Calling all creative writers! This is a column run by Liv Akers to inspire readers to write. The column includes writing prompts, pieces by the coordinators, and submissions from readers.
This month: A short story sequel by Nathaniel Lee, a creepy story by Kelly Ferguson and Liv's final installment of Screaming About Nothing.
*Note: By all means feel free to submit your writing over the summer! Please just be aware that we most likely will not be in contact with you until the school year starts in September. You can send us your piece at any time, but a follow-up email once the school year starts would also be appreciated to make sure we don't forget you. Thank you!
Below are a set of prompts for different styles of writing beyond journalism. The idea is that you have the opportunity to create some kind of creative writing piece inspired by one of the prompts, but your submission does not have to be prompt-related. You can submit any piece of writing you would like to share! All submissions should be school-appropriate. You can also suggest prompts to be featured in the next issue.
*Note: By all means feel free to submit your writing over the summer! Please just be aware that we most likely will not be in contact with you until the school year starts in September. You can send us your piece at any time, but a follow-up email once the school year starts would also be appreciated to make sure we don't forget you. Thank you!
Here are some prompts to inspire your writing this month! If you try one, let us know how it goes. :)
1. From a reader: Tell us your most out-of-this-world space story! It can be any genre you want, as long as space is involved.
2. From a reader: What does the word "minions" make you think of? Tell us about it in a story, poem, or essay.
3. Keep a journal of your summer, and submit your favorite entry/entries!
4. As you contemplate entering a new grade, describe the feelings you are experiencing in a poem.
5. Incoming freshmen: Submit your favorite piece of writing from middle school! And if you remember, rewrite it towards the end of the year to see how far you have come!
We will not be using a Google Form this month to take prompt suggestions because the column will be changing ownership next year. If you have any prompt suggestions, hold onto them until next school year!
After a well-deserved trip, Sebastian was finally on his way home, and was eager to see his friends and family again. The thought of their faces when they saw their gifts buzzed through his head. It was all so exciting, from the hustle and bustle of the airport, down to the twinge of anxiety he felt as his next flight was delayed for the fifth time.
On the last fling back home, Sebastian drifted off to sleep, though the much-needed rest was cut short, due to a small, very unhappy infant across the walkway. The baby’s name was Alina, which was quite funny, considering that was also Sebastian’s best friend's name. After an hour and a half of making faces at baby Alina, she fell asleep, and Sebastian drifted back off, as well.
Sebastian was sleeping so hard that, when the plane landed, the flight attendant had to wake him up. All he could think about as soon as his eyes opened was getting home. Alina probably won't be there when everyone picks me up. She’ll be at the house to jump out and surprise me. The thought of seeing his friend was invigorating. Sebastian thought about what he would say as he turned the small box containing Alina’s gift in his hands.
The box was all blue, her favorite color. It also had a bright golden ribbon. The tag read: “Please don't hate me! Open it when I'm not around, okay?” What if she didn't like it? What if she didn't read the note and just ripped the box open? Would she love it, or end our friendship altogether? He suppressed the thoughts as he got his bags and headed to the lobby.
As he predicted, no Alina in sight. Not that he wasn't happy to see his mom and stepdad, he just missed her. After an extremely awkward hug in the middle of the walkway, they were off.
“Hey, Mom. Alina is at my house, isn't she? She is probably going to prank me when we get there,” he said and, to his surprise, her response was not what he thought she would say.
“Who is Alina, Darling? Did you meet her on your trip?”
“N-n-no? She has been my friend for years.”
“Alina doesn't ring a bell.”
” Mom, she was in our family Christmas card last year!” he stuttered in response. “If this is a joke, it's not funny.”
“Are you sure her name wasn't something else?”
After that strange encounter, they were at Sebastian's house. Unlike his previous prediction, Alina wasn't there.
“Take it easy, Sweetie. Rest up. Okay?” his mom said, giving him one last hug.
“Yeah,” Sebastian mumbled, still trying to take in what just happened. I swear her name is Alina! I couldn't have forgotten her name. I've known her for years!
Just as his head was buzzing with thoughts, so was his phone. Someone was blowing it up. As he picked up the phone, the wallpaper was still a picture of him and Alina. I knew she wasn't fake! Maybe they just spaced on her name or something. Yeah, that's probably what happened.
The messages that he was getting were from his mom. They were all to the effect of getting a therapist for Sebastian so he could get the whole Alina thing sorted out. Surprisingly, his mom was willing to pay for it, too.
