History Characters / StevenUniverseLarsBarriga

[[WMG:[[center:[-''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' '''[[Characters/StevenUniverse Main Character Index]]'''\\
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[[folder:Lars Barriga]]
!Laramie "Lars" Barriga
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Matthew Moy, Creator/MasonCook (young)

[[quoteright:152:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lars2casual_1_by_theoffcolors.png]]
[[caption-width-right:152:[[labelnote:Click here for his appearance in ''Steven Universe'']]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lars_work_uniform_4.png]][[/labelnote]]
[[caption-width-right:152:[[labelnote:Click here to see him as "Lars of the Stars"]]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lars_stars.png]][[/labelnote]]

->''"You're always trying to help me! You brought me back to life! Just... let me be someone who deserved it."''

Lars was a slacker that worked at the Big Donut. Initially a sullen, angry teen, getting stranded on Homeworld gave him the kick in the pants needed to seriously better himself, going from someone you wouldn't trust to watch a pot boil to the confident, commanding leader of the Off Colors, in turn leading them to becoming actual criminals of Homeworld rather than just criminals by circumstance in their quest for Earth. After arriving back home, Lars is much more open and honest, and even follows his passion for cooking by opening a bakery called Spacetries, before eventually returning to space to heed the call of adventure.
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:A-D]]
* AllTakeAndNoGive: Lars' defining flaw in his relationship with Sadie; he often expects her to be there and think about him all the time but doesn't put the same emotional care to her and her needs.
* AllThereInTheManual: Lars's last name was [[https://i.redd.it/fkzqg50lqtsy.jpg first revealed]] in the tie-in book ''Blog/KeepBeachCityWeird: You Can't Hide the Truth!'', which is written as being from Ronaldo's perspective. It was later mentioned in-show in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E5DeweyWins "Dewey Wins"]].
* AmbiguousDisorder: Ever since [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E30IslandAdventure "Island Adventure"]], it's pretty much been all but stated that Lars is coping with a nasty case of depression. He's prone to mood swings and lashing out at others, which results in Lars alienating others around him, which further feeds into his complex about others not liking him. It's not until Season 5's [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E1StuckTogether "Stuck Together"]] that Lars finally admits his issues upfront. His worry of others not liking him and his fear of the Cool Kids finding out about his baking skills also seem to hint at social anxiety.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: His skin is darker than most of the clearly Caucasian members of the cast, and his [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/steven-universe/images/a/ab/Pilot_040.png/revision/latest?cb=20151130182835 pilot character design]] was considerably darker with dark brown/black hair. Initially, the only thing [[https://ianjq.tumblr.com/post/101121180884 any of the crew specified]] is that Lars is not white. It was eventually shown ([[https://twitter.com/ianjq/status/862150597213958145 and confirmed by that same crew member]]) [[SuddenlyEthnicity that Lars is mixed race and of Filipino heritage]]: His father has brown hair and darker skin, his full name is "Dante Barriga", and Lars mentions a family [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ube_halaya ube]] recipe. Lars's mother has his same orange-ish hair and lighter skin.
* AmbiguouslyHuman: [[spoiler:After being brought back from the dead and undergoing some type of magical transformation, it's debatable if Lars can still be considered human.]]
* AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance: He works at a donut shop ([[TheSlacker more or less]]) and his floppy, stretch-pierced ears look quite a lot like donuts.
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Died briefly in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E3OffColors "Off Colors"]] before being resurrected by Steven's healing powers.]]
* BelligerentSexualTension: What Steven thinks Sadie and Lars bickering amounts to. Of course, he also refers to Lars as his BFF, so his interpretation should be taken with a grain of salt.
-->'''Steven:''' [Lars] and Sadie run the Big Donut.\\
'''Connie:''' Do they get along?\\
''([Sadie and Lars talk over each other while arguing]''\\
'''Steven:''' They're crazy about each other.
