I don't know why but I saw this image when I was searching some "Gem Glow" episode fanart, and I really loved it, and I love the idea of a centipeetle gem. AND THEN, when I was starting to post pictures of the centipeetle humanoid fanart I started developing strange feels for Lion and Centipeetle as a ship. I mean, think about it, they are both animals, both gems, both calm and kind of out of it, but sweet amidst it all. I like Lion's personality, and I think that Centipeetle's was pretty great too, as seen in "Monster Buddies".
So, Centipeetle wouldn't have a gender, they are already not human, though they can form as a humanoid, I headcanon that they use "they/them/their/themself" pronouns. I also see them as kind of like, a Tarzan-ish character, very comfortable in centipeetle form, comfortable as an animal of sorts. They would be quiet, skittish, but also protective and understanding, like a centipeetle version of Lion, and I think the two would get along very well. I actually kind of ship them? Is that odd?
(None of the pictures or art posted belongs to me, all rights go to their rightful owners, these pictures were found on google images)
Back with another episode commentary for the first episode of the series, "Gem Glow" I guess it's technically the second because the pilot was really the first episode, but that's how it's referred to in the Steven Universe Wiki page. It's the first canon episode of the series.
The opening credits is not the same as the pilot and resembles the way the characters will look for the rest of the series, showing some of the citizens of Beach City, (like Connie, Lars and Sadie) and the main setting of the story. It also features Steven's song, "We are the crystal gems" which was sung during the pilot episode. The reason for the character design changes, as best as I understood, is to make them simpler and easier to animate.
The beginning of "Gem Glow" starts with Steven at the Big Donut, discovering the discontinuation of his favorite ice cream sandwich, "Cookie Cat"
The Crystal Gems, (in Garnet's words, really "her idea") stole/ and then paid for by Pearl, a bunch of Cookie Cats for Steven, knowing they were being discontinued and they were his favorite. Upon eating one Steven's gem is activated and begins to glow. He tries to summon his weapon but is unable to.
From there the Crystal Gems, per Steven's request, try to teach him how to summon his weapon from his gem. Each of the crystal gems summon their weapon differently, offering a look into each of the distinct personalities of Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet.
(Pearl Summoning her weapon from her gem)
Pearl offers to teach Steven how to summon his weapon. Her process is a "dance" of sorts, carefully calculated, and is compared to a petal from a cherry blossom tree.
(Amethyst summoning her weapon)
According to Amethyst, "All that practice is no fun, whenever I need to summon my weapon, it just happens. Didn't try at all" Amethyst is far more laid back than Pearl. The placement of their gems is also significant to this, Amethyst's core is at her heart, her instincts, her emotions, and Pearl's is in her head and her intellect.
(Garnet summoning her weapon)
And then there is Good ole' Garnet. She channels "all states of existing matter and the powers of the universe". I don't know what this says exactly about Garnet but she is pretty freaking great.
Of course none of these methods ended up helping Steven. In his last ditch effort he hoped to re-create the events that led to his gem glowing, and after taking a bite out of the cookie cat this time his gem glowed and he was finally able to summon his weapon: Rose Quartz's shield.
He connects eating a cookie cat with summong his shield, leading Pearl to ask, quite puzzled, "what's in these things?"
Centipeetles have escaped from the Crystal Temple, and the Gems fight the Mother Centipeetle. It doesn't seem to be going too well and Steven wants to help with his newfound ability to summon his shield. However it turns out that cookie cats don't in fact, summon his shield, and he is put in a dangerous situation which he gets out of by electricuting Mother Centipeetle with his, now broken, cookie cat vender which was a gift from Sadie at the Big Donut.
It was a pretty simple episode, nothing too complicated. We got to learn about the Crystal Gem's personalities and style of summoning their weapons but, from this episode, we still don't know what exactly it is that makes Steven summon his weapon.
(Cookie Cats make their debut)
Cookie Cat Rap Sung by Steven:
Ohhhhhhhh! He's a frozen treat with an all new taste, cause' he came to this planet from outer space. A refugree of an interstellar war, but now he's at your local grocery store!
Cookie Cat! He's a pet for your tummy! Cookie Cat he's super duper yummy! Cookie Cat! He left his family behind! Cookie caaaaaaaat! Now avaliable at Gurgens off Route 109!
It's interesting but the song for Cookie Cat foreshadows the history of the Crystal Gems and the Gem Rebellion. Also I found a recipe to actually make Cookie Cats online, they look delicious and I would totally love to be surprised with some *wink wink, babe*
Steven Universe’s COOKIE CAT!