After a few weeks, there was an appointment, a date and a time. Sebastian went with his mom, not because he wanted to, but because he thought it would make her feel better. At the appointment, they all talked about when the whole thing started, and possible reasons it could have come about. Even though imagining things was brought up as a possibility, Sebastian was still one hundred percent sure that Alina was real.
After a few more therapy appointments Dr. Mc Connell, the therapist, suggested something. It was unthinkable. Sebastian was completely fine. Sure, he still hadn't heard from Alina, but she probably went on a last-minute trip somewhere. His mother probably just forgot her, but somehow he's crazy? This whole thing just smacked him in the face again, all at once.
Now that he was thinking about it, it made sense why they thought he was crazy. He came back from a trip looking for someone that, to their knowledge, never existed. Now, he was sitting in a dark therapist's office that smelled of fish, and trying to explain for the millionth time that an unknown person does, indeed, exist and that they had been friends for years.
“Hello? Sebastian?” Dr. Mc Connell said, trying to regain his attention.
“Yeah. yeah… just thinking about it.”
“You know, you could think of it as a field trip. Just go, and pick something to… write about or draw. Make it a vacation.”
“How am I going to make a psychiatric ward a vacation paradise?” he said with a twinge of anger in his voice.
“Remember, it's not permanent. Okay? It's just a few weeks. That's it.”
“It’s okay to be nervous, honey.” His mom spoke in a soft consoling tone. “If you don't go, then you might not be able to get the help you need. Just try it, for me.”
“I'm not nervous, I'm just frustrated that you can't remember her. If this never happened, then everything would be perfect, and I would be happy. But no. She had to disappear, and you just can't remember. Now I'm being shipped off to a mental asylum!” He started to yell. Then, his yell turned into a soft sniffle “I'll go, for you. But I'm not crazy, and she is real”
“We have a room ready about 20 minutes away from your home. It will be ready tomorrow.” Dr. Mc Connell disclosed, as she gave Sebastian a card with the address on it. “Please give it a chance to help.”
“I can't make that promise,” he said bitterly.
The next morning, he got up and packed his things. He ate breakfast, and went outside to wait for his ride. As he sat on the curb, some particularly unpleasant and intrusive thoughts crept into his head. What if this is what I need? Am I really crazy? Does Alina really exist? What am I thinking? Of course she does! And at that very moment, a white van pulled up.
The driver hopped out, and asked, “Excuse me, Sir. Are you Sebastian Kraft, by any chance?”
“Yep, that's me.”
“If ya don’t mind me askin', what are you doin’ goin’ to a nuthouse? Ya seem, well, too normal to be there.”
“That's what I said. I'm going because my mom got me a therapist and she said I need to, just because my mom can't remember one of my friends.”
“Have you seen your friend or heard from ‘em since then?”
“No,” Sebastian said with a sigh of defeat.
After a while, they pulled up at the psych ward. Sebastian thanked the driver for the ride and gave him a tip. Then, he got checked in, and headed to his room.
There was a girl in front of him in the hall, and she was walking slowly. When he tapped her on the shoulder, she turned around.
They both gasped, tears in their eyes.
“Alina?”
“Seb?”
Note: This is based on a true story. Some names and events have been changed.
While I am running, I guess I can explain what happened. In truth, Caiden is my twin brother. Only, he’s not really…here. That’s probably really confusing, so let’s go back two years. We were thirteen, and life was…perfect. We both did sports, we were both avid readers, and we both loved the outdoors.
One time, my family was camping near Crater Lake. After we had dinner, Caiden and I decided to go hiking for a little bit. We neglected to tell our parents and started hiking. We reached a crossroads and went left. We didn’t know it then, but that wasn’t a path. We climbed higher and came to a cliff. Caiden stood close to the edge, looking out at the view, but I stayed back a little. After that, everything happened fast. The ground he was standing on gave way. I dove forward and grabbed his hand. He slipped through and fell. I started calling for help until my voice became hoarse. Then I just sat there, dazed.
At around midnight, Jake came into view. He ran up to me and asked me where Caiden was. I said nothing; I just stared at the cliff. Jake looked down, and then called my parents. They showed up, and we went straight to the hospital. Caiden was loaded into a helicopter and flown there. At 3:47 AM, they told us. Caiden was gone.
