Steven Bomb 4: Brief Notes

This post is here in lieu of a series of reaction posts for the individual episodes in Steven’s Birthday Week. I’m planning on using it for reference when working on new theory posts for Steven Universe.

• Ruby and Sapphire
•    Sapphire was a member of nobility, and her future vision was valued by her diamond, Blue Diamond
•  Before meeting Ruby, Sapphire was even more resigned to fate
•    Sapphire’s future vision before fusing with Ruby only showed one path. It’s not clear if fusing with Ruby or reflecting on Ruby’s actions when confronted by Pearl caused this change
•   Rubies are common gems that serve as bodyguards and possibly foot soldiers
•    Rubies seem to have a uniform
• Garnet
• Her appearance was a lot more mixed between Ruby and Sapphire's traits when she first formed
• Ruby and Sapphire’s fusing has always been quick and simple. The dances seem to be for show or perhaps to help meditate on the fusion form
• Ruby and Sapphire spend so much time fused that between the flashbacks in “The Answer” and now that they and Garnet know what Garnet is supposed to look like
• Garnet connected surprisingly well with Peridot and may be the Crystal Gem that Peridot is closest to
•  Garnet may have been the first fusing of two different gem types
• Steven
•   Because of his relationship with Connie, Steven is interested in both a human life and gem life
•  Steven’s status as a new creation seems to cause some discomfort for him because of the unknowns
• Steven’s really emotionally invested in trusting people
•  He views fun as something necessary to make life living
•  Music comes fairly naturally to him
• Peridot
• Very much indoctrinated in Homeworld ideas, which is going to make being a Crystal Gem hurt for a while
• Highly values logic and completion
• Really needs to work on her social skills (why doesn’t she just ask Greg if he can fly?)
•  Learning really motivates her to interact with people
• She wants to be viewed as funny by Amethyst and seems to want Pearl to view her as fancy
• Pearl
•  At the start of the rebellion, she dual-wielded swords instead of using her spear, so she may not have learned how to summon a spear until later
• Viewed as very ferocious by Homeworld during the rebellion, probably because a warrior Pearl was such an unusual concept
• Seems to be the least attached to Peridot because she wasn't as upset about Peridot's betrayal as Amethyst and Steven did
• Amethyst
• No one seems to fully grasp her insecurities about the Kindergarten
•  Really enjoys joking around with Peridot and views her as a friend
• Lion
• Has the disposition of an overgrown house cat
•  His Lion Warps seem to be influenced by physical distance
• The Diamonds
• Yellow Diamond really hates Earth. Maybe she took Rose’s rebellion personally
•  Peridot’s indoctrination to Yellow Diamond involved her viewing Yellow Diamond as the paradigm of traits that she valued the most
• Sapphire and most likely Lapis Lazuli were part of Blue Diamond’s court. Both are the two gems most resigned two their fate
• Blue Diamond’s Pearl seems a lot more passive than the Crystal Gem Pearl and Yellow Diamond’s Pearl
• Blue Diamond herself may be relatively passive and prone to leaving things up to fate
• Gems in General
• Shapeshifting and stretching require a lot of energy
•  Gem’s bodies automatically adjust to changes in gravity
• Gems don’t use fabric
• All Pearls and Rubies shown have the same shape/cut for their gem, but different placements

Steven Universe: Steven Bomb 4

I just got into Steven Universe this summer. It is amazing. The story is kid friendly, but also has a lot of depth and explores moral gray areas better than several shows aimed at older audiences. The plot is engaging, the world building is interesting, and the cast is large, well-developed, and diverse. It’s wonderful. Watch it if you haven’t.

This makes January’s upcoming Steven Bomb my first Steven Bomb. One week of new episodes. According to longtime fans, the first Steven Bomb was what really helped the fandom expand. Usually the episodes in Steven Bombs are linked together. The first one included the build up to and confrontation with the Homeworld Gems. Another was the week of Sardonyx which revealed Pearl and Garnet’s fusion and included the aftermath of Pearl’s desperation to fuse with Garnet as much as possible. I’m going to celebrate by reopening my blog with predictions for Steven Bomb 4.

According to iO9, the episodes are “The Answer,” where Garnet tells Steven the story of how she became a Crystal Gem; “Steven’s Birthday,” where during his birthday he decides to mature; “It Could’ve Been Great,” where the Gems take a trip to the moon; “Message Received,” where Steven begins to doubt believing everyone; and “Log Date 7 15 2,” where Steven listens to an audio diary, presumably Peridot’s. Personally, I’m the most excited for “The Answer” and “Message Received.” “The Answer” will probably include a ton of great backstory, world building, and maybe some information about Ruby and Sapphire, the Crystal Gems we know the least about. “Message Received” will probably force Steven to negotiate one of his greatest traits, his willingness to trust and give second chances to people, with the moral ambiguity of the world around him.

