i present the formula for creating excellent/strange insults:

i see no one has reblogged my post. is it because you undeserving fuck llamas are afraid of the truth

Resources For Writing Sketchy Topics

Medicine

Writing Specific Characters

Illegal Activity

Black Market Prices & Profits

Forensics

On how many watch lists did you end up after compiling all of this information, op? 😂

‘am i Having A Brain Problem or Being a Shithead’: a short procrastination checklist

aka why tf am i procrastinating on The Thing (more like a flowchart, actually)

lots of people who have executive function difficulties worry about whether they’re procrastinating on a task out of laziness/simply wanting to be a jerk or mental struggles. this checklist might help you figure out which it is at any given time! (hint: it’s almost never laziness or being a jerk.) (obligatory disclaimer: this is just what works for me! something different might work better for you.)

1) do I honestly intend to start the task despite my lack of success?

2) am I fed, watered, well-rested, medicated properly, etc?

3) does the idea of starting the task make me feel scared or anxious?

4) do I know how to start the task?

5) do I have everything I need to start the task?

6) why am i having a hard time switching from my current task to this new task?

7) have I already procrastinated so badly that I now cannot finish the task in time?

reality check: having part of a thing done is almost always better than none of a thing done. if I can get an extension, having part of it done will help me keep from stalling out until the extension deadline. i’ll feel better if I at least try to finish it.

reality check: if i’m having fun doing what I’m doing, I can keep doing it, but I should probably set a timer & ask someone to check on me to make sure I start doing the task later today.

8) I’ve completed the checklist and still don’t know what’s wrong!

hope this helps some of you! YOU’RE DOING GREAT SWEETIE DON’T GIVE UP ON YOU

Ooh, this is a really lovely (and kind-hearted) guide for ADHD, executive dysfunction issues, or just plain ol’ brain fog! Should help with misplaced guilt, too.

For anyone who might need this right now ❤️

has anyone else noticed there’s a very specific way women interrupt each other in conversation that’s quite distinct from the way men interrupt women in conversation? like, women seem to interject a lot more– not as a silencing tactic, but to show their enthusiasm or agreement, cause they perceive a conversation as kind of collaborative, organic exercise. but i feel like men get really annoyed if you excitedly interject when they’re saying something (most specifically in a debate/discussion context) because they perceive conversation as something combative or competitive and see an interjection as a threat or a challenge. i’ve also noticed men dismiss women’s way of talking as being sort of incomprehensible and nonsensical because of this habit we have of seeming to butt in or finish each others sentences excitably. 

This was actually very interestingly used in Mad Max and was a stylistic choice in the way the wives spoke to each other, or at other people as a collective.

They finished each others sentences, interjected constantly, echoed important points in reverence/understanding/agreement and relied on each other to complete the communication of a thought or a concept to someone outside their circle.  

So like, instead of one of them explaining something, they would all add fragments to form a complete thought. ____

The Vuvalini: What’s there to find at the Citadel?

Max: Green.

Toast: And water. There’s a ridiculous amount of clear water. And a lot of crops.

The Dag: It’s got everything you need, as long as you’re not afraid of heights.

Keeper of the Seeds: Where does the water come from?

Toast: [regarding Immortan Joe] He pumps it up from deep within the earth. He calls it “Aqua Cola” and claims it all for himself.

The Dag: And because he owns it, he owns all of us. _____ Capable: We are not things! Cheedo: No! The Dag: Cheedo, we are not things! Capable: We are not things. Cheedo: I don’t want to hear that again! Capable: They were her words. Cheedo: And now she’s dead! The Dag: Wring your hands and tear your hair, but you’re not going back. You’re not going back to him. ___ Interestingly, the Vuvalini do this as well. 

Everyone else in the movie (including furiosa!) speaks in short definitive statements or exclamations that cannot be piled upon or interrupted. So this was definitely done on purpose. 

its very cool.

 I wonder if this is just a thing in english/western culture or if other groups of women speak to each other like this?

also theirs a bunch of people in the notes fighting about “I HATE GETTING INTERRUPTED”

This isn’t so much a classic “interruption”.  like when someone talks over you to change the subject or say something unrelated or better than what you’re saying and stealing the attention from you,etc.

Its more like the person doing the interruption is expecting you not to really stop talking, or expects you to finish your thought, and is only interrupting to agree/ interject a footnote that is contributory, but not distracting.