** This gets [[{{deconstructed|Trope}} deconstructed]] as the show goes on. Sadie and Lars ''do'' have feelings for each other like Steven says, but they bicker so much in part because Lars is too insecure to admit that he likes Sadie and compensates by acting like a jerk to her (at least in public), which makes Sadie respond in ways that are just as dysfunctional. After his JerkassRealization in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E10TheNewLars "The New Lars"]], Lars starts being openly nicer to Sadie and the bickering dies down.
* BetterAsFriends: [[spoiler:"Little Graduation" reveals that he and Sadie tried getting together after his return from space but just couldn't make it work. They still remain on friendly terms.]]
* BookDumb: His report card in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E10TheNewLars "The New Lars"]] shows he's failing almost every class, with the exception of two where he has a B and D. [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E3OffColors "Off Colors"]] has him painted as less BookDumb and more that he's afraid to put in the work because he doesn't want to fail (including not cooking baklava because the recipe looked too hard).
* BrilliantButLazy: Implied. Lars' report card shows he's almost failing school but he's shown to a clever tactician when he becomes the leader of the Off Colors. So, it's implied that Lars never truly put in the work because he was afraid to fail and be laughed at.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: The grumpy and extremely insecure Brooding Boy to Sadie's friendly and nurturing Gentle Girl.
* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:He decides to go explore space with the Off Colors by the time ''Future'' happens]].
* ButtMonkey: Lots of bad things happen to him, which only fuel his sour attitude.
* CameBackStrong: [[spoiler:After Steven resurrects him, his hair becomes a portal into the PocketDimension inside Lion's mane, and he no longer needs to eat. According to the creators during a podcast, he has all the same powers as Lion does. The creators wanted to show this and never got a chance, but Rebecca mentions he may have used the warp ability to infiltrate Homeworld facilities.]]
* CannotSpitItOut: His feelings towards Sadie. Whenever Steven jokes about it, Lars will break out into {{Angrish}}. When Lars actually does kiss her, he later retracts it by saying she made the move on him.
* CantStayNormal: [[spoiler:Despite returning to Earth successfully and opening up his own bakery in ''Steven Universe Future'', he decides to head off to space once again with the rest of the Off Colors in "Little Graduation", leaving Spacetries to Blue Lace Agate.]]
* {{Catchphrase}}: Steven fully believes "Bingo Bongo" is Lars's catchphrase, which Lars finds utterly embarrassing. [[spoiler:Come his promotion to space fighter, he has absolutely no shame in using it as his catchphrase, and even has the targeting system in the Star Skipper tag targets with "Bingo Bongo".]]
* CharacterDevelopment:
** The "Wanted" arc of season 5 is basically a character arc heavily focusing on him becoming a better person.
** By ''Future'', the once cowardly, selfish Lars who only did activities to make himself look good to others is now a brave, selfless person who is more open about likes and dislikes.
* ConsistentClothingStyle: Lars' outfits generally consist of skinny jeans with a rip in one of the knees, green sneakers, a long sleeved undershirt, and a t-shirt.
* CowardlyLion: For the longest time, Lars would shrink away from any conflict involving the Gems. Lars initially comes off and even viewed himself as a DirtyCoward, but Season 5 finally transitioned himself into this.
* CrazyJealousGuy: In [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E41HorrorClub "Horror Club"]], Lars laughs at Ronaldo's eagerness about horror movies and general weirdness, then starts to behave really nasty towards him after Sadie started to bond with Ronaldo over those same things.
* CurseCutShort: In [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E25MirrorGem "Mirror Gem"]]:
-->'''Lars:''' ''[after Steven bumps into him]'' Hey, watch where you're going, you little f– ''[glances at Sadie]'' STEVEN!
* CryCute: Most notably in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E30IslandAdventure "Island Adventure"]].
* DarkSkinnedRedhead: A lighter example of this trope, his skin and hair being different shades of orange [[spoiler:before turning pink after his resurrection]]. He gets hair color from his mother, while his skin tone is roughly halfway between hers and that of his darker-skinned father.
