#apof post

[blujane]

The ✨health anxiety✨ is strong today.

It was bad enough that I went over to my parents' house first thing this morning for either reassurance or clinic visit support, but they were so happy that I visited them "without needing anything" that I didn't have the heart to talk to them about my fears, not even when Dad asked me about my health directly.

Edit: I'm fine now. I feel very silly.

[blujane]

I stayed up till 3 reading smutty y/n fanfics, so when my cat tried to wake me up for food at 6, all I could think in my groggy state was "oh you wanna read fanfic with me but you don't care for this one. No worries, bby, I know just the fic..."

[blujane]

I'm learning how to use my very first sewing machine.

I just wound a bobbin for the first time.

*slightly unhinged giggling*

[blujane]

Turns out thoroughly tagging things is really annoying and tiring, and I'm already having to go back and forth to remember what the additional tags are. So I'm going back to tagging mostly just series, ships, and blorbos.

[blujane]

So, I see you’ve watched Centaurworld. Did you watch the second season, too? My younger brother pushed me to watch the first few episodes with him. I originally didn’t like all of the singing, but gosh some of the songs are bops. Nowhere King is so fascinating. I loved him so much. I want to hear your opinion on everything!

I'm on my fourth watch right now. :)

Centaurworld has its flaws, but it's beautifully animated matched with great songs and fun character designs, and balances comedy and angst perfectly. The characters are all enjoyable for the most part, except for the birdtaurs for reminding me of all the toxic and creepy fanbases out there (also the texting/tweeting gag. Just, why? WHY?).

I love how the show handles sensitive topics like trauma and depression. Like how they used Durpleton's farts as an example for a trigger, which was brilliant because triggers really can be that mundane and deceptively silly irl. I was also happily surprised when the show went out of its way to depict the negative psychological side effects of an uncontrolled dramatic change in appearance, something that SU unfortunately never did with Lars (an oversight made significantly worse by the fact that Lars was the only major male POC on the show).

The queer rep is also worth a special mention, as this is the first kids' show I can think of that depicts a camp femme gay man in a positive light, instead of utilizing the "Sissy Villain" trope or making him the token evil teammate. The little references to drag and Zulius calling the male Splendib a "tigress" were great unexpected little references to queer culture and how sexuality often affects a person's relationship with gender even if it doesn't affect their gender identity.

And the Nowhere King is an amazing villain. All the hubbub surrounding him is very well deserved. Superb character writing. He hit a lot of my favorite tragic villain/self-made monster tropes, howbeit with some fantastic twists on the usual concepts, like how he attempted to become human rather than rid himself of his humanity which is how the trope usually goes. He had an extremely simple and human motivation: his inability to accept himself as he is, and this simplicity and the nightmare that came out of it is one of the most fascinating and terrifying things about his character. Last of all, his designs just kick ass. 10/10 character.

Overall brilliant show. Love it. The fandom isn't that bad either, considering how good the show is and the fact that it's a Netflix original.

[blujane]

My parents have covid.

It's a very mild case apparently, but I'm stressed. They're both older (dad is in his 70s), not vaccinated, and I know how fast sickness, including covid, can take a turn for the worst.

I haven't seen them in weeks but my aunt who lives right next door to them came down for a quick visit (unmasked) this week and I don't know how long it's been since she was around them, so idk I might have covid too, or at least be carrying it. Still, at least I'm vaccinated.

UPDATE

Turns out my aunt hadn't seen them for weeks before visiting and my tests came back negative. I'm clear.

[blujane]

Thoughts on the SU movie news that Lars will sing in some form? I'm curious as to how that'll work, probably as part of a big Beach City ensemble song ala. the opening to Beauty and the Beast.

Wait what?

[blujane]

Aside from the unnecessary color filters used throughout Wanted (why, crewniverse? why did you not want us to get a good look at Lars’ OG colors one last time?), the only thing I’d really change in the episodes is that Lars would be bound during The Trial like he was in the storyboard art.

It makes the desperation of their situation more visible, especially for Lars, and better suits Steven’s distressed reaction to seeing Lars than the Zircons just presenting him as evidence (with the way Lars’ appearance was done in the final product, one would think Steven would be more relieved, though concerned, to see Lars again unharmed instead of horrified), further illustrates how helpless and hopeless Lars’ entire arc is in Wanted up until the very end of Lars’ Head (yeah, he was resurrected in the previous episode, but he was troubled by this and then legit thought he would be left behind on Homeworld and just... surrendered to this idea without a fight? and was confused when they said no?).

Lars being bound during the trial also would’ve kept him from being able to try to “run and hide,” completely removing the option for his character, which arguably would’ve fit his own arc in Wanted better than him apparently just forgetting how to use his legs for the entire duration of the episode before he dramatically takes a stand and stops running and hiding when others need him. You could argue that he didn’t try to flee or shrink away in The Trial because Steven needed him, but that’s exactly why Lars arguably shouldn’t have had the possible option of trying to get away from the Diamonds and Zircons (it would’ve been futile, but still). The entire focus of Lars’ arc in Wanted is that he’s tired of being scared and running away when people need him like a coward and Off Colors/Lars’ Head is supposed to be the climax of this arc.

It would also follow with how previously we’d seen from Gem Heist (and technically “Are You My Dad” through “Stuck Together”) that the gems would actually bind their human captives and not just have them sit around technically free but with no place to go like in The Trial. Sure, one could argue that it’s because the Diamonds are right there and Lars has no place to go, but it’s still a strange choice. 

And Homeworld binding the fragile human Lars instead of the traitorous Diamond-slaying “Rose Quartz” gem to prevent any attempts to escape could’ve worked as further foreshadowing from Jailbreak that gem tech only detects gems, setting up for the events of Off Colors a little more, while also making arrogance as the root of Homeworld’s technological flaws considerably more clear by showing that they are already aware that their tech is useless against organic life. They just don’t care.