#Also my dumbass was writing this on tumblr and not something seperate and I accidentally deleted the finished draft
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SU Theory: The Rejuvenator did work...kind of.
As much as I love this theory, I was thinking about it a lot recently and found a few reasons why this theory doesn’t make too much sense. To sum up this short essay you’re about to read, those reasons are:
Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz no longer exists
The ‘science’ behind the rejuvenator.
In SU: The Movie, Bismuth explains that the rejuvenator works by returning a gem back to its original/intended form. They are set back to their default settings. This shows through the gems that the rejuvenator hit: Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Spinel.
Yes, Steven was hit too. HOWEVER, it only reset his powers. He lost the ability to control his powers and he was set back to the control he had in the beginning of the series: zero. And he later regained them later in the movie, therefore returning to his present state just like the others did.
Had the rejuvenator worked the way pastelmagma stated
Wouldn't the gem have reverted back as Pink Diamond herself? I don't think PinkSteven being slashed by the rejuvenator would have set him back to PinkDiamonds emotional state. That would have worked if the gem was still Pink's/Rose's.
In Change Your Mind, after White Diamond ripped Stevens gem out, the gem began to reform. It took Pink Diamonds shape, then Roses shape, before settling on PinkStevens form.
The iconic
This episode alone, proves that Rose is gone. She isn't there anymore. Sure, Steven has her powers and sometimes experiences her memories. But Rose/PinkDiamond is gone gone. She gave up her form - her existence - to make Steven. It makes sense that the gem would form a pink version of himself. It's his gem. It's been his since he was born.
"Yeah, yeah! I'm me! I've always been me."
In the last few episodes of S5, Steven was having identity issues. White was almost convincing him that he was still his mother, hiding behind a human boy. But this episode proved that it had always been Steven. And will always be just Steven.
Now moving to Steven Universe: Future
Steven is suddenly struggling to control his emotions. Having anger outbursts (SUF: Volleyball), struggling to maintain his shape (SUF: Growing Pains, I Am My Monster), and letting his negative thoughts/emotions control his actions (SUF: Fragments and Homeworld Bound). Lots of other stuff, but those were the only examples I could think of writing this on my 30.
Steven's powers have always been connected to his emotions. In S3: Steven Floats, he specifically says, ���My floating power’s tied to my emotions. Right, just like all my stupid powers!” His emotions in this last season have been stronger than ever. Especially with all these new and sudden changes happening around him, he is feeling strong emotions he has never experienced before. Going by the beginning of the show, I am going to assume Steven didn't start using his powers until he was 12-13. He didn't discover his floating power until he was 14. He gets new powers left and right during seasons 1-5. Why would that progression stop in Future? I didn't think it was unusual for Steven to discover a new power when he was being threatened by Jasper of all people. And it progresses more from there. Turning pink, new shields, super speed, etc.
Sure, it was never officially said in canon, but it is no secret Steven is suffering from PTSD. He shows specific signs of it dating back to S4: Mindful Education.
He had been subjected to a harmful amount of stress at such a young age that he doesn’t know how to deal with new forms of stress in a healthy way. He had been literally fighting for his life then, and now reacts the same way over seemingly minor occurrences.
In SUF: Growing Pains, Dr. Maheswaran notes that despite Stevens gem durability and being able heal physically in an instant, he still experienced trauma and has not recovered from those traumas mentally.
(gif by penguintruth)
These sudden outbursts are linked to his undiagnosed PTSD. PTSD can take months, even years, to develop. He's had/having flashbacks, recurring memories, strong anxiety, negative thoughts toward himself and others, ongoing negative emotions, impulsivity, etc.
I don't think these new powers are from being hit by the rejuvenator. I think Steven has been through so much at such a young age that now he can no longer control his emotions. He can't handle the stress anymore. And his powers have always been connected to his powers right? Wouldn't it be possible for Steven to trigger these new powers with these new emotions?
In conclusion, I don't think the events in SUF leading up to his meltdown have any link specifically to being hit with the rejuvenator. Yes, that experience in itself is one of the most recent traumas he has been through, but I don't think it is the main cause of his debilitating mental health in SUF. Steven has been through a lot. He is a magical being. Had he been 100% human, he would be exhibiting the same emotions/behaviors just without the powers exaggerating it tenfold.
Steven has been through a lot these last few years and has a lot of healing to do.
That’s my theory anyway. Have a good day!
Also: Some of Stevens many MANY traumas. It’s almost 20 minutes long. Sheesh. Poor kid, man.
#steven universe#su#steven universe the movie#sutm#steven universe future#suf#garnet#amethyst#pearl#spinel#pink steven#pink diamond#rose quartz#steven universe theory#Also my dumbass was writing this on tumblr and not something seperate and I accidentally deleted the finished draft#i have never bee so mad#i rewrote this angrily lol#send help#releasethegeese speaks
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if youre still doing the character thing, how about spirit or marie?
