History StevenUniverse / TropesAToD

* DrivenByALoveInterest: This was Pearl's biggest flaw for most of the show (especially in the earlier seasons). She was completely dedicated to following Rose Quartz, considering herself to be her best friend and heavily implying that she was in love with her. But Rose ultimately fell in love with Greg, and chose to have Steven (which required that she give up her physical form). Pearl was devastated, and dedicated her life to being a good (occasionally [[MyBelovedSmother obsessive]]) parent to Steven. The show's WhamEpisode "A Single Pale Rose" and the following episode "Now We're Only Falling Apart" sheds some light on Pearl's behavior: [[spoiler:she was the personal pearl of Pink Diamond, who became Rose Quartz to fight the Diamond Authority. Pearl truly ''was'' Rose's closest friend and confidante because she was the only one who knew the truth. Even when it became clear that Rose no longer saw her as a servant but a friend, Pearl stayed by her.]] Her biggest character arc is learning to discover who she is rather than dedicate her life to another.

* AnachronismStew: Technology from a number of different eras seems to mingle together in Beach City. Characters are shown to own up-to-date smartphones and run blogs, but most [=TVs=] that are seen are of the older boxy variety that hasn't been sold in about a decade, and the video game consoles that Steven is shown playing include a UsefulNotes/Nintendo64, a UsefulNotes/GameCube, and something that resembles a classic-style UsefulNotes/GameBoy, all of which have been out of production for over ten years. Characters are occasionally shown to use Walkmans with oversized headphones, rather than the iPods with tiny earbuds that are more popular in the present day. These could be examples of how the Gems' presence on Earth has affected the passage of time and technology in small ways; then again, it could simply be [[TruthInTelevision a reflection of real life]], where plenty of people still use older tech together with more recent stuff.

** [[spoiler:Pink Diamond]] would also fall here before her time on Earth changed her perspective on everything. [[spoiler:[[spoiler:Given that her old role was to arrange parties and lift the spirits of the other diamonds it's probably fair to say that she was always something among the lines of a nice individual, but she also didn't seem to see those beneath her in the heirarchy as anything other than amusements and annoyances.]] This is perfectly illustrated in the movie [[spoiler:where she left Spinel alone and slowly going insane for 6,000 years purely because she had become bored with their games.]]

* AnachronismStew: Technology from a number of different eras seems to mingle together in Beach City. Characters are shown to own up-to-date smartphones and run blogs, but most [=TVs=] that are seen are of the older boxy variety that hasn't been sold in about a decade, and the video game consoles that Steven is shown playing include a UsefulNotes/Nintendo64, a UsefulNotes/GameCube, and something that resembles a classic-style UsefulNotes/GameBoy, all of which have been out of production for over ten years. Characters are occasionally shown to use Walkmans with oversized headphones, rather than the iPods with tiny earbuds that are more popular in the present day. These could be examples of how [[ForWantOfANail the Gems' presence on Earth has affected the passage of time and technology in small ways]]; then again, it could simply be [[TruthInTelevision a reflection of real life]], where plenty of people still use older tech together with more recent stuff.

* BigNo: Practically Steven's CatchPhrase, and the first thing he ever says on the show. Generally it's just him being melodramatic, but taken to creepy levels when a magic mirror containing the imprisoned Lapis Lazuli expresses its horror by replaying it on a loop. Steven also does this when Lapis fuses with Jasper.

** "Historical Friction" has two great messages that work on their own, but when combined they produce something unfortunate. The messages appear to be "Always tell history the way it really happened" and "It's okay to root for flawed characters that are meant to be heroes". However, the way it's portrayed is when Pearl tells Jamie and Steven that their play about the history of Beach City is inaccurate because it portrays William Dewey as a flawless character, when he was far from perfect. When they rewrite the play to make it more accurate, the audience still cheers and still sees William Dewey as a hero despite his flaws, feeling he is more relatable. Applied to fiction, seeing yourself in a flawed hero makes sense, but applied to history, it gives off the message that "It's okay to root for a beloved historical figure once you find out what they really did."

