History StevenUniverse / TropesNToR

** [[spoiler: When Steven asks a partially uncorrupted Centipeetle to write her name, all he gets is a bunch of scribbles. As it turns out, those scribbles were the Gem's language. Centipeetle was never a Crystal Gem and her corruption possibly predated the ''invention of english'', so of course there's no way she'd know how to write in english.]]

* NoSongForTheWicked: Depending on your views, morally ambiguous or not, none of the Homeworld Gems have a musical number, not Lapis, not Peridot, and most certainly not Jasper or Yellow Diamond; this show is based on Steven's POV, after all. Ironically, Yellow Diamond is voiced by Patti [=LuPone=], the award-winning [[Theatre/LesMiserables original West End Fantine in 1985]].
** This is later averted with the reformed Peridot in "It Could've Been Great."
** Will be averted by Yellow Diamond in the future as well, with a Yellow Diamond song teased at SDCC.

** Characters ''do'' say "die", "death", "killed" and other synonyms, but when it comes to Rose Quartz, they say that she "gave up her physical form." [[spoiler:This was actually because [[SubvertedTrope Rose didn't exactly die]], but she became half of Steven.]] The specifics as to whether or not she could be considered alive are more philosophical than anything.

** [[spoiler:Rose Quartz]] was this toward humans, despite being seen by everyone as kindhearted and good-natured. The most attention is drawn to this when Greg [[spoiler:confesses to her that he fears she doesn't respect him]], and she interprets it as a joke. Their relationship following this did seem to dial this back a bit though.

*** The show established pretty early that Garnet is miles ahead Pearl and Amethyst in terms of power. However, the source of Garnet's strength and power is being a fusion. Compared to other two-gem fusions like Opal or especially Malachite, Garnet comes out as rather unimpressive instead, and might as well be the weakest fusion shown so far, not counting Stevonnie. Her components, Ruby and Sapphire, don't look to be very strong on their own either (as stated above, Ruby is a literal RedShirt, while Sapphire is a {{seer}} with little combat ability).
*** Also, Garnet is shown to be very well-adjusted, as opposed to Pearl and Amethyst, who have a truckload of issues and a hefty amount of self-loathing, each for their own reasons regarding their perceived role and origins. However, [[spoiler: once again, the reason for this is that Garnet is a fusion of two lovers. On their own, Ruby and Sapphire can barely function, and are so co-dependent that they become complete wrecks (especially Ruby) if they're separated for more than five minutes.]]

** [[WhamEpisode "Mirror Gem"/"Ocean Gem"]] has this effect: Steven releases the Mirror Gem, revealing her to be [[ThereIsAnother another Gem]] named Lapis, which prompts the reveal that ''all'' the gem monsters were corrupted Gems, turning the dynamic on its head. At the end, Steven heals Lapis and she goes into space, but the Gems imply this might have repercussions in the future and it expands the setting from just Earth to space.

** "Message Received" has [[spoiler:Peridot committing high treason towards Yellow Diamond, which makes Peridot a Crystal Gem and caused Earth to come more into Yellow Diamond's focus.]]

** By the time "Chille Tid" happens, [[spoiler: the Crystal Gems are surprised that Steven might be able to make psychic contact with Lapis Lazuli, and by extension Malachite, in his dreams, but far from tearing him down, they encourage him to try again and accept the information he brings back at face value.]]
** Played with but ultimately averted again in "Catch And Release": [[spoiler: while Steven tries to tell the Crystal Gems that Peridot was trying to say [[ApocalypseHow something bad was going to happen]], Garnet gently dismisses him at first, convinced that Peridot was lying to save her own skin. Steven doesn't discuss what Peridot was trying to say to the Crystal Gems because he himself doesn't understand it that well, so he takes the question directly to Peridot, who tries to escape and then gets trapped in Steven's bathroom. When the Gems find out that Steven released her from her bubble, they're shocked at first, but once he articulates what he was worried about, they not only immediately understand, they agree with his idea of keeping Peridot imprisoned but un-bubbled so they can convince her to share information about [[ArtifactOfDoom the mysterious Cluster]].]]

** This is later averted with [[spoiler: the reformed Peridot in "It Could've Been Great."]]

* TheOneGuy: Steven is the only male Crystal Gem (and the only one in gemkind as a whole).

