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cookieblobber · 1 year ago

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The Defense of Steven Universe’s (OG Show) Ending

(This is basically a post where I put everything I said in a large Twitter thread so it’s more easily readable, with maybe a few changes and additions.

Spoilers BTW)

So I’ve been drawing a lot of stuff lately and in doing so, I’ve been rewatching a lot of old shows I used to watch and finishing whatever I missed out on. Steven Universe was an interesting one, as I recall having some form of obsession with it as a kid on Google+, however I barely remembered watching a lot of it or if I even watched it on TV or on websites like Kisscartoon. And after doing so,

I barely see the hate for it that it’s gotten for years.

It has its flaws, and issues that have plagued the show outside of what’s within it, but it’s no doubt memorable with a great cast of characters and very unique and fascinating lore and story telling. Now, I don’t wanna really get into a whole deep dive review on the whole show, as even though I’ve made a couple of essays lately (mainly on Sonic the Hedgehog), I don’t think I’m that experienced to go over an entire 5 seasons explaining each and every episode’s strengths and weaknesses and allat (though maybe I might discuss the amazing character development of each crystal gem in the future, who knows?), rather I want to discuss something that is partially why I started watching this show again: The Ending - Change Your Mind (S5E29).

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Now, the ending is understandably mixed, I understand the critiques of it being weird and anticlimactic and all and how it doesn’t feel like the diamonds’ actions on gem history was fully acknowledged and been punished for it. I completely get the criticism here and I don’t want to drive away people from making actual critiques on the show and where it could’ve improved upon.

What I mainly want to focus on is the notion that the ending can be summed up to, “Steven forgave Gem Hitler”

That is very incorrect.

See, the whole reason why White Diamond (the “Gem Hitler”) was involved with the story was because after Steven was able to prove to Blue and Yellow Diamond that he’s Pink Diamond, he takes the opportunity to use their stronger powers to restore one of the corrupted gems (Centipede). This works…for a moment, as they’re only restored once all 3 put their healing powers to use, but upon letting go of the gem, they reform back into their corrupted version. With Steven technically being part of the Diamond Authroity, he thinks maybe he can take advantage of his position to be able to speak to White Diamond, the highest gem in the patriarchy, and convince her to come to Earth to help the corrupted gems.

Throughout these last episodes, it’s clear this is all for a demand to help gems that were stuck on Earth. While Steven wanted to just try and talk to White, and convinced Blue and Yellow to express how they feel about how White has handled their civilization, there’s never a point where he’s all like “look inside your heart, please you have so much good in you I can feel it” or whatever. Considering how he had to fuse with the Crystal Gems and team up with others who showed up to be able to fight her mech and barely reach to the top of it to meet her, this whole plan wasn’t really as pacifist as many have made it out to be.

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Sorry to stray off a little but, funny thing is, as much as people make fun of Steven Universe for being a show where characters just talk their feelings out and suddenly everything is good, they acknowledge in one of the episodes that not every gem has this deep trauma or pain they try to hold in.

In the episode, “Stuck Together” he and Lars get caught by Aquamarine and Topaz, they both open up to each other about how no matter what happens, they got each other. This leads Topaz who throughout her introduction has been mute and serious and who has them held hostage, to start crying and vent about how much emotional pain she’s been holding in so much because it’s her job. When Aquamarine finds out she’s trying to help them escape, they desperately start trying to convince her that she’s allowed to open up about whatever she feels, that they’re here to listen and talk.

This is was her reaction.

And I have yet to watch Future right now, but from what I’m reading, even after a lot has changed since the original show and tons of gems live peacefully with Beach City, she shows up again to get her revenge.

At no point is she ever redeemed in any way.

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Anyways, the only reason why Steven was able to convince White to do something to corrupted gems on Earth was because he bested her and she couldn’t do anything about it.

Her whole ordeal was how she wants to have this flawless world where nothing goes out of line, even if it means having to mind control them so they act just like her. She views herself as being the perfect gem of all time who knows what’s best for everyone. However, due to how she’s acted with Steven, being an adult gem constantly picking on a literal child because she refuses to accept he’s not Pink Diamond or is part human; how it’s all just a disguise and Pink Diamond is just lying to herself, she’s embarrassed and realizes she indeed does have a flaw. She’s shaken up with guilt over how petty and childish she’s been acting, being exactly what she’s been criticizing Pink Diamond, to the point where she questions who she is. If she’s not this flawless perfect gem who knows what’s best, then what is she? What should she be since throughout her whole life she’s been obsessed with perfection? She can’t be leader of a whole gem civilization trying to make everyone flawless if she herself is flawed. What further solidified it was how she was unable to control Pink Steven no matter how much she tried, and once she started blushing and feeling embarrassed, she lost control on the other gems she had brainwashed. Blue and Yellow even react in disgust/fear seeing her become “off-color” due to her blush, basically for a moment them losing respect for her.

Steven goes up to her and tries to tell her to just, let people be who they are, without trying to “fix” them, and maybe she can be whoever she wants to be. White is still in distraught, wanting to be someone who knows better, be better, and wanting to make everything better, which Steven offers her a way to do so (which is coming to Earth to help the corrupted gems), but first needing to leave your own head - literally and figuratively.

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At no point throughout the ending is White crying about trauma or begging for forgiveness to Steven and having him go “it’s ok we all make mistakes 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰”, all that happens is Steven sees her essentially having an identity crisis now that she cracked and realized she isn’t as perfect as she thought she was, and being the good natured kid he is, offers to show her how she can be a better person, taking the opportunity to make her do what he set out to demand from her. To say they should’ve shattered her would’ve defeated the whole point as to why Steven even went back to Homeworld to begin with, cuz he needed White’s help. Plus, still haven’t watched Future but,

There is a scene where Steven actually attempts to SHATTER White Diamond upon taking control of her body for everything she has done to him, he CLEARLY doesn’t find her to be in the clear of everything she’s done.

TL;DR They can’t just shatter her cuz she’s the big bad villain, the whole point of the final episodes was Steven needing her in order to restore all the corrupted gems they’ve saved throughout the show. No matter what it took, he was going to find a way to do it. While I do agree that there could’ve been better acknowledgment on everything that she’s done to Homeworld and all, same goes for Blue and Yellow, as they’re immediately relegated to out of touch aunts, to make the massive stretch that this is supposed to be Steven forgiving Hitler or proof that Rebecca Sugar (a Jewish person) is a Nazi apologist…come on bro.

EDIT: I really recommend btw watching this video I recently just viewed discussing the show’s ending and really diving in about the topic of Steven’s identity and White’s identity. It’s informative summarizing a lot of what’s been hinted at and led up to the final episode and goes over stuff I could never even attempt to bring to light with how amateurish I am at this sorta junk 💀

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And even if with everything being said, you still believe in the notion that “Steven forgave Gen Hitler” or whatever, I’m about to bring up an argument so earth shattering that it will make you re-evaluate everything you know about the show. So, here it goes:

IT’S A FUCKING PG CARTOON SHOW

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Listen, I know it’s very cliche to use the, “it’s a kids show it’s not that deep!!” argument or whatever idiots say to avoid people from discussing further about their favorite things, especially in an era where many are pushing the “Animation is Cinema” phrase and proving its not just kiddie shit only babies like, but what I mean is

At what point is it crossing the line when making comparisons from a thing in fiction to something in real life?

What makes a great story is how it’s able to draw connections to realistic issues or problems many face with unique metaphors and analogies and all of that, Steven Universe is no different. However, at what point are the metaphors or references to real life supposed to stop? At what point does it become stretching really hard? I can understand how people have had ideas that “fusion is a metaphor for sex” or whatever to some degree.

But going as far as to compare this obviously over the top dictator to the world’s worst man to have ever lived on planet earth who is responsible for the death of millions just because he so happens to also be a dictator, doesn’t that seem so…psychotic to even try to relate when it’s obvious that was never the intention? I mean look at this whole world of the show, it’s a futuristic jewelry space civilization filled with advanced technology and bright colors, how do you look at all of this and first thing that comes to mind is Nazi Germany? How do you look at a giant voluptuous white woman who’s existed for millenniums and think “yea that’s Hitler right there”, all because she’s simply a textbook definition of a dictator?

Trying to make her whole country this flawless world where no one goes out of line and disallows any form of diversity? Like any typical villain? Is that really all it takes to be considered as “animated Hitler”?

Does that mean the abandoned flawed gems in the abandoned Kindergarten that Steven and Lars met at the very bottom of Homeworld are supposed to be a reference to Anne Frank’s family hiding from nazis? One would say that’s a massive stretch to make and they’d be right, cuz it is…just like what people say about White Diamond.

These kinds of massive stretches and comparisons have been made in the past constantly, and for what? To gang up on a show that just wanted to teach kids the values of showing love and positivity, being there for your friends and families and trying to accept people’s flaws or differences in how they live? To make excuses to be blatantly anti-semetic towards the Jewish person who created this show? All because over shit like the fanbase was infamous at one point for how they treated each other and the show producers or because the ending wasn’t how many wanted it to be or how it debatably pushes the idea of positivity way too much in places where it shouldn’t try to?

At what point do people who criticize this show for it’s apparent farfetched ideologies of being kind to everyone, start sounding farfetched themselves for making these insane leaps in logic to make a blatantly slanderous argument and label on the show? If something like “White Diamond is supposed to be Gem Hitler” is something many easily gave into believing, what kind of fucked up comparisons would people make next about the entirety of Homeworld or gems as a species till these start to sound like psychotic conspiracy theories?

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Steven Universe is no doubt a flawed show, I won’t deny that, will never deny that. As much as I defend the ending and go against how people have slandered the show, I can admit stuff could’ve been done better. However, like I’ve said at the beginning, I fail to see how all the hate the show’s gotten for years has ever been deserved or warrented. It’s clear that even with its flaws in storytelling, pacing, (sometimes animation), there is still so much to love about this show. It’s characters, it’s music, it’s themes, it’s lore, etc. There’s good reason as to why people love and still fondly remember it and consider it to be just as important as the other shows that brought in this renaissance era for Cartoon Network (Gumball, Regular Show, and Adventure Time).

After all, just like what the ending taught people, things aren’t always going to be perfect, and that’s ok. Flaws make things what they are, and unless said flaws actively have negative effects on things, there’s no reason to fight against them so excruciatingly. We may strive hard for perfection and flawlessness, to be considered perfect or for a thing we like to be considered perfect, but at some point, trying to do so much just to achieve said perfection will down the road start to become an issue and affect ourselves and the ones around us, the ones we love.

When you think about it, a lot of what has happened within the fanbase and the critics of the show mimic similar attitude to White Diamond. This want for perfection, for nothing to be going out of line, but all it’s done is damage the show’s reputation to many.

Fans on here long ago harassing an artist for the way they drew one of the characters of the show as she wasn’t in this “perfect” body shape they wanted her in. Or harassing producers of the show for how they’d handle things like (iirc) Lapis and Peridot’s “relationship” because it didn’t match their “perfect” connection between the two, and more.

On the other side, critics like the infamous Lily Orchard blasting the show for not being this “perfectly” told story and going out of her way to make these insane comparisons to have some leverage in this giant attack on the show and what it stands for.