My first prediction is the focus of the Steven Bomb. This will be about Steven’s future, Garnet’s past, and how the past affects the future. With Steven choosing to experiment with growing up and losing some of his faith in others, Steven will be redefining Steven, and I think Garnet’s past choices and/or Peridots current choices may affect that.

I love Garnet, but sometimes her reaction to other gems is aggressive. She is willing to intimidate Steven to get the mirror back when Steven communicates with Lapis Lazuli, who is terrified of Garnet when trapped in the mirror. In “Monster Buddies,” she’s hostile towards the Centipeedle gem, who in turn is terrified of Garnet and panics when seeing Garnet’s gauntlets. There’s a few possible reasons for this aggression that comes to mind: these Gems were very anti-fusion and tormented Garnet, it was part of a secret request that Rose gave to Garnet, or Garnet/Sapphire’s future sight associates them with some disaster. I think there is a darker part of Garnet that will come to the forefront.

The battle between Peridot in her mech and the Crystal Gems means that something happens that makes Peridot decide to abandon the truce. The only thing I can think of is that Yellow Diamond responds to Peridot’s distress call with news of a rescue ship. Peridot may be attacking the Crystal Gems to redeem herself to Homeworld. Peridot is Steven’s newest friend, and the relationship exists because Steven was willing to ignore her allegiance to Homeworld and abrasive personality. This definitely means that the changes in Steven will be long lasting and drastic.

The promo also includes a trio of Rubys. One with a gem on her shoulder, one with a gem on the back of her hand, and a third whose gem isn’t shown, so she is most likely the Ruby that forms Garnet. The trio form a pyramid, which could be part of a fusion to form a bigger Ruby. It doesn’t have as much character as the fusions used in the rest of the series. Perhaps, the personalized dance moves that Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl use when fusing are a form of self-expression that is key to the Crystal Gem fusions.

The preview for “The Answer” features Garnet telling Steven about how Ruby and Sapphire met. The story begins by talking about a rebellion that diplomats are sent to. Sapphire as a diplomat makes sense. She’s very calm and is able to focus on the bigger picture, partially because of her future vision. Also, her clothes are pretty formal, and the ability to create cold could help her stay comfortable in harsher environments. Real world rubies and sapphires are both types of the mineral Corundum. Since all kinds of quartzes are part of a warrior class in Homeworld society, Rubys are probably linked to Sapphires. Perhaps the Rubys are guards. The question is, is the rebellion that they’re looking at Rose Quartz’s, something related to fusions, or something else entirely. I really like the second. Ruby, Sapphire, and Garnet view fusion primarily as a way of showing romantic feelings and fusion is important to them, so to have their first meeting be tied to a change in fusion (perhaps fusing gems that aren’t the same type).

Those are my thoughts. I plan on being back with an update schedule later this month. I'll probably have after episode reactions to this, RWBY, and maybe other shows.

Hiatus warning and RWBY's Four Maidens

First of all, I'm officially going on hiatus until next year. I'm hoping to build a backlog of posts during the rest of December. However, that didn't stop me from rambling about the "Four Maidens" part of new episode of RWBY, so here's a rather rough post to tide you over, until I return to active blogging in 2016 with more RWBY and Steven Universe, plus Pokemon, Once Upon a Time, and more.

First, the colors of the original maidens. Winter Maiden is a mix of the white and blue of Atlas and Mistral silhouettes in World of Remnant. Spring Maiden is the same color as Vale silhouettes in World of Remnant, and Summer Maiden to Vacuo silhouettes in World of Remnant. Fall Maiden’s color is magenta. Could that be related to the now defunct Mantle, or maybe Menagerie? Not much has been said about it since Oobleck’s history lesson. Is Menagerie still a thing?

There are already characters named after the seasons (beside's Cinder), Summer Rose and Winter Schnee. The color of the Winter Maiden is also close to the color Weiss is assigned in World of Remnant. Her sister Winter (represented with White in World of Remnant) was one of the students encouraged to become an Atlas Specialist, that would lead to her becoming a right hand woman for Ironwood. Winter stated that she came for a classified mission for an undetermined amount of time, then she tells Weiss that she was just guarding a shipment and her distinct ship leaves. Continuing with this theory, Ironwood may have a plan in the wings for Winter to be kept around to counter Cinder's enhanced abilities.

