#// jasper may or may not be gay for pearl a little bit

[perfectquartz]

✧ * ∗ ✧ ➵ @belongtonoone​​  cont. from x. 

The striped quartz CHUCKLED, Pearl was so defensive. Though it’s true Jasper comment may have come off as DEMEANING — that was just Jasper’s way of speaking. She wasn’t good at KINDNESS or CONVERSATION.

“ Calm down, I’m not here to antagonize you, “ Jasper groaned, taking a step towards Pearl.  She could sense the other was ready for a FIGHT — Jasper understood it would be hard for Pearl to gauge her intentions. The quartz hadn’t exactly been NICE to the pearl in the past.  “ I just came to say … I can see why she liked you so much. “

Jasper BLUSHED, looking away from Pearl. It was strange, putting her feelings on display like this. She never understood WHY this pearl had been the one to rebel, why she HATED Pink so much — but since the revelation that Rose was Pink, Jasper supposed her perspective had changed.

“ You look nice, that’s all, “ she offered, pursing her lips.  “ — and, you know how to fight. You’re special — fancy. I’ll go now. “

[jusadode-blog]

Honestly. I love OKKO more than SU just because of the relationships. They're real and natural and don't have to blossom into anything. Meanwhile in SU everyone who is gay is an alien part of a species that, mind you, is only women anyways. And most of the relationships aside from Garnet fall apart or are abusive/manipulative and just hurt both sides. And so far no one has reconciled with themselves, rather going through Steven (STILLGODDAMNIT) or another gem and acting like they reconciled.

I don’t know if this is directly related to something I’ve reblogged but if so please mention it in another anon mate! I’m assuming this is just a friendly discussion as it stands.

Please note: My next few comments are pointing out things I’ve seen evidence pointing otherwise to some of your statements, but they are not meant to be considered an attack on you. You are welcome to have your own opinions on SU vs OKKO, but please note coming into someones inbox and starting a conversation like this may be taken as inflammatory due to the nature of text nuances versus verbal nuances. My response may come off angry or insulting due to the nature of text speech, however I assure you that I am merely pointing out things I have noticed that counterpoint what you are stating and not meaning to infringe on your person. You may have noticed some entirely different things, which is wonderful! It shows how complex the show can be, as well as how complex the human mind can be. Anon, I hope my responses don’t come off rude in any way to you, and I apologize in advance if it does.

Now for my counter arguments:

Not everyone who is gay in SU is gem though,

like Lars and Sadie both showed attraction to Stevonnie (a nonbinary character) as well as the cool kids, Kevin had a unhealthy “crush” on Stevonnie, as well as the pink-haired girl who gave Pearl her number was human (as far as we can tell). There is also the concept of Vadalia having some form of attraction to Amethyst (especially using her as a muse so much), as well as all the male zoo humans who crushed on Gah-Reg when they realized they could chosen someone their selves. Most of these are “casually gay”, with little focus on it and makes it feel more normalized and super nice. Some of it sticks for a bit, but not really.

Also only one of the gay characters in OK KO is a human, and that’s Elodie (Red Action is technically a cyborg). Enid is a witch were-bunny, Rad is an alien, the skeleton dude is a skeleton and his boyfriend is a *bear*. This isn’t a bad thing! We as a species love to identify with non-human characteristics and concepts to help express ourselves in more unique ways, and that’s fine! I think recently Boxman might have a crush on a humanoid dude, but I don’t know if either really count as human, but my point still stands. Elodie

None of the gems are “women” All the gems are nonbinary with female pronouns, excluding Stevonnie who is nonbinary with they/them pronouns but is also 2/3 human.  (Garnet/Ruby/Saphire may be considered nonbinary she/her lesbians)

As for all the abusive/manipulative, the only real big ones there are Lapis/Jasper(which was one of the best depictions of an toxic relationship that children could still understand), as well as Rose/EVERYONE(showing how someone you could hold so high up could hurt you, and let you down time and time again and you just have to figure out how you feel about it). Lapis/Peridot is super painfully realistic, as it shows how if you don’t handle your problems it can hurt you and everyone around you. Pearl/Garnet shows how you shouldn’t lie to get together with someone, and Amythest/Garnet shows how just because you have fun together a romance may be unhealthy.

Also like, the show is just really good at showing how everybody is capable of both good and evil? Jasper can be interpreted both as a victim (for being held in a forced fusion with Lapis) as well as a villian (for trying to force Lapis back into it), Rose is very humanized in her whimsical behavior yet also literally got a ridiculous amount of her soilders destroyed, Blue/Yellow both are shown to be pained by Roses actions, WHITE COULD BE CONSIDERED PISSED AT PINK FOR FAKING HER DEATH AND GETTING AN UNTOLD AMOUNT OF GEMS DESTROYED (yet also heavily abusive/manipulative/gaslighting). I could go on and on about the whole Jasper/Lapis relationship or the WhiteD/PinkD dynamic, as goddamn they’re so intensive and complex and I’m painfully in love with their depictions, but that’s literally a 6 page essay and for another day.

 On for reconcile, it shows how you can hurt someone and they don’t have to forgive you. Garnet’s reaction to Pearl manipulating her and ultimate decision to just allow herself to feel angry, but to also not let it stress things more due to the delicate nature of their situation. Like, they’re all essentially in one big clusterfuck of a polyamorous relationship raising Steven, and if anyone continued holding negative feelings it could jeopardize his family situation.You don’t have to have a hug-it-out scene to reconcile, most times in real life you won’t.  Sometimes, you reconcile with someone before you even forgive them, cause you know it’ll happen when it happens and it’s not worth pausing a friendship over. It’s an internalized thing, and most people expect a grandiose gesture but in reality it’s more of a deep breath and a sigh.

End note:

OKKO is super cool for how it depicts gay relationships, it’s fun, it’s sweet, and it’s cute, but SU goes farther to show the darker side to things that kids also need to be aware of. We need to see ourselves as complex individuals, but also retain happy hopes to ensure we can continue to go on.

I have been in abusive gay relationships, I have been hurt countless times by partners because I didn’t believe you could be in a toxic or abusive gay relationship, I just thought I was being stupid and all the issues in said relationships were ultimately my fault.

Showing the gay characters in unhealthy relationships that aren’t inherently over the top abuse is a great way to introduce gay kids to the possibility that their future relationships won’t always be healthy. Steven Universe teaches us that we can talk out most issues in a relationship, but sometimes we won’t always get to and must deal with the feelings on our own, as well as sometimes it’s best to just break ties with people. If I had representation like Lapis and Jasper when I was younger, I may have gotten out of my abusive relationship sooner.

All in all, enjoy either one or both if you want! Both are fantastic shows with lots of love poured into them by their creators, and it shows. I understand you may not like SU as much due to the darker nature of it, which is valid! It’s also got quite a bit more popularity than OKKO, which is a shame due to how underappreciated it is. Just be careful to not take out your anger at the show or the popularity of the show onto people on accident, and instead express yourself in methods that are positive (I.E. Drawing fanart, oc’s, headcannons etc. etc. that don’t harm anyone.)

Thanks for writing in anon! Feel free to P.M. me if you want to gush over something though, I’m always down for happy stuff!