I sure am. How about Spirit And Marie? Both wonderful characters. I’ll do Marie first, then Spirit. Thanks for the excuse to infodump, really. You people are too kind.
Marie Mjolnir
My first impression of Marie was the same impression I get of most female characters in anime. It’s either “why do their clothes have to look like that” or “oh god here comes the obligatory sexist heteronormative romance”. For Marie, it was more of the second. They mention in the same episode she’s introduced that Stein is her “first love”, which told me that if she had a large place in the plot, her assigned male counterpart around which to orbit would be him. Though I’ve never read the Soul Eater manga, I believe they do end up getting together there (I could be wrong). Whatever the case, I was relieved that Marie’s and Stein’s relationship (though heavily implied to be romantic, at least on Marie’s side) was left open to interpretation in the anime. I’m just very sick of cool badass female characters like Marie being reduced to the man they pine after. So, I guess my first impression of Marie and my impression of her now are largely the same. While I appreciate the moments we get to see her strengths and ability to operate on her own, I do think that her character really suffers because of the whole sexist “oh gosh all I want is to find a husband and retire” “oh my I have to take care of Stein” like okay, I had enough at the cat girl smothering Soul with her humungo-tits. I had enough at sexualizing underage girls and women in general. I had enough at making sexual harassment a punchline. That being said, when we push all of the shitty writing to the side, I admire Marie for her strength and how she interacts with the children, Crona in particular. Which leads me to my favorite moment(s).
The relationship Crona and Marie have interests me the most, since I’m really drawn to the parallels between Marie and Medusa. As parental figures (and as characters), they’re about as different as you can get. As Crona’s mother, Medusa is obviously abusive. Along with being negligent, she abuses Crona mentally, emotionally, and physically. In general, Medusa is a person who doesn’t appear to value interpersonal relationships, putting it nicely. She instead is more focused on her own interests, often to the detriment of those around her. Crona is Medusa’s only immediate family (besides Arachne who she is estranged from), and so they suffer the most from her refusal to show even a shred of human decency or warmth. They suffer especially because they are her child, meaning they’re stuck with her essentially, and repetivie abuse between family members like a mother and child often becomes complex because of the necessity of having a parental figure in your life to support you as you grow up. Medusa teaches Crona that their boundaries don’t matter and that they are only good as long as they are useful and do as they’re told. This is what makes Marie’s influence on Crona so cool to watch. Marie is caring by nature, loving and nurturing by nature. Her very wavelegnth is healing. She is kind and does what’s right reflexively. Marie is the exact embodiment of what Crona always needed but what, even upon being rescued by the academy, still felt so foreign to them: unconditional love. Crona struggles to understand why the other kids helped them, why Maka felt the inclination to stop their battle and save Crona instead by trying to understand them, why the kids are still so kind to them even after everything. They do not understand that love is not a bargaining chip. It isn’t leverage in an argument. It’s not a tool for emotional manipulation. Love is caring for the people close to you, just because. Love for the sake of love. The other kids and teachers at the academy are the ones who are able to pull Crona out of all Medusa’s lies, and Marie is a Huge part of that. Even though I have greivances with this being the largest part of her character and what that implies for female characters in general, it doesn’t stop being so beautiful to me that she could help Crona heal in this way. Marie = best mom for the win
Most of the story ideas I have for Marie involve her relationship with Crona or Stein. Say, this covers my unpopular opinion too. I don’t like Stein and Marie as a couple, but I really enjoy writing them as friends, because even though I don’t really jive with them being together romantically, I think their dynamic is an interesting one to explore because they Are so different.
Getting into that a little bit more, I’d like to start by saying I don’t care if other people like Stein and Marie being a couple. That’s great doods, keep doing you. The fanart’s adorable, the meta’s fantastic. Whoever you are, SteinMarie shippers, ffs keep kicking ASS. This is just my preference and opinion. Zero shade in this house. That said, because of my frustrations about Marie’s character I discussed in the first paragraph, I don’t like the idea of her and Stein being together romantically. It’s really a classic sexist trope: the troubled man and his sweet nurse. I’m also just fed up in general with the hetero-nonsense, so there. However, they are both wonderful characters that I enjoy very much seperately. Also, I think it’s worth mentioning that I’ve only seen the anime, so I can’t speak for the manga as far as their relationship or Marie’s character in general.
Oh shit I accidentally already talked about this one lmao [see the second paragraph]
One headcanon I like to think about when I’m writing Marie is that she likes women (in addition to men or not) and she struggles with comphet. Just something interesting I like to think about. It’s really fun for me to take characters who have been written as pining or had 10 million failed relationships and be like “say what if they can’t find a husband cuz really what they really need is a wife”. I’ll talk about that more with Spirit inevitably.