* ADayInTheLimelight: [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E14LarsAndTheCoolKids "Lars and the Cool Kids"]], [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E30IslandAdventure "Island Adventure"]], [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E10TheNewLars "The New Lars"]], [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E22TheGoodLars "The Good Lars"]], and the "Wanted" one-hour special put him in the spotlight.
* DeadpanSnarker: He snarks at Steven's expense a lot, although he's typically more angry than deadpan. Ronaldo calls him a "Local sarcasm dispenser" in his book.
* DelinquentHair: Lars appears to shave the sides of his hair to get a poofy kind of mohawk, which fits with his negative attitude.
* DemotedToExtra: Lars is one of the more frequent recurring human characters throughout the first season, but Season 2 has him appearing only in crowd shots and one scene of [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E20SadiesSong "Sadie's Song"]], where he is completely silent (discounting [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E6ShirtClub "Shirt Club"]] and [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E4SayUncle "Say Uncle"]], two episodes shown in the second season [[OutOfOrder but written for the first]]). However, after following just one focus episode in Season 3 and a few minor appearances in Season 4, Lars gets another focus episode near the end of Season 4, and becomes Steven's {{Deuteragonist}} for the first four episodes of season five.
* DidNotGetTheGirl: [[spoiler:Sadie gets over her crush on him and ends up with Shep, while Lars goes off to explore the universe a single man, whether he'll find someone else being left ambiguous. Unbeknownst to Steven, who thought he had to fix their relationship, they already tried to reconnect and came to a mutual decision offscreen that they wouldn't work as a couple]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:E-H]]
* EatingOptional: [[spoiler:After being resurrected by Steven, he no longer needs to eat or drink. Although, by WordOfGod, he still does need to eat, but extremely rarely.]][[invoked]]
* EmbarrassingFirstName: He doesn't like when his parents call him by his full first name, "Laramie".
* {{Expy}}: His SpacePirate ensemble includes a cape like that of ''Anime/CaptainHarlock''.
* ExtraDimensionalShortcut: [[spoiler:After his resurrection by Steven, Lars' hair now connects to Lion's PocketDimension, upgrading it to one of these. No matter how far apart the two are in the outside world, it's just a short walk from one to the other in the pocket dimension. This even applies when Lars is on ''Homeworld'' and Lion is all the way back on Earth.]]
* {{Fanboy}}: Of Tiger Millionaire, who happens to be Steven's wrestling persona.
* FatalFlaw: Lars' desire to be seen as cool has caused a lot of strain in his closer relationships, namely with Sadie. It's also the main reason his and Ronaldo's friendship ended and why he refuses to open up to others.
* FatAndSkinny:
** The lean Skinny to Sadie's chubby Fat.
** Likewise the lean Skinny to Ronaldo's big Fat when they were younger.
* FieryRedhead: {{Zigzagged|Trope}}. He has orange hair, but his mood can go from aloofness to bursting anger in a moment.
* {{Foil}}: To Steven. They both try their hardest to be accepted into a group of three people (Cool Kids and Crystal Gems, respectively). Both also have their own share of insecurities. However, Lars is a grumpy jerk with hardly anyone really liking him, but ''does'' have a kind side. Steven is a CheerfulChild who is well-liked by nearly everyone, but is just as flawed as everyone else. This is confirmed in a [[https://cartoonnetwork.tumblr.com/post/168554925588 podcast]]:
-->'''Rebecca:''' Steven and Lars have always been.. counter to each other. Even in the pilot. As the show has gone on, it's become even and even more true. They are so opposed to each other; Lars is someone who just can't accept help and Steven just wants to help everyone. That's what makes them... have such a problem with each other. Lars is really putting on a façade all the time, and Steven is incapable of putting on a façade. That opposition that they have to each other is one of the oldest things in the show.
