History StevenUniverse / TropesAToD

** This wouldn’t be the first time that Kimberly Brooks voices a [[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse hot-headed, buff, proud warrior alien female with a strange code of honor from a Cartoon Network show with a strange code of honor.]]

* This wouldn’t be the first time that Kimberly Brooks voices a [[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse hot-headed, buff, proud warrior alien female with a strange code of honor from a Cartoon Network show with a strange code of honor.]]

** Taken [[UpToEleven to new heights]] with the Cluster itself, which takes that concept and multiplies that by millions, with thousands of Gems shattered into pieces to create a fused mass of shards that will destroy the Earth when it forms, compelled to form as it semi-mindlessly repeats to itself that it needs to become whole out of a desire to regain their original selves, buried alone in the Earth's core for over 5000 years.

* BlindingBangs:
** Sapphire has an eye that is usually covered by her hair, and in "Keystone Motel" it's revealed that [[spoiler:she's a cyclops underneath.]]
** Also found on Blue Diamond's personal Pearl, whose hair resembles Sapphire's; fittingly, Blue Diamond herself has her eyes covered by a veil.

* AbsenteeActor: Mayor Dewey is almost completely absent from Seasons 3 and 4, [[RealLifeWritesThePlot due to his voice actor being busy with]] ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000: The Return''.

* DynamicCharacter: Many of the characters get fair share of development, with the said development being becoming more kinder, mature, or [[GrewASpine growing a spine]].

* AdultFear:
** In "So Many Birthdays", the Gems are frantically trying to keep themselves calm and positive because of Steven's RapidAging giving him mere seconds to find a solution before it kills him. Doubly stressful as being half-Gem, he can die of old age whereas the others can hardly grasp the concept, let alone cope with this knowledge. Triply so as Steven's the reincarnation and remnant of their leader, Rose Quartz whom they had already lost to child birth and were about to lose again.
** In "Mirror Gem", the Crystal Gems are searching for Steven as he's in the possession of what could very well be a dangerous Gem artifact, if not a rogue Gem herself if she escapes from her mirror.
** In "The Test," the Crystal Gems reveal their fear that they won't be able to raise Steven well without his mother.
--->'''Amethyst''': We're bad at this.\\
'''Pearl''': What?\\
'''Amethyst''': Yeah. You can't control him, and he shouldn't be taking advice from me, and we don't have Rose to tell us what to do!\\
'''Pearl''': But he needs us to show him how to be a Gem!\\
'''Garnet''': Steven is not just a Gem. There's never been anything, or anyone like Steven. We don't know what he needs.
** Greg fears losing Steven to the Crystal Gems, either by Steven's death on a mission or because Steven would leave him behind.
*** In "Ocean Gem", he expresses fear seeing how dangerous and life-threatening the missions Steven goes on a near-daily basis. He himself gets his leg broken within moments of confessing said fear.
*** "Space Race" has him in a panic when he sees Steven and Pearl gone in the spaceship he literally grounded him from using, knowing how dangerous such an attempt would be to a mortal. He's completely right.
*** In "The Return", Greg has to accept the agonizing fact that Steven very well might never come back this time when dealing with non-corrupted Homeworld Gems with advanced technology. The same group his wife had fought in a war, with no indication how many Steven had to face but knowing he needs to be there to protect the Gems as she herself had once done.
*** In "Full Disclosure" he has a FreakOut bordering on a HollywoodHeartAttack when he hears about Steven's abduction. Note that Steven didn't mention in the episode that they only managed to escape because he is immune to technology that specifically affects Gems. He does, however, mention that Jasper left him unconscious. It's possible that Greg thinks that the other Crystal Gems did everything. That would mean everything that happened to Steven (being injured, abducted and nearly killed) was completely avoidable and entirely his fault, because he allowed him to go back.
*** Greg had to deal with his wife's "death" during childbirth and with the fact that he can't properly educate Steven (as a Crystal Gem). In "Maximum Capacity" we find out that he still mourns her, as when Amethyst turns into Rose Quartz he can't even look at her.
** Steven himself deals with a lot of very mature fears.
*** In "Joy Ride", Steven reveals that he sometimes thinks the Gems blame him for Rose's death, the fact that Homeworld Gems will be looking for him, and grappling with the implication that the notion that Jasper considers him Rose Quartz in a new form isn't entirely wrong.
*** In "Sworn to the Sword", Steven is legitimately afraid that Connie's going to get herself killed protecting him and that Pearl is instilling an unhealthy mindset in her.
*** In "Steven's Birthday", Steven grapples with the fear that because he hasn't grown since he was eight, he will never age and Connie will eventually outgrow him.
** "Cry For Help" and the ensuing arc explores the fears that somebody you love may deliberately betray your trust on a fundamental level; and by that token, the fear that you could accidentally hurt someone you love so badly that they may never forgive you.
** "Mindful Education" is about Steven dealing with the shame and guilt of horrible things he had to do that were completely out of his control. It's also about his realization that his mother is the source of all his problems, and it makes his feelings for her even more confused than ever.
** "Last One Out Of Beach City": Pearl and Amethyst gleefully get into a high speed [[ChaseScene car chase]] with the police with ''Steven'' on board. Greg would have had a heart attack.
** In "Gemcation", Greg and the Gems think Steven is upset with [[spoiler:something that happened in Homeworld]]. Therefore, Greg is convinced that there is nothing he can do about the situation, while the Gems know there is a lot of bad things that may have happened, but Steven refuses to talk with them. When they find out that [[spoiler:Connie has been ignoring Steven]], Greg actually smiles because that is something he can help with.
** Pink Diamond's shattering, from the perspective of her fellow Diamonds. Your little sister/daughter is moving out and starting her own life, when all of a sudden something goes catastrophically wrong and she ends up dead.
** "A Single Pale Rose": [[spoiler: Pink Diamond's sisters refuse to listen to her wishes for the Earth colony, and she is so convinced that they don't care about her that she ''fakes her own death'', believing that they'll simply pack up and go away once they think she's dead. One could compare the situation to a child who runs away or commits suicide, leaving her relatives devastated.]]
** In "Legs from Here to Homeworld", viewers learn that [[spoiler: Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond fear White Diamond. Blue warns Steven that White Diamond has a fierce temper, and Yellow worries that White Diamond will bring down unpleasant consequences on them over the Pink Diamond debacle. The episode explores the fear that children have of an abusive or unstable parent, even into adulthood.]]

