#what if there was a trans gem in steven universe

[nerdyerror]

TRANS GEM (steven universe)

#trangender #what if there was a trans gem in steven universe #steven universe fanart #steven universe oc #steven universe #funfact about me #i go to the same high school art program that rebbeca sugar did

[candyskiez]

I've also never seen SU, and posts of people summarizing media they've never seen/read/etc are hilarious, so here's what I know about SU:

There are people called crystal gems from another world, and they can fuse into different combinations of people to become different gems. I think the main ones are Ruby, Sapphire, Peridot, Amethyst, and Pearl.

Ruby and Sapphire are gay and their wedding was an important queer cartoon milestone!

Steven, the main character, is half gem. He's always wearing a red shirt with a yellow star on it.

His mom was a war criminal or something??

In the end, Steven didn't kill the evil villain, and that made people mad

Peridot is anxious and sort of an antihero, Pearl cries, Rose Quartz is big and beautiful

There's some kind of alternate universe future timeline thing, with a version of Steven called Stevonnie who may be either trans or an indication that Steven is trans

Something about watermelons? Idk, I vaguely recall a friend showing me an episode when I was like 10 and it had something to do with watermelon

This is so fucking funny. I'm framing this on my wall. I can't legally tell you what the actual plot of the episodes are I want to live in this timeline.

#this is VERY light hearted this made me smile very hard #how are you so close yet so far. this is so good. i love this. #im eating this. #steven universe spoilers #a little #steven universe #su #su peridot #su rose quartz #steven quartz universe #stevonnie

[renthony]

I think the biggest "what the fuck are you talking about" I experience when discussing Steven Universe is the people who bitch that the nonbinary rep was all space aliens.

Even if you completely ignore the fact that Rebecca Sugar is nonbinary and has talked openly about the gems as an important part of their own gender journey, there is literally a human nonbinary character in Future.

"Oh, but too little, too late!" Motherfucker do you understand how hard it is to get trans people on-screen to this fucking day?

#original post

[the1amazing-alien]

Tf2 + steven universe fans!!! (its a bit long)

Im making a tf2 au where theu are gems, i have some characters figured out, but i also need some help with the others

The characters i have done are:

-heavy as a topaz (his placement is his left palm,)mostly bacause of how topazs are presented in steven universe the show and how they are just quiet, Protective of eachother and generally just a good strong body gaurd, heavy often mentions money that he sends to his family. Money spent on his gun and that kid in that one comic he went to. Heavy had joined the team because he was deamed 'rouge'

-medic as a red pearl,(placment on the lower part of his chest) its going to suprise people but yes, a pearl, i like the idea of him having an owner, litrely murdering them and taking there skellington/ experementing with there gem, he then ran away and then was hierd by miss pauling as protection from sort of authority. Medic had joined the team because he was deamed a 'rouge' aswell as 'gem rotaitior'

-scout as a Citrine,(gem placment on his ankle) i was unsure what to do for him, but you thought this guy has self-asteme issues befor? Boom, hes a faulty Citrine. The normal Citrines are built like jaspers and quartzes, but scout just isnt, anyway i hc him as trans so ill sorta add that in a little bit. scout had joined the team because he was deamed 'faulty'

-miss p as a purple pearl(located on her collar) miss pauling didnt take alot of time to think of exept the fact she surves someone willingly and would die if the adminastratior would ask, so a pearl is a no-brainer, i think she would have a bit of power though, the mercs would listen a little more to her scince shes a pearl in power and above them.

I have my resoning for those that i picked i will NOT be giving medic the pearl body type. Mostly because of my hate for twink medic, he will be burly because yes. I also hc that some gems have markings on them, such as scars, past cracks, curruption and markings to do with there type of gem

Also i did research to figure them out and i still am, i might change them if i need to, but i will draw them soner or later

(if i made any sort of mistake please tell me or if you want to add anything, feel free to!!)

#team fortress two #tf2 #tf2 heavy #tf2 medic #tf2 scout #tf2 miss pauling #steven universe #topaz #pearls #citrine

[yeahprobablyh]

i do realize that steven universe already had a really hard time getting lesbian rep on air, and ruby and sapphire's wedding contributed to the show's cancellation, so this may be asking a lot of them .. but they had a prime opportunity to make canonically transmasc/nonbinary/genderqueer gems with the whole "all gems are technically genderless but fem presenting by default" thing

like. just an example, what if a gem found out what nonbinary is and they adopted that label because gems are already genderless and that makes sense to them

also if they made a transmasc gem i think i would've adored that guy (and the show) forever and ever and ever

to me, it would make sense to headcanon steven as trans because of the whole "all gems are girls" thing, but a headcanon just doesn't give me the same flavour of joy as canon representation would, y'know?

this is what fanfiction is for, i suppose .. !

#steven universe #cartoon #liveblogging #transgender #nonbinary #genderqueer #transmasc #lesbian #lgbt representation #fanfiction #ramblings #gender

[ratguy-nico]

I read this today and many thoughts came to mind so yeah this is another rambling.

'til this day I don't get over the fact that only last year we had the Last Season of The Owl House, the rushed end of one of the greatest series of the decade, that could have mark a new course for many series yet to come, the spiritual successor of another of the greatest series of all Gravity Falls.

The Owl House was released in 2020 just four years ago and it was cancelled in 2022, two years ago, presumable cause it had too much representation for Disney's taste.

