I think one of my favourite things about “Steven Universe”, and one of the things I find most touching and personally affirming, is the relationship between Rose Quartz and Greg.
I mean, here’s Rose, who’s represented as this powerful, intelligent, charismatic, beautiful woman, respected as both a warrior and a leader. She travels to Earth and decides to spend her life there, and in 6000 years, the human she decides is most interesting, most engaging, most beautiful…is Greg.
Greg is a doofus. He’s bald. He’s fat. He’s a slob with no sense of style or grooming. He’s practically homeless. He’s a failed rock and roll star whose dreams of fame and fortune ended with him running a small town car wash and living in the back of an ancient van. In any other show, he would be the loser of the cast, the fuck-up, the somewhat lovable, helpless goofball who can’t be counted on for anything.
But Rose thought he was beautiful.
It’s something of a sitcom parody; the dimwitted, ugly, slovenly husband with the beautiful, intelligent wife. Fred and Wilma, Archie and Edith, Peter and Lois, Homer and Marge. But Rose and Greg’s relationship isn’t like that. Even in my favourite of those relationships, that of Marge and Homer, Homer is presented as more than a bit of a jerk. Oh, he’s a fundamentally decent man who genuinely loves his family and treasures his wife, but he’s also selfish, thoughtless, more than occasionally neglectful, lazy, and self-centered. And more than that, in those shows, the husband is really the main character. Most of the wife’s role is reacting to his antics. But that’s not Rose and Greg’s story.
and you know what, he's not useless. He's smart, he's got a bohemian thing about himself too. He's cool! He helps people! It's like it's telling you nothing is really failure, it all depends on what you do with your life no matter how small.
This also made me really want kids
Greg is a good man. Not just a decent guy under the jerky exterior, but a truly and fundamentally good man. He stands up to his misogynist buddy. He adores and encourages his son in every way. He is kind and giving to everyone he meets. He works hard, even though it’s a job that he never wanted and that has taken the place of his dream. Speaking of that, even though he’s never seen even a lick of the stardom he dreamed of, Greg has never lost sight of his ambitions. He still plays music, still sings, still performs, still writes albums. Greg may never make it as a rock star, but he will never stop trying. This is what Rose saw. This is what Rose, one of the most powerful and respected warriors and generals of her people, came to love.
In a world where success and worth are measured primarily in material gains and career-based achievements, Greg is a reminder of what’s truly important. In the show, his failed music career, his chubby build, his sloppy clothes, his poverty…they don’t matter. What’s emphasised is the true, human beauty of Greg; the warmth, the kindness, the courage, the imagination, the dedication to art and devotion to family. It’s a reminder to all of us who have been pushed to be “successful”, been hassled about when we were “going to get serious”…that even if we are living in poverty, even if we have no real career, even if we’re not conventionally attractive or haven’t achieved all we’ve wanted to…
We still have value.
We still have beauty.
And we are still loved.
Thanks man, I'm feeling pretty down lately and this kinda made me feel better
I think it has a lot more to do with how humans in general respond to mortality. It's something Rose couldn't possibly relate to, so she admires how humans can be emotionally strong and love life despite their fleeting existence. Greg happened to be the person to show her this, I don't think she got to know many humans before him.
>This also made me really want kids
With a race fetishizing alien?
can u guys shut up with these two steven universe threads each page on Sup Forums i'm not even going to TRY to filter you because it is so incredibly stupid that this shouldnt be happening like look at yourselves you dumbshits i have had enough of this anime harem shit appearing on cartoon network and disney xd there is a reason why people dislike this show and it is because it is STUPID plus it's made by retarded calarts who copy paste their characters i mean WHAT THE FUCK it's a show that has a fat kid whose a sidekick of a hippy and a monkey girl i don't even begin to understand what the fuck is going through your horny adolescent minds that would make you want to start watching this show what the fuck is wrong with you people stay out of Sup Forums you are literal cancer just kill yourselves already, faggots.
