Steven Universe

**Steven Quartz Universe** is the titular main protagonist of the *Steven Universe* franchise. He is the son of Greg Universe and Rose Quartz, the only known hybrid of a human and a Gem and the first Crystal Gem of human descent. As a result of his parentage, Steven is an extraordinarily unique being with innate powers beyond that of normal humans and Gems. While he was only a child, Steven steadily grew from a tag-along to the Crystal Gems into the heart of the team thanks to his kind-hearted nature and resourcefulness.

Steven is devoted to protecting humanity and helping those in need just as Rose Quartz did, and though her monumental legacy once forced Steven to live in her shadow, he has since surpassed her by ending the authoritarian practices of the Great Diamond Authority and establishing peace across the galaxy. However, the consequences of his mother's mistakes continue to haunt Steven and those he cares about to his growing frustration. Additionally, as his friends and family continue to grow and start to go out into the world and beyond, Steven has begun to struggle with his own self-identity and what he wants to do with the rest of his life. He has also started coming to terms with suppressed trauma that he has built up over the course of his years of adventures and near-death experiences with Gems.

At the end of the series, however, after holding his feelings in for so long culminates in him transforming into a giant Gem monster after coming to the conclusion that he is a monster himself, Steven's friends and family manage to get through to him with the power of love. In the months following, he decides to leave Beach City to go on a road trip on his own to see the world and find himself.

Role in the series

## Personality

Steven is optimistic, friendly, outgoing, soft-hearted, and carefree with a happy-go-lucky attitude that is appreciated by many of the citizens of Beach City in one way or another. He is musically inclined, a trait inherited from his father, with a propensity for breaking out into song and occasionally playing on his ukulele. Steven sees the best in everyone and is also very compassionate, something which Pearl notes he inherits from his mother and treasures his friends and family. He is friendly toward almost everyone he meets (even to his detriment), rarely holds grudges, and is non-discriminatory, never treating anyone with prejudice, even enemies. No matter the situation, Steven will always go out of his way to support his loved ones, even if it means putting his life on the line and he will avoid resorting to violence if possible. He would much rather make a compromise and choose to reason than fight back.

Steven looks up to his caretakers — Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl — and considers them family. He wants to be a great hero just like them and is eager to go on adventures with the trio, both to prove his worth and to have fun exploring strange lands. Despite his underdeveloped magical power and lack of experience, he has proven himself to have much heroic potential through his resourcefulness, optimism, and confidence.

Steven is rather naive and socially oblivious due to his isolated upbringing. Steven has never attended a school and before "Nightmare Hospital" had never been in a hospital or had his vitals taken. While Steven is often prepared to go on adventures at a moment's notice he has a habit of biting off more than he can chew, requiring the Gems to intervene. While Steven retains his childlike innocence and obliviousness to the dangers he is put in, his encounters with Homeworld Gems give him a new level of seriousness.

This initially makes Steven self-conscious about his immaturity and he gains resolve to outgrow it, although his misguided attempt becomes a source of self-inflicted misery as he tries to break off his friendship with Connie to protect her from harm. It was only Connie's sensible nature that stops him from going down a bad road and balances his resolve. Steven has since grown more mature and level-headed in dealing with strenuous situations, but his enthusiasm has remained the same.

His maturity has grown to new levels as he helps Lapis Lazuli and Peridot acclimate to Earth and continues to hone his powers. He is now more willing to fight than before to aid and protect his friends though still willing to help anyone in need — even enemies, as seen when he tried to heal Jasper from creeping corruption in "Earthlings". Unfortunately, this has also gotten him in trouble as shown in "Bubbled" and "Room for Ruby" in which trying to befriend "Eyeball" and accept "Navy" as a Crystal Gem ended badly: "Eyeball" tried to kill him when she believed he was Rose Quartz due to his healing powers and "Navy" turned out to have been lying in revenge.

Like his mother, he appears to be very charismatic; for example, easing a raging crowd in "Political Power", and motivating his friends and father into working out and helping Pearl to find her strength to fight Sugilite in "Coach Steven". His genuine kindness, sincerity, and capacity for empathy let him inspire friendship, trust, and love from most of the people he meets which enables him to mend others' inner turmoil and reach others who are otherwise closed off, noticeably in the cases of Peridot and Lapis Lazuli.

Steven is shown to have unique tastes in entertainment. He enjoys *Crying Breakfast Friends!* despite his dad and the Gems' inability to understand its appeal. Steven is a bit of a romantic and loves the ending of *The Spirit Morph Saga* for the wedding even when Connie disagrees. "Made of Honor" further shows his enthusiasm for weddings in the form of the wedding planner book he claims to have been putting together his entire life and he shows great zeal in preparing for and performing Ruby and Sapphire's wedding in "Reunited".

