#corrupted baby steven

[corrupted-baby]

Coren dresses as Valerian/Perfect (from: @perfectstevenau)!

I just realized he's kinda T-posing lmao

i'm working on Coren's older refs to start working on either a prologue comic or a "Season 1"

[myrandomsuaus]

Since I saw that Coren ( @corrupted-baby ) is experiencing a reboot I thought I'd make a little art of Coren and Sophie.

This is Sophie babysitting Coren because why not. She's good with kids and a pretty good babysitter. Plus, who wouldn't want to babysit this little cutie. I didn't feel like drawing everything so just drew what I wanted for Sophie lol. Also used a reference for the pose because references are an artists best friend lol.

[suau-raised-by-corrupted-gems]

Isn't it pretty, dewdrop?

Did a little doodle during freetime in class on my IPad. :3

Just Fluffy momster showing her fairly new bab her glowing companion.

[su-homeworldraisedau]

Bonnie, watching Coren and Jasper fight: Are you sure they should be fighting? What if they get hurt?

Steven, not bothered by the chaos: It’s fine. They’re too evenly matched to hurt each other.

Bonnie: Then... who’s the strongest out of you three?

Coren: Papa.

Jasper: Steven.

Steven: Me.

//Coren belongs to @corrupted-baby !

[blueish-bird]

not good at drawing Steven Univers-type designs (yet) but sometimes I think about the concept of Aki and Angel both having gems on their backs — weapon storage for Aki/wings for Angel, vulnerable to betrayal, fighting at each others’ backs, etc — and I’m briefly abnormal about it.

[fanart-for-life-bun]

My vessel, my pain is worth it when i see you smile, and when you're happy, my fears disappear

[ask-corrupted-steven]

Aside from finding and adopting Lil Quartz what is your favorite moment with Lil Quartz when he was a baby?

“…when he started speaking.”

[dragon-steven-forever]

Ohh fun idea. Send me asks about my silly little au. I want to talk about it and im writing chapter 6 but my brain is giving me issues so I need to spill thoughts and ideas out.

[suau-raised-by-corrupted-gems]

AAAAAND finally!

The prologue is through! Took way longer than I anticipated, but it's done!

Now the first arc is actually going to need some scripting, so that might take a while to get out.

College starts on the 18th, so it may go a bit slow [and I apologize in advance for it] but hopefully I can try to get at least a couple parts out before then.

But I need a bit of a break from this for now. Not really a hiatus since I'm still writing out a script (and especially because it was just the prologue) but my wrist hurts a bit and i need to recharge. =w=

Until next time, feral-kin!

First arc [tba]

<- Prev

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

You put a lot small visual elements and details in that I never seem to notice on my first read, and it always makes rereading exciting. What’s a detail from the comic that nobody ever seemed to notice? I’m sure there are things that nobody has mentioned, especially from the early chapters, that you’d want to talk about

Oh man.........that's a great question.

The thing is, there are a lot of details that people don't pick up, but there are definitely eagle-eyed readers that also do! There are also details which most didn't pick up until someone posted about it, and now everyone knows!

There are also details which are actually... yet to be revealed as relevant! That's a secret tool that'll help us later. :)

But most of it is plot relevant decisions I make which make the story more full, but are not necessarily NECESSARY for full enjoyment.

For example, in the very first comic, when Earl approaches Steven....

Her eye isn't white! That was a fully deliberate decision. She didn't actually approach Steven because he wanted her to. That was a decision she made on her own!

Most of the white eye shenanigans in Season 1 were deliberate, albeit not very explicit. I suppose that worked out okay, though. Plus, many people DID catch on!

Also, this part in the Kindergarten comic:

...which people assumed was a power separate from everything, is actually just the first instance of Steven's Command power. The thing is, I hadn't settled into how to portray it at the time, and also - the gem is Corrupted! It doesn't respond to Steven's commands the same way normal gems do. I planned to explore that earlier initially, but in the end, decided to tie it into much later plot.

In Season 1, EP 38, Steven asks Earl to write her name.... and she does! But in gem, not English, because she doesn't know how to write in English.

