#((ooc: so this is what homeworld thinks of fusion)

[daylighteclipsed]

“This is another reason most of future lost rights” May we hear your thoughts?

Now that I have officially finished watching the original Steven Universe series, I have many Thoughts about the continuation. Prepare for some detailed salty takes.

-- My biggest gripe is that Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst lose pretty much all of the emotional intelligence they gain in the original series to maximize Steven’s suffering.

So like the gifset that prompted this ask for example, where Garnet realizes she’s hurt Steven with her future vision and apologizes? Makes her reaction in Future to realizing she hurt Steven again OOC. The OG series also teaches us and Steven that Garnet can’t see definites, because there’s so many possibilities, and the future’s always changing, and the future can always be changed. So her line about how there was no universe where Steven didn’t propose to Connie as her reason for why she didn’t try to stop him, is bullshit.

The Volleyball episode gives away that Steven is clearly not OK, and Pearl does nothing about it. Neurotic, mother hen, let’s make a plan Pearl does not ask Steven if he’s alright and makes 0 plans to train him to control his new alarming powers. Pearl, who now has a better sense of how trauma works because she has it herself, who we have seen in the OG series suspect Steven is dealing with some post traumatic stress after being taken to Homeworld and reach out to him about it, does not in Future reach out to him after he expresses blatant distress over having to deal with more of his mom’s problems. I’m supposed to believe this? Seriously?

And Amethyst? I think she’s the most obvious offender since a big part of her arc in the end of the OG series is emotional maturity.There’s a whole episode dedicated to her putting Steven’s feelings first. Acknowledging the pressure he’s been under and the shit that’s been dumped on him for years and the horror of finding out Rose was a Diamond which makes him a Diamond and recognizing that he’s not OK. He can’t be. Learning that Steven deals by distracting himself with other tasks and people. But sure when Amethyst notices Steven throwing himself into his work in Future, her response is just “When did you become such a prick?” Yeah. Totally sounds right.

There is a whole arc about these two emotionally connecting through their insecurities and the strength they find in having each other to relate to and rely on and confide in. It is one of my favorites in the entire story. And it is totally thrown out a window in Future. If no one else you’d think at least Amethyst would reach out to Steven in Future before he spirals, but no.

Literally it’s like the entire Gem trio’s emotionally sent back to square 1 and their perception’s lowered to 0, which is lower than it was to begin with, because it was the only way Future could work. Seriously, after Prickly Pair nobody tries to talk to Steven? Nobody insists they need to talk about what the fuck just happened? Nobody goes after Steven when he runs away, twice?! Once after crashing the van with his dad inside, in which he disappears for 3 whole days. Another time after talking about how they can’t help him anymore, which is really alarming! Then they all just let Steven go when he returns from Homeworld glowing with Diamond pupils?! are you kidding me, are you fUcking KidDing me am I supposed to believe they’re even his friends in Future what the fuck I hate this 

-- And framing everything like the Gems have never been there for Steven? Hate that too. There’s countless episodes in the OG series proving that’s not true. Steven himself says it’s not. At one point that’s what keeps him from literally falling from the sky.

“I just need something that makes me happy, something I can always depend on to cheer me up. My guys. They spent all night out here just to keep me company. No matter how much I mess up they’ll be there to help me.”

It’s the biggest reason why the Gems are foils to the Diamonds!

“Remember back when I was little and maybe kind of annoying, and I couldn’t come along on adventures? You guys would still drop everything to hang out with me.”

Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst begin kind of oblivious and inattentive, but they don’t stay that way. They are always learning, and apologizing, and changing when they realize their behavior is harmful. To themselves, to the team as a whole, to strangers, to Steven. They do very early in the series start setting work aside to spend time with him. Together breakfast (which ends up meaning so much to Garnet that it becomes her wedding cake), mini golf, cards, board games, movies, the arcade, the amusement park. They’re Steven’s band in beach-a-palooza. They become, not only better caretakers, but his friends.

A team. For the main Crystal Gem quartet so much of the show is about them learning to become a team by learning to understand each other and helping each other grow, leading to a stunning display of teamwork in the finale with Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst, and Steven all fusing together into one kickass warrior, Obsidian. It’s so perfect that this didn’t, couldn’t, happen until the end, after all that development. It’s so satisfying.

-- Like I mentioned before, there’s no reason why the Gems, including the others like Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth, wouldn’t try to help Steven learn to control his new powers in Future.

-- A lot of the, uh, conflicts Steven faces in Future also feel ignorant to the OG series.

Steven in future: i just feel like i can’t make mistakes in front of you guys and cant be honest cause its mean and i have to be nice and perfect :(

Steven in og series: oh geez I really messed up sorry guys; [feels like the worst Crystal Gem cause he’s always fucking up]; (Garnet: You’re making Pearl very upset) “IM very upset!“; “What Rose wanted--ARGH! What about what I want?! I’m sick of you always lying to me!”; “Home’s been awful! Here’s been awful! Everyone’s been acting awful too!”