** Steven is normally a kind, cheerful and friendly little boy. While he can and does get angry at things that warrant such feelings (hurting his family and friends, insulting his mother, etc.), he is never angry as a default. Most of "Warp Tour" has him extremely surly and argumentative with the gems, especially Pearl, because he is sleep-deprived and just that afraid of the thing he saw in the warp stream. Similarly, in "Keystone Motel" [[spoiler: he finally ends up breaking a plate and storming out over the way Pearl, Ruby and Sapphire have all been fighting.]]
*** While it's not the only time he's gotten angry, the way he snaps at Lars in "Lars and the Cool Kids" [[spoiler:for insulting his mother]] is especially noteworthy in that it got him to call Lars a jerk without any hesitation. For comparison, he struggled to call the Homeworld Gems "mean" after they [[spoiler:destabilized Garnet, knocked him out, captured him and his friends, and voiced plans to destroy the planet]], and Lars is somebody he actually ''wants'' to be friends with.

** Amethyst, at her best, is laid-back and personable, and at her worst is cocky, hotheaded, and rude. She expresses her negative emotions almost exclusively through anger, to the point where even when Steven was [[spoiler:on the brink of death from rapid aging]] in "So Many Birthdays", her futile attempts to save him only caused her to get more and more frustrated, which contrasted hard with Pearl's InelegantBlubbering. Because of this, her breakdown in "On The Run" where her backstory is finally laid bare and she releases all the self-hatred she's been bottling up for the last six thousand years [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/bc/bb/aa/bcbbaa61136d02dbe9ca9b2c4ea13816.gif has to be seen]] [[http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/910/568/47a.gif to be believed]].
** Pearl's breakdown in "Rose's Scabbard". She is a perfectionist and has a tendency to get a little full of herself from time to time. However, she gets increasingly bitter as she learns she wasn't Rose's sole confidant, and lashes out at the other Gems and Steven out of sheer anger and vindictiveness, something she has never really done before. [[spoiler: She even failed to help Steven after he fell from a floating island, despite voicing concern]]. Fortunately, [[spoiler: Steven saves himself and still forgives Pearl for everything]].
** In "Keeping It Together", [[TheStoic Garnet]] is so traumatized by [[spoiler: the existence of [[BodyHorror The]] [[AndIMustScream Cluster]] and its implications, she nearly unfuses from the shock]]. Even after she pulls it together long enough to [[spoiler: poof the monstrosity, she has a moment where her two halves, Ruby and Sapphire, are arguing with each other through her, complete with changes in emotion and inflection, just like split personalities]].

* OutOfFocus: The Beach City humans with the exception of Greg and Connie got much less screentime during Season 2, given that the episodes started to become more plot-driven, with more focus on the MythArc and Gem characters, and thus there was little they could do in these kind of episodes (Season 1 was more episodic in nature and had more mundane plots). They were completely pushed away [[spoiler: after Peridot made a truce with the Crystal Gems to stop the Cluster, and it doesn't seem that we're going to see them again until this arc is resolved]]. Among them, Lars is worth mentioning, given that he used to appear a lot in Season 1, yet in Season 2 he only got a handful of non-speaking cameos.

* PhlebotinumHandlingRequirements: With the exception of the [[MatterReplicator replicator wand]] in "Onion Trade", gem technology (most obviously [[PortalNetwork Warp Pads]]) can only be activated by gems and lays dormant otherwise. It's unclear if this is a deliberate feature or [[OperatorIncompatibility accidental]], but the result is [[SufficientlyAdvancedBambooTechnology ancient-looking high technology]] sitting around the Earth unguarded for thousands of years without any human reverse-engineering.