All of the recipes and DIYs I have seen so far used mixes and I am a fan of making things from scratch, so after much research. I have a cookie cat from scratch recipe.
I cut two strips of the aluminum can and attached them together to make the cookie cutter big enough and I used the leftover bit to make the circle cutter for the eye holes
I made my cookie cutter approximately 4 ½” by 3 ¾”
Template:
BAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Line a flat surface or cutting board with plastic wrap and roll out a portion of the dough until it is about ¼ inch thick
Keep re-rolling and cutting the dough until you have the desired amount of cookies (half the dough yields about 12-14 cookies or 6-7 sandwiches)
Cut eye holes in half of the cookies
Place them on a greased pan around 2” apart and poke several holes into the cookies with the blunt end of a wooden skewer
Bake for 10-15 min.
Remove and let cool completely
ASSEMBLY
Place the back cookies face down on a clean work surface.
Remove ice cream from freezer and unwrap.
Use the cookie cat cutter and cut out enough ice cream cats for your sandwiches
Cut them in half and put the strawberry half on the right side of the cookies and the vanilla half on the left side of the cookies
Place the top cookies on top, wrap with plastic wrap
Freeze the finished cookies until set (20-30 min)
I took this directly from the original maker of the recipe's page, Sam, this is their tumblr account I recommend you follow them, they are pretty cool. http://samskookingdessert.tumblr.com
And last but not least,
The centipeetle mother, who is the featured monster in this episode. Centipeetles come back in a later episode where Steven tries to train one of it's babies, I just recently saw fanfic about a Centipeetle in a gem form (all these creatures are just gems gone bad, losing their "humanish" forms), and I really like the character ideas for centipeetle, I think I'll make a post about that.
ANYWAY, that's all for now, I have some things to do, hope you've enjoyed reading this.
Hola,
I kinda want to do another ship-based post, I am working on commentary for the episode "Gem Glow", but I'm having major feels for this ship and need to make a post about it. The ship is:
Pearl and Rose Quartz
I would text my girlfriend and I'd be like, "Pearl is so f-ing thirsty, babe". Pearl is jealous when Garnet fuses with Amethyst, Pearl is jealous when Garnet wants to fuse with Amethyst over her even if there's a logical reason for it, even if it's the best option, she's desperate to fuse to "feel strong for once". Pearl is jealous of Rose Quartz and Greg's relationship, Pearl re-build the communications system just so she could fuse with Garnet over and over again even if it meant they were wasting time when they could have actually been trying to track Peridot and dismantling the real threat. In other words: thirsty af. In the Steven Universe fandom Pearl is known as "the salty one", meaning bitter.
But I like Pearl. I took a Buzzfeed quiz a couple weeks ago (I'll put the link at the bottom) for which Steven Universe character I am, and I got Pearl. I can relate to her. Some cool info about Pearl which we don't learn until the second season is that on Homeworld Pearls are kind of like servants or slaves, they are "own". For example, Yellow Diamond's pearl belongs to Yellow Diamond and is a secretary of sorts and a high ranking pearl. Pearls are treated as objects for their beauty or production, and aren't respected for who they are as individuals. They are seen as servants who should follow orders and not think for themselves.
But Crystal Gem Pearl rebelled against that when she decided to fight alongside Rose Quartz in the rebellion to save the planet earth. She doesn't belong to anyone. In "Message Received" Pearl made a comment, saying, "Not all Pearls know each other", I think Pearl can represent ethnic minorities and their relationship to ethnic majorities. She definitely can represent a people who is oppressed and undervalued because she herself, and "her kind" are not seen as actual gems who are valued for their strengths, but are valued for how well they serve the needs of other people.
(In the episode "Back to the Barn", Peridot, a Homeworld Gem, treats Pearl like a servant, which is normal in her social world)
Peridot: So, who do you belong to anyway?
Pearl: NOBODY!
Peridot: Then what are you for?
Pearl: Now listen here you tiny twerp, in case you forgotten you're on our terf now, and I didn't fight a thousand year war for this planet's independence to take orders from the likes of you!
Peridot: Excuse me, I am a natural technician and a certified kindergartner, I was made for this, you were made to take orders NOT to give them
In "Sworn to the Swords" there's a lot to learn about Pearl's relationship with herself and also with Rose, which is what I really wanted to talk about. She sings a song called "Do it for her" sung during a training montage in the Ancient Sky Arena where she trains Connie how to become a master sword fighter so Connie can protect Steven and fight with him. Instilling in Connie the same devotion to Steven that Pearl had for Rose Quartz.