Steven in future: idk how to be a friend to someone who’s not a miserable sad sack with no direction in life

Connie: hey what the fuck

What was the point of all the townie episodes if we’re going to act like Steven never connected with the human part of his life why would the og show bounce between gem eps and human eps if not to show how Steven connects with both worlds ad’g;ajfgjfagjLAFKJS

Steven in future: why didn’t my meddling advice work? this has never happened before. am i losing my touch. who am i

Og Steven, multiple times: aaAAAAAH I SHOULD NOT HAVE MEDDLED AND PUSHED I MADE THINGS WORSE

- Why wasn’t Mindful Education revisited? Steven’s a fusion technically, right, so if he’s feeling, you know, deeply conflicted about his 2 halves, doesn’t that mean he’s out of harmony? There’s a way for 2 halves of a fusion to communicate through meditation and address what’s causing the imbalance, but I guess that would’ve solved Steven’s problem too easily. That’s the only reason Connie’s kept out of Future for so long too, right? Ugh. Never mind the fact that Mindful Ed taught Steven that it’s really important to face upsetting thoughts and feelings and traumas before they tear him apart. But whatever! what ever

- God this isn’t even half of the issues I now have with Future, but I don’t want this post to be 8 miles longer than it already is. Basically I feel like Future does a disservice to the characters and story being told in the original series, which I am very fond of now. It reminds me of an OOC fanfiction. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I really do not want to argue about this. It’s just my opinion. I’m kind of venting. If you agree, great. If you don’t, please keep scrolling. Thanks.

[snappylappy]

The Slow Burn of Lapis Lazuli’s Redemption

This will probably be the last OOC post I make here in a while, I promise. Fucking crack RP, making me think about things.

I touched on this in my previous post, but I’d like to go into more depth here. There’s a reason Lapis’s story arc has progressed at such a slow pace, and it is this: Lapis needs to change more fundamentally than almost any other Steven Universe antagonist.

It’s not only that Lapis is used to using her considerable power to swat down anyone who annoys her, but also that she actively enjoys causing harm to others at times. As she admits in “Alone at Sea”, she liked taking her anger out on Jasper while keeping them fused as Malachite, and the grin she flashes when she prepares to impale the other Lapises is a grade-A villainous smirk.

This is also why she knew that the other Lapises were unlikely to be receptive towards Steven’s arguments, and one of the reasons they reminded her so much of her past self. They like doing what they do, so why should they stop?

Compare this to Peridot, whose conflicts with the Crystal Gems mostly stemmed from the fact that, from her perspective, they were antagonizing her and preventing her from doing her work.

Compare this to Spinel, who wanted to hurt others for perceived slights against her, but came to the conclusion that doing so wasn’t actually making herself feel any better.

Compare to this to the Diamonds, who may have been callous towards the fates of organic lifeforms, but exhibit no sign of having gained pleasure out of their demise. In their minds, the destruction of organic life was a necessary side effect of what they thought they were supposed to do

The Diamonds are similar to Lapis in that they needed their fundamental worldviews and thought processes changed, and like Lapis we’ve seen that this is something they continue to work on. However, their realization that they needed to change came about when they became aware that the way they have been doing things cost them someone they were close to. That’s a powerful motivator for change.

Lapis has been through a lot of trauma (self-inflicted or otherwise), but as far as we know she hasn’t experienced a permanent loss like that as a direct consequence of her actions. There is nothing for her to look back on and think, “I need to stop, or else I’ll pay another terrible price.”

As Lapis acknowledges, her taking the Earth’s oceans in attempt to return home wouldn’t have worked, but it also came at no personal cost to herself. In fact, she did end up getting her gem healed and achieving her goal of returning to Homeworld as a result of that event.

Trapping Jasper in a fusion was a tortuous experience, but as mentioned previously, Lapis enjoyed doing so. Her rejection of reforming Malachite in “Alone at Sea” was out of the realization that it was toxic and morally reprehensible.

And most recently, her moment of weakness (as she put it) in “Why So Blue?” actually succeeded in stopping the other Lapises.

I think it’s easy to overlook how much Lapis needs to change because Steven befriended her early in the series, as well as the fact that the first complete redemption arc in the show (Peridot’s) played out so quickly. But Peridot hasn’t had to change such a fundamental part of who she is. She needed context on who the Crystal Gems were and she needed some of her own preconceptions dispelled, but she’s still largely the same Peridot in her approach to thinking and problem solving. 

Lapis’s growth requires a lot from herself. She needs to actively want to change, she needs to know that she can change, and she needs the willpower to actually change. Is it any wonder that her redemption is such a slow burn?

Fortunately, Lapis does have a few elements going for her. She has friends who support and encourage her development. And as far as willpower is concerned, there are almost none as strong as the will of Lapis Lazuli.

[dansiere]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm. tagged by: @breselin, & @citialiin; thank you for the tag! I was planning on stealing it. tagging: @rosiqe, @noirtux, @goldgliitters, @ndeavor,  @reminiscentsky, @battleshell, @ettards & whoever else wants to do this. Just steal it & tag me. -- go wild.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated [loosely affiliated mainly due to the fandom’s size. I am quite open to crossovers of any kind, really even if it takes me a while to open up.]

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. [she is one of the deuteragonists; has been around since the pilot & while she has been sidelined during the epilogue, she was usually at least around with her story arc / actions having a huge impact on the overall story as such.]

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. [I guess so? Then again, that’s an objective statement so I am just? Assuming? I personally find her general aesthetics to be quite amazing; she is a dance battler, graceful & elegant; a ballerina with a classical theme that runs through her design & attitude like a red threat. I have a weak spot for stuff like that.]