This is obviousley not confirm, but everyone in the industry and Dana Terrace herself had made clear that this was the main reason.

All this just 2 years ago, many like to say we live in a time were LGBT+ community had all the representation they need, that everything is gay now days and and that this excess of representation is becoming tedious. And then this is a case from fucking 2 years ago.

It just so sickening, to think that yeah we have representation nowdays but it has to be a certain tipe of rep, it can not be too much, in the Owl House I think there was just one straight couple in the main cast, it has not to be too on the nose, gods forbid for the main character to be gay, lesbian, bi or the non existent trans representation, and it cannot be normal, if you are gay it has to be your main trait, your whole life, you have to have like many crisis as you can and have a whole out of the closet episode, it has to be the revelation of the century.

I still remeber Alex Hirsch puteando a Disney cause they didn't let him do many things he wanted with his own serie, among them the relationship betweenm the two town sheriffs, one of the cutest things in the show, and very funny too.

Alex Hirsch has always been very vocal about he's own despite for Disney as a creator that work for them. And thats why I love him.

I still remeber cartoon network forbidding Rebecca Sugar to say that the Gems were womans, cause that would imply that all the gems were lesbians and that was a totally No No for fricking Cartoon Network, the one everyone point when saying is only Disney the non inclusive one.

(why they never bring this back? what is wrong with Steven Universe?)

Though this end like a tiro en la culata which means backfire cause suddenly the gems were non binary or no gender which was fricking funny cause even more hard to explain XD

This also happened with Adventure Time, another Cartoon serie, were everyone was lost whith the Bublegum and Marcy kiss in the last episode, cause we were told they had a relationship in fricking Season 3 but no, they didn't tell explicitly that they were in a romantic relationship, cause you know... lesbian equal bad.

Their relationship keep getting explore and we had amazing episodes with this two navigating their feelings for each other, the past mistakes in their relationship and how to become better together. But all this while not telling us that they love each other, cause they weren't allow to tell us.

This is merely frustration on my part, I know we have better represantation nowdays, but... is not nearly enough, like I said, theres still close to non rep for ace or trans people, bisexual are getting better, though the rep still is plagued of horrible stereotype and fetization, but this is something lesbian and gays can have manage to avoid yet so what we expect.

So yeah we should celebrate our representation, and not let anyone tell us that is enough or too much, cause til this day the best ace representation I have seen comes from Todd from Bojack Horseman a serie from 2014 that ended in 2020, that set the bar and none had even try to fight, I hope Alastor become a better rep in this front, I really hope so. Lilith made an absolute great work, but sadley cause the serie was cut out we missed a lot of this character T^T

And Im not gonna talk about trans rep cause that's just sad.

I will always hold resentment to Disney cause of what they did to the Owl House, for sure, that something I hold near my heart everyday.

So yeah I totally use this persons post to talk about me me me, and I dont know them so prefer not to involve them in this.

And if you dont notice I keep this Animation Series only, cause theres too many series and I have not watch nearly enough, I know thers some with really good rep and others that are lit hot shit. So yeah the world is wild and full of shit.

Adventure Time 2010-2018

Gravity Falls 2012-2016

Steven Universe 2013-2019

Bojack Horseman 2014-2020

The Owl House 2020-2023

#... #okey I just read a post and suddenly all this came out of my mind #i just need to vent #no need to reading all this shit #this about The Owl House #about representation #about a lot of things #and this is not really about Hazbin Hotel #which is funny cause the original post it is XD #so yeah #just thinking #like always sorry for any misspelling or if you dont get anything

[frecklenog]

after spending an evening listening to jessie gender tell me about starfield, capitalism, gender, selfhood, and ursula k leguin, i had. some Thoughts about another science fiction series; one you're probably at least somewhat familiar with if you follow this blog or watch ms gender's videos.

to start off; hey. this is partially based on my own experiences, my understanding of them, and how that lens can be applied to star trek. it's also very much inspired by the work of jessie earl, whose channel i can't recommend enough. she's funny, intelligent, kind, and an incredibly gifted writer, and she's a gift to both the star trek, trans, and "video essay youtuber" communities. show her some love!

that said, i want to start by looking at star trek. we all know the vulcans, don't we? pointy ears, green blood — spock's dad's side of the family. gifted with telepathic abilities, vulcans are practitioners of the mind meld, also called things like a mind link, probe, touch, or fusion, which is exactly what it sounds like. it allows two (or more, on occasion) sentient life forms to exchange thoughts as though they were one being.

of course, this kind of thing is common in media. steven universe has gem fusions, which should be examined from a plural viewpoint in their own right. x-man charles xavier almost routinely delves into the minds of others. but rarely does it have any lasting impact on the characters. even star trek itself falls into this, with doctor leonard mccoy not getting nearly enough screentime in the voyage home to show off what must have been the intensely strange experience of carrying spock's katra within him. (maybe that's addressed in a novelization or comic that i'm just unaware of, but regardless, i haven't seen it, and i think that's a travesty. (and if you know of a book where that gets touched on oh my god give me the fucking link now-))

there are instances of star trek mind melds having lasting effects, as discovery shows part of sarek's katra being permanently linked to michael burnham, though that could be considered an extenuating circumstance, what with her being on death's doorstep at the time of the meld. which most trek fans probably already know, and is honestly more fantastical than i care to bother reading with a plural lens. however, star trek is a fandom with nearly sixty years of history, including hundreds of books and comics from various authors and publishers. these stories are plentiful, bizzare, and sometimes outright terribly written. i don't blame anyone for not having read them all — to do so seems like a terrifying task.

