Character Study: Steven, The Effects of Trauma.

   Today, i'm starting a new series about talking about various characters from different cartoons that I watch. And since Steven Universe just ended, I think i'll start with well, Steven. 

For all of his life, Steven has been paying for the mistakes that his mom (Pink Diamond) made. He has been put on trial, time after time, for things that he didn't even do. Pink Diamond was a galactic war criminal, so the whole galaxy was out to get him. But through the power of "love" or whatever, Steven saved the galaxy.

But after being under all of that pressure and literally helping out the whole universe with their problems and feelings, he really needed a break. He started to relax, but OOF! Here comes Spinel. YAY she was eventually saved by love. Now, he starts to relax, but OOF! Here comes Bluebird Azurite. (Okay, can we take a moment to appreciate that there was at least 1 villain in this show that was never redeemed. It's nice to tell kids about the power of friendship, but there are always gonna be people that aren't going to respond in a nice way.) Anyway, back to Steven. YAY Bluebird Azurite is leaving him alone! He finally starts to relax.. but OOF! Crippling depression and trauma come and get him! 

That's right you heard it folks, the final fight in Steven Universe is Steven. But in all seriousness, I really like how this show deals with the aftermath. Like in Gravity Falls, Dipper and Mabel almost die millions of times and they don't even care. They were literally in a town being controlled by the demon of chaos himself! I just like that Steven Universe mentions that. Steven has had a rough childhood. He had no mom, he never went to school or a doctor. (It really makes you rethink how good of a parent Greg really is.) He never got a break from helping everyone. Steven was under constant pressure. Whether it was helping the cluster or saving Sadie and Lars from an invisible gem monster! I could go on all day listing things that are not healthy for anyone to go through. Steven had it bad, and i'm not nearly even finished writing.

Of course what i'm about to say can't even actually happen to a normal human. But, Steven got frickin Corrupted! If you don't know what corruption is in Steven Universe, it's if a gem experiences very severe mental or physical pain. It's so bad that it turns them into a monster, and they can't even speak for themselves anymore. Here is a picture of what happens to him.

The effects of trauma can be catastrophic to ones mental health. I should know. I can't go to far into this because you know privacy, but my mom as a child, grew up in an abusive household, and also suffered from trauma. She's been recovering well recently and she's gotten better. It takes time to recover, and I recommend seeing a therapist if you can afford it. Anyway, Steven Universe has a good message about how to recover from trauma. Especially the world that were living in right now, thanks to Covid-19 lots of people are in isolation and alone. I'm sure thousands of people are being traumatized right now. if you're suffering, ask your family and friends to help you out, i'm sure they won't be bothered. To end this on a good note, i'm just gonna go ahead and say it. Stay safe out there and please wash your hands. Thanks for reading!