She designates herself as White Pearl, putting the dash over the top diamond. It was at the time when she was still anxious about making Steven - White Diamond - angry with her.

And to add to the eye thing - during the Season finale of Season 2, when Steven wondered if Earl only came to see him because he forced her to - the comic where she finds him in the water proves otherwise!

Immediately when she grabs him and swims up, her eyes aren't white! She's doing it of her own accord.

Also, in Season 3's opening, when Rose is angry at what she THINKS is White Diamond, she almost has a slip of the tongue when talking about the past.

There's a very pointed reason that panel of Earl is right there next to Rose's cut-off 'My...'

Also, when Rose leaves Steven in the Containment Sphere - the Baby Jail Bubble - she unlocks it to leave, and you can pretty clearly see an interesting detail.

(which Steven, of course, doesn't notice.)

There's also a bit of a narrative tongue in cheek line-up which is accidental on Steven's part but still rings true:

(TVTropes editors caught this one! Hey TVTrope editors!)

Also, this very famous Seaglass foreshadowing:

The first instance of Steven connecting to tech was in the beginning of this season!

When Steven has a bad dream after fusing with Earl and forming Bleached Coral, there's a hidden detail in this reflective text from Nightmare Rose:

(It might be easier to read if you mirror-flip it.)

Another fun thing I enjoyed doing before I got busy with other stuff is gem language! Earl writes Steven notes in it to help him learn, and now signs with her English name,

In the Cluster Experiments comic, if you look at the panels before stuff starts to Happen, you can find a few Experiments hiding in the background. :)

In Amethyst's room, there is a Japanese stopsign and a d20 in the background.

In episode 25 of season 4, Steven is playing Moonlight Sonata!

In episode 33, the ship Steven connects to displays a bisection of the earth which showcases its lumpy core! Or rather, the megastructures that are hidden deep inside the mantle.

It also showcases a few geothermal coring sites made during the colonization.

And by the way, the drill Pearl built was actually a repurposed ship hull which was used for the Space Race ship in the original show!

And man there are actually... many more! But I had to skip over them because they are alluding to things which have not yet been explicitly revealed! :D

But even with this, I'm sure there are other ones I'm missing. If you think you have one that should be listed - throw it on a reblog or in the comments!

[delicatebarness]

good graces: a cry baby story | chapter two

Summary: Steve has a rat problem.

Warning: Threats of Violence. Physical Intimidation and Rough Handling. Coercion and Psychological Intimidation. Aggressive and Menacing Behavior. Corruption and Betrayal. General Threatening and Menacing Language, Steve is a meanie.

Word Count: 2030

Spotify Playlist | Support: Ko-FI

Series Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

A/N: I would just like to thank my angel, @lanabuckybarnes for helping so so so much with this story and this chapter, saved my sanity and life with this one. - Please feel free to leave feedback or let me know where and how you want the story to continue, this is just as much yours as mine. - B

Cry Baby: @buckys0whore | @thezombieprostitute | @lanabuckybarnes | @mishkatelwarriorgoddess | @softieekayy | @noonespecial90 | @hello-therree | @randomawesomeperson102 | @whoreforbarnes | @thejutvtsupport | @somnorvos | @cjand10 | @plasticbottleholder | @birdenthusiastez | @am-3-thyst

Everything: @hallecarey1 | @pattiemac1 | @uhmellamoanna | @scraftsku35 | @ozwriterchick | @sapphirebarnes | @rach2602 | @thetorturedbuckydepartment | @mrsnikstan

Closing the door behind you, your heart pounded but you managed to keep your face from betraying the tension you felt. “That’s right,” you replied, keeping your voice even. “And you must be Steven Grant Rogers. Can I help you with something?” 

Slowly, he stood up, his movements deliberate as if he had all the time in the world. “Just wanted to meet the new person poking around in my business,” he stated, his tone deceptively casual. “I hope you’re smart enough to follow Fury’s lead, we had an understanding, you see.” 

You refused to be cowed by his presence as you met his gaze. “I’m here to do my job,” you said, your tone firm. “I’m sure you understand.” 