but the one i want to look at right now is a particular run of the star trek: the next generation comic, published in 2000 by wildstorm comics.

the run is called perchance to dream — a lovely, flourishing name for a comic where half of the plot could be it's very own jessie gender video for how much sexual weirdness goes on (but i'll leave that to the professionals). the part we're going to focus on is that the b-plot of the run surrounds captain jean luc picard, captain of the uss enterprise-d. the comic is set after the events of the star trek: the next generation season 3 premiere, best of both worlds: part 2. in that episode, the captain had been disconnected from the borg hivemind (after being assimilated in part 1), and he returned to duty as usual at the end of the episode (though he does choose to go on leave in the following episode). it's also set after another episode from later on in season 3, — episode 23, sarek, wherein picard preformed a mind meld with sarek in order to allow the aging ambassador better emotional control, as it was being ravaged by his bendii syndrome — essentially, vulcan dementia.

the a-plot of the run isn't really important to us, i'm afraid — although it reveals to us in the second issue that worf accidentally killed a kid on another soccer team as a child. suffice to say, one of the abilities of the aliens the crew has to play diplomacy with is that they can prod into people's traumas through their nightmares. they have a lot going on. it's a comic book from 2000, what did you expect?

and, speaking of things that are easily dated, the third issue of the run brings us to the second part of today's topic.

image id: a comic book page. beginning at the top, a narration box reads: "chief medical officer's log, stardate 48503.8. lieutenant commander data, doctor selar, and i have gone through the damiano [alien] records regarding the chova. while no direct way to combat the weapon was ever developed we have discovered that certain people were immune to the chova's effects and could destroy the weapon." doctor beverly crusher is beside the narration box, depicted from the shoulders up, facing slightly to the right and saying "there has to be another way." a vulcan -- doctor selar -- is viewed from the waist up, holding a padd in her right hand and facing to the right of the page. she is saying "we have been over the records six times a piece, doctor. if there is anything to find, it is likely that we would have found it by now." data, an android designed to appear as a human with pale yellow plastic skin, is holding a book slightly behind doctor selar. his mouth is slightly open as he speaks. "i believe doctor selar is correct. this is the only course of action open to us under the circumstances." to the right of this panel is another shot of beverly from the shoulders up, this time facing to the left. her expression is stern as she says "i know, i know, it's just-- it could kill him." in the next panel. beverly is shown from the back, and captain jean-luc picard enters, saying "you sent for me, doctor?" beverly responds, "yes, jean-luc. please sit down." below this, the left panel takes most of the remaining page. this time we see captain picard from the back, while beverly faces the reader head-on, speaking first. "we've gone through the records chief du're [irrelevant one-off character from the a-plot] provided. it turns out that there was one group of people who were immune to the chova when it was first used. mpd's." jean-luc repeats "mpd's?" curiously. to the right, data is shown from the shoulders up, saying; "mpd stands for multiple personality disorder. mpd can come about through psycholo--" but beverly interrupts him; "not now, data." end id.

ah, multiple personality disorder. a term that hasn't been clinically used since 1994. these days, we call this dissociative identity disorder (did), but it's one dissociative disorder of many, which is what beverly is talking about. for whatever reason, people with this sort of dissociative plurality seem to be immune to the specific trauma nightmares induced by these aliens. (finally, some good news.)

okay, neat! so, dissociative disorders and plurality have been canonically addressed in star trek. let's see how it goes!

image id also available unbroken in alt text. image id pt 1: beginning in the top left corner, beverly is shown from the shoulders up, facing the right side of the page as she speaks. "the point is the people who are afflicted with more than one personality would destroy the chova before it could affect them. the chova was only built for one personality. mpds would literally overwhelm it." in the next panel, to the right, picard is shown from the chest up, partially obstructed by speech bubbles. facing right, he asks; "how does this help us?" beverly is also in this right panel, although from behind, and nearly completely obfuscated by speech bubbles. she answers; "well, mpd was never a common occurance, and it's almost unheard of these days.there've only been two cases reported in the federation in the last two hundred years -- and damiano [the alien planet] hasn't seen a case in the last fifty."beverly continues. "however, we do have someone on the enterprise who has the makings of a classic mpd. i'd like your permission to ask this person to volunteer to undergo a mind-meld with doctor selar in order to bring the submerged personalities to the fore."

this particular line, i take umbrage with, as dissociative disorders are a lot more common than people might think, and star trek has shown us a future as tumultuous as our own present for decades. there would absolutely be people experiencing some level of multiplicity in everyday life both within the federation and without. but, again, this was written in the 90s, i think? i don't know how long it takes a team of professionals to make a comic book. but, i digress.

