[TV] Steven Universe (spoilers)

ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

It definitely confirms that Pink Diamond and Rose are two different people, but I wouldn't jump to conclusions that Rose was the one that betrayed Pink Diamond.

All we know is that Jasper blames Rose for whatever happened to Pink Diamond, but that could be anything from Rose herself physically shattering Pink Diamond, to my past theory that Rose turned Pink Diamond to her cause as a protector of Earth, thus causing her to be destroyed by the Diamond Authority. Jasper can blame her for the loss of Pink Diamond in either of those scenarios, since it would have been the actions of Rose that ended in Pink Diamond's death, whether explicitly or a side effect.

I am still leaning on the latter scenario, because...

A) Quartz seem to be born to fight for their Diamond from the minute they pop out of the ground. Jasper likely was imprinted that she belonged to Pink Diamond, and all it would take is other gems under the Diamond Authority to point towards Rose and say, "Those rebels killed your Diamond!" and she would be all over it. I mean who should she trust? The group that helped birth her and followed other Diamonds like Pink Diamond? Or a rebel fighting the Diamonds? There is nothing outwardly saying she ever met Pink Diamond.

B) The Diamond Authority completely removed Pink Diamond from their insignia. I know they are presented as general evil and self-absorbed, but if they cared about Pink Diamond so much, they likely would have never removed her from the insignia. The fact they did shows a noticeable intention of forgetting she ever existed, which seems odd if she was a martyr for the Authority.

C) At the time Sapphire and Ruby first form into Garnet, they went to Earth to inform BLUE Diamond about the future of the "small, persistent group of rebels". This isn't presented as the middle of some huge war, but instead a very small group causing trouble and not even fully affecting all day to day issues, AKA the start of the rebellion. It would be much later after Rose turned more and more to her side that the biggest parts of the war happened, and thus the need for the Diamond Authority to put up quick and dirty Kindergartens. The fact Blue Diamond was heading this period in Earth's history means Pink Diamond, by that point, was gone for whatever reason.

Just a few things worth mentioning.
 
ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

Also, I am glad I am not the only one to notice the parralels to Jasper forcing herself to fuse with one of the corrupted monsters and HIV/AIDs. I literally got in a verbal fight with a friend once when I brought up the fact that fusion is a subtle allusion for sex.

I mean really, this is a kids show obviously, so they are not going to be super overt about it, but it's pretty undeniable if you take a few minutes to look at it that fusion / sex share some sub-textual parallels. Sapphire and Ruby's loving relationship in which they are always fused (or flirting with eachother wanting to be fused), the feeling of violation Garnet felt when she realized Pearl was using her to fuse into Sardonyx, the abusive relationship under-tones between Jasper and Lapis after they "broke up", even the way Peridot blushes and acts nervous when Garnet non-nonchalantly offers to fuse with her and take away her fusion "virginity".

I could go on but I think you get my point.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

So I guess Steven and Connie? And Steven and Amethyst? Plus Garnet's just fucking 24/7? Or the 5 Ruby orgy?

When you start looking at the bigger scope of fusion, especially its purpose on Homeworld vs what it's become on Earth, the sex allusion by itself falls apart. It works better as an allusion for relationships; Homeworld's sense of it being a work relationship, but on Earth it's become about family, friends, or romantic (although also work sometimes, such as Opal). There's a wider breadth to this than "it's about sex." I didn't say anything before because it was Fade being Fade, but I think you guys can appreciate that there's a lot more going on here, especially when there are so many more examples where that idea doesn't fit.
 
Celt Z

Celt Z

My impression was more like @Zero Esc when it comes to fusion. Sex could be part of it, but relationships in general seem to be a better allegory for fusing. You can pass an STD/STI from not only sex, and if you don't know your partner well enough, you don't know what's going to happen. Unstable relationships, or lack of trust= unstable fusions, etc. The Rubies seems to be a good example of this. They don't seem to have a romantic interest in each other, but they trust each other enough to work as one unit.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Oh, there is definitely more to it than sex, but this particular example seems like it does fall more into the physical aspect.
 
ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

Zero Esc said:
So I guess Steven and Connie? And Steven and Amethyst? Plus Garnet's just fucking 24/7? Or the 5 Ruby orgy?

When you start looking at the bigger scope of fusion, especially its purpose on Homeworld vs what it's become on Earth, the sex allusion by itself falls apart. It works better as an allusion for relationships; Homeworld's sense of it being a work relationship, but on Earth it's become about family, friends, or romantic (although also work sometimes, such as Opal). There's a wider breadth to this than "it's about sex." I didn't say anything before because it was Fade being Fade, but I think you guys can appreciate that there's a lot more going on here, especially when there are so many more examples where that idea doesn't fit.
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That is the thing though, relationships, when it comes to being physical, are about sex. There are emotional ties, obviously, but when it comes down to it, old or young, sex is a big part of what holds the physical side of a relationship together. You can't get more physical then fusion.

Yes, you can have platonic relationships, sometimes those platonic relationships still may have sexual desires or interests in each other for reasons of recreation, or need, or desperation. Sex isn't just about romance either.

Steven and Amethyst's fusion came at a time they both felt vulnerable, mostly Amethyst, who lost her confidence in herself and her abilities. Steven helped bring her back from that, and they immediately fused on touching. It's a common trope that the down-trodden person finds reassurance of her self-confidence through sex, as Pearl did through Garnet. Also yes, Garnet is literally fucking 24/7 because Ruby and Sapphire are that type of couple that can't keep themselves off each other (as they showed to the groups determent a few episodes ago during the baseball game), they are literally a walking PDA who want to get into each others pants at every turn.

Connie was introduced to the show not as "just a friend" but someone Steven openly, and romantically, pines over. Them forming into Stevonnie is their way of, quite literally, growing up, much in the same way many consider sex a rite of passage, it's what allows them to be adults (even if just for a little bit). Also, before anyone goes "They are kids!", don't forget this show was made by Rebecca Suger, a person who has drawn gay Ed, Edd, and Eddy porn, this isn't exactly new for her.

The Rubies actually do still fit in line with the allusion. Rubies don't choose who they fuse with, no Gem does, as the Diamonds dictate the purpose of fusion and finds Gems outside their quality and make that fuse to be "perversions" (which throws other allusions I am sure are obvious). Fusion, to them, is nothing more then a function. You ever heard the old saying, "Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power". Homeworld takes that to the extreme, fusion is about power, but like the super space prudes they are, the natural way to fuse is only between the same race and only for the purposes of supporting the gem race, not for the purposes of love. Ruby made it clear that when Rubies fuse, they retain their own minds, they don't mingle. They just do it because they have to do it, and it's pretty obvious to me Rebecca is using them to allude to issues she believes exist in the world when it comes to sex and detachment, and social norms.

Remember the episode when Greg met Rose? Remember how Pearl had a mic-drop moment where she fused with Rose right in front of Greg and rubbed it in his face? How Greg himself wanted to fuse with her throughout the rest of the episode and how self-conscious he felt because he knew he biologically couldn't give her what she needed? Are you telling me none of that physical display represented any type of sex or display of power and ownership through sex?
 
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ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

One other thing of note, now that we know about Pink Diamond officially, Pearl's space suit makes a lot more sense now.


This is another reason I think Pink Diamond was destroyed by the Authority and not Rose. We know the other Diamonds we have seen (Blue and Yellow) have a Pearl hand-maiden that attends to them with complete loyalty. The Pearl we know was likely the hand-maiden of Pink Diamond. The only two scenarios in which Pearl joins Rose is that the Authority killed her Diamond, forcing her to join with Rose to get revenge for the death of her Diamond, or Rose turned Pearl to her side and Pearl helped Rose shatter Pink Diamond, which is honestly getting a little too Game of Thrones for my taste.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Watching the "Keep Beach City Weird" marathon today... watching Ronaldo freak out in the lightout house.