Hang in there buddy, for there is no rainbow without the rain :)
why does steven universe not fat and now has long hair oh wait
>implying she didn't just search for the right fuckboy to breed with so her life as a traitor would finally be over
Ok so since Steven is actually able to change himself I have to ask is he fat because he wants to be like his dad? Like is it subconsciously him trying to be more like his father so he's a bit overweight even though that's not actually an issue for him at all physically?
greg reminds me so much of my dad it's unreal. it'd make me sad were this not such a positive thread. thanks op
>what's truly important
Material success is important you schmucks.
The world isn't a womb of validation. You are only alive on this Earth because your ancestors weren't stupid enough to pretend that mere existence was grounds enough for esteem.
Ancedote: Those who preach easy love are some of the most black-hearted losers. When their strategies failed, they double-downed like retarded children in their world view as opposed to being able to adapt like real children.
Or to pare it down more
Good intention does not mean Merit in the world of Maya.
The Catholics were right in that measure. For one can lie endlessly about one's worth to one's soul without the test of works in reality.
Both his parents are fat
Material success is important, but not what is truly important. For money can buy a lot of things, but it cannot always buy love and respect from your children, it cannot buy genuine praises of virtue and honour from others, it cannot buy happiness that is outside of material concerns, it cannot buy the improvement of ones soul, but most importantly it cannot buy what it means to be truly a good person, good not in sense of donating to charity just to gain respect from others, but good in the sense that one is willing to do what is ultimately right as opposed to what is right for themselves even if they receive no praise, attention or reward other than the comfort in knowing that despite the costs, they did what is ultimately right, a quality that is rarely seen among people these days.
Material success is important, but being a good person is much more important, for there is only so much money can buy, and I guess it would be tragic if one focuses only on the development of their wealth as opposed to the development of their soul, for people who do that are so poor that all they have left is money in the end and nothing more.
People who talk about being a good person and the Good are far more concerned with signaling that they are good, as opposed to taking effective action towards the good.
Which would involve material success to change a plot of reality into a garden.
As I said, you are only on this Earth because your ancestors cared more about doing good than even uttering the words of the good.
Being a good person in the end isn't even that important. Who you marry and fuck and is more important in the eventual scheme of things than the pretensions that people give to themselves.
THERE IS NO MERIT IN MAYA FOR GOOD INTENTION
> THERE IS NO MERIT IN MAYA FOR GOOD INTENTION
And you can't take your wealth with you when you die.
In life, he who is happiest is the victor. There are a lot of roads that can lead to happiness, be it the sense of accomplishment from building an empire or the simple pleasure of raising a child. Everyone in the discussion of 'whats really valuable' is just bickering over what road to take when the destination has always been the important part.
There is no One Answer to life. Just beliefs and opinions. Not everyone finds their answer in this world, but there are as many answers as there are people.
He was non of that when they met. Viralda discribed him as attractive and as we've seen his musical tallent as a song/jingle writer could have made him very very rich.
Time to step of your autism gas, mate.
>In life, he who is happiest is the victor.
There is happiness based on ignorance, happiness based on false self-esteem, and happiness based on correspondence with reality.
The last is much harder to do and does not fit in with any mere dismissal of material success.
My children do not care about my intentions. They care how well I provided for them. Their attitudes and behaviors will probably be more shaped by genetics than my intervention. That is the world.
Therefore, NO MERIT IN MAYA FOR GOOD INTENTION.
People are (FAR) more prone to lie to themselves about their worth without correspondence to reality. Therefore, you are doing a disservice to your fellow man by giving him an easy out. Unless you were truly a godly being and did it on purpose.
>He stands up to his misogynist buddy.
Huh?
I think OP has a husbando~
Good taste, but tone it down. You're weirding everyone out.
I think you're focusing more on being triggered by virtue signaling than the big picture, which is that you actually have very little control over most of these outcomes. You can do everything "perfectly" at the wrong place, the wrong time, for the wrong people, and you'd probably never know better because the consequences might not affect you.