image id pt 2: picard responds; "permission granted, as long as it remains on a volunteer basis. who is the officer in question?" below, the leftmost panel is larger than the right. beverly crusher is shown in profile, facing right, with doctor selar and data behind her from the chest and shoulders up. picard is on the right of the page, slightly smaller, but also in profile, facing right to contrast beverly as he listens to her speak. "it's someone who's been exposed to an especially intense vulcan mind-meld, who lived another life for thirty-five subjective years— and who had a second personality grafted onto his own for a brief period by the borg. the next panel takes the entire width of the page, and much of the height. picard is shown in the middle, standing in a purple void. around him are three other male characters shown in bust. from left to right, they are; kamin, a humanoid man bearing great resemblance to an older imagining of jean-luc picard, wearing a plain blue shirt. sarek, a vulcan with grey hair, a turquoise shirt, and a green stone amulet on a large gold chain around his neck. he is cast in shadow and his eyes are not visible. locutus, an ashen version of jean-luc picard, with about a third of his face obscured by black metal exoplating and implants that surround his right eye. tubes come off of his face and neck, trailing behind him, and a red light made to shine at his point of focus shines from the side of his head. there are several yellow narration boxes, which read as follows. "sarek of vulcan. picard mind-melded with the legendary ambassador in order to lend him strength for an important negotiation — an act that almost cost picard his sanity." "kamin of kataan. a probe sent out by kataan before their sun went nova allowed picard to live most of kamin's adult life as a way to remember his people."

oh, yeah. did... did i not mention that that happened?

basically, he was targeted by a device that beamed him into the world's most immersive vr game — kind of like the one from rick and morty? if you watched that? if you didn't, sorry for bringing it up, and if you did, ditto. but it forced picard to live out an entire life as though he'd been abducted by aliens and placed in a sims game. though, ultimately, the plot intricacies of the inner light are beside my point.

image id pt 3: "locutus of borg. quite simply, the greatest nightmare of picard's entire life. the subversion of his intellect, his will, his very self to the collective of the borg." "all three are part of him, but they do not dominate. if picard does as doctor crusher suggests, he will subsume himself in order to let the others come to the fore. for sarek, for kamin, he would be willing." "but locutus--?" the next panel takes a little more than half of the remainder of the page. a narration box in the upper left reads; "then he thinks of his first officer, counselor, chief of security, chief engineer, and all the others who have fallen victim to this vicious weapon." the rest of the panel shows two sleeping figures, both humanoid, in what is presumably sickbay. the last panel takes the remainder. a narration box in the upper left reads; "and jean-luc picard makes the only decision he is capable of making." captain picard is shown from the shoulders up, facing slightly to the left and saying; "what do i need to do?" below his speech bubble is another yellow text box, which reads "to be concluded..."

...which is how issue 3 leaves us.

fortunately, we can pick up in issue 4 with ease, since these comics are over twenty years old. i'm going to do my best to limit my use of comic pages, juuuuust in case, but once we reach the sixth page, with the credits...

image id: a two-page spread. beginning in the uppermost left corner, narration boxes read; "welcome to the mind of jean-luc picard." "'locutus' was a personality superimposed upon picard when he was taken by the borg, meant to serve as the spokesperson for that cybernetic race's ruthless assimilation of what they described as the 'authority-driven culture' of the federation." "ambassador sarek of vulcan suffered from bendii syndrome. in order to keep the effects of this devastating illness from endangering his final mission, sarek entered into a deep mind-meld with picard in order to give the ambassador emotional control and stability." "kamin was a prominent member of the community of ressik on the long-dead world of kataan. a probe sent by the kataan people allowed picard to live kamin's life for several subjective decades, although less than half an hour passed in reality." "all of these personalities have made up a part of jean-luc picard, but he remained dominant." "until now." "this is the mind of jean-luc picard." the left page is mostly taken up by a large illustration of locutus, drawn in far more detail than before. trailing off to the right are two tubes or wires, as well as a speech bubble that reads "resistance is futile." also on this page are the details of the comic title, run, issue number, writers/artists, and copyright. taking up most of the right half of the right page is sarek of vulcan, drawn in less detail than locutus, but easily recognizable. his hair is a lighter grey, he is wearing white and cream robes and an amber amulet on a thick gold ring around his neck, and he is holding up his right hand in a vulcan salute/ta'al. depicted below sarek is kamin, drawn from the shoulders up, wearing a plain white shirt with a collar. below kamin is captain picard, also shown from the shoulders up, in his starfleet uniform, and surrounded by four lights, with two on either side of him. (there is also further copyright information beside him in fine print.)

...i'm pretty sure that this analysis falls under the "commentary" part of fair use. right?

but, regardless, this is kind of a huge thing to drop in a comic that virtually no one has bothered to read. i mean, especially when, amidst the clashing of picard's plurality with the a-plot, we get this panel;

image id: a single comic panel. kamin is shown from behind, speaking to locutus and sarek within a noneuclidean space with four circular white lights shining in the distance. "what is going on?" kamin asks. "we have been subdued for too long. but now we shall dominate, as we were meant to." locutus replies. sarek interrupts. "your logic is flawed, locutus. we are all merely aspects of jean-luc picard's mind." "you may be sarek of vulcan, but we are of the borg."

sarek is able to acknowledge himself, kamin, and locutus as "aspects" of captain picard, despite picard rarely if ever sensing them or their influence. picard is being, not just implied, but explicitly stated to have a latent form of plurality, and perchance to dream depicts it in a way that strikes true to members of my own system, at times, with certain alters first making themselves known in the front already well aware of who they are, and having existed without the my knowledge due to dissociative barriers that only came down later in life.

unfortunately, because this is a star trek media, locutus ends up assimilating kamin in the headspace and forcing himself into the front. however, as he does it, he says something that does, to an extent, resonate with the experience of being one among many, for better or worse.

