Ok so. Wow. That last episode "Mindful Education" hit me so hard when I watched it. I really wish this show was around when I was a kid, because the themes in this show are so so important to grow up on. I just really love Steven Universe and I'm so glad it exists. ❤️❤️❤️ These emotional episodes tear me up but god I love 'em.

In lighter news, has anyone else read this interview of Rebecca Sugar by The Wrap? Like, I know Jasper is a villain, and I know she's done some horrible horrible shit, but damnit, this has cemented her status as my fav gem.

Mindful Education made me cry. :'D Poor Steven has so much on his plate, I really hope someone sits him down and has an honest little heart-to-heart with him because damn, that kid is going to have a complete mental meltdown one of these days.

Really hoping we'll see both Jasper (give her redemption pls) and Bismuth, though I'm somehow not keeping my hopes up for the latter because her VA is probably right up on there with Nicki as far as payment goes.

Alright, I'd love to discuss 'S' in the last episode (Last one out of Beach City). I'm still on this kick that Pink Diamond wasn't shattered and there's some other form of her that did kind of the same thing that Rose did. Young leaders are more likely to try something radically different and be open to suggestions. I do like that they have been fleshing out more and more but there is still so much unanswered. My biggest question: Can Rainbow Quartz still happen since well, what is required for her to exist?

I dunno, I'm a fan of the theory that Lion might contain a tiny shard of Pink Diamond. He's possibly one of Rose's early experiments with combining gem material and mortal flesh that later led to Steven being born. If she had some PD shards from the shattering, why not use them in that fashion? I'd rather assume that S. is just a magnificent human being that happens to look a bit Rose-y. I seriously want to hear her laugh rather than just see it from across the way.

Rainbow Quartz can absolutely happen, although the fusion of Pearl and Steven would be bound to look a lot different. It was implied that Smoky Quartz had existed before when she said 'Who am I? I feel like Amethyst knows this." I'm betting that first incarnation probably wasn't slinging yo-yos. grins

Editing in to add something that just occurred to me. Gems seem to always present as female (or non-gendered items like bouncy balls side-eyes amethyst) But Steven is pretty much openly male and Lion's mane implies male as well. (Yes I'm aware that there are packs of lionesses growing manes in areas where lions are a bit thin on the ground but let me run with this.) Do you think it possible that mortal flesh fused with gem material will always produce male-presenting forms?

Finally someone else that thinks Lion has PD in him! The hair styling/mane styling does tend to lend a lot to it. I do think you're right though on Sheena (S. was talked about on the creators' twitters and it was a song reference) but since the folks creating the show have said that no character only appears once and each one has a reason, it leads me to believe there might be another human-bonded gem soon.

HOWEVER, when she said 'oh I know what that's like' to Pearl saying she was a hologram manifestation of light leads me to believe there was something much more there. We've seen multiples of gems before (the mass of rubies, the other pearls, a glimpse of other peridots on main ships), why couldn't there be another rose quartz out there?

Being on topic, I'll go ahead and repost something from my FB because I think it has legit standing here:

"When Steven was made, he was technically a combination of a Rose Quartz and a Carbon-based lifeform... if the show follows the ideas of things in terms of names, that would make Steven closer to Moissanite (SiC + CO? gas with the 'fusion' of Rose Quartz and Greg) - very close to a diamond strength himself. This is before any gem fusion would take place as well. Sounds like an interesting direction if they went that way. It would make the fusion of Stevonnie that much closer to a synthetic diamond than anything else. As for his gem, its center is a hexagonal shape, the natural crystal system for moissanite -and- quartz. Origin (as to where it can be found naturally) is usually space or Kimberlite - which would tie in connections to Garnet (Ruby/Sapphire) and Peridot. "

That being said, I'd have to argue against male-presenting forms because of one 'experience': Stevonnie. Half-human + human = female form, human + gem outright = male? It wouldn't really make sense in the order of things. You -could- make the counterargument though that Gem + Half-Gem = female presenting forms. The only one we've seen is Smoky Quartz and she's undeniably female-formed (albeit with an extra arm to get a better 'handle' on things.. oh ho hoooooo </Sardonyx> )

Heh, you're almost certainly right about the gender presentation thing, it was just an idea that tickled my fancy.

I had never thought about the 'carbon based' element of Steven's makeup, the idea of Stevonnie being synthetic diamond is absolutely delightful.

As for S., the only other thing that would give me pause regarding her possibly being a Quartz gem is her size. While she's appealingly statuesque she doesn't have the imposing size that I tend to associate with quartz gems. Time will tell, and the writers certainly are good at throwing curveballs at us, so we'll just have to see how it goes.

Meanwhile, I've been watching this show so often i've started having dreams about it. The other day I woke and asked the husband if he remembered seeing the episode where the Rubies (Navy, Doc and the rest) fused with Jasper, since they were the only ones that would be glad for the chance. He looked at me oddly and said there was no such episode, I had been dreaming it and dangit, now I really WANT to see that episode.

Given what a huge fan I am of Jasper, I really wish I could see that too! (I might have to concept art it later) Interestingly enough, rubies (scientific nerdisms again) are third in hardness on the mohs scale; they're only inferior in hardness to (you guessed it) diamond and -moissanite-. I sincerely hope it becomes a recurring theme. As it stands now, other gem-quality corundums (aluminum oxides) other than rubies are sapphires. You can guess where I'm going with this.