Taking a step closer, the space between you shrinking to an uncomfortable proximity, his smirk widened. “Let me give you a piece of advice,” he said, his voice dropping to a low, threatening whisper. “Stay out of my way. We don’t want any trouble, do we?” 

You felt the intensity of his gaze and the unspoken menace in his words. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” you said, never breaking eye contact. “But, Mr Rogers, I will not compromise my duty.” 

He let out a soft chuckle, however it held no warmth. “Duty,” he repeated with a mocking tone. “Just remember, Doll, duty doesn’t protect you from consequences.” He turned, walking towards the door as he continued. “You don’t want to make an enemy out of me, Officer. Trust me on that.” 

As he reached the door, he paused again, his hand resting on the doorknob. “Oh, and one more thing,” he said, a colder edge carried in his voice. His eyes narrowed as he turned back to face you. “I heard you visited the art gallery the other day.” 

Stiffening, you tried to maintain your composure. “Just appreciating some local art,” you replied, your tone measured. 

Steve’s expression darkened, and he took a step closer, his presence loomed over you. “My sister doesn’t need your kind of attention,” he spoke, low and menacing. “She’s got nothing to do with this, and I’d hate for her to get caught up in something that’s not her business.” 

You held his gaze, refusing to show any sign of intimidation. “I was just making conversation,” you said evenly. “She’s a talented artist, her work is impressive.” 

His lips curled into a mirthless smile. “You see, I don’t think that’s all you were doing. So, let me make this perfectly clear: stay the fuck away from her. If I hear the slightest whisper that you've been around her again, it won't end well for you. I will make your life a living hell. Do you understand me? You'll regret ever setting foot in my city."

His words and their intensity sent a chill down your spine, but yet you didn’t flinch. “I understand,” you said with a steady voice. “But know this: I’m not here to play games. I’m here to do my job, and nothing will stop me from doing that.” 

A hard, cold look replaced Steve’s smile as it vanished. He was so close now that you could see the muscles in his jaw tense, and you could hear the barely controlled rage in his breathing. “We’ll see about that,” he retorted, a final, chilling warning. Abruptly, he turned and walked out of your office, slamming the door shut behind him with a force that made the walls tremble. 

~

The pieces of the puzzle slowly began to come together over the next few days, you worked tirelessly with Hill. The pair of you poring over records and conducting discreet interviews. A web of corruption and loyalty, stretching deep into the precinct began to reveal itself. 

Approaching you with a file in hand, Hill called you before you left the station. “I think I’ve found something,” she said, her voice urgent. “One of Fury’s old contacts– an informant who might be willing to talk.”

“Who is it?” you asked, taking the file from her.

“His name is Clint Barton. He used to run with the Avengers but fell out with them a few years back. He might have valuable information.” 

You noted Barton’s last known address as you glanced through the file. “Let’s pay him a visit.” 

Later that evening, you and Hill arrived at a rundown apartment building on the outskirts of the city. The smell of decay and neglect was thick in the air. You felt a growing sense of unease as you climbed the creaky stairs to Barton’s apartment. 

Hill knocked on the door, and after a moment, it creaked open to reveal a disheveled man with sharp, wary eyes and tattoos covering his skin. “What do you want?” he asked, his voice rough. 

“We’re not here to cause any trouble,” Hill said quickly, flashing her badge toward him. “We just want to talk.” 

He eyes you both suspiciously before stepping aside. “Fine. Come in.” 

The apartment was small and cluttered, he motioned for you to sit as he closed the door behind you. “So, what do you want to talk about?” 

“We’re looking to the Avengers,” you said, meeting his gaze. “We know you used to be close to them. We need information, anything that can help us bring them down.” 

A bitter laugh escaped Barton’s lips. “You’re barking up the wrong tree. These guys are untouchable.” 

“They’re not untouchable,” Hill interrupted. “We know about the corruption and the bribes. We just need proof.” 

Leaning back in his chair, Barton’s eyes hardened. “And, you think I’m going to help you? You think I’d betray my friends?” 