image id: a single comic panel. locutus is shown facing the viewer, and his chin and the top of his head are cut off by the borders of the panel. his light breaks the plane of the panel to simulate the effect that it is shining into the "camera." locutus's mouth is open as he speaks; "for too long you have suppressed us, picard. but you are of the borg."

plurality is a defense mechanism by the brain to protect against trauma. it is, from what i have seen, more common among those who are already neurodivergent, which already presents in a myriad of ways. mixing the ugly truth of trauma with the raw reality of mental illness caused by it can result in certain alters feeling as though they are being suppressed by not being allowed to front and live their own life, depending on how the system functions. admittedly it is more common in fictional depictions of dissociative disorders for these alters to simply live their own lives in secret anyway, as is the case in the marvel tv series moon knight with marc spector, steven grant, and jake lockley (along with the other possible members of their system who may or may not be present depending on the canon, but those are the main three). but, in reality — or at least my experience — this more often translates to alters making themselves social media accounts, or using services like tupperbox or pluralkit on discord, or finding other ways to more discretely express themselves, such as icon changes or status updates.

but, getting back to star trek, this is ultimately a one-off comic. so captain picard saves the day with his secret alters, ends the mind meld with doctor selar, and goes back to living his life as a singlet, ready for the people of the future to be able to easily comprehend without having to read a very specific comic run from 2000.

...right?

image id: part of a comic page. each panel takes up roughly one quarter of the page each. in the first panel, counselor deanna troi is seen standing, having just entered captain picard's ready room. picard is shown from the back, sitting at his desk. "counselor! good to see you up and about." he greets her. "it's good to be up and about." she responds. "playing some old tunes?" [picard had been playing the ressikan flute prior to her entry.] picard responds. "mmm. i wanted to make sure that i still remembered how." in the next panel, we look over counselor troi's shoulder and across the desk at captain picard. "were you worried that you wouldn't?" she wonders. "actually, yes," picard answers. "after what happened..." the third panel shows picard facing the viewer head-on from the shoulders up. he continues, "i suppose i knew intellectually how close to the surface locutus, sarek, and kamin were. but i never really thought about it. they were — memories, experiences. no different from any other. but they're much more than that." the fourth panel shows counselor troi, facing slightly to the right as she speaks. "not much more. all three of them are part of you. but the important word is you. the fragmentation was artificially induced." picard asks; "was it?"

ultimately, yes, this is a one-off comic run that isn't very well known, and i only read because i took a personal interest in the subject matter. i knew going in that it wasn't going to fundamentally change the entire fandom's understanding of captain picard, or make the star trek fandom an instant haven for systems everywhere. but, still, captain picard has his doubts, and that truly touched me when i first read it as someone who was actively reckoning with the fact that past traumas that had impacted me more than i realized.

the comic goes on for a while longer, but the last thing it has to say on the subject of plurality is this.

image id: a single comic panel. counselor troi is seated in one of the chairs in captain picard's ready room, facing him from across his desk. she is on the left, facing partially right, and he is on the right, in profile facing left. the dialogue reads as follows. picard wonders, "was it [the dissociative fragmentation of his identity] truly a creation of the mind-meld, or was it simply breaking a dam that was already cracked?" riker interrupts over the comm. "riker to picard." "go ahead, number one," picard tells him. "it's time to beam down to damiano for the ceremony, sir." "thank you, commander."

and that's it. picard asks a question, then gets called away and never tells us his answer.

i think, at least subconsciously, that might be part of why i held star trek: picard to such a high standard.

to be clear, i hadn't read this comic when the first season of picard was coming out. but i was starting to grapple with my plurality, and i used fictional media as a means to do that (as is still evidenced by things like my system simon tag). the first season of the show was centered around both picard's relationship with both his legacy and his history with the borg collective. as mentioned in perchance to dream, captain picard had previously been assimilated by the borg collective — a cybernetic hivemind from the delta quadrant that absorbed cultures and species into itself, effectively wiping out the cultural histories of entire planets, at times, in their quest to become the "perfect" life form through a combination of genetic engineering and mechanical augmentation. and, as this happened, i came to know a young man named hugh who took form within my mind. a fictional introject, or fictive, of the character of the same name from season 5, episode 23, i, borg. with his help, i grew to further understand my own plurality, and saw the potential for our stories to be told in the wake of reclamations from the borg collective. the reclamation project became a hyperfixation, and—

and then came the jurati collective.

my own system bears no connection to the jurati collective, but it is a wonder, and can be examined through a plural lens as an allegory for our own experiences as dissociatives. many consciousnesses, all working together as one towards a common goal, and willingly. after all, what is a system if not a hive within one body?

and then came picard's third season, completely ignoring her, along with all the unique perspectives that stories surrounding her might have offered in favor of what felt like a final next generation movie.

ignoring me, it felt like.

is that silly? probably. but, try as i might, i am human, and so i have a propensity for illogic — no matter how much my autistic brain craves structure and definitive explanations in order to understand the world.

i'll be honest, i'm not sure how to end this. but, sometimes i remember the time in season 6, episode 20, the chase, when picard became incredibly excited about an ancient alien society that believed people were, indeed, collectives within themselves.

"...the kurlan civilisation believed that an individual was a community of individuals. inside us are many voices, each with its own desires, its own style, its own view of the world." -captain jean-luc picard

and i realize that, with the core tenant of this series lying in the infinite diversity of both the known and the unknowable — the building blocks are already in place. star trek is a media that has grown over the decades, and hopefully will continue to do so, because there are still so many ways for new and interesting and meaningful stories to be told within this franchise.

but, if you can't summon your representation from a nostalgiabait sequel/reboot within a preexisting intellectual property... there's nothing to stop you from crafting your own story and letting loose as many systems as you like.

