History VideoGame / FlawedCrystals

''Flawed Crystals'' is a ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' text-based horror RPG fangame made by A Friendly Irin and Farla in Twine, as an alternate universe to the fanfic ''Fanfic/ADarknessBetweenStars''.

''Flawed Crystals'' is a ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' text-based horror RPG fangame made by A Friendly Irin and Farla in Twine.

** It's also an alternate universe to their other fanfic, The Darkness Between Stars. Unlike that story, all of the Diamonds are shattered and the events of this game lead to a completely different ending.

* MainCharacterFinalBoss: The final boss is [[spoiler: Steven Universe himself after succumbing to his corruption. Your party either has two choices, you can choose to kill Steven in self defence and get the Bad Ending or use the Talk function to call Steven out on his selfish and cowardly fantasies that he created in Rose's Room; which is key to uncorrupting Steven]] and getting the Good or Best endings.

* CosmeticAward: The reward for beating [[BonusBoss the Perfect Crystal]]. {{Lampshaded}} in the description, which describes it as having no intrinsic value.

** If you can beat [[BonusBoss the Perfect Crystal]], [[spoiler:Rose]] will remind you that "you can't solve your problems by beating them up" -- even though that's basically what you've been doing all game. This is also a bit of a jab at other combat-focused games with nonviolent morals.

* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: [[spoiler:Rose's Room.]] You're trapped in a claustrophobic nightmare where Rose Quartz is surrounded by puppet versions of the Crystal Gems, who must be [[BossRush fought and defeated]] to see pieces of [[spoiler:Steven's fantasy]] before the final fight. There's also a healing fountain and a [[BonusBoss bubbled shard fusion]] that can be popped.

** Forcing [[spoiler:Jasper to choose between her friends or Pink Diamond]] during her healing sequence forces you to fight her and gets you a bad ending.

* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: [[spoiler:Steven over the course of the game. Healing the gems makes him absorb their corruption, and his desires slip out eventually causing him to become corrupted himself.]]

* EmbodimentOfVice: The boss rematches and the {{Superboss}} in the final dungeon are puppets who [[spoiler: embody the various things Steven believes is wrong with each of the Crystal Gems:]]

* [[spoiler: The Wretched represents Steven's belief that Amethyst is '''insecure''' due to her reckless behavior and her immaturity and how she doesn't deal too well with stressful situations.]]

** [[spoiler: The Perfect Crystal represents Steven's guilt of being unable to reason with the Great Diamond Authority before their shattering, his fear and expectations of them and their power and having to deal with their actions such as the Corrupted Gems and the Cluster Gems.]]

** Attempting to use a bubble to block Bismuth's OneHitKill attack will result in her popping it with an instant attack before poofing the gem anyway. Similarly, [[ActionBomb the Serpent enemies]] will pick a new target if their current target is bubbled.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jwpf7hp_7.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks."]]

** Room-Rose's dialogue after beating the [[Superboss Perfect Crystal]] can be interpreated as a jab towards games like [[VideoGame/OFF]] or [[VideoGamesSpecOpsTheLine]] that have themes of non-violence yet railroad the player into killing everyone in their path.

* DespairEventHorizon: During the fight with [[spoiler:the Perfect Crystal, it's implied that White Diamond can inflict this through it's Time All Things Upends attack:]]

* FixFic: The game serves as one to Steven's characterization in the Diamond Days arc and for all the Crystal Gems. The final dungeon even has Steven feel guilt and loathing for the last few episodes his fantasy is based on and the Crystal Gems (and Jasper) even help him overcome [[spoiler:his corruption, where Steven finally gets to live a normal life]].

** In the final dungeon, [[spoiler:Rose-Steven claims that Bismuth is hateful and utterly despises her due to Bismuth trying to kill Steven when he accidently reminded her of Rose due to their disagreement over the Breaking Point. During the final battle, if you pick the wrong dialogue option as Bismuth, Corrupted Steven will claim that she'll be happy once she's bubbled though she doesn't deserve to be.]]

* PlotHole:
** Despite Centipeetle (aka Nephrite) being the first Corrupted Gem in the series Steven tries to heal, she's seen nowhere in the game and doesn't even get mentioned, with Jasper being the first Gem in your party instead. This little factoid is one of the many things that disproves the idea of [[spoiler:Steven not being a real hero, and only doing it for his selfish hero complex]].
** Early on, Stevonnie goes to Rose's Fountain to fill up a bottle with healing tears, and they go back there every time they need to refill bottles. So why do they neglect to use her tears to heal themselves when [[spoiler:their corruption begins to take hold?]]

* CruelToBeKind: [[spoiler:During the final battle, uncorrupting Steven requires all of the gems to tell him that he's being a selfish asshole. Trying to beg him to stop or trying to use ThePowerOfLove only results in "If you ''really'' love me, help me bubble the other Crystal Gems!"]]

* ReplacementGoldfish: While she is The Lost, Pearl creates constructs of Rose ("The Sun") and Steven ("Son of the Sun") to fight by her side. They are said to look slightly off.

