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Hey there KYM

So I just finished watching all of Steven Universe in about two days and the glow still hasn't worn off. I went looking for a place to gush about it, only to discover that we still don't have a general thread for the show. Clearly, someone, somewhere, has screwed the crystal pooch. And it is on that note that I declare the Steven Universe General thread officially open! Have some music:

I have been waiting for this

Pearl is best Gem :3

My siblings introduce me to the series and i'm just amaze by it. They did a lot of things that most cartoons don't do at all like actual character development and an advancing plot. The characters are also very likable even if they do something rather stupid sometimes.

I really hope that more cartoons will take examples from shows like Steven and Korra.
Oh, and don't get me started with the references

PEARL BEST GEM!

>Inb4 everyone's fave gems are garnet and pearl

Amethyst is fave gem. Sure, Garnet and Pearl are friggin amazing; with all of Garnet's badassery and Pearl's adorkableness, people tend to forget how cool Amethyst is. A lot of my favorite lines in the show ("which way to the baby war" or "Uh, Chill it dude") are from Amethyst.

Plus she fights like Kratos from GoW; a lot of Area of Effect attacks and splash damage with wide ranges. She would work great for crowd control.

Lastly, her backstory gave massive feels. Garnet used to be the most mysterious character in the show, but now, especially since we already confirmed she's a fusion, I think Amethyst is the most mysterious of the bunch now.

To be honest, since I'm only on like, episode 40-something, I really shouldn't be here….

But the shows too good, man… It's so good I get a new favorite ep practically every five episodes. Plus there are some really good songs, all the main characters are interesting and lovable, and the show just makes you have so many feels…

So yeah, pretty happy this thread is here.

@Best gem

Wow you guys, I had no idea people had such a hard time spelling "Lapis Lazuli."

She is such an adorable water angel.

I was debating on making this thread for weeks now, I was such a fool for not doing it sooner.

And, um, you guys. Clearly Garnet is best gem, has best song, and is made from best lesbians. Seriously, though, I just love the way she takes Steven seriously and really trusts him and listens to what he has to say even though he's just a kid. It's that sort of respect that I hope more parents pick up on that with their children. And ever since Jail Break, I have been dying to see Ruby and Sapphire make an appearance again.

So guys, what was the first episode that made you cry? For me personally, it was "So Many Birthdays" when Steven starts to age rapidly and wither away right in front of the gems' eyes. It was one of those moments when I realized "Oh no, this show is really going to tear my heart to pieces, isn't it?" and it has, it really has.

And someone I follow on twitter pointed out a few days ago that all the gem fusions, with the exception of Malachite and Alexandrite, have voice actors that are also professional singers. That is incredibly interesting to me. With this shows musical aspects, this can't be a coincidence. I now demand gem fusion songs. Like, right now.

I heard Rebecca Sugar chose VAs based on their singing abilities…. Or, at least it was a deciding factor.

Wait, really? I wonder if I recognize any of the- Sugilite was voiced by Nicki Minaj?!?!?!?!?!

How? What? WHY?!

She didn't even sing!

A lot of my favorite lines in the show (“which way to the baby war” or “Uh, Chill it dude”) are from Amethyst.

Same here, my own favorite was when she said "You just got Garnet-ed!"

Lastly, her backstory gave massive feels. Garnet used to be the most mysterious character in the show, but now, especially since we already confirmed she’s a fusion, I think Amethyst is the most mysterious of the bunch now.

Yeah, she has the best backstory, although I wouldn't necessarily say that she is the most mysterious gem, unless she did something else that we didn't know about. Obviously the most mysterious gems at the moment are Blue Diamond and White Diamond, if they even exist, or Yellow Diamond, who we already know exists. As for the most mysterious gem that we have seen so far, I would say Lapis (What did she do before being imprisoned, and how was she imprisoned), followed closely by Peridot (How didn't she know about Crystal Gems, what is she currently doing now). As far as mysteries of the spirit go, Pearl seems to be equally as mysterious as Amethyst, and as far as actual abilities and potential go, Steven is the most mysterious.