So it would look like. Woman 1 and 2 telling a story to woman 3:

Woman 1 “We sat down and he brought out this really good green tea- Woman 2: –but it was the powder kind of green tea not the bag kind– Woman1: –yeah and he brought out these really cool whisks and let us do it ourselves– Woman 2: and Woman 1 frothed hers so much she had nothing left! Woman 3: omg did you like it? was it good? Woman 1 and 2 in unison: Yes!  Woman 1: We should go again together sometime. Woman 2- yeah I think you’d really like it too!

 See how Woman 1 is the alpha speaker (the person telling the story) and Woman 2 is the…. hype man? for lack of a better word. Every sentence that Woman 1 says is the story, and woman 2 is adding smaller clarification related details. And when she adds a dynamic detail  “had nothing left!” it is an excited interjection that continues the story, without taking ownership of the topic.  Woman 3 will walk away from this conversation feeling that Woman 1 was the expert on this situation, but that Woman 2 had a particularly exciting time.

there was a study on this precisely that I read about, though I’ll need my pc to retrieve it. It was about how women tendentially see conversation as collaborative while men tendentially treat it as competitive, thus women usually interrupt to agree/interject to encourage, while men more often interrupt to talk over and/or demonstrate superior knowledge on a topic.

The study was probably Deborah Tannen, she found that women use more of what she called overlapping speech, such as “yup”, “right”, etc. and men are more likely to change the subject. In either the same study or a similar study she found that in the case where someone such as a friend talks about a problem or negative experience or feeling, women are more likely to respond with emotional support and understanding, whereas men are more likely to try to offer practical advice, and this can lead to misunderstandings.

Y'all I am never buying bubble tea ever again my homemade boba is so good (esp since it didn’t cost $4 a pop)

It’s super simple to make too you just need three main things: tea concentrate, boba, and condensed milk

For the tea concentrate:

1. Boil 6 cups water with 8-10 servings looseleaf tea or tea bags 2. Strain it and then store it in the fridge to cool until you’re ready to use it

For the boba (I used instant boba from my local Asian grocery):

1. Bring at least a quart of water to a roiling boil on 2. Dump in about a cup of boba, stirring once immediately, and boil for 5 min 3. While it’s boiling take about a quarter to half cup water and mix with two tablespoons sugar in a separate bowl 4. Strain the boba and rinse with cold water then put in the bowl with the sugar water and mix

To assemble:

1. Put however much condensed milk you want in a glass, follow with tea concentrate then stir 2. Then put 3-4 spoonfuls of boba in the tea and add some ice and you’re good to go!

OMG

Tailoring your own clothes

So a little while back, I reblogged a post about tailoring your own clothes. The gist of it was this (IIRC):

Someone was wondering why even people on TV with non-mainstream-TV-approved body shapes always look so good in their clothes. 

The long and short of it is: their bodies aren’t better than yours. They just have people tailoring every single piece of clothing they wear to flatter their figures. 

Off-the-rack clothes aren’t made to look good on most people’s bodies. The advice in the post was buy clothes that fit the largest part of you, even if they’re too big elsewhere, and have them altered to fit. 

That post hit me like a lightning bolt. I have a curvy figure. I’m not plus-sized, but I’ve got a small waist and large hips. Which is great in certain types of clothes (dresses, mainly), but means that if I don’t wear fitted t-shirts or blouses–if they fall straight–I just look sort of… boxy. I need clothes that go in at the waist. 

My grandma was an amazing seamstress, so when I needed clothes fixed, she was around to tailor them. When she got into her 90s and her eyesight was too diminished for her to sew, we started going to a woman in our neighborhood who’d lost her husband and had started doing alterations to bring in some extra income. OF COURSE I looked good back then. I had a tailor.

Then I moved away from my parents without really knowing How To Adult and would go to Target to get clothes and just get depressed by them and never realized how much of an advantage having people who could tailor my clothes (and, you know, parents to pay for having them tailored…) had been. 

So. I have a 1970s Singer Fashion Mate sewing machine that is designed to weather the apocalypse–I got it at Goodwill for $20. 

And I have begun researching how to tailor your own clothes. If anyone else was wondering about that after that last post, here are some helpful links I’ve discovered. 