Jasper in the mohs scale is 6.5-7 (being SiO?) is actually already physically weaker than a real quartz, but by adding the two (ruby + jasper) together you get a "bad" chemical reaction that becomes Aluminum Silicate (1-2 hardness on mohs scale), so if she fused with the rubies, it would actually make her WEAKER. When she fused with lapis (2.9 ish on mohs) to become Malachite (4 on mohs) she -still- wouldn't have beaten the Crystal Gems. (Interestingly enough, Malachite is weak to light, so the Light Cannons would have made quick work of that fusion) The closest she'd get is if she found another quartz (i.e. the corrupted gem she found) and fused with her to stabilize her own matrix and become essentially a "real" quartz and not an aggregate.

This leads me to wonder, if -Pearl- is a fusion without her knowledge. Like an experiment of Pink Diamond's so to speak. Pearls are only ..2.5 to 4 on Mohs I think, yet she keeps pace with Garnet and Amethyst easily. It would definitely be interesting to say the least!

As a rockhound, I have loved the idea that they've done their research and balanced out gems in terms of Mohs when it comes to power. The only time it seems to deviate is when Carbon is introduced (i.e. a human). This makes me wonder when we're going to see a Topaz or Emerald.

I actually had a friend of mine point out that Stevonnie could also be technically classified 'Boron Nitride', the ONLY elemental compound that can scratch diamonds. Since in hexagonal form (Steven's gem) it can sustain more heat, but isn't as 'strong' as typical diamond. It's far more flexible and can take quite a bit more thermal expansion.

Anyway thank you for letting me nerd-vent about minerals lol

Are you kidding? I love that you're able to compare the relative hardness/strengths of the various gems. I'm not very scientifically inclined, so it's all new and nifty to me. Please feel free to nerd-vent as much as you like.

My fascination with the series is the appeal of the emotions and the heart at the core of the characters. I get where you're coming with the strengths of the material, but I could see Jasper still willing to fuse from the angle of 'these are homeworld gems that respect/admire me' and feeling the power and control over them as being the real draw.

Mm, I dunno about Pearl being a fusion. She was popped before and there was only the one gem (for what that's worth, if she was an experiment). I think her 'hardness' comes from her spirit and her desire to prove herself.

Compilation of the newest shorts out up til october 4th

Thought the folks here would appreciate this.

My favourite SU character is definitely Peridot: I love a good redemption arc, and her's really satisfies! I was so happy when she became part of the Crystal Gems.

Friendly reminder that 'Gem Harvest' - the second to last episode of the season (Last one being in December) is slated to hit on the Thursday before Thanksgiving! Don't forget to record/watch!

Got so spoiled by the summer of Steven. It's killing me that we're only getting a tiny trickle of episodes for the remainder of the year.

...DeMayo. That is ALL I am going to say regarding the latest episode of Gem Harvest. Holy crap. I'll talk about it more as more folks watch it.

If you HAVEN'T seen it, it is on my profile :3

So I did it, got my SU tattoo last week. It's still healing up, all sorts of flaking still, and the white butterfly will need to be recolored at least once more before it's where I want it to be. I wasn't surprised about that, it took a few recolors for the white totoro on my other arm, white's a difficult color to take well.

Anyway, I got 'Take a moment to think of just flexibility, love & trust' along with a white butterfly woven into my right arm sleeve, it coils around a dragonfly and fuscia design on my right forearm, next to my lilac memorial for Terry Pratchett. I knew the first time I heard the song that I was going to want that line somewhere on my body, and now I can look at it every time i'm writing or drawing.

Sick! I'd love to see a picture of it sometime - preferably when it's at the stage -you- want it to be.

Three Gems and a Baby is now up on my profile for Luminaire! ~SU

It's such a great show! It's always fun to watch, and it touches on some topics that are really deep and meaningful. It's hard to pick one favorite, but I've always liked Garnet a lot. I want to be cool and otugh, too, and her backstory is my favorite B) I think I connect with Amethyst often with her insecurity and impulsiveness. I always have a soft spot for Sadie. I dunno, there's so many great, diverse characters!

Peridot and Lapis are definitely my favs, along with the Centipeetle! I even drew the Centipeetle right here if you're interested?

Jasper is cool, I can't wait to find out more about her!

Your HA is so cool!! And Lion Universe!! Omg

Awesome Centipeedle pic, !

I'm sort of dreading the feels when we finally get to learn more about Jasper. We already know she's full of self-loathing, there's no easy way she'll permit Steven to heal her.

ADORBS centipeetle! Have you thought about drawing her as a tourmaline? (haha watermelon tourmaline?) I'd love to see your take on her!

I'm hoping they cover her next season - they've been leading up to the whole 'mental healing' part that corrupted gems are and how Steven can possibly do it via dreamwalking/mind inhabiting. ~SU

Thank you!!

Thank you too! I never thought of her as a tourmaline! That's really cool. If I ever do anything like that I'll show you for sure :D Watermelon tourmaline are one of my favourite gems <3