love-takes-work

[love-takes-work]

Hi, I started wondering something about SU and wanted to get some other perspectives:

Do you think Steven would have been able to fix the crack in the geode in "House Guest" if Greg hadn't lied about his leg being healed?

It's really hard to say. Steven's healing powers in the show don't have a lot of consistency to them.

On the one hand, it's obvious his emotions and confidence and state of mind have a lot to do with how and whether he can access his powers.

But on the other hand, the healing powers don't seem to always obey the precedents. Steven's first known use of healing powers was an accident that developed while he was feeling low and rejected and hopeless (specifically about his powers): He "healed" Connie while being super sad that he hadn't been able to heal Amethyst. So that seems like an awfully weird time for his healing powers to START working if they depended on him believing he could do it.

(I also think it's kinda weird that "healing" Connie was presented as adjusting her eyesight to typical vision settings. That wasn't a wound or an illness. It makes me wonder if Steven's spit would "heal" other things that were nonstandard but not wounds, like closing up people's pierced ears or whatever. But we never saw anything like that before.)

So the healing powers seem to be a passive thing; if Steven puts his spit on something, it heals. He doesn't necessarily need to be thinking about or doing anything. There were several times when he tried to use his healing powers and nothing happened, so I guess we can conclude it's some kind of substance or energy that either is or isn't being produced in his spit--and when it's not there, it's not there, regardless of how he feels. If Rose's fountain can heal even without her being there, that means her healing tears worked the same way.

I'm guessing he suddenly stopped being able to heal when his dad made him think he hadn't succeeded at it for a reason, but I feel like his "you can't do it, therefore you're not useful to the team" feeling was VERY similar to how he was feeling when his healing powers FIRST manifested. So I'm not sure why feeling low and unconfident didn't affect his powers the first time but the second time the same feeling deleted them from his arsenal for over 60 episodes. (And since the first thing he healed--also accidentally--when his powers came back was a teddy bear, we know it doesn't have anything to do with whether the intended healing subject is alive.)

I feel like the healing powers in particular aren't written with a lot of consistency, but I think that contributes to the overall understanding of Steven. He IS inconsistent! He's growing up with a lot of unknowns, so it makes sense that at least one of his abilities would be sort of fickle.

#steven universe #su analysis #my su analysis #myblog

[love-takes-work]

This exists at Hot Topic now for some reason.

[Image ID: Steven Universe–themed Hydrating Lip Oil. Box indicates "Bubblegum Scent." Lip Oil tube is pink with Steven face silhouettes on the cap. Labeled as being for age 4+. /.End ID]

#steven universe #steven universe merch #myblog

[love-takes-work]

A Gaggle of Gregs

Can you imagine being Steven Universe's father lmao

#steven universe #greg universe #su merch #myblog

[love-takes-work]

I know everyone's different but the "what in the world what the hell how could this possibly be how anyone lives" reaction to people having more than six pairs of pants is very strange to me.

Maybe because I just like . . . have always had a lot of clothes. Which is maybe weird because I'm not like a fashion person or whatever. I think a lot of it has to do with how I take pretty good care of my clothes, don't have a lifestyle where my clothes take a beating, and mend my clothes if they do get a rip or wear out.

I just went and counted, out of curiosity. I have 38 pairs of pants that aren't leggings or shorts or whatever. (???) This doesn't count some that are in a box that don't fit me though.

Am I a clothes hoarder or something?

I don't even know how to estimate how many tops I have but I can definitely say it's over 500. and I wonder what kind of judgment that number would get me.

this does not apply if you wear exclusively leggings. Those things tear all the time you need like a million on standby

#personal tag #myblog

[love-takes-work]

My dashboard is significantly more SU-y because of the initial response to this already, thank you.

For clarification, I do not need your blog to be a SU-only blog to fit my request (just that I want to follow you if you sometimes post about or reblog SU), but I do want to say I'm not looking to follow for SU content that's exclusively fanfiction, canon-divergent fan comics, AUs, or OC development/art. That's just not my thing. (I might still like you if that's not the ONLY SU content you post, though.)

I know for many people there's not much to do or say anymore when there's no new content for the show, but I still have a lot to say and things I am doing/want to do! So I want to see yours! Especially if it's related to character analysis or real-life applications of lessons we've learned from the show. I do love some fancy or funny art, too, and merch posts are cool too.

Keep 'em coming, y'all!

If you still post about Steven Universe sometimes and I'm not following you (or you know someone of that description), tell me. I want more of my dashboard to have SU content but so many of the people I currently follow have moved on to other things mostly.

Edit: Leave recommendations in comments, reblog with recommendations, or message me, whatever you want.