Despite his naivety Steven still has a more grounded and practical outlook than his three caretakers, often correcting them on normal human interactions. Though Steven frequently goes on fantastic adventures he retains a tendency to be easily impressed; he is enamored with Bill Dewey's play until Jamie points out its flaws and is also shocked to find that his Watermelon Stevens are alive and admits it should not have surprised him.

While Steven is typically friendly and kind-hearted by nature, his enthusiasm and excitability can get out of hand and he ends up doing more harm than good. When this happens he can be anywhere between obnoxious, overbearing, and rude. Steven tends to let his inhibitions go out the window when doing something theatrical, as seen in "Tiger Millionaire", "Steven and the Stevens", and "Sadie's Song". His alter-ego Tiger Millionaire is the best example of Steven letting his passionate side get the better of him.

The only time he has shown true anger and prejudice toward someone is Kevin in "Beach City Drift" for the way he treats Stevonnie. His dislike and desire to best Kevin lead him to fuse with Connie and the anger Stevonnie inherits is strong enough that they hallucinate and fall apart. It is Connie's sensible nature that convinces him to let his anger go.

Deep down Steven feels guilt over his mother not being around and inferiority over not being able to live up to her reputation. He is unwilling to talk about this with the Gems due to thinking they blame him for Rose being gone. The only people he has opened up to about it are Amethyst, Bismuth, and the Cool Kids. He told Amethyst the reason he is working so hard is that he is not Rose Quartz and Bismuth that he does not think he can live up to his mother's standards.

In "Mindful Education" it is revealed that Steven harbors guilt over the unfortunate events upon Bismuth, Jasper, and "Eyeball". Like his guilt over Rose, he tries to keep these worries secluded in his heart and to not think about it, convincing himself he had no other choice.

After it is revealed by "Eyeball" in "Back to the Moon" that Rose Quartz supposedly shattered Pink Diamond he becomes more independent and rebellious towards the Gems and their authority over what he is supposed to know. In "Steven's Dream" he argues with Garnet for not telling him why he shouldn't find the broken Palanquin, figure out his dream and learn why he is shedding a constant flow of tears. As he discovers more about his mother and the effects her actions had he starts to show anger and guilt towards her over what she did.

"Storm in the Room" highlights Steven's anger and confusion towards Rose over her actions and how she *"disappeared"* leaving him to clean up her mess. "Lion 4: Alternate Ending" shows he has become paranoid about anything having to do with Rose and her secrets and in "The Good Lars" calls her a war criminal. These feelings come to a head in "Are You My Dad?" and "I Am My Mom" when his friends are captured by Topaz and Aquamarine and he bargains to free them by offering himself instead as a way to atone for his and his mother's actions.

"The Trial" highlights his resolve to atone for the shattering of Pink Diamond in that he immediately pleads guilty knowing that he would be executed. However, when Rose Quartz's crime comes into question he is shocked upon the revelation of the flaws in his mother's crime and the possibility of another Diamond being responsible for Pink Diamond's death instead of Rose Quartz. Matt Burnett and Ben Levin stated he learned he was wrong about who Rose was and wonders whether he has to carry the moral greyness she had or if he can be stronger and different.

Steven's obliviousness can create problems even with those he cares about as in "Dewey Wins" he thinks Connie should be grateful to him for giving himself up to Homeworld to save her, not understanding how he hurt her until suffering the same hurt when Dewey concedes the mayoral race in spite of Steven's campaigning and urging the public to give him another chance; although this particular obliviousness could be attributed to him not being ready to face his feelings over his surrender and everything he experienced on Homeworld as well as having to deal with the emotional anguish his surrender caused his loved ones. "Kevin Party" shows him confronting the harm he did when he reunites with Connie after a few weeks apart from her and apologizes to her for giving up and brushing off her feelings.

However, the aforementioned episode also shows Steven's great emotional vulnerability beforehand and how it can cause him to make impulsive and poor decisions and be subject to manipulation by others; as seen when he sees Connie sporting a new look and her and Lion (who had shared her anger with him over his surrender and stayed with her since after taking her home following their fight) seemingly having a great time at the party without him, and assumes that they've both moved on from him in their anger (mainly due to Connie's seeming complete lack of response to all of Steven's attempts to make amends throughout their estrangement and Lion never returning to Steven after taking her home). This assumption and his already emotionally vulnerable state nearly drive Steven to leave the party without even trying to talk to Connie, and ultimately, to desperately take Kevin's advice to bait her into making the first move in their reconciliation by deliberately ignoring her presence and making it seems like life is going fine for him with her gone. The advice, of course, ends up having the opposite effect, instead causing Connie to believe that Steven has given up on making amends with her after being unintentionally abandoned and shut out by her for so long, and has decided to both drop her as his best friend and replace her with Kevin, which is seemingly confirmed in her eyes when the two have an awkward encounter in which he, still under Kevin's influence, implies that he has moved on from her and Lion, and is much happier with them out of his life. Only when Connie angrily confronts him over this and nearly leaves with Lion again does Steven return to his senses, narrowly stopping them from leaving and, after discovering the reasons behind Connie's silence towards him and that she had always intended to reconcile with him, finally talks things out with her.

