about her having done gravure shots (”sexism KILLS”) and was really cute talking about his crush on one of the guys who played Tuxedo Mask. AND gave PGSM a shoutout.

Unfortunately, there were two assholes throughout the panel who were talking loudly and laughing (Bethany said they were mocking the guy and the way he spoke, and they’re lucky my hearing’s so bad and I was so focused on tuning them out so I could hear the guy cuz if I’d known that I’d’ve gone off on them MUCH harsher and sooner). I turned and glared a bunch and said “hush” quietly bc I was afraid of disrupting the panel further, but it didn’t do anything, finally a Sailor Venus cosplayer told them loudly to stop and I joined in and then security kicked them out. Ugh. What losers. Why were they even there.

We couldn’t really get in late night panels bc it was so packed, so I (very badly) played a board game with Bethany and another guy at the tabletop gaming section (I was so tired I was even worse at following board game directions than usual, but fortunately they were both very patient. Then we went to a panel dedicated to ridic fanservice clips, but it was crowded and I couldn’t see subs and tbh already seen enough of all that for a lifetime, so I left a bit early.

And that was basically it! I did some kareoke on the last day and also got my GOODS: a CUTE ART of all the Ace Attorney girls (Maya, Pearl, Kay, Athena, Fran, Ema, Iris, Susato- still gotta play Great Ace Attorney to meet those last two but I’M SURE I’LL LOVE EM), an adorable fanmade Athena keychain, an OFFICAL Makoto Kino in her school uniform keychain, a small Natsume art, some cute kitty arts, some smaller, nicer plushies of Venus and Mercury so they can hang with my other small plushies (unlike the huge in-hindsight-bootleg ones I already had) annnd some stickers for the laptop I’ll have to get to replace this one- Sailor Moon, Alphys/Undyne, Frisk w/ Flowey in a flowerpot, and Garnet). I’ll maybe post pics later.

Cosplay wise, there was SO MUCH My Hero Academia and Persona 5. Art was also dominated by those two, plus Mob Psycho. (I did see SOME MP cosplay, a mob and a reigen, but i guess the characters don’t stand out enough to be super popular for that?)

Anyway it was a good con, glad I went to one for the first time in a while. Maybe next time I go to a con I’ll have my anxiety straightened out and have an even better time.

#animazement 2019 #conventions #life of a nev #sailor moon

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timeoutforthee · 6 years

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Like It or Not (Chapter 2)

Chapter 1

Read it on AO3

Summary: Logan, Patton, Roman, and Virgil are all struggling in their recovery. Their doctors, Thomas Sanders and Emile Picani think they can help each other out.

Aka Group Therapy AU

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of Eating Disorders and self-deprecating thoughts

Taglist: @itsausernamenotafobsong, @sea-blue-child, @iaminmultiplefandoms, @princeanxious, @uwillbeefoundtonight, @zaidiashipper, @arandompasserby, @levyredfox3 @echomist13

(Thank you guys so much I’m so excited people like this!!! Also, I know there’s a tagging glitch going around, so if you want to be untagged, just let me know!)

“I’m here for group therapy!” Patton chirps. His hands are shoved into his pockets, so no one can tell how badly they’re shaking.

The secretary says, “Of course, sweetie,” then pauses, “You’re about fifteen minutes early, though.”

“I just wanted to be the first one here!” So they don’t all turn and look at me when I go in. “So I can be the first to say hi to everyone!”

The woman smiles. “Well, the room isn’t being used, so you can go ahead and head back, sweetheart. It’s room number 203.”

“Thanks!” he says, turning down the hallway and throwing a wave over his shoulder.

There’s no one else there, just as he hoped. There’s a desk with a half circle of chairs around it. and he chooses a random one to sit in. Only then, alone in the room, does he allow his smile to slip off his face as he slumps down in his chair.

Why? Why? Why couldn’t he have said no, this one time?

Because you’re weak. Do you really think they’ll want to be friends with you?

“Nope,” he says, out loud, “No, we’re not doing this, not now.”

Dr. Sanders had told him the previous week that they did, indeed, have enough interest to start the group. He had mentioned there would only be four, but it was enough. Patton actually relaxed at that. Less intimidation. And even though he had lied about his enthusiasm, he meant it when he said that he was always up to make new friends.

Any friends, any friends at all, please-

He looked up as he heard footsteps coming down the hallway and sat up a little straighter because slouching made rolls-

“Hey!” he greeted, smiling at the other patient who just walked in.