#shut up emrys #star trek #star trek tng #star trek the next generation #the next generation #jean luc picard #captain picard #multiplicity #plurality #actually multiple #actually plural #first time using those tags. whoogh #uhhh. unsure of other tags.. #i think that’ll do tbh

[happysadyoyo]

Re: the white mlm shit from last night I have to admit it takes a mighty amount of self-reflection and care to not turn my discomfort about how mlm focused media are treated by gen queer circles into resentment.

The shows may not be my thing per say, and I get frustrated with how white, able, neurotypical, and young the most popular shows are, but when I see people blame mlm media for wlw media getting sunk it makes me actively avoid wlw media harder. I'm already barely interested in it; wlw isn't something I see myself in and is actively dysphoric for me and the lack of mlm relationships of depth in the media I do enjoy vs wlw (She-Ra is a good example. Steven Universe too. The latter especially stings as the gems are nonbinary but the wedding is treated like a wlw win and Ruby is my favorite character) hurts.

The same thing happens when I see women, cis or trans, belittle men's issues and struggles because men are supposed to benefit under patriarchy. And the fact that I have to wrestle with these emotions sometimes and remind myself both where these sentiments are coming from and why it's important for me to not enclose myself in an echo chamber when I'm the one who has been putting in the active work over the past eleven years to separate myself from my parent's political and moral ideologies... what do you guys think happens to those who aren't able to self-reflect like this? To people already on the fringe?

It's why I fucking hate leftist in fighting so much. Instead of focusing on the issues at hand, even when we have real tangible enemies actively causing harm and giving us a fucking blueprint on how to reach out to those on the fence, we push everyone away who doesn't fit out own ideal bubble, who might admit to struggling, who maybe don't agree with everything but are at least trying to improve and learn.

So like. Fuck. I guess.

[oblivious-aro]

Apologies if this is a bit of a weird ask, but I'm kinda curious about if you've had any experiences with not liking LGBT+ media that was seen as a must watch, and what your thoughts were on them? That reblog sprung me back to thinking the Matrix was boring in middle school despite it being a Trans movie and feeling slightly confused why my friends were surprised by it.

(also that dear lgbt kids blog is really cool, thank you for sharing it!)

Not a weird ask at all, 'tis an honour when the internet people are interested in my thoughts :)

(also yes, I looove dear lgbt kids, that blog is so soothing!)

I wasn't really thinking of anything in particular when I reblogged that post, but if I had to list some specific examples, Steven Universe and Nimona come to mind.

SU's lgbt+ content never sat right with me because of the fact that only character that were lgbt+ were the gems. So in this show, any and all lgbt+ characters are...literaly aliens.

Yeah...

Even outside any lgbt+ themes, the show was a slog to watch. It started off decently enough, but as the it went on, the quality deteriorated heavily. The plot was all over the place, the characters were massacred, and the protagonist is the only child character in all of media who I genuinely hate.

But for some reason, lgbt+ fandom loses their mind over SU. When I read the stuff they say, I honestly wonder if we watched the same show. Like the show's got some decent moments, but it ain't all that. Not even close.

This might be a catty thing to say, but I think it's because it's got a space theme, pastel colours, and some androgynous looking characters. From the way some people talk, a lot of them seem to think that certain aesthetics are more valuable rep than actual lgbt+ content.

I didn't really interact with people online when SU was airing, but my sister was a diehard fan of the show, and we got into a lot of (in hindsight very petty) arguments about it.

I don't judge people who like bad shows (my most used tag is 'Lego ninjago', glass houses), but SU fans always seemed so defensive wave atright up dishonest about the show they claimed to love (this post is long enough, so I won't go into specifics).

It was borderline surreal (and slightly insanity inducing), watching a show that did so little get praised for so much.

Nimona was okay, but very overhyped. Story wise, I think it needed some buffing in a few areas, but it's a fine kids movie that just didn't super grab me.

As for the lgbt+ elements, the two main bits are a gay couple and some gender stuff.

The gay couple are...well they exist I guess. I didn't like how any potentially interesting angles of Goldenloin's character were sacrificed because the writers really wanted him and Boldheart to be fighting the whole movie instead of doing anything actually romantic. The romance isn't interesting, and one of the characters is barely a character. Eh.

Now on to the gender stuff, aka the thing everyone raves about. See, the movie wants Nimona the character to be a metaphor for transgender struggles in society, but instead of making Nimona trans, they made her a shapeshifter.

Why would you not just...make her trans of you want to tell a trans narrative? And you can't blame "homophobic executives" on this one because there's an explicit gay couple right there, and this movie came out on Netflix post 2020. Why do I feel like I'm back in 2016?

And to be clear, it very much is a trans narrative they're trying to push, and not just the story happening to be presented in a way that resonates with trans people. There's some bits (such as the train scene) where the trans narrative directly interferes with what's happened in the story and what we know about the characters, but they're there anyway.

They reeeeeeally want to talk about trans people without talking about trans people for some reason that absolutely boggles my mind.

I just...I don't get it. Just tell the story you say you want to tell. Why are we being so weird and indirect?

