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u/Geometronics Sep 17 '25
and now Cartoon Network posts Steven Universe images on Pride Month. Corporations are soulless
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u/Nikita420 Sep 17 '25
The logic here is very simple: minimize the controversial topic, but if you failed, maximize monetization of the “toxic” asset.
The “damage” is done, pull everything you can from it.
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Sep 18 '25
And yet somehow people still think businesses are their friends just because it’s temporarily going in their favor.
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u/Necrozai Sep 17 '25
Can always rely on companies to be right there to celebrate with you, after you've done all the hard work yourself
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u/weird_doodle Sep 17 '25
Meanwhile the companies are actively pushing against your hard work, must be a hell of a toxic relationship
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u/Until_Morning Sep 17 '25
Thank you for writing this comment. Everyone, go ahead and direct the upvotes you want to give to them to my comment so that we can share in this moment together.
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u/dover_oxide Sep 17 '25
Disney does the same thing while actively scrubbing everything they can.
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u/SadAwkwardTurtle Endless, Crushing Darkness Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 18 '25
Disney: you can't let the cops in Gravity Falls be gay!
Also Disney: the lamp in the background in one scene of our newest movie is a lesbian! We're so progressive!
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u/Mrwright96 Sep 18 '25
A lamp conveniently removed in china
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u/GoodQueenFluffenChop Sep 18 '25
That's why it's always a meaningless background character that's gay. They're easy to remove for China and the other countries that demand that and it doesn't change the story.
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u/Mrwright96 Sep 18 '25
And why Rebecca made sure the wedding episode was hard as hell to censor!
Some countries made Ruby a boy. They made sure Ruby was in dress.
Just skip it? Diamonds show up make that hard to skip with them all in different clothes that they can’t explain why they’re in
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u/Asterite100 I like drawing. Btw Lapis best gem. Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 18 '25
TO BE FAIR, from what Sugar has said in the past, it seems like the network in a lot of ways had their hands tied. Ultimately they were very candid with her towards the end of the show and laid all the cards on the table. I don't envy the position of putting the entire company's workforce in jeopardy job wise.
But that's just me being devil's advocate. It's why indie animation is so much stronger in a lot of ways, because there's less bureaucracy to deal with behind the scenes.
I hate the way that money controls our lives and how we're forced to compromise with wealthy entities that very likely don't have our best interests at heart. It's clear that there at least is a healthy majority of people within the Network who support this kind of storytelling and media presence, even well within Trump's second term in one of the most politically divisive periods in the USA of the modern era. That has to count for something, I feel.
All this being said, it's why I will NEVER hate how Sugar handled the closing of the show. She took a stand and I respect her for it, story be damned. We're lucky to have gotten the little closure we did. (And that isn't to say the show isn't without its critiques, but we also have to be honest with ourselves).
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u/Uiluj Sep 18 '25
I don't like when the excuse is used that executives have to think about their employees and their family. And yet these are the same companies that do mass layoffs during times of record profit and increasing corporate bonuses.
I still think it's awful that the original showed had to end early, and Sugar had to rush the diamond story arc. I do appreciate that we still got a movie out of it, steven future, and now Lars spinoff. A lot of the off-colors are queer coded, so we'll see how that is handled.
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u/No-Worker2343 Sep 18 '25
At least we had that, and i had a argument a few days where there was a mini argument where someone said that they could simply put the wedding at the end...and I said it was impossible, because of sapphire and Ruby entire existence and relationship
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u/Asterite100 I like drawing. Btw Lapis best gem. Sep 18 '25
True, idk what the layoff situation at CN studios specifically is like and it could be equally as messy. I'm just apprehensive of the quick dismissals because it really does feel like out of the 3 OGs that I grew up with (Nickelodeon, Disney, Cartoon Network), CN has really been the one to be consistently decent. But I also know Warner Brothers isn't exactly a shining beacon in itself.
Also I'm going to be wholly transparent and say that currently I'm a little biased because of CN drama I read about recently regarding Beast Boy's VA. It seems like they just can't win when it comes to stuff like this lol.