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. [surprisingly, Pearl is considered to be the strongest non-fusion Crystal Gem according to the show (until Lapis Lazuli comes around). -- I assume prowess wise Pearl is high up next to Garnet & Rose whenever she can actually get her crap together due to having fought countless battles &, most importantly, survived the war in which she fought & shattered opponents thrice her size.]

Are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK. [partially yes, partially no. She is controversial for sure but just as popular. At some point, the show delved deeper into her issues & actually had her mess up quite severely; the fandom’s reaction was so harsh that the showrunners had to interfere by “apologizing for making her human”. Pearl has always been a target for extreme criticism; some of it justified, some just straight down ridiculous.  -- It’s easy to forget what kind of complexity a character can offer when her resolution arc happens literally ten episodes before the show ends.]

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. [Pearl becomes Steven’s guardian / mentor after the death of his mother Rose Quartz & can later be considered his stand-in mother alongside Garnet. It is safe to say that her actions have influenced Steven the most, both negatively & positively.]

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO. [she earned herself the title ‘The Renegade’ during the war for being the first (& arguably only) pearl that broke out of her conditioning; she used to be a wanted criminal / traitor to her own kind for 5000 + years until her record was cleared upon the beginning of Era 3 (aka official end of the Gem War). She is still being referred to as ‘The Renegade’ now & then; while she used to be proud of the title she has grown to resent it a lot these days.]

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. [it depends on who you ask; Homeworld Soldiers? Well, they despise her; she is a defective Gem & a war criminal. She stands for all that is wrong with the rebellion; I mean a pearl who refuses to serve & calls herself an individual? a warrior? THE SCANDAL!! Some soldiers are afraid of her, call her ‘Rose Quartz’ terrifying renegade’, even. However, in her ranks aka the rebellion, she is being seen as a silent heroine. A celebrated war hero, Rose Quartz’s right hand & sole confidante (some even whisper that there is more between them).]

How strictly do you follow canon?  — uh... well. Not really but... kinda? Steven Universe’s canon is messy & occasionally QUITE inconsistent. -- while it gives you vague details, some lore can best be compared to a gaping void. Thus my reason for partial divergence isn’t lack of good character writing (because Pearl is very, very complex even on screen), but rather inconvenient lore holes & SU’s habit of leaving important facts uncommented, “unshown” or just stuck between the lines. While I don’t mind deep analysis, some of those “buried facts” fly other people’s heads which leads to terrible, terrible fanon takes. -- in order to distance myself from that, I usually take canon & expand it with my own headcanons & metas based on lore / show analysis. I often alter / cut what does not fit my narrative BUT I always root my stuff in actual canon occurrences.

     Sometimes, I just straight down change certain things that canon messed up in my pov. For example, in order to make it explicitly clear that she fell in love & rebelled on her own volition (even if it has been confirmed like ten times by now), my Pearl is around 1500 years older than the original & (in)directly served White Diamond before being handed to Pink (not the only reason for that change but well I will elude on it eventually). She was a default pearl with no customization & usually spent most of her time with organizing matters in the palace until Pink accidentally broke her customized pearl; Pearl was then 'poofed’ & handed over; she possessed a more sensible personality & a strict rule protocol that was supposed to help her “raise” Pink Diamond into the ranks of a ruler. Most other changes are rather minor but very important or essential to my portrayal (for example whenever “A Single Pale Rose” is concerned: Pearl suggesting the “sealing of the secret”, her not wearing the dress from the beginning, her not calling Pink “my diamond”, her arguing with Pink long before the fake-shattering took place, etc etc.); the epilogue series is another can of worms I will get to eventually but lemme just say I didn’t really like the way Pearl behaved / the plot-bound ooc-ness she sometimes yielded to & other stuff. 

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  well, she is a lesbian space rock from a strange universe; whose body is basically a manifestation of light? She is probably the most passionate being you will ever meet. -- if you are looking for a speedrun through human history, she is your gal. If you need someone to beat up some bullies, she will gladly come & smack sense into people; if you want to learn everything about Gemkind, sit down & listen because she won’t stop talking any time soon. 

     By definition, Pearl is a good person; the extreme loyal kind, absolutely & helplessly dedicated to a cause. She wears most of her emotions on her sleeve, comes off as genuinely caring, protective & trustworthy. She is empathetic & observant, she will always be there for you in one way or another. She is smart, loves to read & indulges in the higher arts such as (romantic) poetry, singing, painting, music (violin, piano, bass) & dance (predominately classic ballet / waltz but she has grown rather fond of jazz lately). Her knowledge about Earth & all that lays beyond is vast & if you ever want to see whatever is out there, she is the type to take you on a space tour with no questions asked. She fences, has learned to wield a lance, can engineer very well, has a very peculiar but... sorta adorable kind of humour that can either be hella obnoxious or super funny. There is no in-between. Pearl loves science, baking, housekeeping, ice-& roller-skating & is more than willing to take people along whenever she visits the rink. If you ask her for advice, she will gladly give it; if you need help, she will be the first to raise her hand. Pearl is orderly, has a strong sense of justice & a fierce, dedicated kind of resolve. 

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  Pearl. Is. A. Mess. No questions asked. She is an introverted, nervous, neurotic, grief-- & trauma riddled mess who loves to pretend & rationalize things to death. Her self-esteem is abysmal, she is extremely jealous, obsessive & possessive [to the point where she straight up murdered men just because they dared to be around her girlfriend]. Her mind is a compartmentalized mess of repressed memories & heavy, untreated cptsd woven into it; Pearl lives too much inside her head & gets overwhelmed by her emotions far too easily; she feels too much all at once & lets her temper get the best of her. 