“They abandoned you,” you said, testing the appeal to his sense of betrayal. “They left you out in the cold.” 

Barton’s expression darkened. “You don’t know a damn thing about what happened,” he snapped. “Yeah, I had a falling out with them, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to turn my back on them. We were a family. You don’t just walk away from that.” 

Glancing at you, Hill’s expression was one of frustration and determination. “Clint, we’re offering you a way out. A chance to start fresh. Help us, and we can protect you.” 

Shaking his head, a bitter smile played on his lips. “You’re wasting your time. I don’t need your protection. If anything, I should be calling Rogers right now to let him know you’re sniffing around.” 

You knew he wasn’t baffling, the weight of the threat hung in the air. Standing up, you tried one last time. “Think about it, Clint. They’re going down, one way or another. You can either be on the right side of this, or you can drown with them.” 

Anger flashed in his eyes. “Get out,” he said coldly. “And don’t come back.” 

Hill sighed as she made her way over to you. “We’ll be seeing you, Clint. One way or another.” 

The door slammed shut behind you. Barton’s loyalty to the Avengers was unshakeable, however, you couldn’t let that deter you. There had to be another way.

~

Tony Stark made his way to Steve's tattoo studio. The place had its usual buzz and hum of tattoo machines filling the air. As he walked in, he caught Steve’s eye as he tattooed a design onto a young woman’s ribcage.

Not looking up immediately, Steve stayed focused on the intricate details of his work. “What brings you in, Stark?” 

The mechanic smirked, his tone light but it carried an underlying seriousness. “I hear you have a rat problem.” 

Sighing, Steve glanced up, his eyes narrowing toward the young woman. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t mean here.” Turning his attention back to the tattoo, he finished up the last line before wiping down the area. He wrapped it up with practiced efficiency as the girl began to protest. 

Leaning against the counter, Tony’s gaze shifted to the woman lying across the chair. His smirk widened as he eyed her. 

“Hey, I booked a whole day! This isn’t done, yet!” 

“I’ll give you a discount if you come back tomorrow,” Steve replied, his tone leaving zero room for argument. The young woman scowled, yet she didn’t push further. She along with many knew better than to argue with Steve Rogers in this mood. Gathering her things, she shot a curious glance at Tony on her way out. 

Cleaning his station meticulously, his movements as deliberate as ever, Steve finally turned to Tony. The expression etched into his face was dark. “Alright, Stark, what’s this about a rat problem?”

Tony’s smirk faded slightly, and his demeanor switched again, back to serious. “Barton stopped by the garage,” he said, his voice low. “Mentioned questions being asked about you and the Avengers. Cops, to be specific.” 

Steve’s frustration was evident as he muttered under his breath. “That fucking dumb little bitch.” 

Tony’s expression grew more somber. “He didn’t spill anything, but we need to handle this before it gets out of hand.” 

With a clenched jaw, the tension in Steve’s body was palpable. “I’ll deal with it,” he said with a tone of finality.

Tony trusted Steve’s capability, but he was still uneasy about the situation. “Just make sure it’s clean, Rogers. We don’t need any more attention than we’re already getting.” 

“Hey, Stark. I’ve got this, trust me.” Steve replied, his voice low and deadly serious. 

With a final nod, Tony left, the door closing behind him with a soft clock. Standing there for a moment, Steve knew he needed to act fast and decisively. You were getting too close, too quick, and he wouldn’t allow you to jeopardize everything he had built. 

~

Your mind was preoccupied as you walked home from the station. A tangled web of information you and Hill had been piecing together, flooded your thoughts. Not hearing the initial roar of the motorcycle until it was almost upon you. The sound shattered the quiet night, and you barely had any time to react before the bike swerved onto the sidewalk, coming to a screeching halt in front of you. 

Dismounting the motorcycle with a fluid grace that belied the menace in his eyes, Steve stalked toward you. His towering presence cast a long shadow. “I thought I made myself clear,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. 

Standing your ground, you ignore the pounding of your heart against your chest. “You did,” you replied, your voice staying steady. 

“So, what part of your dumb little doll brain didn’t get it, huh?” he sneered, bending down, his face only inches away from yours. 