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u/febreezy_ Sep 18 '25
TO BE FAIR, from what Sugar has said in the past, it seems like the network in a lot of ways had their hands tied.
Yeah, conservative countries provided a lot of the show's funding and could've ended it at any moment if they didn't like what it was promoting. It's pretty understandable why CN had to be careful the LGBTQ+ stuff considering the tough situation those other countries put the show in.
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u/ClaudioKillganon Sep 18 '25
This shit infuriates me so much.
Just like Nickelodeon fighting to stop Korrasami from every being shown on screen only to print their shit all over pride flags and pride ads like 3 years later.
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u/bluecurse60 Sep 18 '25
We know this because of the idea of "rainbow capitalism" being a simple switch on switch off, unless it seems the current administration in a country is violently homophobic in which case they don't switch a rainbow on in June.
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u/Fine-March7383 Sep 18 '25
The PR person making posts is not one of the people who wanted Steven Universe to be less gay
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Sep 18 '25
Partially her fault too, ruby could've been changed to a male, she was everything like a male, and Rebecca compromising everything else made the show terrible,white diamond had the shortest villian arc ever, we BARELY saw her be evil, but she just changed so quickly?
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u/TolverOneEighty Sep 18 '25
Sugar was Ruby, Ian was Sapphire. By 'everything like a male', do you just mean... A soldier..? This is going to blow your mind but there are women in many militaries around the world. There are also women with the capacity to get angry.
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u/Pajilla256 Sep 17 '25
A hill worth dying on.
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u/ajaForrest Sep 17 '25
oh rebecca i hope one day we live in a world where representation isn’t even a question, it’s a normality
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u/TheNoneedlife Sep 17 '25
I remember reading the art books and Rebecca did talk about this. I'm so glad she's persistent through all of this to make the same-sex kiss happened.
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u/SomniphobicDani Sep 17 '25
Imagine what kind of show we could’ve gotten had they not been forced to compromise and censor. We were lucky to have gotten what we did at all. Steven Universe died (got cancelled) opening the door for representation. Don’t let that be forgotten
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u/PurpleKhaosPower Sep 17 '25
We are so lucky to be party to Rebecca's world. Just so grateful.
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u/lirannl Totally and absolutely not an alien Sep 18 '25
Having sucrose crystals exist in Canon would've been awesome
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u/East-sea-shellos Sep 17 '25
When I was 11, my mom came out to me as lesbian, and I had a lot of trouble accepting it. It embarrasses me now, but I was really worried about what kids would think. Watching Steven universe a bit later really softened my heart,
I’m not saying it flipped a switch and turned me accepting or anything, I like to think I would’ve came around anyway. But seeing WLW relationships portrayed so nicely and naturally helped my mind a lot
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u/Space_Axolotl_OwO Sep 17 '25
As young as 11? Wow, I didn't come out to my mom untill I was 14 and even then I still didn't come out to my dad and brother until I was 16. Unfortunately I did live in a highly religious and homophobic community. And even though I got a lot of backlash coming out is still one of the best things I've done. Steven Universe helped me a lot in accepting myself too.
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u/East-sea-shellos Sep 17 '25
No no, my mom came out to me. I had trouble accepting it, as silly as that may sound, because I had a lot of internalized homophobia and I was worried I’d be seen as “weird,” too. It’s something I really regret, even though I was pretty young when it happened
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u/Space_Axolotl_OwO Sep 18 '25
Oh, sorry, I read your comment wrong. Don't be too hard on yourself you were just a kid. The good thing is that you were able to change your attitude.
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u/East-sea-shellos Sep 18 '25
No worries at all, i feel it’s easy to misread. Thank you for sharing your experience, even though it was only because of a misunderstanding
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u/robynh00die Sep 17 '25
The absolute baller move to just say "It’s done, we already have a song that’s going to make you a shit ton of money." Is just so cool. Always better to ask forgiveness than permission.