#steven universe #myblog

[love-takes-work]

If you still post about Steven Universe sometimes and I'm not following you (or you know someone of that description), tell me. I want more of my dashboard to have SU content but so many of the people I currently follow have moved on to other things mostly.

Edit: Leave recommendations in comments, reblog with recommendations, or message me, whatever you want.

#steven universe #myblog

[love-takes-work]

i think what’s on a person’s nightstand is very telling so reblog this and put in the tags the things you have on your nightstand

#electric lamp #candle lamp #clock shaped like a star #bucket of pens #candle with my name on it #coaster #garnet nightlight #remote control for nightlight #the next two books I will read #myblog

[love-takes-work]

Today I had to explain to a guy at work why I could not print his file because it was a video

And then he still wanted me to somehow make it into a PDF for him

Eventually I found myself making screenshots of the video and making a PDF of that and somehow my life is a life that included this

#personal tag

[love-takes-work]

Okay I went ahead and signed up to get one of these and I couldn't be happier. I was just hoping someone would sell one if they got to go to one of the events. I really don't go to events. So it means a lot that they're offering this!

Here is the tweet about it and here is the listing.

#steven universe #rebecca sugar #myblog

[love-takes-work]

Hot Topic is still releasing new Steven Universe shirts and some of the designs could really be a lot better if they asked a fan or two.

Here are some references, quotes, or ideas I really want on shirts. (Obviously with, like, actual designs and not me just slapping text on screenshots.)

What phrases and moments from SU do you think should be on a shirt?

#steven universe #su merch #hot topic #myblog

[love-takes-work]

Absolutely Excellent

My Betty at the bus stop cosplay + my tiny Simon. :) Had a lot fun being her two weeks ago.

#betty grof #adventure time #simon petrikov #fionna and cake #cosplay #myblog

[love-takes-work]

We gotta remember also that Pearl and Greg are living together

They've gotten so much better in the latter part of the original series (though we didn't see much interaction in Future) but Steven leaves his room to Greg and now these Gems will have been seeing SO much more of the original Mr. Universe.

Garnet and Greg were already bros all along and Amethyst and Greg are basically the same person in some ways with their hoarding and appreciation for bad food and shit TV and wild rock shows. Pearl will be making up for lost time to be buddies with Greg.

greg and pearl are giving off such ride or die mlm and wlw besties energy in that new poster, like,,, i bet they gossip over men and women they think are cute

#steven universe #myblog

[love-takes-work]

WHAT I need this.

Please tell me where I can find one, I love it

OBSESSED with this new su signing poster. pearl holding greg just because. slightly older steven with attempts at growing out facial hair. the little pebble in the corner. garnet criss-crossed on greg’s van. lapis’ pants riding down so low you can see her hip. bismuth with that muscle definition. connie’s preppy outfit. peridot’s blank glasses.

#steven universe #su artwork #rebecca sugar #myblog

[love-takes-work]

The first thing Steven wants when he discovers his mom's room grants wishes is a bed.

Interestingly, when he encounters Pink's room for the first time. . . .

He immediately wants a bed, and also gets one.

But it comes about in a very different way, doesn't it!

The version of Rose's Room in the Temple creates things on Steven's spoken command (mostly), but it does so out of clouds. He can see and interact with the items in the room, but they "aren't real." They can't provide sustenance.

Very interesting that both rooms belonging to Pink/Rose at different times in her life had the "immediate generation of what she says she wants" motif but in different ways. Pink's room was powered by Pebbles who listened for her commands and tried to create them as quickly as they could (in an albeit clunky way sometimes), but everything they built was real and solid and functional. Rose's Room was elegant and beautiful and fueled entirely by imagination . . . but ultimately wasn't real and could not be sustained in the real world.

An awful lot like some of the uncomfortable truths about Rose's real life.

#steven universe #gifs #rose's room #rose quartz #pink diamond #my su analysis #myblog

[love-takes-work]

My favorite is when they say "I don't like watching football! Does that mean I need a LABEL and a SUPPORT GROUP for being a NON-FOOTBALL-LIKER??"

Well, if most or all of your adult relationships were supposed to revolve around football. . . .

If many of your family and friends had repeatedly pushed you toward enjoying football and acting like you owe it to them to participate. . . .

If people told you you must be traumatized by bad experiences with football or didn't give it a good enough try just because it isn't your thing. . . .

If as a child all your presentations of what adult life would look like included some involvement with football. . . .

If people sometimes created elaborate ruses to expose you to football or abused you/shamed you into participating. . . .

If since early childhood you had been trained to secretly suspect something was terribly wrong with you because you don't enjoy it, but nothing you did changed how you felt and you wondered if you were broken. . . .

If people assumed you had no ability to love or enjoy ANYTHING and treated you like an alien because football isn't part of your life. . . .