When and Why to Get it Tailored - This article is (annoyingly) set up as a slideshow, and focuses on getting a professional to do your alterations rather than doing them yourself, but it’s got some good advice nonetheless, such as:

Learning Alterations - Great step-by-step tutorials on basic alterations like how to take in the waist of jeans (essential if you have a smaller waist and larger hips, because it’ll stop them from riding down every time you bend over or sit down).

Tailoring Ready-to-Wear - A full-on online course from Craftsy (costs $24.99) with videos and individual lessons on everything from hemming pants to lengthening them to altering shoulders and armholes to adding hidden zippers.

Plus-Sized Fitting and Design - Another online course (this one’s $34.99) that looks like it focuses both on alterations and on actually making clothes that are flattering to plus-sized forms.

Alterations and Tailoring 101 - Not a how-to post, but this one has a lot of useful information and ideas, such as identifying which garments to alter.

Alterations Needed blog - A whole blog on this stuff, with a lot of detailed how-tos. It focuses on fixing things to fit if you’re shorter than average/petite, but contains a lot of great advice for anyone (like an entry on why button-down shirts often bulge in back and how to fix it). 

Pinch and Pin your Shirt - Super-quick video tutorial (aimed at gentlemen), but useful for anyone who wears button-down shirts on how to fix a baggy shirt. 

If I find other helpful tutorials, I’ll add them. If you know of any, please let me know!

I want to buy Okja, alive.

Okja (2017) dir. Bong Joon-ho

tumblr servant is a godsend with a lot of useful functions but my primary use for it is this

so let’s say you’re a big fan of transformers so obviously you don’t want to blacklist #transformers, and you’ve got this cool friend kyle, but every single time kyle posts or reblogs something about transformers it’s just… it’s garbage. it’s a Bad Post. he has bad opinions and he should feel bad. you know that it’s petty shit but it irritates you every time you see one of his bad, bad transformers posts. but most of what he posts is awesome! you don’t wanna unfollow his ass! so you make a tumblr servant instead and even if he doesn’t tag shit about shit, if the word ‘transformers’ is in the post at all you will never see it. peace is restored on your dash. you are free.

you can also do a lot of other shit like dim posts or highlight posts or give you notifications etc etc etc but i mostly just hide Bad Fandom Opinions because i’m petty

What about like, muslim vampires who aren’t affected by the cross and can go out in the sun because their hijabs give them protection.

perhaps interesting to you and fans of this post: a girl walks home alone at night, iranian female-led vampire movie that came out last year

Some advice for dressmakers:

1. Pockets are a thing. 2. Breasts are a thing.

Leave room in your design for both.

#I’m looking at you summer dresses #made for people with flat chests#and no material possessions they need to carry with them (via @ticktockclockwork)

Yep, this is a real problem. From a design stand point it saves fabric and time since you don’t have to add any darts or pockets, and they go with the premise that a flat square shape should fit everyone without having to make much changes to the pattern (except to make it bigger or smaller). This whole one-size-fits-all mentality in fashion is so flawed, and actually impractical, it really annoys me how teachers let it slide in college and how the apparel industry continues to spew it year after year.

As someone who has breasts (DDD-H depending on what manufacturer I’m talking to) and loves pockets, let me wholeheartedly recommend eshakti.com. I started buying dresses from them in November and I love them. They will customize necklines, hemlines, etc., for a $9.95 flat fee, they will customize to your measurements if you don’t fit a standard size, and I’ve really enjoyed all my dresses from them. Most of their dresses come in sizes from XS to 6XL Feel free to message or send me an ask if you have specific questions! 

UHM EXCUSE ME I JUST CHECKED THEM OUT AND??????

THEIR

DRESSES

ARE

AMAZING??? AND THIS IS JUST THE DRESSES????

Here’s a link, fellow vertebrates. Do yourself a favor and go shop your heart out. 

They do a wide variety of clothing geared towards women!