That's been my experience with a lot of the lgbt+ media I hear people raving about. I don't know why this seems especially true with specifically lgbt+ people, but a lot of the community has incredibly low standards for lgbt+ themes and representation in media.

A year or two ago, I specifically remember a looking at a list of top transgender characters in children's tv, and literally only ONE character on the list was actually trans.

In summary, I just can't get behind media that acts needlessly secretive yet weirdly proud about specifically its lgbt+ themes and characters, but that's the kind of writing I hear getting the loudest praise and the most glorifying articles.

It felt like I was in the twilight zone.

Finding like 3 people online who were like 'no, you're right, people are being weird about this' was such a relief, and I think knowing there were at least a few people who had the same take as me helped me be able to deal better.

Things are getting better as more mainstream media is incorporating actual explicit lgbt+ representation, but the the crowd that celebrates over scraps of nothing is very much still there.

It didn't bother me nearly as much as it did years ago, but I've learned to take online ravings and reccomendations with a large pinch of salt.

#hope this answered your question sufficiently and want to rambly #steven universe #nimona

[octisever]

So, my friend was on a rant about Steven Universe a couple weeks ago, which prompted me to rewatch the series, and I stumbled upon an interesting train of thought.

STEVEN UNIVERSE IS AN ALLEGORY FOR THE TRANS EXPERIENCE.

The show itself sends the message of self worth and individuality, and there are several instances where Steven is presented a situation where he has to validate his own identity. Most of these situations, at least from my perspective, were when he was confronting Homeworld gems.

The most impactful scenes from which I found this allegory were Steven's conversations with the Diamonds. Due to them thinking that Steven is Pink Diamond, they constantly called him Pink and used she/her pronouns for him.

During Steven's confrontation with White Diamond, she kept addressing him as Pink, though he asserted that his name was Steven. Also, the moment right before Steven roasted her for "acting like a child", she said "No! You are Pink Diamond! That is Pink Diamond's gem! You do not look like this, you do not sound like this, you are not half human, you're just...ACTING LIKE A CHILD!" This scene was very impactful for me as a trans individual. Many of my family members disregarded my name and pronouns, and they constantly told me not to dress and act like a boy (I'm nonbinary-). Some even tried to tell me that I was just being a child and that I didn't know what was best for me.

But, yeah, that was just my observation. Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk.

#steven universe #transgender

[candyskiez]

I know it probably wasn't meant to be a trans allegory but GOD does Steven's time with the diamonds resonate as a trans allegory to me. Like. Everyone disregarding his name. Being forced to wear uncomfortable clothing. People regarding his name as a funny joke. Being told he's just being childish. "I just want you to be yourself!" The ripping the fucking gem out SCREAMS of it. The purity talk. And just the. God. The scene where it showed Pink, then Rose, then Steven got me so hard as a trans person because it just. Reminds me SO much of just. Trans. So much trans. Because it just reminds me of looking at the past versions of me before I figured myself out. They're still a part of me, they still made up a lot of my life, but I am not them anymore. And that's what that scene resonates to me so much as. That gem is not Pink or Rose anymore. Reminds me of that one thing that goes "my parents were right, I DID kill their son." Pink is gone, Rose is gone, Steven is neither of them Steven is MORE Steven is alive and he is not that girl, he is not that girl, he doesn't want her name or her dresses or her life or her room, this is HIS body now, this is how HE sounds, he's not pretending to be someone else. This is who he is. He is not Pink or Rose. He is Steven. She's gone.

And god the scene where he hugs pink Steven just. It reminds me so much of accepting my gender or gender euphoria or just the realization of that's what I am, I am me, I am not broken, I am whole and i am not that girl. I don't need to be that girl because it doesn't make me happy. It's okay that I'm not that girl.

And just the. I am a child. What's your excuse? And the absolute "so what?" of that. Yeah, I'm a kid. This is still me. Why do you care so much about my body? Why does me being happy upset you so much? The girl you knew is gone, and maybe she never existed. It's your fault she's gone, and now I'm left, and it's my gem. It's my body. And this is who I've ALWAYS been.

The "I've always been me" line resonates so much. "I've always been this. I just needed to figure it out." Not how being trans works for everyone, ofc, everyone's relationship with their gender is different, this is just the vibes I get from this specific thing.

I do also like to dabble in reading Rose as a trans allegory too. Because I am self indulgent shh. And that ones less "I always was this" and more so "being the person I used to be made me miserable and I hated my own body, I hated my own life. So I grew into this new body that I love, and chose a new name, and a new identity that makes me happy." Which,, am I overanalyzing. I dunno man I like hitting my favorite characters with the transgender beam.

You can also read it with the lense of "I killed that old version of me and I am a woman now. This is who I am. That person is dead." Which. Once again. Am I overanalyzing. This feels too easy to read as trans. I am probably overanalyzing.

Anyways the way gender works for different people is really interesting, I like Steven Universe, I like making my favorites stories trans allegory-ified, and I cannot be stopped. Peace ✌️

#steven universe spoilers #su spoilers #steven universe #steven quartz universe #rose quartz su #rose quartz steven universe #su rose quartz #steven universe rose quartz

[ribbondee]

I'd like to introduce you guys to a Steven Universe OC of mine. His name's Earl, and he's a Pearl. His bio is below, but I am going to put in a trigger warning for a few things: PTSD and abuse. But hey there is definitely a happy ending. Both drawings are by me.

He originally belonged to to an agate, given to her as a gift due to said agate being a war hero. But Earl's servitude was anything but happy.

