#steven universe analysis

[artbyblastweave]

I'm not the first to mention this, but one bit that I thought was really clever in Steven Universe is the ways in which the show subtly justifies the cartoonism of the principle cast always wearing the same outfit for ease-of-animation purposes. The gems are a gimme in that they're all hardlight-projections, and even before that's solidified as a plot point they're otherworldly and superheroic enough that you don't really think to question it. But Steven canonically just owns hundreds and hundreds of those star shirts, which are leftover merchandise from his father's fizzled-out career as a rock star. Into which you can read a whole bunch of other stuff if you really want to, right? And I do want to. It's reflective of Greg's misplaced optimism that he got hundreds of those made in the first place, and it's a benign but visible example of how Steven's life is shaped by the knock-on effects of decisions his parents made before he was even alive. He's got his mother's superpowers and he's wearing his father's shirts.

#steven universe #steven universe analysis #greg universe #thoughts #meta #su #contrast Connie who actually does have a range of diverse outfits #and tastes in outfits which evolve over the show! #because she's part of Steven's Universe #but she has somewhere to go home to

[new-kit-on-the-block]

I just love how absolutely integral Pearl is to the entire plot of Steven Universe

You could just say that Pink couldn't have faked her shattering without Pearl and leave it at that, but on rewatch, I noticed that it actually went a bit further than that

(somewhat long analysis below the cut)

In the first chronological scene that we see of Pearl, she was by Pink Diamond's side as she was checking out the condition of her new Earth colony

Pink, in an attempt to break the ice, asks Pearl "Did you ever imagine that running a colony could be this dull?" to which Pearl responds "I could imagine it if you would like me to, my Diamond."

At this, Pink looks away in obvious disappointment, which Pearl picks up on. I didn't notice it the first time around, but I realized that Pearl actually made note of Pink's reaction and adjusted her behavior accordingly, but we're not there yet, just bear with me

Pink then asks Pearl about any updates on Earth, and Pearl tells Pink that her first Amythest soldiers are starting to emerge, which obviously excites Pink

They go down to the ground floor of the moon base and use its hologram function to witness the Amythests emerging up close

Pink is initially excited to witness it but quickly grows disappointed that she can't actually interact with them due to it only being a hologram

Pearl notices this and offers to have them warped down to Earth, which Pink declines, stating that it would be ridiculous for a diamond to go down to her own colony personally

And then Pink wistfully asks "But could you imagine me down there, laughing and playing with them?" Pink doesn't expect an actual response, but Pearl remembers Pink's reaction from earlier, and instead of saying that she could imagine it, she actually does imagine it by showing Pink a hologram of her having a great time with the Amythest soldiers

Pink is immediately intrigued by this sight, but once again declines by saying that she would never hear the end of it from Blue and Yellow

And this is the exact moment when Pearl, in her first-ever act of free will, changed the course of history

Pearl simply responds with "They won't find out because you look just like a quartz." Her hologram changes so that Pink instead looks like a quartz soldier

This was interesting to me on rewatch because it meant that not only was Pink's plan to fake her own shattering entirely hingent on Pearl, but Pearl was actually the one who invented the persona of Rose Quartz in the first place

And even after that, there were several important moments that were either pushed along by or entirely dependent on Pearl

The entire reason that Rose became so fixated on allowing gems to have free will was because of Pearl's first attempt to fuse with her, you can immediately see after the failed attempt that Pearl had sparked something inside of Rose

And on the topic of fusion, Pearl fusing with Rose in front of Greg out of jealousy is what caused him to try and fail to fuse with Rose, which ended up bringing the two even closer together

Some of the highest-rated episodes in the show are Pearl-centric, with the exception of Jail Break, which was Garnet-centric

But if you really want to go there, Pearl attacking Sapphire is what created Garnet in the first place

Over and over again, Pearl and her past continue to affect the main story in really big and important ways, I would even be willing to say that, aside from Steven himself, Pearl is the most important character in the show plot-wise

And I just think it's really great how a gem that was specifically designed to serve others mindlessly, a character that often got so overlooked by the fandom in the early days, ended up having such a huge role in the story

And it was all centered around Pearl actually gaining a sense of agency over her own life

#pearl #pearl steven universe #pearl su #steven universe #su #steven universe analysis #su analysis #cartoon analysis #media analysis #character analysis

[phoenix-universe-jpg]

I love Amethyst in "What's Your Problem" bc she was like "yeah this really upsetting, and I'm mad, but let me not make that Steven's problem" and that's super important. She genuinely wanted to give Steven the time and support to process things, and not dump her own problems on him in a way that would force him to repress and push his feelings down. If every issue in SU would've been handled like how Amethyst handled the Rose/PD thing, then SU Future probably would've been a real epilogue, and not us watching Steven's mental health deteriorate in real time. Idk, just some thoughts.