You do it for him And you would do it again You do it for her, that is to say, you'll do it for him Keep your stance wide, keep your body lowered, and as your moving forward Balance is the key Right foot, left foot, now go even faster, and as you're moving backwards Keep your eyes on me..... Yes, put your whole body into it! Everything you have, everything you are You've got to give-- On the battlefield, when everything is chaos And you have nothing but the way you feel, your strategy and a sword You just think about the life you'll have together after the war And then you do it for her, that's how you know you can win, You do it for her, that is to say, you'll do it for him Deep down you know, you weren't built for fighting But that doesn't mean you're not prepared to try What they don't know is your real advantage, when you live for someone You're prepared to die
The thing with Pearl is that even she sometimes bases her value and her purpose in life on how well she serves other people. You could say she is the type of person who bases her value on how well she makes other people happy. Her instinctual drive is not to live for herself, but to live for someone else, or a cause, or a family. Losing Rose Quartz might have been hard on everyone, but it was especially hard for Pearl.
Pearl was with Rose Quartz before Garnet or Amethyst, and it can be theorized that Pearl was Rose Quartz's unofficial Pearl. Meaning that Rose Quartz didn't force or make Pearl serve her, but to Pearl, who was built for serving, her love for Rose Quartz morphed into that, and maybe that's the only way that Pearl knows how to love, to give her self 100% to the person she loves and to serve them, "everything you have, everything you are, you've got to give--" and "deep down, you know, you weren't built for fighting, but that doesn't mean you're not prepared to try, what they don't know is your real advantage, when you live for someone you're prepared to die" from the song "Do it for her" shows this . I feel that way as well, which is maybe why I relate to Pearl so much.
On to Rose Quartz. To be honest, I don't really like Rose that much. She's just a weird character to me, I don't feel like she's that good of a mother or a leader. She is definitely flawed, I mean all the characters have their flaws, which I think is amazing writing, but the way she is flawed doesn't exactly sit right with me. I think it's awesome that she would rebel against her entire kind to save earth and humans, I think that's admirable. However, in a way, she too desperately wants to be something she isn't, and that's human. She gave up her form so she could experience child birth, she likes Greg because he's a human probably more than for who he is, which makes her somehow more entitled than him like she's with him out of curiosity or some inflated sense of self-superiority. It's almost like she's appropriating without truly respecting the human culture. She comes in and starts to say how awesome everything is in a condescending way that I feel like British missionaries did when they went to north African indigenous villages to try and convert the natives. Like, "oh your art is really cool but at the same time it's not as sophisticated as ours is back home". She rubs me the wrong way. Which is why I talked more about Pearl because I actually really like Pearl.
"Rose made me feel like I was everything"
-Pearl
I love how devoted Pearl was to Rose, and how Rose made Pearl realize that she is more than just someone's beautiful servant or shiny jewelry to wear and make them feel good. Rose showed Pearl another way of being, she can make her own happiness. Pearl still has a lower self-esteem, however, because unlike Garnet or Amethyst, Pearl does care about what other people think. She gets jealous easily, like when Garnet and Amethyst fused and Steven was mesmerized by Sugilites strength and power.
Pearl, in response, sang, "Strong in the Real way"
Why do you have to look up to her? Aside from in a literal sense. Dont'cha know that a power that big Comes with a bigger expense? And can't you see that she's out of control And overzealous? I'm telling you for your own good, And not because I'm-- (Pearl doesn't say jealous) I could show you how to be strong... In the real way. And I know that we can be strong In the real way. And I want to inspire you I want to be your rock And when I talk It lights a fire in you
I think that alot of Pearl's insecurities can be traced back to the fact that she was made to please other people, to be the best, a Pearl from Homeworld becomes a highly respected gem when they are the best servers, the best pleasers, the best at doing what other people want and expect them to do. They aren't respected just for being a Pearl or a gem the same way other gems are. She frequently has to prove herself. I think that Pearl wants to be liked and appreciated simply for who she is and not what her gem is, and especially not just what she does for other people. So it must have been pretty crappy when Rose, after thousands of years with her, after helping Rose defeat the Homeworld gems in the Rebellion, falls in love with Greg over her. Maybe the song "Strong in the real way" could also show Pearl's feelings to Rose, that she wanted to "inspire" Rose, and wanted "to be [her] rock, and when [she] talks it lights a fire in [Rose]". But Rose was always more interested in humans.