I didn’t talk for three days. I just stayed in my room and did nothing. It felt like a part of me was gone. I would never hear Caiden’s contagious laugh again. I would never race him to school again. I would never be me again.
Then, just about a year ago, I started seeing flickers. I didn’t tell anyone, but I thought I was seeing Caiden. Then, at the beginning of the school year, it wasn’t just flickers. I didn’t know if I was imagining it, or if it was real, but Caiden started being in my life again. I still told no one. I imagined he had tons of friends, and was popular, like he was before. But I couldn’t change myself. I was still alone. Always. He tried to make me feel better, but it didn’t work. I knew he was just my imagination, but what if it wasn’t? That would mean he’s a ghost, and that’s impossible.
Now that I’m running, I don’t know where to go. I stopped at an old gas station to rest. I fell asleep and woke up the next morning. I kept running, hiding in the bushes when I heard someone coming. Then, at night, I ran alongside the road. I went like this for roughly two days, resting every now and then. One night, I saw a sign that said, “Gold Beach, 8 miles.”
“Why not stop there?” I said to myself. I started walking across the road, and into the trees on the other side. I tripped on what seemed to be a root and kept walking. Suddenly, a horn blared and a light blinded me. It wasn’t a root. Intense pain shot through me, and then it stopped. I opened my eyes and found myself laying on the ground in a white room. Someone stood over me. My eyes focused on them, and I recognized the face, the smile, and the kindness in the eyes.
“Good to see you again, bro,” Caiden said.
Hello, my dearest Scrollians. It has been a few months since my most recent installment of Screaming About Nothing. I missed you all dearly. As I am graduating and will be unable to continue publishing these monstrosities (I know, I’m sure you’re heartbroken), I would like to present to you the masterpiece that has been sitting in the back of my head for the last four months. Every single one of my friends has grown tired of me ranting about this topic, so you guys get to put up with it instead. Yippee.
Now, what, you might ask, is this topic that I have hyper-fixated on for the past four months? I’m so glad you asked. I, Liv Akers, have debunked Steven Universe.
I’m waiting for my applause. Yes, thank you, thank you, you’re too kind.
There is a big ol’ gaping plot hole right in the premise of the entire TV show, and it SHOCKS me that I have yet to see someone address it. Rose Quartz should NOT have been able to incubate a human child, meaning that Steven should not be able to exist.
My qualifications: I rewatched the entire 5-season series, the movie, and the single-season sequel series for research purposes. I am also (as my regular readers will probably know) the master of reading into things far deeper than necessary. Additionally, I failed my AP Bio exam, BUT the fact that I took the class (and Honors Bio!) should count for something. Now, without further ado, please allow me to destroy a wonderful show for you forever.
For those of you who are just reading for funsies but don’t actually have the context of the show (spoiler warning!): The basic plot of the show begins with Steven, who is the only creature of his kind to ever exist (supposedly). His father, Greg Universe, is a human from Earth, but his mother, Rose Quartz / Pink Diamond, is from a humanoid alien species called the Gems. They live on a planet called Homeworld where each type of Gem has a specific purpose, destiny, etc. and are not to stray from that path. The four Diamonds are the highest members of society, and are notorious colonizers of other planets. Pink’s only colony is on Earth. I’m skipping over all the details, but basically, she’s not supposed to have a colony, she becomes Rose Quartz, there’s a war over it, yada yada, all the Gems on Earth are wiped out (sort of) except for Rose and her “Crystal Gems”, the rebellion team that fought in the war. Thousands of years later, Rose meets Greg. You get the idea: Steven is born BUT, in order to bring him into the world, Rose must pass down her gemstone to him, which is how she projects her physical form (because the Gems are made of light), and she effectively “dies”. Steven then is raised by Greg and the three remaining Crystal Gems (Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl) but, as he discovers the truth about his mother, he is forced to fight her battles for her that she left behind.
Make sense? We all good? Cool, so what’s the problem? That makes enough sense, right?
WRONG. This makes zero sense! The whole premise of the show is that Steven is half-Gem, half-human. THAT IS NOT PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE, and I have a multitude of reasons why.
Pictured right: Official cover art for Steven Universe and Steven Universe: Future via Cartoon Network.