* DeusExMachina: In the final confrontation with White Diamond, [[spoiler:Pink Steven]] shows up with no prior foreshadowing, [[spoiler:somehow overpowers White Diamond with his [[MakeMeWannaShout voice]], NoSells all her attacks, which prior to this point were overwhelmingly effective and then rejoins with Human Steven before the latter can die.]] This allows White to be put in a position where she can finally be reasoned with where before she just brushed everything off because she was just so strong and disconnected.

* DeathOfPersonality: Rose's gemstone is still active, with Steven himself being a sort of {{Reincarnation}} generated around it and retaining the same magical properties, but her consciousness has been entirely supplanted by his, as best demonstrated when [[spoiler:removing the gemstone from Steven's body, which it had been long been speculated would bring back the familiar living form of Rose/Pink, instead produces a pink version of ''Steven'' as the direct projection of its soul.]]

** Outside of shattering, Gems only ''poof'' or go into hibernation if they suffer fatal damage, so long as their gem is intact. They can recover and take on a new look.

* DoesNotLikeShoes:
** Lapis Lazuli, who is perpetually barefoot, ostensibly by choice as all Gems can freely manipulate their appearance, including clothes.
** Rose Quartz didn't wear shoes, either.
** Neither does [[spoiler:Steven and Connie's Fusion, Stevonnie, though this seems to be just because Stevonnie's feet are too big for Steven and Connie's shoes.]]

** [[spoiler: Smoky Quartz]] is this in ''spades''. Being thick and round-bodied due to their status as [[spoiler: a Fusion of the chunky Steven and stocky Amethyst]] doesn't stop them from running and jumping rings around [[spoiler: Jasper]] in a fight.

** The aesop of "Can't Go Back" is to be careful what you wish for. [[spoiler: Pink Diamond once wanted nothing more than her own colony, but upon receiving governorship of Earth, discovered that colonization comes with terrible moral implications.]] Another aesop is that people change over time and may outgrow the dreams they had in the past.
** "A Single Pale Rose" features several aesops. [[spoiler: One's actions, no matter how noble, may still have unintended consequences that hurt others. Also, running away from a bad situation may not necessarily resolve the situation, and could even make it worse.]]

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler: Navy]] as it turns out. [[spoiler: The rest of the squad sent her on a solo mission to get their ship back from Steven in ''Room for Ruby''. She specifically states that she chose not to just steal the thing, but pretend to be defecting to Steven's side just so she could see him hurt when she stabbed him in the back. The reason she got away with it is that she'd always been pleasant to Steven in their past interactions, and she was still pleasantly smiling while she dumped him into the ocean.]]
** [[spoiler: Blue Diamond]] as well, to an extent. [[spoiler: Compared to Yellow she is substantially easier to talk to (even having a heart-to-heart conversation with lesser lifeform Greg in her introduction) and has shown herself to be fairly open-minded on several occasions. That being said, she is still a diamond with all the conquest and slavery that entails. A few lines of dialogue in the movie even imply that she might have been in charge of inacting punishments within their empire, which would of course include numerous shatterings during her [[TimeAbyss long life.]]]]
** [[spoiler: Pink Diamond]] would also fall here before her time on Earth changed her perspective on everything. [[spoiler: Given that her old role was to arrange parties and lift the spirits of the other diamonds it's probably fair to say that she was always something among the lines of a nice individual, but she also didn't seem to see those beneath her in the heirarchy as anything other than amusements and annoyances.]] This is perfectly illustrated in the movie [[spoiler: where she left Spinel alone and slowly going insane for 6,000 years purely because she had become bored with their games.]]

** Implied in "Monster Reunion" that [[spoiler: a Class 3A occurred 5,000 years ago, when the Diamonds unleashed some sort of white light attack that corrupted all of the gems on Earth, turning them into monsters. The only survivors were Rose Quartz, Garnet, and Pearl, who were protected by Rose's shield; Amethyst, who had not yet emerged from her hole; Lapis Lazuli, who was trapped in a mirror; and Bismuth, who was in a bubble.]]