In a way, I think the Gems still see Steven as Rose. In that they trust and confide in him about their issues, and expect him to help them figure it all out and solve their problems. It wasn't healthy, and I'm glad at least Amethyst was able to stop and think about how everything made Steven feel.

#steven universe #su #steven universe: the movie #su future #amethyst steven universe #steven universe analysis #steven universe future

[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

[inbarfink]

So one of the cool and interesting ways ‘Steven Universe’ used to try and balance being both a series of 11-minutes episodes that each have their own satisfying emotional resolution and being an overarching story with complicated character arcs that take multiple seasons to resolve is the… I’m going to call it the ‘Not Quite Right Lesson’ episodes. Episodes where a character kinda learns a Very Important Lesson… but a more careful and retrospective look at the situation shows that what they learned is not Quite the Right Thing for them. They internalized something in that adventure which just ended up causing more Emotional Troubles for themselves farther down the line.

‘The Test’ is the most classic example. 

As a standalone thing, it’s just a sweet episode about Steven learning to accept that his caretakers are also flawed and confused and figuring this shit up as they’re going along just like he is, and then doing a nice thing for their sake.

But looking back at this episode, it is quite obviously the nadir of Steven appointing himself as the Family Therapist and repressing all of his problems so he could better help the Gems’ with theirs. Like, there have been some early warning signs for this Complex, but this episode is the one that really cemented that idea in his mind and probably the reason it took him like the Entire Rest of the Show Including a Post-Finale Season to really untangle it.

But… also, I’ve been thinking a lot about the episode right after that, ‘Future Vision’. I think it’s also a very important ‘Not Quite Right Lesson Episode’ for the character of Garnet, and to some extent, the Crystal Gems as a whole. In many ways, it is to the CGs' character arcs' what 'the Test' is to Steven's.

So in this episode, Garnet reveals to Steven the fact that she has Future Vision. She hoped that telling Steven a little bit more about herself and being honest with him will lead to a greater understanding and a greater bond between them… but it backfired. It just led Steven to become a total paranoid, terrified wreck stuck in a total existential crisis.

And it seems like the lesson Garnet learned is that… she should’ve never taken that risk at all. That it would’ve been better for everyone if she just kept Steven ignorant of the truth forever.

Extremely reinforced with the ending of the episode, where Garnet chooses to once again hide an uncomfortable truth (that he just came very close to dying again) from Steven, for the sake of his own ‘peace of mind’.

So, like, the Gems were already hiding uncomfortable truths from Steven since day one. “If you could only know what we really are” and all of that. But I think… With the actual truth of Homeworld encroaching on them more and more at this point of the story arc, this would’ve been a great time for the Gems to reconsider their attitude and actually Explain to Steven What the Hell is Going On. 

But instead, I think Garnet saw the events of ‘Future Vision’ as a reinforcement of the idea that there’s just some things Steven is Better Off Not Knowing. Actually being frank with him about Homeworld and the Diamonds and the War right there and then, that would have just overwhelmed Steven with fears and worries and would’ve ended up doing nothing but hurting him. And Garnet can’t accept that possibility, not again.

And so, Garnet, alongside Amethyst and Pearl, keep all these truths from Steven as long as possible. Only revealing bits of information when they have to. For Amethyst it’s about her emotionally-evasive attitude (also, she legit doesn’t know all of that stuff herself). For Pearl it’s about how she learned to romanticize Rose’s own fucked-up obsession with secrets. For Garnet, with her usually very direct attitude and preference for the most straightforward solutions, I think it’s very much the events of ‘Future Vision’ that were still playing in her head every time she had the choice to actually Explain something to Steven and decided not to. 

But that, indeed, was Not Quite the Right Lesson. While being bluntly and directly told by Garnet all about the Many Ways He Could Die caused Steven to go into an anxiety spiral and an existential crisis for an episode - the way the Gems have been consistently secretive and evasive with Steven ended up causing him so much more emotional grief to him in the long run. As all of these secrets ended up revealed to him in the most surprising, dramatic and traumatizing way possible.

And the secretive attitudes ended up driving a wedge between Steven and the Gems. 

Even after they promised to be more honest with him. Because the sight of Steven crying on the roof that day is one that Garnet can easily move away from. Because Garnet’s Not Quite Right Lesson was almost as difficult for her to unlearn as Steven’s own. 