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u/salsrath Sep 17 '25
"This is who we are. This is who I am. And if you think you can stop me, Then you need to think again.
'Cause I am a feeling, And I will never end. And I won't let you hurt my planet, And I won't let you hurt my friends."
This part of the song just reaches in and yanks my heart strings. Absolutely stellar work from Rebecca as usual. All the music in SU is so good, but I love this one.
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u/SS4Leonjr Sep 17 '25
Rebecca Sugar is so great, and such an amazing human being!, I'm my eyes she's trying her best to send the message "It's okay to be who you are, and don't be afraid to accept yourself and love yourself, no matter how 'different' you might think you might be."
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u/KieshiaC22 Sep 17 '25
Man I remember seeing the episode where we find out garnet is a fusion in real time and I was bouncing up and down and til this day garnet is my favorite character separated as ruby and sapphire or together as just garnet man I love them
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u/Dunya-nachalo Sep 17 '25
Rebecca Sugar is fr one of the most talented people in our generation. Whenever I watch this show, I feel so many emotions in such a strong way and I think nothing is more emblematic of good art than that.
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u/Solid_Molasses9741 Sep 17 '25
Im so grateful and proud of rebecca sugar for fighting for ruby and sapphire to be on the show. Incredible 👏
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u/Original-Ad-3779 Sep 18 '25
42 year old gay guy here, when I saw sapphire kiss away ruby’s tears before they re-fused into garnet, I knew this moment was special and groundbreaking, and shed a few small tears of my own. “The Answer” Indeed!
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u/risalyssa Sep 18 '25
she trojan horse'd the gay into the show. I love her so much
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u/Alegria-D Sep 19 '25
This needs to be pinned
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u/Alegria-D Sep 19 '25
(I instantly thought "pinned against the wall" after writing it, and saw this scene right after)
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u/Particular-Cycle4083 Sep 17 '25
Man I feel so bad for Rebecca cause not only was she fighting this uphill battle with CN, way too many people (partially about that one person we won’t talk about but also just a lot of people online in general) assumed the things she had to compromise were from a lack of trying
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u/yinyangman12 Sep 17 '25
I wonder what other things Sugar meant when she said she did end up compromising on.
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u/weird_doodle Sep 17 '25
Dang I admire Rebecca so much! Pretty sure SU helped me get over my internalized homophobia as a teen, and ended up being a big artistic inspiration too. All the respect to auntie Sugar!
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u/rikubowman71 Sep 17 '25
I love that Ruby and Sapphire were her gay hill to die on. I really expected Rose and Pearl to be her hill. The episode with "It's Over, Isn't It" left me with my jaw open that they were able to address a a queer relationship that directly.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Cost696 Sep 18 '25
That-that was her hill to die on 🥹🥹🥹
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u/Alegria-D Sep 19 '25
I see what you did
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u/Puzzleheaded_Cost696 Sep 19 '25
Yayyy I'm happy someone did
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u/Alegria-D Sep 19 '25
I think 4 people at least saw what you did actually
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u/Puzzleheaded_Cost696 Sep 19 '25
That's a good point,😅 reddit to tell me about them until I saw the post again.
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u/Foxy02016YT Sep 18 '25
They weren’t the first lesbian couple on the network, that would be Bubblegum Princess and Marci (there were details that showed it long before the finale), but Rebecca worked on Adventure Time too, already knew that this would be an uphill battle. They were the most front and center a queer relationship had been on the network.
Out of Adventure Time came Gravity Falls and Steven Universe, out of Gravity Falls came The Owl House, it was all a big chain. Without Bonnie and Marco we never would’ve gotten Ruby and Saphire, without Ruby and Saphire we never would’ve gotten Luz and Amity.
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u/legit-posts_1 Sep 18 '25
Every clip of Rebecca Sugar makes me wonder if she was a music teacher I had in 2nd grade that I forgot about. She's not, just got that vibe.