If people regularly gave you football-related gifts and acted like it was weird that you didn't have a use for them and they were just being NICE. . . .

If people talked about football so constantly at your workplace or in your friend group that you couldn't help feeling left out or pressured to come up with an opinion about a team. . . .

If disinterest in football had been documented as a disorder in actual medical books and would sometimes lead to medical professionals trying to medicate you so you'd like it, or therapists trying to reason you into understanding that you're selfish or fearful if you won't try to like it. . . .

If every movie, book, and TV show (with few exceptions) featured football as a major plot point or at least incidentally, making you feel like you're the only one who doesn't get what it has to do with the plot. . . .

If the general life experience as a non-football-liker had you perpetually viewed as an outsider and left with no resources as to how to even imagine fulfillment for yourself until you met others. . . .

Then yeah, if that stuff was true, it would probably be very much worth having a label and a support group.

I dunno, sometimes it feels much better to have a neutral word to describe a neutral reality rather than being defaulted to "gay" at best and "frigid bitch" at worst

#asexuality #myblog

[love-takes-work]

Look closely! NOT an NFT figure!

My very sweet friend gave me this repainted Garnet for my birthday. I had told her the sad news that Funko was offering some very cool-looking NFT-associated figures (including Wedding Garnet, her wedding-clothing components, Blue Diamond, and a strange choice of Funko's mascot dressed as Steven). When I told her I was bummed that I would never own those since I don't do NFTs whatsoever, she made me this.

It's not the same but it's a different wonderful thing, of course. :)

As a pretty intense collector of SU merch (who incidentally most likely has the largest personal collection of SU merch in the world), sitting out the new Funkos was really frustrating for me, especially since Garnet's wedding was such a personally satisfying aspect of Steven Universe for me. As silly as it sounds for me to be moaning about not having some pieces of plastic, I really care about collecting and have taken it seriously for many years. I'm not going to be dramatic about it. I'm just disappointed in the merchandising choices that led to this situation, and I don't feel like I can participate.

I'm well aware I can buy directly on eBay but I am holding out against that temptation because I truly, truly detest NFTs and I don't want to send money to people who participated in this stuff either. If I thought there was still some way I could get these that didn't violate my principles, I'd love to do it, but I don't really see how. Too bad, so sad.

But I love my friend's rendition and I'd love you all to see her. :)

#steven universe #su merch #funko #myblog

[love-takes-work]

[Image ID: GIFs of Ruby and Sapphire from Steven Universe sitting in a fire-lit cave. Ruby says "I've never had a third eye before." Sapphire replies "I've never had more than one! It was nice." /.End ID]

A change of vision

This scene is more complicated than it looks at first glance.

Ruby and Sapphire have just fused for the first time and are awkwardly talking about their experience. Ruby says "I've never had a third eye before." On the surface, that's just a statement of fact, as is Sapphire's "I've never had more than one!" Ruby's only ever fused with other Rubies, and we saw that the Giant Ruby still had only two eyes. Sapphire's never fused at all, so of course she's only had one eye her whole life.

But we know from both the show's subtext and from Crewniverse statements that Sapphire's future vision is quite different from Garnet's. Sapphire sees one future, inevitable, unrelenting, separate from her involvement. She does not interfere; she describes what is. Ruby is the opposite; she is a Gem of action and emotion, impulsive, without much consideration. When they are combined as Garnet, Sapphire's future vision transmutes into something more dynamic. Garnet can see multiple futures, and she can get involved to choose the one she wants.

When Ruby states that she's "never had a third eye before," she's subtly making reference to the experience of seeing in a way that's new to her--not just a simplistic statement of physically having a different number of eyes than she's used to. Through being part of Garnet, she had a new experience of perception. She saw outside of the right now. She saw beyond a life of taking orders and carrying them out without any thought of what's next, any shred of judgment, any expectation of consideration. Even though it was just for a moment, her world opened up in a tantalizing way.

And when Sapphire said she's "never had more than one," she was describing a transformative experience as well. There was always one way before. One future. Vision, but no complexity. No consideration for emotion, for desire, for passion. With Ruby's impulsivity, her chaos, her ability to make destiny change, Sapphire's future vision became multifaceted when she was part of Garnet. She, too, saw beyond in a way she never had before. Suddenly, futures could involve choices SHE could make, and though that was scary enough to freeze her temporarily, she knew she wanted to have an opportunity to take leave of her tunnel vision and see in three dimensions (and beyond). "It was nice."

[Image ID: GIF of Garnet from Steven Universe in her early pink and blue form, looking at the camera with three wide eyes. /.End ID]

#steven universe #gif #garnet #ruby and sapphire #my su analysis #myblog