But after the big confrontation at the start of the Zoo Arc, Garnet ended up being the most upfront about the Crystal Gems’ history. Almost overeager to share what she knows about the past.

I mean also, again, Amethyst just has less to tell and Pearl is hiding secrets for reasons beyond her control - but I think it’s also important to consider from the perspective of Garnet’s arc.

Because the fallout of the Pink Diamond Reveal is very much centered around Garnet (or, well, Ruby and Sapphire). That was the Truth that was hidden from her 'for her own good'. And at the end of the day, despite all the grief that unveiling that truth has caused

It has also brought them, all of them, a lot closer.

There's a reason why 'the Truth' is Garnet's Final Missing Piece in the movie. It is as central to her character arc in the series as Lesbian AngstTM grief over lost love is to Pearl.

And still, some remnants of the Trauma of 'Future Vision' remained...

After all, even the very last episode of 'Future' was centered around the Gems once again trying to hide things from Steven (at that case, their turmoil about him leaving) for his own sake

Even though it once again just caused Steven a whole lot of grief.

It's maybe notable that at the end of this episode, Garnet, once again, tells Steven what's waiting for him in his Future...

#steven universe #su #steven universe future #su future #suf #su analysis #garnet #garnet steven universe #garnet su #steven #steven universe garnet #su garnet #ruby #sapphire #ruby steven universe #ruby su #sapphire su #sapphire steven universe #steven quartz universe #steven quartz demayo #su steven

[picturejasper20]

Steven Universe as a character is someone who has been mischaracterized and flanderized over the years, to the point people who aren't into the fandom or haven't watched the show believe that mischaracterization to be a fact rather that a product that comes from memes and jokes

The truth is that Steven often fights in the series when it is needed, usually by fusing with someone else like Connie or Amethyst since he is still developing his powers in the original series. He doesn't cry when he has to fight back or defend himself, with exception if the person attacking is someone he considers a friend. Because, yes, for a 14-15 old teenager it isn't fun having to do something like that and it can be traumatic.

He also doesn't start to cry the moment someone refuses to change their mind or is being mean. He often isn't afraid to be sarcastic or call that person out. He didn't cry when Aquamarine mocked him in ¨Stuck Together¨ nor when Jasper didn't apologize for poofing Amethyst in ¨Crack the Whip¨

However, what we see is sometimes him blaming himself for not being able to help people that, more often than not, have been hurt by Rose Quartz, his mother, in some way. After Season 3, Steven fears a lot that he is going to become like Rose and he is going to hurt people the way like she did.

In general Steven deals with an Atlas complex in the show. He feels like he has to fix his mother mistakes and deal with ¨what she left behind¨ even when Rose wanted for him to be his own person as seen in the tape she left for him as it was revealed in the episode ¨Lion 4: The Alternate Ending¨.

Steven also defines his identity a lot for being to help other people and fix their problems. He believes that he has to be ¨useful¨ for others. So when he believes that he failed to help someone, that may lead him to think that he isn't living up to his ¨purpose¨ or that he is a failure as a person.

In reality, he isn't that much different from other hero protagonists from other animated shows. Those who are kind and emphatic and willing to listen to other people and give them a second chance if the person changes their ways. You probably like an animated show that has a protagonist like this. (Who was probably taken inspiration from Steven if the series came out after SU).

The main difference, i think, is that Steven goes a bit more than those protagonists do when it comes to listening to other people, understand their motivations and give them another chance if they regret their actions. A lot has to do with how he is aware that his enemies (usually gems) act the way the do because of the system they were born into rather ¨they are evil just because¨. He gets that their motivations come from the system that hurt them or lead them to believe that their actions are justified.

Another common mischaracterization is that Steven becomes super buddies with every person he helps...when this isn't always the case. There are some occasions that Steven shows discomfort around people who he has given a second chance. Just because he gives them a second chance doesn't mean that he immediately considers them close friends, maybe allies at best.

A good example of this is the gif above of Steven's interactions with White Diamond in ¨Homeworld Bound¨. White Diamond touches Steven very close to where his gem is- which makes Steven distressed since in his battle again White, she ripped his gem out to prove that Pink was still ¨alive¨. In most of the episode Steven shows to be very uncomfortable around the Diamonds and Spinel, to some extent. They bring him bad memories, which is the main reason he has been doing everything to avoid going to them to ask for their help until this point in Steven Universe Future. He even almost accidentally hurts White's gem by smashing her head against a pillar when she lets him control her to talk to himself. This being result of a intrusive ¨vengeful¨ thought.