The guy turned to him, and he perked up even more, “Hey! We have the same glasses!”

“It would appear that way, yes,” the guy said, adjusting the frames in question, “Hello, my name is Logan.”

“Patton!” he narrows his eyes slightly, “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“It’s possible we go to school together, assuming we live close to this facility,” Logan says, stiffly, “I’ve been told I tend to blend in, so I doubt you would have noticed me, though.”

“Aw, I’m sure that’s not true!”

Logan shrugs, “It’s not an attack on my character, simply an observation. I don’t participate in any clubs or sports, have very few friends. School is, after all, a place of learning and I intend to use it for that purpose,” he paused, “Though I guess I do help out the librarian from time to time during lunch-”

“That’s it!” Patton cries, suddenly, “Mrs. Barber! I eat lunch in the library sometimes,” he frowns, “Wait, don’t you always wear a tie?”

He glances down at his black polo, “I, uh, I thought I might appear more approachable without it.” Even though he feels a like a little piece of him is missing.

“I’m sure no one will care,” he says as Logan takes a seat across from him. He hums noncommittally in response.

It’s only then that Patton allows himself to observe him closer, taking in smaller details that others probably don’t notice. Like the fact Logan’s watch hangs off his wrist, just a little bit, or the fact that his polo isn’t quite tight enough. Staring at him, Patton becomes even more aware of the way his thighs squish together in the chair.

Before he can go down that road any farther, he hears “Da dadada da…”

It takes him a second to place it as the tune goes on, then he remembers. Spongebob Squarepants.

“Tch!” a hand appears in the doorway.

Logan looks at him, completely lost. Patton shrugs. He’s had a few other therapists, before Thomas, but he’s pretty sure he’s never had this one. That’s confirmed a little later, when at a very dramatic part of the song he leans his head in, hair flopping to one side.

Wait, Logan thinks, Is his hair pink?

Song completed, he walks in, nonchalantly, and sits in the chair behind the desk, which is in between Patton and Logan.

“New patients, do you how do?”

“...what.”

“My name is Dr. Picani,” the therapist starts, not deterred, “We’re still waiting on two others, but I asked you two to come in a little earlier, since we haven’t formally met.”

“Hold on, I thought Dr. Sanders was leading these sessions,” Logan said.

“Ehhhh, we’ve been discussing who’d be the best fit, considering you two are patients of Thomas’s and the other two are mine. So, since this group was my idea, I figured we’d try this first, but Thomas will be here next week. You guys just let us know which makes you feel more comfortable. Speaking of comfort,” he pulls the chair from behind the desk to the front of it, so the chairs are a complete circle. He then pulls out a small figure and places on his desk.

“Hey, it’s Garnet!”

“Yeah!” Dr. Picani cries, “And Amethyst,” he pulls out another, “And Pearl!” and a third.

Logan is confused. Those are not gemstones, they are pastel women.

“I thought, since they’re such good friends, they’d inspire you guys a bit, plus this office is just so dull!”

“But I thought there were four of us?” Logan says.

“There are!”

“There are four of them, too,” Patton giggles.

Logan furrows his eyebrows, and looks at the desk again. He can definitely count to three. He is going to have to talk to Dr. Sanders about this.

“I’m heeeeere!” a voice sings, and a third guy steps into the office, his arms up in a ridiculous pose, “Roman Prince, at your service!”

“Hi Roman!” Dr. Picani says, “Have a seat.” He does, right next to Patton, “We can do the rest of the introductions when our fourth gets here.”

The fourth is exactly two minutes late, which Logan knows because he’s checked his watch every 30 seconds since the meeting was supposed to start. He’s about to say something when a hooded figure slinks into the meeting.

“Well, it’s about time!” Roman says, and his voice booms, “What took you so long?”

The fourth guy doesn’t say anything, instead sitting next to Logan and stretching his legs out in front of him. He tips his head back and closes his eyes.

“Hey, Sunshine, I’m talking to you!”

“Now, now,” Patton says, and Logan is shocked by how much he sounds like a dad, “Sometimes things happen. Right, kiddo?” It’s directed at the fourth member, but he doesn’t move.

“Awesome!” Dr. Picani says, pulling out his notebook, “Now that everyone’s here, we can begin. But, Virgil?” his voice gets a little louder at the end. The fourth-Virgil-opens one of his eyes and turns to him, “It might help if you take your headphones out.”

Virgil lets out a long sigh, but reaches up and pop two small earbuds out. He wraps them around his iPod before shoving it back into his pocket.