* PointOfDivergence: While the world portrayed in ''Steven Universe'' looks remarkably similar to ours, there's a number of hints that the arrival of the Gems [[spoiler: and their subsequent civil war over Earth's resources]] have... ''changed'' certain things. One of the most telling is that while the dollar bill we've been shown as currency in ''Steven Universe'' ''says'' "United States of America", instead of the pyramid-and-crest design, it has a ''diamond'' on the left and a partitioned snake (thought to be a reference to Benjamin Franklin's "Join Or Die" political cartoon urging the Thirteen Colonies to unite) on the right. This is borne out by the names of the two states we've seen so far, Keystone and Delmarva. Matt Burnett has also stated that Christmas and Halloween do not exist in-universe. Seen from space, Florida has apparently been detached from the rest of North America and is now an island. (However, Ghana still exists in this universe as Ian Jones Quartey has stated that the Pizza family is from Ghana.) There is also a ''large'' portion of northern Russia [[Main/TheTunguskaEvent that's just not there]], either somehow flooded or outright obliterated. We've also seen "Jersey" (not New Jersey") and "Empire City" a combination of Paris, New York, and Vegas. WordOfGod is that Kansas City is this universe's version of Hollywood.
* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler: Peridot's conversation with Steven]] at the start of "Message Received" [[spoiler:may at first seem like she's given up on working with the Crystal Gems and that she's merely stolen the communicator to contact Yellow Diamond so she can finally escape Earth. However, after watching the rest of the episode, it turns out that Peridot had actually taken the communicator because she was going to try and convince Yellow Diamond to not destroy the planet by showing how it was still useful without being a test site for a geoweapon.]]

* PragmaticVillainy: [[spoiler:Peridot tries to invoke this in order to convince Yellow Diamond to spare Earth in "Message Received", pointing out that Earth has unique resources for the Gem Empire, making it more useful intact than smashed up for a single geo-weapon. Unfortunately, Yellow Diamond ''really'' wants the Earth to die, [[BrokenPedestal proving to Peridot that she's not as rational as she thought]]]].

* PunyEarthlings: The Crystal Gems have an attitude towards humanity most comparable to WhiteMansBurden. They'll die to protect life on Earth... but they're also incredibly derisive towards the idea of humans being able to help or know about such defense, to the point where Pearl at one point comments offhandedly that she wonders why their response to a power outage she caused isn't reversion to being hunter-gatherers. Given that gems are superhumanly strong, tough, and agile, capable of VoluntaryShapeshifting, [[TheAgeless don't age]], [[TheNeedless don't need to eat, drink, or sleep]], [[FromASingleCell can replace their entire body if injured]], have built-in weapons, and possess several other inherent advantages even separate from their [[HigherTechSpecies incredibly advanced technology]], they're not entirely wrong.

* RageQuit: [[spoiler:What the Cluster amounts to: the Crystal Gems won the war, so the Homeworld decided to plant an EldritchAbomination in the planet's mantle to destroy it.]] "Message Received" makes this more clear [[spoiler:as Yellow Diamond's bitter way of talking about the Earth and refusal to accept any suggestion to spare the planet even if it'd be PragmaticVillainy makes it clear she holds a grudge, even for thousands of years later.]] "Monster Reunion" reveals that [[spoiler:the Diamonds basically used a FantasticNuke on Earth ''while'' retreating in defeat to corrupt all the Gems remaining there (including their ''own'' who hadn't been able to escape in time), infesting it with viscous, powerful Gem Monsters rather than just letting the Crystal Gems have it.]]
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Crystal Gems, in the eyes of Homeworld Gems, are this. As detailed in "Back to the Barn" and "Too Far": [[spoiler: Pearl is a member of a SlaveRace and is considered defective for doing anything more than standing around, looking nice and holding her owner's possessions; fusions like Garnet are used almost exclusively for battle so her staying fused all the time is seen as at least somewhat outlandish; Amethyst, though fully functional as a soldier, is also considered defective as far as Quartz gems go because of how short her ShapeshifterDefaultForm is and Steven, being a HalfHumanHybrid, is something completely new and unheard of]].
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: With the parallels between sex and [[FusionDance fusion]] being as strong as they are, [[spoiler:the way the gem shards were forced into fusing in "Keeping it Together"]] could [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything very easily be seen]] as a metaphor for [[RapeByProxy rape]]. Garnet goes to great lengths to emphasize how monstrous and evil the act of forcing fusion was, even more so than its elements of graverobbing and necromancy. Seeing that [[spoiler: the mutant fusions wail as if in horrible pain]] in comparison to the [[spoiler: gem monsters that the Crystal Gems fought earlier]], which were aggressive but otherwise fine, may underline this.