I wouldn't say that Steven hates the Diamonds,but- he doesn't want to be their friend neither and wants to avoid in general because he feels nervous and bad around them. It's something like ¨I'm glad that you are changing but i don't want to be associated with you. Please, i would appreciate if you kept your distance from me.¨ dynamic.

On last point, Steven is someone who usually pushes his feelings down in certain situations and buries them down, which has led him to have strong emotional outbursts in bad moments. He usually prefers to ignore his own problems and take priority on others. Again, this comes a lot from his desire to be useful and be needed, making him trying to ignore how he feels about certain people and pretend that he is doing fine.

This explains why we don't see him lash out that much to others in the original series, and, why he feels so frustrated and angry in Future, since all that anger and negative feelings can't no longer be ignored as they used to and they are having a negative impact in Steven's mental health. This, of course, isn't meant to be seen is a healthy coping mechanism. It is in fact potrayed as something pretty self-destructive for Steven, as a huge flaw of his, that over time he comes to learn that it isn't the best way for him to deal with his problems.

These are some of the most common misconceptions i have seen about Steven's character online. I could go in more depth with some of them but i think the points should be clear enough. This could be considered a general analysis of how Steven is as a character and how he operates, leaving aside more specific things that can be covered in other posts.

#steven universe #steven quartz universe #steven universe future #rose quartz #su analysis

[kitkat-the-muffin]

Tis a niche of its own

Sorry there is only two female characters, I kinda pulled these off the top of my head and probably missed a ton of other candidates. Reblog with an addition if you have one!

Edit: I forgot to make this poll a week long! Once this poll ends I'll remake it with new additions depending on the results (the characters with the fewest results will be replaced with suggested characters from the notes so be sure to suggest some!) in the meantime tho plz reblog to increase sample size

This follows my own definition of what "Comic Relief" means: A character that is used as a conduit for comedy in a piece of media

Through character studies I have determined that there are 5 types of comic relief: the Character Relief, the Audience Relief, the Tone Shifter, the Butt of the Joke, and the Slapstick. Characters that identify as "Comic Relief" usually fall into one or more of these categories

Further explanation under the cut

The Character Relief refers to a character who actively makes jokes to be funny in-universe through conscious humor. Examples from this poll would be Sans and Rayla, who go out of their way to make their friends laugh

The Audience Relief refers to a character who makes the audience laugh regardless of their impact on the story. Examples from this poll would be Lapis and Gus, who are often involved in comedic bits meant for audience entertainment that aren't acknowledged by the narrative as anything unprecedented

The Tone Shifter refers to a character who makes jokes to relieve tension and shift the tone of a scene, either consciously or unconsciously. Examples from this poll would be Jay and Leo, as they both consciously make jokes about grim situations to help their friends or family feel better. Additionally, Jay would do this unconsciously before his trauma made him start doing it on purpose

The Butt of the Joke refers to a character who is made fun of by other characters in-universe, whether endearingly or not. Examples from this poll would be Dewey and Lance, who are often met with insults whenever they do something wrong or silly. The insults are usually meant to be endearing and comedic, but they can still feed into the character's possible inferiority complex. This also applies whenever a villain hits them with a sick burn*

The Slapstick refers to a character who is made fun of by the narrative and the audience like a punching bag. Examples from this poll would be Sokka and Yusuke, who are sometimes put in troubling and awkward situations as a gag for the audience's entertainment alone. These gags are not fun for the characters yet delightful to watch

Most comic relief characters can be characterized as multiples of these. For example, Jar-Jar from Star Wars is both Slapstick and Audience Relief, and even if you don't find his jokes funny that doesn't change the fact that they were written with your entertainment in mind

If you're curious how a "The Narrative's Favorite (derogatory)" character would fit into this chart, they're likely both a Butt of the Joke and a Slapstick character, making their life absolute hell. To be honest, MK from Monkie Kid is an example of a character who fits all 5 categories, but he isn't blue so he isn't in this poll

*Ok if you've ever seen Phineas and Ferb Mission Marvel let me just say MODOK is a total Butt of the Joke and my favorite line in that special is when a TV announcer calls him a "Giant Chicken Egg with a Face" and I just had to mention that omg

#I wanted to put Aqua from Kingdom Hearts but she's technically not a comic relief character #I did initially put Phoenix Wright down but ultimately decided Lapis needed a shoutout #Phoenix is both Butt of the Joke and Slapstick. no wonder he's traumatized #polls #comic relief #character analysis #atla #atla sokka #ninjago #jay walker #voltron #vld lance #ducktales #dewey duck #sonic the hedgehog #the owl house #gus porter #undertale #sans undertale #the dragon prince #tdp rayla #persona 5 #yusuke kitagawa #rottmnt #rottmnt leo #steven universe #lapis lazuli #ok ko #ok ko let's be heroes #omg im out of tags