Spirit Albarn
My first impression of Spirit, obviously him being a cheater, really came with a lot of distaste. I come from a family that was torn apart by infidelity, among other things, so it really rubs me the wrong way. However, his saving grace for me was that he genuinely loves his daughter. It appears that, whether it’s played for laughs or not, he just can’t find fulfillment in his romantic relationships. The reason is left up to the veiwers. Spirit, ultimately, is not just a shitty person, which is how most cheaters are protrayed in media. “Well, they cheated because they don’t care if they hurt people”, “they cheated because they are shit and that’s it”. That’s a fine explanation if you plan to do nothing with whatever character you’re describing, but Spirit is relatively recurring and is shown to be neither mean-spirited or emotionally unintelligent. It bothers me that his cheating and routine sexist behaviour isn’t taken seriously enough to be a subject that Soul Eater tackles and deals with. But that’s fine. I’ll just do it myself. At any rate, I still feel that same way about Spirit’s character, but I find it intriguing that he seems to genuinely want to become a better father and is actually a pretty good dad when it comes to his interactions with Maka. If Soul Eater had been brave enough to develop him more, maybe delve into the reasoning behind his impulsive romantic affairs, I think Spirit as a character could have been done more justice. It seems to me that he could be suffering from some of that wonderful compulsory heterosexuality that I mentioned before, then becoming confused when the woman he claims to love leaves him feeling empty. Rattling my gay little cage
When I think of my favorite moments with Spirit, I think of his moments with Maka, but I’m gonna hold off on that until I get to favorite relationship(s). In reference to what I talked about in the first paragraph, one moment I find really interesting when I’m thinking about my interpretation of Spirit’s character is the scene where he and Maka are on the roof talking. Maka asks Spirit why he cheated on her mother if he did, in fact, love her. He doesn’t appear to know the answer, and he doesn’t really understand how to effectively communicate that, though he was shitty husband, what he really wants now is to try and be a better dad. We hear his inner monologue, and he says something like “I love you [Maka] and your mama. That’s the truth. That’s the truth. That’s the truth.” Every time he says “its the truth” it sounds more like he’s forcing it. This is actually something that is SO strange to me. Even if I didn’t project a queer narrative on to the characters I love, I would look at this and be like “huh that is a Weird thing to say in that specific way”. Why does he say it like that? Why does he have to say it more than once? He’s only talking to HIMSELF. It isn’t like he’s trying to convince Maka. Why does he have to convince himself?? Could it possibly be because he’s reached a conclusion about his romantic/sexual orientation that he’s been trying to swallow his Entire Life??? makes ya wonder, doesn’t it, queers?
Just like I said when I talked about Stein, most of the stories I have in mind with Spirit center around that sweet gayness. But also, I like to think of ways Spirit could come to terms with his sexuality, how it might have affected him when he was young, his relationship with all these women, with his wife. I love to think about him being a dad at 18 and trying his best, but how much responsibility that must have been. Lots of great ideas when it comes to Spirit.
Um? unpopular opinion would be all the standard like I said with Stein lmao. “Oh no!” scream the heteros, “that they/them on tumblr is making Soul Eater queer we canst not allow that in our church!!!111!” But besides that, maybe even the fact that I think he’s redeemable?? Idk most everyone I’ve met thinks Spirit is funny at least and just calls him a dumbass and a slut (affectionate). Doesn’t mean anybody thinks cheating on your wife 56 times is okay so. I like this fandom, it’s chill here. My favorite is when I see my art tagged like “aw the stupid man and his crazy bf” like YOU ARE RIGHT
My favorite relationship when it comes to Spirit (besides Stein cuz if I start talking about them again I’ll never finish this ask) is the one he has with Maka. If you can call it a relationship lol. I guess I just find Spirit’s approach to Maka as a parent really refreshing. Not that the parents in other shows don’t love their kids or whatever, it’s just that the loving parent always seems to be paired with some other trope that makes their character hard to approach. especially in anime. Like the perfect mother who dies in the first episode, and we spend the rest of the show mourning her. Or the father whose love is somehow everlasting even though he’s never home. It’s really the fact that Spirit is even THERE that I love. He knows what Maka is up to. He talks about her. He’s invested in her life, and he loves her. All he wants is to spend time with her, and though he’s sad when she turns him down, he doesn’t push her. god dammit I just like a dad who actually loves his kids without all the usual strings attached like. oh my kids are a huge pain in my ass, but I love them in spite of it. oh i’m a man so can’t relate to my children in a meaningful way but i try. Get the fuck outta here with that shit. I want all the dads to get so happy when their daughters wanna hang with them that they throw up like Spirit. Give me the guy who loves his daughter so naturally, whose daughter is such a huge part of his life, that it doesn’t even occur to him stop trying even if she literally wants to murder him. That’s Spirit. jfc
To end with a cute little headcanon, I really love to think that when Spirit gets older and starts losing the color in his hair, instead of getting white or grey, his hair turns a pale pink color cuz he’s such an aggressive redhead. Wouldn’t that just be adorable? late 30′s, early 40′s, Spirit starts getting little pink streaks in his hair and then bam. Little pink old man Spirit XD
There ya have it. Thanks for the ask, and feel free to send more.
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