** When [[spoiler: Garnet and Pearl]] end up in a serious fight, they don't just make up by the end of the episode. Instead, it takes various honest apologies from [[spoiler: Pearl]], the hint from [[spoiler: Steven]] that this fight is influencing everyone around them and a total of [[spoiler: FOUR]] episodes.

** [[spoiler: Ruby and Sapphire (the former is HotBlooded and lives in the moment, the latter is stoic, introspective and has precognitive powers - notably, they usually share the same feelings but express them differently)]] are a nearly literal example of this trope. [[spoiler:For bonus points, their roles on Homeworld were a RedShirt and a BlueBlood, respectively.]]
* RescueRomance: A mutual case in "The Answer". [[spoiler:Ruby saves Sapphire from Pearl, but accidentally {{fus|ionDance}}es with her in the process. Sapphire saves her from Blue Diamond's wrath by escaping with her to Earth]].
* RousseauWasRight: With a couple of ''very'' rare exceptions, the show seems to fall into this, especially among the human characters. Even [[JerkAss Lars]] and [[ManChild Ronaldo]] are shown to be mostly scared, alone, and/or awkward. The Gem monsters and corrupted Gems who attack Steven and the Crystal Gems are insane with corruption and attacking out of desperate madness rather than actual malevolence, as proved by the Centipeetle, and Lapis Lazuli lashed out from fear and misery and feeling trapped. Apart from [[HateSink Marty]], [[BloodKnight Jasper]], [[NotSoHarmlessVillain Peridot]], and the above examples, everyone in the show has been shown to be essentially good people trying to do the right thing, to greater or lesser degrees of success. [[spoiler: Peridot's redemption began as an EnemyMine to the Crystal Gems, as she tries to help stop the destruction of the planet she's stranded on. She has shown us some unexpected sides of her character before finally cementing her reputation as a Crystal Gem. And if some of [[WordOfGod Matt Burnett's]] tweets can be taken at face value, even Jasper has HiddenDepths that the viewers have yet to encounter.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: The series often uses motifs from Hinduism, such as the multiple arms seen in the Gems' temple statue and fused gems (including Opal and Sugilite). [[http://stevencrewniverse.tumblr.com/post/78156709869/from-storyboard-artist-joe-johnston-some Opal was also originally planned]] to form [[NonNaziSwastika a clockwise swastika symbol]] with her hands when summoning her bow, a symbol associated with Vishnu. Sugilite, with her four arms, scary-looking fangs and BloodKnight personality, strongly resembles the Hindu goddess [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali Kali]] (who is associated with the counterclockwise swastika).

** Steven's TV is also regularly destroyed. So far, it's happened in "Gem Glow" (shattered by Steven's shield), "Steven the Sword Fighter" (hacked by Holo-Pearl's sword), "Rose's Room" (wrecked by the Wailing Stone), and "Back to the Barn" ([[spoiler:propelled by Peridot]]). Thankfully, [[UnexplainedRecovery the Gems have plenty of spares]].
** The Gems ground Steven by forbidding him to watch TV for 1000 years in "Fusion Cuisine", and it keeps coming up again in future episodes. In the episode "Joy Ride", [[spoiler:Garnet ungrounds Steven from TV]].

* RageQuit: [[spoiler:What the Cluster amounts to: the Crystal Gems won the war, so the Homeworld decided to plant an EldritchAbomination in the planet's mantle to destroy it.]] "Message Received" makes this more clear [[spoiler:as Yellow Diamond's bitter way of talking about the Earth and refusal to accept any suggestion to spare the planet even if it'd be PragmaticVillainy makes it clear she holds a grudge, even for thousands of years later.]] "Monster Reunion" reveals that [[spoiler:the Diamonds basically used a FantasticNuke on Earth ''while'' retreating in defeat to corrupt all the Gems remaining there (including their ''own'' who hadn't been able to escape in time]], infesting it with viscous, powerful Gem Monsters rather than just letting the Crystal Gems have it.]]

* RageQuit: [[spoiler:What the Cluster amounts to: the Crystal Gems won the war, so the Homeworld decided to plant an EldritchAbomination in the planet's mantle to destroy it.]] "Message Received" makes this more clear [[spoiler:as Yellow Diamond's bitter way of talking about the Earth and refusal to accept any suggestion to spare the planet even if it'd be PragmaticVillainy makes it clear she holds a grudge, even for thousands of years later.]]