[imminent-danger-came]

Hot take, but I think MK is only focused on the city/innocent people mainly because of how it contributes to his vision of a "hero". Like yeah, obviously he cares, but he's so much more focused on his own life and his own friends rather than the greater good (which, valid). Like I think of instances like the end of 2x03, where they distinctly don't help clean up after Pigsy's ping-pong relapse, and the fact that we've only seen MK helping strangers TWICE in the whole show (2x05, where he attempts to stop spider queen by aiding who he thinks is an innocent girl, and those old ladies in 4x01, partly a result of his guilt over LBD), and it's just like. My mans is not his own definition of a hero ("We help people! I mean I- I help people!").

In AHIB MK steals a civilian's hover bike, and he didn't give it back (we see it show up again in 1x09). In 1x01 it's "What about my friends? The city? They're all counting on me!", with his friends notably first. In 4x02 Azure highlights "It's too late to save them! We can't risk unleashing the curse into the world!" to which MK replies "You don't know, we'd risk it for sure!". MK has already chosen his friends over the world. He'll do it again. I think of the end of s3 and his words: "The perfect world is what you make it—so as long as I have my friends by my side, this world! Is! Perfect!".

MK has spent the first 4 seasons of this show maintaining the status quo. Unlike the Lady Bone Demon and Azure, who try to bring about real change, MK is reactionary. He has to be pushed into taking action or solving problems. He's fixing what other people break rather than taking a stand himself. MK doesn't embody a typical selfless hero—which, tbh he doesn't need to, it's why I find him so interesting. He's so obsessed with being the hero and being a "good guy" that he's almost missed the trees for the forest.

Like, MK's defining moment as a "hero" who helps others (set up in 2x07) is saving Mei in 3x10. Saving his best friend. The only reason he had the determination to reach out to Mei at all was because she was so close to him. We see something similar to samadhi fire Mei play out in 4x14 with Jade Emperor Azure, and MK doesn't save him. MK let's Wukong stop him from reaching out to Azure. Azure dies.

I love this guy

#This is why I dislike when people compare MK to Steven (Universe) #Like there are similarities. Of course there are. BUT THEY ARE AT THEIR CORE NOT THE SAME #STEVEN WOULD HAVE SAVED AZURE. MK DIDN'T. #Anyways be prepared for lmk post spam I am biting my teeth rn #AND LOOK. LOOK. IT'S NOT THAT MK'S NOT A GOOD KID OR THAT HE DOESN'T HELP ANYONE #HE'S JUST WAY MORE FOCUSED ON HIS OWN LIFE AND HIS OWN FRIENDS AND HIS OWN GOALS #In general MK gets very tunnel visioned. He's short sighted. His main goal is to help his friends which usually also helps the world #HE'S GIVING PERCY JACKSON OKAY #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk MK #lmk analysis #imp tag

[problematic-faves-appreciation]

Here is a list of words to use instead of "filler episode"!

• Episodic

• Lower-stakes episode

• Character-driven episode

• Worldbuilding episode

• "Lower-Deck" episode

You can replace "Lower-Deck" with a subject specific to your favorite show: "Clone" episodes

• Breather episode

• Bottle episode

• Slice of Life episode

• Monster of the Week episode

• Stand Alone episode

• "Skippable" episode (if you must, but at least it's better than calling a non-anime episode "filler")

#media analysis #western animation #'filler' #steven universe #the bad batch #my posts

[peri]

Peridot and Unlearning (Internalized & Externalized) Homophobia

i.e., here's why peridot's redemption arc is partially (a metaphor?) about unlearning homophobia

the title sounds crazy but bear with me here.

let's start off with saying NO, fusion does not = romantic love. that's an age old discourse and it can be so easily solved by stating there are many different forms of love, and sometimes fusion is just for power (which is a form of love in-of itself, albeit fucked; the love for power or toxic love) HOWEVER, in many cases, such as Garnet's, it most certainly is about romantic love. so to keep it as brief as possible, thats what we have in mind in this post. it's gay love okay.

now, let's talk about the scene i just captioned. this is from the episode "too far," which is an episode about developing a crush and accidentally hurting them in the process of trying to impress them. (however you want to look at it, but thats how i interpret it) the fact it starts off with casual homophobia is important, coz it shows peridot still has a lot of prejudices despite recently becoming part of the team, which is full of gay people, undeniably.

peridot's redemption arc is partially about coming to terms with your sexuality, retraining your mind from internalized homophobia after being raised in such a homophobic society/household, and becoming proud of your sexuality / identity.