*** After [[spoiler: Lars is revived by Steven]], the collar of his T-shirt is ripped in five places, forming the rough shape of a star (two points on his chest, one on each shoulder, and one on his back), which is ''very'' reminiscent of the rough star shape made by Lion's mane.
*** Pointed out by [[spoiler: Peridot]] In "Log Date 7 15 2", when she is panicking about becoming a Crystal Gem, and asks "Do I have to wear a star now? Where am I gonna put the star?"
*** Followed up in "Change Your Mind" upon reconstruction, [[spoiler: Peridot]] now has a star on her shirt.

*** [[spoiler: Pearl is also shown with a pink diamond on several occasions. The original Holo-Pearls, her space-suit, half of the belly-cut on Rainbow Quartz and the shoes of Sardonyx all had pink diamonds on them. This makes sense as it was later revealed that Pearl was Pink Diamond’s Pearl.]]

*** As it turns out [[spoiler: this is the overarching theme for the entire series, as shown in The Battle of Heart and Mind.]]

** The two finally make their first successful battle perfomance together [[spoiler: in "Crack the Whip", where they're so in unison with wanting to protect Amethyst and her gem from being shattered by Jasper that they fuse and go toe to toe in an even fight with Jasper, riding on Lion with Sword and Shield in hand.]]

** In "Log Date 7-15-2", Peridot is undergoing SanitySlippage after [[spoiler: telling off Yellow Diamond]] and cementing her HeelFaceTurn.

* BookEnds: In the original pilot episode of Steven Universe [[spoiler: the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF1_j2WQdxg plot was resolved with Steven's come-back "What's your excuse"]]. In The Battle of Heart and Mind, which is the official conclusion of the story first come up with by the series creators, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tdov9g6dcs Steven uses the same line]] to [[BreakThemByTalking completely break White Diamond]].]]

** In later seasons, the reverence that Steven has for the mother he never knew begins to fade, as he learns more about the hard decisions Rose Quartz had to make in wartime as the leader of the rebellion against the Gem Homeworld ([[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowed]] as far back as "The Return" with Greg noting that there's "no such thing as a good war"). Revelations such as Rose [[spoiler: having poofed and bubbled Bismuth for her extremist views]] and [[spoiler:shattering Pink Diamond]] have tarnished Steven's image of his mother to the point that his doubts about her (among other things) [[spoiler:threaten his ability to maintain fusion as Stevonnie]]. Ultimately Zigzagged when Steven [[spoiler:finds out that Rose Quartz was actually Pink Diamond who conspired with Pearl to fake her own death. However we know that Pink Diamond did some foolish things, so she's still not the incredible person Steven thought she was]].

** When the Crystal Gems are trying to [[spoiler: rescue Greg from the Human Zoo]], Sapphire (who can see the future) comes up with a plan wherein they all pretend to adhere to their assigned roles (e.g. She's an aristocrat, Ruby is her bodyguard, Pearl is her servant, etc.). Followed immediately by this exchange:

** 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 [[{{Seers}} 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.

* ChekhovsGunman: Lapis Lazuli, after [[spoiler: flying away in 'Ocean Gem', Lapis returns in 'The Message' to deliver a warning of Peridot's return.]]

** After the full version of [[spoiler: "Love Like You" was revealed in "Bubbled", in season 4, the end credits theme changed to just ambient noise for awhile. Eventually, some atmospheric background music was used for the end credits, changing every few episodes, which, like with "Love Like You", form a longer song when laid end-to-end, and as season 5 went on, it gained more tempo until "Reunited", where the song was revealed to be a reprise of "Love Like You". From there, every episode would reveal a new piece of the reprise until it concluded in "Change Your Mind".]]

* CrystalDragonJesus: Almost literally, minus the "Dragon" part. Other Gems practically worship the Diamonds, calling them ''"The Great Diamond Authority"''. The Diamonds, unfortunately, seem like they take the idea seriously, treating everything and everyone around them like their own personal property. [[spoiler: White Diamond in particular seems to be a cut above the others in that regard as she even treats her fellow Diamonds like that.]]