Then we have Summer Rose. Common interpretation of "Red like Roses Part II" is Ruby talking about Summer’s death, and Summer apologizing for dying. The implication being that Summer’s last thoughts included Ruby, meaning that, if Summer was the Summer Maiden, Summer’s power would pass on to Ruby. Then there’s the lyric “baby please don’t do what I did//I don’t want you to waste your life in vain," which is interpreted as Summer's request that Ruby doesn't become a Huntress. Qrow, who definitely knows about the Four Maidens, was the one who taught her to fight, perhaps so she could defend herself better if Cinder figured out who she was? Ozpin was also surprised that Ruby was able to fight like that, which means he might not have been aware that Qrow taught Ruby. Ozpin was willing to jump her ahead a few years to place her in Beacon, under the watchful eye of himself and Professor Goodwitch, when he knew she was a good fighter who wasn’t keeping a low profile (”You’re robbing me? I’ll heroically ride your unconscious body out this window!”) during a time when danger was approaching, and he had Qrow out trying to get information on Cinder around the same time, which would leave this hypothetical Summer Maiden without a guard from the "brotherhood."

Next, Qrow says, “Putting aura into things.” I took this as him knowing about Penny, or at least a possible attempt to move Autumn’s aura to an android like Penny. If he did know about Penny, then decapitating those robots in front of her was a real dick move.

Next, they chose Pyrrha, a celebrity, to be the Fall Maiden. Pulling Pyrrha into hiding would arouse suspicion, so that means that the Maidens are hidden in plain sight (which would make sense if I’m right about Winter, Summer, and Ruby), or perhaps they’ll be revealed to the public right before the war to rally the people.

Finally, the story of the man with two souls battling for control. Pyrrha will take on a second aura, an extension of someone’s soul, making her a person with two souls (kinda): her own and the soul of a stranger who may have been in a coma since being attacked by Cinder. JKR is a master of subtle foreshadowing, and a lot of Rooster Teeth’s fanbase is probably in the age group that grew up with Harry Potter. Miles and Kerry do reference Harry Potter books in one interview. I disagree with the substance of the statement, but that means that they may be planning on taking story telling ideas from her, such as subtly introducing things early on (for example, introducing Sirius Black through the motorcycle Hagrid uses to deliver Harry to Privet Drive). This also means that Cinder is a person with two souls, but she seems to be in control. Cinder is willing to dominate and manipulate, but Pyrrha couldn't get herself to ask her friend to go to a dance with her.

RWBY: Doubles Round

I know I said Delta Episode on Wednesday, but this week’s RWBY episode is giving me a lot of material. Plus, I feel like instead of just the Delta Episode, I should take a shot at a series of reviews of Pokémon post game and legendary discussion. I love Pokémon.

First of all, looks like there are two errors in my previous posts. I guessed that Qrow’s semblance was teleportation like Raven’s. It looks like Qrow’s semblance is similar to Yang’s, which means that Yang could’ve inherited it from Raven. Second, I missed that Nora lightning around a charged Nora is pink, it could be her aura altering the color or Neptune and Nolan may have blue auras that affect their lightning attacks.

Anyways, Cinder has now revealed almost all of the named characters who are fighting in doubles. They are:

Weiss and Yang for RWBY
Sun and Neptune for SSSN
Emerald and Mercury for Cinder
Coco and Yatsuhashi for CFVY
Russel and Lark for CRDL
Penny and another girl

The only unknown is who represents Team JNPR. Although, Pyrrha is the most experienced tournament fighter, so she’ll probably be one of them. Granted, there’s a chance that she won’t to keep her from being put on a higher pedestal for her various tournament wins, but I find it unlikely. I’m interested in seeing Ren, since he’s the one who has worked with Pyrrha the least out of Team JNPR, and all the other teams where we know the team spelling are using the member with the last letter (Yang, Neptune, Yatushashi, and Lark).

Weiss and Yang have had some off screen bonding (searching for Blake, setting up the dance). Weiss and Yang’s previous combos mostly focused on turning terrain to the team’s advantage, and the Amity coliseum’s battlefield is very conductive to Dust attacks. I feel sorry for anyone fighting them on the icy or volcanic fields, since that’d play to their elemental advantage. Strategy wise, the duo would probably work with Yang drawing fire while Weiss sets up Dust attacks and keeps enemies from doing too much damage at once. Yang with her semblance and Weiss’s haste spell would be dangerous.

It looks like with Team SSSN is going by rule of main characters. Sun and Neptune are a decent combo, although the robot fight and the battle against Team NDGO wasn’t good for showing team combos for Team SSSN, because of Sage’s early defeat and Neptune’s fear of water.

Team CFVY seems to have gone to doubles with the plan of eliminating people with sheer force. Yatsuhashi can break the ground with a sword smash and is willing to act as a human shield for Velvet, so he has strength and his aura can provide a strong defense. Also, his sword is interesting. A lot of the weapons shown are variations of silver, gray, white, and black, plus when he draws it, there is a high-pitched sound, which also accompanies Dust attacks, so maybe the blade is infused with a kind of earth Dust. Coco can do good damage with the handbag, but her real strength is shredding Grimm with the gun. I hope as a DVD extra we see their team match, because I want to see how Velvet works in an arena that can be Dust heavy.