OBSERVE:

"you dont understand! im protecting a planet i was once trying to destroy! i used to follow every order - every rule!"

"now im a traitor! a rebel!"

"A CRYSTAL QUEEEEEER"

sorry i had that joke stored for this analysis since 2019. anyways

i'm going to try to keep this short, but more under the cut.

IM SO BAD at organizing my words so this post is rly hard to make so im gonna do it like this.

MORE EVIDENCE THAT PERIDOT'S REDEMPTION ARC IS COMING TO TERMS WITH BEING GAY / UNLEARNING HOMOPHOBIA:

being frustrated about joining a lesbian/gay gang

coming from a society where homosexuality is forbidden

telling off your mom by saying youre joining some rebel lesbians/gays to fight her oppressive society

wearing pride flags (stars) everywhere after coming out

looking up to experienced lesbians (Garnet)

the scissoring joke (from "too far." if you know you know)

furthermore, i thought it'd be fair to include peridot learning how to respect how people identify in other ways, such as names / how they prefer to be addressed. this, most of the time, goes hand-in-hand with homophobia.

peridot, narrating: "he also said he wanted me to stop calling him "the" steven." steven: "its just, steven!" peridot: "i told him i'd call him whatever i want!" [hiss] peridot: "he told me that was rude."

(from the episode "log date 7 15 2")

peridot learns how to respect how people identify. lgbt win

i should add she also eventually learns how to respect Garnet's whole deal in the same episode (log date 7 15 2) which was also a huge moment in her unlearning homophobia. which, btw if you dont know or dont remember, Garnet does by comparing herself to peridot's (assuming) gay ship between Percy and Pierre from Camp Pining Hearts, saying she was the optimized version of herself (the reason peridot "ships" them; theyre the best team logically according to her analysis ship chart)

anyways, now the biggest most obvious point is the fact that peridot actually is gay. i've referred to this episode a few times now, but thats becoz it really is a huge point in proving my 'thesis';

in the episode "too far," peridot is shown to get obsessed with impressing amethyst. peridot experiences something they havent yet up until this point: a crush. i mean, you can interpret it as you wish, but thats how i saw it. the butterflies, the obsession with making someone laugh, the fact peridot states amethyst is objectively the best gem of the crystal gems and emphasizes "damaging her standing with the best gem here" with their apology to amethyst after hurting her feelings.

and um, this.

🌈yeag

sorry im losing any professionalism i started this post with. also this is focusing on early-season / redemption arc peridot which is why its kind of short and is missing stuff from later seasons. i hope this was at least somewhat concise and easy to understand, and i hope yall see my point of view here! feel free to add on (theres SO MUCH its easy for it to skip my mind) if you have any other points youd like to make to support my cause and uprising. love you

#peridot #su #steven universe #q slur #idc abt the discourse w tagging it as that im doing it for a friend. love and light #im so sorry for the bad formatting im off my meds #peridot analysis #tagging that for personal ref ok bye

[artbyblastweave]

 On occasion you’ll see a Who-would-win matchup where people try to get Steven Universe to Talk-no-jitsu a host of “irredeemable” villains, and it really highlights something that I think gets lost in the weeds in discussions of, and perceptions of, Steven’s character. I’d argue that he’s not actually uniquely good at talking people down, he was just uniquely well suited to talking down the handful of people he did talk down.

He had an in with the Diamonds to start, and honestly coasted a lot on the outcome of actions taken before he was born in order to survive the endgame. He never talked Jasper down. He never talked Aquamarine down. Lapis came around but she wasn’t exactly a decisive victory and the show makes a point of how she has to carry herself over the finish line. He never really convinced Bismuth so much as the material circumstances changed and put the two of them in the same camp on their second meeting. Peridot decisively feels like a feather in his cap- he made a lot of right calls in quick succession with her, and they paid off fairly straightforwardly with no backsliding - but the sucess was still super contextual in that they only worked together at all because of the mutual danger posed by the cluster. He talked down Spinel but lost her almost immediately because she (correctly!) perceived him as only having reached out to her because he needed to in order to stop everyone from dying; he didn’t think far enough ahead to realize this was probably going to happen, and honestly he kinda got lucky the Diamonds showed up when they did because they might have been in that cycle for a while otherwise.