     She is self-centred, does not seem to understand that words & reckless actions hurt people, believes that only she deserves to grieve Rose & willingly destroyed relationships just to soak in her own misery; self-destruction is her forte & she will indulge in it no matter the consequences. She is often high-strung, judgemental, always has to be right, overachieves & overdoes whenever a chance is given. -- she can be petty, arrogant & desperate for validation. --  Needless to say, Pearl is the kind of person that pretends to be fine for years but once she cracks she reveals that she is anything but. -- she cannot move on, hates men, & just is a lot to deal with. Getting in touch with her means you run the risk to get dragged into her mess, whenever you want it or not. 

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  first & foremost, my love for complex, purpose-driven female characters. I am a sucker for the “introvert, plagued lady” type & once parts of Pearl’s past were revealed during Season 1 I was sold. Pearl seemed relatable to me, extremely human & raw in her behaviour. While I love most of the SU cast equally, Pearl just wouldn’t let me go. Her aesthetic is amazing, her past intriguing. -- her connection to ballet & classical music, her elegant & graceful design just spoke to me. 

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  music. music. oh, and music. Poetry, long walks (I am not kidding), analysis, meta & hc writing, discussions with writing partners or my rl partner @rosiqe.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? [ despite my emo peculiar take on the character, I do hope that people hear her voice whenever they read my replies. ]

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO / SORT OF? [ I wish I could post more but I am very, very slow & a perfectionist at heart. -- I try to compensate for my lack of actual hcs by rambling in my tags. Most part of the time said ramblings include personal headcanons or analyses of specific scenes that include personal takes on pivotal situations; while I gather & write them down eventually, it can take me a long time to get stuff done. -- it is easier for me to jus blabber on & on in the tags. ]

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO [ all my ask replies are drabbles, ngl. ]

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO / SORT OF? [... a sore topic. While I love my headcanons & have gotten quite proud of my writing over time, I constantly doubt myself regarding the “ic”-ness of my responses. I like to believe that I am doing rather well, but I am not confident, no. ]

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO. [ it took me a long time to develop my style; while I always struggle to believe in my portrayal I am quite confident in my writing as such. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but in general? I am proud of it. ]

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. / SORTA.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  Well, yes. As long as it is the constructive kind. I love receiving feedback, may it be negative or positive. I will most likely try to discuss criticism with you; aka if you (i.e) tell me that Pearl shouldn’t have (C)PTSD, I will deliver canon proof & state my reasoning for my decision to implement it in my canon, etc. What I will not do is tolerate character hate or unreasonable hate towards my writing. Be assured that I will never headcanon something that has no solid footing in canon.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  ABSOLUTELY. Send me random hc / meta asks, I beg you.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  sure. As stated above, I will probably discuss stuff with you. The chance of me dropping a headcanon however are rather low.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  Hm... it depends on what they don’t like. If it’s my writing, well, why are you following me to begin with?? If it is my take on things... well again, why are you following me? I stated in my rules what you should expect & that I will not water down specific aspects of a complex character. Disliking my portrayal is fine since I know that my kind of writing / analysis isn’t necessarily everyone’s tea but... again, why would you keep following me?

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  um. Not... well? While I will never excuse my muse’s actions, I dislike groundless bashing. In regard to Pearl... well. As stated above, I expected backlash the second I created this blog. Pearl is one of those characters the fandom either loves or hates; her canon relationship to Rose was branded toxic by a ton of people, people call her uncaring, salty, insane & straight up manic, she seemingly has no redeeming qualities, she is a bitch, too perfect (LOL) or arrogant & apparently has no character? I love it when people say stuff like that because... did we watch the same show? Is there a version of SU I don’t know? Please tell me, I wanna see it for myself! Some hot takes in this fandom are atrocious & make me want to commit a crime. 

     -- but I digress. I have spent too much time in her tag in 2014 + & I have seen quite the fights over the most ridiculous things; Pearl, in particular, got quite the flack for stuff that eventually got resolved in season 5 [which, again, was way too late but well]. In the end, clowns will be clowns, no matter what you do. I just don’t get why you would follow someone if you hate their character to begin with.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  yes, but please don’t be rude about it. I am German, English is my second language. I am currently learning Swedish / improving my Swedish so mistakes can always happen. Additionally, I am someone who posts her replies in the middle of the night & while I proofread a lot & most likely fix posts after I posted ‘em, some mistakes can still slip through. 

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  ... I like to believe I am but I know that I am overly passionate & I can come off as too strong or too fierce sometimes. I can be too much, I can be too excentric (I’m a Scorpio, Karen); I have strong opinions in regard to my characters & I will not hold them back. I criticise shows mercilessly & I will plough through canon as much as I please. Stans & I usually don’t get along. HOWEVER, I am a meme. I love lame jokes, I am awkward, & sometimes very, very insecure. In the end,  I just wanna talk about my favourite characters & develop sth wonderful. I keysmash unironically, I use old memes unironically. I mean I have been writing for ten + years & I am about to smooth sail post the 24 age border aka I will turn 25 soon which renders me old according to tumblr standards. I am just here to have fun before the staff comes to lock my account down due to my status as an rp-senior. -- yeah... that is the kind of stupid ass humor I mean. I digress but... please, I am an awkward, rambling mess, just hit me up via dms & you will see what I mean. 