- Polymorphic sentient space rocks: confirmed.
- Diamond authority: confirmed.

What hasn't been confirmed yet:
- Level 8 beings being a worker society, unable of organization: True... except when a Diamond is involved. Or Rose.
- They can take any form: true, if we're talking Amethyst... but something still makes me think that the Diamonds could do this too.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Celt Z said:
My impression was more like @Zero Esc when it comes to fusion. Sex could be part of it, but relationships in general seem to be a better allegory for fusing. You can pass an STD/STI from not only sex, and if you don't know your partner well enough, you don't know what's going to happen. Unstable relationships, or lack of trust= unstable fusions, etc. The Rubies seems to be a good example of this. They don't seem to have a romantic interest in each other, but they trust each other enough to work as one unit.
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Yeah, I suppose I can see that. I just think narrowing it all down to sex is an enormous oversimplification, both for Steven Universe and for real life.

But a person whose worldview boils down to "everything is sex" is going to logically see sex in everything, so there's no point trying to shift that discussion; the foundation runs deeper than any cartoon.

Moving on, here's this:



Whether by Rose's hand or some other way, looks like Pink Diamond is poofed and of some use to Rose. Right now fan theories are running wild to incorporate new information, from simple ones like Lion being Pink Diamond, to the "we're running out of straws" ones like Connie having gem in her DNA from when Pink Diamond did the same as Rose Quartz but with a woman so the child didn't get the gem itself and this trait passed down through thousands of years.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Surprise, surprise... more evidence that Rose was a fucking hypocrite. And apparently Pearl knew and is terrified of what happened... I'm betting she was the reason Rose did it.
 
ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

Well looks like they are implying the former with Rose shattering Pink Diamond. I still holding out that this is a misdirect but it's definitely leading that direction right now. Also..

OHSHIT
 
Celt Z

Celt Z

I wonder if her shattering of Pink Diamond is why Rose felt no Gem should be shattered ever again. There's so much missing from this story, and the only people who have said anything yet are supporters of the Diamond Authority. Pearl's reaction either means she really knows what happened/i.e. was a witness, or like the others, only know the story they are told. If anything, I think this makes Rose a far more interesting and complex character.

Meanwhile...bubble, Steven! Bubble quick! Can his floating propel him back to the base? And shouldn't the Rubies bounce back pretty quick, considering their supposed to be able to adapt to any atmosphere?
 
Yoshimickster

Yoshimickster

So yeah I'm pretty sure EVERY ep of SU this weak is gonna get leaked early, as is the way of nature.

OKAY-its officially aired, I'ma talk about it now!

ONE-Eyeball is my favorite Ruby and I need more or her.

TWO-Why wasn't Eyeball in charge? She's a flipping war veteran, can summon a weapon, knows the layout of the stinking land, if anything she's the most qualified.

THREE-wait, can they all summon weapons? W...why don't they do that all the time? Seriously, what is the DEAL with Gem weapons?

FOUR-Steven shows better manipulation of his shield, neat.

FIVE-the dark compromise of Rose Quartz. Maybe it was wrong to shatter Pink Diamond, but if not all the malformed and disobedient Gems would be shattered. Heavy.
 
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AshburnerX

AshburnerX

... and we're officially at the end of Season 3. Despite the low key tone of this episode, I feel like this might have actually been more of a test than fighting Jasper.

- Steven uses everything he's been taught so far to try and turn this enemy into an ally, but fails.
- He finally realizes the scope of his enemy: even the smallest Ruby is willing to murder him in cold blood for things he wasn't even a part of... they have simply lost too much to let go.
- Faced with a battle he can't win, Steven finally does the one thing he's been avoiding the whole show: essentially kill a Gem.

This isn't like with Bismuth... Bismuth can come back, she's in a bubble. Ruby Eye isn't shattered, but it is unlikely she will every be saved from drifting in space and Steven had every reason to believe this to be true. He killed that Ruby in basically every way that matters. Maybe the rest of the Rubies too.