The kid’s not a rhetorical genius- his successes in redeeming his enemies are contextual, dependent on immediate circumstances, a lot of luck, and oftentimes on the person being “redeemed” making a personal decision that has nothing immediately to do with any argument Steven made. What Steven is actually consistently good at is providing support to his friends and family, convincing them to do stuff, managing their neurosis, and this is part of why Future hits him so hard- they don’t really need him to do that anymore. Indeed, one thing I really liked about Future is that it highlighted the ways in which Steven can be genuinely emotionally incompetent in ways that don’t pop as much when he’s a kid. I’m thinking of Guidance, Volleyball, and Together Forever in particular. The show actually has a very reasonable grasp of how far rhetoric and fuzzy feelings alone will get you! 

All of this to say that if you’re treating it as a given in your battleboarding that proximity to Steven is going to result in a character being redeemed, you’re doing it wrong. Being on the television show Steven Universe is what results in a character being redeemed. If you want Steven to be why, you’re gonna have to write an actual story. With context for how they met and got stuck together for the long haul. Maybe a plot, too.

#steven universe #steven universe meta #this one might be preaching to the choir #thoughts #meta #su #steven universe fututre #steven universe analysis

[viro-lil-goat]

a great White Diamond analysis I found

Finally a good interpritation of the diamonds!

its a shame its underrated, I really reccomend watching and sharing it if you would like it too.

A little warning for white noise sounds and flickering in the video.

#steven universe #su #white diamond #white diamond su #WD #steven universe diamonds #steven universe white diamond #su analysis #su essay #Youtube

[phoenix-universe-jpg]

I love Bismuth so much just bc she's the first and only gem that told Steven he didn't have to be like Rose. He felt like he had to reach this impossible standard set by his mom, and Bismuth just came in and was like "Just be you, you're perfect as you are" and I think that's important because before her, Steven had never heard that before.

#bismuth #su #su analysis #steven universe analysis #steven universe

[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

[gartenofbanny]

Let's talk about something different today. Jasper from Steven Universe is my favorite antagonist and I'm just going to casually explain why. So starting off with why I love her as an antagonist is that, Jasper is a huge threat, while she wasn't really much of an active threat she was still a huge threat ngl.

In her debut episode, Jasper managed to solo the Crystal Gems, poofing the strongest gem (at the time) Garnet and imprisoning the two other gems, Pearl and Amethyst while knocking out Steven in the process. When I first saw that when I was a kid, I was REALLY surprised because the crystal gems are extremely powerful in their own right but realizing that one gem took down the crystal gems with minimal effort shows how threatening Jasper is and how more threatening Homeworld as a whole is.

While Jasper was later on defeated by Garnet, it's still impressive because no other gem in Season 1 was really able to hold off Garnet, who was the strongest crystal gem at that time. So it takes a fusion between two gems to defeat Jasper which was shown consistently throughout Steven Universe. Not to mention the iconic battle in Steven Universe that somehow has fewer views on YouTube than the Undertale parody lmao. 💀

But then we move on to Steven Universe Future. After training a teenage Pink Steven for a while, Jasper with no hesitation fights him after Pink Steven challenges her. Let it be known that Pink Steven was gaining powers from his mom's gem who is Pink Diamond and despite the fact that Jasper was shattered in the end, she was still able to hold her own against a Diamond essentially.

Jasper is definitely the strongest lone gem I've seen since she's able to mop the floor with other ordinary gems and only loses against Fusions or Diamonds. But it would be really interesting to see her fight against Spinel or Bismuth.

Another reason why I like Jasper is that to me, she's a foil to the three main characters Steven, Garnet, and Amethyst.

Jasper is big, tough, and strong while Amethyst is small, not as durable as Jasper, and definitely not as strong as her. Jasper is the perfect version of Amethyst, physically even Jasper points out multiple times in "Crack the Whip" and "Earthlings".

She constantly looks down on and berates Amethyst for being physically inferior to her, but Jasper doesn't have the meaningful relationships that Amethyst has. So Jasper has power, but no friends, and due to her lack of teammates she always loses against others who have teammates.

In Garnet's case, Jasper forces gems to fuse with her in order to become more powerful which can hurt the gem she's fusing with in the process and even herself. Garnet is a fusion out of the love of two gems and she's able to handle that form for a long amount of time as opposed to Jasper who was able to withstand a fusion with a corrupted gem for like a few minutes at most.

Jasper does not know that fusion requires consent or love, when she fuses with another gem she's essentially using them to gain power which led to gems not wanting to fuse with her or forcing themselves out of the fusion with her.

Steven's case, she's a foil to his belief that everyone can change. Jasper in Steven Universe Future was the only character who for the most part did not change, she still remained a gem who worshipped their diamond regardless of the other gems aren't doing so anymore, she still remained violent and alone because she trained nonstop in a forest in isolation, and she still viewed power over everything.