“You told me to stay away from your sister,” you said, meeting his gaze. “So… I stayed away from your sister.” 

A mixture of anger and grudging respect flickered in his eyes. You had followed his warning, but he knew you were still digging into his affairs. “You’re a conniving little bitch, you know that? Sniffing around my business like a little rat.” 

Lifting your chin defiantly, you challenged him. “Do I look like a rat to you, Rogers?” You refused to show fear as your heart hammered in your chest. 

Reaching out, his rough, calloused hand brushed a strand of hair behind your ear. His touch was almost tender. Then suddenly, his fingers tightened around your jaw, pulling you up onto your toes. “No, you’re not a rat,” he whispered, his breath hot against your face. “More like a little mouse, a terrified little mouse. I’ll warn you once more, Detective– stay out of my fucking business.” 

You struggled to breathe, his grip painfully tight against you. “I’m here to do my job,” you said through gritted teeth. “And, I won’t be intimidated by you.” 

Letting go of your jaw with a shove, you stumbled back as his eyes darkened. “We’ll see about that,” he said coldly, turning back toward his motorcycle. Before mounting it again, he paused, looking over his shoulder slightly. “Keep pushing me, and you’ll regret it. I promise you that.” 

He started the engine, and the roar of the motorcycle echoed in the night as he sped away. You stood trembling in the same spot he left you in, yet you were resolute and weren’t backing down.

---

Series Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

[corrupted-baby]

Coren dresses as Vonvon from @artsycooky13's Dad Gem AU!

Plus with a little bonus of Vonvon dressed as Coren :D

I think they would be friends; just causing chaos lol

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

PROPAGANDA

Rose Quartz Propaganda

"We saw her character arc in reverse!! We first saw all the good she did and then learned of her terrible actions in the past. If her story was told the other way around, it would have been a great redemption arc. Yes, she did some terrible things, but she had no choice. She did everything she could to stop the colonization of earth peacefully buy nothing worked. Blue and yellow diamond just didn't listen to her and when they did, THEY were the ones who made the zoo and shit. Rose wanted to free them but couldn't get to them after the war! And with the corruption, there's no way she could have known that'd happen. There's so many things she wanted to do but just couldn't. And with spinel, yes it was shitty to leave her alone for so long, but again, between running her court, running the rebellion, dealing with earth, she likely wasn't a very high priority and like with the zoo, there was no way to get to her after the war since the galaxy warp was destroyed. And don't forget, she was practically a child around this time. You're saying you didn't do any stupid, selfish, or harmful things as a kid? She learned from her experiences and grew, we just saw that growth in reverse, leaving us as viewers with a poor perception of her."

"Rose Quartz is Steven Universe’s dead mom. Initially, she’s set up as sort of an ethereal perfect figure who everyone misses and compares him to. Later we get to see more of her backstory and discover that she’s actually like, a person, with flaws, who has done some bad things, but she did those bad things largely in the course of trying to escape an abusive home life and save the people and planet that she fell in love with. It’s very clear that despite her flaws she was trying to do the right thing and that she deeply cared about others. Unfortunately, a woman who was not a Perfect Martyr was way too much for the Steven Universe fandom to handle. She pretty much set off the wave of SU crit blogs because these people were furious either that she had taken violent measures to solve her problems, that she hadn’t taken violent enough measures to solve her problems, or both somehow. Lots of “Why didn’t she just murder her abusive parental figures?” Lots of “She was evil for having a baby even though she knew she’d die in childbirth!” Lots of “She should’ve been able to protect everyone from a magic nuclear weapon with the power of love somehow.” Lots of “She shouldn’t have rebelled (even though not rebelling would’ve meant the destruction of Earth) because her abusers retaliated and that’s her fault.” LOTS of people drawing her as stick thin even though she was fat in the show. People treated her like she was on the same level or even worse than her abusive parental figures who were also the main villains of the show. It was unbearable to witness."