*** Steven normally wants to make everyone his friend, that is, until he meets Kevin for the second time. He's not just some guy who trash talks his mom or tries to conquer the planet, no Steven could overlook that. Kevin is a guy who ''pushes others' boundaries and makes them feel uncomfortable''. Steven could barely contain his anger the time Marty--Greg's jerky ex-manager--came to town, Kevin is such a creep that it sends Steven into a mini-rant and say he ''hates'' him.

* NormalFishInaTinyPond:

* NewContentCountdownClock: On the day of the premiere, there was a clock in the corner of Cartoon Network's programs counting down to the premiere of ''Steven Universe''.

** The Big Donut used to make its donuts on-site, until "''...the accident''". It's only mentioned once, and all we see of its aftermath is a burn mark on a wall, shaped like a human outline.

** On Earth, the Crystal Gems are nigh-immortal magical warriors with [[MagiTek advanced technology and magical artifacts]], all of which is completely standard for their society. [[spoiler:Standard for six thousand years ago, that is, and [[TechnologyMarchesOn wildly obsolete]] by the standards of modern Gems. The Crystal Gems are also on the weak side of average when it comes to physical power (as the only remaining members consist of a [[ServantRace glorified servant]], a defective warrior, and, while powerful in her own right, a [[FusionDance fusion]] whose component parts are an average {{Mook}} and {{Seer}}), compared to proper warriors from the Homeworld.]]

*** The show estabilished pretty early that Garnet is miles ahead Pearl and Amethyst in terms of power. However, [[spoiler: the source of Garnet's strength and power is being a fusion. Compared to other two-gem fusions like Opal or especially Malachite, Garnet comes out as rather unimpressive instead, and might as well be the weakest fusion shown so far, not counting Stevonnie. Her components, Ruby and Sapphire, don't look to be very strong on their own either (as stated above, Ruby is a literal RedShirt, while Sapphire is a {{seer}} with little combat ability)]].

** [[WhamEpisode "Mirror Gem"/"Ocean Gem"]] has this effect: [[spoiler:Steven releases the Mirror Gem, revealing her to be [[ThereIsAnother another Gem]] named Lapis, which prompts the reveal that ''all'' the gem monsters were corrupted Gems, turning the dynamic on its head. At the end, Steven heals Lapis and she goes into space, but the Gems imply this might have repercussions in the future and it expands the setting from just Earth to space.]]
** "Warp Tour" takes the above even further, [[spoiler: where we see another Gem, Peridot, for the first time and whose presence indicates that the Crystal Gems are renegades from their kind and that wherever they're from has more Gems who are powerful, unfriendly and have plans to do very nasty things to planet Earth.]]
** "On the Run" puts nearly ''everything'' in regards to [[spoiler:Amethyst]] in a whole new light. [[spoiler:She was born on Earth in the Kindergarten to be a "bad," parasitic Gem, and she still has negative feelings about this, which were not addressed until "On the Run."]]
** "Jail Break" does the same with [[spoiler: Garnet. She's a fusion between Ruby and Sapphire.]]

* NotInFrontOfTheKid: Pearl constantly tries to shelter Steven from aspects of gemhood and gem history that she considers too mature for him to handle.

* PointOfDivergence: While Steven's town and world look remarkably similar to ours, there's a number of hints that the arrival of the Gems [[spoiler: and their subsequent civil war over Earth's resources]] have...''changed'' certain things. One of the most telling is that while the dollar bill we've been shown as currency in ''Steven Universe'' ''says'' "United States of America", instead of the pyramid-and-crest design, it has a ''diamond'' on the left and a partitioned snake (thought to be a reference to Benjamin Franklin's "Join Or Die" political cartoon urging the Thirteen Colonies to unite) on the right. This is borne out by the names of the two states we've seen so far, Keystone and Delmarva. Matt Burnett has also stated that Christmas and Halloween do not exist in-universe. Seen from space, Florida has apparently been detached from the rest of North America and is now an island. (However, Ghana still exists in this universe as Ian Jones Quartey has stated that the Pizza family is from Ghana.) There is also a ''large'' portion of northern Russia [[Main/TheTunguskaEvent that's just not there]], either somehow flooded or outright obliterated. We've also seen "Jersey" (not New Jersey") and "Empire City" a combination of Paris, New York, and Vegas. WordOfGod is that Kansas City is this universe's version of Hollywood.
* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler: Peridot's conversation with Steven at the start of "Message Received" may at first seem like she's given up on working with the Crystal Gems and that she's merely stolen the communicator to contact Yellow Diamond so she can finally escape Earth. However, after watching the rest of the episode, it turns out that Peridot had actually taken the communicator because she was going to try and convince Yellow Diamond to not destroy the planet by showing how it was still useful without being a test site for a geoweapon.]]