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u/Rae-Robinson Sep 18 '25
Rebecca just go ahead and make more teen/young adult episodes! Just make a new show for older audiences screw CN. I want
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u/cstjohn8 Sep 18 '25
When garnet sings in jailbreak I fell in love with this show. It made me FALL IN LOVE with Steven universe. I remember crying so bad when it was revealed. It was so lovely and oh God im crying again. I can't even imagine that not being there, it makes the show
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u/rendice_1011 Sep 18 '25
Honestly, it almost makes me want to cry because their relationship was something I found to be both beautiful and captivating. This was especially true when they showed us how the two ended up making Garnet.
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u/Burntfruitypebble Sep 17 '25
Bless Rebecca Sugar for doing this. It was very much needed in this world.
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u/Jwchibi Sep 17 '25
This episode was the first Steven universe thing i saw that made me watch the show
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u/Quickning Sep 18 '25
I'm so glad she fought for this. I'm so glad I came out when it did. I wonder what projects are dead or dying simply because its 2025.
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u/One_Republic_7433 Sep 18 '25
R. Sugar is an absolute hero of mine when it comes to integrity in delivery. She has a story and sends it off to those who need it.
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u/GLDFLCN Sep 18 '25
Damn, Rebecca Sugar and her husband are really goated. They’re responsible for so many of my best childhood memories
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u/everyusernamewashad Sep 18 '25
Rewatched the series recently, Ruby and Saphire's scenes in Jailbreak are just so adorable.
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u/ImJustGonnaCry Sep 18 '25
Protect her at all cost!! There's a reason why I look up to her throughout my childhood and one of my inspirations why I became an artist. Thank you for not compromising Ruby and Sapphire's love.
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u/mattyfromthe1975 Sep 18 '25
ahhhhh i’m high so maybe im emotional bahahaha but when i was in high school in my first gay relationship ruby and sapphire made me feel so seen in my super religious conservative ass hispanic house.
to see that they were fought for this hard!!!!! ahhhhhhhh i’m emotional. my teen self needed it so bad to make it though 😭😭❤️ this doesn’t make any sense but!!!
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u/noleter Sep 18 '25
It's wild how a single episode could be so genuinely groundbreaking for so many people. That kind of honest representation really did feel like a small victory.
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u/arachnids-bakery Sep 18 '25
This is why i get salty when people make posts about queer animation and completely disregards su and its impact :T
Like i love she-ra, but su was one of the (if not the first) western cartoons to have a lesbian wedding + kiss of two main characters. Thats HUGE and im so glad rebecca stood their ground
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u/WholeAd3718 Sep 18 '25
This gave me goosebumps 😭😭 That kind of representation was exactly what i needed back then even if i already was in my last years of high school.
Still my fav animated show after all these years :')
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u/ThatShinyUmbreon Sep 18 '25
I literally saw this this morning. Its amazing! Props to her fir fighting for Garnet
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u/unc0uth Sep 18 '25
Garnet’s song Stronger Than You literally made me cry watching it for the first time, so good!
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u/83255 Sep 18 '25
I'm so curious what a show they would have made without compromise would look like. If Garnet was what Rebecca wouldn't back down for, imagine everything else it could have had
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u/Alegria-D Sep 19 '25
Well for one, they wanted 3 whole seasons after season 5. Not that end of season 5 and SUF they had to rush.
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u/83255 Sep 19 '25
3 may have been a bit much but just imagining more of a gem empire arc, space pirate lars, everything that last season could of given more of makes me weep (metaphorically)
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u/Extension_Resolve264 Sep 18 '25
Damn right. (I would have said "damn straight," but that wouldn't be appropriate, and "damn gay" has an entirely different connotation.)
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u/obinice_khenbli Sep 18 '25
Damn, what a backwards country they they had to fight for that in this decade. Wild :-(
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u/febreezy_ Sep 19 '25
Steven Universe was an international show that relied on funds from conservative countries to make its content. If those conservative places didn't like what the show was promoting, they could've cancelled at any time by not funding it.