* AccidentalMurder: Throughout most of the game, exhausting HP only results in a NonLethalKO. [[spoiler:But during the FinalBattle with Steven, if you defeat him, he will ''actually'' die, because he is organic and can't recover from mortal wounds like the gems can.]] Bismuth will warn you of this if she's been recruited as will Garnet.

* CruelToBeKind: [[spoiler:During the final battle, uncorrupting Steven requires all of the gems to tell him that he's being a selfish asshole. Trying to beg him to stop or telling him that they love him only results in "If you really love me, help me bubble the other Crystal Gems!"]]

* AccidentalMurder: Throughout most of the game, exhausting HP only results in a NonLethalKO. [[spoiler:But during the FinalBattle with Steven, if you defeat him, he will ''actually'' die, because he is organic and can't recover from mortal wounds like the gems can.]] Bismuth will warn you of this if she's been recruited as will Garnet

** The description of Breaking Point when used against Stevonnie is evocative of [[spoiler:Ed's death]] in ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist''.

** It is possible to deliberately [[spoiler:attack Steven instead of talking to him]] even when you are on track for the good ending. This will [[spoiler:kill him instantly]].

** During the final dungeon after defeating [[spoiler:The Derelict, Peridot will apologize to Rose-Steven only for them to get mad, claiming that they're apologizing to her.]]

%%* TrueCompanions: Stevonnie and the gems are this.

* DespairEventHorizon: During the fight with [[spoiler:the Perfect Crystal, it's implied that White Diamond can inflict this through it's Time All Things Upends attack:
-> '''Narration:''' The white specter twitches one finger. You feel so tired. How long have you been fighting? How long will you have to keep fighting? You know, deep down, that you can't win. You'll just keep fighting forever, without release. Isn't it better, then, to give up. To not have to fight anymore. At least then, it will be over. It's okay. This was inevitable.]]

* AccidentalMurder: Throughout most of the game, exhausting HP only results in a NonLethalKO. [[spoiler:But during the FinalBattle with Steven, if you defeat him, he will ''actually'' die, because he is organic and can't recover from mortal wounds like the gems can.]] Bismuth will warn you of this if she's been recruited.

** After completing the game, you can warp back to before the PointOfNoReturn with your stats and levels intact, in case you forgot to make a backup save.

* BeYourself: This winds up deconstructed hard during the final battle. [[spoiler:At this point, Steven has become completely corrupted, saying that he's perfect the way he is despite the Crystal Gems' horror at his corrupted form. When the gems decide that Steven cannot be reasoned with, they have no choice but to fight him. Saving Steven from his corruption requires you to call him out on his selfish and cowardly fantasy.]]
* BigBadSlippage: [[spoiler:Steven. Healing the gems makes him absorb their corruption, and his desires slip out.]]

* HateFic: An odd example. The authors actually ''loved'' ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''... right up until "A Single Pale Rose" turned everything on its head. The story is a ''very'' pointed and scathing criticism of the canon ending, particularly the move away from the supporting cast to focus entirely on Steven, but the characters and overall setting are portrayed with a surprising amount of love, almost feeling like a FixFic at times. But the "hate" part is taken up to eleven in the final arc, where [[spoiler:the canon ending is revealed to be [[AllJustADream nothing but a sick wish-fulfillment fantasy of Steven's]], and is subjected to ''scathing'' criticism by the characters in the story, portraying it as a nonsensical mess of {{Plot Hole}}s and CharacterDerailment. The good ending actually requires the gems to stand up for themselves and criticize Steven for his behaviour, a complete inversion of the ending of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'' where he is saved by unconditional support.]] [[invoked]]

* IAmAMonster: During the final dungeon, [[spoiler:it's clear that Steven feels awful about using the Room to cope with the revelation of Rose Quartz shattering Pink Diamond. When the Room copy of Rose starts exposing Steven's fantasties, he tries to deny them, not wanting the Crystal Gems (and Jasper) to see that side of him]].

* PointOfNoReturn: Once you choose to [[spoiler:heal Jasper fully]], there's no going back. You are directed towards TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon immediately after, at which point [[spoiler:the Room will trap you there]]. [[AntiFrustrationFeatures You are, however, given the opportunity to warp back with your stats intact once you finish the game.]]
* PoisonMushroom: Picking the wrong dialogue options during the battle with [[spoiler:corrupted Steven]] will result in the gems ''losing'' stats, as opposed to the stat buffs they gain by talking in other battles.

** The knowledge that Rose really shattered Pink Diamond, the final nail in the coffin against the possibility she could be saved, drove Steven [[spoiler:into a FreakOut that led him to using Rose's room to create a wish-fulfillment fantasy where he ''could'' save everyone: the canon ending]]. [[spoiler:The final arc of the game explains why this desire was selfish: He valued saving the Diamonds more than he valued justice for their victims. When dealing with villains as evil as the Diamonds, attempting to save them will only create more harm; there comes a point where you have to be willing to pull the trigger.]]