[ask-blue-mom-and-steven]

White Pearl stares satisfied at her prisoners. They are still trying to escape from the gems holding them, especially Steven and Spinel. She then gets closer to Steven and grabs him from an arm, holding it so hard that it leaves a bruise. Steven starts to cry for the pain. Lemon Jade gets angry and decides to speak.

Lemon Jade: Let go his arm! You’re hurting him!

White Pearl: (stares at Lemon Jade) Silence, fusion. (looks back at Steven) I’m going to take you to Homeworld. White Diamond is waiting for you. Now, say goodbye to your friends, you’ll never see them again.

Steven: You’re going to bubble them?

White Pearl: No, I’m not. They all are traitors to Homeworld, and so they are sentenced to be shattered. The human will be sent to the Zoo... Or just left to die drifting in the space, it all depends on what White will decide.

White Pearl starts dragging to the warp pad a shocked Steven, but then he starts trying to escape her hold.

Steven: YOU CAN’T DO THAT! THEY’RE MY FRIENDS!

White Pearl: Stop acting like that. (holds Steven harder)

Steven: NO! (keeps trying to escape)

White Pearl: Stop. Acting. Like. That. (holds Steven even harder than before)

The pain is so hard that Steven can’t stay on his feet, but he keeps trying to escape. In the end, White Pearl knocks Steven on the ground and tries to take off his gem, her usual smiling expression replaced with one that express a grim sense of enthusiasm and anticipation. Steven can’t do anything but scream in pain.

The other Gems and Connie stares horrified at what’s happening, with even some of the gems that come with White Pearl expressing disgust and shock. Spinel instead began getting angrier and angrier, until she managed to untie herself, knocked away the Rubies, grabbed White Pearl and slammed her into a column before assaulting the other Gems that are taking hostage her friends. Soon, Blue Pearl gets freed by Spinel, takes both Connie and Steven under her arms and runs towards the warp pad, dodging all the Gems that wanted to stop her.

Meanwhile, Lemon Jade tries to help Blue Pearl by hitting the gems that try to stop her with a shovel and Rhodonite tries to save Padparadscha from a Topaz.

Rhodonite: L-Let her go you... you dumb br-brick!

Topaz: Let’s see you try. (punches Rhodonite in the face)

Rhodonite lands in a bush of roses. After getting out of it she sees her friend going to be hit by the Topaz. In that moment she instinctively takes out of one of her gems the gardening scissors and stabs the Topaz in the back, poofing her. After some seconds of confusion she realizes that the other Gems that were trying to shatter her were looking at her in fear and so she grabs her friend, starts laughing like a maniac and runs towards the warp pad randomly swinging her scissors in the air, scaring any Gem that got too close to her.

Meanwhile Spinel, who is currently fighting against some angry Quartzes, accidentally slams one of them on the part of the dome that was damaged by the cannon, breaking it, causing the pressure to drop and pushing everything out of the hole. Some Gems gets ejected into the space, others try to hold themselves to the trees and the ground. Luckily, Blue Pearl, Steven, Connie, Lemon Jade, Spinel, Rhodonite and Padparadscha manage to reach the warp pad and, with the help of Spinel’s shapeshifting, they manage to remain anchored to the ground. Right when Blue Pearl is going to teleport them all to Earth, Steven is grabbed by White Pearl, who then lets herself be dragged into the hole with Steven. Spinel tries to hold Steven, but he starts to lose the grip.

In that moment, Lemon Jade, who has no intention to lose the boy she took care for years, takes the gardening scissors of Rhodonite and jumps toward White Pearl. Once she got close enough, she stabs the Gem who took hostage Steven in her eye.

In the same exact moment, thanks to her bond with the Pearl, White Diamond feels for the first time in her life pain. Concurrently on Homeworld and the garden, both White Diamond and White Pearl launch an horrible scream. White Pearl poofs and releases Steven, letting him fall into the hole with Lemon Jade before being saved by Spinel, who turned her right hand giant and saves both of them. With Steven and Lemon Jade safe and back on the warp pad, Blue Pearl thinks of the first place on Earth she can thinks of and they all warp to safety.

3/3

OOC: Sorry for the abrupt ending but I’m very tired. I will post the ending tomorrow as Part 1 of the Epilogue.

[thelustrousyellowdiamond]

when two different types of gems fuse...but you're both diamonds

OOC: Ah, that’s the thing- Blue and Yellow Diamond are both Diamonds, but they’re not the same gem. In fact, I asked this very question on the Steven Universe podcast. It was the Crossover Nexus and Fan QnA episode, Volume 3 episode & at the 33:55 mark, and here’s what Rebecca Sugar had to say:

Q: “Since cross gem fusion is illegal on Homeworld, but same gem fusion is fine, would it be legal for differently colored gems of the same kind like Yellow and Blue Diamond or Yellow and Blue Pearl to fuse with each other? Would that be like, allowed?”

Rebecca: “No, no, I think you’d have to be in a range. You would have to- They would have to think you’re the same person when you’re together, ‘cuz everything is sort of flattened out across the groups. The idea that fusion makes you into a new individual is what alarms Homeworld gems. So for them, the only thing that would make sense is you becoming a bigger version of yourself, ‘cuz they really don’t appreciate the individuality, of like, a Ruby and another Ruby, they- two of them together make a Ruby, like, to them that’s all the same thing. There’s only one way a type of gem can be, so if there’s anything differentiating two people- two gems- you wouldn’t want to get the sense that together they form someone different, ‘cuz everything is about putting you in a category that’s easy for them to understand.”