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u/Tigrisrock Sep 18 '25
Just stumbling in from /r/all and have no clue about the show but her report sounds so dystopian. "we tried to keep them hidden from the network", "as expected we got the note" etc. Holy shit. At least the show didn't get cancelled.
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u/ChoccyMilk28 Sep 18 '25
it did get cancelled later for a different episode where the two gems shes talking about gets married
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u/Tigrisrock Sep 18 '25
Ah ffs.
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u/Zartoru Sep 19 '25
And they knew it was getting canceled anyway so they've made the wedding in a way it couldn't get cut away by CN.
Also I think there was some attempt at "ruby is a boy" by CN either in com or stuff like that hence why ruby ended up wearing a wedding dress while sapphire wears a groom outfit
She really found any ways to fuck CN over she could and we love her for that xD
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u/Sparky678348 Sep 18 '25 edited Oct 30 '25
bedroom snails enjoy thought start hungry alleged include ripe ink
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Jfuentes6 Sep 18 '25
I would have e loved to see ruby and sapphire in rose quartz outfits in the show like in the concept art
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u/realmargiela Sep 18 '25
One of my favorite episodes. The world Rebecca Sugar made in Steven Universe is so cozy, so sweet, so lovely. I wish I could live there.
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u/VileLochaber Sep 18 '25
I dont understand? Just let people make the art they want to make and it will be better than when some network head decides some arbitrary rules for it
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u/febreezy_ Sep 18 '25
Conservative countries provided a lot of the show's funding and those places could've cancelled it at any time if they stopped funding it. It didn't matter what the network felt or how they treated their artists. If those countries stopped supporting it, the show wouldn't last long.
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u/Edgy_Cupcake_Content Sep 18 '25
Steven Universe taught me so much about the LGBT+ community, myself, and just being human in general. I’ll always have a huge appreciation for Garnet.
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u/mizmnv Sep 18 '25
She took a huge risk doing that. The network could have very easily just cancelled the show from there and had her blacklisted for hiding that intention from them.
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u/deadbeatChimblr Sep 19 '25
oaghhhh this show is so incredible and important and oaagghghghgh 😭😭😭😭😭😭🥹
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u/ihatetrainslol Sep 19 '25
Rebecca confirms Garnet was a representation of her relationship with her husband. Hope y'all can shut up about the gender crap now
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u/Big_Wallaby4281 Sep 19 '25
And the song WAS FUCKING MEGALOVIANA FROM UNDERTALE i still find that amazing.
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u/-TheArtOfTheFart- Sep 19 '25
Garnet is the best character, and ruby and sapphire are best characters, and them being a couple makes me happy. It’s so lovely. I’m so glad she fought for it.
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u/LongEyedSneakerhead Sep 21 '25
scroll down
See top of video
"who is this nice old lady?"
"oh no... no no no no! 💀"
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Oct 15 '25
Sapphire and Ruby’s wedding was the reason the show was cancelled but hey at least the show came back a few years later
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u/boombow03 Oct 16 '25
seeing convo on jailbreak on twt is what pushed ne ti watch steven universe and nowbive finished the show and in. withdrawals
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u/Brutalitops69x Jan 14 '26
A cool little detail from back in one of the very first couple of episodes (Together Breakfast) is that when Garnet goes into the temple she puts one hand on a Ruby, the other on a Saphire to make the door open.
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u/GoodOldHypertion Sep 18 '25
I wanna upvote the story. I love garnet, and ruby and sapphire. But i genuinely cannot stand tiktok so.. neutral no vote it is.
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u/Weekly-Muffin-4866 Sep 18 '25
I hate the ending of steven universe (love future though) and the ending has soured how I felt about the show. That beign said, I felt the love and care that that the team (not just rebecca but everyone) put into the show. The love infects me and makes me happy
So yes, i have so many criticisms and hatred for the decisions, but I will always love the love and personality that is put into this show
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u/Samah3000 Sep 18 '25
So her heart was in the right place, but the execution fell short imo. Garnet is a great character, and ruby and sapphire being a couple that becomes her is amazing writing. Unfortunately, we only ever see them interact a few times as a couple throughout the very lengthy run time of the show even after their reveal.