* PoweredByAForsakenChild: It is implied that many gem artifacts, including the Desert Glass and the pyramid in "Serious Steven", [[spoiler:are powered by sentient Gems. Lapis Lazuli herself powered a magical mirror.]]

** The show's central theme is the love and relationships between characters. Steven in particular is primarily motivated by the need to care for and protect others. Fusions between gems also work far better if the gems legitimately love and care for one another.

* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:Rose Quartz was able to stop the Homeworld Gems from destroying Earth, but at the cost of her entire army (it's mentioned that she was only able to save her closest friends). Furthermore, it turns out that the Homeworld Gems left behind several monsters assembled from Crystal Gem shards, as well as "the Cluster" (implied to be capable of [[DoomsdayDevice destroying the planet]] once it "hatches"). Ultimately subverted when Steven manages to stop the Cluster (by ''befriending it'') and save the world.]]
* RageQuit: [[spoiler:What the Cluster amounts to: the Crystal Gems won the war, so the Homeworld decided to plant an EldritchAbomination in the planet's core to destroy it.]] "Message Received" makes this more clear [[spoiler:as Yellow Diamond's bitter way of talking about the Earth and refusal to accept any suggestion to spare the planet even if it'd be PragmaticVillainy makes it clear she holds a grudge, even for thousands of years later.]]

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil:
** With the parallels between sex and [[FusionDance fusion]] being as strong as they are, [[spoiler:the way the gem shards were forced into fusing in "Keeping it Together"]] could [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything very easily be seen]] as a metaphor for [[RapeByProxy rape]]. Garnet goes to great lengths to emphasize how monstrous and evil the act of forcing fusion was, even more so than its elements of graverobbing and necromancy. Seeing that [[spoiler: the mutant fusions wail as if in horrible pain]] in comparison to the [[spoiler: gem monsters that the Crystal Gems fought earlier]], which were aggressive but otherwise fine, may underline this.
* RapunzelHair: Amethyst, Greg and Rose Quartz all have this. What's left of Greg's hair goes to the backs of his legs (it was floor length when he was younger i.e. shorter). Amethyst made her hair floor-length apparently to match Greg since she was seen fawning over it when they first met. Rose Quartz has extremely thick, luscious hair styled in thick RegalRinglets that go down to the backs of her legs, and it would probably be even longer if it were straight.

** [[spoiler: Lapis Lazuli was not immediately happy and friendly to see Peridot again of all Gems, and was instead upset to see her. Her time being fused with Jasper, maintaining Malachite, as well as being trapped under the ocean for months, afflicted Lapis with deep emotional trauma that didn't magically disappear, to the point she had to stay away from water for a while. Peridot's attempts at making Lapis see her new self fails completely, and does not do anything in the slightest to even convince Lapis. Peridot, after being told by Lapis to [[GetOut leave]], she didn't [[AintTooProudToBeg pointlessly delay it like others would]], and just walked away without any incident after saying "Okay". It took Steven reprimanding Lapis for her hostility towards Peridot while not even giving her a chance, and saving Peridot from a Roaming Eye, for Lapis to understand or realize that Peridot isn't pretending to befriend Lapis just to use her again.]]