First of all, let’s start with the most obvious reason. Gems are canonically genderless and sexless, meaning they cannot reproduce. And they don’t need to! Gems are essentially immortal; they don’t die unless they are killed, and they are grown in the ground like crops, not born from a “mother.” When Rose first meets humans, she is completely baffled by the concept of parents and children and growing up, because Gems don’t do those things! So if Gems do not reproduce, how on EARTH did Rose carry a human child?
The most widely-accepted theory is that she shapeshifted to have the necessary organs and such, and then just held that form for the nine-ish months it took to incubate Steven, but that still isn’t possible. Yes, Gems can shapeshift, but even Amethyst, the best shapeshifter in the Crystal Gems, can only hold a form for a few hours at most, and it requires immense levels of concentration and energy that definitely would not be healthy for a growing fetus. Since she’s a Diamond, I have heard the argument that she can just do that because she has more power than the average Gem, but that still does not seem possible to me, because the Diamonds still have their limits, and having unlimited shapeshifting powers does not seem like a move Rebecca Sugar would make. Also, it feels like a massive cop-out, so I’m not accepting it as fact, but that’s just me.
Additionally, regardless of how she acquired the organs, that still does not explain how she contributed to Steven’s genetic makeup. According to the Steven Universe Wiki, “while Rose appeared ‘pregnant’ with Steven, no information is ever revealed as to how Steven's chromosomes were built, or how Rose acquired or constructed an ovum.” Since Gems are essentially rocks that project humanoid forms made of light, it doesn’t make sense for them to have genes or DNA, meaning Steven should NOT be a fully formed human being. But you know what? Let’s start playing with hypotheticals. We’ll assume that, somehow, miraculously, Greg contributed 100% of Steven’s DNA. That would make Steven a clone of Greg, which we know he’s not for SEVERAL reasons. They have different hair colors and textures, so they are already not genetically identical. Greg’s skin tone is difficult to deduce because he is perpetually sunburnt, but in his flashback scenes as a young adult, he appears to be a bit paler than Steven. Also, in Steven Universe: Future, in the episode titled “Mr. Universe,” Greg visits his childhood home and shows Steven several pictures of himself as a teenager and adolescent, and it is revealed that he had braces as a kid. Steven’s teeth appear to be perfect without ever having been to a doctor thus far, so he did not inherit the crooked teeth trait. Greg also appears to be more tan than Steven in said images, so I truly do not know what Greg’s natural skin tone is; I just know it’s not the same as Steven’s. Any other facial similarities can just be chalked up to the fact that the two are related and the art style isn’t very detailed, so it is hard to compare them with scrutiny. Another reason I know they are not clones is because their fusion, Steg, has four arms, and emergent properties in fusions (as far as I’ve noticed) are only observed to occur in different types of Gems; Gems of the same type just become a bigger version of that Gem. I didn’t lead with that point because the rules for fusion when Steven and humans are involved could be a little different, so I will admit: it’s a stretch, but it's worth addressing.
Pictured left: Young Greg and Rose Quartz, prior to Steven's birth; Official art of Greg Universe in different stages of life.
Moving on. The canon rules for Gems’ organs are very inconsistent. Given that they are made of light and can shapeshift at will, it doesn’t make sense that their body would be able to host organs of any kind. Clearly, though, they must be able to, because, while most don’t enjoy it, they have the ability to eat, meaning they have to have an intestinal tract. But even then, it doesn’t hold much function, because they don’t feel hunger, and it’s unclear what it does with the food and subsequent waste produced. Also, the Steven Universe Wiki describes the Gems as “like a hologram, but with mass.” Where did the mass come from? The law of conservation of mass says that matter cannot be created or destroyed, so how are they able to change their shape at will, or turn into light, or retract into their gemstones without creating or destroying matter in the process? Where did the matter come from? A friend suggested that they could be pulling it from the air, but if they are sucking in all the air around them, humans should not be able to breathe around them. Since they are made of light, then they can probably condense that light enough to make solid matter, but how would all of that matter fit into their gemstone when they poof? Would Gems be less solid when they shapeshift to be bigger, given that they have a default “size” and, thus, a set amount of matter that belongs to them? So much of the detail around organs and mass is inconsistent and unclear that it is kind of impossible to use as evidence, but I would like to point it out regardless, because it proves that the science of Steven Universe doesn’t really make sense.
Those are all of my points for that debate, so feel free to click off, but there is another matter I would like to address while we are here. Given that Steven is the only one of his kind and there are no rules, is it possible for Steven and Connie to have a biological child?