Russel and Lark were not what I was expecting for Team CRDL. One of them with Cardin or Dove seemed the most likely. Lark and Russel were the first to flee the big Ursa and the first for Pyrrha to knock out. There weapon builds also don’t seem that great. Russel has a low reach, and since he doesn’t use Dust against Pyrrha, the only ranged attack he has used will leave him short a dagger. He does rush Pyrrha, so maybe he could retrieve the dagger fast, but then why not charge while equipped with both daggers? Lark has a perfectly functioning pole-axe (wiki calls it a halberd, but it doesn’t have spear point, just the axe part), but it looks like if there’s a gun feature, the muzzle is by the axe end. The same is true for Crescent Rose, but the scythe can dig into the ground and the weapon would still be at a height for Ruby to fire while standing, while that isn’t the case with Lark’s weapon. Someone would have to be laying down or squatting to fire. Also something I feel like noting, with Lark’s fair ground cameo, the images of Russel and Lark for doubles, and Dove’s stadium appearance, Cardin is the only member of Team CRDL to not appear, in spite of getting the most speaking lines of the group. Their teamwork is really terrible, so maybe there’s been a falling out between Cardin and the rest?

I went over all three of the Volume 3 episodes, and this is the first appearance for Penny’s partner. She is probably a Haven Academy student who Ironwood asked to put Penny on her team (either because they were short a member or in place of a member). Penny was excited about Ruby calling her “friend” back in Volume 1, so I don’t think that Penny had a team until shortly before the Vytal festival, or if she does, she doesn’t get along with them.

Well, CFVY is going down. I’m sure that Emerald and Mercury are going to have to put in a good deal of work, since both seem to rely more on speed than strength. I think Mercury is the only male character shown to propel himself with gunshots like Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Nora do. Russel and Lark will probably also be knocked out. While Cinder is playing with the tournament brackets, Russel and Lark are shown matched with Penny and her partner, then Sun and Neptune. Maybe they’ll be taken down by one of those two pairs, and the rest of the teams will take on new teams.

Spoke Too Soon

I don't think I'm ready to do a series, and I forgot to take into account glyphs when used with Dust, so I'm putting my Dust theories off until there's more information.

Sunday, I should be up with a discussion of the Delta Episode in ORAS and my thoughts on legendary hunting.

After seeing "Never Miss a Beat," I'm more stymied. I could have sworn wind Dust would be green, but Weiss creates a tornado with white Dust.

RWBY: Dust 1, the basics

Okay, rewatching “New Challengers” did reveal that I did get something I wanted. More Dust use. Dew’s Spear, like Cardin’s Mace, is a weapon with a Dust gem mounted on it. Dew uses wind Dust, which gives her the ability to create small twisters. Octavia’s blade seems to have Dust forged as part of the blade, which gives her the ability to augment slashing attacks with flames. There also may be something with Gwen’s knives, seeing as they had some small, colorful explosions when dropped.

On this note, the people who read my RWBY posts are probably getting tired of me babbling, “I want more Dust. Velvet, Russel, more Dust,” so, I’m going to do some theorizing of my own. This will be a series because I'd like to hit this topic from a lot of different areas. Also, I'm trying to do shorter posts, so I have an easier time updating.

Basic Properties
The RWBY Wiki lists the colors red, blue, green, yellow, cyan, white, purple, bright orange, and dark orange as confirmed colors. Confirmed elements include lava, fire, ice, wind, stone, lightning, gravity, steam, water, and energy.

The main place that Dust is seen is when Weiss uses Myrtenastar. She has yellow, red, cyan, blue, white, and purple Dust loaded in the weapon. Weiss is shown using ice (accompanied with cyan), fire (red), and a yellow speed buff (maybe it’s energy). When Weiss gives Blake some dust vials to use with Gambol Shroud, they’re the same colors that Weiss uses. Stone is used, as well as a shadowy haze, when Blake fights Torchwick. The haze is probably purple. This would leave stone to be white or blue. I think blue would make sense as water since ice dust is a shade of blue, and ice is the solid form of water.

Dew demonstrates that wind is green. Cinder’s attacks have an orange glow, but Weiss, Cardin, and Octavia’s weapons, as well as the red glow around Yang when she initially activates her aura, have established fire Dust as red, so unless it’s an aura related color change, Cinder is using a type of orange Dust instead of the red fire Dust. This may mean that she uses lava as her main Dust type instead of fire. There’s more known elements (after RTExtraLife) than known colors. The lighting attacks that Nolan and Neptune use are shown to be blue in color, so lighting might be a different shade of blue.

Decreasing Update Schedule

Hey I've been having trouble with stress lately, and I haven't been able to write much at all. Usually the blog posts are written the day of, which I'm not overly fond of. Anyways, updates will now be Sunday only and probably shorter.