** This extends to their relationships with their best friends/implied love interests. Lars's friendship with Sadie is turbulent and dysfunctional in part because he's too selfish and insecure to open up to her. Conversely, Steven's friendship with Connie is strong and healthy largely because he's (usually) open and honest about his feelings, allowing Connie to support him the way Sadie wants to support Lars. Though ironically, [[spoiler:they ''both'' end up abandoning their closest friends at the climax of Season 4; with Lars abandoning Sadie out of fear and Steven abandoning Connie in a [[GuiltComplex guilt-induced]] HeroicSacrifice.]]
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: The Cool Kids let him hang out with them, but pretty much nobody except Steven and Sadie really likes him, and even Sadie is deeply aware of how flawed he is. Which isn't to say the Cool Kids really ''dis''like him, they just still don't know him because he won't open up to them.
* FromZeroToHero:
** Lars started as a lazy, surly slacker, barely trying unless it personally interested him, who [[IJustWantToHaveFriends wanted to be respected and enjoyed by his peers]] but went about it the complete wrong way due to his own insecurities; the one thing he had a serious passion for was cooking, but he never showed it in fear of being looked down on. The final season forces Lars into a situation where he learns to be brave in spite of his fears, taking charge and becoming a confident HeroOfAnotherStory who does what he loves no matter what other people think.
** Lars started as a cowardly jerk, then [[spoiler:became a space pirate that ended up becoming the ArchEnemy of a high-level Homeworld Gem]].
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Gains a scar over his right eye in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E3OffColors "Off Colors"]] [[spoiler:as a result of his temporary death]].
* GrumpyBear: Lars' first reaction to most things is frowns and sarcasm.
* HandshakeSubstitute: Has one with Steven where they would high-five each other in the chest.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: In Season 5, [[spoiler:somewhere in-between [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead "Lars' Head"]] and [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars "Lars of the Stars"]], Lars and the Off Colors went from being trapped on Homeworld to Freedom Fighters in space, even getting his own personal ArchEnemy in Emerald.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Destroys one of the Shattering Robonoids to save Steven and the Off Colors at the cost of his own life. Steven manages to accidentally resurrect him, but he chooses to stay on Homeworld until he can escape the long way so Steven can get home.]]
* HiddenDepths:
** As far back as [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E14LarsAndTheCoolKids "Lars and the Cool Kids"]], we see that Lars is extremely desperate to fit in. Then there's his heartbreaking line in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E30IslandAdventure "Island Adventure"]]:
--->''[[[CryCute teary eyed]]]'' "Sadie... Do you ever get lonely... ''[cries harder]'' Even when you're around people?"
** [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E30IslandAdventure "Island Adventure"]] shows he can cook. [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E22TheGoodLars "The Good Lars"]] goes into more detail, showing he's particularly good at baking pastries, but that it's another thing he hides out of a fear of being seen as uncool.
** [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E41HorrorClub "Horror Club"]] revealed that Lars has had these insecurities since childhood, and his fear of being laughed at was the main reason his friendship with Ronaldo turned sour.
** When we see his grades in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E10TheNewLars "The New Lars"]], it's mostly comprised of Fs, with a lone D and B, meaning there must be ''something'' he's good at/kept his attention on. A fan talked to Raven, who [[https://lilmizzkrazie.tumblr.com/post/149871407327/my-sister-katiedid92-and-i-got-to-spend-the-day confirmed]] that Lars' B was for either Art or Chemistry, though that just raises other questions.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Sadie's belief about the more rotten side of Lars' personality is that he's putting up a front. A few of his [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E14LarsAndTheCoolKids spotlight]] [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E30IslandAdventure episodes]] do back this up.
-->'''Sadie:''' I can't get the thought out of my head that you’re a good person.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:I-M]]
* ImprobableHairstyle: Judging by hair he had when he was younger, Lars' regular hairdo involves shaving everything but the very top of his head. Despite this, his hair remains the same even if he goes days [[PermaShave without the means to cut it]].