“Thank you! Now, you all know what you’re here for,” the four exchange weary looks, “For recovery and for support. This is a very safe, welcoming space. Now, what’s your favorite cartoon?”

There’s silence.

“What?” Logan asks.

“It’s the first session, guys! You have to be at least a little comfortable with each other before we can expect you to open up to each other.”

Logan presses his fingers to the bridge of his nose. Oh, yes, he definitely needed to talk to Dr. Sanders about this. This is not going to work.

“I do not watch cartoons-”

“I like Spongebob!” Patton says, “But, like, classic, good Spongebob. The newer ones have gone a liiiittle downhill.”

“Steven Universe,” Roman replies, “It truly has the most epic of battles. Though Ducktales has some very fascinating adventures. Oh! And Avatar: The Last Airbender!”

They turn to Virgil. He shrugs.

“I don’t watch cartoons, either.”

Logan watches Dr. Picani take some notes, and wonders what exactly could be so telling about cartoons.

Meanwhile, with his notepad safely angled away from his patients, he wrote “Virgil is a liar liar pants on fire because he said he doesn’t watch cartoons even though last week he had some very interesting things to say about Lapis Lazuli, his favorite character.”

“Neat! What about music?” He says, leaning forward.

“Well, I listen to the Steven Universe soundtrack, some musicals-ooh! Especially the Spongebob Musical-and the Campfire Song song on repeat.”

“Campfire song song?” Logan asks.

“Do you not listen to music either, specs?” Roman asks him.

Logan tries not to glare. We are approachable and we are making friends, he reminds himself.

“No, I do not,” his voice is still clipped, “If I need to listen to something for some reason, it’s usually a podcast.”

“Evanescence,” Virgil says and Roman scoffs, “What?”

“Could you be more stereotypical?”

“Sure,” he says before Dr. Picani can step in, “I could’ve said My Chemical Romance.”

“They’re your second favorite, I’m sure.”

“Third, actually. Under Fall Out Boy,” Roman scoffs again and Virgil glares, “What do you listen to then? High School Musical?”

Roman opens his mouth, but Patton cuts him off, “Hey! That’s where I know you from! You played Troy Bolton last year!”

Virgil smirks, and Roman rushes to say, “Or-or-or, you could know me from football our Freshmen year.”

“Wasn’t that our worst season?” Logan asks, “Also, you were definitely Troy. You were also the Prince in Cinderella.”

“So, Roman enjoys Theater,” Dr. Picani says, cutting off any arguing, “What do you guys do for fun?”

“Oh! I’m on the yearbook committee!” Patton says.

“Puzzles, and other activities that don’t involve other people, such as reading.”

“I’m learning guitar.”

“Hey! I can play ukulele!” Patton says.

“Oooh,” Virgil says, sarcastically, “We can be jam buds.”

His eyes grow wide just as Roman’s and Patton’s light up in recognition

“Hey, was that a reference-?”

“Next question, Emile,” Virgil cuts Patton off.

Dr. Picani finishes writing BUSTED! before saying, “Favorite characters? I need some ideas for figurines to bring in next time.”

Logan ponders a moment, then says “I suppose Baymax would be satisfactory.”

“Yeah!” Dr. Picani cheers, writing it down.

“Any prince of any disney movie, but especially Flynn Rider,” Roman says.

“Uh-ooh-uh, how about Tigger? Or Winnie the Pooh?”

“Stitch,” Virgil says, and the other three turn to him, “What? I can’t be a fan of Disney, too?”

“It just appears like you would reject everything pure and sweet in the world,” Roman says.

“Pure and sweet? Are we watching the same movies? Because they can get dark,” Virgil says.

“Wha-? Dr. Picani, are you hearing this, he is disgracing Disney!”

“Yeah, I wanna see where this is going,” his therapist says, leaning forward.

“Besides the obvious, like the metaphors for racism in Zootopia, or the abuse in-”

“I know, I know, everyone says Beauty and The Beast is about Stockholm Syndrome, but it’s really about a love that transcends outward appearance. Even the most beastly, hairy-” he stops when he notices Patton’s apprehensive stare and Logan’s side eye, “Okay, not the best example, but-”

“Actually, I was going to say the parental abuse in Tangled, but very good point. Even movies that aren’t supposed to have those themes do”

“Mmm, not really the best example, Stockholm Syndrome doesn’t exist, at least not in the way the media portrays it,” Dr. Picani points out, “Also, even if it was, Belle doesn’t present any of the symptoms.”