These wild and out of pocket attempts to make everything perfect for the show, and what has it done? It heavily soured how people view the show, making people want to stay away from getting into it as from the POV of the outside looking in, it’s a whole rabbit hole they probably shouldn’t get into…for their sake of their mental health. This mindset to be caught up in selfish outlandish views of what’s deemed as being perfect has only made things worse for everyone on every side of discussion on this show. And while as of lately things seem to be recovering, as more people are giving the show a second chance and realizing how messed up people like Lily Orchard were, still the effects of what happened back in the mid-late 2010s are noticeable in some areas.

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If it gets to a point where we’re fighting a flaw that barely affects anyone, is it really a flaw that is that important or even a flaw at all to begin with? We can strive to be better people and learn from mistakes, but a perfect person who can do no wrong is just impossible.

Flaws are what help make everything feel unique in it’s own right. That’s not to say some flaws can’t be acknowledged and called out, but as for flaws that sum up to “someone/something is different from what I expected”, it seems over the top to go so hard to fight against it, as we’d be fighting against having diversity among each and every one of us.

If every pork-chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hot dogs.

#steven universe #white diamond #change your mind #Cartoon Network #god I’m really tired rn 😭#I want Blue Diamond to sit on me #Youtube

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picturejasper20 · 1 year ago

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My Steven Universe criticisms

Hello, Steven Universe fans/mutuals! Today i’m making a post bringing up some issues i have with Steven Universe series in general that i have noticed while watching the show. Much like any fan any of the show, we all have some things we don’t like about it and think they could have been executed in a better way. A thing that is common to see in any other fandom. Probably some of you may agree with these criticisms or have seen it somewhere else before. Others points may be less common.

I’m going to cover both the original series (Steven Universe) and Steven Universe Future in this post. So you have an overall idea of what you are going to read.

Let’s start:

1) Some episodes from the show would have been better if they were longer/were specials

This is a point i have rarely seen fans and people outside the fandom bring up. There are some episodes from the show that are very lore heavy or important for the characters that would have worked better if they have lasted 13-15 minutes or were half hour specials instead of the typical 11 minutes.

One example i can think of is the episode ¨Now We’re Only Falling Apart¨. The episode itself is pretty good but i think it is something that could have worked better if it was a 22 special instead of only being 11 minutes long. This is supposed to be an episode that explains tons of things that are crucial for the show, such as Pearl and Rose’s backstories, what made Pink decide to ¨become¨ Rose Quartz, what inspired the rebellion, etc. You would expect for an episode like this to be longer but sadly it was limited in time much like other episodes.

Another example other of this is ¨Alone at the Sea¨. This episode could have worked better if Lapis and Jasper had a longer conversation about their toxic relationship when they were Malachite and thus addressing in more depth in what they both failed at and what they did wrong (even if Jasper didn’t realize it yet by that point). Since it was a very important episode for both characters, i feel like it could have lasted 13-15 minutes to explore their past toxic relationship better instead of making their scene rather rushed and confusing for the audience.

I think that this issue explains general pacing problems and some things not getting a deeper explanation oustide of a quick scene. It is what causes other problems in the show, because most episodes had to be 11 minutes long. With longer episodes, there are things that could have been explored better and given a better conclusion overall.

2) Lapis Lazuli’s character arc is rather messy

I really love Lapis Lazuli as a character and how she overcomes her trauma over the course of the show. She is an interesting morally grey character with multiple sides to her. I like how she isn’t exactly a ¨bad¨ person but she isn’t exactly ¨good¨ neither.

However, i have two issues is how her arc is handled in the series:

Firstly, she doesn’t seem to have an arc built the same way other main/recurrent characters do, as in the sense of ¨mini arcs¨ that explore and evolve an specific character from the show. Peridot has her ¨mini arc¨ in Season 2 with around 8-9 episodes. Amethyst has hers in Season 3 while Jasper is a main antagonist. Garnet has one near the end of Season 5 about how she feels about herself and looking up to Rose Quartz. Lapis, on the other hand, has three episodes at the start of Season 3 ( Same Old World, Barn Mates and Hit the Diamond) but after that she seems to have her own episode every 7-10 episodes. It’s a bit weird how it is paced out in the rest of the series. I think her arc needed to have few more episodes or more screen time for her flaws and issues to get better addressed. For example: There is a comic issue about Lapis being constanly scared of what could happen in the future, which is related to her trauma. She later has a talk with Garnet that helps her with calming down. This is something that could have been an episode for the show.

The second issue that i have with her arc, which ties a bit with the first problem, is how often Lapis Lazuli’s toxic traits were given a ¨pass¨ unlike other characters from the show. It feels like she didn’t always had to face the consequences of her actions and/or weren’t properly brought up, which kinda felt like she was given special treatment by the narrative. I think this in part comes from how Lapis was usually seen from Steven’s perspective and him having a certain bias. Steven buried his feelings when it came to bringing up her flaws and struggled being honest with her. Peridot took Steven’s example, explaning why she struggled with being honest with Lapis Lazuli too, leading to having an unbalanced-rather codependent relationship with her.

This problem seemed to have been fixed a bit in SU Future in ¨Why So Blue?¨, where Steven is less biased towards Lapis and is better at bringing her issues up. He seems to be more firm to her while being proud of her making an effort to change at the same time. This episode in general is pretty good for Lapis because it gives a more realistic take on her character, in how she can be nice but she has tons of issues she has to work in, she still can lash out to others and lose control.

I believe that SU Future could have had an episode involving Lapis and Jasper having a conversation about their relationship and both talking about went wrong to give a better conclusion to their conflict. While maybe Jasper still didn’t realize how toxic it was, Lapis could have given her thoughts on it looking back at how bad that was and maybe offering Jasper help if she needed something.

Speaking about Jasper...

3) Jasper didn’t get proper exploration to her issues

This is something that many Jasper fans out there have talked about. About how Jasper needed more screen time and how we didn’t get to see her issues explored properly in the show.

Jasper herself is a very interesting character that shares tons of parallels to Steven in both the original series and in Future. In Future they are a foil of each other and their characters arcs are linked together.

Honestly, i do not mind if Jasper wasn’t helped by Steven in SU Future like Peridot and Lapis Lazuli were helped in the original series. Steven by that point was too mentally tired from having to help everyone and wasn’t in the best place mentally to help her. (Forcing her to accept his help,being condescending and over stepping boundaries). Jasper was also too stubborn to get help, thinking it would made her weak and she didn’t deserve it. All this is understandable giving the characters and the context in SU Future. The issue is that we never got to see how Jasper feels about the whole Pink being Rose reveal, the gem that she hated most of her life; how she feels about being from the Beta Kindergarten and her feeling that she is defective deep down; how she feels about her previous relationship with Lapis after the timeskip, etc.

This could have been fixed with having a few more episodes about Jasper. Maybe Fragments being a two part episode or more episodes about Steven training with her. Steven could have spent more days with her and thus growing closer to her and learning about her. This is why is not that rare to see fans writing fanfics or comics that take place after the events of ¨ I Am My Monster ¨ and before "The Future", when Jasper is starting to live on Little Homeworld and getting the help she needs. Because, unlike other recurrent characters, her issues weren’t explored with the same depth, despite her being a complex interesting character.

I would love if in some near future we get an special about her character getting developed better and diving into her psyche. If not, some spin-off comics about her being on Little Homeworld. That would fix this issue i have of her arc feeling ¨incomplete¨.

4) Season 4′s pacing is kind of awkward

I’m not sure how to explain this but there is something about Season 4 (also know previously as Season 3 A) that feels like the first half is awkwardly paced. The episodes of this half aren’t exactly bad, in fact, most of them are good and they follow up certain plot lines and character arcs. The issue to me is that it takes around eleven episodes until the the space adventure arc happens ( From ¨Steven’s Dream¨ to ¨That Will Be All), so, it takes a while for the the elements to come to play. Maybe if the space adventure arc took place a bit earlier, like, episode 6-7, this would be less of an issue and making the season more easy to digest.

It could have also helped if in ¨Gem Harvest¨ Lapis had a bigger role in the episode and she even could have had a conversation with Andy about how it’s hard to let things from your past go.

Maybe this is more of a personal issue of mine and other people don’t mind about it that much. I just think that this half of Season 4 could have been paced better.

5) Bluebird as episode feels unnecessary

I don’t hate this episode but it feels like it is repeating a lesson that the show teaches in other occasions in a more nuanced way with other characters (People aren’t always going to change their mind or don’t think they need help). The series already did this with Jasper, Eyeball and a bit with Bismuth in Season 3 with Steven failing in helping them in the context and blaming himself later for that. Also, with Aquamarine in ¨Stuck Together¨ and with Kevin’s character.

This episode gives this same lesson that you can find in almost every other animated series delivered in the most cartoonish way possible using the same characters to give the same message again. Instead of wasting time with these characters, we could have had an episode exploring Jasper or Lapis, or being about anything else. This episode feels like most obvious in your face lesson in SU Future.

I can give an episode like ¨A Very Special Episode¨ more of a pass because the lesson is more related to Steven’s arc in Future and how he can be self-destructive when it comes to helping people. In addition to this, we get to see more of Rainbow 2.0 and Sunstone’s personalities that we couldn’t in ¨Change Your Mind¨.

I would be less harsh with ¨Bluebird¨ if the episode have had a proper follow up in which we see Aquamarine and Eyeball prefering to hang out together instead of seeking revenge on Steven. It would have nice to see this as an example of Steven not befriending a gem but they are still able to change for the better.

6) Rose Quartz’s character could have been left in a better position

One issue i have with Rose Quartz’s arc is the opinion the characters have on her the last time we see her being brought up. She is potrayed as terrible and a bad person. Which in part it is true, she wasn’t a good person and hurt people who considered her a close friend.

However, Rose Quartz was also someone who started the Gem rebellion and saved Earth from being hollowed. She protected humanity and gave place to gems that were considered defective in the eyes of Homeworld’s system. She sacrificed her position as Diamond to be able to protect Earth among other things.

The point is that she was someone who was trying to change and battled the toxic upbringing she had with the other Diamonds, who were abusive towards her. In her path into trying to be a better person she made a lot of mistakes and her self hatred made her do self-destructive things like hiding things and keeping secrets from everyone.

I think it would have been more nuanced for the last scene that she is mentioned that she was a gem who wasn’t good but she wasn’t exactly a monster neither. She was as flawed as any other gem and she should be seen as such. She did some good thing and she did some bad things. The episode ¨Volleyball¨ ends up giving more or less this idea about Rose Quartz’s character with both Pink Peark and Pearl having a more completed idea of what kind of gem Rose was, which is pretty good. I think it could have been nice for Steven as character to have this a moment reflecting on this in a later episode, even if he still feels very mixed about Rose. It would have been a better conclusion for her character in the show.

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So, there you have it. Here are some of my main issues with the show. The ones that bother me the most are the first three points (Some episodes should have lasted longer, Lapis’ and specially Jasper’s arc could have been better handled). Note that there are other things like the animation but i think it’s something that has been brought up so many times by others that i would be beating a dead horse. Plus, other animated shows i have seen from CN and Disney TVA don’t have stellar animation neither, they just happen to be better directed or a bit more consistent. (Disney TVA shows have been having better animation lately though).

As for the Diamonds, i think they could have had more episodes in the original show but i do understand that the crew was given 5-6 episodes by the network to wrap up the entire main storyline. Although i wished their arc could have been longer, the writers tried giving them a conclusion the best way they could, with all the pacing issues that comes with it. I care more about Lapis and Jasper’ arcs were handled since they were from the start of the show and were more recurrent characters. That’s all.

