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I will be uploading a speedpaint for this soonish! EDIT: Speedpaint has been uploaded! www.youtube.com/watch?v=JovGqS…

... I've discovered that I love doing speedpaints lol. BUT I can't do them all the time and they are a LOT of work pfft. BUT every now and then I think they'll be fun!

Anyway. Be prepared, because there's a Steven Universe (+Future) rant ahead!!

I have a metric BOATLOAD of feelings regarding Pink Diamond, and a vast majority of them are not dislike or hate. She's a fascinating character, and honestly I was pretty upset with how the fandom handled her existence. I understand where they're coming from in certain cases (like the pearls, Bismuth and Spinel) but fracks SAKE she was far from irredeemable, as much of the fandom likes to portray her. The whole show is about 'redemption' and 'forgiveness' and whatnot, and somehow Pink is excluded from that? Pink? The one diamond who actually tried to change? Who inspired change for the better in others?

Yes, she was far from perfect. That was the whole point- Rose Quartz was seen as the thing Steven had to live up to, and then later the thing he had to live down- but no one on that show was perfect. The problem with saying 'all these characters are redeemable, but this one isn't, no matter what- " is that it paints everything that character does as 'evil'. And... well, no. Pink was not evil by any stretch of the imagination. Flawed? Yes. Selfish? Yes.

Brainwashed?

Also yes.

I suppose my biggest problem with the hate towards Pink Diamond is the fact that she is the only character in the entire show (so far as I can recall) who actually permanently ran from an abusive family. The other Diamonds were horribly abusive; physical, emotional, mental. And yet so many people seem so upset that Pink ran from that situation. They call her a coward.

Pink felt she had to fake her own death and take on an entirely different identity to get away from the diamonds. She thought they would not care if she died- so she didn't know what they would do to the other gems- and she felt that they would never hear what she had to say otherwise. How is it cowardly to run from a situation that is that dangerous to yourself?

A big problem with shows like Steven Universe, shows where the villains are redeemed and everything is good and happy, is that it can unintentionally send a bad message that you have to stay in a bad relationship because 'they can change'. The show itself, in my opinion, handled that problem very well; Steven sacrificed his own happiness and well-being to 'change' the diamonds, to 'change' everything, to make everything 'better'. And even though it worked, it still caused him to suffer; and in the end, created another 'monster' for the world to deal with. It caused harm to the very people he was trying to protect. The show was handled wonderfully!

Unfortunately, it tended to cast Pink Diamond in the constant light of 'the bad guy', the ultimate, irredeemable character, and, in the end, the only character who never 'changed'.

Except she did.

And, unlike everyone else in the show, she did it by herself. Which is a monumental achievement, particularly considering the incredible brainwashing she would've had to undo in her own mind, mostly by herself.

Even the pearls themselves (in the form of mega pearl) admitted that Pink was, at the very least, trying to change. "Your mother's pearls never had the whole picture. One knew your mother was trying to change, but she couldn't understand why. The other never expected her to change at all."

Crystal Gem Pearl never even knew about Pink's destructive powers, because Pink knew she did not want to be destructive. She completely altered herself, even her own powers, to become a healer. To help as opposed to hurt, because she knew what it was like to hurt someone, and to be hurt. She didn't want to be that.

Yes, she failed. She hurt people, often very badly. I'm not saying that those people had to 'forgive' her, or even spend any more time with her if they did not want to, or if they felt it would hurt them further. All I'm saying is that it made her a flawed being, just like everyone else.

Honestly, my biggest problem with people in the fandom hating Pink isn't so much that they hate what Pink has done. It's that they can hate what Pink has done, but love Blue and Yellow and White and completely dismiss all that they have done. My biggest problem is when, in listing the people that Pink hurt, they include the other diamonds in those lists. Pink didn't hurt the other diamonds, she left her abusers. I'm so happy the other diamonds got the chance to change, that they had the ability in the end, don't get me wrong. But Pink was not responsible for changing them. Even Steven wasn't responsible for that. And in doing so regardless, he ended up being very hurt. (There's a reason it was White Diamond he tried to shatter in 'Homeworld Bound'. She literally ripped him in half, of course he was scared and angry, of course he ended up retaliating, even after the danger had passed. He constantly feels the presence of danger, even when there isn't any.)

I understand that a lot of people have been hurt by someone like Pink Diamond, and that's why they dislike her so strongly. It's understandable! Everyone's been hurt by something. But the big problem is exactly that: everyone has been hurt by something. From the bad to the good, because every virtue is a vice if taken to an extreme. (Protectiveness can become obsession, bravery can become irrational levels of self-sacrifice, trust can become gullibility, etc.) The big problem lies in saying 'this terrible behavior is worse than that one'.

Pink left Spinel in the Garden, locked Bismuth away, accidentally hurt Volleyball and forced Pearl to keep a secret.

The other diamonds were intergalactic dictators who murdered everything that stood in their way or against their regime of a flawed 'perfection'.

They were the proof that no one person has all the answers, and that anything that is 'perfect' for someone will be painful and damaging to someone else.

I'm not saying that Pink was perfect. I'm saying that she was just like everyone else in that show: a person. A person who had been brainwashed into believing that she was better than everyone else, but also far, far lesser than the people she actually looked up to and wanted to be like. She challenged her own worldview and realized it was flawed, so she worked to change it.

Which, in the end, isn't a bad thing.

Okay, Rant over!

All that said, I don't relate very much to Pink Diamond. But I do understand the feeling of trying desperately to be yourself, to be what you want, in an environment where you are expected to be like others; particularly people you look up to. So I wanted to draw this. And also to rant.

Anyway. If you read this, thanks! If not, that's cool, too. Hope you like the art regardless!

Description
I will be uploading a speedpaint for this soonish! EDIT: Speedpaint has been uploaded! www.youtube.com/watch?v=JovGqS…

... I've discovered that I love doing speedpaints lol. BUT I can't do them all the time and they are a LOT of work pfft. BUT every now and then I think they'll be fun!

Anyway. Be prepared, because there's a Steven Universe (+Future) rant ahead!!

I have a metric BOATLOAD of feelings regarding Pink Diamond, and a vast majority of them are not dislike or hate. She's a fascinating character, and honestly I was pretty upset with how the fandom handled her existence. I understand where they're coming from in certain cases (like the pearls, Bismuth and Spinel) but fracks SAKE she was far from irredeemable, as much of the fandom likes to portray her. The whole show is about 'redemption' and 'forgiveness' and whatnot, and somehow Pink is excluded from that? Pink? The one diamond who actually tried to change? Who inspired change for the better in others?

Yes, she was far from perfect. That was the whole point- Rose Quartz was seen as the thing Steven had to live up to, and then later the thing he had to live down- but no one on that show was perfect. The problem with saying 'all these characters are redeemable, but this one isn't, no matter what- " is that it paints everything that character does as 'evil'. And... well, no. Pink was not evil by any stretch of the imagination. Flawed? Yes. Selfish? Yes.

Brainwashed?

Also yes.

I suppose my biggest problem with the hate towards Pink Diamond is the fact that she is the only character in the entire show (so far as I can recall) who actually permanently ran from an abusive family. The other Diamonds were horribly abusive; physical, emotional, mental. And yet so many people seem so upset that Pink ran from that situation. They call her a coward.

Pink felt she had to fake her own death and take on an entirely different identity to get away from the diamonds. She thought they would not care if she died- so she didn't know what they would do to the other gems- and she felt that they would never hear what she had to say otherwise. How is it cowardly to run from a situation that is that dangerous to yourself?

A big problem with shows like Steven Universe, shows where the villains are redeemed and everything is good and happy, is that it can unintentionally send a bad message that you have to stay in a bad relationship because 'they can change'. The show itself, in my opinion, handled that problem very well; Steven sacrificed his own happiness and well-being to 'change' the diamonds, to 'change' everything, to make everything 'better'. And even though it worked, it still caused him to suffer; and in the end, created another 'monster' for the world to deal with. It caused harm to the very people he was trying to protect. The show was handled wonderfully!

Unfortunately, it tended to cast Pink Diamond in the constant light of 'the bad guy', the ultimate, irredeemable character, and, in the end, the only character who never 'changed'.

Except she did.

And, unlike everyone else in the show, she did it by herself. Which is a monumental achievement, particularly considering the incredible brainwashing she would've had to undo in her own mind, mostly by herself.

Even the pearls themselves (in the form of mega pearl) admitted that Pink was, at the very least, trying to change. "Your mother's pearls never had the whole picture. One knew your mother was trying to change, but she couldn't understand why. The other never expected her to change at all."

Crystal Gem Pearl never even knew about Pink's destructive powers, because Pink knew she did not want to be destructive. She completely altered herself, even her own powers, to become a healer. To help as opposed to hurt, because she knew what it was like to hurt someone, and to be hurt. She didn't want to be that.

Yes, she failed. She hurt people, often very badly. I'm not saying that those people had to 'forgive' her, or even spend any more time with her if they did not want to, or if they felt it would hurt them further. All I'm saying is that it made her a flawed being, just like everyone else.

Honestly, my biggest problem with people in the fandom hating Pink isn't so much that they hate what Pink has done. It's that they can hate what Pink has done, but love Blue and Yellow and White and completely dismiss all that they have done. My biggest problem is when, in listing the people that Pink hurt, they include the other diamonds in those lists. Pink didn't hurt the other diamonds, she left her abusers. I'm so happy the other diamonds got the chance to change, that they had the ability in the end, don't get me wrong. But Pink was not responsible for changing them. Even Steven wasn't responsible for that. And in doing so regardless, he ended up being very hurt. (There's a reason it was White Diamond he tried to shatter in 'Homeworld Bound'. She literally ripped him in half, of course he was scared and angry, of course he ended up retaliating, even after the danger had passed. He constantly feels the presence of danger, even when there isn't any.)

I understand that a lot of people have been hurt by someone like Pink Diamond, and that's why they dislike her so strongly. It's understandable! Everyone's been hurt by something. But the big problem is exactly that: everyone has been hurt by something. From the bad to the good, because every virtue is a vice if taken to an extreme. (Protectiveness can become obsession, bravery can become irrational levels of self-sacrifice, trust can become gullibility, etc.) The big problem lies in saying 'this terrible behavior is worse than that one'.

Pink left Spinel in the Garden, locked Bismuth away, accidentally hurt Volleyball and forced Pearl to keep a secret.

The other diamonds were intergalactic dictators who murdered everything that stood in their way or against their regime of a flawed 'perfection'.

They were the proof that no one person has all the answers, and that anything that is 'perfect' for someone will be painful and damaging to someone else.

I'm not saying that Pink was perfect. I'm saying that she was just like everyone else in that show: a person. A person who had been brainwashed into believing that she was better than everyone else, but also far, far lesser than the people she actually looked up to and wanted to be like. She challenged her own worldview and realized it was flawed, so she worked to change it.

Which, in the end, isn't a bad thing.

Okay, Rant over!

All that said, I don't relate very much to Pink Diamond. But I do understand the feeling of trying desperately to be yourself, to be what you want, in an environment where you are expected to be like others; particularly people you look up to. So I wanted to draw this. And also to rant.

Anyway. If you read this, thanks! If not, that's cool, too. Hope you like the art regardless!