The sweet thing is that Pearl is still supportive, if somewhat begrudgingly, of Rose and Greg's relationship. I can imagine it was extremely difficult though. And I can understand why Pearl would be bitter and angry, I mean, she always does everything for everyone else right down to her core and her being, she would change who she is entirely if it made the person she loves happy (in a sense she did), and she still isn't the one that Rose chose, or who Rose's son, Steven, chose when in comparison to Sugilite. Maybe that's another reason I dislike Rose.
In the episode, "We need to talk", during the song "What can I do for you" video recorded and sung by Greg Universe with Rose and the band of Garnet and Amethyst, Pearl went on stage during Greg's electric guitar solo, whispered in Rose's ear, and the two preformed the fusion dance and became Rainbow Quartz. Rose told Greg that Pearl mentioned a fusion might "help in Greg's video", but the look Pearl gave Greg afterwards pretty much summed up the real reason, which was to make Greg jealous. It fell in line with Pearl's opinion that the only reason Rose liked Greg was because he was a human, and humans can't fuse with gems, (that is, until Steven, who is a half-gem and half-human hybrid fused with Connie, who is a human. But until that happened, gem to human fusion was unheard of).
(Pearl tries to show Rose that she is better than Greg)
So even though all the crystal gems love Steven absolutely, especially Garnet who calls herself Mom Universe, there's an element of deep bittersweet-ness when it comes to Pearl. Sweetness because she gained Steven, who in a sense became her son along with Greg and the Crystal Gems who banded together to all raise him, but deep grief because Pearl lost Rose,
Garnet is Steven's protector but Pearl was always the mother who wanted to instil in him values and a love for himself, she wanted him to be "strong in the real way" and inspire him as well. She wants to be a good mother, she wants him to think she is a good mother, just like she wanted Rose to think she was a good partner.
In a sense, Pearl and Steven have a connection that none of the other crystal gems have. Pearl, arguably, loved Rose the most and Steven never met his mother. In the episode "Rose's Scabbard" this relationship is explored and is ultimately very heart-breaking.
(Video of clips from Rose's Scabbard, Pearl and Steven and Rose)
"Everything I ever did, I did for her. Now she's gone....but I'm still here"
I found this online and I thought it would be really cool to do:
I'm not a huge fan of this ship, they are adorable as best friends, and I think they make a really stable, sweet couple, but they don't have much chemistry.That's my opinion, maybe the relationship would be better if the two were older, (how much chemistry are pre-treens going to have, really) considering they are both younger than 16 years old, I believe Steven is fourteen or fifteen and Connie is 12 and 3/4.
Without further ado:
1. Who's the cuddler: I'd say Steven is, to me Steven is more affectionate than Connie, he is naturally maternal and sensitive, and I think he would be a super cuddler. In bed, Connie would be the big spoon and Steven the little spoon.
2. Who makes the bed: Connie. Steven is kind of messy, his room is "warm" and lived in, Connie would be more hygienic and have a room kept up like a professional, and a house like a Home Gardens magazine.
3. Who wakes up first: I think Connie would wake up last, yes she is an over-achiever, and you would think that would mean she would be up at the crack of dawn to practice an instrument or go out for a run, but I think she over-achieves for her family, and underneath Connie has always wanted to be able to sleep in because she isn't a morning person at all. Steven would be up at the crack of down, looking over the warp pad, making coffee and breakfast, watching the news.
4. Who has a weird taste in music: I actually like Steven's taste in music, I think Connie would have the weird taste in music. "According to Matt Burnett, the writer of Connie Maheswaran, she is of Indian Heritage" (Connie's wiki page), I think Connie would be into Indian Indie music, or Indian rock music, something related to her heritage that is far from the mainstream.
5. Who is more protective: This is a hard one because they are both pretty protective, in the episode "Full Disclosure" Steven sang the song where he talks about how he wants to protect Connie from the things in his life that could go wrong, he thinks she doesn't need that in her life, she doesn't need him. And Connie just wants to be apart of his universe, she wants to protect him, in "Sworn to the Sword" Pearl teaches Connie how to become a master sword fighter and be Steven's knight. Connie wants to be able to fight alongside Steven and protect him too. I think Steven is more protective than Connie, though. To me, Connie feels like Steven is more than capable of protecting himself, maybe she's envious of that too, but Steven might think that gems, who have magic, could easily hurt Connie and would want to be even more hyper-vigilant that she stays safe.