His owner was very much abusive, and would physically and mentally hurt him for even the slightest mistake.

One day he decided to fight back, and cracked his owner's gem in the process. He fled Homeworld, and made his way to Earth.

Now, about him being Trans.

He had been dysphoric for a long time (like, ever since he emerged from the ground). He would see male creatures and be filled with something resembling longing or even envy. When in private he would shape shift into a masculine form in which he felt far more comfortable. His owner caught him doing so one day and was going to shatter him for it. That's when he fought back.

Also he was finally able to transition to himself on Earth, hence his current appearance. Of course Steven had to explain to him what trans actually meant, but he quickly got the picture and happily made his new form the one above.

His personality.

He has a cheerful and energetic personality, very sweet and outgoing. He is very curious and enthusiastic about everything Earth has to offer and gladly partakes in human customs.

But underneath his sugary sweetness, he carries a lot of burdens. He is heavily traumatized, and has scars on his back resembling those of Volleyball's. For example, once he accidentally dropped and broke a vase and he flinched, expecting Steven to hit him. A huge part of his character is trauma recovery and learning to love and accept himself and the realization that no he did not deserve any of the abuse nor was it his fault.

...also he is currently in a relationship with Volleyball. They quickly bonded over their shared trauma, and fully love and support each other.

VOLLEYEARL FOREVER. SO ADORABLE.

#steven universe #gem oc #transgender #or transGEMder #ba dum tss #trans gem #Earl is such a bean #precious boi

[semper-legens]

78. The Tale of Steven, by Rebecca Sugar

Owned: No, library Page count: Unknown/not numbered My summary: Steven Universe. A boy, a gem, a legend, a child. All of these things in one. But of course, what he is depends on who is telling the story... My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

You know, sometimes I feel like I'm cheating, with some of the things I count as books on this blog. My categories are often somewhat arbitrary, and are more based on vibes than anything else. Regardless, I really feel like I'm cheating with this one. A tiny little comic meant for children that took me exactly five minutes to read? Yeah, War and Peace this ain't. And yet, I wanted to talk about it, so I'm going to do just that. Because ultimately, I just wanted to talk about this book for a bit. Hey, it's my blog.

Look, I really loved this thing. It's a simple enough concept - Steven's story is told first by White Diamond, in upside-down text, Rose Quartz, in text slanted on the right, and Steven himself. At the end, Steven takes over his own story, and the book returns to normal text. The message is both clear and simple - it's empowering to tell your own story, and nobody can define who you are other than you. White and Rose tell two very different versions of Rose's time as Pink, and Steven has a different perspective on his own existence than Rose and White do. But the climax of the book comes when he accepts his dual identity as both a human and a gem, and as such gets the power to control the narrative. It's sweet, and has a really good message for kids. And if that message wasn't clear enough, it's dedicated to trans and gender diverse kids. My little heart melted when I saw that. It's short, sweet, gorgeous, and well worth picking up if you see it around!

Next, returning to an old favourite of mine, and a girl fallen on hard times.

#The Tale of Steven #Steven Universe #Rebecca Sugar #bookblr #book blog #5

[doeblossom]

TMI Tuesday: if you were to have a gem OC for the Steven Universe fandom, what would they be called?

okay, i actually DO have some!

originally is was a green pearl, since my friend was green diamond, but she didnt stick around long. then there was emerald, for my birthstone, but she also didnt stick around

here's one i actually have record of! a pink sapphire. originally a ruby, who identified more as a sapphire, just because of how close rubies and sapphire are IRL. it was an interesting concept, but since i'm not trans myself, it is absolutely NOT my place to interpret the trans experience in this way. i dont shy away from making trans characters, of course, but this wasnt the medium to do it in

#tmi tuesday #foodielovethealicorn

[ashtonisvibing]

started watching steven universe again, cuz i saw a couple videos talking about that lily orchard person and how she doesn't understand the show (i only heard about her in passing, did not realize how bad her opinions were- yikes-)

it's just as silly as i remember :}

garnet's just as amazing as i remember :}

it's made me wanna make a gemsona- which is bad for obvious reasons (i can't draw right now)

i don't have much about him set in stone (ba dum chh). but he'd be... as close to trans as a gem can get. like yeah, gems are kinda genderless i'm pretty sure. but i think the average human would still look at most - if not all - of them and think "woman", y'know? so all the femme descriptors and stuff, and it would make him super uncomfortable.

also his weapon's a yo-yo. cuz yo-yos as weapons is really silly :}

still should figure out what kinda gem he'd have-

#ashton is talking #steven universe #all that can be figured out once i can draw again #but in the meantime yeah i still love this show :}

[wikipediadogdotnet]

COUGHS thinking about girlboy steven again & its soooo funny because you know if she came out as trans nobody in his life would question it, she'd be like 'erm hey guys i think im kind of sort of a woman' and the gems would go 'mondo swag we r too' . but like with how vehemently he's said that he's steven universe ! not rose quartz not pink diamond ! i dont thiink she would want to look anything like rose and THATS whats fucked up. guygirl who cant have long hair or wear long dresses without thinking 'but what if i look like HER' . & thats why she wouldnt change his name or general appearance ithink . does not care at all about prnouns n the like but the minute u suggest she looks like his mom she is OUTTA THERE !!!!!!!!

#no im not projecting LEAE ME ALONW #steven universe #🦐 posts