“Fine,” Virgil says, “We can still point out the lack of consent in older stories. The implication that you can get what you want by lying and deceiving people in Aladdin.”

“Oh, come on, he came clean in the end!”

“Yeah, after lying and deceiving-”

Were….were they really doing this? During therapy? Logan looked at Patton, who looked just as confused. Dr. Picani just looked entertained, though.

“Face it, Princey, your tales as old as time just aren’t as magical as you think they are.”

“How dare you!” Roman cries, “Also I am not Princey. I am Roman Prince.”

“Your last name is Prince? Oh, that is rich.”

“Oh, shoot,” Dr. Picani said, looking up from his notebook, “I completely forgot. Names. Those would be a good start. But, Roman Prince,” he takes a deep breath, “serious Picani ACTIVATE!” Logan and Patton jump slightly, “So, why don’t you tell us why you’re here and what you’re hoping to get out of this?”

“I, uh,” For the first time all session, Roman seems unsure, “I have...an eating disorder,” he winces, that’s what the group was for of course he did, “And I, I want to get better?” Nailed it.

He looked around, waiting for some sort of ridicule, but no one says anything. Not even Virgil.

Dr. Picani nods, and looks at Virgil.

“I’m Virgil McCloud, and I’m just generally a mess,” he pauses, “I’m here so I don’t hurt Emile’s feelings.”

“I’ll take it,” Dr. Picani looks at Logan.

“I am Logan Crofter, I’ve been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, and I’m here because my current therapist thought it would be beneficial for me.”

“And I’m Patton! Patton Hart! I...uh...I have bulimia, and I,” his voice suddenly drops to a whisper, “I just don’t want to be lonely anymore.”

He feels everyone’s eyes on him, and hunches in on himself self-consciously, wrapping his arms around his stomach.

So, Logan thinks, Someone else feels this way, too. He glances at Roman and Virgil and can see the same realization going across their faces. Patton was clearly the bravest of the four of them...objectively.

Out of the corner of his eye, Patton can see Dr. Picani nod, sympathetically, “Thank you for sharing that, Patton. I’m sure the other three feel similarly,” he closes his notebook, “Perhaps next time you all can dive into that with Dr. Sanders.”

#sanders sides #group therapy au #sanders sides fic #virgil sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #tw eating disorders #like it or not

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afterpinkdiamond · 6 years

Text

Steven and the Stevens S1E22

I adore Steven and the Stevens; as an episode, as a musical group, as a song, and as an allusion to the Great Diamond Authority. Considering the fact that flashbacks and people telling stories of the past has been our main source of information on the Diamonds until recently, it makes sense that the show’s attempt at a time travel episode would have so many references to the Diamonds.

Steven and the Gems are examining hourglasses in the Sea Shrine and, much like looking for the Holy Grail, they must determine which hourglass is the Glass of Time. Pearl makes the common mistake of assuming the cup hourglass will be “beautiful and grand” (like we all assumed of Pink Diamond/Rose). Garnet thinks the largest hourglass is the one they are looking for while Steven just likes the small adorbable one. Pearl warns they have to be careful about which one they choose because choosing poorly will be their death of what happened last time. Amethyst ignores the warning and picks one up anyways, causing the roof of the Shrine to collapse and the surrounding ocean begins to pour in. Steven runs to grab the small hourglass and nearly drowns. Garnet shapeshifts her arm to grab him and pull him back to the warp pad. Everyone makes it back to the beach house intact with a few sea critters buddies as well. Steven wants to go back, but Pearl says the Shrine will take 100 years to reform. Steven’s alarm goes off, reminding him of Beachapalooza as he leaves to go practice with Greg.

Steven scoots along to the carwash, humming the tune for “Steven and the Stevens” and is shocked to find Yellowtail’s boat jammed in the door to the wash. Greg is frustrated with the huge problem and tells Steven he can’t play at Beachapalooza. Steven leaves disappointed and upset, wishing he could have warned his father. The hourglass then transports him back in time to be at the carwash before the boat gets stuck. Steven in his excitement barely communicates to Greg that the boat is too fat before he can stop Yellowtail from backing up. Greg tries to explain the problem to Yellowtail but the truck crashes into a telephone pole, causing an electrical fire that quickly spreads to the carwash. Steven quickly wishes to stop himself from stopping the boat and gets taken back in time again. He stops his clone from the past and prevents the fire. The two Stevens decide to be in a band together and decide to go recruit other past-Stevens.