* RousseauWasRight: With a couple of ''very'' rare exceptions, the show seems to fall into this, especially among the human characters. Even [[JerkAss Lars]] and [[ManChild Ronaldo]] are shown to be mostly scared, alone, and/or awkward. [[spoiler: The Gem monsters and corrupted Gems who attack Steven and the Crystal Gems are insane with corruption and attacking out of desperate madness rather than actual malevolence, as proved by the Centipeetle,]] and Lapis Lazuli lashed out from fear and misery and feeling trapped. Apart from [[HateSink Marty]], [[BloodKnight Jasper]], [[NotSoHarmlessVillain Peridot]], and the above examples, everyone in the show has been shown to be essentially good people trying to do the right thing, to greater or lesser degrees of success. [[spoiler: Peridot's arc so far as the TokenEvilTeammate to the Crystal Gems, as she tries to help stop the destruction of the planet she's stranded on, has shown us some unexpected sides of her character, and if some of [[TrollingCreator Matt Burnett's]] tweets can be taken at face value, even Jasper may have HiddenDepths that the viewers have yet to encounter.]]

** Steven's TV is also regularly destroyed. So far, it's happened in "Gem Glow" (shattered by [[spoiler: Steven's shield]]), "Steven the Sword Fighter" (hacked by [[spoiler: Holo-Pearl's sword]]), "Rose's Room" (wrecked by [[spoiler: the Wailing Stone]]), and "Back to the Barn" (propelled by [[spoiler: Peridot]]). Thankfully, [[UnexplainedRecovery the gems have plenty of spares]].
** The Gems ground Steven by forbidding him to watch TV for 1000 years in "Fusion Cuisine", and it keeps coming up again in future episodes. In the episode "Joy Ride", [[spoiler:Garnet ungrounds Steven from TV.]]

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: When Pearl later deceives Garnet as to her reasons for wanting to fuse, Garnet was extremely upset and it was treated like a major violation by all involved. When Lapis Lazuli deceives Jasper as to her reasons for wanting to fuse, Garnet displayed no particular objection, despite Jasper's obvious discomfort and Lapis refusing to break the fusion over Jasper's clear desire to do so. The story treats it like Lapis Lazuli is making a HeroicSacrifice and Jasper's feelings are completely swept under the rug.
** In later episodes, it seems that Garnet puts in more effort into finding Malachite than even Steven does, so it may be that Garnet is simply pushing her feelings down and viewing this as a temporary necessary evil to deal with Jasper.

** The Crystal Gems have recently become the guardians of the Steven. They know little about how to raise children, given how their species don't reproduce like humans. Him being a HalfHumanHybrid doesn't make it easier, since there isn't anyone like him. Also, Rose, their leader and the one they could always turn to, is gone. They have to go through hard experiences on what to do, even though they are unsure about it.

** In later episodes it seems that Garnet puts in more effort into finding Malachite than even Steven does, so it may be that Garnet is simply pushing her feelings down and viewing this as a temporary necessary evil to deal with Jasper.

** [[spoiler: Lapis Lazuli was not immediately happy and friendly to see Peridot again of all Gems, and her time being fused with Malachite, as well as being trapped in the ocean for month actually affected her emotional state, and didn't magically disappear, to the point she had to stay away from water for a while. Peridot's attempts at making Lapis see her new self fails completely, and does not do anything in the slightest to even convince Lapis. Peridot, after being told by Lapis to [[GetOut leave]], she didn't pointlessly delay it like others would, and just walked away without an incident. It took Steven reprimanding Lapis for her hostility towards Peridot and not even giving her a chance, and saving Peridot from a Roaming Eye, for Lapis to understand or realize that Peridot isn't pretending to befriend Lapis just to use her again.]]

* NoodlePeople: Pearl seems to be designed with the ideal physique for a ballet dancer; tall, slender, and long-limbed. Combine this with the show's art style, and she's basically made of broomsticks.

* RageQuit: [[spoiler:What the Cluster amounts to: the Crystal Gems won the war, so the Homeworld decided to plant an EldritchAbomination in the planet's core to destroy it.]] "Message Received" makes this more clear [[spoiler:as Yellow Diamond's bitter way of talking about the Earth and refusal to accept any suggestion to spare the planet even if it'd be PragmaticVillainy makes it clear she holds a grudge even thousands of years later.]]