** Rose Quartz, despite being the BigGood that everybody adores, has probably the darkest history of them all. It is heavily implied that, being the leader of the rebellion, she had to do a lot of really unpleasant, maybe even despicable things to protect her friends and Earth. [[spoiler: Poofing Bismuth to prevent her from using the Breaking Point, then keeping her fellow Gems in the dark about Bismuth's fate, is one example. In "A Single Pale Rose", we learn that Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond were one and the same, and that Pink Diamond faked her own assassination in the hopes that the Diamond Authority would leave Earth in peace. Rose/Pink's actions angered the other Diamonds so much that they launched the Corrupting Light, corrupting countless gems on both sides of the conflict.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil: [[spoiler: Obsidian, the fusion of Steven, Amethyst, Pearl and Garnet. Their gem color absorbs all light. This is a big contrast to White Diamond, whose gem shines all light.]]

** Even shattering a Gem can be undone, but it's not easy. [[spoiler: Steven was able to fix Jasper, whom he shattered in the middle of his DrunkWithPower state, using his healing tears and the Diamonds' essence.]]

** As the series goes on, it deconstructs Steven's AllLovingHero status, as well as his being a KidHero on the whole. Several situations post-Cluster force Steven to learn that being a pacifist isn't always an option and the world is much more [[GreyAndGrayMorality morally complex]] than he thinks initially; many threats can't simply be talked down, like Steven became efficient at doing during Season 2, and sometimes Steven [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption is left with no choice but to resort to violence in order to save himself]]. Considering this leads to [[spoiler: Jasper's seemingly-irreversible corruption before being bubbled,]] among other problems with other antagonists along the way, this actually leads to Steven ''[[HeroicBSOD breaking down]]'' due to blaming himself for failing to succeed at this, and the problems continue to linger onwards despite a StepfordSmiler demeanor.

* DeusExMachina: In the final confrontation with White Diamond, [[spoiler: Pink Steven]] shows up with no prior foreshadowing, [[spoiler: somehow overpowers White Diamond with his [[MakeMeWannaShout voice]], NoSells all her attacks, which prior to this point were overwhelmingly effective and then rejoins with Human Steven before the latter can die.]] This allows White to be put in a position where she can finally be reasoned with where before she just brushed everything off because she was just so strong and disconnected.

* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Lars in "Off Colors". He's brought back a few moments after his death by Steven's Healing Tears, and [[LockedIntoStrangeness his hair and skin are tinged Pink by it]].]]

* DistractedByTheSexy: In the episode [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamond "Hit the Diamond"]], [[OfficialCouple Ruby]] [[BattleCouple and]] [[FusionDance Sapphire]] suffer a mutual version of this. It especially effects Sapphire, [[spoiler: who can literally look into the future to see where the ball will be, and her team still almost loses because she's too busy flirting with Ruby, who has infiltrated the opposing team to throw the match.]]