So guys, what was the first episode that made you cry? For me personally, it was “So Many Birthdays” when Steven starts to age rapidly and wither away right in front of the gems’ eyes. It was one of those moments when I realized “Oh no, this show is really going to tear my heart to pieces, isn’t it?” and it has, it really has.

My first tears episode was probably Coach Steven, seeing Pearl breaking down physically in front of Steven. As for So Many Birthdays, it seemed like the whole aging aspect in seemed kind of shallow, compared to Steven getting taken over by his own involuntary impulses (Cat Fingers) and Steven fusing with Connie. The way that he aged with his mood seemed to be a bit too straightforward, and the aging happened so quickly that it didn't really get me that much.

Urlenmeyer Glass wrote:
,blockquote>compared to Steven getting taken over by his own involuntary impulses (Cat Fingers) and Steven fusing with Connie

Well I think It's good to keep in mind that both of those episodes happened after So Many Birthdays. In hindsight those two episodes make the former look shallow by comparison, but this was the first time I can think of when the show actually attempted an intensely emotional scene and I have to admit that it did work on me.

I had some bad news…

Also the art in question is below

Wow, I didn't even realize she was kinda whitish until they pointed it out. I was more interested in how he portrayed Amethyst….

Seriously, she looks nice, but…. Not exactly herself.

Anyway, DAMN IT TUMBLR! This is why anti-Tumblr circle jerks are so prevalent around here (and in general), cut it out!

>she was kinda whitish

yeah lighting and glowing gemstones will do that.

Isn't it a bit silly, though, to say that it's "Tumblr" that attacked Gashi – as if the site itself has done something, rather than a number of people on the site. This sort of thing happens with other sites too – "4chan did this" or "Reddit did that" – and it just makes no sense. I mean, I know that the sites' anonymity makes it hard to draw a line between specific actions and specific people, but that doesn't make the metaphor any less inaccurate. And there is also the problem of making small controversies look huge, since "Tumblr did it" implies that the whole site has gotten on board with this, when that is unlikely to be the case. Worse, it makes it easier to start thinking that different actions by different people were performed by the same person simply because they happened on the same site – so everything bad that happens on Tumblr is attributed to "Tumblr," even when there is no overlap between the groups that did the things in question. This kind of thinking makes it too easy to just stereotype whole sites; it's a very bad idea.

So in this case, who actually did the accusations? What did they say? How many people were there? Were they coordinating with each other, or simply responding to the same thing in the same way? This is important information, and the article doesn't really have any of it. It is very incomplete.

Does that really count as bad news? I mean, everyone seems to be treating it like a huge fucking deal except the artist himself, who handled the situation respectfully and took realized what caused the hubbub. I'm not going to say I condoned what the critics did because the article didn't say if they just complained about the change or actually harassed the guy, but I am going to say they are not entirely wrong for criticizing the change. I mean, does that look like Garnet to you? The hair style kiiind of looks like Garnet's pilot episode design, but clearly the artist was not going for that. I just find it a weird decision that he lightened the skin tone so much while staying true to the other characters' color pallets and designs. It creates a weird disconnect. So the criticisms aren't entirely off base, but I'm criticizing it more from an artistic perspective than a political correctness one. In the end though I have much better things to be doing with my time than getting upset over fan art or getting upset over other people getting upset over fan art.

>she was kinda whitish
yeah lighting and glowing gemstones will do that.

Yeah I could maybe make an exception on the hands, but really it doesn't matter how bright the lighting gets it does not make sense for her skin to be that light on her arms and face

>Does that really count as bad news?

Not unless you wither hate a certain group, have a beef with censorship, or are are so out of touch that you think first world problems are matters of life and death. I probably should have worded the link better

as for the glow I can assume of if Garnet's gem was glowing, then Amethyst's and Pearls were too, but how much they contributed to the lighting was debatable.

on a side note I found a comment that claims that the point of fanart was to reinterpret the characters with no boundaries. Another claimed that some people don't want to match the original design because they want to do their own thing (though that begs the question of why are doing fanart in the first place, but eh)

Cat Fingers (6) was actually before So Many Birthdays (13). And yes, I'm glad that it worked for you and others.