** [[spoiler: Lapis Lazuli was not immediately happy and friendly to see Peridot again of all Gems, and her time being fused with Malachite, as well as being trapped in the ocean for month actually affected her emotional state, and didn't magically disappear, to the point she had to stay away from water for a while. Peridot's attempts at making Lapis see her new self fails completely, and does not do anything in the slightest to even convince Lapis. Peridot, after being told by Lapis to [[GetOut leave]], she didn't pointlessly delay it like others would, and just walked away without an incident. It took Steven reprimanding Lapis for her hostility towards Peridot and not even giving her a chance, and saving Peridot from a Roaming Eye, does she understand or realize that Peridot isn't pretending to befriend Lapis just to use her again.]]

** [[spoiler: Lapis Lazuli was not immediately happy and friendly to see Peridot again of all Gems, and her time being fused with Malachite as well as being trapped in the ocean for month actually affected her emotional state, and wasn't magically gone, to the point she had to stay away from water for a while. Peridot's attempts failed several times to make her see her new self, did not do anything in the slightest to even convince Lapis. Peridot, after being told by Lapis to leave, she didn't pointlessly delay it like others would, and just left without an incident. It took Steven reprimanding her hostility towards Peridot and not even giving her a chance, and saving her from a Roaming Eye, does she understand that Peridot isn't pretending to befriend just to use her again.]]

** [[spoiler: Lapis Lazuli was not immediately happy and friendly to see Peridot again of all Gems, and her time being fused with Malachite as well as being trapped in the ocean for month actually affected her emotional state, and wasn't magically gone, to the point she had to stay away from water for a while. Peridot's attempts failed several times to make her see her new self, did not do anything in the slightest to even convince Lapis. Peridot, after being told by Lapis to leave, she didn't pointlessly delay it like others would, and just left without an incident. It took Steven reprimanding her hostility towards Peridot and not even giving her a chance, and saving her from a Roaming Eye, does she understand that Peridot isn't pretending to befriend just to use her again.

* RealityEnsues: The show makes a point of showing that many things can't be overcome in a conveniently short amount of time.

*** As a whole have no concept of parenting or children. And while the Crystal Gems have some understanding of the concept, they still don't understand the entirety of it. This has been expanded on in "The Test" and "Steven's Birthday". The former has them doubt their parenting skills regarding Steven and the latter outright states that ''Greg'' was the one to primarily raise a baby Steven since the Crystal Gems had no idea on how to do so.

** The Crystal Gems comments on how everything was great or easy when Rose was alive already made Steven feel insecure about himself. But, after Amethysts and Pearl's outbursts due to her departure, he begins to thinkthat none of them like him because he's the reason she's not there anymore.

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Amethyst has this as an in universe opinion.

** Amethyst, at her best, is laid back and personable, and at her worst is cocky, hotheaded, and rude. She expresses her negative emotions almost exclusively through anger, to the point where even when Steven was [[spoiler:on the brink of death from rapid aging]] in "So Many Birthdays", her futile attempts to save him only caused her to get more and more frustrated, which contrasted hard with Pearl's InelegantBlubbering. Because of this, her breakdown in "On The Run" where her backstory is finally laid bare and she releases all the self-hatred she's been bottling up for the last six thousand years [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/bc/bb/aa/bcbbaa61136d02dbe9ca9b2c4ea13816.gif has to be seen]] [[http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/910/568/47a.gif to be believed]].

* RealityEnsues: The show makes a point of showing that many thing can't be overcome in a short time.
** The Crystal Gems have recently become the guardians of the Steven. They know little about how to raise children given how their species don't reproduce like humans. Him being a HalfHumanHybrid doesn't make it easier, since there isn't anyone like him. Also, Rose, their leader and the one they could always turn to, is gone. They have to go through hard experiences on what to do, even though they are unsure about it.

** The Crystal Gems comments on how everything was great or easy when Rose was alive already made Steven feel insecure about himself. But, after Amethysts and Pearl's outbursts due to her departure, he begins to thinks that none of them like him because he;s the reason she's not there anymore.

[[StevenUniverse/TropesAToD Tropes A - D]] | [[StevenUniverse/TropesEToM Tropes E - M]] | '''N - R''' | [[StevenUniverse/TropesSToZ S - Z]]

[[StevenUniverse/TropesAToD Tropes A - D]] | [[StevenUniverse/TropesEToM Tropes E – M]] | '''N - R''' | [[StevenUniverse/TropesSToZ S - Z]]