6. Who sings in the shower: I think Steven would sing in the shower, he's very musically inclined and talented and sings a lot already.
7. Who cries during movies: Steven, definitely Steven. In "Open Book" Connie's detailed description of her favorite and least favorite parts of the book series, The Spirit Morph Saga, clearly shows the difference between the two characters. While Connie hated the romantic fluff in the books, Steven adored it. Steven seems to be more in touch with his emotions and feelings than Connie is, so I think at a movie, Steven would be more likely to cry.
8. Who spends the most time while out shopping: Connie, and not because she is a girl but because Steven tends to be a creature of habit, he wears the same shirt and pants, he gets the same thing at the Big Donut and the Beach City Fries (fry bits) in his life he pretty much makes his own decisions, lives on his own, and knows exactly what he wants and sticks to that. Connie, on the other hand, has had a lot of her decisions made for her by her parents, and I think that, even in something small like shopping, she is more prone to second guess herself and her likes or wants than Steven is.
9. Who kisses more roughly: I think Connie would, to me Steven is a fluffy, warm, sensitive, gentle bear and I think kissing, or in something even more intimate like sex for example, he would be really gentle and sweet and Connie might be the more aggressive one.
10. Who is more dominate: I think I answered this one in 9, but I think Connie would be more dominate. She's far more competitive than Steven is, and seems to take on the role of a action-based character while Steven is more of a passive-based character in regards to their relationship and what happens with them when they are together.
My rating of the ship from 1-10:
8
(all images were found on google images and do not belong to me)
Here is some commentary and stuff of the likes for the pilot episode of Steven Universe. Some interesting facts about this episode, which I admit I found on the wiki page but thought I'd share them are that:
1. It was an online only aired episode, Rebecca Sugar was asked by Cartoon Network to create a pilot for a proposed series, this episode was the result, and was uploaded on Rebecca's father's youtube channel.
2. The episode was originall going to be named "The Electric Skull"
Right off the bat the opening song is different, Garnet introduces the Crystal Gems (a slacker haired Garnet who looks kinda like Prince), a weirdly sexual Amethyst with eyes that look kind of dead and out of it, and Pearl, who looks nothing like the Pearl we see in the episodes following the pilot. There is a lot of changes in the characters in comparison of the pilot episode and every episode after, is basically what I'm trying to say. Steven's eyes are creepy in the pilot, I'm not a huge fan of the art from this episode. And if I'm being especially honest, the plot for this episode is mediocre at best.
The opening song for the rest of the series is introduced by Steven in this episode as he's sitting on the couch beside Amethyst and Pearl, playing on his ukulele. I'm willing to bet money there is a ukulele painted this way in the Steven Universe merchandise. If I knew how to play I would probably buy it, this thing is pretty darn sweet.
If you're evil and you're on the rise
you can count on the four of us taking you down
Cause we're good and evil never beats us
We'll win the fight and then go out for pizzas
We are the crystal gems
we'll always save the day
and if you think we can't, we'll
always find a way
that's why the people of this world believe in
Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl
And Steven!
And you've got Garnet clapping in the background, which becomes her thing, she seen doing it during Steven's singing of the extended opening song.
Some other random observations:
1) The temple house in the pilot episode looks like a trailer home if I am honest. The only part of the pilot temple house I like is the stained glass window seen in the last scene, Garnet is looking out of it.
2) Lars sounds like an old man
I love Amethyst's reaction to Steven using the hourglass ball for combacks. The crystal gems have been protecting the hourglass for a thousand years, and once it's activated it can only be used by the one who activated it for it's chosen purpose (in this case Steven and combacks). The hourglass makes it's canon debut later, in the episode "Steven and the Stevens"
I know this is random but the electric skulls featured as the monsters in this episode remind me of the "thing" or "head with hair" that Shaggy won for that girl he liked, from the vending machine at the party, in "Scooby Doo the movie". I really wish I could figure out what those head things are called, it's bugging me I can't.
Character wise, Garnet is shown to be the mother figure of Steven, when Pearl and Amethyst were making fun of Steven wanting to sing his song during a battle, saying "You'll look like a clown" Garnet responds with "Don't make fun of Steven" in a thick British accent courtesy of the beautiful Estelle. Debuting in this episode are the crystal gems weapons, the earliest versions of them. That is Pearl's spear, Amethysts whip and Garnet's gauntlet.
Until next time, amigos
Magnes
(all pictures were found on Google images or the Steven Universe wiki page, I don't own any of them)