>This shitty thread
>WITH THE SAME COPY PASTED REPLIES
>AGAIN
>WITH THE SAME LITERAL FAGGOT OP
Tragedy and woe exist. Telling fairy tales about self-worth is only worthwhile if you're a sadist who likes to see people fall from greater and greater heights.
Or to really sum it up
There is more merit in the smell of hay than in the totality of thy will.
>Their attitudes and behaviors will probably be more shaped by genetics than my intervention.
Genetics may build the mold, but its your job to fill the contents. Relying on the kids genes to take care of their mental and emotional development for you is as foolish as saying "Who cares whether I eat vegetables or candy? It all ends up as poop in the end anyway".
I'm talking about the futility of intention. Kids will be mostly molded by their genetics. It's the way of the world.
Of course you can always fuck them up but there's more possibility spaces in the universe for tragedy and comedy than joy. It's the world.
You ignore it at your ultimate peril.
No one has worth. We are wobbling colonies of a thousand different kinds of bacteria and parasites that have grouped together for mutual gain, suffering under the illusion that we are an individual being that makes our own decisions, living on a planet that we will likely never escape that is trapped in a slowly dying universe.
In the grand scheme of things, nothing about you is important or meaningful in any way. Not your thoughts, not your actions, not your genes, not your existence. The world was fine without you before, and it will chug along for even longer after your body has been recycled in half a dozen ways to go on and be part of a hundred other living things. Or just dirt for a while.
And the same goes for me. We are all in the same boat.
The human condition is a collection of lies that make life worth living. And there is nothing wrong with that. Without lies like justice and currency, we wouldn't have civilization.
Try not to get so wrapped around your own axle about it all.
Intention is anything but futile. Without intent, you cannot have accomplishment because you cannot place value on the outcome. Its true that intent isn't the only thing that matters. Results matter too. But without intent, all results are equally neutral.
You intend not to starve to death. So you make plans, take action, and secure food. If you have no intention at all, then it doesn't matter whether you find berries in the woods or not. Living and dying are equally desireable outcomes for you.
He actually sacrificed all of that for Rose.
>. He’s a failed rock and roll star
failed so hard he's worth 10 million dollars
Marty
"Women are people too"
yeah but he didnt like fatties so mysogerner
Let's face it user. All that REALLY matters is spreading your genes. As long as you have 3 or more kids that have kids, it doesn't matter what else you do with your life. So "material success" only matters insofar as it keeps you and those offspring alive to breed another day.
Then again, that means "love" only matters when it gets mates to fuck you.
I know this is a copypasta, but:
>personally affirming
Is usually a very harmful thing.
Do you like SU because it's cliche? This is basically "Royalty falls in love with humble peasant" but with magic instead.
Is SU the first fictional piece of entertainment you've ever seen or do you actually think this is involved writing? Because you're gawking over basic storytelling like it's the second coming of Jesus.
>insist that Steven has super strength after Together Breakfast
>there's no way he could push that giant thing backwards with normal human child strength
>everyone tells me I'm an idiot
>Drop Beat Dad confirms super strength
Steven has clearly had super strength for a while, like ripping that panel off of the wall easily after Peridot tried and failed to move it.
The weird thing is that, before this episode, I can't think of anyone in-universe that actually reacted to it.
I don't think Steven KNOWS he has super strength. Why would he? He spends most of his time hanging out with the gems, who all have their own extraordinary abilities, or watching TV where unrealistic feats are not uncommon.
Steven's assumptions of what the baseline human are capable of are probably a bit warped by living an extraordinary life.
I think it's the other way around. He knows the limitations of other people because of how he goes beyond them. Being tall makes everyone just seem small, you know?
Remember when Steven wanted to break off his relationship with Connie because he was afraid about normal people's limitations seeing how his father reacted to what happened with the hand spaceship thing?