Corrupted Steven Theory - Blog Posts

Poor baby...

Me: People keep drawing Steven all angsty and sad so I’ll draw him doing something that always makes me happy. Listening to Steam Powered Giraffe 

Also me: * Remembers Wired Wrong exists * 

WHY I hate the Steven Universe fandom

I know this blog is Beetlejuice based but I wanted to post this and tell everyone about how awful the fandom can be sometimes and I myself am a fan of the show and I enjoy but I wanted speak about this.

So some backstory me and my friend met up at a con and I hadn't seen her in 3 years.

I was talking to my friend at a con about the character Pink diamond/Rose Quartz at a con and a grown ass woman who was cosplaying Rose Quartz turned around and yelled at me and my friend, we didn't see Rose either and Rose started to accuse me and my friend of harassing Rose because Rose was in front of us (I didn't realise she was in front of me) and this woman's friends joined in too calling us bullies (Being called a bully really hurt me too since I've been bullied since I was a kid and cosplay is my safe space and an escape) and saying that we were harassing all of them.

What makes this worse is that I have Autism and my friend also does and sometimes she can be loud, and this is important to know because this woman turned around to yell at us and accuse us of shit we didn't do and I tried to explain to her how my friend has autism and can be quite loud and she yelled in my face.

I then upset with a grown woman and her adult friends yelling in my face and was crying over them all accusing me and my friend of shit we didn't do and I was also panicking because I was scared that Rose or her friends would hurt me and had a sensory overload so I had to walk away and my friend saw this.

The women then walked away smiling with her friends and while I said bye to my friend, some of my other friends came over, I explained what happened and told me to sit with them to calm me down and helped me fix my make-up that I worked really hard on.

This woman also said she was literally Rose Quartz.

This is why I hate this shows fandom.

Also I should mention that I wanted to cosplay it and be an active member of the fandom but now I don't want to now that I've seen how toxic it can be.

I may be wrong, but why do I feel like these two have the almost exact same type of nose (and eyes in some scenes)?  It’s not perfectly identical, but... The only person that I THINK also has this model of nose is Greg... but Greg is a 100% human, so he can’t become corrupted. And you know what this means.

I mean I’m all for some teen angst, but-

Hot Take 2: Electirc Boogaloo

The chest in lion's mane contains pink diamond's essence. It's probably how they'll cure Steven's corruption if it does happen!

I doubt they would just leave that plot hole.

- Pasta

Episode 15 & 16 Analysis Bits

This is a analysis post of all the little things that I, and probably some of you guys noticed in the latest 2 episodes.

The Diamond Essence

So Steven used all the diamond essence. Everyone knows that. But the contrast between how the essence blends in episode 1 and 15 is pretty interesting.

In episode 1 of SUF, the blend of essence looks very smooth, bright, and wavy. It sparkles in a very nice and harmonious way.

However, in the latest episode, the blend looks far more... fragmented. Unstable. Dark.

This is probably a representation of his mental state being far more jarred, unstable, and just unhealthy. Rather than spreading evenly and properly, his essence just spreads, like a stain. Or a corruption scar....

Steven's forms

Steven has changed shape, size and even color this season. There are some things to take note of:

Steven's form changes either uniformly or chaotically. This probably indicates weather the change is a reaction or an internal change. That's why Steven grew so chaotically and unsustainably in Growing Pains, but grew in a “healthier” way during Fragments. Not that the way he grew was healthy at all.

We know from the series that gems, including Steven, change form depending on their mental state. Steven changed into chad Steven because he felt stronger. Steven might change into the wyrm because he feels out of control, like a corrupted gem.

Pink Diamond Resembelence

Steven underwent a number of physical changes during Fragments, but one of the most significant ones was his increasing resemblance to his mother.

He's taller, about quartz height. His hair is poofier, like Pink's hair, and it even has the same tufts as hers. And the eyes? People have been pointing out that they have white pupils like White's , rather than Blue and Yellow's black pupils. And that must be deliberate.

White said she wanted to fix things. When she couldn’t, she moved ahead. Steven wants to fix things, but he can't live without a purpose. His family saw him as a burden when he couldn’t do anything. That has fed into his current state, if not created it.

Betraying Every Single Crystal Gem Value

This is probably one of the things that hit me the hardest in this episode. He managed to:

Destroy organic life

SHATTER A GEM

Enjoy violence and causing pain

Within 3 days. All things that his mother fought so hard to prevent from occurring. Perhaps this is why he has decided to do it. His mother didn’t want it, so in an attempt to prove that he's his own person, he does all of the things that would cause disapproval from anyone but Jasper.

It's convoluted and awful, but in a way it makes sense. If he does what his family wants, they will always want more. They'll never want more of this.

Greg

When Steven said “You’re just like mum”, I was astounded by how offensively Greg took it. Astounded for a good reason. He realises that Rose wasn't an entirely altruistic person.

I think this actually shows an incredible amount of strength in Greg. I feel like Steven overreacted in the situation, but Greg has grown nonetheless.

He did get carried away though. He whisked Steven through his youth, without any regard for his feelings. Instead of sitting and talking, he tried to distract Steven. And that CD... context, Greg. Context.

Also, they way that he implies that Steven was “free” shows how little he helped bring up Steven after he moved in with the gems.

Anyway, that was a lot to unpack. I hope you enjoyed reading it! If you have any thoughts, let me know.

- Pasta

Steven Universe Color Correction!

I was doing some screenshot edits when I had a brainfart and decided to find out the colors of the zircons and the wormy boi.

Basic Tutorial

There are a number of different types of blending modes for layers, as many of you undoubtedly know. Most screenshots from SU that are worth editing seem to have a darker shade, similar to a multiply layer.