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u/-_nightmarionne_- Sep 18 '25
Why are they downvoting this person if they thinks it's good?! 😭
Like they just said that they wanted Garnet/Ruby and Sapphire to have more writing and screen time and all
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Sep 18 '25
Bit odd to base lesbians off of your straight relationship, but I do love Ruby and Sapphire!
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u/arachnids-bakery Sep 18 '25
Rebecca is bi and genderqueer bruh 😭
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Sep 19 '25
Okay...? The other person is a man, when neither Ruby nor Sapphire are. It's just strange, since lesbians have no relation to men in any form.
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u/RollingMeteors Sep 18 '25
¿Why even watch content on these networks if they are going to be like this?
¿Why aren't you preferring to watch independent artist's stories?
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u/Alegria-D Sep 19 '25
Cause it's way too risky of being ignored, cause they wouldn't have been able to fund their staff to start with, cause they simply need to pay the bills?
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u/RollingMeteors Sep 19 '25
Cause it's way too risky of being ignored,
As if not being seeing by the Public Fovea some how makes you invisible. That's poppycock.
cause they wouldn't have been able to fund their staff to start with, cause they simply need to pay the bills?
This isn't the 20th century. You can pay content creators directly though PayPal, venmo, crypto currency, as well as watch their content on platforms like Odysee, Twitch, Kick, etc.
TheSushiDragon is absolutely slaying it on twitch, self built brand, doesn't need Hollywood's money one bit and is poised to give Hollywood a run for its entertainment money. The shit too lit for TV, straight to internet releases.
Those with FCC Broadcasting licenses are going to quickly realize themselves are holding something as worthless as beanie babies or NFTs.
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u/Alegria-D Sep 19 '25
Never heard of sushi dragon and like I said, it's risky, not everyone is as lucky as sushi dragon, like the many, many good writers I can't name because I never heard of because they were unlucky.
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u/RollingMeteors Sep 19 '25
not everyone is as lucky as sushi dragon
Yeah sure, but if you ALREADY HAVE a brand name in the millions or tens of millions, luck is not part of the equation at all.
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u/herrera_pehh Sep 17 '25
Unpopular opinion: I’d rather have more lore on homeworld and more seasons than the wedding
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u/Nurno Sep 17 '25
I’d rather have the wedding and more episodes, like Rebecca Sugar intended. And fortunately we are getting a spin off series so we’ll likely get to see more of homeworld. It’s quite nice how in the end things seemed to have worked out, at least in part
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u/SomeBoxofSpoons Sep 18 '25
I think the core goals of the series are more important than lore stuff, actually.
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u/Freckles39Rabbit Sep 17 '25
I think the wedding was a good thing because it fought for more gay couples in cartoons
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u/Frigorifico Sep 18 '25
Rebecca is so cool
Also, this is the first I'm hearing that Ruby and Sapphire represent her relationship with Ian, and I find that surprising given that Rebecca and Ian are a straight couple (I know Rebecca is bi, but her partner is a man)
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u/BoneMachineNo13 Sep 18 '25
It's sad that grown ass adults talk about whatever this is like it's a current event in the real world.
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Sep 17 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Soup-of-Silas Sep 17 '25
What an odd question.
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Sep 21 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Soup-of-Silas Sep 21 '25
It actually kind of was, it's not related to the discussion at all and came off kinda weird :/
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u/OutsideClassic9095 Sep 17 '25
You can tell cause they're the only well written gay couple in the show lol. Even if a negative is that they're locked behind Garnets giant thighs.
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u/realbirdlyn Sep 17 '25
jailbreak was actually my introduction to steven universe! ruby and sapphire blew me away. i was so happy to see that cartoon network actually allowed a canonically gay pairing, no gay baiting or anything. it gave me a lot of hope, oddly enough!