"A Single Pale Rose" once again changes Steven's view of his mother after learning she actually was Pink Diamond. He tells Amethyst in "What's Your Problem?" he is still confused about her and her actions. "Made of Honor" and "Reunited" cement Steven's growth and maturity as he forgives Bismuth and accepts her back into the Crystal Gems with Bismuth claiming Steven as the real leader of the Crystal Gems and as he convinces Blue and Yellow Diamond to stop fighting by revealing his identity as Pink Diamond's son/reincarnation.

"Familiar" gives Steven a look into his mother's relationships with Blue and Yellow Diamond, and also leads him to realizes that he and his mother have something in common: they are/were the youngest members of the Crystal Gems and Diamond Authority respectively, and were frequently underestimated due to their immaturity, but also dearly loved and doted on like children by their peers. With this, Steven decides to embrace his mother's old role on Homeworld to help convince White Diamond to cure the corrupted Gems on Earth.

However, "Together Alone" shows him struggling to deal with Homeworld's stifling conformities and traditions, much like his mother did, especially when he learns that he and his friends must be split up during the ball he has decided to throw: only Pearl and Connie are allowed to remain by his side (with the latter as his "pet"), while Garnet must split up into Ruby and Sapphire, and they and Amethyst (who must wear limb enhancers) must remain with their kind of Gem. With Connie's encouragement, however, Steven decides to go against the traditions, and dances with her, but this ends up causing trouble when the two fuse, which causes an uproar that ruins the ball, and leads to the Crystal Gems, who fused in defiant support of Stevonnie, to be poofed, and Stevonnie themself to be locked away in a prison tower as punishment. This shows an at least temporary shift in their personalities, with Steven being more withdrawn and practical than he usually is, while Connie is more upbeat and impulsive than she usually is.

"Change Your Mind" shows Steven finally coming to terms with himself and his mother, and after a long struggle and battle, managing to open the eyes and mindsets of all the Diamonds (including White), convincing them to restore the corrupted Gems on Earth, and drop their conforming perfectionist way of life to become better beings.

*Steven Universe: The Movie* shows Steven at his most mature, having grown into his role as the new Pink Diamond, though he is also shown in a slightly negative light; specifically, he is shown to be very single-minded and inflexible when stressed, as he becomes so focused on saving the Earth and reclaiming his "happily ever after" that his attention is on trying to get the Crystal Gems’ memories back instead of focusing on the regenerated Spinel, and he is too focused on that task to notice that he manages to set Spinel off again after she deactivates her injector. However, he realizes his mistakes at the climax when he remembers his greatest power is changing and inspires change when trying to help Spinel.

In *Steven Universe Future*, he retains his maturity from the movie, but can still be overbearing in trying to help others as seen in "Guidance". "Volleyball" showcases Steven's anger and frustration towards his mother after learning she gave Pink Pearl her cracked eye, causing a fair amount of destruction through his powers as a result. In "Bluebird" he shows a more snarky, cynical and sarcastic personality when dealing with Bluebird and a resurfaced Aquamarine and "Eyeball"; "A Very Special Episode" highlight his maturity and practicality as he races between Garnet and Pearl to help keep both situations under control. "Snow Day" once again showcases Steven's maturity as well as his hardworking attitude and lifestyle along with him desiring to not be seen as a child anymore which culminates in the Gems finally accepting Steven as the person he's grown into and his understanding that they miss him as he's growing up. "Little Graduation" shows he is suffering from anxiety as all his friends move on with their lives and "Prickly Pair" shows his growing anxieties with himself and his relationships with the Gems.

Throughout the latter half of *Future* he resembles his mother more, particularly her faults as he runs away from problems by helping everyone else with theirs, hides his feelings and distances himself from others, and shows a literally explosive temper that causes his powers to run out of control.

"In Dreams" and "Bismuth Casual" highlight Steven's fears of drifting away from his friends and holding them back; the former episode displays his stress over his desperation to appease Peridot by using his dream powers recreating the reboot of *Camp Pining Hearts* (which they both dislike), and the latter displays his fears that Connie, who at this point has made other friends and is more outgoing and confident than ever before, has forgotten their friendship. Fortunately, both Peridot and Connie reaffirm their bonds with Steven by each episode's end (Peridot after apologizing to Steven for putting so much pressure on him, and Connie after fusing with him into Stevonnie and winning a skate competition).

