Steven Universe Fae-U

Lars just can’t catch a break no matter what universe he’s in. At least poor Steven wasn’t fully aware of just how bad it was until that point, either. They will definitely see each other again, though. It’s just a matter of when.

I have a lot of different inspirations, both from other pieces of fiction and various mythologies. I think that person was responding to posts I’ve made talking about fae on this blog.

There this post here where I talk about how being fae impacts the behaviour of the Diamonds. True Fae are inclined towards pettiness and pride in this world - it’s a cultural thing, and to some degree a thing they are created with. However, just because they are inclined towards a certain nature doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of variation among the faefolk. 

There also this post where I talk about how fae are generally inclined towards being chaotic neutral personality-wise. However! This is an AU of Steven Universe, and it’s not as if I want to completely overwrite everyone’s personalities with fae bullshit, so even though fae are inclined towards these things, they aren’t doomed to be cruel and uncaring. They are still people, even if they have a sort of inhuman way of looking at things.

Technically speaking Fae!Steven is doing better than his canon self: in canon Connie was twelve when he gave her a sword. This is borderline responsible in comparison!

Also in this AU Connie is 16 for all the difference it makes.

I wouldn't look at Steven killing as a forgone conclusion. It's true that it's more difficult to spare enemies in a situation without bubbling, but that doesn't mean that Steven is simply going to give up and murder the people who come after him, whether Fae or otherwise. He's in a different and, in some ways, more difficult situation - but he's still the same character and is as staunchly pacifistic as ever. Steven hasn't killed and he has no desire to. He doesn't see Fae as more acceptable targets than humans, either.

That’s okay - believe me, I am aware of their differences. I just like both of them about equally, and there are a lot of thematic elements that get shared among various aquatic myths, so I just mentioned them together. 

Wait... is your concern that you think I’m implying they are the same thing? I’m aware they are not. I just used a “/” because they are both aquatic creatures with similar thematic elements so while there are differences, they scratch similar itches. 

Also, I’ve never claimed to be a mythology buff. I like to read about this kind of thing and have messed around with my own variations of these creatures plenty of times, but I’m hardly an academic authority on the subject - I just like monsters and fantasy, is all.

Oh, absolutely. I love this stuff. I’ve actually drawn Steven as a bunch of different kinds of mythical creatures over the years, because I love monsters and I also love Steven. 

Faerie myths are one of my favourites, obviously, but I’m also a big fan of dragons, angels, and recently I’ve been pretty into unicorns. Partly because I have another AU where Steven is a unicorn boy. Oh, and also mermaids/selkies! I’ve drawn Steven as that, too. 

You know Groot, from Guardians of the Galaxy? How he can make his limbs grow real long, but in a plant-like way? It’s like that. So, I guess the answer is that she is stretchy and aligns with her mother’s court at the same time.

1) Yep! Depending on how potent the iron is, and how fae they are, it could do anything from giving them a rash to melting their flesh like acid.

They can absolutely do all of those things to deceive people. As long as they are not saying words that are untrue, they can twist things all they want with implications, tone, misdirection, or whatever else. Non-verbal gestures are the one thing they can’t really cheat with - for instance, if you asked a question where the answer was “yes”, they couldn’t shake their head in response. Gestures like that are considered to be language, even if it's non-verbal. Of course, they can always just refuse to answer the question completely - it isn’t a lie to say nothing at all.

As for iron, yes! Iron is the fae’s primary weakness, and the more fae you are, the more damaging it is. “Cold iron” is the most effective weapon, which is essentially iron that has been worked in such a manner that it doesn’t lose its anti-fae potency. Otherwise, the more you alter/process/mess around with the metal, the less potency it will retain. 

Potent iron could deal a killing blow to almost any fae, and they are also unable to use magic to recover from it. Iron is caustic to a fae’s very soul. Being bound with iron removes a fae’s ability to use their power and gradually poisons them. It can also leave fairly nasty burns.