She's also the opposite of Steven in one way because she tells Amethyst "Fighting is my life!" And Steven Universe isn't much of a fighter more like a pacifist.

So yeah that's really why I love Jasper and why she's my favorite antagonist in Steven Universe as a whole...but there is one thing I will say that I don't really like.

I don't like the fact that Jasper was brought back from being shattered just to do nothing after she was shattered. It immediately removed the tension that Gems can be erased due to the fact that Steven was able to repair and revive Jasper hours after he shattered her.

It would've really been disturbing if they just kept Jasper shattered because not only is the danger of shattering still..dangerous, but it will also somewhat work thematically with Jasper's character. Jasper is the only gem who didn't change their violent tendencies from the start and because of that, Jasper's fate couldn't be changed after she was shattered. But then again SU Future also showed that Yellow Diamond was able to repair shattered gems so it's possible that Steven doesn't even need the essence of all the diamonds to repair a shattered gem.

Would I be sad if Jasper stayed dead? Definitely, but it was pretty underwhelming to see her again just not do anything after she was repaired but then again what could she have done when she was repaired? Y'know?

Anyway, that's all for today. Thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a nice day! ❤️

#steven universe #su #steven universe jasper #jasper #antagonist analysis #villain analysis #steven universe criticism #steven universe critique #jasper steven universe

[picturejasper20]

Steven Universe Future: The Diamonds being part of the hug symbolism

In the episode ¨I Am My Monster¨ we see the Crystal gems reaching out for Steven when he becomes corrupted, as when he transforms into giant monster like creature as tall as the Diamonds. The Crystal Gems hug Steven to call him down and make him return to his human form.

One thing that gets some fans attention is why the Diamonds form part of the group hug since they themselves don't share the same closeness the Crystal Gems share with Steven. It does makes sense for them to show up and help because Steven went to ask for their help in ¨Homeworld Bound¨.

Well, yesterday i was talking to my friend Prpis (aka Purple Rose) on Discord about the last episodes from Future. She suggested that the Diamonds being part of this scene could be seen as Steven accepting that he is part diamond too, something he didn't want to associated himself with for most of Future series.

Steven spends a great deal of Future series fearing the idea that he doesn't live up to other expectations of him or what they think he is, as a ¨good person¨ who helps and heals others. He is obsessed with this idea that he has to be a ¨good person¨, as some idealistic form of perfection.

This is why he avoids telling the gems that he is going throught some important issues that are taking a mental toll on him. He doesn't want them to find out that he has been getting worse. He fears that he is going to be unworthy of love if he isn't ¨good¨.

Another fear that Steven has is becoming like his mother, Rose Quartz. He is scared of hurting people like she did and that feeds into his necessity of having to avoid being bad, of trying to not hurt others. Her mother legacy and the consequences of it are a huge burden on his shoulders that he feels that he has to carry even after he sees himself as his own person rather than having to be like Rose Quartz or Pink Diamond.

His fear of being Rose Quartz-Pink is also associated itself with the idea that he is part Diamond as well, and for Steven, the Diamonds represent the opposite of what he is supposed to be- a healer. He has only known the Diamonds for how they have brought pain and hurt others. He thinks of being a Diamond as ¨someone who hurts others¨ a person he is very afraid of being.

The irony of this is that Diamond powers can be both destructive and healing, as shown with Rose Quartz herself or the Diamonds when they changed their powers to their new purpose of fixing the damage they have caused and helping other gems. But Steven can only related these powers with bringing pain and hurt.

The Diamonds being part of the group hug could be seen as symbolism of Steven struggling to accept that he has hurt others and how he can do bad things just like the Diamonds did. He is confronted with the idea that he can't be ¨morally perfect¨ and that he may do bad things like Rose Quartz did.

Another thing that Prpis pointed out that the Diamonds are the ones that started this ¨chain reaction¨. White at some point during the episode brings up that she hurting Pink Diamond is what led to Spinel to being left behind by Pink. Blue and Yellow blame themselves as the source of Steven's suffering. And while they weren't the only reason, the way they treated Pink had an overall impact on Steven's psyche, such as it was Spinel's case.

So, The Diamonds being part of this scene, while not being very close to Steven, has a certain symbolic and narrative importance for Steven's arc and their connection to Pink Diamond. As Steven finally comes to terms with the idea that he will sometimes make mistakes and he isn't perfect, and yet, his family and friends still love him after all of it.

#steven universe #SU future #steven quartz universe #The diamonds #Pink Diamond #White diamond #Blue diamond #Yellow diamond #I Am My Monster #Su analysis