Mahiru Propaganda

"They got unfairly voted guilty in the first round and keeps getting blamed She never meant to hurt anyone and the only reason she did was cause she couldn’t read social ques"

"Mahiru Shiina is the most traditionally feminine character in Milgram, and she’s very in love with the idea of love. That makes her an easy fandom target. In Milgram, we are introduced to ten murderers. It quickly becomes apparent that not all of these murders are conventional. By the time we are introduced to Mahiru, we already know most of these unconventional murderers. Mahiru’s first music video depicts her going on various dates with her boyfriend, even though he is not shown in the frame. At the end of the video, Mahiru wakes up, turns to the camera, and has a horrified expression. Whatever happened, she didn’t want it to happen. And then a lot of the fandom accused her of being a stalker. Was that what got her a 55% guilty/unforgiven vote? I don’t know. I wasn’t there. But she heard what the fandom said. She heard these voices saying she couldn’t be forgiven. Saying that she was a stalker or that she didn’t really love her boyfriend, even though that wasn’t true. She was beaten to near-death by Kotoko, a vigilante who was forgiven by 67%. Fuuta, who also sustained serious injuries from Kotoko, calls out the audience surrogate, saying what we did with our verdicts would have made us the same as him if Mahiru had died. And yet Mahiru doesn’t blame either us or Kotoko. Mahiru’s second music video shows that she was indeed in a proper relationship with her boyfriend. She smothered him with her love. The video slowly revealed the toxicity in their relationship. She asked why she can’t do anything right. The fandom perception was better in that she was safely voted innocent/forgiven. Still, there are issues. Some infantilize her or say that she’s delusional. Yes, she had a sheltered upbringing and has difficulties reading social cues, but that doesn’t take away her agency. On the flip side, some have theorized that she kidnapped her boyfriend and wasn’t in a proper relationship with him. (Not sure what to say about that, but this is a series about sympathetic murderers.)"

[suau-raised-by-corrupted-gems]

Saw this meme and decided that it fits well.

Yeah, Lil Quartz grows to be heckin' big due to submitting and adapting more to his "feral genes" (if that makes sense) and as a result, he's towered over his mama by age 16.

Here's a pic without the pesky text

[su-homeworldraisedau]

// I miss @steven-audventures sometimes 😔 (Yes, that’s Pink holding little Coren’s hand! Unfortunately I cannot show that design for him yet tho)

[bonefall]

Looking for advice since you're great with stuff like this: I'm struggling with how to have a character fundamentally change. A character in my cat story loses his memory and ends up working with the main characters to stop his own plan he made to destroy the world (and after the plan is stopped, he regains his memories). I want his time in the Starless to change him, make him less obsessed with power, but I'm really starting to struggle with whether or not that makes sense and how to work that.

Hmm.. well, first bit of advice I always give is that characters are not people. They are writing tools. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be "realistic" or that connecting to the human traits in the audience isn't important.

It means that a character exists to tell a story.

By "tool" I mean "machine." Every trait is a piston, and ideally they work together to drive your story along. What are you saying with each trait? What is your beginning point for the story, and their end? What do you want to explore? What do you want the audience to take away?

So if you feel stuck on a character, find the larger message you want to impart with them. The job they're doing in your narrative.

What do you want to say about power?

What do you want to say about why Character X wanted to destroy the world? Why was he wrong? What feelings and information lead him to that conclusion?

What is his redemption arc doing for your themes?

Every writer answers those questions differently. For example, I feel strongly that power doesn't corrupt, it reveals. When you finally have the influence to make others do what you want, you make them do it. I don't see "power" as being like... a magic, abstract thing, it's influence over other people, and those people are ALSO individuals with their own reasons for following the leader.

Digressing; what I'm getting at is that, as a writer, I have a lot of thoughts on power itself. I got this way with a lot of reading and interest on the topic. You might find it insightful to experience more art, essays, and commentary on the subject, if you ever get stuck, and develop an opinion you feel strongly about.

Not just about power, as broad writing advice.

Anyway.

If I was writing the character, these are the things I'd be thinking about specifically and changes I'd be making on personal taste. I don't know your full story enough so, hopefully it's insightful;

First of all I'm always SUPER wary of the "correct but demonized radical" trope. Does my villain have a point?