Side note: the reason this topic came into my head in the first place is that I started wondering if Steven and Connie could have a child, so I thought about it and had several back-to-back epiphanies that led me to the conclusion that Steven shouldn’t exist in the first place. I felt it would not do the topic justice if I didn’t also bring up the Stevonnie thing, since that’s where the whole ordeal started, so here we are. Additionally, this question applies to Steven with any human partner. I just used Connie as the example because the show frames them as soulmates.
I initially made a flowchart to explain this, but it wasn’t comprehensive enough, so just do your best to follow along. The question: Can Steven and Connie have a biological child? The possible answers: yes or no. Okay, are we following? Great. Follow-up question: If they can have a child, does Steven pass on the gemstone, and does he die? This is where it gets complex.The possible options are as follows:
Yes, he passes on the gemstone, and yes, it would kill him.
Yes, he passes on the gemstone, and no, it would not kill him.
No, he does not pass on the gemstone, and no one dies.
No, he does not pass on the gemstone, and Steven lives, but the child dies.
There is a 50/50 chance of the gemstone being passed on and, thus, a 50/50 chance of Steven or the child dying.
There is a 50/50 chance of the gemstone being passed on and no one dies.
Let’s start from the top. First of all, can they have a child at all? I think it is assumed that they can, because if Greg and Rose can, why wouldn’t they be able to? That is, however, assuming that Rose made him correctly. Remember: her body isn’t built to make a child; if she shapeshifted to have that ability, she had to have done so with intention, and we have no idea what the incubation process might have meant for her. It is shocking to me that Steven doesn’t have, like, half a dozen birth defects, so it is very possible that, if he does, they are not visible and could jeopardize his ability to have a child. Additionally, Greg and Rose couldn’t fuse, but Steven and Connie can. Does that mean that any attempt at reproduction would cause them the fuse, or is Steven human enough to make it work? Personally, I’m leaning towards “no,” but let’s say, however, that they can, for the sake of the conversation. Does Steven need to pass on the gemstone in order for the child to exist? I think that, in order for any Gem, regardless of how MUCH Gem they are, the gemstone is essential to survival, but the more human they are, the less they need it. For instance, Rose cannot survive without the gemstone, but in the series finale of the main show, Steven is temporarily without his gemstone, and, while he is weaker and possibly on the verge of death, he doesn’t die. If his child is only 25% Gem, they might be able to survive without a gemstone, but they might be weak and require some sort of mobility aid and/or medical treatment.
We also need to consider whether the parent has a choice to pass on the gemstone or not. Did Rose consciously choose to give Steven the gemstone, or did it just happen involuntarily? Would Steven have a choice? My guess is that it is involuntary, but I don’t really have any evidence on that one, it is just the vibe I’m getting. There is also the question of WHEN the stone is passed on in Steven’s case, but, quite frankly, I really don’t want to get into those semantics, so I’m putting the ball in your court on that one.
Pictured above: Young Steven and Connie; Steven and Connie as teens; Steven and Connie's fusion, Stevonnie.
The conclusion I’ve come to for myself is that having the gemstone is just a genetic trait, like anything else. I know, I literally just explained how Rose shouldn’t have genetic material, but the fact that the show exists means we have to be willing to suspend our disbelief there. This is the part where I start making Punnett squares. Having the gemstone has to be the dominant trait, with Greg being homozygous recessive and Rose being homozygous dominant. This makes Steven heterozygous. Connie, being human, is also homozygous recessive, so that means their child would have a fifty percent chance of being homozygous recessive and not getting the gemstone, and a fifty percent chance of being heterozygous and getting the gemstone, but, like I said, I don’t think they would necessarily need it to survive. That means that, if Steven DOES need it to survive, then there is a fifty percent chance he just dies for nothing (but the child’s quality of life might be better if they have the gemstone). I then spent hours playing with hypothetical Punnett squares and going through the generations, but I’ll spare you all that rant.
Additionally, what exactly would their kid look like? I have a hunch that their biological child is just their fusion, Stevonnie, as a separate entity, but if they have several, would that mean they are just churning out Stevonnie clones? Thinking about that too long hurts my head, so do with that question as you will.
I think that is all I have to say. It feels very anticlimactic to reach the end after the four months I spent mulling this over, but here we are. Thank you all for reading my silly rants for the last couple of years. It has been an honor. Please remember me fondly. I love you all. XOXO, Gossip Girl.