FUCK THIS POST I JUST SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON A DRESS THAT I DIDN’T REALLY NEED okay jk i’m very greatful but why did I do that xD

i don’t want to read lgbtq fiction i want to read genre fiction with lgbtq protags

alright friends i was thinking about this earlier and so i put together a list of some good genre fiction with lgbt main characters:

LESBIAN

GAY

BISEXUAL

TRANS

that’s all i’ve got right now! i’m a lesbian so the lesbian section has the most books in it lol, but if anyone else wants to add some more books for gbt people (especially trans because Yikes that section is small), that would be awesome!

hello i volunteer as tribute

GAY

TRANS

that is all i have off the top of my goodreads list that u haven’t already listed

i only have one rec but it’s fucking massive and super worth it: the god eaters (read for free here, you can also buy it in paperback form in various spots online if you’re committed) is possibly the best standalone fantasy book i’ve read in ages and it’s super super gay (also super super triggery so hmu if you need warnings).

oh and as someone who has read the kastor chronicles i can definitely vouch for quality. that shit is choice. (both of these are by the same author btw lol)

ETA: NO. 6. NO. FUCKING 6. also fucking massive, also super triggery, also feel free to hit me up for details, but you can read the english translation FOR FREE here.

Some o'my all-time faves that are missing here:

- Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey (SF near-future dystopia with mutants, female protagonists)

- the Middle Kingdoms books by Diane Duane (epic fantasy but the books aren’t epic length, everyone is poly-ish [that’s not the queer bit that’s just a content note], starts off with two guys who are like totes in love & adds a few more until it culminates in a giant poly wedding, just roll with it, roll with it) (STILL NOT FINISHED but the lack of a fourth book isn’t too dire) (there is a genderqueer character in these but they are an alien, basically; I am not genderqueer so I don’t know if genderqueer people would enjoy this portrayal or not)

- the Elemental Logic books by Laurie Marks (fantasy, lesbians!!!)

- Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold (SF, a little dated now probably but I still find it charming, dude protagonists)

I don’t think anyone has yet mentioned -

Gay - The Still (by David Feintuch) fantasy, bratty prince has love affair with his mentor/babysitter. This also has a sequel. - Luck in the Shadows (by Lynn Flewelling) fantasy, young apprentice falls for his dashing spy/thief master. First novel in a series.

Lesbian The Glass Republic by Tom Pollock, urban fantasy, lesbian Muslim protagonist. Middle book in a trilogy (the whole trilogy is excellent).

Bi and non-binary Babylon Steel by Gaie Sebold, fantasy. Pro-sex, pro-sex work, pro-polyamory, and the series also includes nb characters in plot-critical roles. Babylon runs a brothel, and also does a little bodyguard work on the side. There’s a sequel. Gaie’s work is really excellent so check out her other work as well.

Opinion: Girls Explain Star Wars To You – (via damelola)

Good lord, what a great insight on Rey.

(via inapprehension)

Seriously, I have heard so many variants, from women who’ve seen it, of “IS THIS WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A TEENAGE BOY IN THE 1980s!?!?”

(via jessicalprice)

Just remember. There is no such thing as a fake geek girl. There are only fake geek boys. Science fiction was invented by a woman.

Specifically a teenage girl. You know, someone who would be a part of the demographic that some of these boys are violently rejecting.

Isaac Asimov.

yo mary shelley wrote frankenstein in 1818 and isaac asimov was born in 1920 so you kinda get my point

If you want to push it back even further Margaret Cavendish, the duchess of Newcastle (1623-1673) wrote The Blazing World in 1666, about a young woman who discovers a Utopian world that can only be accessed via the North Pole - oft credited as one of the first scifi novels

Women have always been at the forefront of literature, the first novel (what we would consider a novel in modern terms) was written by a woman (Lady Muraskai’s the Tale of Genji in the early 1000s) take your snide “Isaac Asimov” reblogs and stick it

even in terms of male scifi authors, asimov was predated by Jules Verne, HG Wells, George Orwell, you could have even cited Poe or Jonathan Swift has a case but Asimov?

PbbBFFTTBBBTBTTBBTBTTT so desperate to discredit the idea of Mary Shelly as the mother of modern science fiction you didn’t even do a frickin google search For Shame

And if you want to go back even further, the first named, identified author in history was Enheduanna of Akkad, a Sumerian high priestess.

Kinda funny, considering this Isaac Asimov quote on the subject:

Even Isaac Asimov ain’t having none of your shit, not even posthumously.

You know what else was invented by women? Masked vigilantes, the precursor to the modern superhero. Baroness Emma Orczy wrote The Scarlet Pimpernel in 1905. The character would later inspire better known masked vigilantes such as Zorro and Batman.