WHUvhiH.gif


I really like how every season spends the last few episodes building up to the thing Steven's going to have to do. I never would have guessed that they'd have the guts to do the one thing even AVATAR and KORRA weren't willing to do!
 
Celt Z

Celt Z

I would say kill is an over-statement. Ruby is immortal as long as her Gem is intact, she can adapt to anything she runs into in space, and clearly Homeworld has the tech to find her if they feel like it. But I agree that Steven wasn't able to reason with a Gem and had to choose his own life over hers, something he's always tried to avoid.
 
Yoshimickster

Yoshimickster

Yeah while I admit the gravitas of Steven ejecting her from his bubble, there's no WAY that's the last we've seen of the Ruby-squad.

ALSO-the Roaming Eye...what they gon' do with that?
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Celt Z said:
I would say kill is an over-statement. Ruby is immortal as long as her Gem is intact, she can adapt to anything she runs into in space, and clearly Homeworld has the tech to find her if they feel like it. But I agree that Steven wasn't able to reason with a Gem and had to choose his own life over hers, something he's always tried to avoid.
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Ehh... again, I did say "every way that matters". He didn't shatter her, but there's a non-zero chance she's going to fly through space forever and never be found. Even if she lands on a planet, that doesn't mean she can get OFF of it. She's got a good chance of never seeing another living thing ever again. That's... almost worse than being shattered.

But yes, the main point is that Steven was willing to sacrifice that Gem to survive. It's a WAR now.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

AshburnerX said:
... and we're officially at the end of Season 3.
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Wait, really? So, no more episodes this week?

AshburnerX said:
Ehh... again, I did say "every way that matters". He didn't shatter her, but there's a non-zero chance she's going to fly through space forever and never be found. Even if she lands on a planet, that doesn't mean she can get OFF of it. She's got a good chance of never seeing another living thing ever again. That's... almost worse than being shattered.

But yes, the main point is that Steven was willing to sacrifice that Gem to survive. It's a WAR now.
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Yosh makes a good point; this being a TV show, we'll likely see them again. But Steven wouldn't know that, so yeah; he was in a sucky situation and had to do a sucky thing.

So, does anyone still want to claim Rose = Pink Diamond, or that Rose did not shatter Pink Diamond, or have all the straws been grasped?
 
Yoshimickster

Yoshimickster

Zero Esc said:
Wait, really? So, no more episodes this week?

Yosh makes a good point; this being a TV show, we'll likely see them again. But Steven wouldn't know that, so yeah; he was in a sucky situation and had to do a sucky thing.

So, does anyone still want to claim Rose = Pink Diamond, or that Rose did not shatter Pink Diamond, or have all the straws been grasped?
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Nope to the first(two more eps) thank you for saying I made a good point, and your damn right I will. All we hear are STORIES that Rose shattered Pink Diamond, never seeing a flash back to the event in question. I don't know if Pink Diamond is Rose, I don't know if Rose isn't Pink and didn't shatter her, but there is still something going on there.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Yoshimickster said:
Nope to the first(two more eps) thank you for saying I made a good point, and your damn right I will. All we hear are STORIES that Rose shattered Pink Diamond, never seeing a flash back to the event in question. I don't know if Pink Diamond is Rose, I don't know if Rose isn't Pink and didn't shatter her, but there is still something going on there.
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Current Tumblr theory is that it was Pink Diamond who loved Earth, so decided to fake her own death for reasons by possessing Rose Quartz and forcing her to kill Pink Diamond, to start a rebellion, and gave Rose life-granting powers so she could turn Pink Diamond into Lion.

Because that makes sense. Anyway, here ya go, have fun:



We've all had a bunch of theories, but the only one who's been right about things has been Ashburner. Which means I must set him to Ignore to avoid future spoilers :p.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

That DOES raise the question of what the deal is with Lion though... maybe a Gem that transformed for too long and got stuck like that? I dunno... we don't have much to go on for Lion.
 