Steven and the Stevens as a song is fun, lighthearted, and catchy using repetitive lyrics to emphasize how all four Stevens are the same person. The lyrics state I’m not like the other guys/I’m not like anybody/that’s not completely right/there's a few that I’m just like/ Steven and the Stevens/Come on now don’t be shy/Me, Myself, and I and Him are all the same guy. This sounds like White Diamond and the Diamonds. They are like no other gems, a small collective of similar beings compared to the mass of gemkind. This could also foreshadow what the creation of a Diamond is like, as they are “all the same” in very particular qualities. The allusion to the diamonds is even more clear as the Stevens pick the leader of the group, the original Steven who has been around the longest. Original Steven then gives them their perspective roles in the band; Steven 2 is the “smart one”, Steven 3 is the “funny one”, Steven 4 is the “sensitive one”, and the original Steven is the “handsome one”. 4 immediately makes a silly remark, Steven 3 logically observes they are all prone to being funny, Steven 2 asks which one he is and the original loses his temper. The original Steven is the one assigning roles and has his hair styled in an updo. Steven 2 is the sensitive and confused one. Steven 3 is the logical and smart one. Steven 4 is the funny one. So in order, that’s White, Blue, Yellow, Pink. And they’re all Steven. The Original gets so fed up he says “Let’s take five” to which the others reply “There’s a fifth Steven??” Foreshadowing. Black Diamond, Red Diamond, probably not Green or Brown, is there another Diamond?

Original Steven is annoyed and considers quitting the band when he hears the other three playing a loud and obnoxious song. He runs back in to find out what’s going on and 3 starts explaining that the others don’t want the original around because of his attitude and trying to assign roles. They’ve even written an angsty song in the 2 minutes since he walked outside. Amethyst, totally unfazed by the multiple Stevens is playing drums like nothing completely strange is going on. The Original gets upset and says the others can't kick him out because he created them. This is really odd to say unless maybe its White Diamond threatening the others with her status as the matriarch of all gemkind. Original Steven then starts laughing evilly and uses the Glass of Time to take out the others. He goes to stop Steven on his way to the carwash by telling him to not start the band. The other three show up with their hourglasses and the chase through time begins. First, they go back to the end of “Gem Glow”, causing Steven to puke during the funeral for Cookie Cats. Next, they flash forward to Rose’s Room, where Steven sees about 8 of himself fighting each other. The next scene they flash to is actually from a future episode, “Ocean Gem” where Lapis Lazuli has stolen the ocean. Fed up with the other Stevens guessing his every move, the original asks to go back to the beginning.

The Glass of Time takes the Stevens to the Sea Shrine just as Past Steven is about to grab the hourglass. Original tries to fight him, crying out that he knows everything Past Steven will do before he does it. Other Stevens come and join the fight, shocking Pearl and keeping Amethyst counting the more that show up. An original Steven finally gets the timepiece from the past and is laughing maniacally when he notices how scared and confused Past Steven is. Original gives a moving speech about how Steven should not fight Steven because none of them were who they started as anymore. Maybe that speech was influenced by Pink seeing all the damage she wrought by fighting a war against herself and imprinting that lesson into Steven’s personality? The Original Steven takes the Past timepiece and smashes it, which causes the other time paradox Stevens to start dissipating into sand. Past Steven is absolutely traumatized as Original tells him everything he learned before disintegrating himself in Steven’s arms. Infinity War Style.

We cut from a traumatized Steven to Beachapalooza, where Steven is performing with the Crystal Gems! Amethyst on drums, Garnet on the fusion instrument the keytar, and Pearl on violin. This is one of my favorite songs to recontextualize in light of Pink Diamond because Steven sings “Don't go back in time or you’ll destroy yourself... I accidentally created an alternate timeline... I learned to stay true to myself by watching myself die” Pearl gives him a look on the line about alternate timelines, maybe because she’s the one who inspired Rose Quartz in the first place. I also imagine it was difficult to keep a straight face during the last line that directly foreshadows the faked shattering.

Can you see the trauma in my eyes?

This episode is so fun to watch as a lighthearted time travel bit that doesn’t try very hard to take time travel too seriously, and yet it manages to foreshadow the series huge twist, as well as characters we don’t even know exist yet.

Steven 4 “Hey. If Steven is the handsome one, does that mean the rest of us aren't good looking?” Steven 3 “No way! We are all extremely attractive!” Steven 2 “Let's go get jobs as models!”

#steven universe #steven and the stevens #pink diamond #su rewatch #diamond authority #su spoilers #avengers infinity spoilers

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