* CastingGag: Adding onto how most of the voice actors are a CastOfSnowflakes themselves, three of them all happen to be [[UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} Filipino]], being Deedee Magno-Hall (Pearl), Shelby Rabara (Peridot), and Jennifer Paz (Lapis).

** "Too Short to Ride" has [[Website/YouTube TubeTube]] and a social media site where users can [[Website/{{Twitter}} cheep]] their thoughts.

* BackToCameraPose: Near the end of "We Are the Crystal Gems", the heroes stand with their backs to the audience, looking up at the villains looming over them. In the same shot, the yet-to-be-introduced Yellow Diamond is the only one in the villains' group who is standing with her back turned. A few seconds pass, and she slowly turns her head so that one of her eyes is visible, glancing back toward the camera.

* CrystalLandscape: Practically every Gem-location, especially the Temple. Numerous rooms in the temple are decorated with crystal outcroppings and many of the locations the protagonists visit early in the series are full of sparkly crystal ornaments.

* BluntYes:

** Combined with a BigYes in "Nightmare Hospital", when Connie reveals to her mother that her glasses are fake because her vision has been restored (by Steven, in "An Indirect Kiss").
--->'''Dr. Maheswaran''': What, your eyesight just "magically" got better?!\\
'''Connie''': YES!

* AerithAndBob
** The Gems are all named after gemstones, some of which are also common human names (Pearl, Ruby, Jasper[[note]]perhaps fittingly, the one name in the group that's generally thought of as male belongs to possibly the most masculine in appearance of all the Gems[[/note]]) and others of which are little known or unusual-sounding (Sugilite, Peridot, Sardonyx, Amethyst).

** The show does get a few things ''right''. For example, Amethyst finds out her type of Gem is supposed to be a warrior, larger and more powerful than Amethyst herself is. Amethyst is a type of quartz. Other quartz-based Gems in the series are Jasper and Rose Quartz, both of whom ''are'' significantly larger than Amethyst. Also, garnet ''is'' in some sense a "fusion", being a silicate with two different cations (generally one divalent and one trivalent).

** Every major character has ''some'' deep-seated fear that they are not everything they could and/or should be. (E.g. [[TagAlongKid Steven]] is afraid he'll [[IJustWantToBeSpecial never fill the hole Rose Quartz left]], [[TeamMom Pearl]] feels [[DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife lost without Rose]] [[spoiler: partly due to her [[ServantRace former life as a slave and liberation given to her by Rose]]]], [[CoolBigSis Amethyst]] ''does'' [[WellDoneSonGuy take Pearl and Garnet's criticism to heart more than she shows]] [[spoiler: and [[IAmAMonster must rid herself of the hatred she has for herself for being created at Earth's expense]]]], [[TheStoic Garnet]] is under ''constant'' stress to [[TheLeader carry the team]] [[spoiler: and [[{{Seer}} her Sapphire half can see each and every future where her leadership fails]]]], [[BumblingDad Greg]] and [[MuggleBestFriend Connie]] [[TheTeamNormal struggle to keep up]], Peridot believes her worth is only defined by how useful she is, Lapis has a hard time fighting for her friends in fear of becoming a prisoner again). Of course, the show goes to great lengths to portray how [[SelfFulfillingProphecy this insecurity is toxic]] and [[BeYourself how each character needs to love themself for who they are and not who they (think) they should be]]. It's also aversion to the usual dichotomy of having either [[CantArgueWithElves smugly perfect aliens]] or [[HumansAreSpecial scrappy indomitable humans]] since members of both races share insecurities about their worth and capability.

* AndIMustScream:

** "Say Uncle" has it's own [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmwVEheOVSg remix of Love Like You]] done in the style of the Uncle Grandpa theme.

%%** Newest fan theory: humanity never domesticated the aurochs into cattle, meaning there are herds of wild cows roaming the world. Evidence? [[https://78.media.tumblr.com/35b70b60826f0eb8289aedbc5f5346fa/tumblr_inline_p915raUnlo1tygofa_1280.png This trophy head juxtaposed with a painting of Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[https://78.media.tumblr.com/b388164cfa65d92e098e318d8fa226e4/tumblr_inline_p9168oUXLC1tygofa_1280.png this one-off line from Garnet several episodes later]].
%%*** [[FridgeLogic Then what dish is Steven's cheeseburger backpack based on?]]
%%** According to WordOfGod, this trope is at play on a ''cosmic'' scale, with the Gem's galactic empire having drastically altered the entire galaxy over its thousands of years of existence.

--->'''Steven '''(to Yellow): Does this look perfect to you?

--->'''Steven''' (to White): I am a child. What's your excuse?

* DeathIsCheap: Outside of shattering, Gems only ''poof'' or go into hibernation if they suffer fatal damage. They can recover and take on a new look.