"Together Forever" shows Steven reaching an emotional impasse in his relationship with Connie as the time for her to head off to college draws nearer; as such, he then makes the impulsive decision to propose marriage to her and follow her to college as Stevonnie in order to stay in her life and find purpose in his life. When she turns him down (at least for the time being) due to them being really young and wanting to retain her individuality, he is understanding but emotionally crushed.

"Growing Pains" showcases the aftermath of Steven's failed proposal to Connie: his body begins shapeshifting out of control due to his emotions, and Connie convinces him to go see a doctor for the first time in his life. This also shows that, as Dr. Maheswaran reveals from her examination, Steven is suffering psychological, mental, and emotional trauma (most likely, but not confirmed to be PTSD) due to the traumatic events throughout the original series and movie dating back to his childhood that is starting to flare up now that those in Steven's support system (e.g. his family and friends) are moving on with their own goals and lives, and implies that Connie's declining of Steven's proposal might have set his emotionally-charged shapeshifting off. However, the episode also shows the good that comes from Steven talking his problem out with someone, namely his father who afterward assures his son he'll be there for him during the tough times.

"Mr. Universe" highlights Steven getting to know more about his father's family and his father's life before coming to Beach City and meeting Rose. However, Steven becomes disillusioned after learning his father's backstory was similar to his mother's: Greg was brought up with strict, overbearing parents who controlled his life and never supported his interests which led to him running away to take control of his destiny. This revelation leaves Steven feeling resentful over being denied typical childhood experiences (such as going to school and the doctor) and likely causes him to conclude that the lack of normalcy in his childhood has left him unable to deal with his trauma or figure out what to do with his life.

In "Fragments", Steven's insecurities about himself, his life, and his powers finally lead to him breaking away from his family and running away to the one he feels can understand him: Jasper. This also displays a ruthless and darker Steven as he hones the destructive side of his powers with Jasper's training. He also becomes arrogant about his newfound abilities as seen when he kisses his bicep, something even Jasper is annoyed by. As a result, he decides to no longer hold back, enjoying the thrill of fighting and the freedom of using his full power which culminates in him gleefully massively attacking Jasper in a rematch of their fight from "Little Homeschool", causing, unintentionally and to his great horror, her shattering. Immediately after, Steven retains his kind and remorseful attributes as shown when he brings Jasper's gemstone shards home after calming down from his battle high and uses his and the Diamonds' essences to restore it. Unfortunately, when Jasper addresses him as *"my Diamond"* after reforming Steven is left reeling with horror as he realizes that by shattering Jasper out of aggression, he has broken his principles and seemingly become the one person he fought against being compared to for so long: his mother.

"Fragments" and "Homeworld Bound" reveal that Steven harbors a suppressed desire for vengeance against all who willingly wronged him, especially the Diamonds and others from Homeworld; he is irritated by them and Spinel acting friendly after everything they had done to hurt him and his loved ones, and having a strong intrusive thought about shattering White Diamond's gemstone when given control of her body.

"Everything's Fine" shows Steven's mental health nearing its lowest when, after returning from Homeworld, he puts on a cheerful façade and tries to help everyone like he used to. However, due to his enhanced powers, his interference only leads to disaster in everything he tries to help with. When his loved ones confront him in an intervention, Steven finally lets loose the bad things that occurred with him since leaving Little Homeschool, including Jasper's shattering, which shocks everyone. This, combined with his PTSD, sense of purposelessness, and failure to help others, leads to Steven denouncing himself as worse than his mother; a fraud and a monster. This triggers an emotional meltdown and transformation into an actual monster.

"I Am My Monster" shows Steven's complete emotional meltdown as he, now transformed into the monster he sees himself as, goes on a rampage as the Crystal Gems and later the Diamonds, Spinel, and the Cluster tries to keep him from hurting anyone and find a way to change him back. However, after they all manage to embrace him in a group hug, showing that they love him unconditionally and will always be there no matter what, Steven is finally able to calm down, return to normal, and let out his years of emotional baggage.

"The Future", taking place a few months later, reveals Steven is in a better place thanks to both his loved ones and therapy and has made plans to leave Beach City to see the world and make his own destiny like his father, leaving Greg his old room. It is also implied that he is now officially in a relationship with Connie as they kiss just before he leaves, and they make plans to meet with each other during his travels and her college tours with help from Lion beforehand. He also gives each of the Crystal Gems a parting gift and shares an emotional farewell with the main three and the townspeople before driving out of Beach City for the foreseeable future.