#Steven universe #su future #SU Analysis #Lapis lazuli #Jasper #su jasper #Bluebird #Rose Quartz #Pink Diamond #character arcs #Su season 4

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ultraspookystudentgardener · 1 year ago

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Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond should have been forgiven in Steven Universe. In this essay I will explain myself.

Firstly, the damage she did to her first Pearl. We never got Pink’s perspective, so it’s a little up in the air whether it was an accident or not.

Abandoning Spinel might have been an accident as well but you’ll have to hear me out. We still don’t have Pink’s perspective so it’s quite possible she PLANNED to go back to her, but by the time she had the chance, it was already too late.

Bismuth’s bubbling is the first one that I want to talk about that I’m sure on. Rose didn’t want to take lives, we know that. Bismuth made a weapon that can only kill anyway and got mad when Rose said “No”. Not telling anyone what happened might have been because Rose was afraid they would attack her too.

Starting the Gem War was to stop the unfair treatment of the gems around her. Faking her death was to get the other diamonds to take the Crystal Gems seriously. She couldn’t have known they would corrupt every gem that was on Earth a few seconds too long.

And she had no way of knowing that her son would carry her traumas and war on his shoulders.

The other three diamonds were given no good reason for their actions and I refuse to call “control” a good reason. Why were they forgiven and not Pink?

#steven universe #steven universe rose quartz #steven universe pink diamond #tumblr essay #thank you for coming to my ted talk #ranting on main sorry #not sorry #just saying

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aftout · 2 years ago

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Sorry for SU posting on main I’m aware that it’s, like, a show and a half when it comes to thinking critically about media but with its recent resurgence on certain platforms I’ve been pondering like a bitch over one topic specifically and it’s just??

I love, love Rose Quartz’s character. It’s a hot take I know but I truly love what the series did with her, as rushed as it was at times. Rose is so important to me because she is what Steven Universe is all about: growth, forgiveness, and change.

There’s the obvious: she went from presenting herself as a diamond to presenting herself as a quartz. She changed her name. She moved from homeworld to Earth. She went from surrounding herself with the other diamonds and their colonies to surrounding herself with humans and the crystal gems. But even outside of all the things that are presented to you surface level, her entire existence and personality revolves around changing.

The earliest stage of her that we see in the show is, iirc, the dream sequence where Stevonnie is in her position (on that abandoned command center) with Connie’s mom replicating Yellow Diamond. Rose was, at that point, a literal child. Though not in consecutive order, we see how Rose goes from a spoiled, overly emotional, and even abused kid to this levelheaded, grown woman. And that is literally what the show is all about. I keep saying this over and over again but she is so integral to SU’s overarching theme. She’s imperfect, both as a gem and also as a person, but like? She persists and moves forward. She’s so human.

Even in context of design, her quartz form looks substantially more humane than most of the other gems do. She mingles with humanity constantly and even goes as far as to give birth to a (mostly) human son. She is messy. The rubble of it all means a lot to me because I feel like SU did a good job at portraying just how ugly trauma can be. We really see this in Future, where Steven has an onscreen meltdown and finally cracks under several seasons’ and a movie’s worth of trials and tribulations. It’s really interesting to me because I feel like, in that story arc, we really see that he is his mother’s son.

I don’t think it’s outlandish to say that SU does touch on themes about generational trauma. Rose has her baggage from her days as a diamond, and clearly though she tried her best to grow and break the cycle, there were a few bumps and bruises that got passed down onto Steven. He then goes on his own journey to heal and break the cycle himself. Hell, both of their stories even end with them leaving Greg and the Crystal Gems behind; and though Steven doesn’t sacrifice himself in the way that Rose did, there is still that feeling of moving on and accepting the next stage of life: whether it be finally allowing oneself to grow up or, well, die.

These themes of growing up are found in the Spinel debacle, as well. Rebecca Sugar themself said that a lot of Spinel’s character was based off of this situation they found themself in where they left a toy rabbit they had in the garden, forgot about it, and then found it again six months later. They described it as “wondering how they could be so careless over something they thought they loved so much.” It’s rough because, unlike Sugar’s stuffed rabbit, Spinel is sentient. But even then, throughout the movie she is described as Pink’s toy. Symbolically she captures what it’s like to grow out of toys you once loved as a child. And then, at the end, she is taken in by the other diamonds to reminisce over who Pink once was; much like how parents may keep old stuffed animals their kids owned as a memory.

Idk. At this point I’m fully rambling (I had better points when I was talking to myself about this and making myself cry), but I just. Yeah. Rose is such a wonderful character to me. Her humanity and imperfection means a lot. I think it’s cool to have such a nuanced character be shown in children’s media, and seeing her development is genuinely fascinating. I think she really shows that beauty isn’t necessarily found in one’s pain, but in the strength they withhold to power through it. Does that make any sense? Idk.

#long post #again sorry for su posting on main but this has been plaguing me for a while now. i only just really figured out what it was i wanted to—#—say. su was a very flawed show; but it did still have an important impact.#lol kinda like rose herself. life imitates art.

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roseofcards90 · 4 months ago

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Thank you for the essay reply and I hope you are doing well too. Just out of curiosity have you heard of spinearl ( spinel x pink pearl. I refuse to call her volleyball sorry ) and do you approve of it? This ship was biiig after the movie came out and I’ll admit I was a small part of the crowd 💦 The appeal of two people who never even interacted hurt in different ways by the same person who find each other and help each other heal is just really 🥺😭😖 If you know what I’m saying. And they’re both silly and goofy! They enable each other’s weirdness. I actually wrote a bit of fic about them back then. Anyway I also just really love Spinel. Her, Pink Pearl and Amethyst are my favorite characters. Ok enough of my rambling. What are yooour favorite ships from the show?

Thank you, I am surviving and trying my best! 😭🙏 and oh I haven’t actually! :0 not until now I didn’t know that was a thing fjfjfkfkf but it makes sense omg I can see it! I should look up more content of them, they seem like a really fun dynamic!!! ALSO REAL I LOVE AMETHYST SO MUCH THE GIRLIE!!! Her development is great throughout the series, I especially love the role she plays in Future with being the voice of reason and helping Steven realize some stuff

Also omggg my favorite ships!!! I have quite a few, I’ll list them down below and talk about them:

Pearlnet - this one is my absolute fave tbh like I didn’t think I would be a huge fan of it, but I enjoyed their dynamic so much in the show!!! Like that whole mini arc with Sardonyx and the conflict between them??? Still one of my favorite parts in the whole series. Idk I just really like how they’re the two who have been there since the beginning. They’ve stuck together throughout the gem war and share similar trauma, and just seeing them have so much respect for the other is just aughhh it’s so good!!! I got so happy when they hugged after seeing the corrupted gems get uncorrupted in the finale, that was so sweet 🥺

Pearlrose - I don’t think I have to explain this one much lmao, it’s just peak yuri I love it. The one thing I will way is that I hate how people misinterpret this ship so much, like I wish people had a brain cell when it came to understanding that their relationship was far from one-sided and “manipulative” :/ like Pearl was the whole goddamn reason Rose became the person she was. They showed each other freedom from beyond their gem roles, and that just feels so impactful to me like, their whole relationship makes up a huge part of the core of Steven Universe imo so idk, I just wish people understood it better

Rupphire - MY GIRLIES I LOVE THEM AAAAAAAAAAA I COULDNT STOP SCREAMING WHEN THE WEDDING EPISODE WAS HAPPENING FR I WAS SO HAPPY LIKE THEYRE JUST SO IN LOVE IR MAKES ME AUGHHHH

Lapidot - THEIR DYNAMIC IS GREAT they are like an old married couple, and just seeing them live together and stuff and finding a home in the barn with their pumpkin dog was adorable 😭🥺❤️ I love how they grow closer and they actually care about each other a lot. Also that part in Distant Shore where Peridot is the one to walk through her first??? The line where she doesn’t understand how Peridot can be so bold and switch sides so easily and not be afraid of the Diamonds anymore??? AUGHHH THAT PART HURT ME SO MUCH 😭 it’s clear that they do admire each other for what they themselves don’t have, and that’s so interesting to me. On the surface, they seem so different, but they actually do complement each other very well surprisingly! And I like that a lot

#sorry this was late #thank u again!!! <3 #steven universe #asks #Minty

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gayluigi · 1 year ago

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I know this is an old post, but DAMN, this is poignant. I couldn’t have put this into words better myself.

In a way, I’m kind of disappointed she didn’t come back when White removed Steven’s gem. If she had come back, even for a brief moment, perhaps she could’ve set a lot of things right. But no, she’s gone, she has no way to fix her wrongs. Everyone knows she was trying to do the right thing, but they don’t CARE.

It’s a lot easier to pin all of the blame on someone who’s not there to defend themself. White, Yellow, and Blue are all there to work towards fixing the harm they’ve done. Pink CAN’T. I have no doubt in my mind that she would’ve WANTED to set things right if she were still alive. From the early scenes we had with Rose, we can tell that she’s a kind, loving, gentle person, far from her past behavior as a Diamond. But we see her redemption arc in reverse, so all we see is her getting worse and worse while everyone else is getting better.

I’m also disappointed that Steven never went back to his room to talk with Rose/Pink. My personal thought on that is that Rose/Pink’s essence still lives inside of Steven enough that his conversation with him in the room was real. It’s the closest you can get to an afterlife for a gem. After all, her memories are still there, buried beneath the surface, which we see through Steven’s flashbacks. There’s enough of her left to make the conversation real, at least real enough. Rose could’ve explained herself. Could’ve held Steven, told him how proud she was of him, told him he didn’t have to shoulder her burdens anymore… but instead, we got corrupted Steven, and he’s never seen speaking with Rose again.

It’s disappointing, to say the least, the way this was all handled. Rose worked damn hard to break the generational trauma the Diamonds caused her, to try and prevent it from affecting Steven. She didn’t KNOW about the Cluster, as far as I’m aware. And if that hadn’t been a factor, I don’t think Steven probably would’ve EVER encountered the Diamonds. After all, Spinel called Earth a “nowhere planet”, implying there’s really not much reason to go there if you’re a Homeworld gem pre-reconciliation.

Rose tried so hard to ensure that Steven would never have to shoulder her burdens, even if it ended up failing in the end. She’s not the monster everyone sees her as. She put in a valiant effort to fix what the Diamonds had broken. But, as we see in the series, one person’s effort isn’t always enough. That doesn’t make her a bad person, though— it just means that she died before everything could be resolved. And she had no reason to think it WASN’T resolved! The Diamonds hadn’t been heard from in MILENNIA!! How could she have known they’d come back? She wasn’t a sapphire, and even OUR Sapphire didn’t see what was coming!! It was totally out of left field!!

Rose wasn’t an awful person. She tried her damn hardest. She improved herself. She tried to improve the world she was living in. She loved deeply, her heart was pure. She just made a few mistakes along the way.

This isn’t a new take or one anyone wanted but I’m kinda disappointed at how the Crewniverse handled Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond.

Before anyone says anything, I get that Steven his entitled to very mixed/negative feelings on Rose Quartz and that he is not obligated or required to have more positive ones. My issue isn’t with the characters IC, but I do have an issue with the crew and the way the story dealt with it.

Because in the show, EVERYONE has an opportunity to change and make good. Everyone grows. Everyone, no matter what horrible shit they did, will ultimately have the opportunity to be if not good, than at least sympathetic. Peridot, Lapis, Jasper, Spinel, THE FREAKING DIAMONDS. The storyline ultimately treats them as flawed but worthy of redemption, which is FINE. I love a positive, optimistic story with stuff like that.