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: For all his egoism and desire to be cool, Lars is ''paralyzed'' at the idea of opening up to others and frequently sabotages himself rather than try new things out of fear of being seen trying and failing.
* IOweYouMyLife: [[spoiler:Lars allows Steven to get back to Earth through his new pocket dimension hair while he's stranded on Homeworld because Steven resurrected him and he wants to be someone who actually deserved a second chance at life.]]
* {{Irony}}:
** [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E10TheNewLars "The New Lars"]] shows that if he was nicer to people — like Steven acted in his body — he'd finally get the respect and popularity he's always wanted.
** [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E22TheGoodLars "The Good Lars"]] shows that the "Cool Kids", whom he's so desperate to befriend and be accepted by, already readily accept and consider him a friend, he just needs to open himself up to them. Furthering the irony, when discussing him, the Cool Kids specifically praise the qualities Lars seems most desperate to hide from them.
** [[spoiler:After four seasons of being the person who wants the least to do with the weirdness around Steven, he ends up becoming the most directly involved of any human and [[TouchedByVorlons gains all of Lion's powers]], simply because he ran and hid from a Gem fight.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: Lars' main flaw is that he's quick to seek short-sighted personal gains at the expense of others or to assume people are working against him. These cause any number of problems when episodes focus on him.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Implied. [[spoiler:''Future'' showed that he and Sadie tried to make a romance work but couldn't and ultimately are BetterAsFriends, with Sadie even being in a relationship with Shep. However, while Lars fully supports the couple there is some dialogue that hints he, on some level, wants to be her boyfriend]].
* {{Jerkass}}: Lars usually does nothing to Steven other than act rude and prickish towards him. He can [[PetTheDog act more civil or patient toward him on occasion]] and sometimes indicates [[HiddenDepths there's more to him]], but if there's a HiddenHeartOfGold it's definitely buried ''deep'' down. [[CharacterDevelopment He loses a lot of it during the "Wanted" arc]].
* JerkassHasAPoint:
** Lars was justified for being mad at Sadie for stranding him on an island without food, supplies, or an opportunity to contact friends or family.
** He is also more than justified when he flies into a rage after finding out Steven used him as a {{People Puppet|s}} for the better part of the day without his permission and then has his friends and family (minus Sadie) tell him how much they preferred the Steven version of him.
** In [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E41HorrorClub "Horror Club"]], while the focus of the narrative points to Lars's insecurity and concern over others' opinion as the main problem, he was right to refuse to have his embarrassing photo go public, as Ronaldo wanted to publish it for both of them to become famous without regard for what Lars wanted. Though destroying the picture seems excessive and impulsive, it was clear that Ronaldo had no intention of keeping it private even if told no.
** In [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E18TigerPhilanthropist "Tiger Philanthropist"]], Lars makes a correct statement that Purple Puma quitting wrestling doesn't mean that Tiger Millionaire has to.
* JerkassRealization: After Steven takes his body for a ride in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E10TheNewLars "The New Lars"]], he realizes that everyone likes him better with Steven's personality, while Sadie is so jaded that she refuses to believe he would ever sincerely admit to being in love with her. It does inspire him to make an effort with Sadie, at least. By [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E22TheGoodLars "The Good Lars"]], he openly says that he believes no one likes him.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Eventually becomes this in Season 5's "Wanted" arc, to the point of willing to open up to Steven about his feelings. [[spoiler:He even sacrifices himself to protect Steven and the Off Colors from Shattering Robonoids, and Steven resurrects him not long after. He then tells Steven and the Off Colors to go to Earth through his new power without him (though the Off Colors decide to stay with him).]]
* KickTheMoralityPet: Sadie is the closest person Lars can open up to but it doesn't stop him from taking advantage of her kindness or being rude to her in general.
* LargeHam: After becoming a SpacePirate, he's clearly picked up a bit of a hammy side.
* TheLeader: [[spoiler:Of the Off Colors. He's a Type Level-headed and Type Mastermind, as he keeps his cool the most of the group and comes up with their strategies]].
* {{Leitmotif}}: Starting in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E24IAmMyMom "I Am My Mom"]], intense scenes where Lars is present tend to include a repeating four-note synth beat.
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: How Steven sees Lars' and Sadie's relationship in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E7BubbleBuddies "Bubble Buddies"]]:
-->'''Sadie:''' Lars, quit being a jerk and help!\\
'''Lars:''' What? I'm helping Steven on his date.\\
'''Sadie:''' You're embarrassing him!\\
'''Lars:''' No, I'm not!\\
'''Sadie:''' Yes, you are!\\
'''Steven:''' ''[in the bubble with Connie]'' He and Sadie run the Big Donut.\\
'''Connie:''' Do... they get along? ''[Lars and Sadie continue to argue]''\\
'''Steven:''' They're crazy about each other.
** Lars sets Steven straight in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E20CoachSteven "Coach Steven"]]:
--->'''Steven:''' That's it! We all need a workout! Let's do it! Let's work out together! ''[to Sadie]'' You can beat up Lars, ''[to Lars]'' and you don't have to starve to death if Sadie divorces you!\\
'''Lars:''' We're not ''married''!
* LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman: A fan of Tiger Millionaire, who is just Steven in a PaperThinDisguise.
* LockedIntoStrangeness: [[spoiler:Turns pink after Steven brings him back to life following his death in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E3OffColors "Off Colors"]].]]
* LonelyAmongPeople: He spends most of the series as a friend of the Cool Kids, but his low self-esteem keeps him from opening up to them out of fear that they won't like him. It takes Lars a long time to be close with anyone but Sadie, and he once asked her if she has ever felt lonely despite being around people.
* LongLived: WordOfGod stated that [[spoiler:since his resurrection, he's extremely long-lived due to slowed metabolism but not immortal. He also still needs to eat, but very, very rarely.]]
* LovingAShadow: A sort of platonic example; he admires Buck, Jenny, and Sour Cream because he thinks they're detached, aloof, and cynical, but they're actually outgoing, open-minded, and friendly. Sadie even points out that they ''are'' "the cool kids", but not for what Lars thinks is "cool".
* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: To Sadie. In her words, he would act nice to her then treat her badly right after, making it difficult for her to truly know if he even cares about her. It turns out, Lars ''does'' love Sadie but it too insecure to admit it.
* MixedAncestry: Lars is of mixed race and is of Filipino descent.
* MoralMyopia: After he turns against Tiger Millionaire, he [[LampshadeHanging directly says]] it's because he hurt him specifically.
* MultiEthnicName: His EmbarrassingFirstName, "Laramie", is of French origin. His last name, "Barriga", is of Spanish origin.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:N-S]]
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: When Steven accidentally posesses Lars, the first thing he finds out about him is that he sleeps completely naked.
* NonActionGuy: It's mostly noticeable because Sadie is [[BadassNormal one of the most physically capable humans on the show]], but Lars is not remotely physically gifted, and not particularly brave either. [[spoiler:When he finally takes a combat role in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E3OffColors "Off Colors"]] he actually proves to be surprisingly courageous and does rather well... before SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome occurs and what would be minor trauma to a Gem kills him instantly.]]
** [[spoiler:Even when revived as shown in "Lars of the Stars", he mostly uses the fact that he's human to slip through all sorts of securities that Homeworld constructed.]]
* OneHeadTaller: He towers over Sadie.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: "Lars" is actually short for "Laramie", but no one but his parents ever calls him that, and even that's just when they forget he doesn't like it.
* OnlyOneName: His last name was not mentioned until [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E5DeweyWins "Dewey Wins"]], though ''Blog/KeepBeachCityWeird'' book mentioned it a while earlier.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: Discussed. [[spoiler: He's briefly terrified that he's become a "pink zombie" after his resurrection. Steven denies this... but he ''does'' have a slower heartbeat.]]
* OutOfFocus: Lars was [[DemotedToExtra essentially absent]] from the second season, and only in one episode of the third. This gets reversed in the fourth season, as he starts making minor appearances again, gets another DayInTheLimelight, and ends up [[spoiler:the sole ally of Steven's headed with him to Homeworld]] in the finale. Then in the fifth season [[spoiler:he ''dies'' and becomes a human version of Lion after Steven accidentally resurrects him with his SwissArmyTears]].
* PocketDimension: When he [[spoiler:dies and is resurrected by Steven, his hair and the dimension in Lion's mane are now connected, complete with their own respective trees. A short walk from one to the another in this alternate plane of existence, brought Steven ''light-years'' across the cosmos from the Gem Homeworld, to Earth. However, Lars is obviously unable to travel with him [[IChooseToStay and has to stay behind]], in the hopes of finding an alternate method home with the Off Colors.]]
* PropheticNames:
** "Laramie" comes from "la ramée", French for "the leafy branch". [[spoiler:When he comes back to life, he has a PocketDimension in his hair that has a leafy tree inside.]]
** Laramie can also mean "tears of love" in French. [[spoiler:And Lars is resurrected by Steven's healing tears.]]
* RealMenCook: {{Inverted|Trope}}. Lars likes cooking and he's good at it, [[UnmanlySecret but he's ashamed of it because he thinks it's uncool]]. Part of that is probably [[RealMenHateSugar because he specifically likes baking pastries]]. [[spoiler: By the time ''Steven Universe: Future'' starts, he's gotten over it and opens his own pastry store "Spacetries".]]
* RealMenWearPink: After he's resurrected by Steven in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E3OffColors "Off Colors"]], in addition to his skin taking on a pinkish hue, he becomes more brave, heroic, cunning, and a great strategist when commanding the off-color gems, and his self-esteem has more of a positive outlook.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Steven gives Lars one of these in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E14LarsAndTheCoolKids "Lars and the Cool Kids"]], only to be on the recieving end of another:
-->'''Lars:''' This is all your fault! I knew if something went wrong today it would be because of you! Now I'm never going to be friends with these guys. All because of your... weird mom!\\
'''Steven:''' What do you know about my mom?! '''I didn't even get to know my mom!''' But I do know, she saw beauty in everything! Even in stuff like this, and even in jerks like ''you''!
* RuleOfEmpathy: Season 5's [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E3OffColors "Off Colors"]] sees Lars develop an empathy to and a relation towards the Off Colors, [[spoiler:to the point where he even briefly died protecting them from sensors in the Homeworld Kindergarden.]]
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: A rude, abrasive GrumpyBear to Steven, the openly emotional, friendly AllLovingHero.
** Becomes a DownplayedTrope in ''Steven Universe: Future'', as well Steven is still an AllLovingHero and Lars retains his DeadpanSnarker tendencies, Lars has now TookALevelInKindness and is more open to talking about his feelings, something he helps ''Steven'' with.
* ShipperOnDeck: He kept making romantic inferences to Steven being in a bubble with Connie in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E7BubbleBuddies "Bubble Buddies"]].
* ShipTease: With Sadie. At one point, Steven thinks they are ''married'' already and some of their dialogue can be construed as romantic tension. [[spoiler:"Little Graduation" has the ship sunk as it's revealed that they tried forming a relationship but it could never work and Sadie has found a new partner in Shep.]]
* TheSlacker: He'll go so far as to fake an injury to get out of working.
* SourOutsideSadInside: His grumpy attitude is implied to be a facade to cover up his self-esteem issues.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E10TheNewLars "The New Lars"]] shows he has his mother's hair color and skin complexion. And his head shape is similar to his father's.
* SupremeChef: When it comes to baking pastries, as both Sadie and Steven can attest to.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:T-Y]]
* TeensAreMonsters: A definite example in a show that usually averts it. Lars is lazy, shortsighted, self-absorbed, abrasive, and confuses negativity for authenticity, which are all negative personality traits associated with teenagers. He mostly grows out of it, eventually.
* TokenHuman: He's the only human member of the Off Colors.
* TookALevelInBadass: After four seasons of being a cowardly jerkass, Season 5 strands him [[spoiler:on Homeworld]], where he faces his fears and leaps into danger to protect those weaker than he is. He becomes the third human to destroy a Gem-related threat, [[spoiler:and dies for his efforts, but is resurrected by Steven's tears, where he retains his personality and newfound courage, and seems to have gained Lion's skill set]]. After being forced to stay behind on Homeworld while Steven returns to Earth, he leads the Off Colors in successfully stealing the Sun Incinerator, Emerald's fastest ship, and uses it to head back to Earth.
* TookALevelInCheerfulness: Lars starts off as a sour, moody GrumpyBear but ends the series more comfortable with himself and happier in general.
* TookALevelInKindness: He shows bits of this in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E22TheGoodLars "The Good Lars"]], and some other episodes beforehand, like [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E5FutureBoyZoltron "Future Boy Zoltron"]]. It solidifies with the events of "Wanted".
* TouchedByVorlons: [[spoiler:After dying and being brought back by Steven, he's turned pink, has a doorway to a Pocket Dimension in his hair, and many of his biological functions seem to have slowed dramatically, if not stopped completely, as his heartbeat is extremely slow and he seems to no longer require nourishment to survive.]]
* {{Transplant}}: Lars and Sadie were both characters created for comics Rebecca Sugar drew in college before being reused for ''Steven Universe''. The main difference was that [[AgeLift they were college students]] instead of [[VagueAge apparently high-school aged]] coworkers. Lars also had a cameo in ''ComicBook/PugDavis'', an old comic of Rebecca's.
* UltimateJobSecurity: Despite all his slacking and leaving the workload on Sadie, she doesn't seem to have it in her to have him fired. Given that he's a baker, it's likely that he leaves Sadie with most of the front-end and later-in-the-day work while Lars is just holding over from setting up the goods at the start of the day.
* TheUnapologetic: Sadie claimed he was this in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E10TheNewLars "The New Lars"]].
-->'''Sadie:''' Okay, maybe you are Steven. Lars would never apologize to me.
* UnmanlySecret: By his standards. He's pretty good at baking, but he doesn't tell anyone because he considers it "lame".
* UsedToBeASweetKid: Lars is pleasant and friendly in the flashback to his and Ronaldo's childhood (enough so that present Lars groans with embarrassment just from watching himself). He only starts to show hints of his present jerkass self when Ronaldo accidentally pushes his BerserkButton of having people make fun of him.
* WalkingSpoiler:
** [[spoiler:Much like with Lion, Lars' hair and skin post-resurrection shares the same color scheme as Pink Diamond.]]
** [[spoiler:In a meta-sense, the fact that he has his own entire ''page'' gives away the fact that he's more than a simple supporting character.]]
* WillTheyOrWontThey: It's pretty clear that he and Sadie have a BelligerentSexualTension but their romance is hindered because of Sadie's need to change Lars and the facts that Lars is [[AllTakeAndNoGive selfish]] in their relationship. [[spoiler:''Future'' shows that they ultimately don't as they did try but it didn't work out and decided they were BetterAsFriends. In fact, Sadie is now in a relationship with her band partner, Shep]].
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He and Ronaldo were friends when they were kids. They had a falling out because Ronaldo took a picture that was proof of something supernatural but Lars tore it up because it would also have embarrassed him (and broke their promise about their club being a secret).
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: After [[spoiler:Steven resurrects him with his healing tears, Lars has pink hair.]]
* YoungAndInCharge: [[spoiler:Became the leader of the Off Colors, whose other members are thousands of years older than he is.]]
[[/folder]]
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