Celt Z

Celt Z

AshburnerX said:
Ehh... again, I did say "every way that matters". He didn't shatter her, but there's a non-zero chance she's going to fly through space forever and never be found. Even if she lands on a planet, that doesn't mean she can get OFF of it. She's got a good chance of never seeing another living thing ever again. That's... almost worse than being shattered.

But yes, the main point is that Steven was willing to sacrifice that Gem to survive. It's a WAR now.
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He did banish Eyeball Ruby in similar way to Rose and Bismuth, but the only thing that the Rubies have going for them is that unlike Bismuth, Homeworld knows they were supposed to come back. Unfortunately, Homeworld would/will probably put their priorities into getting Jasper over random Rubies. Meanwhile, I have it in my head that Ruby will eventually be living a life similar to The Little Prince. (Le Petit Prince) :D


EDIT: Ha haha! If I had more time, I love to draw Eyeball like some of the famous illustrations from the book. Especially her stabbing the rose, because, "ROSE!!! I'LL BE FAMOUS!!".

Zero Esc said:
Current Tumblr theory is that it was Pink Diamond who loved Earth, so decided to fake her own death for reasons by possessing Rose Quartz and forcing her to kill Pink Diamond, to start a rebellion, and gave Rose life-granting powers so she could turn Pink Diamond into Lion.
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That's getting a bit ridiculous. But I do agree that their has to be a bit more to this story. I'm waiting for the Gems to give us a flashback or some more details, since it wouldn't be the first time we've been given an answer, but the full story turns out to be more complicated. It wasn't until "Monster Buddies" that we learned the monsters the Gems have been fighting are just corrupted Gems, and how much of their "humanity" is still in them. The Gems aren't just protecting the Earth, they've gathering what's left of their race. I think it's safe to say Rose shattered Pink Diamond, but the why and how it going to matter in the end.
 
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Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Celt Z said:
That's getting a bit ridiculous. But I do agree that their has to be a bit more to this story. I'm waiting for the Gems to give us a flashback or some more details, since it wouldn't be the first time we've been given an answer, but the full story turns out to be more complicated. It wasn't until "Monster Buddies" that we learned the monsters the Gems have been fighting are just corrupted Gems, and how much of their "humanity" is still in them. The Gems aren't just protecting the Earth, they've gathering what's left of their race. I think it's safe to say Rose shattered Pink Diamond, but the why and how it going to matter in the end.
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These theories of crazy shit are just desperate, like why would Garnet and Pearl lie to Steven to make him suffer? To cushion him, yeah, but not to make him suffer. But yeah, there's surely more to the story. I doubt it went down like this:






 
Yoshimickster

Yoshimickster

In other news, fans have decided to interpret Rebecca Sugar's unfinished comic "Margo in bed", written during when she was going through a bad break-up...as a reveal that she was in an abusive relationship...which it wasn't. Also saying that Jasper is BASED on her abuser and that's made Tumblr...real fun. THIS FANDOM EVERYBODY, this fucking fandom.
 
ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

Yoshimickster said:
In other news, fans have decided to interpret Rebecca Sugar's unfinished comic "Margo in bed", written during when she was going through a bad break-up...as a reveal that she was in an abusive relationship...which it wasn't. Also saying that Jasper is BASED on her abuser and that's made Tumblr...real fun. THIS FANDOM EVERYBODY, this fucking fandom.
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This is why I avoid those areas of tumblr, much like I avoid anything brony related.
 
Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

I typically stay out of the #stevenuniverse tag. Not because of the crazy theories, but because of the ... fanart, if you want to call it.

ScytheRexx said:
This is why I avoid those areas of tumblr, much like I avoid anything brony related.
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Not a 50 Shades of Friendship reader, huh?




(Before anyone goes searching, I made that up. I hope.)
 
Yoshimickster

Yoshimickster

IN OTHER NEWS-Matt Burnett's nephew has apparently hijacked his twitter account and won't give it back unless he gets a Suicide Squad tatoo and a viewing of "Sausage Party". This maybe the funniest thing ever.
 
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