But it makes Rose Quartz’s position all the more blatant.

Let me say that Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond did some terrible things. She broke Pink Pearl, abandoned Spinel, lied to her friends and family, bubbled Bismuth… She also worked hard and tirelessly to protect Earth, pleaded with the other Diamonds to spare it and only decided to go a more violent route when that failed. She worked hard and tirelessly for other gems too; Pearl acknowledges this. She took in Amethyst, encouraged humans and gems to be bigger, greater than they were, to keep going even when things looked dark or hopeless.

She fell in love. She and Greg loved each other for who they were, recognized each other’s pain and respected it. She had a child with him, sacrificed herself to bring that child into being, and it wasn’t so that she could palm off the consequences of her actions to him. She wanted him to live and grow and be happy and healthy and human. I have no doubt that she would have WANTED him to go to school, to go to the doctor, to hang out with other kids.

Rose Quartz made a lot of mistakes. She did terrible things, some knowingly and others unknowingly. She underestimated her own central position in people’s lives, the effect her passing would have on them. She underestimated her own worth. She was, I think, very aware of her faults and flaws and the things she’d done. But there are things you can’t take back. Things you break that you can’t fix. Sometimes, even when you do your best it’s still wrong. Still no quite the right thing. And all you can do is keep going.

Rose Quartz changed. She grew.

I just think it’s pretty shitty that the Crewniverse sits around calling HER a terrible person but are perfectly fine with her abusers hugging it out with her kid.

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lotusthewriter · 2 years ago

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Somebody who deserved it

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: G

Relationships: Lars & Steven, Steven & Everyone

Characters: Lars Barriga, Steven Quartz Universe; MINOR/CAMEOS - Connie Maheswaran, the Crystal Gems, the Diamonds, Spinel, Greg Universe

Summary: In which Lars is present when Steven turns into a monster.

Word count: 2.673

AO3 / Fanfiction

A/N: What I wanted from SUF, but they failed me, so I wrote this to cope.

Most of this is basically a novelization of I Am My Monster but in Lars’ POV, so I hope it’s not boring.

Beach City has seen its fair share of disasters, mostly thanks to gem stuff. There have been at least three alien invasions, one worse than the other, but thankfully no one ever got hurt. The citizens at this point know what to do in dire times.

So, it shouldn’t be a surprise when a thud shakes the ground violently, scaring Lars out of his almost nap at Spacetries. He and Blue Lace look at each other, only for another one, worse than the previous, to shake everything again. That’s when they rush outside, like everyone else in town, until…

There’s a giant pink monster at the beach, and it roars. Others have already run off, and so Lars and Blue Lace follow them, gathering anyone else who’s paralyzed with fear. In the meantime, Lars has many questions in his head. Why the hell is there a freaking pink kaiju here? Where did it come from? He knows it’s likely gem stuff, because what isn’t, but how did a monster appear out of warning?

They’re already nearing the highway, fearing for the monster to attack the town in giant kaiju movie style, when Lars hears four paws hitting the ground, and a young voice guiding people. He recognizes Connie riding Lion, and so he rushes to her, as she possibly knows what’s happening.

“Connie!”

“Lars! You’ve got to get out of here, it’s too dangerous!”

“What the heck is that thing?!” Lars points at the monster, which still seems to be far away despite her warnings.

“That—” she hesitates, though, and the look on her face becomes tragic. “… That’s Steven.”

Lars’ stomach drops. “What?”

Even from far away, he can see the monster destroying the hill at the beach. Something about its face… the eyes and the nose…

Oh, god, that really is Steven.

The millions of questions in his head only get worse. The last time Lars saw Steven was at the Graduation, after he told him he was still going to think better on his return to space. Steven never came to visit him at Spacetries, only to retrieve some strange cake with “Together Forever” in it when Lars wasn’t even there. Lars was also… kind of unsure whether he should talk to him after he got so upset. He didn’t want to force Steven to do anything he didn’t want to.

And now he sees how this was a mistake.

Steven has become a monster, likely… corrupted. Lars doesn’t know much about corruption, but he sees Blue Lace’s horns, her scars, and he could tell it must’ve been a painful experience. A state where you’re blinded by fear, by confusion, by trauma…

This must be how his friend is feeling right now.

He can’t let this happen again.

“Lars, where are you going?!”

The pink boy ignores Connie as he runs back to the beach with all his might. He realizes that, after becoming pink, his strength has practically become inhuman. Lars concentrates, focuses, then he lets out a yell that transforms in a white portal. He’s practiced it enough with Lion and would use it as a means of delivery, so he arrives at the beach in no time. He already finds the Crystal Gems and Mr. Universe there, while Steven is being kept in the ocean by water chains.

“Lars?” They all said in unison.

“I’m here! Connie told me that’s Steven!” He explains. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“… we don’t know,” Pearl answers. “He won’t listen to us.”

“We need to reach him, somehow, and bring out his humanity,” Garnet speaks up.

Amethyst sighs exasperatedly. “You know who would be great at that?”

Everyone asks, “Who?”

But she only replies, “STEVEN!”

Before they can even come up with anything, something seems to come from above, as well as new voices.

“Yoo-hoo! Steven!”

“Is this a bad time?”

It’s… the giant Diamond ship he saw two years ago, when he arrived back home. What the hell are they doing here now?

“You gotta be kidding me,” Amethyst mutters.

The Elastigirl gem comes out of the ship with one of Steven’s sandals, only to be horrified by the monster far away. Then the rest of the Diamonds come along to question what it is.

“That thing is Steven,” Garnet tells them.

The four gems react badly, of course. They all bring out questions, but no one has any answers.

“Never mind that, we have to change him back.”

“Leave it to me,” Yellow Diamond says, preparing her powers.

Yellow uses… lightning or something at Steven, and it does seem to decrease the size of his head, but he roars, and it doesn’t work.

“He’s resisting. Maybe he needs to feel better first,” Blue speaks up. “I can help with that.”

She throws a cloud at him (Lars really wonders what that’s supposed to do), but it backfires, and it hits Yellow and the pink gem on her shoulder. They both start laughing.

“Wow! Your new power didn’t work, either!” She says while in the middle of strained laughter.

Well, the last one to try is White.

“If I connect with him and he speaks through me, maybe we'll understand what he's going through. Now then.” She’s much closer to him now, and Lars fears for the worst. “Do you hear me, Steven?” Suddenly… disco lights seem to come out of her gem. “Just relax and let me in.”

The monster roars, and White seems to reach out… only for her to fall backwards, though Blue and Yellow catch her before she gets hurt.

“That’s not Steven anymore!” White exclaims, terrified.

If that isn’t bad enough, Steven seems to break free from Lapis’ powers. She tries, except… his horns and his eyes are bright, like he’s charging up, and then he lets out a tremendous roar, which pushes everyone, even the Diamonds, back. The Diamond ship falls to the ground as well. They’re all weak, unable to stand up. Lars can only look up, his vision blurry, sensing Steven approaching… they’re doomed.

… but then…

Something comes out of the sea, something bright. It’s like… a giant arm?

As Lars is back to his senses, he realizes the big arm stops Steven from attacking. With a lot of struggle.

According to Amethyst, that sounds like the “Cluster”. Lars doesn’t have time to ask them what that thing is, because at least it’s helping them not get destroyed.

“Deep inside this… monster,” Pearl speaks, “Steven must be in there, so angry.”

“I knew something was going on, I- why didn’t I do something?!”

He realizes Garnet is gone since the two gems that form her are replacing her. And they’re both crying.

“If we don't get through to him, he'll stay like this forever!” One of them says, hopeless.

In the meantime, Mr. Universe is taking steps back, horrified.

“Dude! You should get outta here before you get hurt!” Amethyst orders him.

“NO!” The man puts his foot down. “Every time Gem stuff happens, I run the other way! This is my son! And he's right to be angry because I didn't protect him!”

“You didn’t protect him from us!” Blue Diamond cries. “He’s like this because of us!”

Yellow also tears up, “We’re the source of Steven’s suffering!”

Then, the elastic gem cries and blows her nose, also blaming herself. And White joins in, telling her that it’s her own fault, not the other’s. But the pink one insists, and they…

They’re really doing this.

They’re really pitying themselves.

These pathetic, thousand-year-old overlords are feeling sorry for themselves when there’s an angry and traumatized monster needing their help right in front of them.

“… Are you SERIOUS?!” Lars blurts out. Everyone looks at him. “What, is this a goddamn sob competition?!”

“But it’s true, I hurt him—” White tries to argue as she cries miserably, but he’s had none of it.

“Uh, yeah, of course you did! But you’re not doing ANYTHING to help! Steven has turned into a monster and yet all you’re doing instead is a freaking pity party!”

“He’s right!” A voice calls out from the distance.

It’s Connie, and she arrives at the beach with Lion.

“Yes, you hurt him, but this isn't the time to make this all about you! That is not helping!”

Ironically, as she makes an entire speech to a hopeless crowd, the cloudy sky seems to clear out, and the sun shines again.

“… We all had Steven when we needed him, but the only person who's never had Steven is Steven! He's always been there for us, so…” she sighs, “How can we be there for him now?!”

It's so moving, that Garnet fuses again. “I know how.”

Right after that, the giant Steven overpowers the Cluster, and he’s rushing all the way back to them.

Garnet yells, “Okay! No time to waste!” She then gives orders to the rest of the group. Everyone is now focused, no longer crying and wallowing down in self-pity.

“It’s time to show Steven… some love.”

Lapis flies towards him and stops him with a giant wave. As he’s distracted, everyone runs to the sea. They all yell out his name, and Garnet, now bigger than everyone, is the first to jump towards Steven to hold him back. She’s… hugging him. Steven struggles, roars, tries to reject it…

“Steven, when I fell apart, you were there for me,” Garnet says calmly. “I want to be there for you now. I’m here, Steven. I’m here.”

And then… Steven stops trying to break free. His face softens.

So, everyone else hugs Steven, in their own ways, in their own sizes. Lars is able not to fall, but if anything, he’s slightly above Garnet.

They all say words of encouragement.

“I'm here, Schtuball! Whatever you need, I'll make it happen! You hear me?!”

“STEVEN! You never gave up on me for some reason I don't understand! I'LL DO THE SAME FOR YOU!”

“I know you feel bad! Believe me, I get it! Sometimes it feels like you're never gonna like yourself but… it’s possible, man!”

“Steven, I know how awful it feels to keep a part of yourself secret! You shouldn't have to hide anything from me!”

Lars starts tearing up, too, remembering how much Steven helped him this whole time. If it weren’t for him, Lars wouldn’t have opened his bakery, he wouldn’t have made friends, or even stand up for others. He wouldn’t be here at all.

“Steven…” he sniffs, and raises his voice, “I know how it feels to be scared… but it’s okay! It’s okay to be afraid! And whether or not I’m just a corner away or light years from here, I’ll be here for you no matter what! Us Off Colors stick together!”

If he’s not hearing things, Steven might even… try saying Lars’ name. That makes the latter hold onto him tighter, and cry against his body.

Somewhere, he hears Lion teleport and Connie yell. It’s probably her turn to speak. Whatever she says, Lars can’t hear since it’s likely just for Steven.

That’s the turning point for Steven.

Lars hears him cry, as giant teardrops fall on the ocean. Nobody says anything else. They just let him.

Suddenly…

Everything goes white.

It’s all back to normal rather quickly.

There weren’t any casualties or huge damage to the town this time. Everyone was back home, but of course, with many questions. Lars gets a few, including from Sadie, who was back in town after her tour with Shep had been interrupted, and from the Cool Kids. He doesn’t give many details to them, knowing it’s best to keep the privacy, but he does let them know everything will be cleared out soon.

Lars has closed the shop a little early today, and he’s carrying with him a box of pastries. It ranges from cupcakes to cookies, as well as a chocolate bar to make hot chocolate out of it. He makes his way to the now repaired beach house, greeting the gems and Mr. Universe at the living room. They seem well, though quiet and concerned. At least they’re not desperate anymore.

Amethyst eats some of the things he brought, but Pearl slaps her hand at some point to leave the rest for Steven. Speaking of which, he’s not around them, and Lars asks if he’s upstairs. They seem apprehensive.

“He’s… still resting,” Pearl replies.

“But I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you,” Mr. Universe reassures him. “We’ll be right here if you need, okay?”

Lars smiles, “Okay.”

He looks up, realizing the room upstairs is dark. Lars hasn’t seen Steven since the monster incident, and he’s not entirely sure if he’ll be glad to see him… but Lars exhales and goes for it.

He arrives at the room, almost expecting Steven to be asleep, but the boy is turned right to the entrance, his eyes tired but wide open, curious. Lars smiles at him.

“Hey, buddy,” he whispers. “I brought some stuff for you. Including my brand-new hot chocolate.”

Steven stands so he’s sitting on the bed, and he scoots to give Lars space. The latter places the box of pastries on his bedside table, and so he sits next to the other boy. Steven looks like he’s slept for several days straight.

“How are you doing?” Lars asks him.

“Hmm. Tired.”

“I can tell.”

“The only thing I’ve been up to is sleeping.”

“I don’t blame you. You deserve rest after everything.”

Steven doesn’t seem convinced of that. He looks down, sad.

“A-Are you…” he sniffs, immediately rubbing his eyes like he’s afraid to cry. “Are you still going to space?”

Lars isn’t surprised to hear the question.

“… nah,” the pink boy shrugs. “I think I’ll stick around for some time.”

Steven’s lip starts quivering.

“I-I’m sorry,” he breaks. “I didn’t mean to get in the way—”

“No, no, buddy. You have nothing to apologize for.” Lars puts an arm around him. “I know you were having a hard time.”

“I d-didn’t want you to see me like that.”

He doesn’t specify if it’s the Graduation or him being a monster, but Lars takes it both ways.

“It’s okay, Steven.”

“It’s not.”

Lars sighs. “Okay. It’s not. But I’m not mad at you or anything. You just needed help.”

Steven finally lets out tears, maybe feeling comfortable to be vulnerable now. He falls against Lars and sinks in, while the other has wrapped both arms around him.

“It still hurts so much,” the younger boy sobs. “I wish it didn’t.”

Lars doesn’t say anything, only squeeze him a little.

“I hurt so many people, but… everyone hurt me, too. I’m still angry and tired, and sad, and I wish I weren’t.”

Steven is crying, but it’s silent, only for him to hear. Maybe he doesn’t want to alarm anyone downstairs. Lars gets he needs something quiet, so he stays and doesn’t make a scene.

“I’ve got you, Steven,” he reminds him. “I’ve got you.”

“I… I don’t want to sound selfish, but…” Steven hiccups, “I’m glad you didn’t leave.”

Lars smiles sadly. “Yeah, me too.”

“Really?”

“Really.” The older wipes some of his tears for him. “I’m staying with you, for whatever you need.”

Steven laughs. “Us Off Colors stick together, right?”

Lars wonders if he remembers his words back then, but he decides not to question it.

“Right.”

They stay close for a whole eternity, until Steven’s stomach grumbles, and the boy shyly asks what Lars brought for him. He eats the cookies, with some joy growing subtly in his eyes. Lars offers to make the hot chocolate for him, but at Steven’s request, the gems do it for them instead.

In the end, they’re both drinking hot chocolate, and they turn on the TV to watch a bad episode of Camp Pining Hearts. He didn’t know Steven liked that show… and apparently neither did Steven know Lars did, too. He doesn’t mention all the embarrassing fanfictions he wrote when he was younger, though. Maybe another day.

#steven universe #steven universe future #lars barriga #steven quartz universe #corrupted steven #fanfiction

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rosenotactuallyquartz · 2 months ago

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hi! I sent an ask a while ago about how the diamonds' relationship with spinel and you didn't answer — which is fine, but it made me worry about having sent something that somehow upset you. and like, I did talk about something personal to explain what I was trying to say. anyway I hope you're alright and I'm sorry if any of it caused you distress! and if you just happened to not have wanted to answer it please ignore this ask. thanks for your rose (and pearlrose) posts!!!

hi hi, i like your posts a lot too & i’m so sorry for the late response! i think your interpretation is completely valid & here’s the thing: i also agree with your take. i know… i may or may not have been half asleep the first time i wrote about spinel & i realize that some things were worded wrong (so sorry about that / gen)

pink, spinel, and the diamonds

rose & future

volleyball is one of my favourite characters, so i disagree with people who say that future characters like volleyball & spinel are meant to “make the audience hate rose more.” some fans hate rose more after future, but that’s likely because they already misunderstood her. so, they can’t really connect what we learn about rose in future to her character as a whole. these characters show us how much rose grew, how rose felt on homeworld, they help us understand things about her relationships & how she feels. they add so much depth to her character.

pink & my personal connection

pink’s life on homeworld was incredibly devastating. awhile ago, i wrote about volleyball & rose’s destructive powers. to me personally, the destructive powers symbolize how it feels to be a traumatized kid who feels out of control & unsafe. once rose is in a safe environment, she’s shown love, and she’s able to be herself and fight for what she believes in, she’s able to heal (although healing is nonlinear & she still had struggles), quite literally having healing powers. trauma responses are not always pretty, and i know from my own background that it can be difficult to form healthy friendships as a kid when you’ve never been shown love & you’re from an unstable household. sometimes, pain rubs off on others, even when it’s unintentional. this will worsen insecurities, but healing takes time & self compassion is so important. rose had a really hard time with self compassion & self acceptance, and she often blamed herself completely for a lot of things. white definitely played a role in how ashamed she was of her past, as she told her that she only made things worse.

when rose faked the shattering, i saw it as representing an escape from an abusive household to a safe environment. i know there’s so much more to that situation, but this was part of it. ultimately, she passed away & her abusers felt guilty, while volleyball & spinel had their own pain and confusion.

so, i’ve focused on volleyball & spinel as symbolizing the childhood best friends of an abused child. they brought her some joy while she was in that environment, even if it was only for a short while. i know that rebecca sugar said spinel was inspired by a toy they had as a child, one that they left behind in the garden. i think spinel can be looked at as symbolizing a lot of different things. i know that some personal experiences definitely impact how i feel about the ending.

marina spinel & the diamonds

when i watched the movie, i was hoping that spinel would be able to enjoy earth more & possibly heal in that new environment, much like rose did. i imagined this would help her come to terms with pain from the past & really make peace with pink, as she’d get to grow & learn about & see the beauty of the planet that rose fought for. i’m sure this is what rose would have wanted! at the same time, if she didn’t want to be on earth, that’s okay too.

i was just concerned about spinel living with the diamonds specifically. i don’t think the writers were trying to show that they were blaming pink completely for the situation, and i think steven felt relieved that the diamonds would get off his case about him living with them. at the same time, i was hesitant because of the way i saw the situation. pink passed away, her abusers feel guilty. her former best friend doesn’t entirely understand the impact they had on pink’s behaviour & decisions & actions and now she’s going to live with them. she reminds them of pink.

at the same time, the diamonds are grieving. grief is complicated, and spinel would absolutely bring them some comfort because she’s so much like pink in a lot of ways. that’s why your take is completely valid, and i agree these are the intentions that they had! this is evident from the song, and i’m really sorry for my initial post about this, because i think it came off wrong.

i also remember white telling spinel in i am my monster that the reason pink hurt her was because she hurt pink. so hey, she’s honest & she’s not blaming pink for the whole situation.

my issue with the ending stems from the guilt that the diamonds feel and the pain that spinel expressed in the movie. i already saw spinel as being a friend of an abused child, while the diamonds were the abusers, so i felt odd about the childhood friend living with the deceased friend’s abusers. i know that the diamonds might look at this as a way of making up for the pain that pink experienced, and even taking some accountability. but from spinel’s perspective, i’d want to keep my distance from people like that, even if they were trying to change. living with them might be too much, especially while they’re grieving & they like having spinel around because she reminds them of pink. spinel has also been through enough in that environment, so i thought that she might want to be away from the diamond authority. living with them might be unhealthy in a lot of ways, especially because their feelings about pink are all very different & complicated. she might have trouble moving on when she’s in an environment like this, and i wondered if the diamonds truly liked her, or they liked feeling better about themselves and having a reminder of pink around.

anyways, thanks for the ask & i’m sorry for the late response! for some reason i just get nervous to talk about future because i’ve seen folks argue argue about it on other platforms & yeah. i also wasn’t really sure how to communicate that i did agree with you & i wrote something that really didn’t make sense last month because i was half asleep and … it’s complicated. i hope you have a great week!

#steven universe #crystal gems #pink diamond #rose quartz #su #steven universe analysis #su analysis #meta su #rose steven universe

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permafusion-stevonnie · 3 years ago

Photo

Posting not just the card, but the artwork clear of the frame, because I’m damn proud of how it turned out.

And, turns out, my list of cards to draw just got a little longer. When I got a list of cards online, it was an incomplete list. Now, having looked at a better website I have a whole bunch more to draw. I’m also looking up the meanings behind the actual cards, to help choosing characters to make things easier for us all. And for the number cards I think it’ll be less about having the objects in the scene, just something that reprisents its meaning, I’ll add the object to the background. So we don’t have to find a scene with, say six swords in it

Cards left to draw are:

The Tower - Luna Sea Spire The Star - Steven Universe The Moon - Opal The Sun - Sunstone Judgement - Blue Yellow and White's hands as they blast the earth. The World - A mural of Steven and the diamonds. Ace of Swords - Pearl 2 of swords - Pearl and Connie 3 of swords - Steven and Connie fighting three holo-pearls 4 of swords - Upright: rest, restoration, contemplation, Reversed: restlessness, burnout, stress. 5 of swords - Ruby Soldiers 6 of swords - Upright: transition, leaving behind, moving on, Reversed: emotional baggage, unresolved issues, resisting transition. - Steven in the car leaving Beach City. 7 of swords - Upright: deception, trickery, tactics and strategy, Reversed: coming clean, rethinking approach, - Marty 8 of swords - Upright: imprisonment, entrapment, self-victimization, Reversed: self acceptance, new perspective, freedom - Pink Diamond locked in her tower. 9 of swords - Upright: anxiety, hopelessness, trauma, Reversed: hope, reaching out, optimism. - Pearl in her first form from SU season one mirroring her most current form. 10 of swords - Upright: failure, collapse, defeat, Reversed: can't get worse, only upwards, inevitable end. - Buff Pink Steven just before he turns into monster Steven Page of swords - Upright: curiosity, restlessness, mental energy, Reversed: deception, manipulation, all talk Knight of swords - Upright: action, impulsiveness, defending beliefs, Reversed: no direction, disregard for consequences, unpredictability Queen of Swords - Upright: complexity, perceptiveness, clear mindedness, Reversed: cold hearted, cruel, bitterness - Yellow Diamond King of swords - Upright: head over heart, discipline, truth, Reversed: manipulative, cruel, weakness.

Ace of cups - Lapis 2 of cups - Nice and Mean Lapis 3 of cups - Garnet, Pearl and Bismuth when first reunited 4 of cups - Upright: apathy, contemplation, disconnectedness, Reversed: sudden awareness, choosing happiness, acceptance 5 of cups - Upright: loss, grief, self-pity, Reversed: acceptance, moving on, finding peace. - Crying Blue diamond. 6 of cups - Upright: familiarity, happy memories, healing, Reversed: moving forward, leaving home, independence 7 of cups - Upright: searching for purpose, choices, daydreaming, Reversed: lack of purpose, diversion, confusion - Lars (non Pink) 8 of cups - Upright: walking away, disillusionment, leaving behind, Reversed: avoidance, fear of change, fear of loss 9 of cups - Upright: satisfaction, emotional stability, luxury, Reversed: lack of inner joy, smugness, dissatisfaction 10 of cups - Upright: inner happiness, fulfillment, dreams coming true, Reversed: shattered dreams, broken family, domestic disharmony - Captain Lars Page of cups - Upright: happy surprise, dreamer, sensitivity, Reversed: emotional immaturity, insecurity, disappointment. Knight of cups - Upright: following the heart, idealist, romantic, Reversed: moodiness, disappointment. - Young Greg Universe Queen of cups - Upright: compassion, calm, comfort, Reversed: martyrdom, insecurity, dependence King of cups - Upright: compassion, control, balance, Reversed: coldness, moodiness, bad advice

Ace of Wands - Aquamarine 2 of Wands - Upright: planning, making decisions, leaving home, Reversed: fear of change, playing safe, bad planning 3 of Wands - Upright: looking ahead, expansion, rapid growth, Reversed: obstacles, delays, frustration - Sadie Miller 4 of Wands - Upright: community, home, celebration, Reversed: lack of support, transience, home conflicts - The Diamond party Steven held on Homeworld 5 of Wands - Malachite 6 of Wands - Upright: victory, success, public reward, Reversed: excess pride, lack of recognition, punishment 7 of Wands - Upright: perseverance, defensive, maintaining control, Reversed: give up, destroyed confidence, overwhelmed - Bill Dewey 8 of Wands - Upright: rapid action, movement, quick decisions, Reversed: panic, waiting, slowdown 9 of Wands - Upright: resilience, grit, last stand, Reversed: exhaustion, fatigue, questioning motivations 10 of Wands - Upright: accomplishment, responsibility, burden, Reversed: inability to delegate, overstressed, burnt out Page of Wands - Upright: exploration, excitement, freedom, Reversed: lack of direction, procrastination, creating conflict Knight of Wands - Upright: action, adventure, fearlessness, Reversed: anger, impulsiveness, recklessness - Onion Queen of Wands - Upright: courage, determination, joy, Reversed: selfishness, jealousy, insecurities King of Wands - Upright: big picture, leader, overcoming challenges, Reversed: impulsive, overbearing, unachievable expectations

Ace of Pentacles - Rose Quartz holding baby Steven with Pink diamond looking over them from behind them 2 of Pentacles - Upright: balancing decisions, priorities, adapting to change, Reversed: loss of balance, disorganized, overwhelmed 3 of Pentacles - Upright: teamwork, collaboration, building, Reversed: lack of teamwork, disorganized, group conflict 4 of Pentacles - Upright: conservation, frugality, security, Reversed: greediness, stinginess, possessiveness 5 of Pentacles - Bismuth at their anvil, making a sword. A barrel with four other swords next to her. 6 of Pentacles - Upright: charity, generosity, sharing, Reversed: strings attached, stinginess, power and domination 7 of Pentacles - Upright: hard work, perseverance, diligence, Reversed: work without results, distractions, lack of rewards 8 of Pentacles - Upright: apprenticeship, passion, high standards, Reversed: lack of passion, uninspired, no motivation 9 of Pentacles - Upright: fruits of labor, rewards, luxury, Reversed: reckless spending, living beyond means, false success. - Steven, Greg and Pearl in tuxedos. 10 of Pentacles - Upright: legacy, culmination, inheritance, Reversed: fleeting success, lack of stability, lack of resources Page of Pentacles - Upright: ambition, desire, diligence, Reversed: lack of commitment, greediness, laziness - Sour Cream Knight of Pentacles - Upright: efficiency, hard work, responsibility, Reversed: laziness, obsessiveness, work without reward Queen of Pentacles - Upright: practicality, creature comforts, financial security, Reversed: self-centeredness, jealousy, smothering - Vidalia King of Pentacles - Upright: abundance, prosperity, security, Reversed: greed, indulgence, sensuality. - Yellowtail

#Tarot #tarot cards #art #my art #fan art #Steven Universe

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sockdooe · 11 days ago

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Man ok, wow I- I’m not going to even lie I’m a little speechless!!!

So there’s numerous factors that I feel like the author forgot or maybe I just didn’t see them mention clearly but um.

I don’t understand the Steven universe logic to it as to how haggar got the Shiro spirit. also… the Steven universe explanation just doesn’t even work??? Because the whole point of that scene was to show that Steven is in fact Steven and not pink diamond.

That he is his own person and not some “form” in hiding.

Like??? That literally disproves their argument, also the gem is inside Steven this whole time, it’s going to know him.

I don’t think haggar has a living shiro inside her.

Also If the clone is a split spirit of shiro which they mention is how they created the clones, how is Shiro sane? If Shiro was split into his clones then every clone would have to be put together?

I don’t like nor understand the comparison of Shiro and Kuron to Haggar and Honerva.

Haggar and Honerva ARE the same person, body, soul etc. She still uses others and puts the blame on everyone else. She blames the galra for everything then proceeds to use alteans as weponds to control.

The only thing changed is how she sees herself.

Shiro only comes back when he’s been given a body. He’s never in the clone (while the clone is alive I should mention), he’s never outside of the black lion, he doesn’t posses the clones memories or anything of it besides calling him the “evil clone”.

Also the whole thing of “oh it’s Shiro spilt soul so the Kuron we are seeing are his trauma” is a REALLY POOR WAY OF TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE WITH PTSD.

Like you’re telling me that if someone with trauma doesn’t get the support and help they need they reach a breaking point (which btw is haggar controlling Kuron) and starts to not only injure his teammates and knock them out just to kidnap Lotor. Then there’s the fight between him and Keith where he’s the senti ally telling Keith that he’s useless and doesn’t deserve to even still be here. What part of that is healthy?

If Kuron is a representation of Shiro PTSD it dehumanizes and is extremely harmful of a narrative that “oh if they aren’t helped they’re gonna destroy EVERYTHING”

Those with PTSD more specifically those who are veterans and such don’t want to be seen as people who will hurt just because they were. Especially to the extremes of trying to kill someone.

There’s a reason why there’s a lot of veterans who are homeless or don’t have a support system. Because they were too big of an issue to deal with due to their trauma. (Now I’m not an expert so don’t take everything I say with 100% fact but this is just what I’ve read/heard)

Saying that Kuron is a representation of that is such a bad narrative!!

Like???? The whole point of shiros character is that he doesn’t want to hurt others. He doesn’t fight or try to inflict danger to anyone when he gets a trauma response, instead he physically freezes.

Also, the essay fails to mention Kurons “headaches” of static of Haggar watching and controlling him. As well as the fact that he is essentially a camera for her.

Kuron doesn’t know any of this. If this was a part of shiros soul split wouldn’t he be aware of this? Aware that he’s being used?

This “subplot to represent the consequences of his reluctance to let others help him manage his PTSD.” Is just mindblowing.

Now to give some credit there are scenes of Kuron actively trying to seek help but not because of his PTSD but because he feels something WRONG. He’s starting to piece together that he isn’t shiro and doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know why he’s getting headaches. He tried to be there for his team but makes choices that he thinks are right because he thinks he’s telling himself that it is. Instead haggar is doing it for him. It’s why he’s so protective of Lotor even though he doesn’t know anything about the guy.

Kuron doesn’t experience the same trauma as Shiro. He doesn’t freeze like he does at fights or anything like Shiro does.

Kuron isn’t a representation of shiros trauma. He’s a representation of being forced to exists for reasons out of his or anyone’s control. He’s forced to be the evil clone.

Yes there’s scenes of him yelling and abusing his rights as a leader but there are scenes of him trying to be genuine. When he talks to Lance he trying to seek understanding. When they play monsters and mana he has fun and enjoys being with the team. When pidge needs to use his arm for information he’s willing to until his headache from haggar gets so bad he physically has to recoil.

Heck before he attacks the team and grabs Lotor to send to haggar he is trying to fight haggar out of his mind.

Not to mention but black REJECTS KURON.

Black of all beings KNOWS Kuron isn’t shiro. Hell she’s so stubborn(?) about not allowing him to pilot until she has to let him in to help the others.

If Kuron is a part of shiros spirit or whatever out of all beings, SHE WOULD KNOW.

It’s why Kuron starts to notice that something off with himself in the first place.

Kuron and Shiro are not the same person. Kuron is a failed clone. As much as it hurts me to say he is.

I love Kuron and honestly he deserved far more than what he had gotten. So the saying that he’s just a “split shiro” just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Also shiro would never cut his hair that short. Also they have entirely different facial structures like …

Sorry if there’s any grammer mistakes!! Also I really love all these interactions we have!! I’m so glad you tag me to have a second opinion on things :,)

EDIT: so I just realized they mention the gladiator beast that Voltron defeated that haggar made. I don’t understand their point of saying that this was evidence for that haggar doesn’t have the technology to make clones.

The whole purpose of that beast was to re-fight shiro and defeat him. Like of curse he’s going to use his soul. That’s the point. Why would she make a clone of him. I don’t get this point. Anyway I’m done now!

@sockdooe, the ignorance of this "analysis" is melting my brain.

What are your thoughts?

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actually-autisticc · 2 years ago

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Things I wished that happened in SU Future

I wished there was some kind of new rebellion. It would’ve been interesting to see a bunch of some gems led by Bluebird because they wish Homeworld never changed. They enjoyed the order and hierarchy. I can see some gems being in it like Bluebird, Holly Blue, Emerald, and later Jasper. That would have been an interesting conflict

More Spinel! Cmon, they can’t just show Spinel a bit and expect it to be enough. As much as I enjoyed Stoner Spinel, I wished she was a tad more awkward. I did like the line “since I tried ta kill you? That was so embarrassing. I was such a wreck back then.” I feel like that was her realization that her actions were not the best but is struggling to be better. Nobody recovers from trauma that quickly. I kind of believed her to be hiding it a bit and is too high from Blue Diamond’s clouds. It would’ve been adorable to see her all awkward and shy at first with the Diamonds but then warms up and is playful.

The progress of the Diamonds. I didn’t like White’s redemption arc that much. It was way too rushed and short. White Diamond was supposed to be this ominous and omnipotent that’s practically a goddess. All it took for her to reform was Steven to say “lmao, no you.” Uh no, she should’ve apologized to ALL of Homeworld for her tyrannical rule. Apologize to Steven! Cause still deep down in him is Pink. I don’t like Pink but White Diamond is like a parent to Pink so the latter is immature. Pink sort of deserved an apology as well. It would’ve been kinda hilarious for White to struggle with being kind. I loved her and Steven’s exchange after the broadcast.

I loved Future, especially how it focused a lot more on Steven’s mental health. The show in general always talked about mental health, especially Garnet. The poor kid’s been through so much and it could’ve been dealt with thousands of years ago. I thought that it was kind of real when Dr. Mahaswaren discussed the affects of trauma. Hell, I’m learning that in school right now. So well-written here. My belief in the theory of Steven becoming corrupted was confirmed and damn, I kinda loved it. Not because I want our poor boy to suffer but tbh let him go apeshit.

#steven universe #steven universe future #spinel #my thoughts

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picturejasper20 · 3 years ago

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Jasper (SU) and Religious Trauma

In Steven Universe the leaders of Homeworld, the Diamonds, are treated as some type of deity who know what is right and wrong for other gems. This partially comes from their powers that allow them to create new gems and modify them. Homeworld is not only an authoritarian system but with religious undertones as well. Gems under the Diamonds are expected to follow their leaders' orders unquestionably, all because is their "higher purpose".

One of the gems that represents this mentality of carrying out the Diamonds' will is Jasper, who in the series wants to get revenge for Pink's supposed shattering and shows the impact this system has in the gems.

In this post i'm going to talk about Jasper's character arc through out Steven Universe and SU Future and and how her reactions to Homeworld's strict caste system can be compared to religious trauma. I'll leave some sources that discuss this topic at the end of the post.

Definition of religious trauma syndrome (from journeyfree):

¨Religious Trauma Syndrome is the condition experienced by people who are struggling with leaving an authoritarian, dogmatic religion and coping with the damage of indoctrination. They may be going through the shattering of a personally meaningful faith and/or breaking away from a controlling community and lifestyle. RTS is a function of both the chronic abuses of harmful religion and the impact of severing one’s connection with one’s faith. It can be compared to a combination of PTSD and Complex PTSD (C-PTSD).¨ Edit: It’s worth of pointing out that this refers to authoritarian religious communities that may cause trauma to their members. There are people who practice a religion as part of their daily life without any issues and live in places that aren’t abusive and controlling and are way more tolerant.

Identity crisis, self image and sense of belonging One theme that’s prevalent in Jasper’s arc is her huge struggle with identity, something that leads her to follow self destructive paths multiple times in the series. It’s difficult to know when this issue started but it’s likely that its origins are on how gems that were born in the Beta Kindergarten were considered defective by Homeworld’s standars. Like Peridot explains in the episode ¨Beta¨ the Beta Kindergarten was a rushed job, which lead to many gems to be born weaker or smaller than they were supposed to. This can be compared to when an extreme religious group makes a person who doesn’t follow certain standars feel like there is something wrong with them, this can include things such as the person’s sexuality, having a different idea of how said religion works, not following the strict protocol, questioning religious authorities, etc. All these factors may result in the person making feel ashamed, guilty, not being good enough or that they are going to be punished by god.

In Jasper’s case, it made her believe that due to her supposed ¨defectiness¨, that she wasn’t powerful enough. That she needed to prove to herself that there wasn’t anything wrong with her. And she did this by constanly looking for new opponents, seeking for fights, because that what quartzes were expected to do in Gem’s society. There’s also the fact that she believed that she wasn’t worth of Steven’s help and she needed to punished for not being able to defeat ¨Rose Quartz¨ (Smoky Quartz) in Earthlings. ¨I see how you do it now, Rose. You want Gems after they're worthless, you wait until after they've lost. Because when you're at the bottom, you'll follow anyone. That makes you feel like... less of a failure.¨ - From Earthlings

Other aspects worth of analysing are Jasper’s identity crisis over the loss of her ¨goddess¨, Pink Diamond. It’s possible that Jasper became very confused after learning how Pink got shattered since her purpose in life was to serve her. This is very clear from the way that she refers to Pink Diamond as ¨My Diamond¨ instead of Yellow Diamond, which is the Diamond she serves during the events of Steven Universe. In Steven Universe Future, after learning how Pink and Rose were the same person, she falls into a depressing state: She insolates in a cave for years, doesn’t want to talk to anyone, keeps training all days, she appears to be lost and doesn’t know what to do with her life and refuses Steven’s help. She even goes to the point of wanting to follow someone again that lets herself be destroyed by Steven, so she can accept him as her Diamond.

Jasper’s emotional reaction to Pink’s ¨shattering¨ and learning the truth about Pink it’s a bit similar to the process that people who were born in religious authoritarian communities go through when they start to question their faith. When they realize that something is not right with the system they live in. Often it leads to the person suffering from anxiety, depression and severe loneliness because they aren’t sure what they are supposed to do with their lives or where they should go to ask for help. By loosing/questioning their faith, it makes them feel lost without purpose and sense of who they are since their life, community and customs revolve around their religion. Problems with decision making and critical thinking Another issue that is a consequence of Religious Trauma is adopting a black and white mentality over the years, having trouble with thinking for oneself and connecting one's thoughts. This has its origins in religious authoritarian figures who don't allow disagreements in their community. There is a constant fear of questioning authorithy and if you do they would tell you that there is something wrong with you, that you should believe exactly what you are told or you're going to go to hell.

When it comes to Jasper, there are multiple times in the series that she asks questions to other characters, mainly the Crystal Gems, because she struggles understanding why someone would do something that doesn't follow Homeworld's rules. Like the rest of the gems, Jasper was told to believe everything the Diamonds ordered her to do. That anyone who stepped out of what was expected from Gem society deserved to be shattered since they were going against the Diamonds will or that they were defective. ¨Every Gem is made for a purpose: to serve the order of the Diamonds. Those who cannot fit inside this order must be purged! To come out misshapen, to reshape yourself outside your purpose, and to defend this ruined worthless planet, is a disgrace!¨ - From Earthlings She doesn't get why two gems would fuse, she can't comprehend why Peridot cares about Earth's life or why she sided with the Crystal Gems. I believe this mentality contributes to her downfall as well, since she usually gets defeated by fusions, something that she considers an abomination. Another huge example of this is when she struggles making decisions for herself in Steven Universe Future. Due to always having a leader giving her orders on what she was supposed to do next, she doesn't know what she should do now that there isn't a Diamond to follow.

In fact, Steven in "Little Homeworld" points out how she is spending her days waiting for someone to come to give her orders. Jasper lived for months in woods insolated, barely talking to anyone and trained all day destroying rocks and trees. This is why she tries making Steven her new diamond after finding out about his new gem powers. She desperately wants another person to give her a new purpose because she can't give herself one. Feelings of shame and not being good enough In religious extremist groups and cults it's common for its members to be taught to feel shame if they question their faith or do something that goes against their religion. It's a tactic that is implemented to control a person's behaviour and thoughts. It may be things like: "If you don't marry by the time you are 19, you'll be sinner" or "You shouldn't ask these questions, it's not what god wants". There is this sentiment that you must obey the leaders of the religious group, and if you don't, you are commiting a sin. Like i previously talked about earlier in my analysis, Jasper always felt that she was defective because she was born in planet Earth, considered a failed colony by Homeworld. I think that this feeling of shame and not being good enough lead her to believe that she didn't deserve to be saved from her situation. When Steven offered to heal her corruption in "Earthlings", she refused and pushed him away, letting herself be turned into a gem monster. In Future it is hinted that Amethyst and Steven tried helping many times, only for her to reject them. Jasper may think that only those who are worthy deserve to be saved and she isn't one of them. She is defective, meaning she should be shattered or be corrupted. She can't be saved and should refuse others' help. Feeling disconnected from society Often, when trauma religious survivors find themselves leaving their own religion, they start to feel disconneted from the rest of society. There are multiple reasons for this: not knowing how to fit in, having lost what they used to consider their community, having not been taught certain things after being insolated for years... My point is that they have a hard time adjusting to a new life without religion because in many ways that shaped their identity and relationships with other people. They have to learn critical thinking, society norms and how to respond to certain situations all over again. Much like religious survivors, Jasper had a very hard time adapting to Era 3, where gems could be free to make their own decisions and choose what they wanted to be. Jasper found herself without any purpose and decided to live alone in the woods for months.

It's clear that she doesn't know where to fit in this new era. She never had control of her own life this way before. It's confusing and chaotic. That's why she kept doing what she always did, which was training and fighting. It's her "comfort zone" despite being forced to do it since she came out of her hole. It isn't until Steven harshly tells her "to find something better to do with her life" that she comes to terms with the fact that she has to walk her own path. Pink Diamond, or what's left of her, isn't going to be her leader. That's when Jasper decides to go to Little Homeworld to get help from other gems. In conclusion SU's Homeworld system shares some similarities with religious autoritarian groups. Jasper's emotional responses to having lived through this system can be compared to a trauma religious survivor too. Her feelings of thinking that she is defective and doesn't deserved help is much alike when a person living in a extremist religious is lead to believe that there is something wrong with them. Hopefully, Jasper would be able to recover from this now that she's living in Little Homeworld but it's going to take a while for her to fully grasp her past and the impact it had on her, just like many religious survivors do. Thanks @iamjjmma2 for this suggestion Sources: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_trauma_syndrome (7 ways religion causes trauma) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7HwSGXPKzw8 (Continuation the first video) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yV0_wJUlw0I (What is religious trauma?) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1BQF7qvtkGQ https://yanahelps.com/blog/religious-trauma-syndrome/ https://journeyfree.org/rts/ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/well/mind/religion-trauma-lgbt-gay-depression-anxiety.html SU wikia for the images and gifs

#Steven universe #su future #Jasper #jasper SU #Steven Quartz Universe #Pink Diamond #SU Analysis #religious trauma #Earthlings #little homeworld #Little homeschool #Fragments

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mandareeboo · 4 years ago

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SU Music Rankings

Bc I can and I wanna start some Disk Horse rip. These are all in order of preference, with explanations, etc. It’s a long bitch. That said, I’m not counting little short jingles or small joke songs like Little Butler. This is the meat and potatoes of SU music- just under 30 songs. I might do the rest if people like my takes lol.

I scored it mostly on three bases- how dear it was to my heart, how much/often I relisten to it, and also what it means to the plot. That said, little fun songs don’t automatically go farther down than big, plot-heavy songs either! It’s a strange little balance.

Special Note: I don’t dislike any of this music! I love SU and that includes its bumps and glitches. I just pick favorite children lol.

1.) Change

Was there ever a more Steven moment than when he wiped the blood off his face and kissed it into sparkles? I think not.

If “Be Wherever You Are” is an ode to young Steven, then this is teen Steven’s. Talking about change, and how much and how little it can do. How he holds his arms up for Spinel to hug him, so trusting. How he seems able to just. Break into soft tears at will, and not to be manipulative- it’s just his kind nature. The warmth in his voice. Fuck yesssss.

2.) Change Your Mind

This song is only fifty five seconds and it’s EVERYTHING to me. It really felt like someone was speaking the words I’d always held deep inside of me, unsure of how to say. It feels like a goodbye to someone who never really loved me.

As much as I enjoyed Future, if this was the finale of SU, I would’ve been perfectly okay with that.

3.) Drift Away

This song gave me legitimate shivers the first time I heard it, and it still haunts me to this day. Spinel stayed, and waited, and all she got was a transmission thousands of years later. Fuck.

4.) Here We Are In The Future

THE MOVIE IS SU AS ITS BEST AND I WON’T BE SWAYED ON IT. Steven being a teen who loves his weird family but is growing just a bit sarcastic to their drama. The adorable love he and Connie share. His slow realization that he will always be working, always have things to do, is both somber and real. The Crystal Gems won’t be safe with one epic battle. They’ll be safe with years of hard work and love. HIS LITTLE HANDSHAKE WITH AMETHYST.

This is a helluva bop and a great way to summarize the main character’s backstories.

5.) Let’s Only Think About Love

Did ya’ll know that Zach Callison killed his throat with that last note? He gave his all for this performance in a vocal range he no longer comfortably do and by god did it SHINE. The FLAIR. The FORESHADOWING. All of the Gems all being awkward about Rose and Steven trying to bring them to the present. Peridot having a mini-existential crisis in a cute yellow dress. I love Zach Callison’s normal singing voice but man is that a fucking bop. Nothing will ever beat it.

6.) Here Comes A Thought

This bad boy helped me out a LOT with some mental issues I was dealing with in high school. I was unmedicated, unsupervised, and full of anxiety. I’d have break downs when I tried to speak about certain things. I couldn’t function. This song inspired me. It helped me feel okay with my intrusive thoughts.

And the episode! -chef’s kiss-. Once again bringing up the morally gray area of training child soldiers. Connie expanding her social group. Steven’s trauma hauling ass in that second half. The ANIMATION. Stevonnie’s gorgeous singing voice. GOD yes.

7.) It’s Over Isn’t It?

Just barely squeaking above Stronger Than You, this ballad is everything gorgeous. The whole episode is. I think Mr. Greg stands in the top five of my episodes for the entire show. It even got nominated!

There’s just so much about this song that I love. The gentle melancholy of Pearl’s voice. How the crew had to redo the shots for this bit bc Deedee went so fucking hard. The hard cuts between Pearl, remembering the love of her life, and Steven, who has begun to feel like he took her away. I’d recommend this song to anyone, regardless of what they do or don’t know about SU, simply bc it tugs so many heartstrings of love, loss, and responsibility.

8.) Stronger Than You

Did you realize this episode aired SEVEN years ago? This bitch was what got me into SU! Hearing about Ruby and Sapphire made my little gay heart so happy inside, and then getting a whole song confirming that they were a couple, that their love powered the strongest Gem on the team? Aaaaaaaaa

To this DAY I get excited when I hear Estelle start singing. This song is timeless. This song will live in media history. God I fucking love this song.

9.) Other Friends

I’m not the biggest musical person, so I hadn’t heard of Sarah Stiles before her casting as Spinel, but JESUS CHRIST the lady went hard. She went SO fucking hard. Sarah Stiles started on 100 and somehow just kept CLIMBING. You can just hear the sheer manic energy building in her voice, the anger and resentment. 10/10 Sarah Stiles is a queen.

10.) Independent Together

This made the list entirely bc the crew was like “you’re gonna get a himbo ass Steven-Greg fusion singing with Opal while Garnet flies across the moon on Lion while floating” and I am forever thankful to them for it

11.) Who We Are

Bismuth deserved more songs. ‘Nuff said.

12.) Peace and Love (On the Planet Earth)

It Could’ve been Great is EASILY one of my favorite s2 episodes. I love the entire concept of this song. Of Steven making music to reflect how much Earth means to him and his family. Of him teaching Peridot some self-care. Also Peridot’s singing voice is really cute and squeaky.

I know it’s silly, but I would’ve really enjoyed a flip around of this in Future! Like Peridot reminding Steven how much he loves music, that he needs to take time to relax for himself, maybe with a new verse or just a remix of the original song!

13.) Something Entirely New

I watched this episode as it aired, and I legitimately almost cried. I love Charlyne Yi’s voice so much ya’ll- her raspy, not perfect singing voice against Sapphire’s deep soothing lull is great.

And to have Ruby and Sapphire’s meeting be the way it was- for Ruby to bemoan Sapphire losing Homeworld, to being stuck with a single Ruby, while Sapphire is a noble who has always been taught everyone in her “caste” is vitally important (and has, in her own mind, taken that to mean every Gem, as she should) and how they come together and make each other happy. Good shit good shit.

14.) I’m Just a Comet

The fact that Greg’s music career never really blasted off pisses me off to this day bc Tom Scharpling’s voice is fucking BUTTER. Also the song really feels like a jab at his parents now that we know the kind of dynamic he had growing up. “This life in the stars if all I’ve ever known” is definitely him wiping away their existence after reminding them (and himself) the things they used to say about him.

15.) Do It For Her

This episode. This fucking episode. This episode got me permanently hooked on SU. I’d just binged season 1 and was kinda meh about it overall after the bop of Stronger Than You. “Oh,” I thought to myself, foolishly, “I’ll probably just casually watch this from time to time.”

Like three days later Sworn to the Sword aired and that was it. I was hooked! Pearl’s gentle training song turning darker and darker, Connie’s accompaniment from nervous to determined to fully into such a toxic mindset. The fact that SU had the BALLS to discuss the repercussions of training child soldiers, now and later. This episode was everything to me, STILL is everything to me.

Six years and well over 100 fanfics written later, I think it’s safe to say this show swallowed me whole and never let go.

16.) System/Boot.pearl_final(3)

I debated putting this on the list because it’s not anything crazy important, just a way to show things are Wrong, but I had to do it entirely bc Pearl is so damn SALTY.

Like telling us about the Gems makes sense, she felt like she was given a duty, but she went so damn petty. WHY is that Ruby alone. Gross. This Amethyst is a trash dump. Wtf are you people.

17.) Full Disclosure

This episode really feels like a turning point for SU. Before, the show had its dark moments- but now we’re in the thick of it, and it’s not going away. Full Disclosure felt like an rebuff to the idea of returning to any normal we’d established in season 1. Gems are actually a giant species now. Gems tried to kill us now. There’s this Yellow Diamond bitch who got namedropped. Something about a Cluster.

The song itself is BALLER, with its ingenious use of Steven’s ringtone and photos as he tries to decide whether to clue in Connie on all this nonsense. Meanwhile we, the audience, already know damn well Connie about to yeet some common sense into him.

18.) What’s the Use of Feeling Blue?

I’mma admit it- I’m a Yellow Diamond stan. I’ve always loved her- her anger, her poise, her hardworking nature. I actively argued against the “Yellow Shattered Pink” theories back in the day. But, man, when this arc leaked? I got so overexcited I was too jittery to watch it for like two days. It’s easily my favorite arc of the series. The sheer alien nature of the zoo, the Famethyst, and absolutely Patti Lupone’s beautiful ballad. Goddamn. Yellow singing to Blue to try and help her regain her old status, the warble in her voice as she reminds Blue she misses Pink too, the movement of the bubbles as she talks about attack. It gives me shivers to this day. FUCK.

19.) Tower of Mistakes

This is, fun fact, that only SU song I have completely memorized. The story itself is kinda funny! See, we lost internet at my house for a solid 5 to 6 months when these episodes aired, so I only got a very brief window to view them all. But this was the first Amethyst song in a long while, and I didn’t want to forget it! So I keep replaying it in my head for ages. And that’s still definitely a thing.

Anyway will never not be sad that this entire song was about making it up to Garnet for Amethyst’s perceived slights with Sugilite (which was a two-way road), only for Garnet to pressure her into fusion later when pissed and never discuss it again bc Garnet probably never thought twice about it and Amethyst has the emotional openness of a clam that’s just been told its ugly. Helluva way to make someone feel like shit, G. Helluva way to bottle that shit, Ames.

20.) On the Run

I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Amethyst! Needed! More! Songs!

The dichotomy between Steven’s play and Amethyst’s honest desire to run away from home is so well-done, especially when you consider a lot of Steven and Amethyst’s actions are playing together. The song is also near and dear to me simply bc it’s my favorite Amethyst episode to exist (well, maybe second to What’s Your Problem, but not by much). Moments like these are all the proof I need that they were right to fuse first.

21.) Be Wherever You Are

This tune really just feels like an ode to who Steven was as a kid. Trapped on an island with no way home, and he’s just happy to be with his friends. The stars are beautiful and not oppressive. Also that one animatic with Lars and the Off Colors playing in the Homeworld Kindergarten to this music was iconic and made this song get stuck in my head for a solid month.

22.) Familiar

I ADORE how the crew use bright neon colors to show how alien Homeworld can be. And Steven recognizing that the Diamonds treat him how the CGs used to, and how prepared he is to “fix” a broken family. It’s a soft, gentle tune about melancholy. Also the Pebbles are beautiful.

23.) Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart

Such a cute little love ballad, but every time I listen to it now I just imagine the heart attack Rose must’ve had at the line “And if we look out of place/Well, baby, that's okay/I'll drive us into outer space.” like there’s a Vietnam war flashback if I ever heard one

24.) What Can I Do?

I’m kind of neutral on this one? Rose and Greg both have great voices, but the song itself lacks many lyrics. I think it was definitely a good way to show Rose’s flaws in thinking.

Also, I’m shocked they managed cram that much vaguely sexual innuendo into two minutes, followed by how Not Hetereo that dance between Rose and Pearl was, and not get their asses chewed by it. You go guys.

25.) Cookie Cat

I love a lot of the vibes this song has. The lyrics are so damn prophetic, but they also sound like the kind of weird 90s commercials I grew up on. It’s been like two decades since I saw the Shirley Temple commercial but I’ll be damned if I don’t remember “Animals crackers in my soup! Monkey and rabbits loop-de-loop.”

26.) Giant Woman

I am. NOT the biggest fan of Steven’s original singing voice. I feel bad saying that, since it was just Zach Callison as a kid, but he never jived well with me for some reason. So I wouldn’t listen to this on the fly.

The song itself is still really good though, with all sorts of fun animation of Amethyst and Pearl being bitchy to each other. It’s a bit sad in hindsight to see tiny Steven trying to get his moms to get along. Ahh, season 1.

27.) Strong in the Real Way

This song has SUCH a strong start. Pearl reflecting on Sugilite’s problems, but the show making sure to show us that Pearl’s lack of enthusiasm towards her also lends itself to jealousy as well as just general malaise. How much she cares about Steven, and wants him to grow up strong.

And then Steven just kinda. Ruins it? I appreciate his enthusiasm for tryna bulk up but to take what was starting as such a rich, personal song and broadcasting it to random strangers just makes me a bit sad. Almost a bit angry on her behalf?

28.) That Distant Shore

I KNOW this is gonna create some discourse, but I’m just not the biggest Lapis stan. I love her voice. I love the visuals of the song. And I get why she felt afraid and needed to flee.

But Lapis never got to take responsibility for her own actions. And, in the end, the song feels hollow to me- because we all know she’ll never talk to anyone about it, know she’ll burst back in and destroy the barn, and no one will ever question it. I like Lapis a lot, but I feel like her arc never was fully finished. She never got help. She never learned to feel safe.

29.) Dear Old Dad

I’ve yet to meet a single human being who likes this episode tbh. There’s some great discussion about what kind of parent Greg is from it, and what kind of dynamic he has with the Gems that he felt he had to fake an injury to hang out with his son. Honestly the first half was fine and dandy. It’s just that then they Greg just went out of his way to drag Steven away from missions and such. It never jived well with his character before or after.

Also, is it just me, or does Zach himself sound like he hates the song as he sings it? There’s no passion or heart in his voice. It sounds like they told him to read off cue cards and he did. Tom Scharpling’s best attempts didn’t save this one for being a skipper. But the episode, unfortunately, isn’t, so it gets a spot on here.

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