Anyone who passed 5th grade math knows that the opposite of multiply is divide, which also happens to be a blending mode.

So, the method I used to correct my colors goes as follows:

Load your screenshot into your art program

Add a new layer and set the blending mode to divide. Hide this layer for now.

Find something on the screenshot that would be white under normal lighting. Eyes, teeth and the like.

Use the eydropper tool to copy the color on one of these areas.

Make the divide layer visible, and use the bucket/fill tool to fill the layer with the color you copied.

Tada! You should now have an edited screenshot with accurate colors.

Actual Theories

Remember when the biggest controversy in the fandom was if the prosecuting Zircon was yellow or green? Simpler times. Anywho: I used the same method, and...

Why yellow there.

I cross checked this with other people's edits, and it seemed pretty consistent. She yello!

I decided to do the defending Zircon just for fun:

So, next bit: Wormy Boi.

@novantinuum made an interesting post about the similarities in scenery and lighting between the Wormy Boi's title sequence appearance and a number of scenes in the most recent trailer. I sampled the color from the trailer, put it on the title sequence, and well... the results speak for themselves.

This is how a trailer scene looked before it was fixed:

This is how a trailer scene looks when fixed:

And the Worm?

Yup.

Please tell me if there is any way to improve my method!

Also, I’m working on the high school AU thing.

- Pasta

So... That leak, huh?

I lowkey didn’t believe the corrupted Steven theory at first but now I’m legit terrified?! Our babey is not okay?! Also the gems are handling it really badly, like absolutely abysmally?! IS GREG OKAY?!!

Okay just needed to get that out of my system, thanks for listening.

(Two posts in a day? New record!)

- Pasta

Steven, NOooooooo

Frick it's the same color scheme

NOoooooooo

Hey

As someone who has dealt with severe childhood trauma. Let me say, the way Steven is acting is valid. He’s angry, lonely, emotional, clingy, and more violent. Having your psyche be completely shattered will do that.

He doesn’t know what to do with himself anymore. All of his support systems are gone. With childhood trauma, you don’t KNOW you’ve been traumatized. You deny it at times when people tell you. And when you FINALLY come to terms with it, shit hits the fan.

Things will get worse before they get better.

That’s a saying my therapist told me. And it’s true. Dealing with trauma is not easy and will take a very long time. Steven is at his lowest right now. He’s acting out.

I really related to that moment Steven confronts Greg. As a teen who now KNOWS he’s been traumatized as a kid, robbed of his childhood, the anger Steven has at Greg is so real it hurts. At times, you wish SOMEONE was there for you. To protect you and prevent the trauma from happening in the first place.

Greg didn’t have the best childhood either. But he had a childhood. He went to SCHOOL, had a HOUSE, and lived with his PARENTS. That’s what Steven probably focused on. The normality of it all. He never chose to be a crystal gem. Steven rarely knows how to be a human. And he wants to be.

He may have been acting uncharacteristically rude (considering Greg built the temple, raised him alone, and was poor) but there’s still a reason. Steven could have lived a normal life free of war.

Sometimes you want to blame others for what happened to you. Other times you blame yourself.

The Gems finally show up again. What do they do? Tell Steven off for his new powers. Wanting him to suppress it. Saying how it’s dangerous.

They haven’t shown much support for Steven for the longest time. The boy had to help Pearl overcome her own trauma and heartbreak. Then he almost DIED trying to do that and Pearl really did nothing. He helped Amethyst with her self-worth. And they have got the best relationship imo. However. She did SHIFT INTO HIS DEAD MOTHER. Garnet was more stable and showed Steven the love he needed. However, she still has her own problems. Ruby and Sapphire ruined the trip Steven wanted so badly during the Keystone Motel episode. I didn’t see much of an apology. Plus there is the part where the Gems ALL made that fake simulation.

When a child grows up in an unstable household it isn’t healthy for them. It’s damaging. They see what’s going on. All of the negativity and pain is sucked up from them like a sponge. A child needs stability. Which Steven doesn’t have.

That’s why Steven now doesn’t want to tell anyone of what’s happening. For so long he’s been dealing with the gems problems that he doesn’t want to deal with his. He doesn’t know how to. When Steven said why he can’t tell Pearl anything, it really hurt. He says he’ll have to pick up the pieces. Even though it really isn’t his job. But kids that live like that for a while probably think they do.

I’ve live in a household like that. I tell my mom my real personal problems and she will get angry, cry, or breakdown.

You’ve been dealing with your families problems for so long that you feel like your feelings matter far less.

I think that’s why Steven wanted to be with Connie so much. She is one of the only people that can be the rock he desperately needs. Someone he can actually talk to and confide in. He doesn’t want to lose her.

Steven has not gotten any form of therapy and it’s is hurting him severely. The latest episodes make sense to me. It’s gotten too much for Steven. He’s in a lot of pain.

Some people who have suffered a lot WANT to cause suffering and pain to other people. Make them feel what they feel. And now Steven is hurting people. He shattered Jasper. KILLED her. And we all saw him smiling and laughing as he attacked her.

The corruption theory is at its strongest. It could be a message of how someone lets their pain be who they are. That their trauma is all that they are. Or maybe about death. Lots of people say “that person is gone” when talking about their old self. In the promo, they were showing clips of Steven as a kid. The kid who took the worlds problems on his shoulders with a smile and didn’t get much back. Sure he saved the universe and got lots of new friends but what else? Was there anyone to help him in the same way he helped Peridot, Lapis, Pearl, and so many other gems. Steven was basically a therapist when he shouldn’t have been.

Trauma manifests in many, many ways. And these episodes have surely been showing it.

(This was just me rambling. I’m not an expert and just speak from personal experience. Much love to everyone out there!)