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The show is known for its frequent use of thinly-veiled analogies to tell stories about real-world conflict, usually having to do with sexual/gender identity, relationships and social justice.
** Homeworld's attitude towards fusion is highly complicated, but has parallels to sexuality and [[MalignedMixedMarriage racism]]. Gems of the same type can fuse with each other as a strategy, merely enhancing the base gem's abilities. However, Ruby, a base gem, wasn't even allowed to touch Sapphire, an aristocrat gem, and the two of them fusing, even by accident, prompted Blue Diamond to order Ruby's gem shattered. Garnet is also incredibly surprised that Rose isn't disgusted by her, because of the blending.
*** As of "Off Colors", it's revealed that on Homeworld, cross-gem fusions best case scenario is losing their job, and worst case is being permanently separated or even shattered.
** Gems that are deemed defective, like Amethyst or Padparadscha, also draws a parallel with disabled people.
** The plot of "Gem Drill", [[spoiler: where Steven and Peridot have to go deep into earth and drill through giant cluster of gems before it forms, has parallels to abortion.]] Later, when Steven [[spoiler:meets the Cluster trying to form a body and [[TheEmpath starts feeling their pain]],]] he starts sweating and grabs the gem on his bellybutton, giving the impression that he has labor pains.
** When Amethyst says she "didn't ask to be made" it's very reminiscent of someone who found out they were born from an accidental pregnancy. It's also the common cry of the EmoTeen, who laments that they "didn't ask to be born" in to the life they have. This can also be combined with the mother-daughter relationship between Pearl and Amethyst, considering [[spoiler:Pearl belonged to Pink Diamond, and thus feels partially responsible for the Kindergarten.]]
*** Worse, Amethyst was created as the result of a horrific and monstrous act, something so horrible that it was the reason for the Gem's rebellion. Amethyst's issues surrounding this mirror those of a ChildByRape. Hell, considering the fact that she's a mineral-based alien, and her creation involved [[spoiler:other mineral-based aliens forcibly taking over a planet and hijacking its minerals in order to reproduce, causing the planet to suffer in the process,]] she pretty much ''is'' the closest thing a Gem ever could be to a child conceived from rape.
** It can be safe to say that Jasper and Lapis' relationship is a lot like DomesticAbuse. "Alone At Sea" really showcases this. Jasper is domineering, aggressive, and manipulates Lapis into doing things she doesn't want to do (i.e. saying how she's changed, encouraging that their relationship will be "better this time," etc.) while Lapis blames herself for taking out all her anger and frustration on Jasper and admits that even though she hates Jasper, she misses her.
** When Jasper forcefully and violently fuses with [[spoiler: a gem monster]] to get her power high again, it looks a lot like she's transferring her abusiveness towards a new partner. When that fusion quickly disintegrates, she laments that nobody she fuses with ever wants to stay, which is a not-so-subtle indication at how screwed-up her view on relationships is. [[spoiler:Then she gets infected by the monster's Corruption, much like an STD.]]
** Steven [[MistakenIdentity being mistaken for his mother Rose]] at first seems like something unique to Jasper because he used Rose's shield. Gradually, it's shown Homeworld in general think Steven and Rose must be the same person because they have the same [[HeartDrive gemstone]], regardless of his acts or feeling. Even the other Crystal Gems take some time to understand Steven is not Rose. All of this strongly resembles one struggling to get their chosen gender identity recognized by others (on an individual and societal level).
** Later, in "Legs From Here To Homeworld", the way [[spoiler: Blue and Yellow Diamond]] talk about [[spoiler: White Diamond]] and her temper comes across as older siblings trying to keep their younger sibling safe from an AbusiveParent.
** In "Change Your Mind", the gentle way Blue says "She prefers to be called Steven" in the face of Yellow insistently calling Steven "Pink" can come across as a parent learning to accept their child's transitioning. Especially after she herself had repeatedly called him by "Pink" and making him act a certain way, before realizing just how much she had hurt "Pink"/Steven by trying to force him into being someone he was not.

* BareYourMidriff:
** Rose Quartz' gem is where her navel would be, so there's a star-shaped hole in her dress keeping it visible.
** Stevonnie, due to their clothes being a bit too small for them.
** Lapis Lazuli's regular outfit and baseball uniform expose her midriff.
** One of Yellow Diamond's Ruby squad members has her gem on her navel. Her nickname is even listed in the credits as Navy.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: The protagonist himself, Steven Quartz Universe.
** Greg Universe's stage name, Mr. Universe, also counts.
--->'''Pearl''': You know this human?\\
'''Rose''': He was playing a concert on the beach, and I couldn't help myself.\\
'''Greg''': No one can ignore the Universe.

* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: The ''Crystal'' Gems. From Wiki/TheOtherWiki: "A gemstone or gem is a piece of '''mineral crystal,'''[[note]]not as redundant as it may appear, because not all minerals are obviously crystalline, and not all crystals are minerals... for example, there are microscopic starch crystals in, well, starch[[/note]] which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments."