Well I guess there was Connie's mom kind of, but that was more because of her using swords I think.
edited 13th Jun '17 4:40:47 PM by xanderiskander
I dunno, the Beach City residents seem to either have a Weirdness Censor or have been Conditioned to Accept Horror. They probably will just shrug it off and accept it like they do most other Gem strangeness.
... Except for Ronaldo.
Oissu!... Except for Ronaldo.
edited 13th Jun '17 4:47:59 PM by xanderiskander
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ESPECIALLY RONALDO. You think at first that Ronaldo is interested in the Gems because they're literally thousand year old alien warriors, but it becomes clear over time that the one thing Ronaldo doesn't care about is, well, the Gems. He's straight up disappointed when Steven explains how all the oddities in Beach City are caused by the gems, and his various reactions to this (blaming the gems for everything, trying to join the Crystal Gems) seem to only further solidify the idea that Ronaldo straight up doesn't really understand how unusual the gems are.
It's the combination of Weirdness Censor and the show's viciously apolitical, well aeverything, standpoint when it comes to the human race (versus the hyperpolitical nature of gem society) that makes Townie episodes so unbearable. In any other show built around supernatural elements "filler" would mean maybe an episode that doesn't add to the lore or a side episode that doesn't focus on the story at hand, maybe occasionally an explicit joke episode that doesn't include any weirdness. In Steven Universe there's like a 30-40% chance that any given episode (after Season 1A when we stop going on regular missions) is just straight up not going to reference any gem stuff, at all. No corrupted monsters, no Crystal Gems, not even any references to past events in a way that acknowledges the nature of the show as existing within an evolving universe. Just... less-than-well-developed people just living their lives throughout frustratingly overplayed SOL plotlines.
edited 13th Jun '17 4:53:26 PM by InAnOdderWay
I disagree, the reason the twonie episode were so need it is because it show Steven in civilian setting and why he is so need it and adverting the shinji syndrome, what I agree is that the town have outlived is purpose a this point, Steven should be deal with homeworld already and not wasting time with more civilian plot, specially now that Lars is homeworld.
I get that, but by disconnecting the town so much from Steven's real life it feels like we're watching two different shows, and one of the shows is a hell of a lot worse written than the storyboarders think it is. It's great when the two worlds crossover a little, like when a Gem's shenanigans force some nice beach fun bonding, or when the Cool Kids stumble upon Peridot's escape pod, or even when just a corrupted gem washes up on beach and everyone gets to kick ass for a few minutes, but when the show ignores all of that and it's just "Steven in Beach City"... Beach City isn't strong enough as a setting to support that. And it probably could never be because of how all the cool character segments are shoved into the Crystal Gems (and Lars, who is better but has a horrible case of Aesop Amnesia).
AH, another debate. Nothing really to add, I like them well enough and enjoy the characters. The fact that Lars got a lot of development is fantastic, he and Sadie always were my favorites.
On the humans character page, the way Connie's tropes are going, she might need a page of her's, the list is up to 250 entries. Sure it needs editing, but Peridot's was somewhat smaller at the time she got her own.
The Crystal Gems should stay on their own page in spite of their trope lists, it's a convenient catch-all place to put them. Steven being the main character stands out a bit.
I hate the way Lars's development was treated, but I do like him as a character. Weirdly enough the second we're actually allowed to see Lars take actual steps as a character (The New Lars and onwards), suddenly Lars becomes one of the most popular characters in the show. I feel like it's because he's more like the gems in how he's allowed to be a dick, but a three dimensional dick vs. Marty and Kevin. He actually reacts to societal pressure, which, "gasp", actually implies that there is indeed a human society to put pressure, real or imagined, on Lars.
I like the character, but I hate the passing it take with him because he was a dick so long it feel somewhat sudden.
Also, like I said the beach episode are needed to ground steven as charming protagonist who win people with words and being nices rather than by fighting, avoding the same problem with anime protagonist who are too emocional, the whole "get in damn robot" problem.
But like I said by now things have change, Steven is a whole different person dealing with another stuff, they can just put beach town stuff anymore(even more with Lars in homeworld) unless is not related to the gems.
Or let me put it simple: THIS is the point of not return for show about stuff, they HAVE to deal with the homeworld stuff more because the way the status quo is set it feelling more annoying than everything else.
"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"I don't think Lars really even changed that much. He was still grumpy and sarcastic on the space ship so I don't really feel like his personality suddenly changed. He was still sarcastic after that too, so it's not like it went away when they got to homeworld either. It's just more excusable given the situation they were in is already stressful, and because he's acknowledging for the first time that he was being a jerk. The biggest difference I think is he's using sarcasm to lament the situation instead of using it to blame Steven (and other people) now.
edited 13th Jun '17 10:23:13 PM by xanderiskander
The reaction of the townsfolk to the gems reminds me very much of Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. The movie has a message of acceptance, so everyone's reaction to the eponymous fish/demigoddess turning into a child, walking on water, and bringing around the end of the world is, notably, a major lack of a reaction.
There have also been corrupted gems roaming the Earth for thousands of years
Forever liveblogging the AvengersAs a side note, regarding whether or not Lars counts as a zombie... well, we can always split the difference and say that he's a Technically Living Zombie. Otherwise, well, we have the usual issue of whether anyone who is Back from the Dead counts as a zombie (personally, I like to reserve "zombie" specifically for beings with no life signs that are still somehow ambulatory, which would disqualify Lars, but I'm content to let that one go, as Internet arguments over zombies are pretty far down on the list of things that intrigue me).
For where portals can come from on a revived creature... hmm... I take it that there has to be a minimum hair length involved... otherwise, Steven could enter a portal anywhere on Lion (I'm presuming that Lion, like most lions, has a thin coat of fur over most of his body). For what would happen if someone who lacked hair got revived and turned pink... I'll just go with a WMG that says that the revival process would grant someone with alopecia universalis or the like with a brand new tuft of pink hair to make the portal work. I mean, if magic can revive someone, change their color, give them access to extradimensional space, and slow down their metabolic processes to a ridiculous degree, I'm going to go onto a pretty sturdy limb and say that follicular stimulation is also within its capabilities.
Reminder: Offscreen Villainy does not count towards Complete Monster.edited 14th Jun '17 2:39:00 PM by thatother1dude

Or hell, just makes a sacrifice that doesn't involve dying