(Yes I did just transcribe that word for word)

OOC: I was somewhat disappointed by her answer, I mean, I’m happy that she answered it, but I was hoping the Diamonds would fuse in canon. I mean, since Era 3 is different than Eras 1 and 2, things have changed, but I get the feeling that regardless, the Diamonds wouldn’t be too comfortable with the idea of  fusing themselves.

Before this question was answered, I sort of made a comic that kinda addressed it, but it ends with uncertainty on Yellow’s part:

[dravikso]

So... Connie in Together Alone (and how to fix it?? maybe?)

As a lot of other people have pointed out I definitely feel as though Connie's actions in the episode felt extremely out of character and as though it was just forced in to drive a conflict... and I think the same thing could've been achieved if done a bit differently.

We know Connie to be pretty mature and not rash in her decisions, she doesn't particularly make poor and uncalculated decisions so it definitely felt off that she dragged Steven off to dance after he protested in front of all the other homeworld gems, two diamonds, and white pearl of all gems (which I'm presuming WD is basically watching through). She does it to essentially cheer him up, but why does she do it in the way she does? And how could it have been written differently to produce the same result?

Here's what I think:

Connie and Steven needed to fuse to create a conflict, but do it in a way that's in character for both of them. I think Connie shouldn't have, wouldn't have, demanded to dance with Steven especially knowing that usually when they dance they fuse. How about instead of opting for Connie's strange and forceful decision there she instead tries to make Steven feel better through a conversation, which ultimately ends in them hugging each other as a result. It's more likely that in this case Connie might overlook the possibility of fusion happening from a hug, and it's a bit more in character than a rash decision to dance on an alien planet where she knows what she's doing is literally illegal.

It's not a perfect solution to what happened in the episode, since I'm fairly sure they have once fused without dancing so Connie should be aware of the possibility of fusion regardless, but it's happened much less than when they dance and it might be easier to overlook/presume it won't end in fusion. It also doesn't look quite as dramatic on the episode if they just stay on the throne and sit throughout the whole thing, but it makes a little bit more sense than a character being completely OOC for the sake of a moment that looks a bit better than the alternative.

[theunderworldofmephis]

SU theory: is Connie addicted

i made this pretty quick so this may actually be shit

so semi recent events from Connie made me question her a bit, from this i looked back at Connie's history to see if it was ooc but then i thought of something when Steven was gone her first reaction was to fill in the hole left by him and by extension her ticket to magic not being there by take over his life and hope the same stuff happens to her, also she wore Steven clothes and slept in his bed which i know people found cute or something but really it should be seen as gross and creepy, maybe the Connie we saw when she was wearing the wedding dress in open book (i think) is more like the real Connie Connie berates Steven for leaving her behind, now imagine yourself in her shoes, would you want to be transported to a alien dictatorship where you will most likely die, if you have common sense i'm assuming you would say no but not Connie apparently she would risk her life all for the thrill of it also Connie takes Stevens pet because of it although Connie's dream of going to homeworld did come true however i have to ask one thing WHY DID SHE EVEN GO, WHAT THEY WERE DEALING WITH HAD LESS THEN NOTHING TO DO WITH HER, also aren't her parents super strict so why did they agree, i know they got a verbal kick in the butt from Connie but if she said "hey is it OK if i go with Steven to an evil alien planet with two giant women who tried to blow up the world" i don't think there first reaction should be "yeah sure honey send us a postcard" its as if Connie needs Stevens life and magic, or she thinks she needs it Connie's life before meeting Steven was boring and this gave her something fun, and when Steven goes away she tries to fill the void to me that really sound like addiction so let me ask this, what happens if there's no way to get to her high, if she has to move again or if Steven dies, death is not off the table in this universe (pun unintended) and if Steven dies do you think the rest of the crystal gems would let Connie still come with them, my guess is no also lets not forget about the fusion stevonnie where Connie literally fights for her life, stevonnie is the ultimate high

[askblackdiamond]

(OOC) Steven universe: Fusion and homeworld, a theory.

We all know that homeworld hates mixed gem fusion. Are they against love? Is it to keep weaker gems down? Maybe, but I think there's another reason. Much of what we know about homeworlds attitude to fusion comes from the episode "the answer" and the reactions of Peridot and Jasper. First off lets take a deeper look at the homeworld gems in "the answer" and their reactions. As soon as Ruby and Sapphire fuse there are gasps and disgusted words. They just hate two different gems fusing, right? Maybe, but think about it. Both Ruby and Sapphire are corundum, the same gem. The only difference is their color. Next lets see what Blue diamond herself says. "How dare you fuse with a member of my court." She's angry about courts mixing. Specifically a pink court gem (Rubys at the time having no diamond insignia and being predominantly pink gems it is safe to assume that they should have been in Pink diamonds court). 

Why is this a big deal? Blue could see it as a mockery of her lost sister, or in the middle of a rebellion lead by a pink court gem she fears further rebellion. Fears a spy in her court. After all, Ruby states that it's her fault that they fused. What if that isn't what Blue diamond heard. Sapphire had just been asked why her prediction was wrong. If Ruby had effected Sapphire with fusion she could bring over a powerful gem to the rebellions side. This would mean treason and instant shattering. It wasn't just because they fused, it was fear of espionage. 

Secondly let's look at what fusion does to a gem. Same gem fusion and mixed gem fusions are very different for the gems involved. "It's never like that! Whenever I've fused, it's always just been me, but bigger." Ruby has evidently fused many times and knows it well but is shaken by the effects of fusing with Sapphire, feeling as if they both disappeared into the being we know as Garnet. Stability and certainty is very important to gem culture. Everything has its place in the gempire and to step outside of that is to be considered defective. Everything does its job and mixed gem fusion doesn't have a place. It's chaotic and often unstable. This is clear when we see Sugilite lose herself and become violent, even to those that Garnet and Amethyst hold dear. Not only that but it can be damaging to the gem. "An imbalance can cause your fusion to lose touch with reality, see things that aren't there, and eventually fall apart" ��The loss of ones self, hallucinations and loss of control as possible side effects of the process make the idea of a mixed gem fusion terrifying. 

Not only that but it seems to be addictive. Pearl would openly lie to Garnet just to fuse, and even go so far as to rebuild the communications hub. This action could lead to serious trouble for earth and jeopardise everything Pearl herself stands for. Jasper would also do anything to fuse with Lapis again. A powerful quartz soldier that often has more pride than sense brought down to her knees, literally begging to fuse again. 

Even Garnet herself shows signs of this. When she's Garnet she's calm and stable but when she unfuses Ruby and Sapphire have a very hard time functioning away from each other. In "hit the diamond" they can't keep their eyes off each other long enough to play the game and protect their home. Suddenly the leader of the current crystal gems only cares about being fused again. Sapphire has to be convinced that concentrating on the game will lead her directly back to being with Ruby. Sapphire has future vision and should have known what would happen when she got back to Ruby but it didn't seem to matter in the slightest at that moment. 

If mixed gem fusion was permitted on homeworld it would be a disaster. Their society could fall appart.   But that's just a theory, a Steven Universe theory.

[samilovesyou-blog1]

Was Steven Universe: The Movie even necessary?

Not only was this year the closure of a chapter for Avengers fan with the release of Endgame, Steven Universe fans also saw a chapter of the franchise end with Steven Universe: The Movie, which followed the finale of the fifth season. But was the movie adaptation worth the wait or was it a step-down from the 45 minute season finale “Change Your Mind”?

I never was a fan of Steven Universe because I would be constantly put into an on/off relationship with the series: every time it would tease me with an epic story of love, war and space, it would annoy me with handfuls of redundant fillers that increasingly lost their charm through the time. Despite that, the second half of the fifth season kept me on edge as it unraveled, and the season finale really changed my mind on the quality of the show: I don’t know if fillers are over for the show, but I think it’s safe to say that we can expect a more mature Steven in the future, and that has caught my attention full on.

Only, I watched the film recently and it was completely different from what I expected. Surprising? Sure. Satisfying? Um...

It’s as if the show had two finales, or rather, an ending and an epilogue. Another franchise had a second finale (technically the second part of a finale), Avengers, who hit us with Endgame right after the shocking end of Infinity War. I think both franchise shared a lot of similarities in their endings, so I want to compare them to express how I felt about SU: The Movie better.

In brief, Avengers: Infinity War was the end of The Avengers, it ended the chapter on the Infinity Stones and tied all of the super teams together at last, only to end in The Avengers’ greatest failure (rather a delayed win, I should say)

Avengers: Endgame was more of a closure of all of the original Avengers’ personal character-arcs, all of them growing as character for one last time, facing their demons in a climactic finale: Iron Man and Black Widow sacrificed themselves, Bruce Banner made peace with Hulk, Hawkeye got his family back, Thor stepped down as the ruler of Asgard and gave it the mantle to someone more worthy, and Captain America finally acted for himself. Endgame was necessary because these characters, some who had their own franchises, needed a conclusion to their personal stories.

The season finale of Steven Universe, Change Your Mind, was a closure to all we knew about the Diamonds, Rose Quartz, and Homeworld. Everything that we were introduced to in the series, from the Off-Colors to the corrupted gems, was resolved at last. Just like endgame, the series was concluded to let place for a new beginning.

Steven Universe: The Movie, like Endgame, re-explored the original Crystal Gems-- Steven, Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst, by making all of them amnesic and requiring them to re-live what made them who they are in the first place. Pearl was independence, Garnet was love, Amethyst was friendship, and Steven was change.

The problem is that, in Avengers, these characters needed these closures in order to tie their story-arcs; in SU, these characters already had those closures. SU: The Movie didn’t made these characters grow or change, it was merely a recap of what made the Crystal Gems the Crystal Gems, which wasn’t necessary. Where Endgame shined a new light on these characters, SU: The Movie showed us the same old thing. When Endgame has a time-skip, it shows us how different these characters are after the end of the last film, but in SU: The Movie, the time-skip just gives Steven a neck, the rest is the same.

My second and last criticism of the film is its redundancy. Usually, what makes cartoon films exciting is seeing the characters face a new threat that can’t be resolved the same way they used to, so I was expecting Steven to face a foe he cannot talk out of fighting. But in the end, Spinel was talked out of fighting and that was the end of the film. The film had a chance to present us with a different formula, with something we had never seen in the show before, and they didn’t take that chance to make the characters grow or at least hit us with something epic. Not convinced? Here’s a list of the most epic cartoon films and with short summaries.

In Kim Possible, international spy Kim fights off Dr. Drakken’s plans over and over again, but since he’s not at all competent in being evil, she always triumphs in saving the day. In A Sitch in Time, the more competent Shego takes a shot at being the main villain and Kim doesn’t save the day. Time travel ensues.

In Scooby-Doo, the Scooby Squad investigates paranormal activities, but at the end of the day they always find out that it’s just a guy in a mask. In Zombie Island, the Scooby Squad finds out that this time it’s not just a guy in a mask, and that they’ll have to survive a real zombie outbreak.

In Billy & Mandy, the duo (usually the former) constantly gets into trouble, but it’s Grim’s paranormal powers that ends up fixing everything, even when they were the cause. In Big Boogey Adventure, Billy & Mandy mess up for one last time, and Grim’s powers are taken away from him, meaning they’ll have to fix the problem by themselves for once.

Here’s the same for Steven Universe, just for comparison.

In Steven Universe, Steven and the Crystal Gems saves the day by using friendship at their advantage, and Steven always talk the villain out of fighting, which often results in a new friend. In the Movie, Steven and the Crystal Gems saves the day by using friendship at their advantage, and Steven talks the villain out of fighting, which results in a new friend.

Try and convince me that the whole Spinel story couldn’t have just been a story-arc over a couple of episodes. I understand that the Crystal Gems being “back to basics” was the main gimmick of the film and I did find it charming, I did, but that’s not enough. I’ll tell you that Spinel shouldn’t have been talked out of fighting, and that for once Steven should have taken a completely different approach this time, and you’ll tell me that the show has already been there, with the whole Jasper thing (and even Bismuth and Lapis to an extent) having happened already. Sure, but Steven continued to talk villains out of fighting after that, so nothing did change did it?

In Change Your Mind, Steven talks the Diamonds out of fighting. Was I annoyed? No, because it was worth it: it was the only way to de-corrupt the gems, and having an alliance between Steven and Homeworld will change the whole climate of the show. In the Movie, all that changed is that now the Diamonds have a new friend.

I liked the finale because it cancelled what I found most annoying about the show: redundancy, and a promise for a change in the future.

I was annoyed by the movie because it was redundant, the same formula. 

So if I could fix SU: The Movie to my taste (I completely understand if SU: The Movie was exactly what you wanted and expected), I’ll say that Steven shouldn’t have been able to talk some sense into Spinel, that the chaotic villain should have remained the arch-nemesis of Steven for the next season(s), the film should have ended up in a huge cliffhanger teasing Spinel’s importance in the remaining of the show, and just imagine the Batman/Joker relationship that could’ve bloomed between Steven and Spinel. Maybe in a later season, Spinel could’ve been shattered by Steven in one epic scene, because he understands that if he doesn’t, she’ll just get away again and destroy more innocent lives. (I agree that’s OOC, so imagine something more like Arkham City, where Joker kills himself accidentally). Lastly, the time-skip could’ve been an amazing opportunity to show how characters changed with time-- but it didn’t take that opportunity.

So was SU: The Movie necessary? ...

Of course it was! Anyone who loved the show wanted a movie, and we got a movie. Sure, it wasn’t as epic or show-changing as I expected, it was different. It was a lover-letter to the show, sure, some kind of a recap, but we got a lot from the film anyway: new fusions, great songs, a bit of fan service. I expect another SU film to be made in the future, and that one has to be an epic, show-changing film, but for now, I’m happy with it. It didn’t blew my mind but it didn’t cancel what Change Your Mind did-- I’m still excited to see what’s next for the show.

[thelustrousyellowdiamond]

OOC: I figured this would need its own post explaining, because I have a lot of questions about what’s up with Garnet.

See, Garnet is not exactly thrilled about the idea of Steven and the other Crystal gems being buddy-buddy with the Diamonds. She has experienced so much war and trauma over what they have done to her that she just can’t forgive them for what they’ve done. 

She doesn’t trust the Diamonds one bit, and she has good reason not to. Blue Diamond almost shattered Ruby thousands of years ago, hates her very existence, and the list goes on. Both Diamonds ended up corrupting almost all of her friends, and Yellow tried to destroy the Earth, her very home. And on top of that, both Diamonds tried to kill Steven and Blue inadvertently succeeded in that.

Plus, Garnet is still pretty salty over having to kiss Blue Diamond, to her, that was incredibly scandalous to her own existence and relationship. Sapphire was trying to justify this by thinking it was just to save Steven, but Ruby is still quite furious. Another thing to note about Garnet is that she does not let go of grudges easily, it took a long time for her to forgive Pearl when she tricked her into fusion, and Pearl was her friend. How can you possibly expect Garnet to be okay with this situation? She believes it will only put Steven in more danger, or that the Diamonds will just be a bad influence on him.

Pearl, Amethyst, and Connie were mostly just trying to support Steven no matter what. Amethyst and Connie know the Diamonds are dangerous but for Steven’s sake they’d prefer to keep the peace, that’s more important to them than being enemies. And Pearl has always wanted peace with Homeworld, even from the beginning she was hoping that Pink Diamond would make amends with her fellow Diamonds, she tried to talk her out of the fake shattering because she still had hope that things could work out, I think out of all the Crystal Gems (aside from Steven of course) Pearl’s the one who empathizes with the Diamonds the most.