Got that?

Stick that in your international pipe and smoke it

I have literally been telling people this for over a year.

the first extended prose piece - ie a novel, was not, as many male scholars will shout, Don Quixote (1605) but The Tale of Genji (1008) written by a woman

The first autobiography ever written in English is also attributed to a woman, The Book of Margery Kempe (1430s).

The day may come when I find this post and do not reblog it, but it is not this day.

Women invented language while men were hunting. I mean…

Boom.

Don’t wanna use something invented by a woman?

Then don’t speak any languages.

Or read any books.

Or write down anything in any shape or form.

Wanna use those things?

Then fucking give women their due.

Crystal Music: Gem Musical Motifs

Each Gem in Steven Universe possesses a certain musical motif that plays during certain parts of the show. When Gems fuse, their musical motifs merge into a completely different genre of music. We’re going to look at each one in detail today. Since we’ve only seen detailed dances from the Crystal Gems, only there dance motifs will be looked at. When “Cry for Help” reveals Sardonyx in her entirety, I will update this post with her musical motif.

EDIT: Updated Lapis Lazuli’s motif to include her String themes!

EDIT2: Updated many character’s motifs, added pictures to all segments, added Greg, Sour Cream, Lion, Sadie, Ronaldo, Desert Glass, Dogcopter, Sardonyx, and Stevonnie.

NOTE: When selecting a track to listen to, please right-click and select “Open Link in New Tab” so you don’t lose your spot in the post!

CRYSTAL GEMS

Garnet’s Motif: Hip-Hop (Waka Waka) Bass

Garnet’s musical and dance themes are very much centered around hip-hop movement (specifically the Waka Waka style of dancing). Waka Waka is characterized by very thick and bouncy bass tones and robotic movement of the limbs with fluid motions in between dance poses.

Take a listen to some of Garnet’s tracks. Here’s “Future Vision” from the official Steven Universe OST. Note that very present bass and “funky flow” of the tracks.

Pearl’s Motif: Classical and Swing Piano

Although Pearl has been shown playing the violin, her main musical motif is a piano played both classically and in the swing style. Both styles are played at a slow tempo in the show (around 90 to 110 BPM, depending on the song), giving Pearl an elegant, classy musical feel. Her dance theme, fittingly enough, is classical ballet as evidenced by her propensity to strike graceful poses both during fusion dances and combat.

Give one of Pearl’s most important themes, “Pearl’s Room”, a listen. Take note of the transition from classic piano to swing piano at the 0:11 mark. During this scene, Pearl is performing swan-like ballet poses in the privacy of her room, matching the grace and form of the piano.

Amethyst’s Motif: On-The-Floor Drum Beats (On-Time and Off-Time)

Amethyst’s motif consists primarily of drum beats that can either follow a time signature or occur erratically and randomly depending on the song. Amethyst’s reckless party-girl attitude is reflected both in her energetic drum motif and her simplistic club-like dancing style. Amethyst’s musical motif also utilizes strike and sting samples erratically (think 90s era music or, more recently, Splatoon)

Here’s one of the more fun musical themes, “Gimme Gimme”, heard when Amethyst is chasing Steven down to eat his Together Breakfast. The use of loud drum beats and sting samples can clearly be heard as she tries to get her hands on those panned cakes.

Steven’s Motif: Chiptune

Steven shares his motif with Connie, in that they’re both based on the chiptune style of music (although Connie’s mixes in acoustic sounds here and there). Chiptune intentionally sounds cute and innocent, fitting Steven perfectly. His dance motif has not really been seen yet, although his Stevonnie fusion dance with Connie seems to indicate that he inherits his mother’s (Rose Quartz’s) dance motif of 2-person waltz.

Here’s a Steven-based track, “Watermelon Steven”, complete with chiptune chirps.

Rose Quartz’s Motif: Bells and Piano

Rose’s motif consists primarily of arpeggios of bells and pianos, and other hi-pitch instruments. In the Rainbow Quartz fusion dance with Pearl, we can see that Rose takes the leading role in the dance and moves and sways in waltz patterns (which her son Steven inherited). She also takes the leading role in her and Greg’s subsequent dance on the beach, even spinning him around in a classic waltz twirl.

One of Rose’s quintessential themes, “Rose’s Room” demonstrates both her arpeggio theme and the bell/piano combination her motif is known for.

HOMEWORLD GEMS

Peridot’s Motif: Drum ‘n’ Bass/Trance Plucks

Peridot’s motif is stereotypical DnB (a hi-tempo style) with spacey trance plucks speckled throughout. Her personality fits with this motif, it’s just as spacey and awkward as she is, but much like the real Peridot, there’s something very menacing and dangerous sounding about her motifs. Listen to Peridot’s theme, “Peridot”, and love the green space Dorito. Peridot’s trance plucks mirror Pearl’s piano in form and function.

Lapis Lazuli’s Motif: Sidechained Pads/Hall Piano/Strings

Lapis’s motif relies heavily on sidechained static (the “unts unts” you hear in club dance music), and hall piano arpeggios. Her themes can easily lean towards melancholy (as in “I Am Lapis Lazuli”), or extremely dangerous sounding (as in “Mirror Match”) depending on tempo. Lapis Lazuli, much like her motif, is a very dynamic character, perhaps showing the most personality development on any character in the show, and her versatile theme reflects that. Her theme also carries extremely fast drum beats, a motif she shares with Amethyst. Strings are also present in here solo themes, and can be heard as a mainstay “I Am Lapis Lazuli”. When Lapis’ Gem is cracked, the sidechained static is much more prevalent than any of her other motifs. When healed however, the strings take the forefront of her themes. In Lapis’ battle anthem, “Mirror Match”, you can hear it take on elements of other Gems motifs when they enter the fray. with Garnet’s bass at 0:34, Amethyst’s drum beats at 0:56, Pearl’s piano at 1:20, Lion’s music box at 1:33, and Steven and Connie’s combined chiptune at 1:43.

Jasper’s Motif: Distorted Bass

Jasper’s main component in her motif is the presence of distorted bass. Heard most clearly in “Return to the Beach/Jasper”, the gross-sounding bass is definitely a parallel to it’s owner. Jasper’s distorted bass shares similarities in composition to Garnet’s Waka bass.

FUSIONS

Opal’s Motif: High-Energy Piano Anthem (a la Masami Ueda)

Opal’s motif is interesting in that it brings to diametric opposites (breakbeat drums from Amethyst and classical piano from Pearl), and forces them to conform to each other’s theme. Amethyst’s beats become structured and formulaic while Pearl’s piano becomes energetic and erratic. This style of music was coined by Masami Ueda (the composer for the Bayonetta games), and the influence in Opal’s theme really shows. Take a listen to Opal’s theme, “Opal”.

Sugilite’s Motif: Dissonant Hardstyle

The mix of Garnet’s bass and Amethyst’s drums do not make a very inviting combination. Sugilite’s motif is very menacing, as Garnet’s bass has become distorted and dissonant, while Amethyst’s driving beat makes it even more unsettling. Sugilite’s theme, “Synchronize”, transitions from a less evil-sounding combo of Garnet/Amethyst to the more traditional Sugilite theme halfway through.

Alexandrite’s Motif: New York Swing/Genre Fusion/Trap

Alexandrite’s theme is very hard to pin down and is a very confusing (but cohesive) mix of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl’s themes. The musical chord stings originate from Garnet while her classy piano lead line and tribal-esque drums come from Pearl and Amethyst, respectively. Take a listen to Alexandrite’s theme, “Alexandrite”, and be as confused as me. 

Malachite’s Motif: Minimalist Scare Stings

Malachite, being a horror movie character in and of herself, shares her motif with scary movies like Jaws and Signs. Heard in her theme, “Malachite”, Lapis’s drums and piano have been corrupted into dissonant stings separated by longs pauses, while Jasper’s bass has amped up the creep factor as an underlying harmonic entity. In general, Malachite’s motifs aren’t ever really in harmony or are even playing in the same tempo.

Sardonyx’s Motif: Showtunes/Perfomance Music and Play-Ins

Sardonyx’s theme sounds like something off of a mid-1950s comedy/talk show, fitting with her look and personality. The theme in question, “Sardonyx”, acquires its bouncy bass from Garnet and overlying piano lead lines from Pearl. However, as in Opal, the fusion has forced each one to take on attributes of the other. The result is an extremely formulaic and strict sound, but at the same time the overarching melody is moving very fast and gives you a sense of boundless energy focused through a small area, much like how Sardonyx herself is. Sardonyx as a talk show host is a pretty easy connection to make, and parts of her song bridge themselves to each other using classic “play-in” melodies, played whenever a new person or character enters the stage. When summoning her weapon, you can hear her song begin a stereotypical “performance windup”, including piano trills, drum rolls, and topping it all off with a rising crescendo near the end. The part in question begins at 0:55 in her theme. When she’s destroying the communication hub, the music enters “finale” mode. The music loses a little bit of its formulaic structure to add energy and a sense of excitement and randomness. The drums in particular become much more prevalent.

The Cluster: Dissonant NuWave

Not only does the Cluster struggle to maintain shape, but it also struggles to maintain a musical motif. This dissonant mixture of many Gem’s motifs creates a very unsettling track, perfect for this abomination. Take a listen to it’s theme, “Gem Shards”.

Stevonnie’s Motif: Acoustic NuBallad

A mixture of Steven’s chiptune/piano and Connie’s acoustic/string themes create a beautiful blend form Stevonnie in “Twilight Run”. The character follows many other fusions in that separately the motifs are okay, but together they are glorious.

OTHERS (Humans/Corrupt Gems)

Greg Universe’s Motif: Slap Bass Guitar/Rhythm Guitar

Heard frequently when with Steven or Rose Quartz, Greg’s motif fits his own trademark instrument pretty well. The rhythm guitar is heard extremely clearly in “What Can I Do”, being made almost entirely of that instrument. His son Steven seems to have inherited part of his motif, since Steven himself has ukelele (a diminutive form of guitar) as part of his motif. Greg’s guitar can be heard in many of his partner songs with Steven and Rose.

Sour Cream’s Motif: Complextro/Rave/Retro Game Sounds

Sour Cream’s motif is stereotypical ‘rave music’ played through a Steven Universe filter. Heard in “Be Cool At The Club”, Sour Cream’s motif consists mostly of synthetic arpeggios and trills with even a sort of drop at 1:35 in his song. Use of sidechaining, distorted vocal, and upper frequency sounds lend a classic but nuanced feel to his motif. Sour Cream is definitely a classic raver/EDM person, as evidenced by his trap pants and proclivity towards hosting said raves.

Ronaldo’s Motif: Lo-Fi Sine/Synth Sitar

Ronaldo’s theme is reliant on unsettling note combinations and a low frequency sine tone that is played to sound like a synthetic sitar (a traditional Indian instrument), matching his strange personality perfectly. His theme is “Paranoldo Activity”.

Sadie’s Motif: Harp/Pizzicato Synths

Sadie’s motif is interesting in that it changes depending on her locale. When in Beach City, her motif consists primarily of harp sounds. This can be heard most clearly during Sadie’s many talk with Steven in “Joking Victim”. However, her motif changes instruments when outside of Beach City. When stranded on an island with Steven and Lars, her theme becomes heavily focused on plucked synth sounds. This can be heard in “Sadie and the Beast”, where Sadie’s normally cute pluck sounds are mixed with menacing bass tones as she fights a Gem Monster. A less scary version of her motif is present in the beginning of  “The Hill” before it becomes a romantic piano ballad.

Lion’s Motif: Reversed Pads/Piano/Chiptune/Music Box

Lion’s motif when not with Steven is chiptune played in a more erratic manner. However, when with Steven, his motif becomes reversed pads and sounds played over soothing piano lines. As heard in “Lion’s Mane”, this connects him to Rose through their shared piano motif (And also he’s pink just like her). Lion also has a distinct music box motif played during some of his music, such as near the end of “Desert Glass” and the Lion segment of “Mirror Match”.

Desert Glass: Setar

The setar, not to be confused with the sitar (although they are very similar) is a long-necked string instrument from Iran that gives the classic “desert music” feel to many movie scores. Desert Glass features this instrument very prominently in her theme, “Desert Glass”. It is overlain with the classic Steven Universe chiptune and drum beats.

Dogcopter: Latin Twist/Shopping Music

All of Dogcopter’s themes have very distinct Latin structures, mixed with the pauses and staccato drums made famous by the Shopping Network and the Wii Shopping Channel. Heard in one of his songs, “The Pitch Got Delayed” it really adds another element to the already surreal character of Dogcopter.

The Gem Musical Motif post has been updated!!!