@ First episode to make me cry

I didn't cry per se but I definitely felt like I might as well have at Cat Fingers. The entire premise was so weird like it was something out of a Hayao Miyazaki film. Add a beautiful ost and proper execution and you have yourself an unforgettable scene. It was at this episode I realized "Shit, this show is going to be one helluva ride."

So Many Birthdays is what I think is the next episode in line to be heavy on the feels, and I agree with just about a lot of people in saying this might be the most tear-jerking episode of all.

There are plenty of other scenes that are heavy in feels like On the Run, and Rose's Scabbard, and I don't think the show is going to run out of those anytime soon.

@ Mysterious Gems

I never really thought of the gems outside the main cast when I posted that, but I suppose you're right. Lapis is unluckiest/saddest gem in my book. Now that you mention it, I can imagine Pearl having more than a couple of secrets still hidden herself; out of the three crystal gems she's the most clandestine and sly.

@ Controversy Fan-Art

I've seen gashi's work floating around online. They never really appealed to me enough that I wanted to save them when I see them, and this one is no exception. More related to the controversy, I don't like his design for Garnet; just doesn't feel right, but I could say the same for other racebended characters I've seen. It's not something I'd get worked up about though.

My thoughts are the same with Platus'. I find it funny how the article blames Tumblr, a huge-site with dozens of fandoms that mind their own businesses, as some sort of hivemind. Is it so hard for people to stop generalizing and use the word 'some' before they start accusing? People are turning things black and white again, as if there are no grey areas, as if there are no regulars on tumblr who are okay with the fan-art.

Yeah it seems like that they aren't gonna run out of emotional episodes anytime soon, hell, the next episode is gonna guarantee some feels

Speaking of which, If what Pearl said about the Gems fusing toghether into a single personality is true, then I think that the finale will be the last we seen of Jasper and Lapis…as least with their invalidity intact.

To address the last point. I think this is the effect of the Silent Majority problem, moderate voice preferring to stay silent, allowing the extremist to be heard, this combined with recent actions and events means that tumblr is gonna get scapegoated, and the internet becomes further polarized (or is seen as further polarized)

I could've sworn Cat Fingers came after So Many Birthdays. Oh well. I found Cat Fingers way more horrifying than sad. That episode made me take the express Nope train to Nopeville in the country of Nope.

You prolly gonna need this next time the episode id brought up

Cat Fingers was almost certainly a homage to Akira. The amount of references is really staggering.

Something about Opal

. . . . . . . ouch.

Need to draw beautiful Opal fanart rising

Now something about Amethyst

(and before you ask I'll will post links from the tvtropes thread here, and vice verse, mainly for discussion's sake. I'm not gonna link directly to the thread itself because I'm certain that anyone that knows of it and can post there would have done so)

@ Cale

I was thinking of princess Mononoke when I saw Cat Fingers, but that's probably just because I haven't seen Akira.

@ Opal

Opal having only two eyes and being the most proportionate fusion apart from having four arms always did made me think. There's a lot to fusion that can be talked about really. Speaking of which, who's your favorite fusion? (excluding Garnet, I suppose.) I'm tempted to say Stevonnie because despite being filler-ish, the episode Alone Together was an episode I found really charming and funny. I'm a sucker for sweet cute ships and Stevonnie is simply adorbz.

@ Amethyst

Remember the episode Indirect Kiss? Amethyst didn't give a hoot when her gem was cracked. She's just being the carefree gem we know, right?

Or not…

@Favorite fusion:

I feel like my answer changes every week, but I really do think Opal is my favorite, for several reasons. For one she made a big impact on us as an audience being the first fusion we've ever seen. Her design is absolutely gorgeous as well, and you can really see the attributes of both characters shine through her. I also love her weapon. I know bow-and-arrow is a really popular weapon right now in movies and tv, but this show pulled it off well and made it exciting again. Honestly, who would expect a staff and a whip would combine to make a bow and arrow? On top of that my birthstone is opal so I really feel a special connection to the character in that sense.

How did everyone think of this weeks episode?

I really like it because it showed the backstory on Rose. I hope that next weeks episode does more of the backstory.

Also Greg x Rose yeah!

Apparently the video was also on the crewniverse blog and Ian's twitter, but some people are labeling it a scam. Thoughts?

That episode… Was fucking beautiful. I really like that we had an episode focused on Greg. He was just adorable in his younger days. I would have liked to see a little more of Rose, but I suppose that would take away from her mystery a bit. I loved the designs of the younger versions of the crystal gems, fucking Pearl's chunky leg warmers crack me up.

Greg/Rose is best ship, but it needs a name.

Reg?
Grose?

Also, something I noticed in the new episode: when Amethyst sees Greg in the temple, she says that she "really like[s] [his] hair." Now, her current form has long hair instead of the short hair in her old one. Coincidence? I think not!

How about we don;t go with portmanteaus this time. We could call it Canon, Rock-Solid (reference Greg's career and the fact that the Gems are technically rocks) or just Rock..

How about Rock Squared, or Rock^2?

That could work.

Anyway what are your thoughts on that Bismuth crystal we saw in Lions mane?

Here's something that's been bugging me. Look at Greg:

Look at his tan-lines. Clearly, he very often wears a tee-shirt and long pants while working outside, and in fact does so often enough that the tan lines are pretty much always there. And yet, save for flashbacks, how often have we seen him actually dress like that?

Also, what is he doing that gets him all sun burnt? Is it working at the car wash?

HIS TAN LINES MAKE NO SENSE!

Uh….

This episode was great. As usual with any SU episode though, 11-minutes feel a bit lacking, but great nonetheless. I'm a bit confused as to why the gems look like kids in this flashback story when the portrait Steven found from the 16th century had the gems looking like adults, but I can let it pass because young gems look super duper cute. I'd also like to point out to people Ruby and Sapphire have been fused already long ago it seems, and greg may have not even met the two.

in short:

How come that this series really started taking off in the beginning of 2015?

Feelstastic season finale?

Well, February-March is when things started to get huge, and I don't think it's a coincidence that a bunch of really important episodes hit the air around then:

-"On the Run" (Feb 5), when Amethyst takes Steven to Kindergarten
-"Rose's Scabbard" (Feb 9), when the gem feels started getting turned up
-"The Return" and "Jailbreak" (March 12), when the shit really hit the fan

There were episodes of similar impact earlier – "Mirror Gem" and "Ocean Gem" come to mind – but the strongest episodes seem to have been clumped around the early and late season. So the best episodes at the beginning got people's attention, but didn't have a fandom to build hype around, while the later ones did.

I heard somewhere that the tan lines were created in a flash of light when Rose gave birth to Steven.

So his birth was so bright that it permanently marked his skin?

That is so cool.

(Though he will probably get cancer now.)

(Though he will probably get cancer now.)

If that happens, Steven will just spit on it.

On a different note,
Where is Peridot?
When are the Gems going to track her down to kill/interrogate her?
None of the synopses seem to suggest this happening anytime soon, even though it is the most urgent matter for the Gems at the moment.

probably a Midseason or Season finale. Peridot is neutralized (her escape pod is now at the temple or destroyed and she does not have any knowledge of ancient gem tech or its whereabouts) and Lapis is ensuring that Jasper won't escape the Ocean without being overwritten by the Malachite personality, so for now neither can contract Yellow Diamond (though that will probably make her more likely to come if either Jasper or Peridot were of any importance of if she has an eye for seeing missing details)

I have a good hunch Steven Bomb helped with this. Steven Bomb was the week when Cartoon Network aired an episode of Steven Universe a day in a week. The episodes were 45-50. Episode 49, Jail Break, is probably the episode that made the biggest splash though, thanks to Garnet and her song Stronger Than You spreading all over tumblr and soundcloud like wildfire. This is why I felt like an article for the song was necessary.