Am i just giving them a Kick-a-Baby scene to make them wrong when they should be completely right otherwise

What are my themes and tone? This is VERY important. Steven Universe is about family and emotions with low stakes violence; the Diamonds are essentially abusive grandparents that Steven is coaching through intergenerational trauma. They fit the universe they're in. Jack Horner does not belong in SU.

So I'd look at Character X's purpose.

Knowing me, I'd actually take out full amnesia entirely. I have memory problems related to trauma so I'm a lot more familiar with major, important details blotting out RIGHT when I need them. Enough that I can put myself in the shoes of someone like BB!Fallenleaf who remembers a lot but the details are fuzzy.

So personally I think I could write this villan to be VERY funny lmao

"Hello. I am Gnagnathor the Destroyer."

"No you're not. He has three horns. You have two."

(DID I USED TO HAVE THREE HORNS?????)

I also just find it more resonant when a character still remembers what they did, why they did it, and is able to refute themselves with their own growth.

To me like... when a character remembers NOTHING to the point where they're not informed by their actions or history at all, how are they really still the same person?

in general though I find total amnesia uninteresting. I wish it was less popular.

What did Gnagnathor DO with his power? What did he WANT from it?

The simplest version of this I know is "Gnag was hurting and wanted everyone else to hurt too. Now that he has a happy place, he doesn't want that."

TO BE CLEAR THATS FINE. That's a REALLY common power fantasy and it's not automatically a bad story. It's popular for a reason.

Personally I feel strongly about the idea, though, that people with power don't change unless they lose it. There's no reason to.

People don't change until you break the environment that contributes to the behavior.

Especially with victims unfortunately-- the ugly truth is that a lot of problematic behaviors exist because they protected the victim from their abuser's actions. You need safety to really start to unpack that.

You can personally identify it and address it as much as you want, when your abuser starts to use That Tone you will still seize up. Just try to yank yourself back into your head when you're disassociating during a screaming session; your reward is raw distress.

That said, not all villains HAVE to have tragic motivators like that, or be ex-victims at all. Leveraging power to get what you want can be as ugly as just being taught the people you're hurting are subhuman.

Or making up justifications for why This Is a Good Thing Actually.

Some people will lash out violently when these justifications fall apart, because accepting it would mean they're Being Bad

Most people have an innate desire to Be Good. Like... the vast, vast majority of people. Some sense of morality is observable in all intelligent social animals; dolphins, chimps, elephants.

Tangentially, if you understand that people don't WANT to be bad and that the natural response to a scolding is defensiveness, you understand that convincing people of something is a LOT easier when you approach with kindness.

AND IN TURN: be wary of those who are flattering while trying to convince you of something. This is Manipulation 101.

So back to Gnagnathor

Do I want to talk about environment and how it changes him to be away from power? How traits that previously earned him wealth or influence are suddenly incredibly taboo, so he can't use them here?

On that-- HOW did he get his power in the first place? Re: I'm very wary of the "correct but demonized radical" trope.

Were his minions following him because they have serious issues and he exploited their desperation? .....are you centering the experience of the poor, sad abuser over his victims

Or are they ALL united over something important and legitimate? With the redemption of their villainous leader, how are you planning for that to frame all of their former followers?

(This is why redeeming minions is usually a lot more productive than doing it to the leader, imo. Redeeming Zuko means you can explore the familial legacy, the indoctrination of the Fire Nation's children, their justifications, the way systems make monsters out of people. Redeeming The Firelord would probably have caused Azula, one of his victims, to pick up his slack and now, suddenly, you have a VERY uncomfortable situation where Ozai is thrashing one of his abused children but Good This Time.)

(Not to mention that, again... why would he do this. He has power. He's doing what he wants and is used to this situation. It would be a numbskulled narrative choice.)

Aaaand that's about all I can say without essentially being a cowriter or editor. It's on you to figure out what you're trying to do and say here. I'm a good writer on this subject because I think about it a lot, which has lead to my strong opinions and point of view. Your art is a reflection of you.